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Mixing the difficulties unique to Vietnam vets with the adjustment problems of all returning soldiers, Hal Ashby’s touching drama contrasts the pro-war and the anti-war sentiments by presenting two soldiers connected by their love for the same woman. Ashby isn’t a director that is common to the average filmgoer, but during the 1970s he made some of the decade’s best, including this film, HAROLD AND MAUDE, THE LAST DETAIL, BOUND FOR GLORY and BEING THERE. Without flash, he patiently develops his core characters, allowing emotions to build and accumulate into poignant and powerful reactions. This is one of those films that goes along at a steady pace then reaches a moment where it grabs you by the throat and propels you to another level.

Capt. Bob Hyde (Bruce Dern, FAMILY PLOT) has finally received his mission in Vietnam. With his departure, his wife Sally (Jane Fonda, KLUTE) is on her own for the first time. Inspired by her husband’s best friend’s girlfriend Vi (Penelope Milford, HEATHERS), she volunteers at the VA hospital, where she meets Luke Martin (Jon Voight, MIDNIGHT COWBOY), a paraplegic vet who was once the captain of Sally’s high school football team. Confined to the hospital, using canes to propel his wheeled bed around the narrow halls, Luke’s disposition is less than pleasant. Vi’s brother Bill (Robert Carradine, REVENGE OF THE NERDS) is in the hospital for mental reasons; the horrors of war have left him emotionally incapable with dealing with life. Other soldiers complain that they’ve just been forgotten; not given the basic information they need to handle life as a disabled person. Sally feels for the plight of the soldiers and truly wants to help, but the “real” world doesn’t want to think about the wounded men unless it’s one of their relatives. As Luke slowly comes out of his depression, Sally and he strike up a friendship that soon turns romantic. So what will happen when Bob returns home after the war doesn’t turn out like he imagined?

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Darker than the original NARNIA adventure, this new tale brings the original young foursome back to Narnia, a land that is now unrecognizable from the world they once ruled. Writer/director Andrew Adamson, along with fellow writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, stay faithful to C.S. Lewis’ original text, giving fans a faithful screen adaptation just like THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. With more battles, the epic scale is heightened, but this doesn’t mean there are not any new internal battles for the original characters, which are the most intriguing parts of the second installment in the series.

Centuries after the Pevensie siblings left Narnia to return to England, the magic realm has been taken over by the Telmarines, who have forced the Narnians to live in secret in the woods. Prince Caspian the X (Ben Barnes, STARDUST) is the rightful heir to the throne, but his scheming uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellitto, ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES) has his eyes on ruling the kingdom. Caspian flees for his life into the forest, where a scuffle with Miraz’s men results in dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage, THE STATION AGENT) being taken prisoner and Caspian taken in by dwarf Nikabrik (Warwick Davis, WILLOW) and talking badger Trufflehunter (Ken Scott, CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR). During the fight, Caspian uses an ancient horn, which summons former kings and queens Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) back to Narnia.

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Winner of seven Oscars, William Wyler’s touching and honest drama about returning soldiers is as relevant today as it was when it was released more than 60 years ago. While there are no stories of war objectors spitting on returning vets from WWII, the Great Generation’s fighters didn’t have it easy either. This intimate tale chronicles the adjustments three very different men have to make in their civilian lives because of their experiences at war. They cover the economic spectrum, which makes adjusting to their normal lives more difficult or easier in interesting and ironic ways depending on the situation. Brought to life by a first-rate cast, there is a reason this film placed #37 on the AFI’s Top 100 American Films list twice; it’s a timeless classic.

Based on MacKinlay Kantor’s novel, which was adapted by Robert E. Sherwood, winner of Best Screenplay, the story begins as three soldiers, strangers at the time, board a transport plane to get back home to Boone City. Fred Derry (Dana Andrews, LAURA) was a captain pilot during the war, but back home he worked as a soda jerk. A lower rank than Fred, Al Stephenson (Fredric March, 1931’s DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE) is an older man with a family, who as a civilian lives in a swank apartment and works at the bank. Homer Parrish (Harold Russell, PAYBACK) is a sailor, who after losing both hands now uses hooks. He worries that his girl Wilma (Cathy O’Donnell, BEN-HUR) will think differently of him when she sees him.

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When I first saw the trailer for this film, I was shocked and amazed that someone went there. If it were played as a straight horror film, the movie, dealing with man-eating vaginas, seemed ridiculous. And the laughs that permeated the theater underlined the thoughts of misogyny and cheese that we all felt. However, this campy horror comedy is actually a modern twist on the vagina dentata lore, changing the male-centric fear of female sexuality into a female-centric empowerment tale.

Dawn (Jess Weixler, LITTLE MANHATTAN) is a very conservative high school student who is a leader in a teen abstinence organization called The Promise. She is ridiculed for her prudish ways at school, but stays true to her beliefs. However, she discovers something strange about her genitalia when her sexual feelings are first awakened by fellow Promise member Tobey (Hale Appleman, upcoming HOLY ROLLERS). So when Tobey’s faith wavers, Dawn discovers just how deadly her mutation can be. Along the course of her sexual awakening, she will run across a stream of the worst of the male species including her rocker step-brother Brad (John Hensley, TV’s NIP/TUCK), who has been harboring a secret ever since he was young.

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Peter Bogdanovich’s THE LAST PICTURE SHOW is a quiet reflective film with flares of wonderful irony and humor. Its style is a dead-on throwback to the 1950s drama, but presents a 1970s freedom to its material. As a sad meditation on the crumbling American small tows, the story can be bleak, but it never loses all hope… or does it? Like great art, the film is open to interpretation.

Based on the Larry McMurtry novel, this coming of age tale is set in the tiny Texas town of Anarene. Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms, THE PAPER CHASE) and Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges, THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS) are best friends. They play for their town’s lousy high school football team, for which they constantly receive ridiculed for from the townsfolk. Sonny is jealous of Duane because his friend is dating Jacy Farrow (Cybill Shepherd, TV’s MOONIGHTING), the prettiest girl in town, while he’s stuck with the trashy tease Charlene (Sharon Taggart, TEXASVILLE). Jacy’s mom Lois (Ellen Burstyn, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) warns her that her roughneck boyfriend is a one-way ticket to getting stuck in their flat and boring town. Jacy professes her love for Duane, but isn’t shy to play the field just to stir up some excitement in her life. Eventually, Sonny starts an affair of his own with 40-something Ruth (Cloris Leachman, SPANGLISH), the sad wife of his coach. The heart of the town is Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson, THE WILD BUNCH), a kind man who runs three key businesses— the pool hall, the café, and the picture house.

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I was expecting eye candy going into this film and that’s what I was served, but by the time the final course was uncovered I had gobbled up Andy and Larry Wachowski’s neon-glowing confection. No one who has ever seen the original series would confuse it with good animation. Nonetheless it had a charm that was undeniable. The Wachowskis capture that charm, frosting their entire production with it. They are not interested in “improving” the original material with an overdose of extra hip wink winks — the same ingredient that has destroyed so many other animation-to-live-action adaptations. They’re interested in bringing the good flavors to the forefront and minimizing the cheesy aftertaste.

Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch, INTO THE WILD) is from a family of racers, who thinks about nothing but racing. He looks up to his older brother Rex (Scott Porter, TV’s FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS), a champion driver. But something happens to pull apart Rex and his dad Pops (John Goodman, BARTON FINK), spurring Rex to leave home and later parish in a racing accident. When Speed grows up, he is courted by all the major sponsors, especially Royalton (Roger Allam, V FOR VENDETTA), a shady corporate tycoon. Soon enough, Speed learns painful lessons about the way the racing world is really run and is approached by the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox, TV’s LOST) to join him and blow the lid off the evil corporate conspiracy to fix races.

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As a child of the video age, there is a collection of films that have been ingrained in my memory for having watched them over and over again. LA BAMBA, the story of Ritchie Valens, is one of those films. Before I knew that I was watching something special, I responded to this musical biopic’s portrayal of the supporting characters in the life of the central star. No other film that deals with the rise of famous people deals so honestly with how fame affects those in the star’s life that stay anonymous folk.

Before Ritchie Valens rose to fame, he was migrant worker Ritchie Valenzuela (Lou Diamond Phillips, YOUNG GUNS). A young man obsessed with rock ‘n roll, he never goes anywhere without his secondhand guitar. One day his leather jacket-wearing brother Bob (Esai Morales, FAST FOOD NATION) rides into camp on his motorcycle. He’s made enough money to move his hardworking mother Connie (Rosanna DeSoto, STAND AND DELIVER) and his three younger siblings to Los Angeles. He’s so cool he sweeps Ritchie’s crush Rosie (Elizabeth Pena, LONE STAR) off her feet and onto the back of his bike on his way down the road too. In L.A., Ritchie joins a local band where he is relegated to the background, but moves himself to the front and center via his passion. Along the way, he charms the white daughter of a car dealer named Donna (Danielle von Zerneck, LIVING IN OBLIVION), a later inspiration for a song when her dad doesn’t like her hanging with a homie. Ritchie also attracts the attention of smalltime record producer Bob Keene (Joe Pantoliano, THE MATRIX), who creates Ritchie Valens, a teenager who quickly has three hit singles and tours with rock icons like Buddy Holly.

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Bob Dylan is an enigma, and that is exactly what one could call Todd Haynes’ film that contemplates the seemingly contradictory sides of the famed singer’s personality. Haynes has always been a filmmaker who takes risks from his unsettling SAFE to his pseudo-Bowie biopic VELVET GOLDMINE to his Douglas Sirk, 1950s melodrama-like FAR FROM HEAVEN. Now he contemplates the many aspects of Dylan, leaving the audience thinking (maybe even confused).

Six difference actors play six different Dylan-like characters. The various stories are woven together and a few even intersect. We begin with an 11-year-old African-American boy hitching a ride on a train calling himself Woody Guthrie (Marcus Carl Franklin, TV’s LACKAWANNA BLUES). He’s traveling the country playing ’40s blues and acting like it isn’t 1959, avoiding the social turmoil of the times. Next we meet 19-year-old poet Arthur Rimbaud (Ben Whishaw, PERFUME) cagily avoiding definition during an interview. In a documentary-like segment, we learn about the career of influential folk singer Jack Rollins (Christian Bale, BATMAN BEGINS), who hasn’t done an interview in years since be converted to Christianity. Robbie Clark (Heath Ledger, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN) is a womanizing actor who became famous playing Jack Rollins. We see him during two periods in his life — meeting abstract artist Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg, THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP) and then watching as their marriage falls apart as Vietnam ends. Jude Quinn (Cate Blanchett, ELIZABETH) is an arrogant star that has turned his back on folk music and plugged in. During a tour in London with The Beatles, he challenges reporter Keenan Jones (Bruce Greenwood, CAPOTE) on his lack of caring about “finger-pointing” songs. Finally, in an almost dreamlike sequence, Billy the Kid (Richard Gere, CHICAGO) wonders the countryside trying to find freedom.

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Despite having a sex doll at the center of its story, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is a charming tale about a young man who submerges himself in a fantasy world to escape from reality. Lars Lindstrom buys a sex doll and tells everyone that it is his new girlfriend Bianca from Brazil. Nancy Oliver’s Oscar-nominated screenplay handles this premise with a great deal of tact. This isn’t AMERICAN PIE, folks; it’s more like apple pie and church and milk and cookies. And if you found some way to make any of that sexual than you’re not Lars.

Lars (Ryan Gosling, THE NOTEBOOK) has become more and more reclusive, moving into the garage of the family home. His brother Gus (Paul Schneider, ALL THE REAL GIRLS), and especially his sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer, LOVELY & AMAZING) worry about him. Then one night, he introduces them to Bianca like he’d introduce any Brazilian missionary he met on the Internet to them. The next day they take Lars and Bianca to see Dr. Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson, THE STATION AGENT), who tells them that Lars is having delusions and that if they want to keep him they will have to play along with the fantasy. Under the guise of treating Bianca’s low blood pressure, Dr. Dagmar sets a weekly appointment to meet with Lars and his quiet girlfriend. Gus and Karin struggle with accepting Lars’ condition, while trying to explain it to the community at large. With Bianca around, Lars is able to easily avoid his sweet co-worker Margo (Kelli Garner, BULLY).

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Philippe Pollet-Villard’s THE MOZART OF PICKPOCKETS won the Best Live-Action Short Oscar this year, beating out more serious fare. Pollet-Villard stars as a pickpocket named Philippe who along with his partner Richard (Richard Morgieve) work with three other thieves robbing tourists and female shoppers. As the white guys in the gang, they always play the cops in the scam and only receive stolen passports as their cut. One day a deaf boy, who begs for change, follows them home. At first Philippe wants nothing to do with the child, but Richard is an old softy. To make it worth their time, they decide to teach the boy the pickpocket trade, but things don’t turn out as expected and the little boy may have something to teach these hapless crooks.

The story is cute and charming with solid laughs sprinkled throughout. But I kept thinking back to SIX SHOOTER, which won the Live-Action Short Oscar in 2006, with its witty dialogue and twisting storyline. MOZART isn’t bad, but in comparison it lacks the spark that the previous Oscar winner had. Cocky and clueless Philippe and kind Richard are characters we’ve seen many times before. Pollet-Villard’s pacing is nice and ends the film on a nice joke. The last quick shot can be viewed with several meanings, leaving us wondering whether it’s a simple happy parting wink or representative of something more devious. I’ll leave it up for you to decide. In the end, the film has a winning combination of humor and heart, which is allows a great combination for winning an Oscar in the shorts categories.

Buy It Now!

Buy The 2007 Academy Award Nominated Shorts Now!