Requiem

When it comes to rating movies, how should a film like Requiem be treated? Taken as entertainment, it is horrible- the viewer waits, sickened by the inevitable conclusion, but when it comes it is still like a poke in the gut. It is horrific, yet not horror, and shouldn't be advertised as 'scary' in any conventional sense.

But it strikes me as brave how directer Hans-Christian Schmid delivers his story- sharp and gimmickless. His viewpoint is clear- the girl was mentally sick. Nothing other than ignorance and her own mind conspired against her. Whether this notion would have helped anything remains distant.

But the film doesn't need vomit or swiveling heads, shocks or hallucinations. It has Sandra Huller. Fully absorbed in her role, Sandra furiously portrays Michaela Klinglar, a character based apparently, on a real German girl named Annalise Michaels, who lived in 1970's Germany.
Michaela, as many young people would, hopes to leave her parents for college, and eventually, a career in teaching. She announces she will be leaving for university. She seems healthy and capable enough, but her mother speaks quietly and archaically of her illness and it's eventually effect on her future.

Michaela lives with three people- her parents and a younger sibling. Her mother coldly talks of her daughter's limitations in way that radiates cruelty, not care. New clothes that show Michaela's figure are promptly thrown away in the night for being trampy. Even when her mother presents a gift, a tension lies in the air.

The girl's father secretly resents serving as his daughter's shield. But her mother relents, and she is given a chance to try a life of classes and socialization. The family is religious, as is Michaela, but at her school, belief in a higher power has gone out of style. Her mention of God is met by snickers. An at first aloof old classmate hangs around with her, as long as religion and self-help are not brought up, even with earnest intentions.

When Michaela first begins to suffer seizures, black-outs, and hallucinations, she manages to cover up the incidents. Her requests for help from a priest invoke less-than-helpful response. She begins going out with a boy who promises when asked to stand by her, foolishly ignoring the conditions.

When her parents do discover her degeneration, they make the tragic decision to involve the church in her rehabilitation. While her streches of coherency become rarer, she becomes a spiritual guinea pig for exorcisms and is denied the psychiatric care she so desperately needs.

Two films have been made involving the case of Anneliese Michels, the other being a Hollywood courtroom thriller titled The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which concentrates on the supernatural aspects of the case.

Schmid has no use for the superstition of the latter, but at times his stance becomes all-too-clear, involving overwrought scenes with a harsh priest, as with an earnest member of the church whose cure for insanity is a good round of bible study.

Even as Requiem falters, Sandra Huller's intense performance, conveying the hope for normalcy and pain of rejection and illness almost single-handedly keeps the viewer's interest. Some say the docu-style filming is boring, but I say it is a courageous attempt to strip Annalise's story to the basics, dropping the shocks and visualized nightmares that distract from the reality of the situation.

For more information on Anneliese Michels, check out this link (Spoilers!)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is about a regular kid -- not a child prodigy, nt particularly wise beyond his years. The only thing that separates him from the willfully blind adults who surround him is that he has not yet learned to hate. The film never depicts him as a hero, at least an intentional one, just a kid who acts like any other would act, innocently unknowing of the expectations and prejudices of those around him.

The protagonist, a blue-eyed, brown-haired eight-year-old named Bruno (Asa Butterfield), is living in a stage were fantasy and reality remain merged. He resides with his family in Germany, with his older sister, soldier dad, and mom. He tries to find fun as best he can, with no help from his sibling, who is the simpering lapchild type, engaged in a misguided coming-of-age, decorating her walls with appreciation for her country and throwing aside her dolls.

After he has lived comfortably with his family, Bruno learns that they are to move away, closer to the new job. His father has earned a promotion. This is supposed too be good news, but isn't for Bruno -- he wants his old house and friends and doesn't want his life changed. Worse, he has no say about the matter and is moved to a base where men in gray pass him stiffly, talking to his father.

There are no children he can see, until he stumbles quite by accident on a farm occupied by underwashed, underfed people. He is encouraged to stay away, as his father tells him the people are not humans and shouldn't be treated as such. But they seem human enough to him, especially Schmeul, a boy his age who catches his attention. They meet, laugh at each other's names, and promise to visit more.

In a different situation, the friendship would be considered harmless, and Bruno would be able to freely play with the boy before his return. The fact that he is living in Auschwitz puts a damper on that ideal. Schmeul is treated as a flea-ridden cat -- don't bother to get attached to him, he'll be gone soon enough. But love for his fatherland has not impressed itself in Bruno's mind yet, and he ignores the others' warnings, pleased to have another child to interact with.

This film is based on a young adult novel by John Boyne, described as a 'fable' by the author. It contains telling details of the Holocaust, but from a child's eye view -- yellow stars and fences are interspersed with the normal thoughts of a kid: toys, friends, and irritating siblings. It is a small but powerful story, meant to send a message with only as much information as we need. The rest we know for ourselves.

For basically first-time actors, the young boys who play Bruno and Schmeul do fairly well. However, I was annoyed by the skips and jumps in Butterfield's performance. He slips naturally into scenes of fantasy and play, but when the story becomes more intense, he seems slightly confused about how to react to the script, which hampers the believability somewhat. He generally did a good job, however, and one shouldn't want him to progress too quickly, to avoid a Culkin-ish speed-up of maturity.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is quiet and infused with a moral ambiguity. Bruno doesn't view his father as a monster even as he begins to know more. Even his mother doesn't seem completely aware of the situation, and although she's knows of the prisoners, it still comes as a shock when she figures out what the torrent of smoke streaming into the air is.

Also, it contains the most shocking and unexpected ending since The Life Before Her Eyes. Although the adults turn away, reminding themselves of their good fortune that they are not within the barbed fence, they are forced, in the most horrendous way possible, to look back. Everybody finds their inner humanity, and no one wins.

Matilda

If you have read any of the works of British childrens' author Roald Dahl, you will know one thing his stories lack is sap- which has endeared them to some grown-ups but struck others as unsuitable kid material- although his books may be whimsical their sense of humor is also short, sharp, and often at the expense of others.

"Matilda," directed by Danny De Vito and based on the popular Roald Dahl novel, is a satire of cluelessly cruel parents too absorbed in their own lives to take notice of their children's gifts, remarkable as they might be. In doing this, he introduces us to one the most ridiculously fractured families in kid movie history- the Wormwoods.

The director plays Harry, a hack car salesman who cons people by filling seemingly good automobiles with saw dust (that may not work in the real world, but never mind.) Mom Zinnia (Rhea Perlman, De Vito's real wife) is shrill, nasty-tempered, and completely engrossed in leaving home to play Bingo. Their offspring are Mike and Matilda.

Matilda (Mara WIlson,) the youngest is the focus of the story, and so she should be considering Mike is following in his dad's footsteps as a loud-mouthed ignoramus. Matilda as been virtually abandoned since birth, and left to roam at her own devices. Since she was a young child she has loved books.

As books in the Wormwood house are in short supply, she took time at Bingo games to cross streets to the library- a great feat for a toddler. learning vocabulary at an alarmingly quick rate, Matilda becomes bored with the mundane life her parents expect her to have.

The doltish pair take offense that young Matilda would rather read than watch game shows on the telly day after day. The seem in fear that their daughter may surpass them in intelligence- a feat, honestly, not hard to accomplish. Finally they ship her off to school, where she proves her intellect is far beyond any child (and teacher) at her school.

There she meets Miss Honey (Embeth Davitz,) A teacher as splendid as her name and one of the film's only positive adult characters, who takes an interest in finding material suiting Matilda's growing desire to learn. She also makes her first friend. School begins to become the place she yearns for, bracing for some happy activities after a day with her cruel and indifferent parents.

Everything at school would be great- except that all the children and the teachers live in fear of the sadistic, kid-hating brute of a headmistress, Mrs. Trunchbull (Pam Ferris.) How sadistic? Picture Dolores Umbridge stripped of any even artificial sweetness, and you've got the Trunchbull (in fact, the actual Potter connection is that Ferris played Harry's inflating aunt in the third film)

Matilda, fueled by Miss Honey's love for her and her wishes for a better life, precedes to try to end the Trunchbull's reign of terror. Her having put her superior intellect forward in a series of pranks on her parents, she decides to find a way to drive out the headmistress for good. Aiding her are telekinetic powers, which she hones to use to her advantage.

Unrealistic, perhaps? Well, this film takes a back seat on realism. Take the Chokey for example. When a child fails to live up to Miss Trunchbull's standards, she encloses them in a porta-potty sized room with walls adorned by broken glass and nails, forcing them to stay standing for an unspecified amount of time. While one would think this sort of behavior would end in a social services visit for sure, the kids keep quiet, knowing their parents would dismiss such wild tales.

For Miss Trunchbull's horrible torment, it seems lucky Matilda only unleashed her powers for a series of vicious pranks, tricks, and general comeuppance, rather go Carrie on the people who have done her wrong (a film I haven't seen, but who hasn't heard of it?) Wilson, as Matilda, is appealing, and Ferris played such a ridiculously horrid cow of a character that I felt compelled to make sure she wasn't as hideous in life (she wasn't.)

Obviously, "Matilda" has a short supply of subtlety to begin with, but certain parts that added to the enjoyment of the book. Matilda's brother, Mike, was not entirely dreadful in the literary version, whereas here he has been morphed into a complete bullying jerk. Also, the ending has a clever touch (concerning Matilda's telekinesis) that has been rubbed away to cater to the audience.

"Matilda," though too bizarre for some families, is a lot of fun, and a great movie for kids who are sick of the same old pitiful rehashes dropped for the mass public (Transformers 2 and Air Buddies, anyone?) Anybody with a slightly morbid sense of humor will enjoy this kid-geared fantasy/ back comedy which has no intention of playing nice (Rated PG.)

Lymelife

"Lymelife" is a coming-of-age story in the most discomforting sense, a portrayal of one young person having their trust broken down, then being assigned with the even more difficult task of moving on. It is the second indie dealing with crippling dysfunction and featuring the two younger Culkin brothers, after "Igby Goes Down," but that is where the similarities end.

While "Igby" deals with alienation and fractured family dynamics in an snarky, self-satisfied way (think "Juno" with a nasty streak,) Lymelife's situations come out more naturally- there a fewer smirks and and less sarcastic one-liners. In this, youngest Culkin Rory is the center of attention, and evokes a viewer's sympathy as Scott Bartlett, a sensitive, naive, and hormonally charged teen living in 70's Long Island.

Scott lives with his mom Marilyn (Jill Hennessy) and Dad Mick (Alec Baldwin,) a real-estate developer. Soon his older brother Jimmy comes back from military school, enthralling him with stories of handguns and grenades. Scott starts out with usual problems- avoiding the school bully and crushing on neighboring girl Adriana (Emma Roberts,) who is pretty but entirely involved in a game of hard-to-get with the meek Scott.

But Adriana has her own set of problems. Her father Charlie (Timothy Hutton) appears to have contracted Lyme Disease, causing periods of listless exhaustion and erratic behavior. Her second one is ironically enough, involve the Bartletts as well. While Scott remains happily blind to the family's entanglements, both Jimmy and Adriana bear the realization of the fact that Adriana's Mom, and Mick, who are real estate partners, have been crossing barriers of the platonic relationship for a long time.

Finally she tells Scott as bluntly as possible (which I will not tire you mentioning here,) forcing it to sink in. When it comes, it hardly surprises him. Now he understands the projection of paranoia from his mom's own suspensions (culminating in packing layers of tape on her children's sleeves to prevent a tick attack,) and his brother's dry, bitter cynicism.

"Lymelife," however, does not drop at this realization, but follows Scott as the pressure alters his perception on life and as his relationship with Adriana evolves, set in the backdrop of his parent's inevitable falling-out.

No doubt about it... the younger Culkin carries the movie. Whether being stringed along by Adriana or reacting to Mick's explosive temper, Scott's portrayal asks for the viewers care in the situation, as unoriginal as it may be. Hutton, too, portrays Charlie's fading sanity disturbingly, conveying with limited expressions the feeling of psychological stability being stretched to breaking point.

Hennessy, as the Culkin's mother, successfully pulls off a combination of neurosis and sympathy, but Keiren seems a side note, not terribly developed beyond a tense, telling scene with Mick and proof of his vicious temper (beating Scott's tormenter to a pulp.)

"Lymelife" finds atmosphere in banality, and invokes good performances by the main players. The problem remains, though- do we really need another coming of age/ family discord indie? The director, Derek Martini, must of known this... and something brilliant may have hatched from his efforts if he's put his acting, sensitivity, and characters into a vitally new situation. But we're left with a suburban dysfunction drama, more relatable than "The Squid and the Whale," with a careful realism and performances. That, I suppose, is enough. (Rated R)

Note: Beware the ending, not nearly as infuriating as the loose ends of "The Tracey Fragments" (Why did I sit through this?!) but not clever enough to restrain my natural indignation of a gimmick.

Zombieland

The world of "Zombieland" is desolate and filthy, yet still amazingly funny. It caters to Black Comedy number #1- fill the movie wih grime and gore, but keep it distanced from reality to keep the viewers from getting too uncomfortable. It's like Cillian-less 28 Days Later without the rape, if Danny Boyle had been going for funny instead of disturbing.

The characters of this film have given up on name, it appears, as they are known chiefly as their hometown. The hero, Columbus, is played by Jesse Eisenberg, a young actor best known as the non-masturbating older brother in Noah Bambach's "The Squid and the Whale."

Columbus opens the film with a deadpan narration, saying that his country can no longer be considered America, because "something needs living people to be a country, and everyone here is dead." Seemingly literal, as the only people we come into contact with for the first ten minutes at present time besides Eisenberg are raging, brutal corpses.

There is a set of rules, Columbus says, for one to stay alive in the area, to avoid becoming a 'human happy meal.'. The viewer is shown bloody clips of potential survivors who broke these. Fasten your seat belt. Don't be fat and out-of-shape. Pay attention to where you are, and where the undead are. Finally, don't get close.

Having lived in isolation before the virus, he is to some extent used to being alone. He also seemed a prime candidate for obsessive-compulsive disorder, carefully staying away from his fears before there was really anything to be afraid of. His encounters with the apocalypse begin in a flashback, when he allows an attractive girl who has been attacked to take refuge, and she tries to eat him.

In the present day, he decides to head to his home town looking for any surviving family. On the way, he is surprised to find another survivor. This is Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson,) a macho guy who's made it his goal to kill every zombie he can get his hands on.

His other goal drives him to raid Hostess trucks by the side of the role, desperate of a Twinkie- a scrap of normalcy in a life that's gone of the deep end. They join up, though Tallahassee's on a revenge kick and Columbus would just as soon keep as far away from the undead as possible.

The rest of "Zombieland"'s short duration revolves around the duo's cross-country trek to find an apparently safe haven when Columbus family plan goes through the roof. The are accompanied by two at first innocent-seeming sisters who have a knack for getting the best on any situation (Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone, who wears eye make-up incredibly unblemished by zombie attacks.)

Woody Harrelson fits comfortably into his subtly sensitive character, while Jesse Eisenberg takes his role as the droll, paranoid Columbus completely straight, installing with the character's seriousness an almost gravity into the ridiculous plot.

The best thing about "Zombieland" is that the director, with all his fervor making the most disgusting zombies imaginable, doesn't forget to add an interesting feel for it's living protagonists. In fact, Tallahasee and particularly Columbus are cleverly conceived, though it seems the female's characters are skimmed over somewhat.

Along with the wit, though, is the very common tough girl and sensitive guy tension, which wasn't original 28 Days Later, let alone this one. It seems that people are still feeding the feminist issue, and find aggression in girls almost endearing.

I suppose that I wasn't expecting how short "Zombieland" was, but all the same I found the ending somewhat abrupt. It's the kind of conclusion that seems awkwardly unfinished, and leaves you saying "is that all there is?" to a black screen.

All the same, I left the theater amused and happy, and appreciated an enjoyable movie that just seemed a little too clipped. It may not be the first zombie-themed comedy of late, but it deserves it's place next to "Shaun of the Dead" as an entertaining, witty comedy in horror's clothing (Rated R.)

Trailer Not Available

Mister Foe

Welcome to the life of Brit teen Hallam Foe (Jamie Bell,) whose many odd habits include using his late mother's makeup as war paint and turning a pair of binoculars on women breastfeeding babies, sexual acts and whatever else he can find.

Ever since his mum, Sarah, was found at the bottom of the loch beside their home, Hallam has refused to consider the incident a suicide but instead finds blame in dad's new wife Verity. Plus, he lusts after new mom despite his suspicions and writes about his fantasies up in the tree house where he has decided to live. Malajusted doesn't begin to cover it.

When a violent confrontation with step-mom turns disturbingly intimate, Hallam decides to bail from his family's large estate and flee the repercussions. He ends up in the city, sleeping in a derelict part of the hotel and making money working a grimy kitchen job.

When he meets a woman who resembles (who else?) dear dead mum, he turns his voyeuristic gaze toward her and becomes involved in a nasty sexual triangle of blackmail and adultery, all while trying to get Verity turned in for the murder he is convinced took place.

Jamie Bell, who has done quite a bit of growing since his role as a ballet-dancing youngster in "Billy Elliot," turns in an excellent performance as a clearly disturbed young man who veers between creepy beyond redemption and pitifully sad.

I was surprised by a reviewer's claim that this film was inferior to the slightly silly Shia LeBeouf thriller "Disturbia." While decently made, the latter film had a certain tackiness that made it hard to take seriously. The director treats the story of "Mister Foe" with a seriousness that helps the viewer buy into it.

If I had detected a smirk in the production, it would have sunk fast. Although this movie is ultimately has a riskier construction, is more disquieting, and has better-drawn characters than "Disturbia," it was not without scenes of ridiculous implausibility. To prove my point, ladies, I present a scenario.

The Situation: An unbalanced young man grabs you by the throat and accuses you of murder.

Your Reaction:

a. Try to talk some sense into him.

b. Fight your assailant by poking his eyes, pushing, or kicking him in the balls.

c. Jerk away and scream for help.

d. Consider his closeness liberation for your lust and grope him.

Only a die-hard masochist would pick d, so when the normally rational Verity uses the situation as a chance to cross forbidden boundaries, the originally disturbing situation becomes perversely silly. Do things like that happen outside of S&M soap operas?

I've always been a sucker for cinema that avoids formula, so I'll give the gaping problems in the film a break. I'd say the best thing about the whole movie was Bell, who is an actor worth watching. The director- we'll see.

By the end, the scarily intriguing character of Hallam avoids seemingly inevitable catastrophe, and the viewer thinks the story would have probably ended in a disaster similar to Ken Loach's "Sweet Sixteen." Like Ben X, Mister Foe takes the happy route, but being that it's unlikely to happen undue to a director's mercy it seems a hollow victory (Rated R.)

Juno

Within the first ten minutes of "Juno," the hopes may not be high. Between the smart-aleck steam of insults from a pharmaceutical worker to a teenage shopper (the director spent a lot of time as well as note cards on 'spontaneous conversation,') One might think they will have a quirkiness overdose.

Although sardonic, wise-ass humor pervades throughout the film, director Jason Reitman wisely tones it down and avoids killing the whole thing. So hold in and wait till the "Fertile Myrtle" guy leaves the picture and the movie finds it's footing.

Ellen Page, a young actress who stunned audiences in the intensely uncomfortable thriller Hard Candy, plays Juno, who like, Haylee Stark, "Candy's" sadistic vigilante, is smart and eloquent, but unlike her former role is not psychotic.

Juno is sixteen, but Ellen Page is actually in her twenties. Juno is an intelligent teenage outsider who has a sharp wit and a fondness for music. Her best friend is Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera,) a pleasant putz whose extreme awkwardness doesn't seem to faze Juno, though her family is not crazy about him and vise versa.

One day, Juno and Paulie get together at her house and end up having sex. Later, discussing the experience, Paulie argues that it was completely her idea and not nessecary to curb boredom. " There was lots of stuff on TV, and The Blair Witch Project was playing on Starz."

They apparently hope that good luck will intervene in the chance of a baby (no condoms are mentioned,) but nasty movie fortune results in Juno finding herself on a second pregnancy test, and reevaluating that the last positive one was 'faulty.'

After casually considering suicide, she tells Paulie and her teacher-chasing friend Leah. She brings Leah for moral support while she gives the news to her dad Mac and step-mom Brenda, who are less than happy but don't go into hysterics.

The natural solution seems to be abortion, but a strange thing- a classmates mentioning of babies' fingernails- strikes her as a disconcertingly human trait and she decides to not follow through with the baby's death. Instead she regards the news for prospective parents, and finds Vanessa and Mark, whose smiling black-and-white faces reassure her of a stable household for the fetus.

Meeting the couple with her dad, she discusses the situation with the baby-starved woman and her immature husband, whose interest in music and horror movies strikes a chord with her. It is hardly clear whether the two have something other than benign feelings for each other, but Brenda and Mac regard the situation with cautious glances. the film, ultimately, follows Juno as she tries to get together again with clueless Bleeker and evaluate her own thought about people and relationships.

"Juno" is another one of those quirky quasi-comedies about teenagers (though better, thank god, than Napoleon Dynamite.) Although Page's character has been compared to Enid in Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World, her portrayal of a bright, sardonic teen reflects mostly good-natured coping strategies, not a hatred of the human race. While Enid lay around insulting people around her, Juno seems to use sarcasm as a personal method for dealing with problems.

Jason Reitman, despite his semi-detached portrayal of teen pregnancy (which reflects his character,) has done an excellent job of balancing humor and seriousness without making the movie look like a TV program they hand out at abstinence classes.

The choice to pick Ellen Page, a very talented young actress, was a good one. Note to people who complain that Page is typecast as a wiseass- loosen up! She's impressive, and will surely branch out nito different characters. Juno is a clever film, and one worth watching. Plus- the music's neat, a have a song or two on itunes.

(Rated PG-13)

Spanglish

James L. Brooks' "Spanglish" is told via voice-over by Christina, who is in college and given the task of writing a report on the most influential person in her life. That would be her mother, she says, and the rest of the film explains why.

Christina's mother is Flor (Paz Vega,) and hard-working Mexican woman whose husband leaves both she and her young daughter. To keep an eye on Christina (played as a child by Shelbie Bruce,) Flor moves the two to America where she hopes to get a less time-consuming job.

That's how Flor comes to work as a maid for the Klansky's, an affluent family consisting of a couple, the two children, the Grandma and a pet dog. As soon as she comes into the house, Flor bangs her face against the spotless sliding glass separating the living room from the deck. This gives one a good idea of the struggles that of each different culture understanding the traits of the other.

John (Adam Sandler) is the low-key and retiring patriarch, who works as a cook at a popular restaurant. Bertie (Sarah Steele) is the overlooked and underappriciated pre-teen daughter. Her younger brother, Georgie (Ian Hyland) fades into the story's background among the presence of the others, as the alcoholic grandmother (Clovis Leachman) tries to keep things in check. The deeply bored lab, Chum, simply waits desperately for someone to drop what they're doing and play ball.

The center of the chaos is mom Deborah (Téa Leoni,) a manic manipulator who rushes frantically around the house as if she's a twitch away from a nervous breakdown. She resembles a caricature of people one knows whose pitiable and desperate antics make you wonder how the people close to them remain out of the psych ward.

Deberah, intentionally or not, puts her family on edge and emotionally degrades her daughter, as well as treating her bewildered husband as if he is the sole cause of her neurosis. Most bewildered of all is Flor, who folds herself placed directly in American familial dysfunction.

Leoni, whose character feels the need to have constant attention, must do good job, since the viewer wants someone to force a couple valium down her throat at the worst of her depressive episodes.

The film's strong point is the dynamics between the two families, but the script has a problem with subtlety. One example of this is a a scene preceding Deborah's grotesque manipulation of Bertie, which she rationalizes as motivation rather than abuse.

In the next part, Brooks insults our intelligence by having Sandler's character yell loudly and dramatically the exact thing the audience is thinking, as the relationship with Flor is awkwardly developed.Spontaneous character-viewer reactions can be funny, this was only frustrating. Did the director add moments of surprising unsubtltey because he felt the audience was not clever to draw their own conclusions?

The acting and the interactions were interesting, as was the surprising use of humor combined with the drama, but the final stand over our country's consumerism unsettled me. I am not an American with a chip on my shoulder, nor does this have much to do with America at all.

Vega's character was strong and good-natured, but her fierce pleading for her daughter to be culturally "Mexican" did not seem heroic. It was may have been ultimately for the good, but in a way seemed almost similar to Deberah's creepy attempt to coddle her 'ideal' daughter.

Do you fight manipulation toward children by trying to make them feel bound to their parents, to pushing them in the opposite direction toward where your morals stand? Do you tearfully beg them to be their 'mother's daughter?' Whether her moral stance is best for her or not, the way she got there was disturbing to me, and didn't seem so different from Deborah's manic cries for respect.

"Spanglish" was worth watching, but ultimately too obvious to get a very high review. I consider Brooks' other movie, "As Good as it Gets," to be the superior film. Both have interesting characters, but "As Good as it Gets" has an easier time slipping moral lessons into the viewer's brains carefully (Rated PG-13.) ***

Note: I get the impression that "Spanglish"'s director has a special fondness for dogs. Between "as Good as it Get"'s ewok-like Verdell and the supremely playful lab Chum, his canines have more screen time and personality than the average character's pet.

Recommendation- For another look at the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship set within the latino culture, watch Real Women have Curves.

Stardust

When it comes to genres, there's always a market for fantasy. directors of kitchen-sink realism and dark dramas do not appeal to the masses as fantasy does, because- let's face it- the majority doesn't so much care to watch troubled people go on with their lives, which is too real. The multiplexes are crowded with tickets to see cool FX effects, epic battles, and computer-generated wonders galore.

If you are one of those people, please avoid the crappy blockbuster sequel to "Transformers" and rent this instead. "Stardust" is no longer at theaters, but go to the rental place and get it. Make your own popcorn and invite your family. People will thank you (Well, Michael Bay won't) and the story itself has more inspiration than "Let's see how many toys we can sell to boys under the age of 10."

The story revolves around Tristan (Charlie Cox,) a young man living in the British village of Wall some years back. He is completely infatuated with Victoria, a manipulative young woman his age. Actually, Victoria is in love with herself- but since solo courtships are generally not custom, she has settled on the equally egotistical Humphrey, who has a tendency to bully his girlfriend's admirer.

When he discovers that Victoria and Humphrey are preparing for nuptuals, he, in a desperate attempt to stop the upcoming marriage, promises to bring her a star she has seen falling across the sky. She could care less about him, but she is intrigued by the prospect of having her own servant boy to do her bidding, and agrees that he leave to fetch it for her. With dreams of romance with the self-obsessed but pretty neighbor, Tristan sets off.

After a bizarre sequence of events, Tristan discovers two reasons to cross the legendary spot that lies on the other side of his village; as well as getting the wayward star, he is told by his father that his biological mother lives there. The space beyond Wall, however, is seen as a blank area of land by onlookers, and is guarded by a elderly but pysically able villager with no patience for lovelorn young men. As luck would have it, however, his mom left him a babylon candle, a magical device used for transporting the user at their mind's will.

With his brain caught between Victoria and his mother, he lands himself in a crater and discovers, in fact, that the 'star' is not a inanimate object at all but, rather, a living woman. This is smart-alecky Yvaine (Claire Danes,) who is not in any way pleased to be suddenly thrust out of the heavens. Moreover, he has put himself in a magic land where there is a long-going feud between princes and some very nasty witches, lead by Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer.)

The witch sisters are obsessed with youth, malevolent, and they do things involving animal entrails that would give a PETA member a panic attack. Their main goal, however, is to fetch Yvaine's heart in order to rid themselves of their decrepid bodies and prolong their life. That is how the inexperienced, incompetent Tristan becomes the protector/captor of Yvaine, who is unaware of the witch's presence and miffed at Tristan's kidnapping of her as a 'present for Victoria.'

Naturally, a romantic attraction develops between the two, and Tristan begins to consider the idea that running errands for Victoria may not be his ideal. Meanwhile both ruthless prince Septimus and Lamia have their own agendas for finding Yvaine, and they find themselves the captives of Shakespeare (Robert De Niro,) a seemingly sadistic captain of a flying boat that distributes lightning to shady dealer Ferdy (Ricky Gervais.)

Roger Ebert is correct when he says that there are a lot of people and situations in "Stardust-" it takes several veiwings to get used to everything that's going on- but so it is with many fantasy films; a enormous stack of ideas crammed into a several-hour format. But one can hardly complain when the ideas are good ones. The whole enterprise is chock full of funny situations and lines, interesting characters, and the pure joy of the fantasy world it has created.

One of the more unexpected of the humorous scenes is the one involving De Niro's character, which is funny without being cruel. I will not reveal this plot point, and it should be a surprise to those who have not read too many reviews (including Ebert's) or are unfamiliar with the original Neil Gaiman book.

I have found that despite my recent interest in dark psychological dramas, I still have a place in my heart for imaginative fantasy movies, as "Stardust" and the slightly superior "The Fall" prove. As plot points and characters unfolded abound, I enjoyed a story that hardly took itself seriously. One knows, to some extent, where the plot is going (especially with Yvaine and Tristan, will they be love interests? hmm...) but the cast, and the viewer, has fun getting there (Rated PG-13.) ****

Note: This is probably a good movie for kids twelve and up that aren't too sensitive. I think the occasional violence and weird imagery may be too much for the kindergarten set.

Recommendation- If by any chance you have not watched the film at least once in your life, rent The Princess Bride.

Also try Tarsem's The Fall for a more subtle fantasy movie (which has no special FX! My God, do they do that anymore?)