Stripes (Extended Cut) (1981)

Nope! It's NOT just the same movie simply put:

You haven't actually seen Bill Murray's 'STRIPES' until you obtain this 2005 re-release DVD!

The bonus scenes featured DOES INDEED answer various inquiries we once had re this comedy:

e.g. why are those 2 guys ALONE sitting against the EM-50 in Italy before they take it for a spin?....and when in Germany Russell flat-out refuses to rescue the captured troops with the other three in the EM-50, what made him change his mind? (to mention a few)..

Another one of the deleted scenes is the (talked-about) 7-minute "South America" segment

where we DO see another side of Harold Ramis while Murray is truly hilarious!

A BETTER print with superior STEREO 5.1 dolby sound now vs the previous mono DVD, including a great feature in two parts -"Stars & Stripes" that will leave you dazzled in understanding this entire film: how it was made, rare image stills, and how the actors (a good number of them)

felt in doing the film along with Murray himself, being interviewed from of all places TOKYO!

This new DVD gives you 2 movie options:

1.) the EXTENDED version featuring the deleted scenes-

(with added option of audio commentary from the director and head writer)

2.) the ORIGINAL theatrical version-

*BOTH WS*

There's also the option of seeing all SIX bonus scenes one after the other -

The EXTENDED version does a fine editing job inserting the deleted scenes at the right places,

even indicating (via small permanent text) where these bonus scenes START and END -

-an extremely smooth flow minus any pauses or audio dropouts...

However on this strange ORIGINAL version, there ARE crude pauses/slight audio drops only at the marks where the deleted scenes were MEANT to be placed (or were previously removed),

it's as if they didn't (wouldn't or couldn't) simply EMPLOY the main original print for this DVD -

-unsmooth/choppy at these marks, esp when the guys drive to Germany and meet the girls -

e.g. Murray hugs P.J. Soles with the line: "I Brought The Magic Suitcase"..

That very scene literally disappears thus disappoints on this ORG version -

One Major Blunder:

A bonus scene w/P.J. Soles (there's MORE of her) & Murray in a hotel bedroom from Germany

is in fact the EXACT same bedroom set in a PREVIOUS short scene where she pulls Bill out of the trunk at General Barnacy's house; When you compare the two you'll believe they intended this to be START of the 'Barnacy Bedroom' segment..

But overall (the pauses & blunder notwithstanding), they did a great job

in christening this DVD as: "The ULTIMATE Stripes"

definately worth forking over (at best) a Hamilton and an Abe for...

The mark of a great comedy is that it remains funny after numerous viewings. "Stripes" (the 1981 release that helped make Bill Murray a star) passes this litmus test with flying colors. Now at last there is a DVD release, replete with extras, worthy of this enduring comedy.

Ivan Reitman directed Murray, Harold Ramis (who has subsequently directed many comedies of his own) and a great supporting cast led by John Candy as new recruits in the U.S. Army.

The wonderful veteran actor Warren Oates, who died shortly after the film's release, is their tough-as-nails drill sergeant. The by-play between Murray and Oates (opposites don't always attract) is priceless.

Suffice it to say that hilarity ensues, with the improbable unit putting on a virtuoso performance at their graduation ceremony ("That's the fact Jack!) sans their injured sergeant. This leads to them being charged with the security of a new super weaponized mobile home (it's called an, "urban assault vehicle") in Europe. Improbable? Absolutely. Hilarious? Most definitely.

Murray and Ramis also each has a lovely MP to accompany him on the duo's escapades as the ribaldry doesn't stop until the closing credits.

You can watch the "Stripes" with deleted scenes included or without.

The obvious highlight of the DVD extras is an hour long documentary on the movie with all principles interviewed (at his insistence, Murray's interview is done in black light). It is one of the better retrospectives of its kind.

And "Stripes" is one of the best comedies of this or any other time.

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Absolutely one of the funniest movies ever made. It would definitely have to be highly ranked, if only for the fact that it is possibly the most quoted movie of all time. Who among us has never said "Lighten up, Francis" or "You can't leave, all the plant are gonna die! ". Bill Murray is at his best, and Harold Ramis is the perfect straight man for him. Add in a supporting cast that includes John Candy, Judge Rheinhold, John Laroquette and Sean Young, and you have something pretty special. Also, gains points for the fact that it doesn't start to fade out at the end, like many comedies do when the decide to get "message-y". It just keeps up the energy and humor right up to (and including) the credits. To this day, the only movie I have ever enjoyed so much that I went right back to see it the very next night.

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Stripes was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and I'm happy to say that I still find it just as funny today. This extended cut adds several deleted scenes, some good, some not-so-good. My personal favorite is one where Harold Ramis' character reaches the breaking point and he and Murray go AWOL, hitching a ride on a cargo plane and parachuting into South America. This scene gives Harold Ramis a chance to shine, and is very funny, but during the commentary track it is mentioned that it was cut from the film (despite being a favorite of the studio execs) because it didn't seem to fit in the film from a pacing aspect (it is suggested it would've gone well over the end credits, but this was before such a thing was common).

Speaking of the commentary track, it isn't mentioned on the packaging, but it's there, and includes director Ivan Reitman and writer/producer Dan Goldberg. And apparently, the extended cut wasn't Reitman's idea -some of the deleted scenes he prefers to not have in the film. The DVD also includes a nice 2-part documentary which includes interviews with the cast.

A great film!

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I'm a bit perplexed by the reviews criticizing this movie because of its unrealistic depiction of the Army. Do these same people complain that "Animal House" doesn't accurately display college life or that "Vacation" isn't what a family trip across the country is really like? (Hey, I live in St. Louis and could easily take exception to the outright offensive inaccuracies in "Vacation", but I still love the movie!) This is a comedy, folks. It's not "Saving Private Ryan" or "Band of Brothers", and it never claims or tries to be. It uses exaggeration and absurdities to make us laugh. It isn't striving for realism, although to its credit, I have heard plenty of people say that this is the best movie they've ever seen at giving you the feel for what its like going into the service, and that their own drill instructor was identical to Sgt Hulka.

The first half of this movie is just about the funniest comedy ever made. Bill Murray and Harold Ramis are the perfect slobs with shiftless lives who try to maintain what's left of their dignity by enlisting in the Army. Their chemistry is wonderful and they truly are believable as out-of-shape but likable losers. Virtually every line and every character is memorable (Psycho, Ox, Cruiser, that lady in the cab, John Laroquette, and of course Russell and Winger), and this has to be the most quotable movie in history. No, John Candy would not have spoken to a superior officer that way when he gets off the bus (or at least not have gotten away with it), but that's what's so funny about it! And speaking of Sgt. Hulka, Warren Oates should have been given an Oscar nomination for this role. He's the high point of the movie for me, and his intense, over the top performance reminds me of Robert Shaw in "Jaws"some actors are so good that they can chew scenery and get away with it. So for the first half of the movie, there's not an unfunny moment. Maybe basic training isn't like this, but the scenes are so well-done that a generation of adolescent guys has grown up thinking that it is and have no doubt gone into the military with this movie in the back of their minds.

The second half of the movie sort of devolves into a bearable but not great action movie, with its contrived plot about the stolen military RV and the rescue mission across the Czech border. Still, the same characters are present and continue to sustain the movie until the end. Great music, tooI don't think this has ever been issued as a soundtrack but it contains one of the most memorable themes ever written for a movie.

The DVD itself is passableno extras, somewhat grainy video, unspectacular sound. But we surived watching it over and over again on basic cable with plenty of edits and subpar picture quality, so I can't complain too much. I suppose someday it will be given a "Special Edition" with a commentary and a retrospective from the stars, but the movie stands on its own without anything fancy.

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Paris (2010)

What is it about French films that makes the best of them so deeply reflective in a way that few American and British films achieve? Maybe it's that France itself is such a beautiful and evocative country, maybe it's that the French have a lifestyle that, for us non-French, appears so stylish and romantic... whatever... but when they get it right they really are in a different class, and "Paris" most definitely gets it right.

Beautifully filmed, brilliantly acted, and underpinned by a superb soundtrack, the film explores "real" peoples' lives slowly and above all subtly. Not a great deal happens, and there are no conclusions to the stories involved a guy gets diagnosed with a life threatening heart condition, another chap falls in love with one of his students, a lonely single mother and a market stall trader are hesitantly drawn together, and an African dreams of getting to Paris to start a new life. That's about it really. But it's the way that this is all put together & explored that makes the film, and which achieves its objective of trying to capture what Paris is to people who live there or dream of living there which of course means that its infused with their, often vague, hopes & fears and it has no clear & tidy "Hollywood style" endings... life's not like that.

At times funny, at times charming, and ultimately quite moving, Klapisch directs the film without reverting to heavy-handed sentimentality or high drama to make his points.... in fact, exactly the opposite: witness the fleeting, beautifully poignant shot at the end of the film as the African compares the view on the postcard of Paris that has driven him to make his journey there, and which underpins his hopes for the future, with the reality of it... nothing more needs to be said or filmed to capture what he must be feeling.

Perhaps the greatest credit to "Paris" is that, even though it's two hours long, subtitled (which is never the easiest way to watch a film), and devoid of any clever plot twists or unexpected surprises to hold your attention, by the end of it all... you really don't want it to end. It's that good.

This is a French movie made for a French audience. As a result, for Americans, it provides a window into another culture which is familiar in some ways, but quite different in others. Personally, I love movies which transport me in this way.

Not surprisingly, the movie is visually beautiful, and thus does justice to the beauty of Paris. But more importantly, the movie uses its distinctively French style and sensibility in order to probe many facets of the human condition in a sensitive, penetrating, and balanced manner, thus taking us on quite a journey of diverse vicarious experiences, thoughts on questions big and small, and a wide spectrum of simple and complex emotions. In short, the movie gave me a lot to ponder, and I may need to eventually watch it again.

At the end of the journey, it's clear that this is by no means a feel-good movie, and my net feeling was closer to poignance than happiness or even ambivalence. But the movie does also illustrate the possibility and value of savoring, while we can, the positive elements of life (a very French attitude), some of which can be a source of hope, so the movie has an uplifting side as well just like real life.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in a beautiful, entrancing, and relatively deep movie.

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PARIS is a kaleidoscopic view of that great City of Light inhabited with a variety of individuals each of whom is consumed with life and love and living and dying. Cédric Klapisch has written and directed this richly populated canvas as a background of a tender story of a Moulin Rouge male dancer Pierre (Romain Duris) who is diagnosed with a terminal heart disease requiring transplantation if he is to survive. But in the end the many characters introduced in 'incidental stories' have become so interesting that, instead of providing simply a background for Pierre's portrait, they become an integral part of the drama as well as indelibly stamped on the viewer's mind.

Pierre has kept his illness secret, yet when faced with the dire concept of a transplant he confides in his sister Élise (Juliette Binoche), a single mother of three, who takes him in to fill his boring days of self confinement. There is a palpable magic between the two as Élise attempts to bring Pierre out into the world of hope and of living. Incidental to her life are trips to the market where she observes the lives of the grocers and discovers their private lifestyles, information shared freely with the viewer. A Parisian North African communicates with his brother at home with a postcard of Paris, seducing the brother to brave all odds to come to the city. We also meet a jaded art historian Roland Verneuil (Fabrice Luchini) whose father has just died, an event that devastates his emotional brother Philippe (François Cluzet): Roland proceeds to have an affair with a student but his physical awakening is abruptly altered by the realities of Parisian life while Philippe progresses through his seemingly mundane existence toward a surprise ending. The grocers seek adventures with a group of girls among whom is the ex-wife of one of the men and in the process we observe the varying reactions of interpersonal relationships tested away from the eyes of group participation. All of these stories are white noise to Pierre's situation, and though Élise is able to make Pierre 'dance again' at a party of his fellow dancers she organizes, in the end Pierre is left to care for Élise's children while Élise finally opens her frozen heart to a new romance. At this point Pierre receives the inevitable telephone call that a transplant is ready, and as he proceeds to the hospital he opens his mind to the beauties of Paris. Some of the vignettes we have observed are completed while most simply continue just like life in the glorious city so often considered the city of love.

All of the many roles are enacted by gifted actors, the cinematography offers us a different view of Paris than that of postcards and travel brochures, and the musical score ranges from popular music to the haunting 'Gnossiemme No. 1' of Erik Satie which is Pierre's theme music. At times the viewer feels lost in the complex overlay of the many stories being told, but settling back in a chair and just absorbing the film results in an evening of Parisian intoxication. Grady Harp, October 09

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Cedric Klapisch's 2008 film "Paris" leaves the mind brimming for days. The film's symphonic drama and stunning cinematography invite the viewer to contemplate how we all not only take life for granted, but also reduce the complex lives of others into simple stories.

"Paris" showcases an ensemble cast, which includes the beautiful Juliette Binoche (Elise) from Chocolat (Miramax Collector's Series).

Much like in Richard Curtis's 2003 British romantic comedy, Love Actually (Widescreen Edition), "Paris" charts the loosely-connected lives of several characters living within a big city (Paris as opposed to London). The characters' connections to one another are mostly happenstance, and often known only to the audience.

The focal point of the film is the story of Pierre (Romain Duris), a retired cabaret dancer with a degenerative heart disease. Pierre needs heart bypass surgery. The doctor has told Pierre that he has a "50-50" shot of making it through the surgery.

With an ailing heart, and no longer able to continue his dance career, Pierre spends his days in the company of his sister Elise, and her three children, wandering around his apartment, standing on his apartment's balcony, and looking at the Paris cityscape. Elise has taken time off work to be with her brother.

Klipisch's film evokes Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, Rear Window (Universal Legacy Series). Like with the protagonist of Hitchcock's Rear Window (Universal Legacy Series) James Stewart (Jeff Jefferies), Pierre is confined to his apartment. But Pierre is sidelined with an ailing heart, not a broken leg.

Because Pierre's illness, unlike that of Jeff's, is life-threatening, his ruminations carry an existential weight that is utterly absent from that of Jeff's. Jeff in Rear Window (Universal Legacy Series) is more bored voyeur than brooding philosopher.

Pierre's thoughts are concerned with loftier matters: the seeming obliviousness with which the inhabitants of Paris, a city teeming with life and business, take for granted their health.

In the film, on a number of occasions, Klapisch fills the screen with the solitary image of a confined Pierre gazing out his apartment window, like an explorer standing on a cliff's edge above the ocean. Below Pierre, the cityscape of Paris unfolds with the ebullient color palette of a Sisley painting. In Rear Window (Universal Legacy Series), Jeff's gaze is trapped within the borders of a dark, confined Greenwich Village courtyard.

Only on a few occasions does Pierre's gaze ever stray into a neighbor's window through the apartment window of the beautiful Mélanie Laurent (Laetitia). Pierre's brief, voyeuristic foray is only a function of his existential angst time is potentially running out for him to make love one last time. He is thinking Laetitia may be for him a possible lover; the audience knows the futility with which his hopes rest (Laetitia is already entangled in two coinciding love affairs and Pierre is an awkward lover).

The tight borders that confine the world, which Jeff spends his days observing in Rear Window (Universal Legacy Series), lead only to him getting entangled in a murder investigation. But Paris for Pierre conjures up meaning and clairvoyance. Paris helps Pierre make sense of his situation. The expansiveness of the world he contemplates provides him with a perspective he has never had before.

The film ends with Pierre riding in a cab to his heart surgery, staring longingly out at the city that he fears he will never see again. On the ride, Pierre points to the spiritually-lost Fabrice Luchini (Roland Verneuil) strolling down the sidewalk, and proclaims that he wishes he could be like Roland (to Pierre, a stranger), carefree and healthy.

But Roland is far from carefree. He is a self-absorbed, middle-aged man, who had just had his hopeless affair with one of his students (Laetitia) end nastily. Roland's isolation is compounded by his father's recent death, and the contempt with which he treats his brother, and what he views as his brother's conventional life. Roland, by indulging in his own fear of loneliness, over the course of the film, only becomes lonelier.

As a healthy stranger walking the streets of Paris, Roland is to Pierre someone of whom to be jealous. Through Pierre's reduction of Roland's life, and his reduction of the lives of all the other strangers walking the city-streets of Paris, Klapisch illuminates an important irony.

The perspective that Pierre finds in his personal wrangling with death is also blinding; Pierre is a poor empathizer (he covets the life of a man who is clinically depressed and utterly lost). Even the vilest of men to Pierre become romanticized and with great reason they have life! At least on the surface, they have life. Locked in the shackles of his self-absorption, what kind of life does Roland really have?

Towards the end of the film, a minor character, Caroline, played by Julie Ferrier, catapults to her death in a motorcycle accident, highlighting a second irony in Pierre's situation.

Pierre's awareness of his own situation imprisons him. The unfairness of his situation seems far less unfair when compared to Caroline's. Pierre has a 50-50 shot of living. Caroline is dead. But Pierre, if he saw Caroline zooming on her motorcycle the very day she died, would have probably thought if only I could be like that woman! Carefree and healthy! Zooming around like there is no tomorrow!

How can we gain the perspective that the imminence of our own mortality provides us, when our mortality is not imminent? For Roland and Caroline, and everyone else for whom death is seemingly far-off, mortality is more a source of anxiety than clairvoyance.

Perhaps the average citizen's obliviousness to mortality is what frustrates Pierre the most. Pierre cannot help but to lament that his experience is lost on millions of people, as they buzz around Paris like a bee colony, answering to the needs of their everyday lives, while Pierre consciously and quietly marches to his own end.

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I do believe that it takes a bit of patience on the part of an American viewer to comprehend the deeper areas explored in French film. Often I see that we rarely can look past our ignorance and cheeky criticism of "French anything", and it is a shame because their film is so much more powerful and thought felt than any American or British product. They may not be up to par on our cliche action flicks or our type of film but they instead offer a great, refreshing look at film that boasts strong emotions. That after all is what French life is about. They live life not as we do, they respect it's greatness and they live for the day. After spending some time myself in Paris I can tell you that unlike American film which rarely correctly reflects upon our culture, this movie does. If your looking for a bit of Paris for yourself and a real feeling that can little be achieved elsewhere, find it in this film. I loved it, and you will too if you are looking to learn something. It also couldn't hurt to love the langauge, but honestly subtitles are hardly something to hold against any film.

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Hairspray (2007)

`Hairspray' is a non-stop, exhilarating song and dance extravaganza. This exuberant remake of the John Waters' musical is funny, fast, and fabulous. Adam Shankman's direction is appropriately lilting in the right measure, but balanced with social commentary highlights. Unlike 'Dreamgirls,' there are no Oscar worthy performances, but the production is so fun there doesn't have to be. The entertainment is winning on every level, and, as for the songs, it never goes limp.

Once again we are transported to the early sixties in Baltimore, where flannel is uniform, Blacks and Whites are segregated, and beehives are in fashion. The plot is fairly simple: Overweight teen Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) wants to break the mold on her favorite TV program "The Corny Collins Show" (an "American Bandstand"-like feature) while discovering a more urgent need to end segregation on a show that only sometimes features "Negro Night". She gets her big break when teen singing sensation, Link Larkin (Zac Efron) makes advances that bring her to the stage floor. In the meantime, her success is challenged by the show's program manager, (played with overbearing skill by Michelle Pfeiffer) and her daughter, Amber, the show's reigning "Miss Teenage Hairspray," a nasty nemesis . Joining forces with her Afro-American friends, especially Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) and dancer Seaweed (Elijah Kelly), she works for equal time on the dance floor.

`Hairspray' is set as perfect entertainment. John Travolta provides likable loopiness as Nikki's mother while he dances and cross-dresses his way into our hearts. The villains are nasty enough, and the sweetness pervades even amongst important demonstrations on key social issues. When it all comes down to balance, 'Hairspray' fills the bill.

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM) This is the sort of brassy, candy-coated musical to which you either give yourself entirely or not at all because there is little room in between. First, there was the edgy 1988 John Waters comedy followed years later by the sunnier 2002 Broadway musical version. I thoroughly enjoyed the elaborate stage version thanks mainly to Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman's ebullient music and sharp lyrics and stellar performances from Harvey Fierstein and Marissa Jaret Winokur as a most unlikely mother and daughter in 1962 Baltimore. That most of that high-kicking, watusi-gyrating spirit remains intact is quite an accomplishment for director Adam Shankman, whose previous track record consists of mediocre studio comedies. Adapting Mark O'Donnell's stage book, screenwriter Leslie Dixon seems equally unlikely of pulling it off. Yet, somehow they do and even bring a deeper sense of gravitas than the previous incarnations with the heavier elements of racism and segregation. Starting out his career as a dancer and choreographer, Shankman provides the energetic, in-your-face choreography that is appropriately applied here.

The story centers on Tracy Turnblad, a genuinely optimistic teenager, a bouncing bundle of energy obsessed with the local Corny Collins dance show. Living in a working-class neighborhood with her agoraphobic, self-consciously plus-sized mother Edna and her congenial, novelty store-owner father Wilbur, Tracy only wants to dance on Corny's show. Standing in her way is the malevolent Velma Von Tussle, an aging beauty who owns the TV station, and her equally venal daughter Amber. Once a month, the station allows the dance show to have a co-host, blonde-tressed Motormouth Maybelle, who holds a "Negro Day" to allow the local black kids to dance on their own. These kids seem to end up in detention a lot since Tracy finds them there and learns new dance moves from them. She realizes the world would be a better place if black and white kids were able to dance together on Corny's show. This sets up the story's central conflict, which comes accompanied by romantic complications among the various characters. All of this ends with the Miss Teenage Hairspray pageant and naturally a pull-all-the-stops production number.

The casting is inspired. Following Divine and especially Fierstein in the cross-dressing role of Edna is no easy task, but John Travolta brings a surprising delicacy to the character. The novelty of his casting never wears off, but he also does not stoop that much to parody either. Even with a slightly garbled Baltimore accent, he is convincing as a woman who has accepted life's compromises for the sake of her family. Alternating quickly between clever and broad, Michelle Pfeiffer has a field day playing Velma, though she has precious little opportunity to show off her long dormant singing talent. As Maybelle, Queen Latifah seems to be cornering the market on musical earth-mother types and gets her shining moments on "Big Blonde and Beautiful" and especially on the gospel-flavored "I Know Where I've Been". Christopher Walken has comparatively less to do as the put-upon Wilbur, though he shows off his singing and dancing skills on his sweet pas de deux with Travolta on "(You're) Timeless to Me".

For all the veteran talent on display, it's Nikki Blonsky who carries the heart of the movie as Tracy, and her sunny demeanor and "American Idol"-caliber talent keep the story aloft. The other teens Zac Efron as singing heartthrob Link, Amanda Bynes as devoted best friend Penny, Brittany Snow as spoiled Amber, and Elijah Kelley as Maybelle's son Seaweed are all played with energetic adolescent brio. Complementing the principal cast are James Marsden as the perpetually smiling Corny and Allison Janney as Penny's Bible-thumping mother. Everyone is in the right spirit, and the pacing and tone are spot-on. The film's one weakness is a certain lack of energy in the camera movement around the production numbers, as Shankman's tendency is to film key dance sequences intermittently at mid-waist level. The net effect is a reduction in the overall energy level at key moments such as Travolta's Tina Turner-style turn at the end. Regardless, this is fun stuff for those open to this genre.

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Information below was found on another site I hope it's accurate. If Amazon wants to add this to the description and delete this comment it's fine with me.

Single-Disc Edition:

* 16×9 widescreen version of the film or 4×3 fullscreen version of the film

* English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX Surround Sound

* English & Spanish subtitles

* Closed captions

Two-Disc "Shake and Shimmy" Edition:

* "Behind the Beat" picture-in-picture option allowing viewers to watch behind-the-scenes footage and on-screen commentary concurrently with the running feature (HD Exclusive)

* All new musical number, "I Can Wait"

* Feature-length audio commentary from director and choreographer Adam Shankman, star Nikki Blonsky and producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron

* Deleted scenes with audio commentary from director and choreographer Adam Shankman and star Nikki Blonsky

* "You Can't Stop the Beat: The Long Journey of Hairspray" documentary

* "Step By Step: The Dances of Hairspray" featurette offering how-to dance instruction

* "Hairspray Extensions" featurette, giving viewers dance breakdowns

* Jump to a song with optional sing-along feature

* "The Roots of Hairspray" featurette

* Interactive menus

* Theatrical trailer

* 16×9 widescreen version of the film

* English 2.0 Stereo Surround

* English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX (on feature, deleted scenes and interactive menus)

* English & Spanish subtitles

* Closed captions

Read Best Reviews of Hairspray (2007) Here

Any film that features a touching love scene shot in a Baltimore backyard with laundry hanging on the line (as Moms used to say) between Christopher Walken ( Wilbur Turnblad) and John Travolta (as an almost scary Edna Turnblad) is OK with me. That that scene may also be one of the most romantic scenes of this or any year is crazy on the one hand and perplexing on the other. With that being said, director Adam Shankman has magically turned the stage musical into something that is more full of life, more effervescent than either the play or the John Waters slight, though terrific film of 1988.

Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky who almost makes us forget Rikki Lake from the film) is a Baltimore teenager: chubby of body, colossal of hair and bubbling over with good cheer and ironclad self esteem. The year is 1962 and the signs of change are everywhere Tracy goes foremost of which is the "Corny Collins Show," an American Bandstand-type show which features a "Negro Day" once a month: a situation that Tracy and her friends Penny (Amanda Bynes) and Link (Zac Efron) are desperate to change into an everyday occurrence. Edna, who hasn't left the house since 1951 and therefore very much aware and embarrassed of her size discourages Tracy from auditioning as a dancer for the show but Tracy, to her credit, feels confident enough about her dancing does so anyway and is finally accepted into the Corny Collins fold much to the chagrin of both Velma Von Tussle ( a gorgeous Michelle Pfeiffer) and her daughter Amber (Brittany Snow).

"Hairspray is also very much a capsule of its time and place: pregnant women smoking and drinking martinis, children in cars without seat belts buckled, boys and girls hair greased and sprayed to within an inch of its life (Tracy is accused of having a "hair-don't" at one point) and bigots spouting the kind of gunk that bigots do.

"Hairspray" is ultimately a big, calorie laden birthday cake of a film: you know you shouldn't imbibe but you can't help yourself. But along with the sugar rush of this spectacle there lays some lumps based on reality which point out, not only how much has changed since 1962 but more importantly how much has stayed the same.

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I enjoyed this movie more than I can say. I felt happy for hours after watching it. It was energetic, happy, sweet, funny and delightful. The casting was perfect. Everyone seemed to give it there all. The songs and dance sequences were very entertaining. I especially loved the innocent chemistry between Nikki Blonsky and Zac Efron. They are both very talented. I would highly recommend this movie. For those of us over 40 the energy of these kids is invigorating! I hope this movie succeeds beyond all expectations so that they will make more like it in the future.

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Wrong (+ Digital Copy) (2012)

I didn't like Rubber much, but the movie had some really good moments, so I decided to give the director's new movie a try. It turned out to be far more suited for me I couldn't stop laughing during this one, and kept smirking to myself with remembered scenes for a few days afterwards. All of the enjoyment of this movie comes from layered absurdity notable because of the artfulness of the situations (it definitely isn't American slapstick). Speaking of artfulness, the movie has a very pleasant bout of cinematography and soundtrack, making it a very well rounded comedy. I'll be sticking it back in my player more than a few times.

Dupieux has quite a one-of-a-kind style. Wrong and Rubber really stand out from the crowd. I wonder if he'll be sort of be like the "Wes Anderson" of comedic films.

It was absurd. Perhaps I was simply unable to perceive anything else. Perhaps it was absurd for absurdity's sake. Personally, if I could go back in time, I'd tell myself to save my money or rent something else.

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If you're not familiar with Quentin Dupieux, you can start slowly. Watch a few of the music videos he made for his own music (Mr Oizo) as well as for others. Assuming that you had a good laugh and/or that your head started to shake on the beat, you may be ready for what's next.

It's always hazardous to compare a director to another but we'll have to agree that Quentin Dupieux is ideologically closer to Spike Jonze (being John Malkovitch) and Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine.../science of dreams) than he is to Michael Bay.

It's surreal, it's really well done, with good actors, great and efficient cinematography and a smart use of music ( that he's co-signing). It's sweet by times, really funny overral, and not like anything you've seen so far.

It's a director's work in a sense that Dupieux is behind the wheel with a total creative control (clap clap clap) and it's not for everybody and oh do we love that !

Each new movie is a milestone. "Wrong" is probably his most elaborated movie so far. I can't wait for the next one.

Read Best Reviews of Wrong (+ Digital Copy) (2012) Here

Dolph Springer (Jack Plotnick) wakes up one morning to realize that his beloved dog Paul has gone missing, but that's the least of Dolph's problems. His life only begins to get weirder and practically spirals down the drain as he crosses paths with his gardener Victor (Eric Judor), a pizza delivery girl named Emma (Alexis Dziena) who becomes obsessed with Dolph, a strange detective named Ronnie (Steve Little), the mysterious Master Chang (William Fichtner), and Dolph's jogger-in-denial next door neighbor Mike (Regan Burns). Meanwhile Dolph just wants to find his dog.

Quentin Dupieux made the eccentrically absurd yet glorious film "Rubber" and birthed at least one lifetime fan because of it. It was because of that film that the anticipation for "Wrong" was so high. At its core "Wrong" is a more grounded film than "Rubber." Compare a telepathic car tire that makes people's heads explode to a guy looking for his dog and "Wrong" seems like a more traditional experience on the surface, but "Wrong" is actually way more out there than Dupieux's previous effort.

The film begins with a group of firefighters lounging around a fire truck as a van slowly simmers in flames. One of the firefighters starts texting while another drops trow and begins reading a newspaper. The score starts off as this tribute to 8-bit video game soundtracks, but slowly evolves into something more synth heavy that sounds like it's straight out of the 80s. Dolph's clock rolls over to 7:60 every morning and that blank letter he receives with nothing but a stamp on it is never addressed (best accidental pun ever). After realizing Paul is gone, he spends the morning talking to Emma about how absurd it is that the logo of a pizza place would be a rabbit riding a motorcycle when the rabbit is fast enough as it is on its own.

Dolph encounters a police officer who's incredibly indecisive and seems to dislike everything for reasons he won't disclose. Dolph works in an office building where it's always raining inside and his gardener reveals that the palm tree in Dolph's yard turned into a pine tree overnight. A painter likes to paint people's parked vehicles different colors while they're away and Detective Ronnie strings together an elaborate conglomeration of impressive vulgarity. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the insane events that transpire in "Wrong." It's the type of film where you can reveal everything and the viewer still won't know what they're in for.

Every character acts really strange in "Wrong." The cop (Mark Burnham) and Emma in particular aren't very good actors. Emma's voice is nerve grating and it doesn't really become an issue until she encounters Dolph in person while the cop just seems a bit stiff in his line delivery. Dolph is perhaps the most normal of the bunch, but the unusual behavior by everyone around him doesn't really seem to affect him as he's constantly asking questions that only encourage them. William Fichtner seems to be purposely talking with a bad accent and the Master Chang character relies on incessant rambling.

"Wrong" is like the most insane statement against animal abuse ever. It's never boring and no one will be able to predict where it's headed, but it's overflowing with nonsense and it's sure to be misunderstood by a fair portion of those that encounter it. "Wrong" and "Rubber" do have the concept of telepathy in common, but "Wrong" is otherwise a completely different animal for Dupieux to add to his resume. With all of its robe mocking, its pet kidnapping service, its squeaky turkey dog toys, and most of all its turd memories, "Wrong" is one of the most unique films you'll ever sit through.

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If you enjoyed Rubber, you will enjoy this movie too. Full of great music and imagery, dreamlike atmosphere,and funny absurdity. A breath of fresh air.

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You Again (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2010)

This flick was cute in the previews and delivers even more than it promised in the full-length film.

After years of healing success and maturity post high-school, Marnie aka MOO, finds out that her brother is marrying her nastiest high-school tormentor. With no time to process the information or put on full body armor, Marnie is thrown into the situation just days before the wedding. Joanna, oddly, doesn't even remember Marnie the queen-of-geeks and has gone on to become a perfect blend of Martha Stewart and Mother Teresa. Or maybe not!

Chick-flicky, yes. But its more about friends, enemies and the painful art of growing-up. The movie contains a few cheesy moments and a few underdeveloped relationships because the cast of characters is huge. But, it's respectful of friendship, forgiveness, character and marriage. Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver are delightfully amusing and seem to enjoy every bit of working together in this film. There is a scene at the end of the movie that is hilarious and worth every bit of cheese and I can't say one more thing about it because it would be a big spoiler. The film is clean and would be a terrific pre-teen movie choice.

Comparable movies are Mean Girls, Monster-In-Law, Bride Wars, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton and Confessions of a Shopaholic. If you liked any of the above or any of the You Again cast of characters you should enjoy this film. This is one I'll be adding to my DVD collection.

I see a lot of movies and one of the movies that really surprised me the most is YOU AGAIN. It is so well written, so well acted and just left a smile on my face throughout the entire movie because it was so hilarious -yet it was also so heartfelt -these characters are really likeable people and the situations they get into is just so well done. I highly recommend this movie. Hands down the best comedy of the year -and by the way -it got a cinemascore (the people who first saw the movie) gave it an A and if you look on boxofficeguru.com, people also gave it an A.

It's superb.

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I saw "YOU Again" when it was in theaters and I have to say it was one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time. And it is not just a chick flick! I'm a guy in my 20's and me and my friends all enjoyed it. If you like physical comedy, you'll love this movie. Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver are top notch. So, if you want to laugh, buy this DVD.

Read Best Reviews of You Again (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2010) Here

You Again, finds humor in all of the expected places and even more! The movie centers around Marni Olivia Olsen (Kristen Bell), who as a previous high school "loser" becomes a beautiful, successful VP out of school. Always antagonized by the "popular girl", aka Jo-Jo (Odette Yustman), Joanna as she now goes by; Marni has suddenly found herself thrown into an unexpected dilemma. Her brother Will is engaged to marry Joanna. As they first meet face-to-face, Joanna seems to have no recollection of Marni. But as days tick on, the obviously frustrated Marni cannot stand to see her brother fall for her act and devises a plan to show Joanna's true colors. Hilariousness ensues and with ode to the 80's, Hall & Oats and other assorted music, the event goes on without a hitch. A movie to enjoy with the whole family. Not one inappropriate situation to shield young eyes from. Loved it! Betty White, Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis are awesome as the older versions of high school meanness.

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After reading some of the reviews slaughtering this campy flick I had to comment. First it has such a great cast I had to see it. Sigourney Weaver's acting was the best. Jamie Lee Curtis who is normally amazing was a bit overboard but that's probably the fault of the some of the writing. Nevertheless, my young tween and teen and I had fun watching it. It speaks to the pressures of being popular and getting your self worth trampled by your peers. And, it does a decent job treating revenge, repentance and forgiveness. It was often funny and the ending scene was hilarious. It's just the sort of movie Disney used to churn out in the 60's and 70's.

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Small Apartments (2013)

We watched the film last year at a screening in Austin Texas. The film has some great performances especially Bill Crystal, Matt Lucas, James Caan as well as memorable performances by Rebel Wilson Dolph and perhaps the best performance by Johnny Knoxville in his entire career. But the star is the story, which is bittersweet but really really funny. May be a classic, its stays with me unlike most films.

But when you're confronted with a movie of such raw emotion, you don't worry about your track record or whether you took your insulin that day. You just LIVE, DAMMNIT!!

Every performance is a standalone treat, every line of the script a dance on the razor's edge of sanity! This is the film David O. Sleznick did not have the courage to make! (no relation to David O. Selznick BTW).

I laughed too many times during this film. I also cried once when a portly man came down my row and stepped on my foot with a full 44 oz. Lime Coke Zero in his hands and a look of hubris on his lips. I'm not ashamed to say that gentleman had a strong dose of my evil eye that evening. And I make NO apologies for that!

I don't mean to compare down but I would rather watch this film in a prison cell with a healthy population of Dallas Cowboys fans than have to watch the interminable "Silver Linings Playbook" in a floating island in the sky while my feet were alternately being rubbed by Gore Vidal and Dr. Jonathan Miller. That's how much better Small Apartments is! I shan't restate it!

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In a world of formatted films, sequel, slasher pix this is an original. The book was great and the story is much bigger than the lives of the inhabitants of their small apartments. Hope you like the show. respectfully submitted

Read Best Reviews of Small Apartments (2013) Here

I have this movie on my wishlist but haven't purchased it yet. I rented it from the Redbox, didn't really expect much but what a movie! I haven't felt so much emotion (happy, sad, angry, etc.) while watching a movie in ages! This is a haunting type of inspirationally, twisted, hilariousness...it's really hard to describe. But seriously...the best movie I've seen since Harold and Maude!

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I enjoy strange movies. This is a strange movie. Lots of chubby people in their underwear and a man named Franklin Franklin.

I thought there was too much narration and not enough of Rebel Wilson and some of the scenes did not ring that true or make much sense. But at the end of it all you're cheering for people that aren't that great of people and that means that somewhere in the course of the film I was convinced to care about them and that's what happened here.

It is weird though and sort of heartbreaking but Crystal is really the focus and it's about him and Franklin Franklin is just the reason that Crystal comes around.

And Johnny Knoxville is very good as a stoner and his final scene is heartbreaking like I said. The music is very good, though it gets a little melodramatic at the end but the first song is catchy.

All in all five stars *****.

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Wanted

"Wanted" emerged as one of the top Blockblusters of Bollywood in 2009. It is filled with wall to wall action, song and dance, comedy and romance. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan(son of superstar sceenwriter Salim Khan), after years of mediocre movies, returns with a hit this time. He is badas* in this flick as a goon available for hire. The mafia wants him to do their dirty jobs, he falls for a sweet girl, and he has to deal with corrupt cops as well as gansters. The movie, like most Indian movies, is over 2 and a half hours long. But I was never bored. Towards the last hour, things starts to get exciting. I won't spoil the surprises. But I totally enjoyed this movie, even going back to watch parts of it.

This movie is the Hindi remake of the Tamil movie of the excellent blockbuster Telugu movie "Pokiri"-written and directed by the talented Puri Jagannadh. Prabhu Deva is a famed dancer/choreographer turned director who directed the Tamil remake("Pokkiri") as well as the Hindi(Bollywood) version. He makes an appearance as a dancer in the song "Jalwa", he's the last guy who appears and dances real good next to Salman.

I dug up the original "Pokiri" and it is nearly identical to the remakes, scene by scene, line by line. They are smart not to mess up a good thing. "Wanted"(also known as "Wanted Dead And Alive") is a little more glossy but the other two are quite polished as well. The major difference is.. Salman gives a superb performance, and takes off his shirt at the end.

Fun and exciting, I highly recommend this DVD.

To tell the truth, I've never cared all that much for Salman Khan, what with the muscles and all the posing and the tabloid stuff. But I'll say this, he's very good in WANTED and convincingly inhabits the part of the unstoppable Radhe. He makes you forget all the baggage. Salman Khan is in his 40s now but give him credit for still being able to pull off the really trying, physical aspects his role calls for. There's a lot of stunts in this one, and the guy does a fair number of them. Not to mention all the exhausting musical numbers.

The plot: As gang wars erupt in Mumbai, one man begins to make his mark. Radhe is a ruthless gangster, a vicious enforcer willing to work for whoever will pay him. He comes across almost as this elemental force, absolutely fearless and willing to tweak the noses of even the most lofty of underworld dons. But Radhe isn't all badass killer. He occasionally does exhibit a softer side, especially whenever the curvy and wholesome Jhanvi (Ayesha Takia) is around, and then he melts in her presence. When Jhanvi is harassed by a shady police inspector, Radhe is inspired to even more extravagant lengths of meanness and brutality.

It's not much of a plot and yet WANTED, with its polished look and breakneck pace, doesn't exactly lack for confidence. It's an unapologetic, freewheeling masala Hindi film. It flirts with a sweet romance, well-choreographed musical numbers, that intense gangster vibe, ridiculously over-the-top action, and some unexpected laughs (but also some lame stabs at humor, thanks to that chubby landlord guy). WANTED goes against convention in that the romance isn't more heavily featured, although we do get exposed to overwrought bits when Ayesha Takia's character struggles to come to terms with her having fallen in love with a murderous thug. Surprisingly, Ayesha and Salman's scenes together provide a good dose of levity.

It's been a while since Salman Khan got a chance to kick asss and take names, and he seems to relish getting back into the mix. The action sequences tend to be more outrageous and stylish than realistic, and there's a lot of wire-fu going on here. But it's fun watching Salman Khan bring the attitude and take goons out with impunity. Note that both the two main bad guys exude an impressive aura of menace, so it's even more gratifying when they get what's coming to them. Salman Khan, he comes on as so indomitable that I might even put money on him if he ever got in a cage match with Krrish. And, for the female audience, what's a Salman Khan flick without his ripping his shirt off? Salman isn't about to pass up a chance to flex his guns.

The film left me with the impression that it had more than the usual number of musical numbers. I was a little surprised to later find out that WANTED only featured six tracks, just about the normal amount in Indian cinema. Maybe it felt like there were more because the songs weren't spaced out evenly enough. Doesn't really matter. Thankfully, most of the musical numbers are dang watchable and catchy, especially the chilled out romantic song "Dil Leke" and the riveting "Jalwa" which features cameos by Anil Kapoor, Govinda, and the film's director Prabhu Deva. The few times I've seen Salman Khan onscreen, I wasn't too impressed with his dancing skills. This is the best I've ever seen him, and to see him bust out the dynamic moves in "Jalwa" (my favorite song here) was a bit of a revelation.

Disc 1 has the feature film and scene and song selections. Disc 2 has these bonus features: 5 minutes of deleted scenes (no sub-titles), including an extended train sequence (which begins with Radhe and Jhanvi exchanging numbers) and also new annoying bits with that fat landlord guy; the music videos "Mitti Ke Sine" and "Ishq Vishq" (which I don't remember being in the movie); the Making Of the music video "Mitti Ke Sine"; remixes of "Love Me, Love Me," "Ishq Vishq," and Jalwa"; and a 20-minute Behind the Scenes look at WANTED, enough of it in English that non-Hindi speaking cats like me can follow along.

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Protector of women, killer of the bad guys, and smokin' hot while doing it! In interviews, Salman Khan has said that films need heroes the people you cheer for unabashedly in a world where the bad guys always deserve a sound thrashing. This is one of those films, and it's one of my favorites with Salman Khan. It's a slick, sophisticated blend of action, comedy, and romance, and Salman fits it perfectly. He plays an adorable thug (with a secret twist to his character), paired off with the equally adorable Ayesha Takia. The action sequences are stunning, but it's the romantic moments, which range from sweet to laugh-out-loud hilarious, that ultimately make me love the film. Scenes in elevators, trains, and subway platforms highlight the amusing awkwardness of new romance. One might think that Salman Khan is a bit too mature to be playing a "boyfriend" role more appropriate for a 20-year-old, but he pulls it off beautifully through sheer force of charm. The scene in which he and Ayesha argue over a tupperware container of pasta still makes me laugh.

The music of Sajid-Wajid is fantastic, and this is one of the first Hindi action movies that had me noticing the catchiness of the background score in addition to the dance numbers. The first dance sequence ("Mera Jalwa") is jaw-dropping the choreography is amazing, and Salman has never danced better. Seriously. The dance also features three cameos that will surprise you (if you're familiar with Indian actors). "Dil Leke Darde Dil" is sweetly sexy and rhythmic.

In summary, the action is stunning, the villains are truly villainous, and the romance is sweet. It almost feels like a trial run for the character that Salman would perfect in the following year's "Dabangg".

Read Best Reviews of Wanted Here

A story about a man who kills anyone for money. A man who has no emotions in him.

Story starts with Radhe(Salman khan) who is shown as mafia killer who kills for money. As the story unfolds he becomes more aggressive. He has no feelings for anyone execpt one day his eye falls on a beautiful lady. He saves her twice and the romantic story rushes in. He has some secrets which he cant tell to her. He keeps on killing people. This thing provokes Ghanibhai(Prakash Raj) who does a marvelous job as main villian. He comes to India to find out who has killed his man that runs Mumbai(Bombay) for him. Then comes in a corrupt inspector(cop) Mahesh Manjrekar who does a humorous role throughout the movie. Vinod Khanna who does a role of a Gym owner has a typical role which I can't open here because of plot's secret story. Salman Khan is exceptional throughout the whole movie. After 2007's Partner. Salman gives Huge Blockbuster.

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Salman Khan stolevmy heart in this one. His rugged good looks. Bad boy persona. The twisting this movie was unexpected. A wonderful action movie. That also made me get up and dance. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.

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