DVD

Ringu

-------Ringu was remade by Dreamworks as The Ring. Is the American version better? Yes. The American version is an almost shot by shot remake, just longer. Ringu spends more time having the characters study the video tape. This is very interesting and makes the movie much easier to follow. The ending scene where the girl comes out of the TV is much more effective in Ringu. The little girl's eyes and mangled fingers are horrifying. This is a five part series of movies. I cannot find the other four but am sure they will convert these to American films.

The Princess and the Warrior

-----Visually and aurally compelling, it has a flow like music and an incredible sense of color and movement. It is strange and resonant and Franka Potente is impossible to resist. The

actors do a wonderful job here. I would rate this movie "good"

not "great". It is still better than most Hollywood films.

Recently the top movie rentals have come from abroad. A couple excellent Mexican films, two Japanese, and one

German movie. I have many more foreign films on the way.

Y Tu Mama Tambien

---------A real treasure of a film that will show you a side of Mexico that most of us north of the border never knew existed. This movie works on many levels. On one side it is "Beavis & Butt-head Do Mexico", fully of American Pie type potty humor. On the other end it is a coming of age movie for two boys and a young woman. Ultimately, sex and self-discovery are what this film is all about. I also enjoyed the political subtext, which somehow seemed to elevate the movie from its potential labeling as a teen sex movie. It's sexy to the point of being explicit, but not exploitive or gratuitous.

Amores Perros (2000)

------This movie might as well be the Mexican version of Pulp fiction. There is a central scene with three stories working around it. The three "acts" of this film are unified by more than the theme of conflicted love, the champion fighting dog and the car crash; an overwhelming sense of purpose infuses the entire film and is amplified by a brilliant acting ensemble. This movie has more symbolism than most. It is deep with meaning which I unfortunately did not figure out entirely. If Y Tu Mama Tambien is the sexiest movie ever made, Amores Perros may be the bloodiest. Be warned. Hollywood has already staked claim to this young director. He will making the next Harry Potter film(After the soon to be best picture nominated 21 Grams). A real shame for such a promising director.

Spirited Away

-------The best cartoon ever made(With Toy Story 2). The most well imagined movie I have ever seen. I like how there are no real bad characters. Rent this movie for the kids but do not be surprised if you enjoy it more than they do. This is the highest grossing movie ever in Japan. I really do not know why it bombed here.

Rules of Attraction

---Rules of Attraction has an attractive cast, unique cinematography, and a great concept. James Van Der Beek is great at portraying a narcissistic undergrad and Shannyn Sossanon (40 Days and 40 Nights) is very good once again. This isn't a fluff piece though. Bring you're brain and you'll be sure to enjoy this movie. There is a 10 minute montage of a college student vacationing in Europe. This may have been the best piece of cinema I have seen all year. It is played out in fast forward documenting his trip. Another good movie, nothing classic tho.

Rebecca

----I am in the process of renting every Hitchcock movie. I am truly in awe of most of the movies I have seen. Rebecca is a true classic on every level. Unlike many great older movies, this one has aged well. Rebecca is the story of a man who lost his wife and finds a girl who resembles his lost love. The

tension builds as a terrible secret slowly surfaces. Hitchcock won best picture for this film in 1940. That may have been the only time he won. Hollywood did not appreciate the commercial success of his later movies.

Rear Window

----Hitchcock maintains the suspense in this film as you would expect, but the true joy in the movie has to do with his intriguing and (still) original use of camera angle. The entire film is shot from Stewart's window, either unfolding events inside or allowing views into the neighbors' lives through the windows. It's a brilliant conceit that truly puts us into the protagonists' point of view. Even better, this isn't just a story about one possible murder; rather we see gradually unfolding stories in every one of the nearby apartments, some of which are at least as touching or suspenseful as the main one. It has aged a bit with some corny lines and bad music.

The Man Who Knew Too Much

----More Hitchcock Goodness. I like the on location filming. Jimmy Stewart is brilliant as the paranoid vacationer who believes he is being stalked by foreign spies. This is not the best Hitchcock

film. Doris Day is wonderful as well.

Shadow of a Doubt

----Another Hitch classic. Groundbreaking film-noir and location shooting make this one of the great Hitch movies. Joseph Cotten delivers a great performance as the malevolent "Uncle Charlie" and Teresa Wright is equally superb as his namesake niece. The screenplay by Thornton Wilder seeks to expose "Our Town" as a less than innocent environ where your favorite Uncle may just turn out to be a serial killer. The ending is pure American irony. There are Freudian themes and images aplenty, most notably an underlying air of incest.

Adaptation

-----I believe this was nominated for best picture. Don't waste your time. Meryl Streep is amazing as always but this is a true sleeper. I only made it half way.

Star Trek: Nemesis

-----I love Star Trek. I love the TV shows, the movies, even Shatner's two Autobiographies. Nimoy's Bilbo Baggins video

is so bad its wonderful. That being said, this is a bad movie. It is a shame but I think this will put a nail in the Trek movie franchise.