The Mind Snatchers:
The Film

Christopher Walken.

I've just summed up in two words the only reason that anyone would have released the forgotten "The Mind Snatchers."

Not that "The Mind Snatchers" is a bad film, but it certainly isn't a good film either. And the only thing that rescued it from the dustbin of time is that it represents the first starring role of a young actor named Christopher Walken.

Walken brings a dark charisma to the role of Pvt. James Reese, a violent, misanthropic man who is sent to a secluded army hospital to rest after breaking his arm.

Reese's soon discovers that there are only two other patients in the hospital, and that they are all cared for by a single doctor, a brain surgeon.

His suspicions grow as he realizes that the "hospital" is surrounded by barbed wire and guard dogs. And the good doctor is performing strange experiments on the brains of ...Read the entire review

I didn't see White Oleander in the theater. The thought never even crossed my mind, because I, like millions of other Americans I am a guy.

And White Oleander is definitely a chick flick. It's a movie about relationships—not romantic guy-girl relationships or kinky girl-girl relationships, it's a movie about mother-daughter relationships.

Many men would rather taste cold gunmetal in their mouths than to suffer the indignity of such a film.

But those guys would be wrong. White Oleander is a film that transcends genres. It may be a chick flick, but it's also a damn good movie with interesting characters and a compelling plot.

Alison Lohman is the star of the movie as Astrid, a young girl sent to a series of foster homes after her mother is imprisoned for murder. Astrid's survival instincts surface as she becomes a chameleon, adopting the characteristics of each family she i...Read the entire review

Maid In Manhattan:
Maid In Manhattan tells the story of a poor working maid played by Jennifer Lopez who through a twist of fate is mistaken for a New York socialite by a dazzling New York socialite by a dashing U.S. Assemblyman played by Ralph Fiennes.

Once Fiennes discovers her deception, he immediately dumps her, has her fired and her life slowly sinks into a pit of alcoholism and despair.

You know that I'm lying, don't you?

Of course, you do. You saw the trailer. And once you've seen the trailer you know exactly what is going to happen in this movie—and no one gets dumped. Two people fall in love, difficulties arise, but they manage to work things out before the end of the picture.

The film is cast firmly in the mold of Pretty Woman, My Fair Lady and hundreds of other romantic comedies that have come before it.

But even if we've seen it all before, it does...Read the entire review

This Is Nowhere:
"This Is Nowhere" is a low-budget documentary with all of the sins that low-budget filmmaking generally offers. It's shot on video. There are no fancy special effects. The picture quality isn't always what it could be. These are all sins that can be forgiven, though. The film also happens to be terrifically boring.

Boring, I can't forgive.

The premise of the movie is actually quite promising. The film purports to take a look at the unique sub-culture of nomadic recreational vehicle owners, or RVers, and especially their penchant for seeking out and living in Wal-Mart parking lots.

Made for Montana Public Television, the movie comes packaged either in a 87-minute full version or a 57-minute broadcast version. I didn't catch the broadcast version, because they don't pay me the kind of money necessary to make me watch this film twice. However, there is no doubt in my mind ...Read the entire review

Barenaked Ladies - Barelakend Nadies:
Canada's Barenaked Ladies harbor a nasty little secret: They're a pop band. And in an age when top-40 radio is drowning in silicone breasts, pierced navels and marginal talent, "pop" has become a dirty word. But the Ladies are a solid reminder that pop music is more than Christina and N*SYNC. They are pop the way XTC was pop. The way the Beach Boys were pop. The way the Beatles were pop.

The Barenaked Ladies new DVD, Barelaked Nadies, charts the band's evolution from novelty act to pop virtuosos through 17 videos they've made in the past ten years—many that never received significant airplay on U.S. television.

The videos are a mixed bag, but there are gems from beginning to end - from the elegant simplicity of their low-budget "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" to the hyper-produced, color-saturated, McG-directed breakthrough "One Week."

The ban...Read the entire review