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Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Comments: David is 11 years old. He weighs 60 pounds. He is 4 feet, 6 inches tall. He has brown hair. His love is real. But he is not.

Summary: History will place an asterisk next to "A.I." as the film Stanley Kubrick "might" have directed. But let the record also show that Kubrick--after developing this project for some 15 years--wanted Steven Spielberg to helm this astonishing sci-fi rendition of "Pinocchio", claiming (with good reason) that it veered closer to Spielberg's kinder, gentler sensibilities. Spielberg inherited the project (based on the Brian Aldiss short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long") after Kubrick's death in 1999, and the result is an astounding directorial hybrid. A flawed masterpiece of sorts, in which Spielberg's gift for wondrous enchantment often clashes (and sometimes melds) with Kubrick's harsher vision of humanity, the film spans near and distant futures with the fairy-tale adventures of an artificial boy named David (Haley Joel Osment), a marvel of cybernetic progress who wants only to be a real boy, loved by his mother in that happy place called home.
Echoes of Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun" are clearly heard as young David, shunned by his trial parents and tossed into an unfriendly world, is joined by fellow "mecha" Gigolo Joe (played with a dancer's agility by Jude Law) in his quest for a mother-and-child reunion. Parallels to "Pinocchio" intensify as David reaches "the end of the world" (a Manhattan flooded by melted polar ice caps), and a far-future epilogue propels "A.I." into even deeper realms of wonder, even as it pulls Spielberg back to his comfort zone of sweetness and soothing sentiment. Some may lament the diffusion of Kubrick's original vision, but this is Spielberg's "A.I." (complete with one of John Williams's finest scores), a film of astonishing technical wizardry that spans the spectrum of human emotions and offers just enough Kubrick to suggest that humanity's future is anything but guaranteed. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Comments: Growing up has nothing to do with age.

Summary: A box-office smash in England, "About a Boy" went on to charm the world as another fine adaptation (following "High Fidelity") of a popular Nick Hornby novel. While "High Fidelity" transplanted its London charm to Chicago, this irresistible comedy was directed by Americans Chris and Paul Weitz ("American Pie") with its British pedigree intact. Better yet, Hugh Grant is perfectly cast as Will, a self-absorbed trust-fund slacker who tries to improve his romantic odds by preying on desperate single mothers. His cynical strategy backfires when he recruits the misfit son (Nicholas Hoult) of a suicidal mother (Toni Collette) to pose as his own son, thus proving his parental prowess to his latest single-mom target (Rachel Weisz). The kid has a warming effect on this ultimate cad, and what could have been a sappy tearjerker turns into a subtle, frequently hilarious portrait of familial quirks and elevated self-esteem. From start to finish, it's a genuine treat. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Comments: There's everything you've ever known about adventure, and then there's The Abyss.

Summary: In this thrilling, underwater action adventure from writer-director James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Aliens), a civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search-and-rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver (Ed Harris) soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it.

System Requirements:
Starring: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn.
Directed By: James Cameron.
Running Time: 171 Min., Color.
This film is presented in "Widescreen" format.
Copyright 2002 Twentieth Century Fox.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Comments: Reject rejection

Summary: Justin Long has been hovering on the edges of movies like "The Break-Up" and "Dodgeball", providing little comic bursts that are often funnier than the rest of the movie. In "Accepted", Long plays Bartleby Gaines, a fast-talking slacker who, when he gets rejected by every college he applied to, invents a phony college to get his parents off his back. Unfortunately, the website his best friend creates is too effective--hundreds of other rejects apply and are accepted. Instead of revealing the hoax, Gaines decides to forge ahead and let the students create their own curriculum, little suspecting that their school is obstructing the expansion plans of the nearby snobbish college. "Accepted" is much better than you might expect, given the low bar set by most campus comedies; it aims for, and sometimes achieves, the blend of slapstick and social satire that "Animal House" embodied. Long proves to be a charming leading man without losing his quirky comic sense and the supporting cast is consistently entertaining, particularly stand-up comedian Lewis Black, who delivers a variety of sardonic rants about society. "Accepted"'s critique of conformism is glib--you wish they'd given it a little more bite--but it's still valid and a pleasant sliver of substance in an otherwise vapid genre. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Comments: It's not the same old Thing.

Summary: Looking for something CREEPY... SPOOKY... KOOKY... and altogether OOKY?

Come join 'The Addas Family' for the most hilarious scarefest of this season or any other! When long-lost Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) reappears after twenty-five years in the Bermuda Triangle, Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Anjelica Huston) plan a celebration to wake the dead.

But Wednesday (Christina Ricci) barely has time to warm up her electric chair before Thing points out Fester's uncommonly "normal" behavior. Could this Fester be a fake, part of an evil scheme to raid the Addams fortune?

Based on Charles Addams' beloved cartoons and following the success of the hit TV series, 'The Addams Family' is a visual funhouse, packed with plenty of treats, tricks and turns by director Barry Sonnenfeld.

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: It's not the same old bull.

Summary: The problem with live-action movies based on beloved cartoon characters is that humans are never as flexible, as unpredictable, or just plain as goofy as their animated counterparts. So it is with this blend of animation and live action. Rocky and Bullwinkle remain animated characters (trapped in our reality), while Boris and Natasha (Jason Alexander and Rene Russo), along with their boss, Fearless Leader (Robert De Niro), are transformed from cartoons to human reproductions when they escape from rerun land. They've come to our world to take it over; the FBI springs Rocky and Bullwinkle from the second dimension to stop them. But the writing in Kenneth Lonergan's script lacks the throw-away flair of the jokes that characterized Jay Ward's much-beloved animated series of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Part of the problem is that Russo, Alexander, and De Niro are so obviously working at acting cartoonish, instead of simply being cartoons. And part is that the script rarely comes up with the kind of wonderful wordplay in which Ward specialized. The moose, as usual, gets all the best lines, but they're too few and far between to salvage this underachieving summer film. "--Marshall Fine"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: The Perfect World Meets The Perfect Assassin

Summary: Like the animated series it's based on, "Aeon Flux" is the kind of sci-fi that's best appreciated by the MTV generation. It's a serious attempt at stylized, futuristic action/adventure (the title character, played by Charlize Theron, is essentially a female James Bond for the cyberpunk era) and taken for what it is, it's not all that bad. The action takes place in the year 2415, four centuries after a virus nearly decimated the human race, leaving only five million survivors in a utopian city called Bregna. Aeon belongs to the Monicans, a secret rebel resistance force that is struggling to destroy the Goodchild regime led by its namesake, Trevor Goodchild (Martin Csokas), the ruler of Bregna and a descendant of the man who found a cure for the deadly virus. As instructed by the Handler (Frances McDormand, gamely playing along in ridiculous sci-fi regalia), Aeon is assigned to assassinate Goodchild, but there are deeper secrets to be discovered, and conspiracies to be foiled. This leads director Karyn Kusama (who fared much better with her debut feature Girlfight) to indulge in all sorts of routine action and fast-paced gunplay, but the elusive pleasures of Aeon Flux are mostly found in the sleek athleticism of Theron and costar Sophie Okonedo (as a fellow Monican), who commit themselves 100% to roles that are dramatically flat yet physically dynamic. Other highlights include Aeon's high-tech gadgetry (including an eyeball that doubles as a microsocope) and the amusing sight of Pete Postlethwaite in a costume resembling a construction-site disposal tube, but Flux fans may wonder what happened to the surreal, chromium sheen future that gave the MTV series its visionary appeal. As a live-action feature, Aeon Flux is a miscalculated exercise in cheesy style and dour tone, but it's entertaining enough to earn a small cadre of admirers. "--Jeff" Shannon

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: For perhaps the first time in her career, Kate Hudson doesn't just imitate the twinkle of her mother, Goldie Hawn--and proves to be a winning romantic lead in her own right. Hudson plays Emma, a stenographer hired by a desperate writer named Alex (Luke Wilson, "The Royal Tenenbaums", "Legally Blonde"), who has to finish a book in 30 days. Of course, a tentative romance blooms between them; but as Alex begins to interweave elements of his life into the love triangle of his novel--including a suspiciously Emma-esque character named Anna--Emma wonders if the novel's sexy other woman has a real-life counterpart as well. Though "Alex & Emma" suffers from some bland, formulaic elements, it also features flashes of engaging wit. Hudson dampens her gleam, but because she's not working so hard to be adorable, a relaxed and more unique charm comes forth. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: AC-3

Comments: Fortune favors the bold

Summary: For better or worse (and in this case, it's mostly for better), Oliver Stone's "Alexander Revisited" should stand as the definitive version of Stone's much-maligned epic about the great Asian conqueror. Following the DVD release of his previous Director's Cut, Stone offers a video introduction here, explaining why he felt a "third" and final attempt at refining his film was necessary. Essentially, he's using this opportunity to re-create the "road show" format of the Biblical epics of the 1950s and '60s, with a three-and-a-half-hour running time (with an intermission at the two-hour mark) including 45 minutes of previously unseen footage. Stone has also significantly restructured the film, resulting in substantial (if not exactly redemptive) improvements in its narrative flow. Alexander (played in a torrent of emotions by Colin Farrell) is dying as the film opens, his final moments serving to bookend the film's epic story, which incorporates flashback sequences to flesh out the Macedonian king's back-story involving the turbulent battle of fate between his father, King Philip (Val Kilmer) and his scheming sorceress mother Olympia (Angelina Jolie, ridiculous accent and all), who insists that Alexander is literally a child of the gods.
In Stone's final cut, epic battles remain chaotic (although Alexander's strategy is somewhat easier to follow, with on-screen titles indicating left, right, and center during his army's greatest maneuvers) and the ultra-violent battles are more graphically gory than ever (hence their "unrated" status). The animalistic lovemaking of Alexander and his barbarian bride Roxana (Rosario Dawson) is slightly extended (with Dawson as ravishing as ever), and Stone's additional footage also improves the overall arc of Alexander's relationship with his closest generals and male companions, although his most intimate homosexual encounters remain mostly discreet. As "Alexander Revisited" makes clear, the film's weaknesses remain unavoidable, but Stone deserves credit for recognizing how a longer running time, and more disciplined narrative structure, would bring "Alexander" closer to the respect it never earned from critics and filmgoers alike. This is unquestionably a better film than it used to be, leaving us to wonder why it took three separate efforts to shape "Alexander" into its best possible presentation. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: As Newcomers -- fugitive slaves from the planet Tencton -- Detective George Francisco and his family face prejudice and intolerance as they struggle to assimilate to life on their adopted planet. Together with his human partner, hard-edged Detective Matt Sikes, George walks the beat in Slagtown, Los Angeles, a Newcomer slum teeming with vice and corruption. More than just another cop show or science fiction show, Alien Nation utilizes a unique and exciting blend of action, suspense, humor, and social drama to explore the sociology of what it means to be an outsider striving to fit in.

Languages: English, Spanish

Summary: Dark Horizon is on its own disc. The other four movies are on 2 flipper discs--one movie per side. All the movies have a Ken Johnson commentary track. The first four movies have "Making of" featurettes that are a bit dry, but have some great nuggets. The first four also have gag reels. All the movies have a wide of array of stills in a photo gallery.



The last movie's disc side includes a 25-minute reunion taped at Johnson's home in January 2007. Everyone's there except for Sean Six/Buck. It's amazing! I got a warm feeling just watching! It opens with candid meet and greets and sitting down to a meal. They gather in a circle next, and really start to talk. The actors talk about being cast, about make-up, about the movies, and about the reaction from various ethnic groups, among other things. There are some great behind-the-scenes shots from the original series that I've never seen anywhere else.



Dark Horizon is fine, but man, were they hitting on all four cylinders for the second movie--Body and Soul. It features an excellent story and script, a satisfying Matt and Cathy story, and a few twists and turns that you won't expect. Everything that made the series great is on display in the second movie--the comic timing, the chemistry between the actors, the jokes, the names, you name it, it's there--it's like a time machine back to the good old days of the show's weekly run. The last three are just as good--the atmosphere and feeling of the season is there in full force. I wasn't crazy about George's promotion at the end of the original series because it wrecked the detectives' dynamic, but found that they dealt with it very well in the movies for both characters.



Buck and Emily don't have much to do in the first two movies, but they come into their own in the last three. Cathy and Matt's romance evolves beautifully throughout. If you think of the five movies as 10 episodes of Alien Nation--it's like a whole half season.



Pocket put out 8 Alien Nation novels and novelizations back in the day, so we had those to get over the cliffhanger when the complete series set came out a couple of years ago. But that wasn't good enough, frankly. Thank goodness these are on dvd at last! Now we really have the complete series available on dvd.

Languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Comments: Whoever wins... We lose.

Summary: "It may be our planet, but itÂ's their war!" The deadliest creatures from the scariest sci-fi movies ever made face off for the first time on film. The incredible adventure begins when the discovery of an ancient pyramid buried in Antarctica sends a team of scientists and adventurers to the frozen continent. There, they make an even more terrifying discovery: two alien races engaged in the ultimate battle. Whoever wins...we lose.

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Comments: This Christmas there will be no peace on Earth.

Summary: For those who found 2004's "Aliens vs. Predator" too lightweight in the gore-and-guns department, "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" offers a marked improvement in both categories, as well as a respectable amount of rumbles between the title extraterrestrials. Set in the 21st century (which predates the story to all of the "Alien" features), "Requiem" sends a crippled Predator ship crashing to Earth in a small Colorado town; unbeknownst to the locals, the craft is loaded with H.R. Giger's insectoid monsters, which make quick work of most of the population. As the human cast is slowly whittled to a few hardy (if unmemorable) souls, a Predator warrior also arrives to complicate matters and do battle with the Aliens, as well as a ferocious alien-Predator hybrid (dubbed a Predalien by the sci-fi and horror press). Visual-effects designers and music-video helmers The Strause Brothers (who make their feature directorial debut here) keep the action on frantic throughout, which is wise, since the dialogue and characters are threadbare at best; that should matter little to teenage male viewers, who are inarguably the film's key audience. Fans of the "Alien" franchise, however, may find the offhanded nod to the series' mythology given during the finale its sole saving grace. --"Paul Gaita"


Beyond "Alien vs. Predator: Requiem"
More from the "Alien" Series
"AVP" Customer Community
More Alien-themed titles from Fox

Stills from "Alien vs. Predator: Requiem"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Comments: Here comes trouble.

Summary: Families come in many different shapes and sizes, but few humans consider rodents members of the family. Dave Seville (Jason Lee) is no exception, so when this flailing musician finds three young talking chipmunks gorging themselves in his kitchen cupboards, Dave is quick to question his sanity and then toss the offending chipmunks outside into the rain and restore order. When Dave hears the chipmunks singing outside his window, he realizes that that unusual trio might just be the world's next vocal sensation and he strikes a bargain with them--the chipmunks can stay with him if they sing his songs. While chipmunks Alvin (Justin Long), Theodore (Jesse McCartney), and Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler) quickly begin to see Dave as a father figure, it's strictly a business arrangement for Dave and he maintains an appropriate emotional distance. Dave's frustration with the chipmunks mounts as they unwittingly wreak havoc on his personal life, but when Dave's old friend and record label mogul Ian (David Cross) begins to exploit the chipmunks for personal gain, Dave suddenly realizes what an important part of his life, and indeed his family, the three chipmunks have become. Hilarity reins in this live action/CGI comedy with many memorable scenes--think chipmunks showering in the dishwasher, riding in remote control planes, and bouncing off the walls under the influence of a serious caffeine buzz. Catchy Chipmunks' songs both new and old promise to lodge themselves in the minds of viewers long after the credits roll and even those none-too-enchanted with the premise of singing chipmunks can't help but be entertained by this comical film. (Ages 6 and older with parental guidance due to mild rude humor) "--Tami Horiuchi"


Meet the Chipmunks


Justin Long as Alvin

Matthew Gray Gubler as Simon
Jesse McCartney as Theodore

Beyond "Alvin and the Chipmunks"
More from Jason Lee
"Alvin and the Chipmunks" Music
More Kids & Family titles from Fox


Stills from "Alvin and the Chipmunks"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono

Summary: I taped the broadcast version on VHS years ago and purchased it when it was released on commercial cassette. I finally got the DVD version checked and I am totally disgusted. They probably cut the VHS version to hold it to 2 hours but there is no reason to short change us on the DVD. Some of the missing parts were critical to seeing Howard lose his marbles over time. I wish TNT would run it again and this time I would put it on DVD myself.

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: ... look closer

Summary: Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughters friends. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane is developing a happy friendship with a shy boy-next-door named Ricky who lives with a homophobic father.

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Comments: There are two sides to the American dream.

Summary: Ridley Scott puts on his "sweeping saga" gameface again, this time not for the sci-fi vistas of "Blade Runner" or the ancient world of "Gladiator "but for an urban epic. "American Gangster" gives the story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a real-life Harlem crime lord who built an empire on Southeast Asian heroin in the 1970s. Running parallel to Lucas's somewhat standard story is the investigation led by a persistent New Jersey cop, Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe). Roberts is a more interesting character than Lucas--too honest for his own good, unlucky in his personal life--and this kind of character, easily patronized by others, fits Crowe like a polyester shirt. Scott's tendency to hit his points square on the noggin is much in evidence here, including the typecasting of the supporting roles and the predictable Serpico atmosphere of the whole thing. (And speaking of supporting actors, the film needs more Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose role as a Lucas sidekick feels cut down.) It succeeds as a kind of chewy entertainment, fueled by the presence of two big stars working their muscles. Both Washington and Crowe look pretty brawny here. --"Robert Horton"


Beyond "American Gangster" on DVD
Great Crime and Gangster Films
More from Denzel Washington
More from Russell Crowe


Stills from "American Gangster" (Click for larger image)

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, French

Sound: AC-3

Comments: Katch 'em, kill 'em

Summary: Most horror movies establish an atmosphere of normalcy, which they gradually rupture with spooky or creepy or stomach-churning images. "The Amityville Horror"--a remake of the 1979 movie about a possessed house that torments the family that moves into it--tosses normalcy out the window in the first five minutes, unleashing a nonstop barrage of unsettling camera angles, decaying wood and stained wallpaper, half-glimpsed shadows in motion, fast edits of grotesque ghosts, and dozens of other horror-movie devices. Whether you like the movie will depend on whether you like feeling slightly nauseated and cut off from any semblance of reality--for many people, that's why they go to horror movies. Others won't be able to suspend disbelief that anyone but an actor would spend the time necessary to develop Ryan Reynold's insanely buff physique, prominently displayed as he runs around wearing nothing but a pair of loose-fitting pajama bottoms. In addition to Reynolds ("Van Wilder", "Blade: Trinity"), the movie also features Philip Baker Hall ("Magnolia") and Melissa George ("Down With Love"). "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

Subtitles: Cantonese, Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Comments: He's Back... And He Wants Revenge

Summary: Wesley Snipes makes a far more persuasive action hero than his straight-to-video compatriot Steven Seagal; lean and fluid, Snipes makes you believe he could kick some butt with his martial arts moves. Unfortunately, that's about the only good thing to be said about "The Art of War II: Betrayal", in which retired covert agent Neil Shaw (Snipes) gets drawn into an incomprehensible plot involving super-duper bullets, a blackmailed movie star, bribes to congresspeople, and the hitherto unknown daughter of a cross-dressing sensei from Shaw's youth. The movie has many allusions to characters from Shaw's past, none of whom appeared in "The Art of War"; the only connection between the two films seems to be the main character's name. Even the action scenes are poorly lit and clumsily edited (oddly enough, the only extra on the DVD is a series of "alternate" versions of the fights--most of which are easier to follow and hence more exciting than the versions they used in the movie itself). The movie is named after the tactical guidebook of the ancient Chinese warrior-scholar Sun Tzu; you might think the point would be that the hero makes deft use of Sun Tzu's advice. You would be wrong. What happened to Wesley Snipes? Once or twice he gives a brief flash of the charisma that flourished in "Jungle Fever" and "White Men Can't Jump", but he spends most of the movie looking like he's had his whole face Botoxed. Action movies may have made Snipes a lot of money, but they've drained his charm. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Comments: How well do you know the one you love?

Summary: An intriguingly creepy premise but failed execution marks this stylish and ultimately bland thriller about a pretty, young woman whose pretty, young astronaut husband comes back from his most recent space mission a little... odd. Before that fated space trip, Spencer (Johnny Depp) and Jillian (Charlize Theron) were a sunny, happy couple with matching blonde hairdos and a predilection for romping in the sack from extremely clever camera angles. However, after a communications blackout brings Spencer and his partner back down to earth prematurely, things are a little... peculiar. Spencer's partner goes bonkers and has a heart attack; on top of that, the partner's wife takes a fatal shower with a plugged-in radio. Getting out of the space biz, Spencer accepts a job as a corporate exec in New York, and as a welcome to the Big Apple for his comely wife, he molests her at the company cocktail party. Soon enough, Jillian is pregnant, but as you might expect, this pregnancy (twins, don't you know) is a little... unusual. Writer-director Rand Ravich takes his sweet time getting from extremely obvious plot point A to even more obvious plot point B, stretching out the development particulars in mind-numbing, suspense-killing fashion. Even Joe Morton, as a sinisterly psychotic NASA official, can't liven things up--you know you're in bad thriller territory when the biggest scare comes from a light suddenly being switched off. Theron, sporting a Mia Farrow-"Rosemary's Baby" haircut, sleepwalks beautifully through the movie, but she did this role much, "much" better in "The Devil's Advocate". Depp, with a cornpone Southern accent, is about as realistic as his peroxided hair. Ravich does the viewer no favors with a hackneyed ending straight out of a B-grade paperback horror novel in which the most shocking moment is Theron's sudden emergence as a brunette. With Blair Brown as a jaded socialite who offers to help out Theron by providing do-it-yourself abortion pills, and a lovely Donna Murphy as the suicidal wife who figures it all out before everyone else. "--Mark Englehart"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: Mrs. Peel, we're needed.

Summary: based on the sophisticated, quirky british secret-agent television series of the 1960s. a scientist who develops the means to control large-scale weather changes uses his discovery to wreak evil. emma peele and john steed must stop the villian for person

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Comments: There is no such thing as a simple miracle.

Summary: Based on the acclaimed book by neurologist Oliver Sacks, director Penny Marshall's hit 1990 drama stars Robin Williams as Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Sayer is a neurologist who discovers that the drug L-Dopa can be used to "unlock" patients in a mental hospital from the mysterious sleeping sickness that has left them utterly immobilized. Leonard (Robert De Niro) is one such patient who awakens after being in a comatose state for 30 years, leaving Sayer to guide Leonard in adjusting to the world around him. Penelope Ann Miller costars as the daughter of another patient, with whom Leonard falls tenuously in love. Earning Oscar nominations for best picture, actor, and screenplay, this moving fact-based drama was a hit with critics and audiences alike. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Sound: AC-3

Comments: It's never too late to become what you might have been

Summary: "I'm going," says a lovely, understated Julie Christie, in a heart-wrenching moment of recognition that Alzheimer's is slowly descending on her. "But I'm not gone." "Away from Her", the directorial debut of young Canadian actress Sarah Polley, allows two themes--the growth of love, and the limits of the mind--to intertwine, uplift, fall, and rise again, throughout its arc. What should be relentlessly depressing is instead a film of great courage, humor, defiance--and a quality that Christie's character, Fiona, calls out in another defining moment: grace.
"Away from Her" chronicles a love story between Fiona and her longtime husband, Grant, played with bearlike stolidity by Gordon Pinsett, as the couple struggle with the onset and acceleration of Fiona's Alzheimer's disease. Moments of lucidity and wry observation pepper Fiona's decline, and Christie gives an unforgettable performance as a woman who is both ordinary and singular to those whom she's touched. The story is set against a frigid Canadian winter, with fields of snow as a background underscoring the bleakness of Fiona's diagnosis; yet life is constant and surprising, in the call of a meadowlark or the resurrected memory of a skunk lily. A scene of Fiona out for her daily cross-country ski shows Christie's gorgeous, sensual face in closeup against the snow, framed by a babushka, reminding the viewer of a similar scene of the decades-younger Christie in "Dr. Zhivago". It's impossible not to be touched by the gifts of this extraordinary actress, through the life of this everywoman, whose very presence is shot through with grace. "--A.T Hurley"