Dan in Real Life

• Steve Carell (THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, TV's THE OFFICE), Hollywood's leading funnyman, stars in the hilarious comedy that's bursting with charm -- a movie you'll watch again and again. Advice columnist Dan Burns (Carell) is an expert on relationships, but somehow struggles to succeed as a brother, a son and a single parent to three precocious daughters. Things get even more complica

n/aSteve Carell’s best film performance to date can be found in the fitfully engaging Dan In Real Life, where his long-suffering persona suits a character who lets his long-dormant hopes rise for a moment, only to be shot down again. Carell plays Dan Burns, a newspaper columnist who writes about family issues and relationships. As a widower with three growing girls to raise, however, the difference between Dan’s printed wisdom and his struggles with fatherhood and loneliness is often vast. He’s put to ! a severe test when he packs up the kids for a cabin holiday with his parents and siblings, then falls for the exotic, if elusive, Marie (Juliette Binoche) during a solo excursion to a bookstore. Stirred by a woman for the first time since his late wife, Dan is shocked to find that Marie is actually dating his brother Mitch (Dane Cook), and that she’ll be spending the vacation with him in the midst of his family. From that point, the script, co-written by director Peter Hedges (Pieces of April), pretty much becomes a parade of difficult circumstances under which both Dan and Marie have to keep their attraction to one another secret. Certain scenes work better than others, but there is an overall monotony to the movie that isn’t helped by a lack of onscreen chemistry between Binoche and Carell. Both actors are fine on their own terms, but whatever is supposed to be clicking between Marie and Dan isn’t compelling enough to make one truly care that they get togethe! r somehow. Still, this is a film with plenty of moments to lik! e, espec ially when Carell gets to broaden his previous range of emotions in a movie. --Tom Keogh

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters for DVD

• The Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie establishes the origins of the Aqua Teens and attempts to explain the back story to some age-old mysteries that have surrounded the Aqua Teens. Or does it? No one really knowsRunning Time: 166 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R Age: 053939791921 UPC: 053939791921 Manufacturer No: T7919

The Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie establishes the origins of the Aqua Teens and attempts to explain the back story to some age-old mysteries that have surrounded the Aqua Teens. Or does it? No one really knows

DVD Features:
Alternate endings
Deleted Scenes
Featurette
Music Video
Other
Photo gallery
Theatrical Trailer

Fans of Cartoon Network’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force series (part of the cable channel’s Adult Swim programming) know what they’re in for with this feature! -length extension of the nearly-indescribable animated show. Set in a rundown, Jersey suburb, Aqua Teen concerns the misadventures of three human-size characters who happen to be fast food refuse: the crude Master Shake, a discarded milkshake in a cup similar to those from McDonalds; skeptical Frylock, a flying, cardboard box of french fries; and the personable Meatwad, a piece of expired, red beef of unknown origin. Together, they go in search of a missing piece of an exercise machine that happens to be more than an exercise machine, placing them on a collision course with the likes of Oglethorpe and Emory, a pair of jagged, ridiculous creatures from the future who travel with a robot companion claiming to be the Ghost of Christmas Past. They also encounter Dr. Weird, a mad scientist given to disguises and who seeks revenge against the Hunger Force; McPee Pants, a rapping spider who wears a shower cap and diaper; and the hilarious Ignignokt and Err, two-dimensional ! villains from the ancient days of pokey, Atari video games. Da! ve Willi s and Matt Maiellaro, series creators and writers-directors on Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, are wildly entertaining class clowns, but they expect the rest of us to follow them into their surreal world of postmodern animated nuttiness. The rewards, however, are plentiful. --Tom Keogh

The Great Debaters

• Denzel Washington directs and stars in this uplifting drama based on a true story about a small East Texas all-black college in 1935 that rises to the top of the nation's debate teams in a duel against Harvard. A poet and debating coach at Wiley College, Professor Melvin Tolson (Washington) sees debating as "a blood sport" and recruits the meanest and brightest, including troubled Henr

JAMAL WALLAS IS A 16-YEAR-OLD BASKETBALL STAR WITH A SECRET PASSION FOR WRITING. WILLIAM FORRESTER IS A FAMOUS, RECLUSIVE NOVELIST WHO IS ANGRY AT THE WORLD. AFTER AN UNEXPECTED MEETING, FORRESTER BECOMES JAMAL'S UNLIKELY MENTOR AND BOTH MEN LEARN LESSONS FROM EACH OTHER ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF FRIENDSHIPFinding Forrester could have been a shallow variant of The Karate Kid, congratulating itself for featuring a 16-year-old black kid from the South Bronx who's a brilliant scholar-athlete. Instea! d, director Gus Van Sant plays it matter-of-fact and totally real, casting a nonactor (Rob Brown) as Jamal, a basketball player and gifted student whose writing talent is nurtured by a famously reclusive author. William Forrester (Sean Connery) became a literary icon four decades earlier with a Pulitzer-winning novel, then disappeared (like J.D. Salinger) into his dark, book-filled apartment, agoraphobic and withdrawn from publishing, but as passionate as ever about writing. On a dare, Jamal sneaks into Forrester's musty sanctuary, and what might have been a condescending cliché--homeboy rescued by wiser white mentor--turns into an inspiring meeting of minds, with mutual respect and intelligence erasing boundaries of culture and generation.

Comparisons to Van Sant's Good Will Hunting are inevitable, but Finding Forrester is more honest and less prone to touchy-feely sentiment, as in the way Jamal and a private-school classmate (Anna Paquin) develop a mutua! l attraction that remains almost entirely unspoken. The film t! akes a c onventional turn when Jamal must defend his integrity (with Forrester's help) in a writing contest judged by a skeptical teacher (F. Murray Abraham), but this ethical subplot is a credible catalyst for Forrester's most dramatic display of friendship. It's one of many fine moments for Connery and Brown (a screen natural), in a memorable film that transcends issues of race to embrace the joy of learning. --Jeff Shannondvd Widescreen EditionFinding Forrester could have been a shallow variant of The Karate Kid, congratulating itself for featuring a 16-year-old black kid from the South Bronx who's a brilliant scholar-athlete. Instead, director Gus Van Sant plays it matter-of-fact and totally real, casting a nonactor (Rob Brown) as Jamal, a basketball player and gifted student whose writing talent is nurtured by a famously reclusive author. William Forrester (Sean Connery) became a literary icon four decades earlier with a Pulitzer-winning novel, then disappe! ared (like J.D. Salinger) into his dark, book-filled apartment, agoraphobic and withdrawn from publishing, but as passionate as ever about writing. On a dare, Jamal sneaks into Forrester's musty sanctuary, and what might have been a condescending cliché--homeboy rescued by wiser white mentor--turns into an inspiring meeting of minds, with mutual respect and intelligence erasing boundaries of culture and generation.

Comparisons to Van Sant's Good Will Hunting are inevitable, but Finding Forrester is more honest and less prone to touchy-feely sentiment, as in the way Jamal and a private-school classmate (Anna Paquin) develop a mutual attraction that remains almost entirely unspoken. The film takes a conventional turn when Jamal must defend his integrity (with Forrester's help) in a writing contest judged by a skeptical teacher (F. Murray Abraham), but this ethical subplot is a credible catalyst for Forrester's most dramatic display of friendship. It's one of! many fine moments for Connery and Brown (a screen natural), i! n a memo rable film that transcends issues of race to embrace the joy of learning. --Jeff ShannonDirector Gus Van Sant brings to the screen this moving story of a grizzled recluse and an inner-city teenager brought together by their shared passion for writing. Like Van Sant's Oscar-nominated GOOD WILL HUNTING, FINDING FORRESTER earnestly explores the struggles of a youthful genius whose position in society (underprivileged kid from the wrong side of the tracks) makes him seem destined for failure until he forms a relationship with a gifted but introverted mentor who helps him see the light.The youthful genius is a talented urban basketball player named Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), who in his spare time reads everything he can get his hands on, secretly scribbling prose and poetry into a composition pad. The introverted mentor is William Forrester (Sean Connery), who took the literary world by storm with his debut novel, AVALON RISING, 50 years earlier but now spends whole days s! hut inside his Bronx apartment looking out the window onto a basketball court where Jamal hangs out. Buoyed by excellent performances from Connery and newcomer Brown, FINDING FORRESTER paints a compelling, alluring portrait of friendship while offering intriguing insights into the heart and soul of the dedicated writer.In this emotionally uplifting drama a dedicated teacher gives his students the gift of inspiration. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 05/11/2007 Starring: Robin Williams Run time: 128 minutes Rating: PgRobin Williams stars as an English teacher who doesn't fit into the conservative prep school where he teaches, but whose charisma and love of poetry inspires several boys to revive a secret society with a bohemian bent. The script is well meaning but a little trite, though director Peter Weir (The Truman Show) adds layers of emotional depth in scenes of conflict between the kids and adults. (A subplot involving one father's terrible press! ure on his son--played by Robert Sean Leonard--to drop his int! erest in theater reaches heartbreaking proportions.) Williams is given plenty of latitude to work in his brand of improvisational humor, though it is all well-woven into his character's style of instruction. --Tom Keogh Robin Williams stars as an English teacher who doesn't fit into the conservative prep school where he teaches, but whose charisma and love of poetry inspires several boys to revive a secret society with a bohemian bent. The script is well meaning but a little trite, though director Peter Weir (The Truman Show) adds layers of emotional depth in scenes of conflict between the kids and adults. (A subplot involving one father's terrible pressure on his son--played by Robert Sean Leonard--to drop his interest in theater reaches heartbreaking proportions.) Williams is given plenty of latitude to work in his brand of improvisational humor, though it is all well-woven into his character's style of instruction. --Tom KeoghTwo-time Academy Award® winner D! enzel Washington (American Gangster) directs and stars with Academy Award® winner Forest Whitaker (Last King of Scotland) in this important and deeply inspiring page from the not-so-distant past (Richard Roeper, At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper). Inspired by a true story, Washington shines as a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African American college students into an historical powerhouse that took on the Harvard elite. DVD Special Features:

Deleted Scenes
The Great Debaters: An Historical Perspective. That's What My Baby Likes; Music Video.
My Soul Is A Witness; Music Video
Theatrical Trailer
Sneak Peeks: Grace is Gone, Cassandra's Dream, I'm Not There, Hunting PartyInspired by real events, the fascinating The Great Debaters reveals one of the seeds of the Civil Rights Movement in its story of Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington in a captivating performance) ! and his champion 1935 debate club from the all-African-America! n Wiley College in Texas. Tolson, a Wiley professor, labor organizer, modernist poet, and much else, runs a rigorous debate program at the school, selecting four students as his team in ’35, among them the future founder of the Congress of Racial Equality, James Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker). Washington, who directed The Great Debaters from a script by Robert Eisele (The Dale Earnhardt Story), anchors the story with the team’s measurable progress, but the film is also about the state of race relations in America at the height of the Great Depression. With lynchings of black men and women a common form of entertainment and black subjugation for many rural whites, the idea of talented and highly intelligent African-American young people learning to think on their feet during debates would seem almost a hopeless endeavor. But that’s not the way Tolson sees it, as his students serve themselves and the cause of racial equality in America with energetic arguments in fav! or of progressive government and non-violence as a viable social movement. There are some startling moments in this movie, particularly the sight of a man found lynched and burned to death, and an extraordinary moment in which we see black sharecroppers and white farmers engaged with Tolson in arguments about unionizing together. Forest Whitaker is outstanding as Farmer’s emotionally-reserved father, also a Wiley professor. This is the kind of film where one hopes two great actors such as the elder Whitaker and Washington will have a scene together, and when it comes it’s as powerful as one might hope. --Tom Keogh

Clash of the Titans [Blu-ray]

• Condition: New
• Format: Blu-ray
• AC-3; Color; Dolby; DTS Surround Sound; Widescreen; Subtitled

In Clash of the Titans, the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, Perseus and his warriors will only survive if Perseus accepts his power as a god, defies fate and creates his own destiny."Release the Kraken!" Ah, it could only be Clash of the Titans, the 2010 remake that retains the instruction to unleash the great beas! tie from the sea. The 1981 original boasted Ray Harryhausen's legendary stop-motion technique of animating various mythological creatures--it was his final feature project--and given the cornball approach of the movie in general, that was the main draw. The remake supplies new state-of-the-art special effects (it was released in theaters in 3-D) and a nicely muscular sense of momentum. Sam Worthington (the Avatar guy) plays Perseus, a demigod who doesn't know that Zeus (Liam Neeson) is his father. Perseus is selected to lead an expedition to find and slay the Medusa, lest Zeus's evil brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes, in fine slinking mode) rain down misery upon a seaport--and you just know that means the Kraken is coming. Ye gods, it's a mess, and we haven't even mentioned the witches and the harpies and the giant scorpions. But if we did, it would be clear that Clash of the Titans is a perfectly dandy popcorn epic, unpretentious and punchy. Director Louis Leterri! er (Transporter 2) gets a fine rhythm going during Pers! eus's tr ek, and you can even forgive the hokey shafts-of-light-through-clouds look of Olympus. Leterrier also had the good sense to import the marvelous Danish star Mads Mikkelsen to provide mentoring duties to Perseus; Gemma Arterton and Alexa Davalos fulfill the eye-candy roles. It's up to individual viewers to choose which they prefer--Harryhausen's magically hand-wrought creations (his Medusa sequence is an absolute killer) or the 21st century's slick computer-generated variations. But nostalgia aside, it would be hard to deny that this is one case where the remake tops the original. --Robert HortonIn Clash of the Titans, the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a da! ngerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, Perseus and his warriors will only survive if Perseus accepts his power as a god, defies fate and creates his own destiny."Release the Kraken!" Ah, it could only be Clash of the Titans, the 2010 remake that retains the instruction to unleash the great beastie from the sea. The 1981 original boasted Ray Harryhausen's legendary stop-motion technique of animating various mythological creatures--it was his final feature project--and given the cornball approach of the movie in general, that was the main draw. The remake supplies new state-of-the-art special effects (it was released in theaters in 3-D) and a nicely muscular sense of momentum. Sam Worthington (the Avatar guy) plays Perseus, a demigod who doesn't know that Zeus (Liam Neeson) is his father. Perseus is selected to lead an expedition to find and slay the! Medusa, lest Zeus's evil brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes, in fin! e slinki ng mode) rain down misery upon a seaport--and you just know that means the Kraken is coming. Ye gods, it's a mess, and we haven't even mentioned the witches and the harpies and the giant scorpions. But if we did, it would be clear that Clash of the Titans is a perfectly dandy popcorn epic, unpretentious and punchy. Director Louis Leterrier (Transporter 2) gets a fine rhythm going during Perseus's trek, and you can even forgive the hokey shafts-of-light-through-clouds look of Olympus. Leterrier also had the good sense to import the marvelous Danish star Mads Mikkelsen to provide mentoring duties to Perseus; Gemma Arterton and Alexa Davalos fulfill the eye-candy roles. It's up to individual viewers to choose which they prefer--Harryhausen's magically hand-wrought creations (his Medusa sequence is an absolute killer) or the 21st century's slick computer-generated variations. But nostalgia aside, it would be hard to deny that this is one case where the remake tops ! the original. --Robert Horton

An Affair Without End

• ISBN13: 9781439117996
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

If a sophisticated beauty proposes a clandestine affair, could even the most proper gentleman resist? New York Times bestselling author Candace Camp concludes her scintillating Willowmere series with a seductive tale of an alluring lady who dares to break the rules. . . .

When Oliver, Earl of Stewkesbury, asks the dashing Lady Vivian Carlyle to ensure that his American cousins meet the cream of London society, he doesn’t anticipate the danger she will pose to his own self-control. Thrown into intimate contact with the lovely lady, Oliver finds he cannot stop thinking of Vivianâ€"of her wit, of her smile . . . of her lips. And when Vivian, who has sworn never to subject herself to the! bonds of matrimony, boldly suggests that she and Oliver become lovers instead, her scandalous proposal is temptation indeed! But with an alarming series of jewel thefts rocking London, the ever-outrageous Vivian insists on trying to discover the perpetrator despite Oliver’s admonitions. And when a bold lady steps into danger, it is a gentleman’s duty to protect her at all costs. What neither Oliver nor Vivian can anticipate, however, is that the ultimate cost may be both their hearts. . . .

Dead & Buried (Limited Edition)

• DEAD & BURIED LIMITED EDITION 2-DISC (DVD MOVIE)

Paul Conroy is not ready to die. But when he wakes up six feet underground with no idea of who put him there or why, life for the truck driver and family man instantly becomes a hellish struggle for survival. Buried with only a cell phone and a lighter, his contact with the outside world and ability to piece together clues that could help him discover his location are maddeningly limited. Poor reception, a rapidly draining battery, and a dwindling oxygen supply become his worst enemies in a tightly confined race against time; fighting panic, despair and delirium, Paul has only ninety minutes to be rescued before his worst nightmare comes true.Alfred Hitchcock, eat your heart out. Sure, the master of suspense set himself some tough challenges with limited scenarios: Lifeboat took place entirely within the title craft, Rear Window d! idn't stray from Jimmy Stewart's apartment, and Rope stuck mostly to an unbroken take. But Spanish director Rodrigo Cortés wants to do the master one better: Buried is set inside a coffin, buried beneath a few feet of immovable earth. Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) wakes up inside the coffin, a cell phone and lighter next to him; for the next 90 minutes, we won't leave the narrow space of that wooden box. No cheats: no flashbacks to Paul's past, no cross-cutting with efforts to free him. Cortés sticks to the rules and follows his story out to its conclusion, and in the process he must think of every possible way to shoot and light someone in a confined space. Seems Paul was in Iraq as a non-military truck driver when he got caught in some crossfire, and somebody wants to make a point. The cell phone allows him to speak, and try to puzzle out what's happening, but except for the voices on the other end, this is entirely Ryan Reynolds's show. The actor is up for ! it: although he can't use his body, he calls on both his actio! n-movie chops and (at certain exasperating moments) his comic talents. By definition, this is a bravura turn, and Reynolds comes through firing on all cylinders. Buried is an exercise, but it manages to sneak in a few sly suggestions about the nature of an American's presence in the Middle East. It even earns points for an excellent credits sequence--a clever nod to Hitchcock classics. Somehow you suspect the master would approve. --Robert Horton'Buried': Book two in the 'Serenity' Series.

*Warning: this blurb contains spoilers if you have not already read 'Alone'*

Four years after the horrific murder of her husband, Serenity is living a new life and finally putting the terrifying events behind her. Though now a stronger person, her heart craves the vampire who gave her the strength to change her life.

Desperate to forget Serenity, Sebastian hides away in the underground tunnels of Goreme, Turkey, and has thrown himself into an existen! ce of darkness and blood.

But rumours are abound of something unnatural existing, something with the strength of a vampire but that can walk in the light.

And a murderer is on the loose in Angeles Forest, someone who is killing with the ferocity of a beast. The killer is moving closer and closer to the city, searching for something...


Book 3 in the series, 'Captured' will be published early 2012.
'Buried': Book two in the 'Serenity' Series.

*Warning: this blurb contains spoilers if you have not already read 'Alone'*

Four years after the horrific murder of her husband, Serenity is living a new life and finally putting the terrifying events behind her. Though now a stronger person, her heart craves the vampire who gave her the strength to change her life.

Desperate to forget Serenity, Sebastian hides away in the underground tunnels of Goreme, Turkey, and has thrown himself into an existence of darkness and bl! ood.

But rumours are abound of something unnatural exi! sting, s omething with the strength of a vampire but that can walk in the light.

And a murderer is on the loose in Angeles Forest, someone who is killing with the ferocity of a beast. The killer is moving closer and closer to the city, searching for something...


Book 3 in the series, 'Captured' will be published early 2012.
DEAD AND BURIED - DVD MovieOverlooked during its theatrical run but a cult favorite on video, this unique and chilling take on the zombie film finally joins the digital ranks with a two-DVD set from Blue Underground. James Farentino stars as a small-town sheriff who discovers that the victims in a string of grisly murders are reappearing seemingly alive and unharmed. His investigation leads him to suspect that the local mortician (Jack Albertson) is somehow responsible for these reanimated corpses; what Farentino doesn't know is the extent to which the entire town-himself included-is involved. First-time viewers will appreciate director Gary ! Sherman's attention to pacing and atmosphere, as well as the often darkly humorous script by co-producer Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon (Alien, Total Recall) and the solid cast (which includes future horror star Robert Englund); longtime fans will appreciate the fact that Blue Underground's uncut print restores many of Stan Winston's gruesome special effects. --Paul Gaita

Historic El Cortez Hotel Neon sign on Freemont Street in Las Vegas, Nevada - 16"x20" - Fine-Art Gicl??e Photographic Print by Carol M. Highsmith

• Historic El Cortez Hotel Neon sign on Freemont Street in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Photographer Carol M. Highsmith
• Photographs America offers thousands of landscape and city views. As well as thousands of historic prints from the Library of Congress Collection.
• Each print is carefully packaged in either a strong card-board tube, or in a heavy duty card-board envelope to insure safe arrival.
• Each print is custom printed using the fine-art giclee process.

Studio: Monarch Video Assoc. Release Date: 12/09/2008 Run time: 94 minutes Rating: REL CORTEZ - DVD MoviePhotographs America presents thousands of stunning, keepsake, and whimsical photographic prints by noted American photographer Carol M. Highsmith and landscape photographer Brendan Reals, as well as thousands more custom-corrected prints of vintage photographs from the Library of Congress collection. The images de! pict every region and every state: scenic landscapes, city skylines, aerial and small-town scenes, rustic rural views, Civil War sites, classic American landmarks, majestic national and state parks, intricate architectural details, fine art, animals, humorous situations, historic color and B&W photographs and engravings, vintage circus posters, World War I and II posters, and W.P.A. posters. Most photographs enlarge beautifully into the dimensions ordered. Square and other irregular-size photographs will be printed at the maximum size that best maintains their visual quality; these prints may be somewhat larger or smaller than the dimensions ordered.

Being John Malkovich

• Special Edition
• 3 Academy Award Nominations

CRAIG, A STRUGGLING PUPPETEER ACCIDENTALLY DISCOVERS A PORTAL LEADING INTO THE BRAIN OF JOHN MALKOVICH. FOR 15 MINUTES, HEEXPERIENCES THE ULTIMATE HEAD TRIP-HE IS JOHN MALKOVICH! THEN HE IS DUMPED ONTO THE NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE!While too many movies suffer the fate of creative bankruptcy,Being John Malkovich is a refreshing study in contrast, so bracingly original that you'll want to send director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman a thank-you note for restoring your faith in the enchantment of film. Even if it ultimately serves little purpose beyond the thrill of comedic invention, this demented romance is gloriously entertaining, spilling over with ideas that tickle the brain and even touch the heart. That's to be expected in a movie that dares to ponder the existential dilemma of a forlorn puppeteer (John Cusack) who discov! ers a metaphysical portal into the brain of actor John Malkovich.

The puppeteer's working as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a Manhattan office building; this idea alone might serve as the comedic basis for an entire film, but Jonze and Kaufman are just getting started. Add a devious coworker (Catherine Keener), Cusack's dowdy wife (a barely recognizable Cameron Diaz), and a business scheme to capitalize on the thrill of being John Malkovich, and you've got a movie that just gets crazier as it plays by its own outrageous rules. Malkovich himself is the film's pièce de résistance, riffing on his own persona with obvious delight and--when he enters his own brain via the portal--appearing with multiple versions of himself in a tour-de-force use of digital trickery. Does it add up to much? Not really. But for 112 liberating minutes, Being John Malkovich is a wild place to visit. --Jeff ShannonWhile too many movies suffer the fate of creative b! ankruptcy, "Being John Malkovich" is a refreshing study in con! trast, s o bracingly original that you'll want to send director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman a thank-you note for restoring your faith in the enchantment of film. Even if it ultimately serves little purpose beyond the thrill of comedic invention, this demented romance is gloriously entertaining, spilling over with ideas that tickle the brain and even touch the heart. That's to be expected in a movie that dares to ponder the existential dilemma of a forlorn puppeteer (John Cusack) who discovers a metaphysical portal into the brain of actor John Malkovich.\n The puppeteer's working as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a Manhattan office building; this idea alone might serve as the comedic basis for an entire film, but Jonze and Kaufman are just getting started. Add a devious coworker (Catherine Keener), Cusack's dowdy wife (a barely recognizable Cameron Diaz), and a business scheme to capitalize on the thrill of being John Malkovich, and you'v! e got a movie that just gets crazier as it plays by its own outrageous rules. Malkovich himself is the film's pi?®ce de r?©sistance, riffing on his own persona with obvious delight and--when he enters his own brain via the portal--appearing with multiple versions of himself in a tour-de-force use of digital trickery. Does it add up to much? Not really. But for 112 liberating minutes, "Being John Malkovich" is a wild place to visit. "--Jeff Shannon"While too many movies suffer the fate of creative bankruptcy,Being John Malkovich is a refreshing study in contrast, so bracingly original that you'll want to send director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman a thank-you note for restoring your faith in the enchantment of film. Even if it ultimately serves little purpose beyond the thrill of comedic invention, this demented romance is gloriously entertaining, spilling over with ideas that tickle the brain and even touch the heart. That's to be expected in ! a movie that dares to ponder the existential dilemma of a forl! orn pupp eteer (John Cusack) who discovers a metaphysical portal into the brain of actor John Malkovich.

The puppeteer's working as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a Manhattan office building; this idea alone might serve as the comedic basis for an entire film, but Jonze and Kaufman are just getting started. Add a devious coworker (Catherine Keener), Cusack's dowdy wife (a barely recognizable Cameron Diaz), and a business scheme to capitalize on the thrill of being John Malkovich, and you've got a movie that just gets crazier as it plays by its own outrageous rules. Malkovich himself is the film's pièce de résistance, riffing on his own persona with obvious delight and--when he enters his own brain via the portal--appearing with multiple versions of himself in a tour-de-force use of digital trickery. Does it add up to much? Not really. But for 112 liberating minutes, Being John Malkovich is a wild place to visit. --Jeff Shannon