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DOWNLOAD MOVIE Sabrina Just $2.99 for a complete movie! No additional software or browser plug-ins required! You can play them for unlimited number of times whenever you want. Downloaded movies will work perfectly on any PC, DVD player, PDA etc.
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Sabrina – *** (out of 5)   (1995)

Cast: Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, Greg Kinnear, Nancy Marchand, John Wood

Directed By Sydney Pollack

While this slight romantic comedy is easy to watch and amiable enough for an enjoyable evening, considering Harrison Ford’s involvement while still a superstar at the box office, it’s hard not to be a little let down because it wasn’t better.  Combine this with a proven director in Sydney Pollack, source material from Billy Wilder and Ernest Lehman’s adaptation of Samuel A. Taylor’s play, and a then sizeable $60 million dollar budget, and you can see why it was considered a great failure at the time of release.  SABRINA isn’t all bad though, and in fact, for the first 90 minutes it’s actually quite well done, with good characterizations, nice locale work, and solid acting from the three leads.

Julia Ormond stars as Sabrina, the daughter of the Larrabee family’s chauffer, who went by totally unnoticed by her lifelong crush, David (Kinnear).  David is renown as the playboy of Long Island, and when Sabrina comes back transformed into a woman after a couple of years in Paris, he sets his sights on the childhood friend he never really paid attention to.  Problem is that David is already engaged to the wealthy daughter of a billion dollar businessman, and with their union, the Larrabee family stands to gain a billion dollars in a merger between the two companies.  Enter Linus, the head of the Larrabee corporation, who decides to keep David on ice for a chance to lure Sabrina away from David’s eyes until they can come to their senses and consummate the deal.

As much as I like Harrison Ford, probably the largest reason this film was considered a let-down was because of his involvement.  His role, although played well, isn’t really meaty enough for someone of his stature, and we like him too much to want to see him in the unscrupulous shark role.  He also overshadows some of the film’s finer and more surprising features, namely the terrific debut performance by Talk Soup’s Greg Kinnear as a romantic lead and Ormond in another fine role, although the last commercial one in her career.  The downsides to the film are the excessive length (2 hours and 7 minutes) for a romantic comedy and the disingenuous ending, which oddly enough just doesn’t feel right enough to make this really a feel-good film. 

SABRINA is a bit of an overlooked film that will likely age well, and while it won’t achieve the classic status of the original, it probably will be seen in a much better light by today’s viewers than at the time of it’s release.  While SABRINA is one of the more forgettable films in Ford’s career, it still manages to deliver enough charm and pleasant comedic touches to entertain most who aren’t seeking movie greatness. 

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DOWNLOAD MOVIE Replacement Killers, The Just $2.99 for a complete movie! No additional software or browser plug-ins required! You can play them for unlimited number of times whenever you want. Downloaded movies will work perfectly on any PC, DVD player, PDA etc.
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Replacement Killers, The

The Replacement Killers *** (out of 5) (1998)

Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, Jurgen Prochnow

Directed by Antione Fuqua

  Chow Yun-Fat plays John Lee, one of the world’s best hitmen. When a powerful Mob boss’ son gets killed by a police officer, the boss wants the cop’s son dead and sends Lee out to kill him. When Lee can’t bring himself to kill a 7-year-old boy, he finds himself on the run for displeasing his boss and must leave the country to save his own family from suffering the same fate. Sorvino plays Meg Coburn, a gutsy passport forger who gets caught up in the wild mix and finds herself fighting for her life alongside Lee in a struggle for survival.

A very stylish action vehicle, perhaps too stylish for it’s own good in a way, as the style seems to have compromised the story somewhat. Clocking in at a shade under an hour and a half, with very little dialogue, the film has about the consistency and depth of a comic book, albeit a very well-drawn one. Yun-Fat is appealing in his first American role, but Sorvino seems to lack the gritty depth that her role requires and most of her scenes to suffer due to that fact. The film is quite beautiful viscerally; reminiscent of the way BLADE RUNNER looked and felt, although that film the comarisons end there in terms of overall quality. It is a dumb film, but in it’s defense it wasn’t going for profundity or any political bent. It is an action film, pure and simple, and if it’s action you want, this delivers quite nicely and for that it gets a marginal recommendation.

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DOWNLOAD MOVIE Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Just $2.99 for a complete movie! No additional software or browser plug-ins required! You can play them for unlimited number of times whenever you want. Downloaded movies will work perfectly on any PC, DVD player, PDA etc.
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Reviewed By Erik Childress Posted 06/04/04 14:11:11

"Mom, Can You Call Me In Sick Today?" (Average)

Two years ago after a screening of the second Harry Potter film (Chamber of Secrets), a colleague who had read the subsequent books started talking about them. Since I had just left what I firmly believed was a vast improvement in the cinematic treatments over the original, I stopped him from revealing any sordid details. Harry Potter had finally hooked me. After years of not reading the books, waiting for the movies and walking out of the Sorcerer?s Stone quite disappointed, I was ready. As much as I felt the urge to pick up the third and possibly fourth text now readily available to quench my anticipation for how Harry?s adventures would play out, I chose to just wait for the movie. I could have just let my friend spill the beans since part three is more of a bridge than anything else.Young Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is starting to move away from his young status. Sure, he?s only thirteen but we all know what?s going on with that age. That could be why Harry hides underneath his bedsheets dreading a walk-in from his uncle. (C?mon Harry what kind of spells are you really practicing under there?) There?s also an object with munching teeth that can only be soothed by stroking its pelt, but I won?t get into that.He?s also budding that adolescent anger that puts a glass bubble between him and authority. When you?ve been subjected to as much abuse as Harry has from Uncle Vernon (a dangerously huge Richard Griffiths) and Aunt Petunia (Fiona Shaw) that fury manifests tenfold.He takes off for his third year at Hogwart?s, meeting up with friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) once again. The front page news and just about every flyer in town warn of the escape of convicted murderer, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) from Azkaban prison. A group of ghostly watchguards known as the Dementors are on the hunt and an unspoken history suggests that Black is out to finish off Harry for good. For the first time the series captures the straight-up school experience. We sit there, trying to listen attentively but soon begin to drift off and wonder when recess will get here. A lot of the extraordinary special effects are utilized for background flavor (thankfully) instead of noisily demanding our attention at every turn. We?re inundated with throwaway behavior from the campus? evil tree until it finally gets its own action sequence and easily the film?s best. This year?s Quidditch match (held in the rain) proves to be a bore as does a speeding triple-decker bus through the crowded streets. One of the more amusing (and clever) mysteries of the film is solved during a climactic replay of events (a la Back to the Future Part II), but it takes too long to reach and is lackluster next to Chamber?s giant snake finale. As its Hardy Boy mysteries go, the Harry Potter stories are becoming tiresome. Voldemort thankfully isn?t Scooby-Dooing around awaiting to be unmasked?again. But at some point you have to start asking with all the mystical potions, gifts of foresight and otherworldly powers, how do these wizards keep fingering the wrong people for these crimes?Some of the most appealing moments of the film almost never call attention to themselves; subtle motions that suggest a relational growing up between the close friends. (An arm-grab or the way Hermione links herself to Harry with her necklace.) Emma Watson continues to bring presence to Hermione and Radcliffe handles his character?s mood swings a lot better than, say, Hayden Christensen in Attack of the Clones. Grint isn?t given much to do this time around but be his Weasley little self and Draco Malfoy serves no purpose but to taunt and then weaze himself like a little girl every time a comuppance is threatened. Props to Hermione though for delivering the one true crowd pleaser. Emma Thompson picks up where Kenneth Branagh left off last time as the goofiest of the professors but is used far too sparingly and ultimately adds nothing but more warnings to Harry. Does anyone ever have good news for this kid? The best performance in the film belongs to David Thewlis as the latest one-year term Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin, with his own brand of ?don?t ask, don?t tell.? (Just don?t rack your brain too hard about the mystery werewolf roaming around.) He becomes a compassionate father figure for Harry, who is longing for a better homelife, and for a brief shining moment its great to see him, Oldman and Alan Rickman all standing in a room together.I hesitate to put any blame on incoming director Alfonso Cuaron, since it seems the source material is what I responded less to than the direction. Looking over his resume (A Little Princess, Great Expectations, Y Tu Mama Tambien), it?s clear he loves the theme of growing up. Or simply having adults terrorize children. But Prisoner of Azkaban can?t fulfill the expectations of the next stage of these characters? growth. Believing in oneself is a fine message, but name five popular children?s stories that haven?t repeated that ad nauseum. Is the film really any darker than the previous films? There may be less light, but the tone hasn?t changed that drastically.Fans of the books, many of whom say get better with each volume, probably won?t be as disappointed as I was. As they continue to get longer (Azkaban was 435 pages while parts 4 & 5 are 752 & 870, respectively) they may have more to gripe with snips in the movie, since this is the shortest of the three to date. I?ll be surprised if they find this one the best of the lot. It?s more setup, less payoff and more of the same with the supposedly perfect choice of Cuaron who plays it too safe choosing to rather endanger the hair on the kids? heads instead of sprouting new ones.
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DOWNLOAD MOVIE Painted Veil, The Just $2.99 for a complete movie! No additional software or browser plug-ins required! You can play them for unlimited number of times whenever you want. Downloaded movies will work perfectly on any PC, DVD player, PDA etc.
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Painted Veil, The

William Somerset Maugham’s novel of the same name gets the big screen treatment for the third time, and as they often say with "third times", it proves to be the charm.   Although the adaptation by Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia, Mrs. Soffel) takes artistic liberties with the original story (mostly in the changes in the relationship between the two main characters), the film still emerges as an elegant and beautifully-told period romance on its own.  Though it will most likely be largely ignored for other films in terms of accolades, it is, in my opinion, the best film I’ve seen in 2006.

Set in the 1920s, The Painted Veil tells about a period in the life of Kitty (Watts, King Kong), a Londoner who constantly is feeling pressured by her family to get married and leave the house, now that she’s getting up there in years.  Tired of the harping and feelings of inadequacy, she marries a young doctor of biology named Walter Fane (Norton, The Illusionist), who in the course of courting her, has fallen madly in love.  Kitty doesn’t feel the same way, but he is the answer to all that has been bothering her, so she consents to the marriage, eventually leaving with him to China in order for him to continue in his career.  Once there, Kitty engages in an affair with another married British diplomat named Charlie Townsend (Schreiber, The Manchurian Candidate), and does feel actual love for the man, but is faced with conflict when Walter finds out about the affair.  Walter gives her an ultimatum: come with him to a poverty-ridden village where a cholera epidemic is killing them at a rapid rate, or get a divorce and be left with the shame and uncertainty that this decision entails.  When Charlie hedges his feelings in the end, the choice is clear, as her apathy turns to misery, and boredom turns to self-discovery,  in one of the most forsaken parts of the world. 

Like many period romances, a great deal of the film’s assets reside in the lush cinematography, beautiful environs, and elegant costumes, sumptuously presented by cinematographer, Stuart Dryburgh (Aeon Flux, The Recruit).  The score by Alexandre Desplat (The Queen, Firewall) is subtle, but often stirring when the situation calls for, sometimes reminiscent of the work of Philip Glass, especially in his score for another recent Edward Norton vehicle, The Illusionist.  The direction by John Curran (We Don’t Live Here Anymore, Praise) is assured, taking modest chances in the overall feel of the piece through the depiction of China as alluring, yet always dangerous.  Nyswaner’s script fleshes out the original story to include a backdrop of political unrest, further deepening the sense of urgency and despair that would eventually lead to cracking the protective shell of a guarded man and frustrated woman.  There is an elegance and aesthetic beauty to the film that plays very well to the type of drama that The Painted Veil is — mysterious, romantic, and pessimistically bleak.  From a craftsmanship standpoint, it’s difficult to imagine doing this story more justice.

Of course, most of the accolades will more rightfully go to the main actors, Edward Norton and Naomi Watts (who also receive producer credits), for their brilliant portrayals of two complex, flawed characters who must progress and mature quite substantially, but naturally, in the course of this two hour film.  In both cases, they are award worthy, with Norton showing a deep inner pain and inability to express his true feelings, though we know always know what he’s going through, while Watts, removed from the sheltered, superficial life she once lead, finds out there is more to her world than balls and flirtations, as well as more to the essence of love.  Though it’s not always easy to see these changes, the characters at the end of the film are quite different than the ones we’re introduced to at the beginning, although the world they were born into, as well as the one they are thrust into, always seems to stay the same.

Although marketed as a romance, and it is in some ways, The Painted Veil is more about a deeper sort of feeling that two people can have for one another.  While many love stories never delve much deeper than the initial attraction and union of two people who must overcome obstacles to finally come to equal terms, The Painted Veil differs by starting out with an uneasy union, with characters that have many conflicting feelings for one another at varying times, never quite able to come to a mutual understanding of what they mean to each other.  Looking at it in another way, it could be called an anti-romance, as these characters were never afforded a mutual interest, though they eventually form a bond that connects them far more, and runs much deeper, than in stories that depict common courtship.  Two people can fail so miserably at romance can still find love for one another, though their emotional frustrations prevent them from being able to break through.

The Painted Veil is a beautiful film, visually and spiritually.  Gorgeously presented, emotionally resonant, and superbly constructed, it is a subtle, poignant, and ultimately moving story of two people who start off by giving up on past loves to explore a newfound life, but instead, end up giving past lives in order to explore newfound love.

— Maugham’s novel has been previously adapted in The Painted Veil (1934) and The Seventh Sin (1957).

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DOWNLOAD MOVIE Around the World in 80 Days Just $2.99 for a complete movie! No additional software or browser plug-ins required! You can play them for unlimited number of times whenever you want. Downloaded movies will work perfectly on any PC, DVD player, PDA etc.
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“Around the World in 80 Days” sails along on a slipstream of pleasant scenery, amusing incident and the boundless charms of its appealing leading men, Jackie Chan and Steve Coogan: It’s an unexpectedly buoyant spectacular. Based on the Jules Verne novel, the basis of a 2-ton turkey from 1956 with David Niven, this light entertainment suggests that the class of movie known as “the family film” — think Fred MacMurray and a talking dog — has yet to be vanquished by product placements, vulgarity and unnecessary violence. It may never be hip to be square, but as this genial film attests sometimes it’s sweet relief. The story, originally published by Verne in 1872, concerns an English stuffed shirt of unknown circumstances, Phileas Fogg (Coogan), who bets some fellow club members that he can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. To win his wager, Fogg employs horseless and horse-drawn carriages, various trains and one hot-air balloon, a slow-moving boat and a fast-moving flying machine — along with a bag brimming with cash, a head abounding in ingenuity and, courtesy of his valet, Passepartout (Chan), some fancy fist-and-footwork. And, perhaps because the image of two bachelors traveling together in close quarters no longer registers the way it did once upon a movie time, a third globetrotter has been folded into the mix, a French painter named Monique (Cécile de France). ADVERTISEMENT As in the original novel much adventure ensues though with none of the casual affronts and racism; Passepartout no longer calls Fogg “master” for one, and a band of attacking Sioux Indians has, gratefully, gone missing. Instead, in a nod to modern tastes and attention spans, director Frank Coraci and writers David Titcher, David Benullo and David Goldstein amp the action with a purloined jade statue and a Chinese warlord with extremely dangerous press-on nails (played by the delightful Hong Kong actress Karen Joy Morris). It’s all terribly silly if eminently watchable, in part because it gives executive co-producer Chan something to do besides spread his mile-wide smile. In the case of a bit featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger — wearing a scary Roseanne Roseannadana fright wig and an even more alarming wolfish grin — it’s also downright memorable. As far as Jackie Chan vehicles go “Around the World in 80 Days” is fairly tame stuff. Serving as the film’s stunt choreographer, Chan nonetheless executes a couple of nifty fight sequences, including one in which he uses a wooden bench to battle a blade-twirling opponent. Not since Fred Astaire has a screen performer put quotidian objects to such consistently glorious use. For most American viewers it’s likely that the bigger eye-opener will be Coogan, an impudently gifted British comic performer best known here for the film “24 Hour Party People.” With a mad stare and jumping eyebrows, Coogan plays Fogg as both an innocent and genius, as a man who after a lifetime of living inside his head is forced to confront the wonderful wide world in order to — of course, of course — discover his truest self. In Verne’s novel, the wager is merely the excuse for the journey; the larger reason is the rapidly shrinking world. (A club member insists that the world “is big enough” for a thief to hide from the law. “It was once,” counters Fogg.) Crass commercialism alone explains the 1956 movie, however, a crashing bore and one of the worst films to win the Academy Award for best picture. About all that’s worth remembering about this talking-picture mausoleum is a surreal prologue with Edward R. Murrow jawing on about Verne, film pioneer Georges Méliès and the modern age in the same stentorian tones he had recently used to help nail Sen. Joseph McCarthy. The sight of the journalist icon — one hand holding a cigarette, the other caressing a globe — shilling for the film’s producer, Mike Todd, is priceless. Although the 1956 movie was shot on location from Mexico to Thailand it might as well have been produced entirely on a studio back lot given its one-dimensional design and attitude toward the earth’s peoples as fearsome exotics and swarthy babes. (Shirley MacLaine plays an East Indian princess, for crying out loud.) The new movie plays down the putative exoticism of other cultures, partly by playing up the strangeness of Victorian England, and does so without tipping into art-and-joy-deadening political correctness. It’s also remarkably free of youth pandering pop references that are supposed to play from here to China. Just as happily this “Around the World in 80 Days” proves that even in this day and age it remains possible to travel the world, meet interesting people and, well, not kill them. * ‘Around the World in 80 Days‘ MPAA rating: PG for action violence, some crude humor and mild language Times guidelines: The action is blood-free; the language no cruder than “hell.” Jackie Chan…Passepartout Steve Coogan…Phileas Fogg Cécile de France…Monique Jim Broadbent…Lord Kelvin Ewen Bremner…Inspector Fix Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Pictures present a Spanknyce Films production, released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Director Frank Coraci. Writers David Titcher, David Benullo, David Goldstein. Based on the novel by Jules Verne. Producers Hal Lieberman, Bill Badalato. Director of photography Phil Meheux. Production designer Perry Andelin Blake. Film Editor Tom Lewis. Costume designer Anna Sheppard. Music Trevor Jones. Casting Avy Kaufman. Stunt choreography by Jackie Chan. In English and in French, Mandarin, Turkish and Hindi with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes.
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DOWNLOAD MOVIE Vanilla Sky Just $2.99 for a complete movie! No additional software or browser plug-ins required! You can play them for unlimited number of times whenever you want. Downloaded movies will work perfectly on any PC, DVD player, PDA etc.
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The Movie:





Apparently, Cameron Crowe viewed Alejandro Amenabar’s 1997 Spanish mind-bender “Open Your Eyes” and thought a remake would be a perfect vehicle to reunite the director with his “Jerry Maguire” star Tom Cruise. Cruise agreed and event went on to produce Amenabar’s “The Others”, starring ex-wife Nicole Kidman.



Although I found “Open Your Eyes” fairly enjoyable, I never quite understood what many other viewers seemed to see in it. Still, I was interested to see what a director like Crowe would do with the twisty thriller, especially given the fact that Crowe has helmed nothing like it in the past.



The film stars Cruise as David Aames, the son of a publishing giant who has inherited his fathers vast empire. He occasionally appears in the office, chatting up his co-workers and fellow owners before quickly whisking himself out the door and into another party. He’s even got a beautiful girlfriend, Julie (Cameron Diaz), who occasionally comes over and sleeps with him. He thinks that it’s a fling, but she’s falling deeper for him.



One night, David meets Sofia (Penelope Cruz, star of “Open Your Eyes”) and instantly falls for her, making Julie feel hurt and a bit more than angry. On the other hand, he’s also angered his friend (Jason Lee, who has become a really stellar actor since his start in Kevin Smith’s “Mallrats”), who has fallen for Sofia and thinks she could be “the one”.



Julie picks him up in the morning and their drive ends with a horrifying traffic accident that leaves Julie dead and David horribly disfigured and about to be charged for her murder. Or, did they have an accident? Or, did he ever meet Sofia? Or, is he dreaming? Yes, this is one of those movies and, once the twists start coming, they begin to pile up on each other. “Memento” is as highly and rightly regarded as it is because the intricate structure is easily grasped, but there are still a few questions and a few possibilities at hand once everything is all said and done. Like “Open Your Eyes”, the curves and plot twists begin to spill over in “Vanilla Sky“. I felt as if it started to get a little difficult to care, as the point eventually wasn’t arriving soon enough. Some may be infuriated; I might have been a little more unhappy if I didn’t at least enjoy the performances and look of the film.



As for the look of the film, Crowe has wisely chosen to reteam with his “Almost Famous” cinematographer John Toll, whose work here captures the beauty of New York City and every detail of the lavish locations. There is a scene early in the picture where Cruise’s character stops in a completely empty Times Square and runs throughout the streets, with a light electronic tune in the background. The scene is one of a few in the movie that truly soars, really reaching a wonderful level of energy. Crowe’s usual editor Joe Hutshing also returns here, keeping the plot structure fairly well-handled, even slightly better than I remember “Open Your Eyes” being, although it’s been a while since I viewed the original. As per usual, former Rolling Stone writer Crowe remains Soundtrack King, hearding together an effective light electronic and alternative rock soundtrack that is enjoyable and not intrusive.



The performances are good, if the chemistry that Crowe was obviously looking for isn’t quite there. The pairing of Cruise and Diaz really doesn’t spark like I’d expect. Diaz is fine on her own; her declarations of love and what her relationship with David means to her are truly heartbreaking. Cruise starts off a little too subtle and a little too smug, but starts to show more depth as the movie advances. Cruise and Cruz are a more interesting pairing; they work off one another well and Cruz is at her most comfortable, haunting and engaging, which is especially pleasing after a couple of shrill recent performances. There’s even a really strong performance from Kurt Russell as the psychologist who is interviewing David after the accident. Nobody gives their best performance, but the effort is obviously there.



There are still some problems that I had with the picture. “Vanilla Sky” moves slowly and could have used a few little clips here and there to aid the pace of the 136 minute picture. There’s also little suspense and not enough tension, although there are some dramatic and emotional sequences that are very effective and genuinely saddening.



It’s a pretty good picture from Cameron Crowe, but certainly not his best film. The film brings up themes about life and interests in those areas, but the structure of the story eventually spirals around itself one too many times, while the characters never really fully held my attention. “Vanilla Sky” is watchable, quite discussable, but I didn’t feel it was entirely memorable or always involving.




The DVD





VIDEO: “Vanilla Sky” is presented by Paramount in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The image quality is very good, although it helps that the cinematography by two-time Oscar winner and Crowe’s “Almost Famous” collaborator John Toll is gorgeous and the settings are opulent and beautiful. Sharpness and detail are usually very good, although there were a few scenes that seemed as if they were intentionally very slightly soft.



The picture displayed a few minor flaws, but nothing that was very major, or even very mild. The print used was in excellent condition, with only a speck or two and a couple of tiny moments of grain. Edge enhancement is slightly visible on occasion, but I didn’t find it that annoying. No pixelation or any other flaws were spotted.



The film’s color palette is a change from Crowe’s usually vibrant looking pictures. While there are some interiors that are warm and rich in appearance, most of the film has a moderately cool, crisp feel that suits the sleeker material well. Colors were well-presented, appearing crisp and well-rendered, with no smearing. Overall, this is a very nice transfer that does justice to Toll’s remarkable work.



SOUND: “Vanilla Sky” is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, but this is not a particularly active soundtrack. Crowe’s music-heavy presentation recieves the most attention, as the music is nicely spread out across the front speakers and occasionally gets reinforcement from the surrounds. Otherwise though, the surrounds go mostly unused, with the exception of some occasional ambient sounds. Audio quality was excellent, as the songs really came forth with energy and terrific clarity. Dialogue and sound effects were also quite clear. A nice soundtrack that is perfectly fine for the material.



MENUS: Paramount has prepared beautifully done menus for this release, complete with music in the background and wonderful animated transitions.



EXTRAS:



Commentary: This is a commentary from director Cameron Crowe and composer/wife/collaborator Nancy Wilson. Listening to Crowe’s commentary tracks reveals an interesting personality. There’s a hippie-ish goofyness to his laugh and his occasional way of throwing words like “man” into sentences. On the other hand, there’s also an interesting and genuine enthusiasm that Crowe displays for everything, as if making a big film is not stress, but still something new and cool. Last, but not least, Crowe is often insightful and informative. Crowe is all these things again here, if maybe it isn’t his most involving discussion of one of his films (See “Say Anything” or “Almost Famous”). The director is quite funny and informative, discussing both the story and technical production issues. There’s also some funny moments with the relaxed atmosphere of the commentary, as Crowe’s kids run in at one point and start adding their own discussion for a little while. Wilson provides occasional comments, but often provides a pleasant, light background guitar score to Crowe’s comments. Even star Tom Cruise provides comments via phone at one point later in the movie.



Prelude to a Dream: This is a wonderfully done montage of clips from the production and pre-production of the picture, accompanied by Crowe’s informative and interesting voice-over, discussing his thoughts upon trying to remake the picture and the film in general. This 6-minute introduction is certainly enjoyable.



Unreleased Teaser Trailer: I’m not sure why this trailer remained unreleased; while it doesn’t tell the audience much of anything about the story, it uses scenes from the movie very well and grabs the interest. The International Trailer is included as well, but remarkably didn’t interest me as much as the teaser trailer, which was more surreal, told less and had a better rhythm.



Photo Galleries: Eight photo galleries are included, complete with an audio introduction from long-time Crowe friend and “Vanilla Sky“’s still photographer Neal Preston.



Hitting It Hard: This documentary about the “Vanilla Sky” press tour has been prepared by Crowe’s Vinyl Films. Also, it’s not something that should be watched for those who occasionally take a peak at the supplements before they see the film. Like something out of the “America’s Sweethearts” outtakes, we see Cruise, Crowe, Cruz and other memebers of the “Vanilla Sky” team going across the globe to promote the film as they’re met by mobs of fans and legions of reporters. Yes, there’s an element watching the screaming mobs of “yes, we know everyone loves the celebs”, but the documentary also provides an interesting perspective for the audience, as the viewer is looking outward at the sort of controlled chaos that accompanies pop culture, whether in the US or anywhere around the world.



Gag Reel: A 5 1/2 minute gag reel is included, but it is a hidden easter egg. (Sort of a hint: it’s picture-perfect).



Also: An interview with Paul McCartney and a music video for “Africa Shox” by Leftfield/Afrika Bambaataa.





Final Thoughts: While I didn’t love “Vanilla Sky“, I thought there was a lot to like about it. It’s the kind of film where, love it or hate it, it’ll likely spark discussion in-between viewers. As for the DVD, those who have not seen it should try the film out as a rental first, while those who enjoyed the film in theaters should seek a purchase. Paramount still continues to show improvements in their DVD releases and “Vanilla Sky” is another very nice effort, combining a fine presentation of the film with great supplements.



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