The Manchurian Candidate -- The remake of the 1962 paranoid classic. What's instructive is that the original version with Frank Sinatra, made during the heights, and depths of cold war, featured the world's meanest Maoists depicted as cold blooded brainwashers who actually perform their perfidious tasks in Manchuria. In the current Denzel Washington opus "Manchuria" is the name of a greed soaked global capitalist outfit that closely resembles the Bush family's Carlyle Group. Our brain washing "rule the world" enemies, and dark conspirators, are no longer Manchurians, they are home grown American monsters. Have we finally woken up to the truth?

Mars Attacks -- Martian invaders attack and the American ruling class is wiped out.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein -- This film conjures up the romantic energy and optimism of the 19th century and the Byronic belief that individual human beings can and should do great things at the service of humanity. Dr. Victor Frankenstein tries to abolish all death with his experiments aimed at proving that dead flesh can be reanimated. Unfortunately a monster is created. But as the film brilliantly demonstrates, the monster is not really a product of Frankenstein's science, but of society's countless cruelties. No previous movie version of the story ever portrayed that stark truth as powerfully. Robert De Niro plays The Creature and Kenneth Branagh is his father, Dr. Frankenstein.

Masked And Anonymous -- And starring Bob Dylan as a down and out former super star living in a down and out former country. Dylan is supposed to perform on a benefit TV show that will financially help (a little bit), the victims of chaos and capitalism -- the event is also aimed rebuilding his collapsed career. This low budget cinema spectacular is filled to the brim with famous actors performing for scale who would give their arms and legs to be working with B.D. Muffled Dylan music is constantly heard in the background as scenes from his songs are repeatedly visualized on the screen. It makes for the most accurate description yet of where our post 9/11 world is heading, with its wars, exploitation, and power hungry ruler. It also makes clear that show business can't really help.

Master and Commander -- It's 1805 and France and England are battling for control of the western world, and for the moment mostly on high seas. A bold and imaginative Captain played by Russell Crowe is in pursuit of a much larger and faster French ship. The captain is an interesting guy, besides having the required tyrannical edge, he also loves playing the violin, he can be very kind, has a sense of fun and at times enjoys arguing values with his good friend, the ship's doctor, a brilliant Naturalist. Life on Crowe's ship is well portrayed from the cannons to the sea chants and there are enough well played, sympathetic people around to make you care about the outcome. Master and Commander is a well made film, but alas, at the bottom line it is about men who kill for a profession and always find the moral justification for their actions.

Mr. Magoo -- I admit the Yippies weren't kind to Mr. Magoo when we named the evil Conspiracy Trial judge after him -- but that was based on an amazingly similar physical appearance not Magoo's behavior. The makers of the all- live not cartoon movie did far worse than us--they implied that not only did Magoo have terrible eye sight but that he was rather stupid. They went so far that by film's end they had to put up a sign explaining that they really didn't think all blind people were stupid.

The Medallion -- A ("chosen one"), little Asian kid has a medallion that gives him the power to bestow eternal life and the ability to fly. Naturally an arch evil ("rule the world"), white guy is out to steal the magic medallion. And of course Hong Kong cop Jackie Chan is trying to stop him. Nothing unpredictable happens but the fight scenes are fun. Chan is the only Marshal Arts master who can work inventive slapstick into his battles. Unfortunately his craft never seems capable of beauty or magic.

Meet Joe Black -- A remake of the famous 1930s Death Takes A Holiday, which was in turn based on a stage production. The Angel Of Death wants to know what it feels like to be human, so he takes over the handsome body of Brad Pitt, who just died in a car accident. Because of a heart attack, Death is supposed to take the soul of a wealthy but likable media mogul who is approaching his 65th birthday. Instead he strikes a deal. He'll postpone the mogul's death (played by Anthony Hopkins), if the rich man acts as his tour guide through the human condition. Naturally Death falls in love with Hopkin's exquisite daughter and also has to help the good guys by blocking a Rupert Murdoch type takeover of the business. This is a long (slow) movie, and at times the dialog is endless, but there are moments of real magic between Pitt and Hopkins.

A Mighty Wind -- A great takeoff on a folk music reunion of has-beens with some lurking residual talent. Satire of course, but feelings for the post-Weavers, pre-Dylan, clean cut Kingston Trio years of folk music are warm and kind. The portrayal of an Ian & Sylvia type duo is complex and sensitive as well as very funny.

Miller's Crossing -- A gangster film shot in the early 1930s manner with slow intense dialog and lots of great historically accurate slang. An Irish political boss battles against Italian mobsters to retain control of his criminal empire -- while not be dragged down by a crazy Jewish bookie and his very attractive sister. Best scene is when the boss, with machine guns blazing methodically fights for his life while in the background we hear the greatest version of "Oh Danny Boy " ever.

Million Dollar Baby -- Director Clint Eastwood has created a brilliant new genre of film, the 'manly chick flick'. Female in its vulnerability and sentimentality but masculine in its upholding of the rugged boxing values of competitive courage and craft. Hilary Swank plays a 30ish woman who walks into a gym and asks a trainer (performed with masterful understatement by Eastwood), to teach her the sweet science of destruction. The Eastwood character resists but the would be fighter has her charms, endurance and natural skills. She becomes a top contender for the women's title but tragedy intervenes and her trainer faces the greatest challenge of his life. Swank is extremely believable as someone with nothing left to lose and a world to win. And as a bonus, the portrayal of her greedy, insane and cruel lumpen family is a cameo masterpiece.

Miracle -- It's 1980 and America is in big trouble. Iranian students have captured the Tehran embassy, gas is being rationed, Three Mile Island is exploding, the Russians are in Afghanistan and a pessimistic Jimmy Carter is in the White House. Amidst this massive malaise the American hockey team comes to the rescue. They are scheduled to play the seemingly unbeatable Soviet team in the winter Olympics. The Americans are super underdogs but they have a driven, brilliant, moderately cruel and manipulative coach who will whip them into shape. The hockey scenes are action packed and nearly thrilling but there is a complete lack of character development. It's all about the supreme greatness of the coach and the players come in only a distant second. USA USA!

Mobile Police -- (Japanese Animation) When will they remove all the endless nerdy-wordy moralizing dialogs from animation movies? The key is not in what you hear but what you see. If they ever get it right it could result in some great film art.

Mobsters -- This may be one of the more accurate Hollywood films about organized crime. All about Bugsy, Lansky, Costello, and last but not least, Lucky Luciano. This is a heart warming American tale about how these handsome young Jews and Italians fall under the kindly guidance of Arnold Rothstein (who once fixed the World Series), resist the old world Mafia racism and take over everything. The funny thing is, it almost happened that way.

Monterey Pop Festival -- The new DVD version - Oh my, Janis was unreal and Ms. Slick too - and Simon and Garfunkel, and the Airplane really took off - so did Otis Redding, and Jimmy H. What struck Judy and me - everyone in the crowd was the same age --and that means they are now mostly in their 60s. I bet no matter what happened since they remember Janis, they remember them all as if it were yesterday. They witnessed the magic and the miracles. *** Out takes include QuickSilver Messenger Service, the Blues Project, the Byrds with Big Brother with Janis in a supporting role - lots of Mamas and Papas, more Simon and Garfunkel ("Sounds of Silence"), along with a great performance by Country Joe and the Fish. The Gitanes are 'the rest of the festival' which includes at least some political comments from the performers, comments that were smoothly edited out of the originally released version.

Monsoon Wedding -- A fatter wedding then even that famous Greek affair with limitless color, fantastic dancing, magnificent clothing, group singing, and a ton of happy Eros - a portrait of very likable people who take on and resolve some very serious problems, amidst their fun.

The Morning After -- Jane Fonda doing a great job as a permanently drunk ex- movie actress who wakes up one fine morning to discover a male corpse in her bed with a knife sticking out of his chest. Fortunately for Jane, she meets Jeff Bridges, an ex-cop who for some weird reason (she is a super obnoxious drunk), wants to help her. The stolid, but reliable, Jeff reminds me of Tom Hayden, who went from being my Berkeley roommate to being Ms. Fonda's one time husband. That's an impressive promotion. Although shot mostly in the sun of Los Angeles, the film finally draws some very Noirish conclusions.

Motorcycle Diaries -- A long awaited film based on the diaries that Ernesto "Che" Guevara kept when he and his pal Alberto Granado crossed the Andes on an ancient motorcycle, by hitch hiking and on a raft. This isn't Easy Rider or On The Road, Guevara isn't a dope dealer or a novelist, he's a young brave medical student discovering the limitless natural beauty of his continent and its limitless social cruelty. He is on the road to immortality, boundless fame and a very humanistic sainthood. I can't imagine the pain this movie would have caused if it sucked. Che was my enduring role model, indeed in my crowd, he was everyone's role model. But have no fear, Motorcycle Diaries is a splendid spectacular film about a young adventurer who starts his journey seeking to discover the world, and who becomes an audacious human being out to completely change the world. Motorcycle Diaries has amazing footage of the Andes, (especially in Peru) wonderful visual portraits of the common people, a remarkable sense of adventure, great humor and compassion, (Dr. Guevara in a leper colony) and of self discovery - "Motorcycle Diaries" offers us hope.

My Uncle Berns -- An inspiring documentary about an 88 year old artist of immense primitive talent, kindness and humor, who survived D-Day and who lived next door to the World Trade Center when it was blown up. He's a giant grey bearded man who looks a lot like Karl Marx, but acts much more like Groucho. He's also comic Billy Crystal's uncle and surrogate father figure. The film was made by Billy's daughter Lindsay who wanted to get to know her magical great uncle a little better. Like three generations of Crystals she fell in love with him.

New Jack City -- It's all about Crack cocaine, and how hip, and somewhat likable brothers off the block, sell poison to other brothers off the block for fun and enormous profit. Naturally, the hip, and somewhat likable cops take them on. The almost all black cast is great, the rap music even better, and thanks to director Mario Van Peebles, the action is never boring. The plot however is a bit too larger than life, and comic bookish to be taken too seriously.

Nico The Unicorn -- This film features a Unicon, a disabled boy, his single mother, a very sweet girl friend, and a nice warm hearted cop. Only the Canadians could make a movie like this. Unicorns in Canada? Could be because they have socialized medicine. Probably to protect the Unicorn's address, the Canadian film makers pretend the action is taking place in Vermont.

The Wild One -- Still crazy and brilliant after all these years. Released in 1953 and produced by Stanley Kramer this film is in 'the art as prophesy tradition'. Within the first ten minutes Marlon Brando, by means of his amazing facial expressions and body language (he would have made a great silent movie actor), presages the coming 1960s rebellion. The film is about a motorcycle gang's take over of a small sleepy town and the violence that ensues. Both the bikers and some town's people turn very ugly and there is a hint of fascism in the air. The night time camera work is framed in gothic noir and is magnificently frightening. Brando's portrayal of absolute alienation from existing society and all its authorities is stunning and is certainly one of his greatest roles.

Once Upon A Time in China -- A Chinese made Noodle Eastern, set in the late 19th Century, about how a militia of martial artists takes on encroaching and occupying foreign powers and their local collaborators in the city of Canton. The film's mood is ferociously nationalistic and its spectacular fight scenes involve endless flying kicks and mind boggling mid air acrobatics. A wonderful theatrical dragon also makes an appearance. In our American high school text books they once labeled the Chinese resistance as The Boxer Rebellion. Once Upon A Time In China is the first of a series of six films on the Boxers.

Once Upon A Time In The Midlands -- A Brit Indie tribute to filmmaker Sergio Leone, and his Once Upon A Time In The West. While the tribute is sincere it is also playful, the British suburbs aren't exactly filled with mountains and deserts, there is always some strange spaghetti western music playing somewhere. The story line offers a low level, semi sexy, slightly good looking thug who has a bag of stolen money and wants to rebuild his life by returning to his former wife and daughter. He is a walking disaster, especially when some betrayed friends come looking for him. The plot hinges on whether his ex-wife's current cowardly lion boyfriend can stand up to the intruder.

One False Move -- Billy Bob Thornton stars in this film about a murderous trio, one black man, one white man and one beautiful black woman, who rip off and murder drug dealers. They go on the run from two LA cops and try hiding out in Texas and Arkansas. A local and ambitious police chief joins forces with his LA brethren only to discover his past coming back to haunt him in a very compromising way. The film has a fine sense of small town and city place. I kept expecting Bill Clinton to show up and join the posse.

The Order -- Weird tale from the crypt of medieval Christian customs being practiced in modern Rome and the Vatican. It's a world where you might obtain the power of god. Don't ask an old Jew from Brooklyn to figure out the plot -- but it was visually fascinating, real ambiance and place.

Outfoxed -- Robert Greenwald's new film is an amazingly well crafted documentary portrait of the inner and outer workings of Rupert Murdoch's Fox News. Most of the film's sources are former employees of Fox and perhaps a few who still work for Murdoch. Greenwald's absolutely proven thesis is that Fox is not just a more conservative news source. Under the hilarious guise of being "fair and balanced," Fox is a direct instrument of the Republican Party and marches exclusively under its command.

Page Master -- An entirely predictable early adolescent film about a nerdy kid who studies statistics and is afraid of climbing into a tree house built by his father. Of course the kid gets lost in a dark tunnel of his own fears and winds up in a magic library where he is turned into a cartoon by a magnificent multi -olored dragon born of transcendent animation skill. As animated cartoon this ordinary flick becomes fantastic. The kid is forced to do battle with Long John Silver, the Hound of the Baskervilles, Mr. Hyde, Moby Dick and a very mean St George the dragon. Much of art work is mind blowing and LSD inspired. What's a tree house after that?

The Park Is Mine -- This film features a young and exciting Tommy Lee Jones as a Vietnam vet who inherits a plan to take over Central Park by frightening people off with well placed explosives. He then broadcasts commentaries that expose the unyielding cruelty of every day capitalist life. He plans to leave the Park on Memorial Day. By some interesting plot quirks that make it seem sort of plausible, he winds up shooting it out with his old pals -- the Viet Cong. The new Yippies are presently seeking to use Central Park for their anti-Bush Republican convention demonstrations. They are being denied permits. Perhaps The Park Is Mine would make a useful training film for the rebels?

WXII - Patlabor -- The usual amazing Japanese animation. A cop story about bio-robotic weapons research run amuck by a woman scientist who tries to bring back to life her deceased daughter--and does it dangerously. The visuals on the monster - part robot part creature are quite frightening and fascinating also is the step by step telling of the cops investigation.

Peter Pan -- (2004) great effects, creatures and colors, and a welcome undertone of blossoming sexuality, but Wendy is still a Brit colonialist invading Never Never Land and bringing the lost boys back to be raised as upstanding subjects of the crown. She doesn't get Pan. He continues to engage in what the Freudo-Marxists of Frankfurt once called "the great refusal." ----

* Finding Neverland -- Which ponders the question, did J. M. Barrie create Peter Pan or was Pan the maker of Barrie? Set in turn of the 20th Century London, Barrie struggles for inspiration and finds it in the characters of a beautiful widow and her many children, he combines their energies with his earliest kid fantasies of a "never have to grow up" Utopia and voila Peter Pan enters the world, and Victorian London is highly amused. It's great fun when the film shows us how Pan was originally staged. The movie features a great real dog named named Nana and Johnny Depp does an amazing job bringing Barrie to life. Dustin Hoffman and Julie Christie also shine.

People I Know -- This film is about a New York liberal publicist, played with extraordinary craft, by Al Pacino. The guy once marched with ML King but now walks hand in hand with the greed freaks and hypocritical power brokers who run the city. Pacino witnesses the murder of a starlet who knew too much and now he knows way too much -- but he tries to make use of it by blackmailing key power players into attending an anti racist benefit that he is organizing. Pacino's character is walking a tight rope and he is working without a net.

Phantom of the Paradise -- A Brian De Palma noir classic, which offers his darkest views of capitalism and the music industry. Proceeding in an over the top comic/melodramatic fashion, Phantom offers a combination of Faust and The Phantom Of the Opera - only as a rock cantata that strongly resembles the then unmade, "Rocky Horror Picture Show." The music is truth telling but the audiences are made up of mad men lovers of deadly decadence. The promoters and performers embody the purity of absolute evil. How the music world had fallen to hell! In 1965, the San Francisco sound was so happy with hope and inspiration -- now the sound (via this Phantom), is being managed by monsters.

Point Of No Return -- Bridget Fonda is a member of a murderous gang of junkies. She kills a couple of people and is 'executed' by the State - but despite a staged funeral Bridget lives, only to wake up in a government training facility. In exchange for her life she must agree to become a trained killer in a very Secret Service. She's a natural for the gig except that when they civilize her with a new hair style, table manners, splendid posture and fine grammar, she gets a new boy friend and decides that killing is rather distasteful. Naturally this change of heart causes her some problems with her humorless employer. "Point Of No Return" is nearly an exact remake of, the original and somewhat better French film Le Femme Nikita

Pollock -- The film is about the life and work of Jackson Pollock, the artist who put New York City on the cultural map as the "Abstract" capitol of the world. Jackson's highly original work blended surrealism and Mexican muralism with the unique technique of calculated dripping. The film wisely places its focus on the artist's process. Ed Harris as Pollock, bring incredible energy to the role, he approaches the canvas and it's thrilling to watch the creation of great imaginative works. Pollock's private life is distinctly less original. He's your typical self-destructive and destructive drunken genius who wastes himself and others in the time tested manner. The film doesn't give us much insight as to why, and it completely leaves out the artist's early left-wing politics. Amy Madigan does a sympathetic job as millionaire art patron Peggy Gugenheim who promoted Pollock and Marcia Gay Harden is splendid as Lee Krasner, the artist who discovered Jackson Pollock, married him and up to a point took care of him. The film is shot in appealing and subdued colors - and this is the only thing subdued about Pollock.

The Prisoner -- Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan star as two inmates in a hellish Hong Kong prison. When the finger prints of a 'supposedly' executed murderer are found at the site of a fresh killing, a Hong Kong cop assumes a gangster identity and infiltrates the jail house of supposed execution pretending he's just another guy doing time. There's not much Kung Fu in this film, though Sammo and Chan have their moments, but there is a powerful portrayal of officially imposed prison brutality and some good acting and character development, the cons are actually portrayed as human beings.

The Puppet Masters -- A frightening fast paced film based on the work of Robert A. Heinlein. Ugly ET's enter human bodies and take full control of their hearts and minds. We are reminded of Alien, and The Invasion of the Body Snatchers but mostly, we recall a George W. Bush rally.

Queen of the Damned -- I almost fell asleep. Based on A. Rice's novel, it's more of a kinky spectacle than a movie. There are some good visuals but the plot builds absolutely no momentum. I hate to say it but this flick sort of gives vampires a bad name.

The Quiet American -- Famous tale of intrigue and death in the early days of American involvement in Vietnam. Michael Caine is terrific as the cynical but sympathetic Brit correspondent - who observes the deadly coming of the Americans and their oversized and dangerous ambitions.

Ray-- A biopic about the life of the legendary Ray Charles. Jamie Foxx does an award winning job portraying the pianist/singer's fantastic will power, extraordinary talents and massive short comings. Ray Charles comes from impoverished share cropper beginnings and childhood blindness and tragedy and raises himself to the heights of fame and fortune. He also becomes a womanizer, a long term junky, and a betrayer of friends. But his weaknesses do not destroy him. The strength that carried him to fame also takes him to redemption. The film portrays the singer's well publicized refusal to sing before a segregated audience in old south Georgia. We also see a younger Charles traveling on a segregated bus, with Blacks sitting at the back. As a kid I journeyed through Georgia on such a bus -it changed my life- and as "Ray" shows us, the "stop" facilities were also segregated and to the great advantage of whites. As punishment for resisting this racist system, the singer is banned for life from performing in the state, but Georgia eventually apologized to him and adopted Ray Charles's Georgia as its official song.

Restoration -- A British period piece portraying the Stuart Dynasty's restoration to power, and featuring Robert Downey as a decadent doctor(and court jester) during the reign of Charles 11. He is banished from court after he propositions the Kings mistress. Our anti-hero sets off to find a Quaker friend and fellow physician, falls in love with a crazed Irish woman and becomes a great man of medicine when during a terrible plague, the now very good doctor goes about saving lives. Restoration is attractively filmed in what could be called Rembrandt color and light. It is alternately funny and melodramatic. Sometimes it even achieves poignance. To top it off, Restoration is true to its name and offers a happy ending.

The Ripper -- Did you know that the Victorian serial killer known only as "Jack The Ripper" caused quite an anti-Semitic uproar in London? This version of Jack's story shot in Melbourne offers a realistic view of old London, its street scenes, hideous class society and obnoxious racism. The Ripper killed prostitutes in the East End of London which was densely populated by Jewish immigrants who were blamed for the killings but a cop who grew up on the East End suspects the killer is a member of the Royal Family. There's also some interesting romantic choices which determine on what side of the class barrier this upwardly mobile police Inspector will live.

Robin Hood -- Kevin Costner robs from the rich and gives to the poor, playing Robin Hood, the western world's most famous social bandit. Nothing much different happens in this version, although we are given a more honest sense of violent peasant rebellion and the tyrant's even more violent efforts at total suppression. Burning peasant villages remind us of Vietnam and Iraq.

49 Ronin-- Great five hr's plus black and white Japanese film about 17th Century Samurai who rebel against the emperor's rulings as a matter of soul and conscience but accept his judgment for their crime--Ritual Suicide. Film was popular in Japan during WW2. I wonder why it portrays the old emperor as corrupt and biased--doesn't seem like propaganda.

The Ring --Shot in Washington State and adapted from a Japanese novel. It's about a dead girl who kills people by way of a mysterious video, they watch it and die. No clear reason why she is doing this except her mother put a hood over her head and threw her down a well. Guess Bush would call that "tough love."

Runaway Jury -- What a cast! Gene Hackman, John Cusak and Dustin Hoffman. A New Orleans civil trial jury is going to consider a law suit that could conclude by holding the gun industry accountable for the murderous uses of its products. Naturally the big business 'gunsters' are trying to fix the jury. But one independent juror (and his outside confederate), are trying to do some fixing of their own. Based on John Grisham's novel, Runaway Jury is a fast paced and paranoid film with a surprise ending. See how far into the story you are before figuring it out.