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(01/12/06 12:57am)
Jim Jarmusch, the writer/director of such indie darlings as "Stranger Than Paradise," "Down By Law" and "Dead Man," tries his hand at quirky self-exploration in "Broken Flowers" with intriguing results. Bill Murray ("Lost in Translation," "Caddyshack") stars as Don Johnston, a fifty-something former Casanova who was once rich in women and technology money, but now faces a lonely existence in his cold, modern abode. One random day he receives an anonymous letter from an old flame telling him he has a 19-year-old son who is now looking for him. This news sparks his Ethiopian amateur sleuth neighbor (Jeffrey Wright) to assist Don in seeking out all five women he dated approximately 20 years ago.\nDon's search to find his son's mother before his son finds him becomes a cross country jaunt through blue-collar towns, white-collar neighborhoods and everything in between. Possible maternal candidates include NASCAR driver widow Laura (Sharon Stone), animal communicator Carmen (Jessica Lange), disenchanted manufactured house salesperson Dora (Frances Conroy) and feisty trailer bait Penny (Tilda Swinton). Don's other girlfriend from the time, Michelle, has since met her fate.\nMurray has brought a unique humanity to nearly every role he's tackled since Herman Blume in "Rushmore." Murray's performances as Steve Zissou, Bob Harris, Raleigh St. Clair and even his take on Hamlet's Polonius have all been note-perfect, and 'Flowers'' Don Johnston is a welcome addition to the Murray canon. It's the type of career path Adam Sandler sadly failed to follow post-"Punch-Drunk Love," but while Sandler obviously needed coaching to achieve his excellent turn under Paul Thomas Anderson's direction, Murray feels right at home with challenging roles in more artistic films. No comic actor these days is more effective at conveying resigned vexation in the most strenuous of circumstances and fascinating us in the process.\nExtras are slim on this disc, but what's there is notable. Jarmusch explains his philosophy on filmmaking over a series of shot set-ups, a few extended scenes come and go, but an extended reel of Murray cracking up everyone on set with his between-takes antics is a candid look into the mind of a comedic force of nature, who's career choices in the last seven years have elevated him from lovable goofball to iconic elder statesman.\nOriginally titled "Dead Flowers" after the Rolling Stones' classic country romp, "Broken Flowers" is a somber, comically touching tale of one man hesitantly revisiting his libido-driven past in order to move on from his stagnant present. Jarmusch's delicate direction and poignant screenplay, along with another standout performance from Bill Murray, make 'Flowers' a genuinely affecting road-trip fable.
(12/08/05 5:00am)
What do an Armenian-American prog-metal quartet, a minimalist Detroit duo, Chicago's most outspoken rapper, a group of earnest Icelanders and some hairy jammers from Louisville all have in common? They're all counted on my list of the best albums of 2005.\n1. System of a Down -- Mezmerize/Hypnotize\n2005 was the year of System. Mezmerize dropped in May, shattering all sales and critical expectations, and Hypnotize is currently doing the same. It's an unconventional feat for an oddball So-Cal prog-metal outfit with Armenian roots, but System of a Down has done nothing but defy convention throughout their ten-year career. A frenetic mix of speedy metal riffs, tuneful melodies, topical humor and constant shifts in tempo renders the combined Mezmerize/Hypnotize the year's best and most compulsively listenable album.\n2. Sufjan Stevens -- Illinois\nAnd the award for the year's most elaborate pop-opera goes to... Brooklyn's Sufjan Stevens, for the second of his state-themed odes to joy, on the heels of 2003's Greetings from Michigan. In honoring the land of Lincoln with songs referencing everything from John Wayne Gacy to the Great Godfrey Maze, Stevens has created a concept album of the highest order, where the music is as cohesive and detailed as the concept. After 74 minutes of intricately sequenced sonic experimentation and shape-shifting pop melodies, one can't help but feel the Illinoise.\n3. Bright Eyes -- I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning\nCommencing the best of his two simultaneously released efforts of 2005 with a spoken-word story, indie golden boy Conor Oberst sets a tone of stark acoustic beauty and lyrical prowess worthy of Dylan comparisons. The inherent frailty in his songs has finally mirrored his gaunt physical frame, but there's more fire in his voice than ever. "We Are Nowhere and It's Now" and "Land Locked Blues," both featuring Emmylou Harris on guest vocals, rank as two of his best compositions, and "Lua" is a bittersweet drug ballad that cuts deep.\n4. M.I.A. -- Arular\nMaya Arulpragasam, the London-born, Sri Lanka-raised art student/rapper with the come hither stare, released her long-awaited debut LP this year to fervent acclaim. Arular takes an addictive hold and refuses to let go. Aside from throwing together the year's best line-up of beats and synth lines, M.I.A. showcases her voice better than any female rapper other than Missy Elliot, even if her unique enunciations outmuscle her flow. "Bucky Done Gun," "Hombre," and "10 $" are all speaker-thumping party anthems that sound even better through a solid set of headphones.\n5. The White Stripes -- Get Behind Me Satan\nNo one in the rock music business can make so much out of so little like Jack White. Using studio equipment the Beatles would've found obsolete in 1968, and backed by his ex-wife pounding away at her drums like a preschooler, Jack penned, recorded and produced 13 of the year's most enigmatic songs. Juxtaposing acoustic and piano-based tracks like "My Doorbell" with the trippy electric crunch of "Red Rain," White further cements his status as rock's consummate minimalist showman.\n6. Sigur Rós -- Takk...\nIceland's favorite sons didn't gain any ground on the U.S. mainstream with their debut, Von, or its two amazing follow-ups, Ágætis Byrjun and ( ). Thankfully for those of us who like to keep our Sigur obsession private, they still remain out of the general public's eye with Takk..., which builds on the gradual elegance of Byrjun and ( ) while excising their excesses. "Hoppípolla" is the best Top 40 Hit that's sure to never chart, and "Mílanó" is a multiple orgasm on record, ripe for the reveling.\n7. Bruce Springsteen -- Devils & Dust\nTonally and topically, Springsteen's latest effort resembles his finest album, Nebraska, and his most underrated, The Ghost of Tom Joad. Those records were more desolate than Devils & Dust, but certainly not deeper. Bearing witness to his nation following the wrong path, Bruce conjured a set of songs direct from his gut, concerning a cast of characters ranging from a lonely soul sharing his bed with a prostitute in "Reno" to a Mexican immigrant desperate to cross the border in "Matamoros Banks." It's essential Americana.\n8. Kanye West -- Late Registration\nAs hard as it is not to resent West's arrogance, it's harder to deny his prowess as a producer and sampler. "Hey Mama" is rap's best maternal ode since Tupac's "Dear Mama," "Gold Digger" is the best kiss-off to triflin' hoes since Dr. Dre's "Housewife," and "Heard 'Em Say" is the best rap song of the year. George Bush might not care about black people, but Kanye most certainly cares about good beats, and in topping his debut, he's become the most consistent and creative hip-hop artist since Blueprint-era Jay-Z.\n9. Coldplay -- X&Y\nFinally unencumbered by allusions to their becoming the next Radiohead, Coldplay have fully accepted becoming the next U2. Bubbling over with as many stadium-ready ballads ("Fix You," "A Message") as somber elegies ("Swallowed in the Sea," "'Til Kingdom Come"), X&Y crowns Coldplay the 21st Century's best excuse for another British invasion, and as the most legitimate act ever to appear on a NOW! compilation.\n10. My Morning Jacket -- Z\nDuring the last five years, Louisville, Ky.'s My Morning Jacket have built a live following worthy of a younger Dave Matthews. As with Matthews and the Dead, the band didn't really nail a studio album until five or more years along the path. Z is that album. Tracks like "Gideon" and "Knot Comes Loose" are sure to only expand and improve in a live setting, ensuring My Morning Jacket will be lighting up many a Kentucky night for present and future fans.
(12/08/05 3:46am)
What do an Armenian-American prog-metal quartet, a minimalist Detroit duo, Chicago's most outspoken rapper, a group of earnest Icelanders and some hairy jammers from Louisville all have in common? They're all counted on my list of the best albums of 2005.\n1. System of a Down -- Mezmerize/Hypnotize\n2005 was the year of System. Mezmerize dropped in May, shattering all sales and critical expectations, and Hypnotize is currently doing the same. It's an unconventional feat for an oddball So-Cal prog-metal outfit with Armenian roots, but System of a Down has done nothing but defy convention throughout their ten-year career. A frenetic mix of speedy metal riffs, tuneful melodies, topical humor and constant shifts in tempo renders the combined Mezmerize/Hypnotize the year's best and most compulsively listenable album.\n2. Sufjan Stevens -- Illinois\nAnd the award for the year's most elaborate pop-opera goes to... Brooklyn's Sufjan Stevens, for the second of his state-themed odes to joy, on the heels of 2003's Greetings from Michigan. In honoring the land of Lincoln with songs referencing everything from John Wayne Gacy to the Great Godfrey Maze, Stevens has created a concept album of the highest order, where the music is as cohesive and detailed as the concept. After 74 minutes of intricately sequenced sonic experimentation and shape-shifting pop melodies, one can't help but feel the Illinoise.\n3. Bright Eyes -- I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning\nCommencing the best of his two simultaneously released efforts of 2005 with a spoken-word story, indie golden boy Conor Oberst sets a tone of stark acoustic beauty and lyrical prowess worthy of Dylan comparisons. The inherent frailty in his songs has finally mirrored his gaunt physical frame, but there's more fire in his voice than ever. "We Are Nowhere and It's Now" and "Land Locked Blues," both featuring Emmylou Harris on guest vocals, rank as two of his best compositions, and "Lua" is a bittersweet drug ballad that cuts deep.\n4. M.I.A. -- Arular\nMaya Arulpragasam, the London-born, Sri Lanka-raised art student/rapper with the come hither stare, released her long-awaited debut LP this year to fervent acclaim. Arular takes an addictive hold and refuses to let go. Aside from throwing together the year's best line-up of beats and synth lines, M.I.A. showcases her voice better than any female rapper other than Missy Elliot, even if her unique enunciations outmuscle her flow. "Bucky Done Gun," "Hombre," and "10 $" are all speaker-thumping party anthems that sound even better through a solid set of headphones.\n5. The White Stripes -- Get Behind Me Satan\nNo one in the rock music business can make so much out of so little like Jack White. Using studio equipment the Beatles would've found obsolete in 1968, and backed by his ex-wife pounding away at her drums like a preschooler, Jack penned, recorded and produced 13 of the year's most enigmatic songs. Juxtaposing acoustic and piano-based tracks like "My Doorbell" with the trippy electric crunch of "Red Rain," White further cements his status as rock's consummate minimalist showman.\n6. Sigur Rós -- Takk...\nIceland's favorite sons didn't gain any ground on the U.S. mainstream with their debut, Von, or its two amazing follow-ups, Ágætis Byrjun and ( ). Thankfully for those of us who like to keep our Sigur obsession private, they still remain out of the general public's eye with Takk..., which builds on the gradual elegance of Byrjun and ( ) while excising their excesses. "Hoppípolla" is the best Top 40 Hit that's sure to never chart, and "Mílanó" is a multiple orgasm on record, ripe for the reveling.\n7. Bruce Springsteen -- Devils & Dust\nTonally and topically, Springsteen's latest effort resembles his finest album, Nebraska, and his most underrated, The Ghost of Tom Joad. Those records were more desolate than Devils & Dust, but certainly not deeper. Bearing witness to his nation following the wrong path, Bruce conjured a set of songs direct from his gut, concerning a cast of characters ranging from a lonely soul sharing his bed with a prostitute in "Reno" to a Mexican immigrant desperate to cross the border in "Matamoros Banks." It's essential Americana.\n8. Kanye West -- Late Registration\nAs hard as it is not to resent West's arrogance, it's harder to deny his prowess as a producer and sampler. "Hey Mama" is rap's best maternal ode since Tupac's "Dear Mama," "Gold Digger" is the best kiss-off to triflin' hoes since Dr. Dre's "Housewife," and "Heard 'Em Say" is the best rap song of the year. George Bush might not care about black people, but Kanye most certainly cares about good beats, and in topping his debut, he's become the most consistent and creative hip-hop artist since Blueprint-era Jay-Z.\n9. Coldplay -- X&Y\nFinally unencumbered by allusions to their becoming the next Radiohead, Coldplay have fully accepted becoming the next U2. Bubbling over with as many stadium-ready ballads ("Fix You," "A Message") as somber elegies ("Swallowed in the Sea," "'Til Kingdom Come"), X&Y crowns Coldplay the 21st Century's best excuse for another British invasion, and as the most legitimate act ever to appear on a NOW! compilation.\n10. My Morning Jacket -- Z\nDuring the last five years, Louisville, Ky.'s My Morning Jacket have built a live following worthy of a younger Dave Matthews. As with Matthews and the Dead, the band didn't really nail a studio album until five or more years along the path. Z is that album. Tracks like "Gideon" and "Knot Comes Loose" are sure to only expand and improve in a live setting, ensuring My Morning Jacket will be lighting up many a Kentucky night for present and future fans.
(12/01/05 7:10pm)
It's official. The best sitcom on television has been cancelled, and "Family Guy" is still littering the airwaves. The third season of "Arrested Development has been cut short from 22 to 13 episodes by the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox network, and "Yes, Dear" and "According to Jim" are still thriving. Yes, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Kelly Ripa still have sitcoms, but David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor and Will Arnett are about to be out of their jobs. I lament.\nThe Emmy-winning darling that still stands as Fox's best comedy since "Married... With Children" was given the short shrift this month from a board of network execs who wouldn't know a great long-running joke or impressive sight gag if it kicked Homer Simpson or Peter Griffin in the nutsack. While nearly the same number of people watch "Arrested Development" each week as watch "South Park," it's clearly a question of mass, non-cable viewership and advertisement sales over brilliant writing, improvisational quality and award recognition. Therein lies a fundamental problem in today's entertainment landscape.\nThe majority of Americans, are simply not willing to be challenged by entertainment anymore. I realize that I risk sounding like I'm atop a high horse with the following, but I'm more than willing to take that risk, or at least far more willing than most networks are to take a risk on shows like "My Name is Earl" and the stateside incarnation of "The Office" (I commend NBC), which feature smart snappy comedy in lieu mindless dick-fart-sex jokes.\nShows like "Arrested Development" and the ill-fated comedies "Freaks and Geeks" and "Wonderfalls" offered intricate storylines, scattershot sight-gags and hyper-realized characters to audiences already high on the bathtub meth of "Friends" and "The King of Queens," and this country simply wasn't ready for them. It seems that the slim majority of Americans would rather hunker down on the couch, loving Raymond and nursing a Natural Light while being told when to laugh courtesy of a canned laugh-track.\nWe live in a country that, for the most part, doesn't like to think for itself. As hard as that may be to stomach for those of us who prefer to think for ourselves, it's a telltale sign when the national journalistic landscape is shifting from hard news to "news analysis" drivel in the vein of Bill O'Reilly and Tucker Carlson, and when Fox Corp. has decided that we'd rather sit through annoying "Futurama" reruns from three years ago than a new episode of "Arrested Development" because they can sell more Budweiser Select spots in the interim. In terms of keeping "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The War at Home" on the lineup, and at the same time cancelling "Arrested Development," Fox should be more ashamed of itself than they should be for letting "The Simpsons" stagnate for the last five years. \nAt least there are still great dramas on non-pay-cable television, like "Lost" and "The Shield," but for every "Lost" there are ten "Ghost Whisperer"s and five "Numb3rs'." Comedies have suffered a fatal swipe in the early years of the 21st century, and Dave Chappelle succumbing to performance anxiety didn't help matters. At least we still have Larry David moping around over on HBO, making everyone within the parallel universe of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" despise him while his loyal viewers adore him more with each subsequent episode.\nRealistically, I'm just pissed because my favorite comedy on television got canned. I've spent hours upon hours laughing to the point of tears at the Bluth family's trials and tribulations, and it chaps my ass to see "Two and a Half Men" getting better Nielsen ratings than "Seinfeld" once boasted. Maybe the television industry will redeem itself and HBO will pick up "Arrested Development," take out the bleeps, and render it the best sitcom in history by season four, or maybe Michael Bluth, Dr. Tobias Fünke, and Uncle Jack Dorso will fade away gracefully, leaving two-and-a-half seasons of socially conscious hilarity on DVD for future generations of free-thinkers to unearth.
(12/01/05 7:10pm)
Every so often, Sony's in-house game developers cough up a polished gem, "God of War" being a recent example, that puts most other games out at the time to shame. Their latest epic offering is "Shadow of the Colossus," which follows a nameless warrior and his brave steed on a quest to destroy the mythical creatures that inhabit a beautiful but cursed land devoid of any humans except our warrior and his recently deceased lover. To destroy all the colossi and absorb their combined life force means his lover could return to life, and thus proper motivation is supplied.\n"Colossus" is made up of a series of 16 level-boss battles, with lengthy treks across open terrain to find and challenge each enormous beast being the levels. This concept may sound tedious on paper, but when your unnamed warrior first mounts his horse and gallops towards boss number one, with monolithic mountains, vast canyons and skyscraper-tall waterfalls in the distance, not to mention a perfectly executed 360-degree rotating camera with appropriately hazy frame rate, all fears of tedium will be put to rest.\nThe gameplay is standard fare, and is most comparable to the "Legend of Zelda" classics during the Nintendo 64 era. Our warrior can walk, run, jump, attack, control his horse and most importantly, climb, hang on for dear life and hack away at the colossi. Yet the real stars here are the realistic graphics and impeccable art direction. The land around you, the colossi themselves, and the lifelike sound and sound effects are all immersive, and the sparingly utilized orchestral score is moody and propulsive.\nSo what exactly are these colossi you're pitted against? Giants, some humanoid but most bestial, ranging in size from that of a campus bus to larger than the Herman B Wells Library, including a final boss nearly the size of Indianapolis' Chase Tower. Some are docile beasts whose eventual demise is simply a puzzle to be solved, but most are as determined to kill you as you are them. All, though, are spectacular, and while some battles take only 15 minutes, others can keep you busy for more than an hour. All you'll have at your disposal is a sword and bow, making the feeling of satisfaction upon slaying one of the colossi similar to besting a tough "Final Fantasy" boss.\nWith the official release date of the Playstation 3 all but announced, "Shadow of the Colossus" is the best reason to keep your PS2's motor churning since "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," and that's a massive compliment.
(12/01/05 7:08pm)
No more cute and cuddly extra-terrestrials for Steven Spielberg. His latest take on visitors from space, based on H.G. Wells' 1898 sci-fi novel, finds "E.T." and the "Close Encounters" aliens taking a back seat to a race of invaders bent on vaporizing every human on Earth and fueling themselves with our blood. Roy Neary and Elliott beware.\nFrom a technical standpoint, "War of the Worlds" is Spielberg's most accomplished film since "Saving Private Ryan" (narrowly surpassing "Minority Report"). As Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) and his children (scream-machine Dakota Fanning and a brooding Justin Chatwin) flee the alien extermination. Janusz Kaminski's cinematography beautifully evokes a society in tatters, yet why it was compromised from the original 2.35 to 1 aspect ratio into 1.85 to 1 or the DVD is a frustrating mystery. Industrial Light & Magic's visual effects work is the year's most Oscar-worthy (pending Peter Jackson's "King Kong"), and John Williams' score is used sparingly, but to terrific effect.\nThere are scenes in "War of the Worlds" that burrow into the brain and refuse to leave, such as the moment the first Tripod comes up from underground and the intense ferry sequence. Also notable are the escape from Ray's neighborhood in an old van in one seemingly but impossibly continuous crane shot, and the monumental battle between the military and the aliens taking place unseen, just over the top of a hill.\nFor those of you who might be avoiding this film because of Tom Cruise's press junket antics preceding and following its release, fear not. This is not a "Tom Cruise movie." Many actors could've filled Ray Ferrier's shoes, as well as Fanning's and Chatwin's, which is not to discount their performances, but only to point out that the actors are playing archetypes, with Spielberg pulling the strings and stamping "War of the Worlds" with his own vital stylistic mark.\nOn the features front, the two-disc edition of War doesn't skimp. Four extensive production diaries showcase the making of the film in more detail than on any previous Spielberg DVD, and the director himself provides an amount of insight far outdoing similar discussions on previous DVDs. "Designing the Enemy" offers a fun look into the design of the film's nimble aliens and their menacing Tripod war-machines. Also included are several useful mini-docs, namely "Revisiting the Invasion," "The H. G. Wells Legacy" and "Steven Spielberg and the Original War of the Worlds," all of which provide inspiration not only to check out George Pal and Byron Haskin's 1953 film interpretation of Wells' novel, but also to pick up the novel itself.\nYet with all due respect to Wells, Pal and Haskin, it's Spielberg's mastery of staging destruction and eye-popping set-pieces, as well as his astute understanding of how a bruised planet, and particularly one family unit, would react to such an invasion in these paranoid, post-9/11 times, that makes this particular telling of the story the most inspired, visceral and unnerving of them all.
(12/01/05 7:07pm)
Picking up from where last May's installment left off, System of a Down commence part two of their double disc oeuvre, Mezmerize/Hypnotize, with "Attack!", a literal attack on our fragile ears. Vocalist Serj Tankian's atonal yelps fade in and out as guitarist and songwriter Daron Malakian's more radio-friendly voice chimes in on the leisurely bits. Meanwhile, bassist Shavo Odadjian and drummer John Dolmayan mostly try and match pace with the dueling leads.\nSystem of a Down has never been shy about employing complex prog-rock song structures on most of their tracks, which makes it all the more surprising that Hypnotize is the more immediately accessible disc of their 2005 output. More accessible doesn't necessarily mean better, though, but it's now officially impossible to recognize Mezmerize/Hypnotize as anything other than a single, unified work. It's also impossible for me not to call it the best album I've heard all year.\nFocusing on Hypnotize on its own, however tempting it may be to refer to its companion side, this is noticeably a record of extremes. Extreme volume and guitar-chugging speed frequently yield to moments of pop song-craft that could easily be deemed graceful. Both "Dreaming" and "Tentative" shift tempo upwards of five times and feature tuneful choruses, while "Holy Mountains" and "Vicinity of Obscenity" are polar opposites of one another, the former finding the band waxing poetically somber for nearly six minutes on the ritual slaughter of their countrymen in Armenia, and the latter being a succinct onslaught of terrific decibel force and comical lyrics.\nThe chief single and title track hint at the band's political leanings, whether it's asking the kids at Tiananmen Square if "fashion was the reason" why they joined the party, or lamenting the initial cause for war ("disguise it, hypnotize it, television made you buy it"), but despite Tankian and Malakian's mocking call to beat on all the "pathetic, flag-waving ignorant geeks" on "U-Fig," their leftist agenda isn't a distraction from the music.\nThe only noticeable misstep on a record filled with killer songs is "She's Like Heroin," on which a wide-eyed Malakian muses about "ghosts of hooker girly dudes," "selling ass for heroin," and wanting to wear a little dress. One can't help but assume he was needle in hand when he wrote that one.\nHypnotize closes with "Lonely Day" and "Soldier Side," two of the most sedate and straightforward songs System of a Down has ever put to tape. The record's final notes dovetail with Mezmerize's opening ones, a la Pink Floyd's The Wall. It's tempting to compare System's effort with that of Waters, Gilmour, Mason, and Wright: both double albums, ambitious in scope, detailed in structure, rich in production, impeccable in execution and both likely to hold up to repeated listens for years to come.
(12/01/05 5:00am)
Picking up from where last May's installment left off, System of a Down commence part two of their double disc oeuvre, Mezmerize/Hypnotize, with "Attack!", a literal attack on our fragile ears. Vocalist Serj Tankian's atonal yelps fade in and out as guitarist and songwriter Daron Malakian's more radio-friendly voice chimes in on the leisurely bits. Meanwhile, bassist Shavo Odadjian and drummer John Dolmayan mostly try and match pace with the dueling leads.\nSystem of a Down has never been shy about employing complex prog-rock song structures on most of their tracks, which makes it all the more surprising that Hypnotize is the more immediately accessible disc of their 2005 output. More accessible doesn't necessarily mean better, though, but it's now officially impossible to recognize Mezmerize/Hypnotize as anything other than a single, unified work. It's also impossible for me not to call it the best album I've heard all year.\nFocusing on Hypnotize on its own, however tempting it may be to refer to its companion side, this is noticeably a record of extremes. Extreme volume and guitar-chugging speed frequently yield to moments of pop song-craft that could easily be deemed graceful. Both "Dreaming" and "Tentative" shift tempo upwards of five times and feature tuneful choruses, while "Holy Mountains" and "Vicinity of Obscenity" are polar opposites of one another, the former finding the band waxing poetically somber for nearly six minutes on the ritual slaughter of their countrymen in Armenia, and the latter being a succinct onslaught of terrific decibel force and comical lyrics.\nThe chief single and title track hint at the band's political leanings, whether it's asking the kids at Tiananmen Square if "fashion was the reason" why they joined the party, or lamenting the initial cause for war ("disguise it, hypnotize it, television made you buy it"), but despite Tankian and Malakian's mocking call to beat on all the "pathetic, flag-waving ignorant geeks" on "U-Fig," their leftist agenda isn't a distraction from the music.\nThe only noticeable misstep on a record filled with killer songs is "She's Like Heroin," on which a wide-eyed Malakian muses about "ghosts of hooker girly dudes," "selling ass for heroin," and wanting to wear a little dress. One can't help but assume he was needle in hand when he wrote that one.\nHypnotize closes with "Lonely Day" and "Soldier Side," two of the most sedate and straightforward songs System of a Down has ever put to tape. The record's final notes dovetail with Mezmerize's opening ones, a la Pink Floyd's The Wall. It's tempting to compare System's effort with that of Waters, Gilmour, Mason, and Wright: both double albums, ambitious in scope, detailed in structure, rich in production, impeccable in execution and both likely to hold up to repeated listens for years to come.
(12/01/05 5:00am)
No more cute and cuddly extra-terrestrials for Steven Spielberg. His latest take on visitors from space, based on H.G. Wells' 1898 sci-fi novel, finds "E.T." and the "Close Encounters" aliens taking a back seat to a race of invaders bent on vaporizing every human on Earth and fueling themselves with our blood. Roy Neary and Elliott beware.\nFrom a technical standpoint, "War of the Worlds" is Spielberg's most accomplished film since "Saving Private Ryan" (narrowly surpassing "Minority Report"). As Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) and his children (scream-machine Dakota Fanning and a brooding Justin Chatwin) flee the alien extermination. Janusz Kaminski's cinematography beautifully evokes a society in tatters, yet why it was compromised from the original 2.35 to 1 aspect ratio into 1.85 to 1 or the DVD is a frustrating mystery. Industrial Light & Magic's visual effects work is the year's most Oscar-worthy (pending Peter Jackson's "King Kong"), and John Williams' score is used sparingly, but to terrific effect.\nThere are scenes in "War of the Worlds" that burrow into the brain and refuse to leave, such as the moment the first Tripod comes up from underground and the intense ferry sequence. Also notable are the escape from Ray's neighborhood in an old van in one seemingly but impossibly continuous crane shot, and the monumental battle between the military and the aliens taking place unseen, just over the top of a hill.\nFor those of you who might be avoiding this film because of Tom Cruise's press junket antics preceding and following its release, fear not. This is not a "Tom Cruise movie." Many actors could've filled Ray Ferrier's shoes, as well as Fanning's and Chatwin's, which is not to discount their performances, but only to point out that the actors are playing archetypes, with Spielberg pulling the strings and stamping "War of the Worlds" with his own vital stylistic mark.\nOn the features front, the two-disc edition of War doesn't skimp. Four extensive production diaries showcase the making of the film in more detail than on any previous Spielberg DVD, and the director himself provides an amount of insight far outdoing similar discussions on previous DVDs. "Designing the Enemy" offers a fun look into the design of the film's nimble aliens and their menacing Tripod war-machines. Also included are several useful mini-docs, namely "Revisiting the Invasion," "The H. G. Wells Legacy" and "Steven Spielberg and the Original War of the Worlds," all of which provide inspiration not only to check out George Pal and Byron Haskin's 1953 film interpretation of Wells' novel, but also to pick up the novel itself.\nYet with all due respect to Wells, Pal and Haskin, it's Spielberg's mastery of staging destruction and eye-popping set-pieces, as well as his astute understanding of how a bruised planet, and particularly one family unit, would react to such an invasion in these paranoid, post-9/11 times, that makes this particular telling of the story the most inspired, visceral and unnerving of them all.
(12/01/05 5:00am)
Every so often, Sony's in-house game developers cough up a polished gem, "God of War" being a recent example, that puts most other games out at the time to shame. Their latest epic offering is "Shadow of the Colossus," which follows a nameless warrior and his brave steed on a quest to destroy the mythical creatures that inhabit a beautiful but cursed land devoid of any humans except our warrior and his recently deceased lover. To destroy all the colossi and absorb their combined life force means his lover could return to life, and thus proper motivation is supplied.\n"Colossus" is made up of a series of 16 level-boss battles, with lengthy treks across open terrain to find and challenge each enormous beast being the levels. This concept may sound tedious on paper, but when your unnamed warrior first mounts his horse and gallops towards boss number one, with monolithic mountains, vast canyons and skyscraper-tall waterfalls in the distance, not to mention a perfectly executed 360-degree rotating camera with appropriately hazy frame rate, all fears of tedium will be put to rest.\nThe gameplay is standard fare, and is most comparable to the "Legend of Zelda" classics during the Nintendo 64 era. Our warrior can walk, run, jump, attack, control his horse and most importantly, climb, hang on for dear life and hack away at the colossi. Yet the real stars here are the realistic graphics and impeccable art direction. The land around you, the colossi themselves, and the lifelike sound and sound effects are all immersive, and the sparingly utilized orchestral score is moody and propulsive.\nSo what exactly are these colossi you're pitted against? Giants, some humanoid but most bestial, ranging in size from that of a campus bus to larger than the Herman B Wells Library, including a final boss nearly the size of Indianapolis' Chase Tower. Some are docile beasts whose eventual demise is simply a puzzle to be solved, but most are as determined to kill you as you are them. All, though, are spectacular, and while some battles take only 15 minutes, others can keep you busy for more than an hour. All you'll have at your disposal is a sword and bow, making the feeling of satisfaction upon slaying one of the colossi similar to besting a tough "Final Fantasy" boss.\nWith the official release date of the Playstation 3 all but announced, "Shadow of the Colossus" is the best reason to keep your PS2's motor churning since "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," and that's a massive compliment.
(12/01/05 5:00am)
It's official. The best sitcom on television has been cancelled, and "Family Guy" is still littering the airwaves. The third season of "Arrested Development has been cut short from 22 to 13 episodes by the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox network, and "Yes, Dear" and "According to Jim" are still thriving. Yes, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Kelly Ripa still have sitcoms, but David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor and Will Arnett are about to be out of their jobs. I lament.\nThe Emmy-winning darling that still stands as Fox's best comedy since "Married... With Children" was given the short shrift this month from a board of network execs who wouldn't know a great long-running joke or impressive sight gag if it kicked Homer Simpson or Peter Griffin in the nutsack. While nearly the same number of people watch "Arrested Development" each week as watch "South Park," it's clearly a question of mass, non-cable viewership and advertisement sales over brilliant writing, improvisational quality and award recognition. Therein lies a fundamental problem in today's entertainment landscape.\nThe majority of Americans, are simply not willing to be challenged by entertainment anymore. I realize that I risk sounding like I'm atop a high horse with the following, but I'm more than willing to take that risk, or at least far more willing than most networks are to take a risk on shows like "My Name is Earl" and the stateside incarnation of "The Office" (I commend NBC), which feature smart snappy comedy in lieu mindless dick-fart-sex jokes.\nShows like "Arrested Development" and the ill-fated comedies "Freaks and Geeks" and "Wonderfalls" offered intricate storylines, scattershot sight-gags and hyper-realized characters to audiences already high on the bathtub meth of "Friends" and "The King of Queens," and this country simply wasn't ready for them. It seems that the slim majority of Americans would rather hunker down on the couch, loving Raymond and nursing a Natural Light while being told when to laugh courtesy of a canned laugh-track.\nWe live in a country that, for the most part, doesn't like to think for itself. As hard as that may be to stomach for those of us who prefer to think for ourselves, it's a telltale sign when the national journalistic landscape is shifting from hard news to "news analysis" drivel in the vein of Bill O'Reilly and Tucker Carlson, and when Fox Corp. has decided that we'd rather sit through annoying "Futurama" reruns from three years ago than a new episode of "Arrested Development" because they can sell more Budweiser Select spots in the interim. In terms of keeping "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The War at Home" on the lineup, and at the same time cancelling "Arrested Development," Fox should be more ashamed of itself than they should be for letting "The Simpsons" stagnate for the last five years. \nAt least there are still great dramas on non-pay-cable television, like "Lost" and "The Shield," but for every "Lost" there are ten "Ghost Whisperer"s and five "Numb3rs'." Comedies have suffered a fatal swipe in the early years of the 21st century, and Dave Chappelle succumbing to performance anxiety didn't help matters. At least we still have Larry David moping around over on HBO, making everyone within the parallel universe of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" despise him while his loyal viewers adore him more with each subsequent episode.\nRealistically, I'm just pissed because my favorite comedy on television got canned. I've spent hours upon hours laughing to the point of tears at the Bluth family's trials and tribulations, and it chaps my ass to see "Two and a Half Men" getting better Nielsen ratings than "Seinfeld" once boasted. Maybe the television industry will redeem itself and HBO will pick up "Arrested Development," take out the bleeps, and render it the best sitcom in history by season four, or maybe Michael Bluth, Dr. Tobias Fünke, and Uncle Jack Dorso will fade away gracefully, leaving two-and-a-half seasons of socially conscious hilarity on DVD for future generations of free-thinkers to unearth.
(11/10/05 5:00am)
Rarely in cinematic history have films begun with a money shot, but such is the case with George Lucas' latest, and most likely final, astronomically budgeted, multi-billion-dollar-grossing "Stars Wars" installment. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi pilot their Jedi Starfighters over the expansive surface of a massive cruiser ship, then plunge headlong into the biggest and most chaotic space battle (or battle, for that matter) ever seen in any film. The first 25 minutes of "Star Wars: Episode III" is crammed with non-stop action, almost to the point of geekish delirium. As expected, there are upwards of 20 scenes nearly as breathtaking as the opening, and countless lightsaber battles to feast the eyes on, but the real question on everyone's mind was if George Lucas could overcome the tepid critical response to his first two gorgeous but nobly flawed "Star Wars" prequels with this final installment. Thankfully, George came through on multiple levels for casual fans as well as the thousands who showed up to the multiplex at midnight wearing their Boba Fett costumes.\nIt's no secret Lucas has always been a far more effective ideas man and producer than a director in the traditional terms, but with "Episode III" he seems to have found a particular strain of narrative he felt strongly enough about to actually direct the actors. There are scenes of honest emotional weight in "Episode III," represented best in a dialogue-free scene where Anakin and Padme stare pensively in each other's direction across the bustling urban expanse of Coruscant at sunset, backed perfectly by an eerie snippet of John Williams' score. Sith gets under your skin for the first time in a "Star Wars" film since Darth Vader revealed his paternity after lopping off his son's hand at the elbow, and that's more exciting than any lightsaber duel.\nIn the extras department, Lucasfilm has bestowed upon us an insightful audio commentary track featuring Lucas, producer Rick McCallum and some of the film's animators and FX supervisors. Disc two houses several meaty, for-fans-only deleted scenes (see Yoda arrive on Dagobah and sit through even more intergalactic political banter!!!), a mini-doc on green-screen stunt work and a featurette on the six-episode evolution of Darth Vader himself. Perhaps most valuable to film buffs, though, is the hour-long doc "Within a Minute," which chronicles, in near-obsessive detail, all aspects of the production of a mere 49 seconds of footage in the finished film.\nWith the Star Wars saga now complete (pending Lucas' highly unlikely pipe dream of Episodes VII, VIII and IX coming to fruition), "Revenge of the Sith" occupies a strong third place position in the series after 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back" and 1977's "A New Hope." Despite occasional flourishes of awkward, tin-eared romantic dialogue or the ultimately ignorable undercurrent of childish jokes (far less present here than in Episodes I and II), Lucas has presented a first-rate action movie that manages to look and sound twice as good on DVD as it did in theaters.
(11/10/05 1:40am)
Rarely in cinematic history have films begun with a money shot, but such is the case with George Lucas' latest, and most likely final, astronomically budgeted, multi-billion-dollar-grossing "Stars Wars" installment. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi pilot their Jedi Starfighters over the expansive surface of a massive cruiser ship, then plunge headlong into the biggest and most chaotic space battle (or battle, for that matter) ever seen in any film. The first 25 minutes of "Star Wars: Episode III" is crammed with non-stop action, almost to the point of geekish delirium. As expected, there are upwards of 20 scenes nearly as breathtaking as the opening, and countless lightsaber battles to feast the eyes on, but the real question on everyone's mind was if George Lucas could overcome the tepid critical response to his first two gorgeous but nobly flawed "Star Wars" prequels with this final installment. Thankfully, George came through on multiple levels for casual fans as well as the thousands who showed up to the multiplex at midnight wearing their Boba Fett costumes.\nIt's no secret Lucas has always been a far more effective ideas man and producer than a director in the traditional terms, but with "Episode III" he seems to have found a particular strain of narrative he felt strongly enough about to actually direct the actors. There are scenes of honest emotional weight in "Episode III," represented best in a dialogue-free scene where Anakin and Padme stare pensively in each other's direction across the bustling urban expanse of Coruscant at sunset, backed perfectly by an eerie snippet of John Williams' score. Sith gets under your skin for the first time in a "Star Wars" film since Darth Vader revealed his paternity after lopping off his son's hand at the elbow, and that's more exciting than any lightsaber duel.\nIn the extras department, Lucasfilm has bestowed upon us an insightful audio commentary track featuring Lucas, producer Rick McCallum and some of the film's animators and FX supervisors. Disc two houses several meaty, for-fans-only deleted scenes (see Yoda arrive on Dagobah and sit through even more intergalactic political banter!!!), a mini-doc on green-screen stunt work and a featurette on the six-episode evolution of Darth Vader himself. Perhaps most valuable to film buffs, though, is the hour-long doc "Within a Minute," which chronicles, in near-obsessive detail, all aspects of the production of a mere 49 seconds of footage in the finished film.\nWith the Star Wars saga now complete (pending Lucas' highly unlikely pipe dream of Episodes VII, VIII and IX coming to fruition), "Revenge of the Sith" occupies a strong third place position in the series after 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back" and 1977's "A New Hope." Despite occasional flourishes of awkward, tin-eared romantic dialogue or the ultimately ignorable undercurrent of childish jokes (far less present here than in Episodes I and II), Lucas has presented a first-rate action movie that manages to look and sound twice as good on DVD as it did in theaters.
(11/03/05 7:31am)
Halloween has passed, but it's never a bad time to take in a truly terrifying film. With Hollywood now preferring slick, poorly-scripted, startle-packed horror fare over genuine terror and cinematic craftsmanship, it's essential to mine the past for serious scares. Below are my humble picks for the 11 scariest films readily available on DVD at the local Best Buy or Blockbuster. So darken the room, grab a suitable security blanket, press play, and be afraid... be very afraid.
(11/03/05 5:00am)
Halloween has passed, but it's never a bad time to take in a truly terrifying film. With Hollywood now preferring slick, poorly-scripted, startle-packed horror fare over genuine terror and cinematic craftsmanship, it's essential to mine the past for serious scares. Below are my humble picks for the 11 scariest films readily available on DVD at the local Best Buy or Blockbuster. So darken the room, grab a suitable security blanket, press play, and be afraid... be very afraid.
(10/27/05 4:00am)
Poor Ashlee Simpson. Last year's meltdowns during both "Saturday Night Live" and the Orange Bowl halftime show left her horribly burned, but not altogether broken. As she explained back then, everyone uses backup tracks during live TV performances (I know a few thousand bands and artists who'd beg to differ), so why can't we all forgive her and give a listen to her new record of slightly raspy confectioner's sugar, I Am Me? We have our reasons.\nThe album's architect is producer John Shanks, whose booth skills since 2003 have graced cuts by Kelly Clarkson, Anastacia, Diana DeGarmo and Lindsay Lohan alike. The opening track and leadoff single, "Boyfriend," chugs along nicely as it establishes itself as the best song on the album, while "Beautifully Broken," "Catch Me When I Fall" and "Dancing Alone" are a sort of song cycle recounting her recent disastrous live experiences. But just when you thought the emotive pop froth couldn't get more routine, tracks like "L.O.V.E." and "Burnin' Up" emerge embarrassing and awkward, and dual-closers "Eyes Wide Open" and "Say Goodbye" resemble spayed and neutered John/Taupin outings with that duo's trademark tunefulness and spirited bite replaced with aspartame and a shot of near-beer.\nOne wonders, with so much obvious producer and caretaker influence on nearly every track of I Am Me, is Ashlee really being herself? Maybe it's best we aren't experiencing the true Ashlee on record. In this case, the album title seems to be a declaration of oneness with her own triviality. It's a relatively profound statement.\nAshlee at least deserves a pinch of credit for attempting to write her own songs, which is more than can be said for her space-wasting (and far less attractive) sister. Still, she can't escape the fact she's a product of her father Joe's mini-empire and her record label, both intent on selling records to the same faux-angsty teenage fans who've bought Hilary Duff and Ryan Cabrera albums for reasons other than a good laugh. Regardless, when meticulously engineered bubblegum like this rules the charts, serious music fans aren't laughing.
(10/27/05 4:00am)
"Lifeboat," Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 exercise in claustrophobia and heated personal interactions, concerns itself with three women and six men adrift on a lifeboat in the North Atlantic after a Nazi torpedo sinks their cruise ship. The contents of the boat are conveniently diverse, with an African-American steward, a passive radio operator, an outspoken Communist, an elitist writer/photographer and even the captain of the U-boat that doomed them all to begin with sharing close quarters and an equal desire for survival.\nManipulating the marionette strings like only he could do, Hitchcock reins in brilliant performances from all his actors, including golden-age diva Tallulah Bankhead, the always affable Hume Cronyn and Heather Angel as a woman grasping her dead baby while slowly going insane, inspiring both sympathy and ire towards the floating castaways as the confined space heightens the drama and tension.\nHitchcock typically harbored ulterior motives behind making his films, and "Lifeboat" functions not only as a gripping survival tale but also as an effective anti-war diatribe. Being a Londoner, and surely weary of his country being mired in conflict for four years running, flashes of dialogue and entire strains of narrative highlight the eventual futility of mans' violence against man.\nSpecial Edition extras include a standard 20-minute documentary on the making of the film, mostly padded with the familiar musings of Hitchcock's daughter Pat and those still alive to remember when the film was in production, as well as feature-length commentary by film professor Drew Casper. Casper's insights into the film offer a rare glimpse into the mind and motivations of a director who rarely spoke in-depth about any of his films, and it would be in everyone's best interest if he were commissioned to record commentary tracks for future Hitchcock DVD releases.\nThough he would go on to make some of the most timeless masterpieces in cinema history ("Vertigo," "Psycho," "Rear Window" and "North By Northwest" among them), films from the first half of Alfred Hitchcock's career, beginning with mid-1920's silent features and culminating with "Lifeboat" and "Spellbound" near the end of WWII, represent some of the most daring and deft works of cinema's adolescent years. "Lifeboat" is a perfect example of a director with a taste for grandeur challenging himself with minimalism, and the result is thrilling.
(10/27/05 2:09am)
"Lifeboat," Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 exercise in claustrophobia and heated personal interactions, concerns itself with three women and six men adrift on a lifeboat in the North Atlantic after a Nazi torpedo sinks their cruise ship. The contents of the boat are conveniently diverse, with an African-American steward, a passive radio operator, an outspoken Communist, an elitist writer/photographer and even the captain of the U-boat that doomed them all to begin with sharing close quarters and an equal desire for survival.\nManipulating the marionette strings like only he could do, Hitchcock reins in brilliant performances from all his actors, including golden-age diva Tallulah Bankhead, the always affable Hume Cronyn and Heather Angel as a woman grasping her dead baby while slowly going insane, inspiring both sympathy and ire towards the floating castaways as the confined space heightens the drama and tension.\nHitchcock typically harbored ulterior motives behind making his films, and "Lifeboat" functions not only as a gripping survival tale but also as an effective anti-war diatribe. Being a Londoner, and surely weary of his country being mired in conflict for four years running, flashes of dialogue and entire strains of narrative highlight the eventual futility of mans' violence against man.\nSpecial Edition extras include a standard 20-minute documentary on the making of the film, mostly padded with the familiar musings of Hitchcock's daughter Pat and those still alive to remember when the film was in production, as well as feature-length commentary by film professor Drew Casper. Casper's insights into the film offer a rare glimpse into the mind and motivations of a director who rarely spoke in-depth about any of his films, and it would be in everyone's best interest if he were commissioned to record commentary tracks for future Hitchcock DVD releases.\nThough he would go on to make some of the most timeless masterpieces in cinema history ("Vertigo," "Psycho," "Rear Window" and "North By Northwest" among them), films from the first half of Alfred Hitchcock's career, beginning with mid-1920's silent features and culminating with "Lifeboat" and "Spellbound" near the end of WWII, represent some of the most daring and deft works of cinema's adolescent years. "Lifeboat" is a perfect example of a director with a taste for grandeur challenging himself with minimalism, and the result is thrilling.
(10/27/05 2:01am)
Poor Ashlee Simpson. Last year's meltdowns during both "Saturday Night Live" and the Orange Bowl halftime show left her horribly burned, but not altogether broken. As she explained back then, everyone uses backup tracks during live TV performances (I know a few thousand bands and artists who'd beg to differ), so why can't we all forgive her and give a listen to her new record of slightly raspy confectioner's sugar, I Am Me? We have our reasons.\nThe album's architect is producer John Shanks, whose booth skills since 2003 have graced cuts by Kelly Clarkson, Anastacia, Diana DeGarmo and Lindsay Lohan alike. The opening track and leadoff single, "Boyfriend," chugs along nicely as it establishes itself as the best song on the album, while "Beautifully Broken," "Catch Me When I Fall" and "Dancing Alone" are a sort of song cycle recounting her recent disastrous live experiences. But just when you thought the emotive pop froth couldn't get more routine, tracks like "L.O.V.E." and "Burnin' Up" emerge embarrassing and awkward, and dual-closers "Eyes Wide Open" and "Say Goodbye" resemble spayed and neutered John/Taupin outings with that duo's trademark tunefulness and spirited bite replaced with aspartame and a shot of near-beer.\nOne wonders, with so much obvious producer and caretaker influence on nearly every track of I Am Me, is Ashlee really being herself? Maybe it's best we aren't experiencing the true Ashlee on record. In this case, the album title seems to be a declaration of oneness with her own triviality. It's a relatively profound statement.\nAshlee at least deserves a pinch of credit for attempting to write her own songs, which is more than can be said for her space-wasting (and far less attractive) sister. Still, she can't escape the fact she's a product of her father Joe's mini-empire and her record label, both intent on selling records to the same faux-angsty teenage fans who've bought Hilary Duff and Ryan Cabrera albums for reasons other than a good laugh. Regardless, when meticulously engineered bubblegum like this rules the charts, serious music fans aren't laughing.
(10/20/05 4:00am)
Making a movie about the Crusades for post-9/11 audiences takes serious sack, and few Hollywood power players have a bigger one than Ridley Scott. His "Kingdom of Heaven" tells the tale of Balian, the French blacksmith (Orlando Bloom), who through a chance meeting with his father Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson) ends up a knight charged with the protection of Jerusalem from invading Muslims and power-hungry Christians alike in 1184 A.D.\nScott smartly keeps Kingdom grounded in secularism, pandering to neither Christian nor Muslim viewers in any way. Both sides are shown as equally misguided in their motivations. In a time where wars for land, wealth and notoriety were waged in the name of God/Allah, Balian rides the fence in full realization of how ridiculous such wars are, but fully accepting of his position as a man sworn to do honest good in the face of such atrocities.\nAesthetically, it's tough to top a Ridley flick. Cinematographer John Mathieson drops jaws with expertly staged and gloriously blood-soaked battle scenes and the 12th century setting is made wholly believable via well-crafted sets and elaborate costumes. The actors mostly hold their own, with the always reliable Jeremy Irons and David Thewlis representing opposing views of the Crusades. A masked Edward Norton is effectively spooky yet wise as King Baldwin IV and the arresting Eva Green impresses as Balian's eventual love interest. Yet it's Bloom himself who fails to fully inhabit a role of such importance. Bloom, yet to prove himself a viable leading man, is relegated almost to supporting status here, despite his top billing.\nExtras on disc two of this set include the History Channel's "History vs. Hollywood" segment on the historical accuracy of the film, A&E's "Movie Real" program on the making of the film, as well as three mini-docs on costuming, set design and visual effects. Also added here is "The Pilgrim's Guide," which is essentially a Pop-Up Video feature where notes on the film's production as well as historical trivia run in step with the movie and a curious interactive production grid allowing viewers to customize most of the making-of material to their chronological liking.\nThe recent rash of high-budget historical epics brought on by the success of Scott's own "Gladiator" in 2000, rendered ugly with artistic failures like "King Arthur" and Oliver Stone's bloated "Alexander," has been given an attractive makeover with "Kingdom of Heaven," a film which conscientiously uses history to make valid conclusions about problems plaguing today's world.