[SIZE="3"]Saw it last night in previews. Awful. Just awful. Turning The Producers into a play worked, and worked beautifully. But this...

I wanted to like it. I love the film and had high hopes for this, but it doesn't work. No, that doesn't quite capture it. It was painful.[/SIZE]

If you should ever get to NYC, or if they have such a play in your town, check out FLANAGAN'S WAKE. I had a blast. It's an old fashioned Irish wake, takes place in Ireland, and the audience members are the wake attendees. There is much interaction between actors and audience. I got to sing "Toora Loora Loora" and dance a jig across the stage and up the aisle. Hilarious. It was a fun evening with lots of laughter.

Steve D

How such a great historical battle as the Spanish Armada's defeat by the British in 1588 could be filmed so clumsily is a slap in the face to history. The entire battle against the Armada is glossed over quickly, when it should have made up at least the last third of he movie. Instead, we get a romantic triangle. And where's Sir Francis Drake? Walter Raleigh was ashore during the battle, not swashbuckling aboard one of the awesome fire ships.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a great disappointment. When I saw that there was a movie of this battle coming to the big screen, I nearly wept with joy. But there were only tears of disappointment when I finally saw the movie.

History buffs and action fans, rent the dvd. And have the fast-forward handy.

On the Get To Know thread I posed the question that is the premise for After Life: if after you died, you were given three days to select a memory to relive for the rest of eternity what would you choose? Not to fear, there are caseworkers who will assist you in zeroing in on it. You meet three caseworkers who divide 22 clients who range from 13 years old through 86. Some are pleasant, some not. The one thing they all have is a past that they are forced to consider and stories to tell.

I'd say it is one of the best films I've seen this year. It is thoughtful, funny, and poignant; it made think(despite my aversion). I should mention the movie is from Japan.

I live in Florida but I have relatives that live in Toms River and my aunt went for me last night. I wanted to thank you from her for what she said was a great and very interesting evening. She also wanted you to know she'll be buying The Tomb today and starting her Repairman Jack experience. I want to thank you for the autograph and all the years of outstanding reading. One more thing she wants to know if you're taking new paitents LOL

[SIZE="3"]I've told Gauntlet to go ahead and to the limited. Print run, etc. will probably be much the same as the adult.[/SIZE]

Mark Hamill's "Black Pearl". He'd intended it to be a screenplay, but it never went through. So he turned it into a comic book series instead. (My opinion, it should have been a movie)

it's, a unique superhero story. In the fact that none exist in the world. The news blew things out of proportion in regards to one vaguely seen person however.

wikipedia entry: The Black Pearl is most widely known as a five-issue comic book published by Dark Horse Comics in 1996, written by Eric Johnson and Mark Hamill with artwork by Bruce Patterson and H.M. Baker. The story focuses on a troubled man who becomes a costumed "hero."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_P...ic_book%29

I saw IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH close on the heels of MICHAEL CLAYTON. As I was leaving the theater, I thought I liked CLAYTON more than IN THE VALLEY. But it's the latter movie that has stayed with me. Paul Haggis of CRASH fame wrote and directed it. Tommy Lee Jones takes stoic to new levels, and Charlize Theron was solid. It's the story that is most compelling, yet it unfolds slowly in a patchwork fashion. You work with Jones and Theron to solve the mystery. I won't say what the mystery is, though if you've seen coming attractions you probably know.

Haggis does not tie this movie up with a pretty ribbon. He leaves it ragged and hanging and forces you to ponder what you've witnessed. It's about war and the toll it takes on the those who wage it. There is an important, ugly underside to the movie that is touched on with subtlety and left this viewer wondering how the young men in my life, my nephews, would fare in such a place, facing those experiences.

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH will not knock your socks off; it's not meant to. It will make you think.

I wish I could write a rip roaring endorsement. While MICHAEL CLAYTON was engaging, absorbing, intelligent and interesting, I forgot it within hours. In fact, it left so little impression that I am writing this several days after having seen it rather than immediately, as I usually do. I recollect leaving the theater thinking that I needed to see it again to clarify several plot points.

The acting was fine. Clooney gives a strong performance. Something was off with Tilda Swinton, whom I usually love. She spoke with such a strange cadence that I found her difficult to comprehend, especially when she was speaking corporate jargon, but I guess that was the point.

I'll recommend MICHAEL CLAYTON, but it was not the stick to your ribs fare I thought it would be.

Hey Guys,
In a bit of a hurry tonight but I just wanted to throw my hat into the crowd and say hello from north of the border. I've been a big fan of "the man" since I read "The Keep" back in the 80's (I feel old just saying that now...;-)) I've read all of the RMJ books except "Bloodline" and cannot wait until it hits paperback.
I'm really looking forward to shooting the breeze with all of you.

Take Care,

FBT...