Babel ****
Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza, Gael García Bernal, Rinko Kikuchi, Kôji Yakusho
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Running Length: 2:22
MPAA Classification: R

Two children in Morocco test the range of a new rifle that their father just purchased. Americans Susan (Blanchett) and Richard (Pitt) are on vacation when Susan is shot and badly injured, setting off an international incident. Richard and Susan’s children in America are being watched by their nanny, an illegal immigrant named Amelia (Barraza). She brings the children across the border into Mexico to attend her son’s wedding, and problems arise when they attempt to re-enter America. In Japan, deaf-mute Chieko (Kikuchi) is trying to connect with someone, anyone. All the stories are related, and all come together smoothly in this tale of small mistakes and lapses in judgment, and the consequences that they cause.

Like “21 Grams” before it, in “Babel” director Alejandro González Iñárritu masterfully entwines multiple stories into a compelling film. Packed with solid performances all around. Bernal and Kikuchi in particular are standouts, and their Academy Award nominations are fully warranted. This is not a fun movie, but it is thought provoking and solid. It says a lot about the world we live in and the amount of misunderstanding in it. I highly recommend this film.

El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth) ***1/2
Cast: Ariadna Gil, Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Doug Jones, Alex Angulo
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Running Length: 1:52
MPAA Classification: R

In the civil war Spain of the 1940’s, Ofelia (Baquero) has lost her father, a casualty of the war. Her mother (Gil) has been forced to marry Captain Vidal (Lopez), an evil man who fights the rebels around his home with a singleminded viciousness. Her mom is pregnant, and the pregnancy is killing her. On the grounds of Vidal’s estate is a labyrinth, and upon entering it, Ofelia meets many creatures including fairies and fauns. She learns that she is the long-lost princess and daughter of the King of the Underworld. To show herself worthy of this title, the faun Pan (Jones) lays out three tasks for her to perform. Completion before the next full moon will mean she can enter the kingdom and escape the war torn world around her.

“Pan’s Labyrinth” is a movie like no other. Director Guillermo del Toro has crafted a modern fairy tale. The two stories entertwine perfectly and complement each other. The special effects are hi quality, and the direction is excellent. Young Adriana Gil is excellent as poor Ofelia, a girl fleeing the horrors of the world around her. “Pan’s Labyrinth” is an excellent movie that is just different enough to make it fresh. I highly recommend this adult fairy tale. NOTE: This is a foreign film with subtitles.

79th annual Academy Award nominations
Complete list of the 79th Annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif.:

Best Picture:
Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Actress:
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children

Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin, L ittle Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

Supporting Actress:
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Directing:
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Clint Eastwood, Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93

Foreign Language Film:
After the Wedding, Denmark
Days of Glory (Indigenes), Algeria
The Lives of Others, Germany
Pan's Labyrinth, Mexico
Water, Canada

Adapted Screenplay:
Sacha Baron Cohen and Anthony Hines and Peter Baynham and Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips, Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Alfonso Cuaron and Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, Children of Men
William Monahan, The Departed
Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, Little Children
Patrick Marber, Notes on a Scandal

Original Screenplay:
Guillermo Arriaga, Babel
Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, Letters From Iwo Jima
Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine
Guillermo del Toro, Pan's Labyrinth
Peter Morgan, The Queen

Animated Feature Film:
Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

Art Direction:
Dreamgirls
The Good Shepherd
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The Prestige

Cinematography:
The Black Dahlia
Children of Men
The Illusionist
Pan's Labyrinth
The Prestige

Sound Mixing:
Apocalypto
Blood Diamond
Dreamgirls
Flags of Our Fathers
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Sound Editing:
Apocalypto
Blood Diamond
Flags of Our Fathers
Letters From Iwo Jima
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Original Score:
Babel, Gustavo Santaolalla
The Good German, Thomas Newman
Notes on a Scandal, Philip Glass
Pan's Labyrinth, Javier Navarrete
The Queen, Alexandre Desplat

Original Song:
I Need to Wake Up from An Inconvenient Truth, Melissa Etheridge
Listen from Dreamgirls, Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven
Love You I Do from Dreamgirls, Henry Krieger and Siedah Garrett
Our Town from Cars, Randy Newman
Patience from Dreamgirls, Henry Krieger and Willie Reale

Costume:
Curse of the Golden Flower
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
The Queen

Documentary Feature:
Deliver Us From Evil
An Inconvenient Truth
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
My Country, My Country

Documentary (short subject):
The Blood of Yingzhou District
Recycled Life
Rehearsing a Dream
Two Hands

Film Editing:
Babel
Blood Diamond
Children of Men
The Departed
United 93

Makeup:
Apocalypto
Click
Pan's Labyrinth

Animated Short Film:
The Danish Poet
Lifted
The Little Matchgirl
Maestro
No Time for Nuts

Live Action Short Film:
Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)
Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)
Helmer & Son
The Saviour
West Bank Story

Visual Effects:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Poseidon
Superman Returns

Academy Award winners previously announced this year:

Honorary award (Oscar statuette): Ennio Morricone

Jean Hersholt humanitarian award: Sherry Lansing

Golden Globe winners

Drama
Babel

Actor, drama
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Actress, drama
Helen Mirren, The Queen

Musical/comedy
Dreamgirls

Actor, musical/comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat

Director
The Departed, Martin Scorsese

Soundtrack
The Painted Veil, Alexandre Desplat

Foreign language
Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima

Screenplay
Peter Morgan, The Queen

Supporting actor
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls

Actress in a comedy or musical
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada

Supporting actress
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

Original song
The Song of the Heart, Happy Feet, Prince

Animated film
Cars

Cecil B. De Mille Award
Warren Beatty

The 12 Best Movies I Saw in 2006:
1. United 93 ****
2. The Departed ****
3. Capote **** (from 2005)
4. Casino Royale ***1/2
5. The Prestige ***1/2
6. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan ***1/2
7. Little Miss Sunshine ***1/2
8. X-Men: The Last Stand ***1/2
9. Mission: Impossible III ***1/2
10. Cars ***1/2
11. World Trade Center ***1/2
12. Monster House ***1/2

The Pursuit of Happyness **1/2
Cast: Will Smith, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe, James Karen, Dan Castellaneta
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Running Length: 1:57
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Down on his luck Chris Gardner (Smith) sells bone density scanners to local hospitals and doctors in 1981 in San Francisco. His wife Linda (Newton) is unpleasant and demanding. His son, Christopher, is a happy kid, but is effected by his parents’ disharmony. Soon, Linda leaves him and he is evicted from his home. He has little money, and his hopes lie with an internship program at Dean Witter. He is the least likely of the bunch to succeed in the class until he amazes the program head by solving his Rubik’s Cube. He enters the program and struggles to do that as well as sell his scanners and raise his kid.

This is your standard rags to riches story. With an emphasis on the rags part. “The Pursuit of Happyness” is pretty much a downer for 90 minutes as Chris must deal with everything that is thrown at him. Will Smith does a good job making Chris feel like a real person. He is not perfect, but he tries really hard, and that makes him easy to like. His real life son Jayden is also good as Christopher. This is an OK movie with a good performance by Smith that may benefit him come Oscar time. If you are looking for an inspiring movie, this may fill that need.

Night at the Museum **
Cast: Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs, Jake Cherry, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson
Director: Shawn Levy
Running Length: 1:45
MPAA Classification: PG

Larry Daley (Stiller) needs a job badly, so he takes the position of night watchman at the New York Museum of Natural History. The job will allow him to pay the rent and be able to see his son, Nick (Cherry). His three predecessors (Van Dyke, Rooney, Cobbs) provide him with instructions and the warning not to let anyone into the museum or out. On his first night, exhibits come to life, and Larry finds that he has his hands full.

“Night at the Museum” is an average movie. It has some good special effects, but the story is lacking. There just isn’t much to it. The cast does its best to make it work, but that only goes so far. Kids will find it entertaining, but adults may just find it a little lacking. I recommend waiting for the DVD.

Eragon **
Cast: Ed Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Garrett Hedlund, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Stefan Fangmeier
Running Length: 1:40
MPAA Classification: PG

17-year old Eragon (Spleers) lives a fairly peaceful life with his uncle. One day he comes across what he believes to be an odd looking stone. Soon, he discovers it is a dragon egg, and once that egg hatches, he seeks out the village bum/storyteller Brom (Irons). He seems to know a lot about dragons, and begins to teach Eragon the ways of Dragon Riders. Meanwhile, the evil King Galbatoris (Malkovich) sends his minion Durza (Carlyle) to find the dragon and destroy it.

“Eragon” is sub-par on almost all levels. The worst aspect is that the story parallels “Star Wars” almost exactly. I cannot help but wonder if George Lucas is getting a paycheck for this ripoff of a story. To be fair, I am told that the film differs quite a bit from the book. Spleers is adequate as Eragon. Malkovich is fun to watch as always, but he gets very little screen time. The saving grace in the acting department is Irons, who seems to be having fun despite the film he is in. If you must see this, wait until it comes out on DVD.

The Nativity Story **1/2
Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Issac, Hiam Abbass, Shaul Toub, Alexander Siddig, Shohreh Agdashloo, Ciaran Hinds
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Running Length: 1:35
MPAA Classification: PG

When teenaged Mary (Castle-Hughes) finds out that she has been betrothed to Joseph (Isaac), she is not happy. A visit from the Archangel Gabriel (Siddig) informs her that she will be impregnated by the Holy Spirit and will give birth to Jesus. Upon returning from visiting her cousin Elizabeth (Agdashloo), she is in the midst of a scandal. She is pregnant, but not with Joseph’s child. Gabriel visits Joseph, and he claims the child as his own. Meanwhile, King Herod (Hinds) calls for a census, forcing Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem. The king also fears the prophecies telling of the birth of the King of the Jews, and that will only make things more difficult for Mary and Joseph.

You know the story…there is nothing new here. It is, in many ways, like watching the local Christmas pageant in church. The production is not as good as it could have been, and that is what just makes this an OK movie. The acting is allright as well, with no real standouts. I suppose that the wise men are pretty interesting, but they mostly provide comic relief. “The Nativity Story” is a harmless film, that will probably do better on DVD. My suggestion is to wait until that time to see it.

2007 Golden Globes nominees

Here are the Golden Globe movie nominees:

Picture, Drama: Babel,Bobby,The Departed,Little Children,The Queen

Actress, Drama: Penelope Cruz, Volver ; Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal ; Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sherrybaby ; Helen Mirren, The Queen ; Kate Winslet, Little Children

Actor, Drama: Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond ; Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed ; Peter O'Toole, Venus ; Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness ; Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Picture, Musical or Comedy: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,The Devil Wears Prada,Dreamgirls,Little Miss Sunshine,Thank You for Smoking

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Annette Bening, Running With Scissors ; Toni Collette, Little Miss Sunshine ; Beyonce Knowles, Dreamgirls ; Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada ; Renee Zellweger, Miss Potter

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan ; Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ; Aaron Eckhart, Thank You for Smoking ; Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kinky Boots ; Will Ferrell, Stranger than Fiction

Supporting Actress: Adriana Barraza, Babel ; Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal ; Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada ; Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls ; Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Supporting Actor: Ben Affleck, Hollywoodland ; Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls ; Jack Nicholson, The Departed ; Brad Pitt, Babel ; Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

Director: Clint Eastwood, Flags of Our Fathers ; Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima ; Steven Frears, The Queen ; Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel ; Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga, Babel ; Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, Little Children ; Patrick Marber, Notes on a Scandal ; William Monahan, The Departed ; Peter Morgan, The Queen

Foreign Language: Apocalypto, USA; Letters from Iwo Jima, USA/Japan; The Lives of Others, Germany; Pan's Labyrinth, Mexico; Volver Spain

Animated Film: Cars,Happy Feet,Monster House

Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, The Painted Veil ; Clint Mansell, The Fountain ; Gustavo Santaolalla, Babel ; Carlo Siliotto, Nomad ; Hans Zimmer, The Da Vinci Code

Original Song: A Father's Way from The Pursuit of Happyness ; Listen from Dreamgirls ; Never Gonna Break My Faith from Bobby ; The Song of the Heart from Happy Feet ; Try Not to Remember from Home of the Brave

Déjà Vu ***
Cast: Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, Val Kilmer, James Caviezel, Adam Goldberg, Bruce Greenwood
Director: Tony Scott
Running Length: 2:00
MPAA Classification: PG-13

On Fat Tuesday in New Orleans, a ferry explodes offshore. Over 500 people are dead, most of them military. ATF agent Doug Carlin (Washington) is called in to investigate this act of terrorism. FBI agent Pryzwarra (Kilmer) is running the investigation and is immediately impressed with Carlin. Soon Carlin finds himself on the inside of an elite agency that has the capability to look exactly four days and six hours into the past. Carlin does not believe Pryzwarra’s explanation of the system, and is determined to find out exactly how it works.

Tony Scott, master of ADD filmmaking manages to reel things in a bit with “Déjà Vu”. Best described as a time travelling action mystery, “Déjà Vu” is highly entertaining. Denzel Washington brings a typical Denzel Washington performance to the film, and that is just fine. He is not stretching here, but the performance is familiar, and it gets the job done. The story is interesting and not too confusing as time traveling stories can sometimes be. There are some action sequences, but they are not as prevalent as one might expect from a Tony Scott film. Overall, “Déjà Vu” delivers the entertaining diversion that it sets out to provide, and I recommend it.

The Fountain ***
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn, Mark Margolis, Cliff Curtis, Sean Patrick Thomas, Donna Murphy, Ethan Suplee
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Running Length: 1:36
MPAA Classification: PG-13

In the 1500s, Queen Isabel (Weisz) of Spain sends a Conquistador (Jackman) to find the Fountain of Youth in New Spain. In the 26th century, a man (Jackman) is on a trip through the stars with a tree. In the present, Tommy Creo (Jackman), a drug developer, is trying to cure his wife Izzy (Weisz), who has an inoperable brain tumor.

While this is a vague description, to tell more would be to give away too much. All the story lines are related in some way, and director Darren Aronofsky does a good job bouncing back and forth between the three. Jackman and Weisz are the emotional core of the movie, and both do very good jobs in their multiple roles. At its heart, “The Fountain” is a love story, albeit not a love story for everyone. It is worth a view if you are looking for something a little different.

Happy Feet **
Cast (voices): Robin Williams, Hugh Jackman, Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Brittany Murphy, Hugo Weaving
Director: George Miller
Running Length: 1:45
MPAA Classification: PG

Upon returning home from a fishing expedition, Norma Jean (Kidman, an Emperor penguin, meets her baby boy Mumble (Wood). He is a little strange. While all Emperor penguins like to sing, Mumble likes to dance. He also sings really, really badly. Feeling like an outcast, he leaves his group of penguins and becomes friends with Ramon (Williams), a penguin of a different species who does not mind Mumble’s “Happy Feet”. With the help of his new friends, he sets out to figure out why the fish supply has decreased, a problem that threatens all the life on Antarctica.

“Happy Feet” could have been a really good movie. Lots of singing, cute penguins, and a nice story about how being different is not bad. But, in the last third of the movie, it all falls apart. A conservationalist message is handled with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the head. The way it is handled feels out of place in a kids’ movie, and has a different and darker tone from the rest of the film. Also, a dues ex machina to save the day for Mumbles feels like a big old cheat. The last third of the movie actually made me dislike this film a lot, and I cannot recommend it to anyone.

Casino Royale ***1/2

Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino
Director: Martin Campbell
Running Length: 2:24
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Two kills, and James Bond (Craig) has been elevated to double-O level. M (Dench) feels that he is not ready, sends him on his first mission anyway. His job is to find Le Chiffre (Mikkelsen), a supplier of terrorist money, and shut him down. When Le Chiffre enters an exclusive poker tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro, Bond enters as well to prevent him from winning. Even with the help of Vesper Lynd (Green), a treasury agent, Bond may have his hands full, as Le Chiffre sets his eyes on removing Bond from the picture permanently.

“Casino Royale” is a successful reboot of the James Bond franchise. As different as night and day from “Die Another Day”, “Casino Royale” does almost everything right. Daniel Craig is perfect as Bond, maybe even the best ever. He is a rough around the edges “blunt instrument” that has a ways to go before he is the James Bond we know. Grounded in reality, “Casino Royale” also does away with most of the gadgets one would expect from a Bond movie. The supporting cast all do a good job in a movie that is all Daniel Craig. This is not your father’s Bond…this is better.

Stranger Than Fiction ***
Cast: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah
Director: Marc Forster
Running Length: 1:53
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Harold Crick (Ferrell) is an IRS agent who sees numbers everywhere in his daily life. He leads a boring life, and is somewhat content with it. Then, one day, he begins to hear a voice narrating his life. The voice does not belong to God, but to author Kay Eiffel (Thompson). She does not write books that end well for the protagonist, and one day Harold’s voice tells him that he is going to die soon. He seeks out help from a literary professor (Hoffman), who does not entirely believe him. Meanwhile, Harold is auditing Ana Pascal (Gyllenhaal), an banker who he quickly falls for. Now, he has something to live for, and solving the problem of the voice and its prediction becomes extra important.

Will Ferrell is great as Harold. He is a likeable everyman. His humor is never over the top, and he handles the drama quite well. He is the glue that holds this movie together, and deserves recognition for the role. The supporting cast is good, never taking away from the focus of the film. The story itself is an interesting idea, but perhaps the ending was a bit of a cop-out. It did not feel right to me, but that is a small quibble for an otherwise enjoyable film.

Flushed Away ***
Cast (voices): Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellan, Andy Serkis, Bill Nighy, Jean Reno, Shane Richie
Directors: David Bowers, Sam Fell
Running Length: 1:25
MPAA Classification: PG

Roddy (Jackman) is a pet rat who slips out of his cage when his family goes on vacation. He is enjoying himself until Sid (Richie) arrives. Sid is a sewer rat who just wants to watch the World Cup undisturbed, so he flushes Roddy down the toilet. On the other side, Roddy finds himself in a town of sewer rats. After meeting Rita (Winslet), he makes a deal with her to get himself home. The one thing in their way is Boss Toad (McKellan), who is out to stop them and destroy the sewer rat’s world.

For “Flushed Away”, Aardman Studios have gone the route of computer animation instead of their usual stop-motion processes that work so well in “Wallace and Gromit”. This was to compensate for the high amount of water involved, an element that is difficult for stop-motion photography. Fortunately, they kept the look of their clay characters, and the resulting product is almost indistinguishable from the look that they are used to. The voice talent is top notch all around as well. The humor is there, for both children and adults. While not reaching the quality of this year’s “Cars” and “Monster House”, “Flushed Away” is an enjoyable film that is for the whole family. It is definitely worth checking out.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan ***1/2
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Pamela Anderson
Director: Larry Charles
Running Length: 1:22
MPAA Classification: R

Borat Sagdiyev (Cohen) is a TV reporter from Kazakhstan who embarks on a journey to America to make a documentary of the United States for his home country with the hope that they can learn from us. His producet Azamat (Davitian) accompanies him on his journey. Soon, in New York City, Borat discovers and falls in love with Pamela Anderson after watching “Baywatch”. He decides that he will not only film in New York, but all across the country, ending up in California where he hopes to meet the “virginal” Pamela Anderson. Along the way, he learns how to drive, adopts a bear, gets humor lessons, sings at a rodeo, and wrestle with Azamat.

This is easily the funniest movie I have seen this year. Sacha Baron Cohen has created an idiot character that exposes the prejudices of the unsuspecting people he interacts with. Most of what he says is cringeworthy, as he has the ability to say the exact wrong thing to the various people he runs into. This movie is not for everyone, in fact there is surely something in this movie to offend everyone, but there is more to it than you might initially think. I highly recommend this film.

Saw III ***
Cast: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus Macfayden, Bahar SoomekhMpho Koaho, Dina Meyer
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Running Length: 1:47
MPAA Classification: R

Jigsaw (Bell) is back, although still dying from cancer. With the help of his assistant Amanda (Smith), they enlist the “help” of Dr. Lynn Benton (Soomekh). They connect her to a devise around her neck that will blow her head off if Jigsaw’s heart stops. Properly motivated, she begins to try to help him. Meanwhile, Jeff (Macfayden) is going through a series of tests in which he faces the people responsible for his son’s death and must forgive them. After all, Jigsaw just wants people to appreciate life.

It’s Halloween, so there must be a new “Saw” movie out, right? In fact, “Saw IV” is already scheduled for 2007. “Saw III” lives up to its predecessors, and even manages to tie up some loose ends. Flashing back to points in the first two films, the makers of this movie are able to make things fit a little more tightly. Tobin Bell is good as the mastermind Jigsaw, and the rest of the cast is good enough as his pawns. The death devices are still fairly clever this third time out, and there are enough twists to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat. If you enjoyed the first two “Saw” films, there is no reason not to check this one out.

Flags of Our Fathers ***
Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, Jamie Bell, Barry Pepper, Tom Verica, Paul Walker, Robert Patrick, Neal McDonough, Joseph Cross, Melanie Lynskey
Director: Clint Eastwood
Running Length: 2:15
MPAA Classification: R

The photograph of the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima is one of the most famous pictures of World War II. It was so moving that three of the surviving soldiers, John Bradley (Phillippe), Rene Gagno (Bradford), and Ira Hayes (Beach), were sent back to America to promote war bonds and raise the American flag at rallies. Of course, they only raised the replacement flag, but that was kept from the public, lest it detract from what they were trying to accomplish. “Flags of Our Fathers” jumps between these survivors making appearances to raise money, the war itself, and the interviewing of veterans by James Bradley in the present day.

“Flags” is an interesting look at WWII and the heroes from that war. It provides an interesting look at what exactly a hero is, and many will be surprised by the true story behind the actual flag raising. Adam Beach is the standout amongst the cast as the Native American Ira Hayes. He gives a performance that deserves to be recognized come Oscar time. The rest of the cast is adequate, but not standout. Eastwood’s direction gets the job done, but I cannot help but think he is a little over his head with all the special effects used to create the battle scenes. Eastwood is used to movies that are less “big”, and it shows. Overall, “Flags of Our Fathers” is definitely worth seeing, and will provide a vision of the war that is not widely known by the American public.

The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D ***
Cast (voices): Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Ed Ivory
Director: Henry Selick
Running Length: 1:15
MPAA Classification: PG

In Halloween Town, October 31 is the biggest night of the year. Jack Skellington (Sarandon & Elfman), organizer of the festivities has got the blues. He wants something different in his life, and while wandering in the forest, he finds a door to Christmas Town. In Christmas Town, things are bright and cheerful. It captures his interest, and when he returns to Halloween Town, he announces that this year, they will celebrate Christmas. In fact, Jack will even replace “Sandy Claws” on Christmas to help spread the cheer. He has it all planned out, but Salle (O’Hara) has a premonition that things will go terribly wrong.

“Nightmare” has developed a following since it’s initial release in 1993. The stop-motion animation as well as the melding of Halloween and Christmas has captivated many, and Disney’s decision to release it in 3-D is a welcome event for those people. I think even a regular re-release would drum up some excitement. The animation is top notch, and the story idea is an interesting one, but for me the execution of the story falls a little flat. That being said, “Nightmare” is still worth seeing, especially in 3-D.