More Brando? I'm there. Thanks for the heads up.

I like the French plantation scenes, but it didn't add anything to the movie itself. But like you said it's still worth a watch.

Since so many people think it didn't add anything to the movie, I think it is a failure on the part of Coppola to communicate. Especially because there is a big significance for the scene in his mind, as he explains it in the commentary. The whole movie has "going back in time" as one of its many themes. If you look at the beginning, you see choppers and gun fires etc. then we see bows and arrows and palm leaves for the boat etc. Then in Kurtz compund, we see even more primitive world. In essence, he wanted to show a gradual shift in time backwards as willard and his team slowly drift towards Kurtzian morality themselves. That is where the French Plantation scene is important. First of all the french are living in the past in vietnam. Some kind of time bubble that is not real. it is interesting to visit this time bubble in the backward journey through time. Secondly, we see the burial of "Mr Clean" with all state honors. This serves as a contrast for the way "chief" was treated upon his death later. Thirdly, the conversation between Roxanne and Willard is very profound. She reminds him that all that matters is that he is alive (her husband isn't, because of the war). At this point Willard has lost all purpose behind his mission. He is no different from Kurtz or Killgore. His journey has taken on its own course by then.
Knowing these facets of the scene makes it very enjoyable for me each time I watch this scene. When I watch Redux, I really don't care that it is long and meandering. It is an experience and not a movie at that point. I compare it to the movie "Dead man" which is again about a man's jounery into himself. I want it to go on and on forever.

BATTLE OF THE BULGE 1/2
(First Viewing)

In the winter of 1944, the Allied Armies stand ready to invade Germany at the coming of a New Year. To prevent this occurrence, Hitler orders an all out offensive to re-take French territory and capture the major port city of Antwerp. "The Battle of the Bulge" shows this conflict from the perspective of an American intelligence officer as well as from a German Panzer Commander.

What I am glad to see from some of these classic war films is they don't seem to glamorize the war. I think the Henry Fonda character was in this film, but overall, not as much as expected. An interesting perspective of the war from the point of view of tank warfare. I also like in this film the overture music to begin with and the intermission. It always reminds me of the old, BIG budget Hollywood films that would last about 4 hours.

You know, thats a very good point svsg. Good job.

I saw that a few weeks ago, and I agree it's a great film.

oh yes, BATTLE OF THE BULGE...the same movie that offended the hell out of Eisenhower.

great input about Apocalypse Now. I didn't get the french plantation scene either, and you just made me want to watch it again.

Knocked Up
Direct by Judd Apatow

This might have been the funniest film I have seen in a long time! The film is about a 20 something, chubby, stoner named Ben (Seth Rogan) who knocks up a very sexy TV Executive named Alison (Katherine Heigle)....who was drunk when it happened.

The ensemble cast was hilarious especially Paul Rudd (Pete) and Jonah Hill (Jonah). Ben's stoner buddies are hilarious.

Back to the film. Alison is very unhappy that she is stuck with Ben...because he has no money and when he has it he spends it on pot. The only money he makes is off developing a porn site with his stoner friends. However the porn site turns out to be nothing more than a Mr.Skin knockoff.

The best scene in the film is when Ben and Pete go to Vegas to see Circus Soleil....on shrooms. Eventually Alison and Ben resolve thier differences (Such as Alison not liking doggy style sex) and learn to deal with each other. The birth scene was surprisingly graphic, many people were turning away during that scene. The film ends on a happy note which seemed appropriate.

If you liked The Forty Year Old Virgin or Anchorman then this film is for you.

Verdict: A

I LOVED it BDuff!!

"My shit looked like a stuffed animal!!"

Alison- Why don't you go FUCK your FUCKING Bong?
Ben- I will! I'll do it doggy style, too! For once!

You're like Babe Ruth's gay brother...Gabe Ruth.

I'm gonna go down Canal Sreet this weekend and try to get a bootleg.

I can't wait for the dvd.

Finding Nemo *

I have a great amount of respect for technical artists involved in making animation movies. It is tough enough to make a decent looking fish digitally, let alone making a mvoie full of sea creatures that can depict a variety of emotions. So that one star is for the technological achievement. If I were a kid (the target audience I presume) I would have loved seeing talking fishes and so on. But, the fact is that I am not. So I don't blame the film maker here. If I set aside the fact that the characters are animals instead of humans, I find the characters extremely annoying and irritating. The story is predictable and the plot sucks. Forgive my hypocrisy as I keep criticizing mainstream hollywood and continue to watch its products regularly.

Toy Story is the best Animated film by far, for me anyway.

You can watch it on your computer via tvlinks.com in the movie section. Pretty good quality

I liked Finding Nemo, although Monsters Inc. will always be my favorite. My daughter says that when she gets her own car, she's going to get a vanity plate that says 23-19, the code the monsters used when they encountered a human.

MONSTERS INC rocks. Sulley's my boy.

MONSTERS INC was an amazing movie, one of the only "kid" films I actually liked.

MONSTERS INC was an amazing movie, one of the only "kid" films I actually liked.

John Goodman and Billy Crystal were both great.

My kids still run around imitating Boo saying Mike Wizowski!! And my oldest does a scarily excellent imitation of Roz. Wizowski - where's your paperwork!!

Randall was no forking good!!

And then he went on to make problems for Tony Soprano, too.

I remember the whole Mike Wizowski thing...the sad part was I had a friend who was named Mike Wiznowski or something like that so we all made fun of him.

He's probably scared for life because of it but we were kids.

Randall scared the hell out of me. Loved the out-takes at the end.

SICKO
(First Viewing)

A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories.

Again, another fantastic documentary by Michael Moore (he's my favorite documentary director BTW). He yet again appeals to me with another controversial topic that is near and dear to me, health care. The film shows our lack of support for citizens of the United States due to corporations wanting to line their pockets with profits (f*ck the patients). He also shows us Canada's system, France's (which is rated the best in the world by some), and Cuba. Yes our 90-mile away pal has better health care in their country than we do. Unfortunately, I know many will be turned off of this film due to their hatred of Michael Moore but I've always enjoyed his work. Whether you agree or disagree with him, watch this film if you have any care for the health care "given" in this country.

Yeah, that was a magic era for PIXAR. Too bad they've slipped on their last two films.

As much as I liked TOY STORY, I prefer the sequel.

My favorite PIXAR? probably THE INCREDIBLES.

No love for Ratatouille? Seems like they recovered for the time being from the uneven Cars.

It's arguably Brad Bird's & Pixar's best yet and that means one of cinema's finest, period - animation, live action, or documentary. I personally prefer The Incredibles, but Ratatouille is slightly behind. After more viewings, who knows.

No capes!!! I love little Edna.