Naomi Watts in "21 Grams"
courtesy of Universal Home Entertainment
"How Much Does the Soul Weigh?"

Many people mistakenly think the title "21 Grams" means that film is a drug movie. Not true. It instead refers to the alleged amount of weight the body loses at the time of death. Some think the soul leaves the body and that is the weight of the soul.

So you can see "21 Grams" deals with subjects much weightier than the average film. It also deals with death and the pain it causes; heart transplants and the hope they bring; and religion and the impact it has. Plus a whole lot more.

Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benecio Del Toro are the stars of the movie and they are each excellent in their roles. Del Toro and Watts were nominated for Oscars for their performances and Penn won the Oscar for his role in "Mystic River." He is equally good in this movie.

The film is one of those which is not told linearly, but instead jumps around from incident to incident. Still by the end of the film you have put it together and gotten the impact of it all.

Not in the same league but watchable is "Beyond Borders." In this film Angelina Jolie tackles a role close to her heart as she plays a woman trying to help out the underprivileged of the world. She and Clive Davis create roles of persons who visit the war torn countries and work to aid the refugees. They also fall in love.

This is one of those movies that has nothing but good intent, but ends up being a little dull and a little too righteous. Jolie needs a hit but this movie is not it. She can chalk up another loser at the box office, but hopefully some people will think it worth a rental.

Poor Robert Downey, Jr. We have seen all of his drug addicted troubles play out in the media. He says he is now clean and in "The Singing Detective" he appears to be so. He has always been a most effective actor and in this film he shows he has not lost it.

The movie concerns a writer who imagines himself to be living a life in which musical numbers occur. If that sounds bizarre, well it is. But it also is a movie that has a stunning cast to support Downey. This includes Robin Wright Penn (Mrs. Sean), Mel Gibson, Adrian Brody and Katie Holmes. Wow!

So sit back, relax and have some fun with it. It is not your typical movie and that is a good thing. If everything were formulaic we would all go nuts - and hallucinate being in musicals.

For the kiddies and the big kids out there we get a chance to see every episode from "The Flintstones: The First Season" and "Scooby Doo Where Are You?: The First Season." Now that is a lot of cartoon comedy but who cares. Pull up a sofa and take in ALL the episodes. That is, if you don't have a life!

Little kids will also enjoy "Home On the Range: A Little Patch of Heaven/Singalong Songs." This video is hosted by Maggie the Cow (voiced by Roseanne Barr) and gets the kids familiar with the songs from the upcoming Disney feature "Home On the Range."

Plus there are special features which help teach children how to spot letters and recognize words. It is educational and fun!

They can also have fun and be educated by the video "Baby MacDonald: A Day At the Farm." This is part of the "Baby Einstein" series and introduces your youngster to farm life. He/she will squeal with delight as they see and hear the sights and sounds of a real farm.

Finally for the older kids there are new videos of episodes from the Lizzie McGuire TV series. The available episodes are titled "Star Struck" and "Totally Crushed." Plus you can see a new Kim Possible movie titled "A Stitch In Time." Both videos are sure to be popular, since the characters are teen girl favorites.

There's a lot new at the video/DVD store. Start watching!

 

 

 

 

 

©2004 Jackie K. Cooper

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