Gil Mansergh's Cinema Toast

June 14, 2006

New releases

CARS (G)

Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Tony Shaloub, George Carlin. Directed by John Lasseter.

It takes a minute to realize that those are cars, not people, in the stands during the race for the Piston Cup, but you quickly accept the premise and delight in everything that follows -- superb animation, artistic incomparability, a strong story, marvelously talented voices and Pixar's American sensibility. Works best if you've actually been to an auto race or traveled Route 66 and stopped for gas, or a bite to eat, or spent the night in a cement teepee in a timeless town like Radiator Springs.

3 and 1/2 pieces of Pixar toast

THE OMEN (R)

Liev Shreiber, Julia Stiles. Directed by John Moore.

Director John Moore ("Flight of the Phoenix") brings us another pointless remake (done almost shot-for-shot) which only proves how good the original really was. The antichrist lives with an unsuspecting family and does terrible things to everyone who suspects the truth.

2 and 1/2 pieces of 6/6/6 toast

A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (PG-13)

Garrison Keillor, Tommy Lee Jones, Lindsay Lohan, Woody Harrelson, Kevin Kline. Directed by Robert Altman.

Altman's trademark dolly shots and overlapping dialogue hunker down in St. Paul, Minn. for the "last" show of radio station WLT's fabled "Prairie Home Companion." Onstage is all sincere folksiness as the emcee introduces singing cowboys (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly) and singing siblings plus a daughter (Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep plus Lindsay Lohan). Backstage is just the opposite, as egos, greed and incompetence collide.

3 and 1/2 pieces of Powder-Milk Biscuit toast

New video and DVD

RUNNING SCARED (R)

Paul Walker, Chazz Palminteri, Cameron Bright. Directed by Wayne Kramer.

Box Office: $6,651,790

It is almost impossible to avoid saying this film is too fast and too furious (Paul Walker starred in both of those car-chase films). Everything is over the top and it deservedly earned the R-rating for pervasive strong brutal violence and language, sexuality and drug content. Why waste your money on this? Instead go see Paul Walker in "Eight Below." It's set in Antarctica where Walker's frozen facial expression is acceptable.

1 and 1/2 pieces of running toast

GLORY ROAD (PG)

Joshua Lucas, Tatyana Ali, Mehcad Brooks. Director: James Gartner.

Box Office: $42,448,852

The inspiring true story of history's first all-African-American NCAA starting lineup winning the 1966 tournament title is turned into a Jerry Bruckheimer-style piece using a Motown backup and directed by a man famous for his award-winning TV commercials for AMEX and Marriott.

2 and 1/2 pieces of basketball clichés toast

THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA (R)

Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Julio Cedillo. Directed by Tommy Lee Jones.

Box Office: $4,913,407

Distributor problems sidetracked this modern-day western to small theaters, but it's worth time renting and savoring Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut. Lawmen, a dead Mexican, Western codes of honor, payback, accountability, retribution, manhood, redemption and dignity thickly layered in dry, dryer, driest dust.

3 and 1/2 pieces of Mexican border toast

(Gil Mansergh's Cinema Toast mini-reviews appear in the Argus-Courier every week. E-mail comments to gilmansergh@comcast.net.)