Thomps2525

Throughout "Cars", the scenery (including deserts, mountains, trees, and waterfalls) looks so realistic you'd swear the cars were digitally inserted into film footage! The overhead shot of the Los Angeles raceway and the scenes of thousands of cars in the bleachers are the most elaborate scenes that Pixar has ever done. The "starring" cars themselves are as anthropomorphic as Pixar could make them, a vast improvement over Disney's old cartoon,"Suzie, The Little Blue Coupe." Each car has a distinct personality. The best are Tow Mater, the tow truck, and Fillmore, the 1960s Volkswagen bus who, if he were human, would be referred to as an "old hippie." Lots of clever car-related gags too. And the closing credits, where the cars are watching movies at the drive-in, are the best part of the film!

Critics are paid to see movies and offer negative comments. We paid to see "Christmas With The Cranks" and found nothing negative to say about it. It was a novel premise with several interesting characters. Tim Allen played his role very similar to that of his "Home Improvement" character. It worked on television and it works in this movie as well. We could feel his frustration at seeing his holiday plans confounded. The movie is set in Riverside, Illinois, but the scene at the market was filmed in Verdugo City, north of Glendale, California, where snow never occurs without the aid of special-effects people. It was fun to see our local store--covered with "snow"--in the film. We enjoyed this film as much as we did Allen's two "Santa Clause" movies and recommend it for all ages. And pay close attention to Santa.

Brittany Murphy tries way too hard to act ditzy in the first half of "Uptown Girls." Her pet pig is far more endearing than she is. Dakota Fanning is every bit as charming as she was in "I Am Sam", although her charm is not as immediately evident. She has a harsh exterior that has to be penetrated, and the way it's finally penetrated is quite touching. I'd give the film a B-plus, but Brittany's excessive acting style, which does get toned down near the movie's conclusion, compels me to knock the grade down to a B-minus. Dakota is, by far, the better actress here.