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I went into this film not knowing anything about it. I enjoy martial arts and love the early work of Jean-Claude Van Damme so I decided to give this one a go. Well let me just say that the lead actor, Tony Jaa, has the makings of a star. He has that Jet Li intense screen presence and should continue to appear in martial arts films.

ONG-BAK is the story of a man who must rescue a treasured buddha stone piece from his home village. He fights many battles to get to the piece and stops at nothing in the process.

Whats extraordinary about this film is that it throws everything at you. The action never lets up and the stunts were probably the most intense I have ever seen. Each punch, kick, roundhouse, etc was executed with such force that there had to be some broken bones throughout filming. Tony Jaa surely has the makings of a star. ONG-BAK is excellent.

Clint Eastwood's latest work, MILLION DOLLAR BABY, stars Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerlad, a poor 31 year old woman who has aspirations of making it big as a boxer and wants nothing but the guidance of an old "cut man", Frankie Dunn. At first, Frankie is hesitant on training Maggie due to the fact that she's a girl and claims that girls are not tough enough. Morgan Freeman's character, Scrap, decides to help Maggie and angers Frankie in the process. Frankie has managed some great fighters in the past and doesn't want to take a chance on a near middle aged trailer park girl. Frankie and Maggie then begin a special bond that is without a doubt one of the best stories ever told in the history of film.

The Academy did indeed pick the right winner for Best Picture, Director, Actress, and Best Supporting. I hope Clint continues to make spectacular films in the future and wish nothing but the best for him, Hilary and Morgan. My favorite film of 2004. A+

Let me first say that I've been on an Alfred Hitchcock kick lately, and have viewed a few of his classis movies. I already own PSYCHO (a personal favorite of mine) and saw that NORTH BY NORTHWEST was on Turner Classic Movies.

This film might even top Psycho and Rear Window in terms of long, drawn out suspense, which is definitely not a bad thing in movies as long as its done right. Hitchcock is the all-time master on keeping the audience on its toes for the entire lengths of his films. You also feel for the characters.

Cary Grant gives an excellent performance as an advertising executive who is mistaken for a spy. Eva Marie Saint plays the seductive love interest to Grant, which is all too common in Hitch films.

Out of the three Hitchcock films I've seen (REAR WINDOW,PSYCHO,NORTH BY NORTHWEST), its hard picking out the best. One thing is for sure, they are one of a kind and deserve to be included in my library of films.

NORTH BY NORTHWEST: 5 out of 5 stars