You'll want to reach out and hug "Bolt"

My freelance review:

If you love dogs, you'll love Bolt, Disney's new cartoon movie. (And if you don't love dogs, you should.)

The voice of John Travolta is the voice of Bolt, a dog who -- day after day -- faces danger and intrigue to rescue his "person" Penny (voiced by Miley Cyrus) from a new set of bad guys. He's quite the super-hero, but he's just doing what a dog should do -- kind of like an exaggerated version of barking at the mailman!

But it's all a facade. Bolt doesn't see the special effects crew making all of his Indiana Jones-style antics possible -- nor the cameras filming it all. That is all kept from him, for fear that if he finds out what's going on, neither he nor his #1 TV show would be quite the same.

Bolt is a delight, a sweet story with plenty of action, comedy and heart. Bolt says things that I imagine my own dogs saying, if they could talk. And after he accidently falls into a shipping box that sends him from Hollywood to New York, Bolt teams up with a jaded cat named Mittens and a sarcastic hamster named Rhino. Mittens helps Bolt realize the joys of being a normal dog -- for the first time, and the trio head cross-country to get Bolt back home to his "person."

I think Bolt is going to have great appeal throughout the holiday season. The animation, most of which is computer-generated, is superb but not overly-done. There's an overall beauty to the visuals that hark back to the old hand-drawn Disney classics.

And in select theatres, Bolt is in 3-D, making it all the more tempting to want to reach out and hug Bolt!

Polly the kitten

Some people can be so cruel and others so kind. Observe the stark contrast here:

"W." strives for acceptance

My freelance review of W., which opens today:

According to recent polls, nearly three-fourths of Americans disapprove of George W. Bush's performance as president.

Oliver Stone's new film W. explores aspects of this performance -- as well as Bush as a young adult trying to find his place in the world.

Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) is effective as Bush. He has many of his quirky mannerisms down as the film bounces back and forth between the post-9/11, wartime Oval Office and the 1980s/90s struggles between Bush and his father (played by James Cromwell).

The Oval Office scenes are mostly focused on the Iraq War and Bush's interactions with his immediate staff (including Richard Dreyfess' spot-on depiction of Dick Cheney, Scott Glenn's Donald Rumsfeld, Thandie Newton's Condoleeza Rice, and Toby Jones' rather creepy portrayal of Karl Rove).

At 131 minutes, the film is a bit on the long side. But there's a fair amount of humor interspersed within Stone's portrait of Bush, which is more human and complex than expected. Recurrently throughout the film, Bush is displayed as someone very much in need of his father's acceptance.

At this point, if you're among the 25% who approval of Bush's performance, you might want to refrain from seeing W. to keep your blood pressure in check. Otherwise, your political leanings will probably dictate just how much you would appreciate or not appreciate W.

I really need to clean my patio door...

From left, Scooter, Oliver, Bose and Dawson.

Farmer's Market Bounty

These are the items I picked up from the Clayton Farmer's Market this morning: Free-range eggs laid yesterday, from a farm in New Florence, MO; a potato & chive focaccia bread (baked by nutritionists at St. Louis University); a variety of peppers; three ears of popcorn -- still on the cob; and a vine of American Bittersweet Berries (for decoration only!).

"Eagle Eye" is uneven but fun

My freelance review:

The new flick Eagle Eye, starring Shia LaBeouf, wants to be it all: a fast-paced, youthful political thriller complete with a message, amazing technical effects and awesome car chases. Oh, and a story that tugs every so often at your heartstrings and offers cutesy dialog during moments of extreme duress.

LaBeouf (fresh from the latest Indiana Jones flick) plays the twin brother of a recently-deceased government operative. He returns home from his brother's funeral only to find his apartment loaded with top-secret military weapons. A mysterious phone call sends him on a dangerous, prescribed run as a suspected terrorist. He's joined by a single mom (Michelle Monaghan) whose son has been kidnapped and whose actions are also being deliberately controlled.

Every move these two make is of the kind where the viewer's belief must not only suspended but completely thrown out the window. As our stars escape harm time after time, the surrounding violence and collateral damage is quite high, contributing to an uneven overall tone to the film.

Despite being about 20 minutes too long, there's still plenty of fun to be had with Eagle Eye, especially if you try not to think too hard about it. And this includes not thinking too hard about why they miscast Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton as an FBI agent. Someone like former Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson would have fit the bill quite fine.

I have a feeling this will make for a great flick to catch on HBO some Saturday afternoon.

In memory of Jenny

Sympathies to my friend Linda J. on the passing of her dog Jenny, shown below, at right. Linda had Jenny for 14 years and misses her greatly. Linda lost her other dog (Amy, also shown below) in June of last year.