Like everyone's opinion, I wouldn't like these songs if it weren't for someone with a phenomenal unique voice like KELLY CLARKSON singing it!!! I wish her the best, she has so many fans like myself! I think she would fare well with more soulful, bluesy type songs that are in Kelly's domain, a lot like her renditions of Aretha Franklin's "You're All I need" and "Natural Woman." Kelly's great because she's a normal, bubbly All-American girl that doesn't take herself seriously, or have any diva hangups. That's why she's ten times better vocally and personally than someone like Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston, and deserves to have won!!!

I really really enjoyed this film. Unbeknowst to me, the director (Mangold) was the same person who directed Copland, which is totally different in genre and style. I especially liked how Mangold used different sequences in Susanna's (Winona Ryder) life to correlate with one another. To adhere to his commentary in the DVD, Mangold is inspired by the film Slaughterhouse Five, which also parallels the dream-like images of the main character's life. Unfortuneately the deleted scenes were beautifully done, especially the scene where Susanna goes to the market and has flashbacks of when she overdosed. I read a review that slandered this film, and most of the "major" critics have, with the exception of praise that Angelina Jolie has garnered. One critic deemed it as "a bunch of attractive women who sit around smoking and whining about their lives." If that's the case, then it definitely worked for me.

But...I really love Brittany Murphy ever since i saw her in Clueless. She is the most talented underrated young actress, amidst all those WB anorexics. Her character was to me, the most "entertaining," the most compelling, and the one i most cared about. Having incest with her father, i think caused her to vomit the chicken, which was a representation of her father and the business he owned. She loved and devoured him, but also acted out subconsiously by washing herself of him. I wish Mangold commented more on her character.

The scene in the ice-cream parlor was the best...classic. A great film! Thumbs up...So there you have it...Ciao...