Given the current buzz about bullying, particularly in the wake of Amanda Todd's suicide in Vancouver after being subjected to continuous harassment, it's striking to encounter a novel that is about almost every kind of bullying imaginable, from the dog-eat-dog world of soulless work to art criticism to family politics to, of course, the typical muck of public school hierarchies. As the dust cover announces, this is a voice similar to Holden Caulfield's in Catcher in the Rye, but it has no whining self-indulgence; instead, Jason Taylor is an utterly convincing 13-year-old persona from 1982 who describes his Worcestershire world with the eye of a poet but a documentarist's objective vision. Among other joys, this novel ends with some of the finest lines to conclude a book I've ever read. This is John Green for grown-ups.

This is a mind-bending novel, a thought-provoking series of vignettes (are actually novellas in themselves) that hook into each other to present a stunning vision of the contemporary world. Okay, not quite contemporary because some of the details are already out of date, like the passing mention of the World Trade Center in "Night Train," but that's just quibbling; the ideas are absolutely immediately now. How Mitchell manages to combing history with geography with politics with metaphysics with psychology with morality...it's a beautiful novel in that it pushes the audience to listen with ever greater focus and attention and, believe it or not, responsibility for how we respond when we close the last page.
If he had only written "Holy Mountain," David Mitchell would have created a wonderful addition to the world of literature, but he's done so much more here. Read it. Listen. Absorb. Respond.

Even though there's precious little war footage in this movie, it still speaks pretty strongly to the insanity of war and the need for human contact, which is why that parenthesis is in the title, although of course it's so much more than a war movie.
Although I'm permanently prejudiced against Matthew Modine for appearing in that stinker Visionquest, he's great as the very traumatized/psychotic/over-sensitive lead role here. Nicolas Cage does a stand-up job as the helplessly desperate buddy who sees his friend slipping too far away to retrieve. But the transcendent soundtrack by Peter Gabriel is the real star, making synesthetic connections between scenes and reflecting the disorder and trauma on the screen.
This is what movie art is about, one of the very rare films that stands above the novel upon which it was based.

Not that anyone could touch the Harper Lee novel, but the movie version--which was pretty much rushed to the big screen within about a year of the release of the book--stands up pretty well.
The choice of black and white format is a good one, obviously, even if this may seem a bit heavy-handed in its symbolism for some.
Gregory Peck is so perfect as Atticus that you will have a hard time trying to remember what else he could possibly look like. Jem and Scout work well too. Whatever happened to the child actors who played them? Who knows? Perhaps it's just as well; they can be Jem and Scout forever. Too bad about the casting for Dill, but you can't have everything, obviously.
Speaking of which, the clipping of the novel by Horton Foote is painful but necessary, considering it would otherwise be longer than The Return of the King, but I do wish that there were more scenes to savor. That's what the novel is for, I suppose.
Things not to love: the music for the scene in which Bob Ewell attacks Jem and Scout. Totally wrong. You might expect Thumper to emerge from the trees (trees? what trees?) but certainly not white trash Mister Ewell. Also, the melodramatics with the hands clutching and grasping at nothing in the same scene are really way over the top. If you are trying to go for drama, don't elicit a laugh. That's just deadly.
Another laugh arrives at what should be the most touching moment of the movie: Scout's recognition of Boo Radley. Unfortunately, it's blocked so Robert Duvall's Boo is literally hidden behind the bedroom door and he emerges like Freddy Krueger. Not very touching at all. Sorry.
But really, all the way around, weighing the flaws against the moments of brilliance, the movie comes out a winner and should be viewed as a separate text from the novel, against which no movie could ever be successfully compared.

If you thought she was good on Speak For Yourself, then you really need to grab this earlier CD, where she teams up with multi-musician Guy Sigsworth and pulls off an amazing collection of really really great songs that stick with you and stick with you...
There are too many superb tracks to pick out only one to go on about.
Do your ears a treat and get this.

I was prepared to be disappointed in this film. I am not normally a big fan of animated movies, especially those which depend on anthropomorphism (look it up!) to appeal to the kids. This does take the animal's point of view but it does not talk down to the audience, not even when Matt Damon does the voice of the main character. In fact, the story is told more through the non-intrusive music of Bryan Adams and the absolutely spectacular score of Hans Zimmer than it is through the voiceover. (Note: Adams and Zimmer were ripped off in not even being nominated for an Oscar in 2003. Ah well, Zimmer already has won for The Lion King, but I feel bad for Adams who deserved to win for Best Song.)
Look for stunning animation, some of which makes you wonder how they did it, even with computers to help them. Listen for great music. But most of all, feel a solid story that carries you from beginning to end without condescending to you. This one out-Disneys Disney. I did not hesitate to pick it up on DVD as soon as I could get a copy.