I had heard various things about this movie, not all good, not all bad. I waited until it came out on video, but I think that I would not have been disappointed had I seen it in the theatres. It definitely messes with your mind on a number of occasions, but I think it is generally well done. In the interests of full disclosure, I have to mention that Tom and I go way back. I have been carrying a torch for him ever since I saw him in The Outsiders when I was 12. I don’t imagine there are many of his movies that I haven’t seen. So my judgment of his performance may be clouded by lustblinders. Penelope Cruz, however, has not been a favourite in the past. She often comes across as kind of flaky and floozy, and I can’t respect that. I will have to admit, though, that she did a reasonable job in this one. Overall, I would say that this is a good movie (not fabulous, but strongly good). Many people dismissed it as “too intellectual”, but I would have to disagree. It is more pop psychology than high intellect, but that didn’t detract from the experience in my mind. (****)

This isn’t a bad movie at all. I thought casting Brad Pitt as a bumbling errand boy was a bit of a stretch, though. He is too cool to bumble. James Gandolfini makes the movie watchable as a hitman with a twist. Brad and Julia both overact, but the movie is kind of over-the-top, so maybe that’s not such a big deal. In general, I was not as disappointed as I thought I might be. (***)

Really neat but gave me severe heebie-jeebies. It’s all about insects, but there is no dialogue or anything. There is just a bit of an introduction at the beginning and then the insects take over. It is really amazing to watch the species in their various stages of metamorphosis. It is beautifully shot with severe close-ups of all the creepy-crawlies. I was extremely brave and watched it all the way to the end, but I will have to admit to being mildly grossed out by the snail sex. Blech! (Watch for a tragic scene involving caterpillers.) (****)