Seabiscuit (5 out of 5 stars)
Universal/ Release Date: December 16

“You don’t throw a whole life away just because it’s banged up a little.” That’s the catch phrase in Seabiscuit and sums up the movie in a nice and tidy sentence.
This incredibly uplifting film is based on a best-selling novel by Laura Hillenbrand and tells the story of a little horse that made it big.
As sentimental as the entire story seems (underdog wins the prize and the world’s love) the movie brings it to life in such a way that you forget it’s cheesiness and get wrapped up in the whole idea of it.
The great thing about the plotline is that it’s based on a true story. While I’m sure many Hollywood liberties were taken, it’s nice to see a film based on reality that doesn’t involve incredible amounts of violence.
Tobey Maguire is great as always as Red Pollard, the too-big jockey that’s also blind in one eye. Chris Cooper is great as Tom Smith (although I wish his part was a little bigger.) For the most part, Jeff Bridges plays Charles Howard well, although compared to the other two, his acting is a little lacking. Of course the scene-stealer is the horse, Seabiscuit, whose determination seems almost unreal.
An interesting thing that occurred to me is that if Seabiscuit went on to win races even after having a fractured foot, why do people still insist on shooting hurt horses? Please read opening sentence. Okay, animal rights rant over.
This movie surprised me because when the trailers were all over the television and theatres, nothing about it appealed to me. Even sitting down to watch it to pen this review, I felt a little apprehensive. Although it is a little slow to start, once it unravels you lose track of time and the clichés of the film become almost unnoticeable.
So watch the movie and enjoy it. No horsing around! Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

Freaky Friday (4 out of 5 stars)
Disney/ Release Date: December 16

Seeing as how this movie has been done about 50 times already, I wasn’t expecting anything new from this, the latest version. But this version on Freaky Friday is fresh and charming, breathing new life into a tired plot.
Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Anna (Lindsey Lohan) are a typical mom and teenage daughter – they can’t relate. Tess doesn’t understand why her daughter can’t do better in school and why she wants to play loud rock music all the time and Anna thinks her mom lives a perfect life and resents her pending second marriage.
A magical fortune cookie has them swapping bodies and they must learn ‘selfless love’ to be able to change back in time for Tess’s wedding on Saturday. Besides as sort-of creepy plotline that involves Anna’s teenage crush falling for her in her mom’s body, the movie is very well-done and has some genuine laugh-out-loud moments.
The result is a funny and touching film about understanding. Moms would do well to watch this with their daughters, as it opens lines of communication.
The DVD comes with both Fullscreen and Widescreen versions (they was it should be in my opinion) and a great blooper reel.
A great Disney movie that really is great for the whole family, and that might actually get them talking to each other!

Pirates of the Caribbean (4 out of 5 stars)
Buena Vista Pictures/ Release Date: December 2

It was destined to be either tremendous failure or a massive success. Thanks to Johnny Depp, it’s a success.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl is a fun swashbuckler that (like all good Disney movies) is entertaining to both adults and children alike.
Although the pirate skeletons are pretty creepy, it seems kids these days are more desensitized than I was in my day (when I was scared of The Count on Sesame Street) and can handle creepy villains quite well.
So the simple plot begins: boy meets girl and falls in love, girl is daughter of governor and way out of his league, girl gets kidnapped by cursed pirates, boy meets Captain Jack Sparrow and sets out on an adventure to get her back.
Depp is brilliant as Jack Sparrow, creating a whimsical character that the audience falls in love with. With his gold teeth and braided hair, he stumbles around and has some great lines. Without him, the movie wouldn’t be nearly as good.
Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are extremely likeable as the young lovers and Geoffrey Rush is a perfect villain.
Fight scenes are numerous but not overly gory and if there weren’t so many, this would become a comedy. Plenty of amusing moments keep the plot going, and stop the film from taking itself too seriously.
The film is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, so naturally it’s fast-paced and very slick, but it lacks the gratuitous violence that marks most of his films.
Pirates is based on a ride in Disneyland, naturally making it a promotion for the park. Disney has also releasedThe Haunted Mansion recently, another ride-based film starring the rapidly-descending Eddie Murphy. Do we sense a trend here? Can’t wait for It’s A Small World After All: The Movie.

Alias: The Complete Second Season (5 out of 5 stars)
Buena Vista/ Release Date: December 2

The first season of Alias ended with a huge cliff-hanger where Sydney comes fact-to-face with her mother, whom she thought was dead. Season Two picks up at that precise tense moment at which point it grabs you and takes you on a whirlwind of action, mystery and great plot twists.
The second season is even better than the first one and fans of the show will love watching their favourites episodes without those annoying commercial breaks that have a knack for coming right at the most nail-biting moments.
The season brings you closer to several characters, including Jack, Dorevko and Sloane. They finally seem human.Will and Francine are given more active parts and their relationships with Sydney and each other take some interesting turns.
The set comes with six discs of all 22 episodes presented in Widescreen, with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. It comes with great extras like commentary, interviews and a hilarious blooper reel.
The package itself is a lot nicer looking than season 1, with better graphics and covers. The only beef I have with this DVD set is that it leaves you with an even bigger twist and cliff-hanger than the first season! Put Season 3 on DVD already people! My nails are bitten down to the quick!

Past Reviews:

November '03:

Bruce Almighty

The Santa Clause 2

Eloise at the Plaza

Legally Blonde 2: Red White and Blonde

Finding Nemo

Babe: The Complete Adventures

Casper

October '03:

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

The Lion King

 

September '03:

Identity

Sleeping Beauty

Alias: Season 1

August '03:

The Lizzie McGuire Movie

Final Destination 2