TAG Movies

We have three new movies on the shelf that were specifically recommended by our Teen Advisory Group:

Wizards is an animated feature written, produced and directed by Ralph Bakshi. The name might not mean much unless you are an avid fan of animation, but he was the person who created the 1978 version of The Lord of the Rings (it was actually a blend of the first two books in the trilogy). I remember going to see it when it was in the theaters, and found his depiction of the Nazguls very creepy. Wizards is actually an earlier work (1977), but you can see Bakshi formulating his image of elves and fantasy worlds. It even has an edgy, Dr. Seuss-like look to it. An interesting film for fantasy enthusiasts.

Children of Dune is a 4 1/2 hour miniseries that combines the second and third books of Frank Herbert's Dune series. If you loved reading Dune, then you might enjoy this video (or you might not...when people really enjoy a book, they usually have a very definite idea of what the movie should look like, and it's never what the director thinks. Ah well.)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a gleeful parody of all those Hollywood action flicks. Since it was directed by the same person who wrote the screenplay for Lethal Weapon, the jokes are pretty much spot-on. Vla Kilmer, Robert Downey Jr., and Michelle Monaghan play their parts a bit tongue in cheek, which gives the whole movie its overall feeling of fun and good humor (as well as some murders, fight scenes, and car chases).