by Barry Wurst
Released by Rhino
Released on August 14, 2007

THE MOVIE:
As there are so few David Lynch films in his directorial cannon, it seems his fans grow fewer and fewer every year.  Sure, most have seen his mixed bag adaptation of “Dune”, and a few others are fans of his “softer” films, “The Straight Story” and “The Elephant Man”, but really, when you think of Lynch, you’re talking about “Blue Velvet”, “Wild at Heart”, “Eraserhead”, “Lost Highway”, “Twin Peaks- Fire Walk With Me” and “Mulholland Dr.”, the latter being the last film Lynch made, back in 2001.  His latest, “Inland Empire”, was filmed in secrecy and was an ongoing project that grew from a series of previously created shorts that blossomed into a full-blown feature film.  Filmed entirely in a digital format, most of the filming took place under the radar in Poland.  Like his most famous works, “Inland Empire” is flush with imagery both indescribably beautiful and unbearably nightmarish, with his skill at conveying the stunning and the grotesque in full force, sometimes during the same scene.  His earlier films, like “Blue Velvet”, have well developed plots, while his later, signature works are far more
surrealistic, ethreal and intriguingly bizarre.

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By Dave Minkus
Released by Lionsgate Films
Released August 14, 2007

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m not very familiar with the character of Doctor Strange.  I know that my dad used to read him a ton when he was younger, so I know the basics.  Doctor Strange actually used to be a doctor.  As a matter of fact, he was an extremely gifted surgeon.  He also happened to be a complete jerk.  He eventually gets into a car accident and loses the use of his hands at a surgical level.  Devastated, he ends up being coaxed by a mysterious man into going to Tibet where he becomes a great sorceror and eventually Sorceror Supreme.  Oh, and his main bad guy is a creature from another dimension (essentially Hell) named Dormammu.

Got all of that?  Well, that’s pretty much what you get when you watch Doctor Strange.  This is the fourth animated feature that has come out of Marvel Animated Features, partnered with Lionsgate.  The other features have been Ultimate Avengers 1 and 2 and The Invincible Iron Man.  Obviously, this title takes a markedly different approach from the previous film simply because of the source material.  The very pleasant surprise is that the makers did a great job on this one.

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