Ashes Of Time Redux is an epic movie.

It is also a movie that will captivate you with it's look, mood and pace.

The movie is directed by Wong Kar Wai, who deserves to be mentioned simply because this movie is such a grand accomplishment.

The movie will stay with you for a while.
I don't want to go into the plot, the characters or any of that - I only hope that you give yourself an opportunity to watch it.

Ashes of Time Redux official website is here.

Time Bandits is one of those classic movies that, when someone mentions it, everyone suddenly remembers it and says in unison: "Oh yes - that's a great movie!"

This is a movie that cannot be pigeonholed no matter how hard we all try to.

Action.
Adventure.
Comedy.
Drama.
Satire.
Spoof.
Special effects.
Social commentary.
Quotable.

The movie is all of these - all mixed into the fray by Terry Gilliam so what come out in the end is a fun, exciting, chuckling, charming, thoughtful experience.

You'll root for the bandits - run away from the evil lord to plunder and pillage for their own profit (and who can blame them?).
You'll root for the kid who gets wrapped up/trapped up in the plan of the bandits.
You'll jeer against the evil lord for his sheer meaness and desire of course, to take over the world.
You'll hope for the fatherly relationship of Agamemnon.
You'll get a kick out of meeting Robin Hood, Napoleon, giants, trolls and all manner of creatures.
You probably won't be thrilled with the kid's parents - but then they just don't get it.

The end is a bit of a puzzlement, but in there somewhere is the fact that these adventures somehow stop in their genesis after we all pass through childhood when things suddenly become practical, logical and usual.
And this is a sad thing.

Time Bandits reminds us that adventures are for adventuring.
Life is for living.
And the battle for good over evil still wages on in all of life, even if we've all become to practical and logical to notice it.

Official movie trailer, one.

(The movie trailer is a must-see)

This movie was released in 1987.
I remember it being a huge sleeper hit. No one thought a movie about a Bigfoot done as a comedy would be nearly as successful as it turned out to be.

This movie fits right in with the rest of the 80's feel-good movies - 
But it has something a bit more than most of those movies, and even though it is a feel-good movie it leaves you feeling good but doesn't cover up that feeling with a thick layer of cheese.
The movie also doesn't give you the feeling you are being manipulated through it all, even though you can almost predict it all directly scene to scene.

There is something about the family -  

The reluctant hero/sensitive husband
The doubting/supportive wife
The self-centered/compassionate teenage daughter
The aggressive/befriended young son
The annoying/helpful dog

That doesn't end up being totally cliche.

A lot of the strength of the movie sprouts from John Lithgow.
As the every-day man, sometime outdoorsman, father-pressured George Henderson, Lithgow walks the perfect line in this comedy between loving father, head of the household, burgeoning muscle masculinity and a man who ends up being all three while ultimately doing the right thing.

Complete credit has to be given to the character of Harry.
The creature himself is so incredibly expressive, he immediately captures the screen and holds your attention throughout the entire film.

This film won the Academy Award for Makeup, and should have - the character of Harry is alive and well and without him as he is, the film would have failed miserably.

Rick Baker created Harry and Kevin Peter Hall played the part of Harry.

This is not your normal feel-good 80's movie with a gimmick thrown in.

This is a good film anyone of any age can enjoy.

I wish more movies like this were made.

IMDB page is here.
Official movie trailer is here.

My wife and I just finished watching this movie about an hour and a half ago.

This movie has had an ever-increasing impact on me since the end credits rolled.

This movie seems to be following me around, and that weight in my stomach - in my gut - just won't subside.

I watch movies for this reason.
We all watch movies for this reason.

We want more than flashy special effects, laugh-a-minute comedies, bangs and booms of loud action movies.

We want something that shows us we can be something we want to be, that we can be larger than life on that large screen up there, that we can be taken somewhere, that we can truly go somewhere we've never been - somewhere great and grand. And we want to know all our dreams can be made real.

This film takes us somewhere.
Somewhere very familiar.

Somewhere very close to home.

Roger Ebert's Great Movies website for the film.

It is a rare thing when my wife and I sit down to watch a movie and then sit in rapt wonder for the entire duration.

I think I only took a breath whenever the animation amazed me - which was quite often.
I think my wife was equally as stunned, only commenting on the absolute beauty of what we were watching.
We both were taken and held by the story so tightly, we didn't want to look away.

Secret of the Kells is quite a creation.

Beautiful in it's creation, stunning in its presentation.
Amazing in it's story and compelling in its telling.
Something that should be seen and experienced.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010.
That's all I'm going to mention about it.

Go see it.

The movie's official website is here.