America The Beautiful - The Natural Splendors Of Florida DVD

Advantages: Fantastic performers and players
Disadvantages: None really

...The cirque du soliel was "born" in 1984 from a group of public entertainers in Quebec Canada, and within ten years were taking their "reinvention of the circus" around the globe, with six shows on permanent tour and two based in the USA ( one in Vegas, and one in Disneyworld Florida) There are no animals, stupid clowns or any of the associated circus tomfoolery I knew as a child, this has been replaced by a show encompassing artistic players, focussing on acrobatics, contortionists and illusion. There are only around thirty people per troupe, consequently the beautifully costumed artsists that perform the almost balletic pieces between the main acts, will later be seen flying above your head in an awe inspiring acrobatic display. This may lead you to think the performers are "jacks of all trades, masters of none", where to be correct... Read review

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Advantages: Utterly original, hilarious, touching, fantastic performances.
Disadvantages: May seem a little confusing for some.

...Where do I begin on a review of a film like this? Do I look at it as a comedy drama? A biography? A documentary? The truth is that it needs to be looked at from all of these angles, as the film manages to successfully work all of these genres into one magnificently original film. Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) is a very cranky, very average man who works as a filing clerk in a hospital and leads a very uninteresting life. Inspired by his friend Robert Crumb (James Urbaniak), he begins to write a comic book, 'American Splendor', on the mundanities of life because as he says, "ordinary life is pretty complex stuff". We follow Harvey through his life, including his marriage to wife Joyce (Hope Davis), his breakdown on national television, through to his battle with cancer. Now all of this would have been more than enough to fill... Read review

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Advantages: A complete original
Disadvantages: Some may find it difficult to enjoy a film that flies in the face of cinematic conventions

...but it is heartfelt (and works beautifully when interwoven with the real Joyce and Harvey bantering in the present). The one performance that seems unbelievable is Judah Friedlander as Harvey’s work colleague (and ultimate nerd) Toby, that is until we are introduced to the real Toby and discover Friedlander is pitch perfect! It is to the credit of each fine performance that the past (though seen through the eyes of Pekar’s comics) never feels anything less than real. There is nothing that is less than fantastic in this film, from the eclectic jazz soundtrack and score that perfectly mirrors Harvey’s record collection to the production design which keeps costumes and sets authentic without drifting into Technicolor 70s and 80s nostalgia. Somewhere between a documentary, a biopic and a comic book, ‘American Splendor’ is a magnificent film unlike anything I... Read review

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