W. (2 hours, 9 minutes; rated PG-13): Near the end of W., when Josh Brolin's George W. Bush character is taking questions at a White House press conference and I'm trying to see who's playing Helen Thomas, a very familiar face lights up the screen.

I've seen that face a hundred times, but I can't place the name.

And the voice is unmistakable.

Dang. It starts haunting me.

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The new Disney DVD Tinker Bell is scheduled to hit stores on Tuesday, Oct. 28. My 5-year-old daughter, Liv, had the good fortune of attending a sneak preview at a recent Saturday-morning screening at North Park. My wife and I tagged along. Here is a quick review, for kids and parents of all ages.

 

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Anne W. Buckley of Lake Highlands is the first neighborsgo contributor to offer her review of W., Oliver Stone's biopic of President George W. Bush. Writes Anne W.:  "There is a wonderful metaphor displayed at the beginning of the film and at the end shot in the Texas Ranger ballpark. It is a Zen interlude." You gotta read it.

It's college football season. Heisman Trophy talk is heating up. No better time for The Express, the story of Ernie Davis, the first African-American Heisman winner. The Cotton Bowl even makes a cameo appearance. Check Hollywood75001's review here.

Eagle Eye (1 hour, 58 minutes; rated PG-13): I'm a gadget guy. And I'm getting plenty tired of movies making technology out to be the bad guy. First, it was HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey." Then, "Colossus: The Forbin Project." Then, "WarGames." Then, the "Terminator" series. Then, "iRobot."

OK ... we get it. You boot up a self-aware supercomputer, and it wants to assume control of the world. In these movies, mankind always wises up and smashes the computer in the nick of time. Then, after you absorb this righteous message, you're worked up enough to go home and stomp your unsuspecting Roomba to bits.

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OK, it's 2008 and I know our society should be enlightened enough to have moved beyond the cute Mexican dog with the Mexican accent stereotype. But there's something about this movie that seems, um, cute and inoffensive, as enjoyable and forgettable as a Twitter post.

Then again, I haven't seen Beverly Hills Chihuahua. However, a lot of people did see it because it was the No. 1 movie this past weekend.

So what do you think, neighborsgo nation? Paws up or down?

Burn After Reading (1 hour, 37 minutes; rated R): Start with Frances McDormand in a quirky role. Add a big dose of blackmail. A pinch of unlikeable characters. Pour in some dark humor. Mix it together and you have another Coen brothers production.

It's a decent Coen brothers movie. It's OK, but from a Coen brothers production, I want memorable lines. I want quoteable lines that I can lob at my friends and co-workers.

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Did anyone see Ricky Gervais on The Today Show this morning? So great. I was going to wait for the video to see Ghost Town, but now I kind of want to see it sooner. I may have to shell out the $10 or so to see it on the big screen this coming weekend.
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As much as I love Amber Tamblyn, there’s just no way I can compromise my good name and see The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. I will wait until they make Traveling Culottes: Le Fraternité. Oui!

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The Dark Knight (2 hours, 30 minutes; rated PG-13): I judge my Batman by the Jokers. The Batman TV series rolled out Cesar Romero as the Joker in 1966. He was OK. Great laugh. Over-the-top campy. But he didn't scare me. In 1989, Jack Nicholson played the Joker in the first Batman movie. He was better. Very campy. Good laugh. A lot scarier than Cesar Romero. Then this summer, Heath Ledger nailed the part in The Dark Knight. Awesome laugh. Very scary. Ledger's version has such an awesome presence that you crave his moments on-screen.

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