Hey folks, look.... up in the sky.... it's a bird.... it's a plane.... It's FEATURE PRESENTATION MAN. Able to watch long films without an intermission. Bladder of steel. Buns of... I'd rather not think of FEATURE PRESENTATION MAN's buns... Anyway, he's checking in with a pair of flicks with golden guy dreams, I'll let him get on with it...

Hey Harry! While walking down a perfectly dirty stretch of sidewalk, TRAILER MAN (me), was confronted by the chance to see a feature film or two. But this is not a job for TRAILER MAN, so ducking into a telephone booth, removing my glasses and tie, stripping down into my spandex filmgoing attire I became.... wait for it..... FEATURE PRESENTATION MAN

Properly attired I caught a couple of films early, one out fairly soon, the other an Academy hopeful not out till December. I will
be brief since THE STORY OF US had some early comments from research screenings. ANGELA'S ASHES is evidently
being carefully handled, but more on that later.

THE STORY OF US from Universal showcases Michelle Pfeiffer and Bruce Willis in top form doing the best they can with
the uneven material from Rob Reiner. My first comment is this film probably has zip appeal for the majority of AICN if my
hunch regarding Harry's base demographic is around 15-30 year olds with a penchant for sci-fi/horror/fantastic/sword play.
That said, say if FIGHT CLUB is sold out, already seen STIR OF ECHOES, the idea of sitting through RANDOM HEARTS
and FOR LOVE OF THE GAME causes violent gas pains, and maybe you did think WHEN HARRY MET SALLY was at
least an amusing diversion......point in question...is this a movie worth checking out? All things considered, I'd have to say yes.

Pfeiffer and Willis play a couple whose marriage is crumbling fast under the weighty issues of fidelity, stagnation, poor
communication and "the love lost". Each are at an ugly impasse emotionally and separation is quickly put into trial as their two
kids are sent off to an extended summer camp without knowledge of the situation so as to try and work things out. I would be
remiss in not mentioning that an unavoidable distraction surfaces early while watching the film. It's knowing that close to or
during filming, Willis's troubled marriage with Demi was becoming detailed public knowledge and some scenes hit close to their
home lifting somewhat the attention away from the storytelling. Indeed, for Willis, did all of this cut a deeper, more resonant
performance? Who's to say except that Reiner's best directorial conceit is an on going series of flashbacks, some extended
scenes, others beautifully edited quick cuts of characters Pfeiffer/Willis marital history from first living together, early
disagreements, mutually satisfying sex, birth of children, vacations, Christmas and so forth. These flashbacks, condensed
scrapbooks of 15 years of marriage revealing more each time regardless from whose point of view create empathy, and
ultimately a heartfelt sadness for the characters. I can say by films end, Willis' personal life is a distant fog compared to the
emotion the audience feels towards the troubled couple on screen and that makes this film overall a rewarding emotional
journey. Tearful sniffling often heard in this romantic comedy.

However, Reiner does trip and blunder with what appears as deliberate scenes created as throwback to HARRY MET
SALLY which never works. Meg Ryan had her bit of "theatre" in a diner with her fake orgasm deluxe, Willis has his by
drinking way too much and becoming increasingly bellicose, Reiner in a cameo talks to Willis about his ass as he did with Billy
Crystal, and there are a couple more at least which okay maybe he intended them to just that but they add nothing. There are
also a few misfires involving their friends, Reiner and Rita Wilson that scream sitcom. However, suffice to say for every misstep
their are tremendously insightful scenes of knowing intimacy and all to human reactions that salvage this ode to a marriage that
truly soar as evidenced with this minor spoiler involving one scene (so stop reading here if you don't want to know). Pfeiffer's
character Katie, has successfully kept Willis', Ben from coming to the house for any prolonged length of time. Apprehensively,
she invites him over for dinner so he can pick up his dry cleaning. In an audaciously extended scene, Pfeiffer after fussing over
a challenging, but not too elaborate dinner as to appear grand, obsesses next with how to have out in view his dry cleaning
which she had carefully hanging in a closet. Hang on closet door knob, no, on a chair, no, to wrinkly, hang in foyer, no, too
obvious and so on. She then decides to hang back in the closet, only to return moments later, camera never leaving POV, to
try hanging over the stair railing, well no, looks too carefully considered and smoothed out, could appear she cares for him still,
can't let onto that and thus begins tossing two or three times till it looks casually resting over rail, indifferently hanging. Doorbell
rings, she rushes to kitchen, smudges a bit of flour on one cheek bone and answers door a dishrag in hand. "Oh dinner? It's
nothing......".........................Perfect! About the last scene alluded to often in research results, I leave its assessment of success
to each viewer to decide. I for one lost my left contact.

ANGELA'S ASHES (Paramount and Universal co-production) Best sellers adapted for the screen are a recurring debate
with regard to their translation, successful or not, realized into cinema on AICN. Many opinions as to the best range from early
works as GWTW, REBECCA, or even Olivier's HENRY V, to contemporary offerings as Stephen King's MISERY, and
SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, BRIDGES OF MADISON CO. and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. I guess no one is
going to dispute the worst, BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES.

So what would one expect of a film, adapted with exquisite craftsmanship, superior performances, an evocative score by
John Williams, and based on a novelized memoir that garnered a Pulitzer Prize and more importantly for book sellers,
canonized by Opra Winfrey's book club? Allow me first to vomit violently in cold and rain, starve my kids, spend all money on
beer till stumbling drunk, lose my job frequently, vomit in cold and rain, witness the avoidable deaths from ignorance, exposure
and infection of my youngest, inexplicably and irresponsibly father more kids only to raise in cruel poverty, vomit in the cold and
rain, witness my eldest bag coal til eyes infected with pus and near blind, abandon the family altogether to venture to London
and , witness Mother submit her body to the rutting of a slob, suffer indignity while asking for charity from the local parish,
watch hundreds die from TB, see author of book write scathing collection of debt letters to the poor and displaced, many life
long family friends for the local money lender-one witch of a woman, vomit once more, then promptly steal from the old
woman, dead in her chair and leave pockets filled with cash- money enough for passage to America all the while maintaining
an unerring, perverse faith in the doctrine of the Catholic Church (stealing from the dead notwithstanding) that at no time until
the very end demonstrates one scintilla of compassion to alleviate the deplorable living conditions of their community. And we,
the movie going audience at holiday time are left to marvel at this as an inspiring journey of family values and blind faith and
embrace such virtues in modern times all the while enjoying this a night out at the movies with a date, the family or friends.

Director Alan Parker is no doubt a craftsman and brings to this work a passion rooted deeply in his family's heritage. Fine.
For others we heard it enough from our parents in how they walked six miles to school every day in snow and rain. So out of
respect to their humble beginnings and even those before, we'll save the $8.00 on this glumfest and celebrate their moral
success in finally seeing fit to release a black man, falsely accused of murder, imprisoned for years and whose story speaks far
more to faith and hope than 2 1/2 hours of virtuous squalor.