花花公主之千年魔方

一对夫妇外出度假，留下孩子们自己在家，然而儿子因为跷课的事情被学校扣留后，轻松的假期结束了，事情也发生了意想不到的转折。

　　同一个晚上的同一个时间，同一个班级里的所有小孩，都神秘地失踪了，除了一个小孩。整个小镇都开始怀疑，究竟是谁或背后有什么原因，导致这些小孩都不见了？

　　故事发生在1969年的一个冬天，女友的意外死亡让艾伦（乔纳森·杰克逊 Jonathan Jackson 饰）陷入了无尽的悲痛和恐惧之中去，经过漫长的时间洗礼和好友洁西卡的（埃丽卡·克里斯滕森 Erika Christensen 饰）耐心劝说，艾伦内心的痛苦才略有减轻。就在艾伦的心情慢慢恢复的节骨眼上，母亲受伤弥留的消息犹如一盆冷水当头浇下，为了能够见母亲最后一面，艾伦毫不犹豫的踏上了前往路易斯通医院的旅途。
　　在路上，艾伦搭上了一辆便车，令他没有想到的是，驾驶此车的农夫乔治（大卫·阿奎特 David Arquette 饰），其真实身份竟然是残酷嗜血的死神。为了能够顺利到达终点，艾伦必须机智应对乔治所抛出的一连串尖刻的提问，这些问题无一不与艾伦内心的阴暗面紧紧相连。在光明和黑暗之间，在生存和死亡之间，艾伦必须做出抉择。

　　女排猎鹰队的小面包车抛锚后，她们困在了前不着村、后不着店的地方。殊不知落到了原始猎人的领地，而且追捕即刻开始。漫漫长夜就此展开，这一晚她们疲于奔命，团队精神也经受着考验。但是，女孩们远比看起来更加足智多谋。在森林中心，翻盘在即……

　　Fraught with over obvious symbolism, Hartley's early feature is nonetheless a joy to watch. Hal here shows us his uncanny ability to cast his characters perfectly came early in his career.
　　Adrienne Shelley is a near perfect foil to herself, equal parts annoying teen burgeoning in her sexuality (though using sex for several years); obsessed with doom and inspired by idealism gone wrong she is deceptively – and simultaneously – complex and simple. Her Audrey inspires so many levels of symbolism it is almost embarrassingly rich (e.g., her modeling career beginning with photos of her foot – culminating her doing nude (but unseen) work; Manhattan move; Europe trip; her stealing, then sleeping with the mechanics wrench, etc.)
　　As Josh, Robert Burke gives an absolutely masterful performance. A reformed prisoner/penitent he returns to his home town to face down past demons, accept his lot and begin a new life. Dressed in black, and repeatedly mistaken for a priest, he corrects everyone ("I'm a mechanic"), yet the symbolism is rich: he abstains from alcohol, he practices celibacy (is, in fact a virgin), and seemingly has taken on vows of poverty, and humility as well. The humility seems hardest to swallow seeming, at times, almost false, a pretense. Yet, as we learn more of Josh we see genuineness in his modesty, that his humility is indeed earnest and believable. What seems ironic is the character is fairly forthright in his simplicity, yet so richly drawn it becomes the viewer who wants to make him out as more than what he actually is. A fascinatingly written character, perfectly played.
　　The scene between Josh and Jane (a wonderful, young Edie Falco . . . "You need a woman not a girl") is hilarious . . . real. But Hartley can't leave it as such and his trick, having the actors repeat the dialogue over-and-over becomes frustratingly "arty" and annoying . . . until again it becomes hilarious. What a terrific sense of bizarre reality this lends the film (like kids in a perpetual "am not"/"are too" argument).
　　Hartley's weaves all of a small neighborhood's idiosyncrasies into a tapestry of seeming stereotypes but which delves far beneath the surface, the catalyst being that everyone believes they know what the "unbelievable truth" of the title is, yet no two people can agree (including our hero) on what exactly that truth is. A wonderful little movie with some big ideas.

　　美国灵魂音乐教父詹姆斯布朗的传记电影，从他被家人抛弃、在贫民区长大的经历讲起，横跨他传奇的一生，一直到他成为灵魂音乐教父 的辉煌年代。