If you've never seen this classic "mockumentary" run out to the video store right now!  This is easily one of the greatest comedies of the later half of the twentieth century.  Directed by legendary Dom Delouise look-a-like Rob Reiner, This is Spinal Tap "documents" life on the road of the legendary brittish rockers Spinal Tap.  Reiner plays director Marti DeBergi, who is a HUGE fan of the band.  So when he heard that they were going on tour, he lept at the chance to document the tour.  The film was written by and stars Christopher Guest, Micheal McKean, and Harry Shearer (and they also wrote all the music).  You can tell that about half of the jokes were adlibbed (which just adds to the documentary feel).

This is Spinal Tap holds up, even today, as one of the funniest satires ever made.  Grade: A+

And if you have seen it already, I recommend Waiting For Guffman and Best in Show.  They are both directed/written by Christopher Guest, and are of the same "mocumentary" genre.

Based on the five book serial written by Stephen King, The Green Mile is the story of 5 prison guards working on death row during the depression.  The head prison guard (played by the magnificent Tom Hanks) Has his life turned upside down by one particular inmate with miraculous healing powers.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but I will say that it is quite a good movie, albeit VERY long.  Its about 3 hours long, and by the end, you start to feel it.  Because it's based on a story by Stephen King, who tends to be quite wordy, there are quite a few slow parts.  The
director Frank Darabont (the Shawshank Redemption) seems to replace real dramatic tension with time.  This would truly be a great movie if it were shorter.

Grade: B/B+

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