It's a happy Friday night, and things are cooling off and going well in Los Angeles, if you don't count the insane recall election we're having. To quote Billy Wilder, the situation is Hopeless, but not Serious. The three reviews today have only their variety in common:

MGM's To Live is a great-looking version of Yimou Zhang's intimate epic, a narrative saga of the kind that Hollywood forgot how to tell a long time ago. A very emotional and rewarding film.

New Video's Victory at Sea is a boxed set of the entire 1952 TV series rightly described as 'legendary' on the cover. With great symphonic music, tons of wartime newsreel clips and lots of footage sneaking in from all kinds of non-fiction films, this is a fascinating show. Leonard Graves' commanding voiceover seems extreme now, but is hard not to listen to.

MGM's Tough Guys Don't Dance is another flawless presentation of one of the most gawd-awful films of all time, a clueless, trashy murder mystery that doesn't even begin to know how to be outrageous. Ryan O'Neal and Isabella Rossellini star, but don't let the 'Love Story' box illustration fool ya - this ain't no romance. I say we deep-six their heads.

More goodies coming and more on the way - movies good, bad, and too bad not to enjoy, along with some great old titles. Thanks again, Glenn Erickson