The Pianist Screening Contest
Screening Monday, December 30, 2002 @ 7:30pm in Denver
The winner of the top prize, the coveted Palme d’Or (Best Picture) award, at the 2002 Cannes International Film Festival, The Pianist is the latest film from one of the world’s true visionary filmmakers: Roman Polanski. The film is Polanski’s most personal statement, the one he has waited four decades to make, a testament to the belief that the triumph of the human spirit is wedded to the transforming power of art.

The film was adapted from the autobiography of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew who detailed his survival during World War II. A celebrated composer and pianist, he played the last live music heard over Polish radio airwaves before Nazi artillery hit. During the brutal occupation, he eluded deportation and remained in the devastated Warsaw Ghetto. There, he struggled to stay alive even when cast away from those he loved. He would eventually reclaim his artistic gifts, and confront his fears, with aid from the unlikeliest source – a German officer who helped him hide in the final days of the war. This film is rated R and you must be at least 17 years of age to play for tickets. Click here to play our quiz.

Yet Another 2X Suspended Animation!
Michael Vance and Mark Allen read'em and rate'em
This week's double issue of Suspended Animation tackles The Generic Trade Paperback and The Flash Annual #1. Two great books, two great reviews. Check them out!

Sev Trek Answers Transporter Trivia
Laugh at John Cook's latest edition
Transporter mishaps weren't a kink that worked itself out too quickly. So why didn't the crew stop using the darn thing?

Click here to find out why in this week's Sev Trek by John Cook. John also publishes a weekly cartoon called Sev Sci-Fi that parodies general science fiction. This week's edition is based on Buffy.

Lion King Screening Contest
IMAX Theater Screening on Wednesday!
Still the mightiest animated feature of them all and the undisputed "king" of the box office, Walt Disney Pictures' "The Lion King" roars to life as never before with its dazzling large format debut. Reformatted specifically for the giant screen from the film's original digital elements, this special limited engagement offers moviegoers a chance to experience one of the greatest animated adventures of all time on the most majestic canvas imaginable and with a spectacular newly remixed soundtrack. The film opens to the public on December 25, 2002.

Click here to play for tickets.

Suspended Animation Double Feature
Another Double-Dose of Comic Reviews
Michael Vance says of Decoy - "if older readers ignore this review and Decoy, it will be their loss."

Mark Allen says that Ripley's Believe It or Not! says that the content between [it's] covers ... tends to be more entertaining than many offerings of today's comic industry.

Read both reviews by clicking on the image above or the link below.

Catch Me If You Can Screening
Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 7pm at The UA Continental 6 (I-25 & Hampden)
Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks engage in a game of cat and mouse under the direction of Steven Spielberg. The movie also stars Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, James Brolin, Brian Howe, Frank John Hughes and Jennifer Garner.

Frank W. Abagnale (DiCaprio) worked as a doctor, a lawyer and as a co-pilot for a major airline - all before his 21st birthday. A master of deception, he was also a brilliant forger, whose skill at check fraud had netted him millions of dollars in stolen funds. FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) had made it his prime mission to capture Frank and bring him to justice, but Frank is always one step ahead of him, baiting him to continue the chase. The film is based on the autobiographical book of the same name. The movie is rated PG-13. Click here to play our contest quiz for tickets to the screening.

Sev Trek by John Cook
They know humor down under - here's the proof!
Jet Lag Pinchhard wants to know how Captain Gym Quirk has been able to cheat death. John also pens Sev Sci-fi. Both Sev Trek and Sev Sci-fi are updated weekly in our Features section.

Click here to see the punchline.

Hot Chick Screening Contest
Thursday, December 12, 2002 at 7:00pm at the UA Colorado Center Theater (I-25 & Colorado)
Jessica Spencer is convinced she has the perfect life. She’s the hottest, most popular girl in high school, captain of the cheerleading squad and dating the dreamy quarterback. But she gets a big dose of reality when she wakes up in the body of a 30-year-old man (Rob Schneider)! She quickly discovers that trading on your looks isn’t so easy when you’re a girl who constantly needs a shave. And until she can figure out how to change herself back, Jessica must find a way to win the Cheer Competition, go to the prom, and win her boyfriend back – all as a guy. From some of the guys who brought you "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" comes a wild, heartfelt comedy everyone can enjoy… no matter what your sex.

The movie is rated PG-13. Click here to play for tickets.

Personal Velocity Screening Contest
Tuesday, December 10, 2002 at 7:30pm at The Mayan

Based on Rebecca Miller’s book of short stories, Personal Velocity tells the affecting stories of three American women struggling to make sense of the lives they’ve found themselves living. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival as well as the Excellence in Cinematography Award.

Delia (Kyra Sedgwick) is a young mother stuck in an abusive relationship with her husband of twelve years. One night after he brutally beats her, Delia finally attempts to reclaim some of the power she’s completely lost. Greta (Parker Posey) is a cookbook editor at a crossroads in life, "rotten with ambition" and semi-struggling with issues of fidelity to her kind but unexciting husband. And Paula (Fairuza Balk) is thrust into crisis after having a near-death experience. Driving to her mother’s house in upstate New York, she picks up a hitchhiker, a badly beaten young boy who helps her discover a new sense of spirit. As each story unfolds, each woman finds herself forced to make a decision – a decision that will change her life forever.

The movie is rated R for brief violence, some strong sexuality, and language.
Click here if you are at least 17 years of age and would like to play for tickets.

Equilibrium Ticket Contest
Win a pair of tickets to see the movie at your favorite theater
In a dystopian society in the near future, war has been completely eliminated and the most dangerous contraband is human emotion. Feelings and all things that evoke them including art, music and poetry, are strictly forbidden and their possession punishable by death. Cleric John Preston (Christian Bale) is the top ranking Government official, a veritable killing machine, who along with his partner, Brandt (Taye Diggs), is encouraged to hunt down and destroy those who resist the rules. But when he accidentally misses his own dose of Prozium, a mandatory, state-of-the-art mood suppressant, he begins to feel for the first time and Preston, who has been trained to enforce the strict laws of the new regime, suddenly becomes the only person capable of overthrowing it.

Written and directed by Kurt Wimmer, Equilibrium is a bold and action-packed look into the world of mind control. The film co-stars Taye Diggs (“How Stella Got her Groove Back,” TV’s “Ally McBeal,” “The Way of the Gun”), Emily Watson ("Red Dragon," “Angela’s Ashes”) and Will Fichtner ("A Perfect Storm" and TV's new series "MDs").

The movie is rated R for violence. Click here if you are at least 17 years of age and wish to play for tickets to the movie.

Suspended Animation Double Review Issue
Necessitated by my hectic schedule and massive disorganization
Michael Vance describes Creature Tech as "a wonderful amalgam of influences melded into a singular, original, and entertaining style." You are definitely going to want to read this review!

Mark Allen has submitted his own glowing review on The Illustrated Left Behind describing it as "a step up from most forays into a very particular genre."

What's up with two great reviews in one issue? Don't miss next week's column to see if the good news continues...