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Quick Links George Clooney Dodges a Major Box Office Bullet Michael Keaton's Notorious Holiday Flop Both Hollywood Greats Had Epic '90s Duds

George Clooney and Michael Keaton are two of Hollywood's most illustrious leading men, and it's hard to remember a period when they weren't completely dominating every film and role they tackled. However, the late '90s proved to be a precarious time in both prolific actors' careers, as the movie stars notably appeared in the biggest box office flops that tarnished their otherwise impressive resumes.

Keaton ended up headlining the holiday stinker Jack Frost and Clooney the epic superhero flop Batman & Robin, both of which were major critical and commercial duds that garnered unwanted attention for the actors and left them questioning their statuses in the entertainment industry. As we all know, the pair were able to bounce back after these cinematic stinkers, but some...

The Iron Giant is about to land itself a new streaming home for the month of December.

Per Paramount+, Warner Bros.' 1999 classic The Iron Giant will be making its way to the streaming giant on December 1. This makes the fan-favorite, family-friendly feature available for Paramount+ subscribers just in time for the holidays, and gives The Iron Giant another ad-free platform to stream on.

Related "You Are Allowed to Cry": Attack on Titan Announces Special 'Tear-Jerker' Release

Attack on Titan fans look forward to special screenings of The Last Attack, designed specifically for viewers to cry their hearts out.

Based on Ted Hughes' 1968 novel The Iron Man: A Children's Story in Five Nights, Warner Bros.' The Iron Giant adapts the broadest strokes of the original story while updating it for a more modern audiences. Rather than centering the action around the titular mechanized behemoth's battle with an alien dragon,...

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The Wild Robot is an animated sci-fi survival adventure comedy-drama film written and directed by Chris Sanders. Based on the 2016 novel of the same name by author Peter Brown, the 2024 film follows Roz, a service robot whose ship crash lands on an uninhabited island and now she must make herself familiar with her new surroundings and the local wildlife. Roz soon makes an unlikely connection with an orphaned goose named Brightbill. The Wild Robot’s voice cast includes Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Catherine O’Hara, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames. So, if you loved the vibrant visuals, emotional and hilariously heartwarming story, and compelling characters in The Wild Robot here are some similar movies you should check out next.

The Iron Giant (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Warner Bros.

The Iron Giant...

"You can fly?? You can fly!!" Time for yet another Classic Trailer Rewatch session. Back to the 90s again to revisit one of the best animated movies ever made. Back in 1999, Brad Bird directed a movie called The Iron Giant as his feature directorial debut. It didn't do so well at the box office, but that's okay, because it has gone on to become one of the most beloved, remembered, and celebrated animated movies of all-time. And if you haven't seen it, any day is a good day to watch this one – this post will be your reminder. From director Brad Bird – a young boy befriends a giant robot from outer space that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy. The movie features the voices of Eli Marienthal as Hogarth Hughes, Vin Diesel (yes for real!!) as The Iron Giant, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston, James Gammon, Cloris Leachman, and M. Emmet Walsh.

Searchlight Pictures is celebrating a milestone anniversary with … T-shirts!

The studio, which is marking the moment with a variety of initiatives and partners from Ore-Ida and Warby Parker to Hitching Post Winery, has teamed up once again with buzzy Los Angeles brand Hiro Clark to honor its 30th year in business. (The two previously partnered on “Hello Stranger” shirts after the success of the critically acclaimed All of Us Strangers from Andrew Haigh.)

In doing so, Hiro Clark is offering a limited-edition collection of tees, five in total, that retail for $98 apiece in multiple color options. Here’s the part cinephiles need to know: The line of five honors Searchlight’s beloved films including Tamara Jenkins’ 1998 movie Slums of Beverly Hills, Kimberly Peirce’s 1999 film Boys Don’t Cry, Jared Hess’s 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine, and Scott Cooper’s 2009 film Crazy Heart.

Twenty-five years before the release of DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot, The Iron Giant charged into theaters.

Brad Bird, who worked on The Simpsons and later helmed Ratatouille and The Incredibles, made his feature directorial debut with the 1950s-set movie boasting a voice cast that included Vin Diesel, Jennifer Aniston and Harry Connick Jr.; it centered on a boy befriending an alien robot (Diesel) that the U.S. government sought to destroy.

Bird and Tim McCanlies’ script was based on Ted Hughes’ 1968 novel, originally published as The Iron Man. Hughes, who was married to novelist and poet Sylvia Plath until her death by suicide in 1963, wrote it as a bedtime story for their kids to help them grieve.

The Who’s Pete Townshend adapted Hughes’ book as his 1989 concept album The Iron Man: A Musical and was helping to develop a feature musical adaptation. Once the movie landed at Warner Bros. Animation with Bird attached,...

Box office receipts don't always determine quality, as many brilliant animated films are dismissed as financial flops. Many animated movies need to make hundreds of millions just to break even, punishing smaller studios and experimental works. Animation, while expensive, pushes boundaries and creates beautiful stories that are often underappreciated commercially.

Box office receipts aren't always the most reliable indicator of a movie's quality, meaning that many brilliant animated movies have been dismissed as financial flops. Fortunately, there are plenty of beloved box office bombs out there, and many movies are reappraised long after their studios have been forced to write them off as a loss. Animation is expensive to produce, so it produces more than its fair share of commercial failures.

Due to the high costs involved, animated movies usually need to reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars before they break even. This isn't usually a problem for juggernauts like Pixar and Disney,...

The 1999 coming-of-age comedy "American Pie" was a massive hit when it was released in 1999. Starring a who's-who of upcoming teen talent, "American Pie" delved deeply into the more embarrassing sexual details of being an adolescent boy in the modern day. There were scenes involving bodily fluids, oral sex, and multiple references to creative masturbation. While the bulk of the film -- written by Mike Herz and directed by Paul Weisz -- prided itself on aggressive raunchiness, it wisely ended on a sweet note, allowing the characters to realize that despite having had sex, they still have a lot to look forward to on their journey of growing up. 

For a while in the early 2000s, Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth, Seann William Scott, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Natasha Lyonne were household names largely because of the "American Pie" movies. To date, the series has made $990 million. 

"American Pie" gave rise to many,...

(Welcome to Best Action Scene Ever, a column dedicated to breaking down the best, most effective action sequences throughout the genre. In this edition, we revisit the surprisingly dark, highly emotional, but quintessentially Superman moment of self-sacrifice in the climax of "The Iron Giant.")

Over 20 years after its release, time has been immensely kind to "The Iron Giant." A perfect example of a film creating a lasting legacy far beyond its disappointing box office performance, the groundbreaking animation effort would put filmmaker Brad Bird on the map (along with his notoriously exacting reputation and painstaking filmmaking approach) and go on to establish itself as one of the best superhero movies of all time. Not too shabby for a hand-drawn production featuring an absolute bare minimum of action scenes and a first-time director at the helm. The 1999 classic is also one of the greatest anti-gun pleas ever committed to film, so...

Jules is a sci-fi comedy-drama film directed by Marc Turtletaub from a screenplay by Gavin Steckler. The sci-fi film follows the story of an old man who lives a quiet life but his life gets upended when a UFO crashed into his backyard and an alien becomes his houseguest. Soon, his quiet life gets thrown into chaos as his nosy neighbors get involved in his life and the government closes in on the alien’s location. Jules stars the always brilliant Ben Kingsley in the lead role with Jane Curtin, Harriet Sansom Harris, and Zoe Winters taking on supporting roles. So, if you loved Jules here are some similar movies for you to check out next.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Universal Pictures

Synopsis: Journey back to the magic and adventure of “one of the great American films” (Leonard Maltin) with E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,...

Two months ago, HBO Max consolidated with WarnerMedia's other streaming services, Cinemax and Discovery+, and relaunched as simply Max. And with that official launch came a plethora of great movies and TV series, with something to offer for everyone.

As the summer approaches its end, this continues to hold true. There are several great and beloved titles coming to the service in August, whether you're a lover of classic cinema, blockbusters, or enjoyable genre fare. Here are some of the best titles coming to Max in August 2023.

Before Midnight (Aug. 1)

In the indie film circle, few trilogies and romances are as beloved as Richard Linklater's Before trilogy. Each installment is set and filmed between a nine-year interval and tracks three different time periods in a blossoming romance between Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy). While the first two installments, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, are still absent from Max,...

Netflix's Chupa may not be the most eye-catching movie to subscribers scrolling through the streaming service, but it's worth a watch. The film does an engaging job of recreating the feel of kids' movies from the '90s. Aside from providing nostalgia for older viewers and portraying a decent representation of Mexican culture, the work embodies the spirit of the family-friendly friendship movies that were all the rage back then. In short, through its plot and treatment of the titular character, Chupa encompasses the best qualities of the era's style regarding family entertainment.

For starters, the '90s had a knack for taking supernatural, mythical and outrageous animals or creatures and turning them into the cutest mascots that could easily be converted into a franchise or merchandise. Chupa is no different. After all, Netflix's online shop carries a plush modeled on the chupacabra cub. However, the similarities between the...

HBO Max is about to say farewell to a number of fantastic films, but this time it's not related to their current slaughter. Since HBO Max first launched in May 2020, the streamer has consistently had absolutely stellar offerings of original programming and acquisitions alike, but these days it's hard to keep track with everything they keep sending to the gallows. HBO Max has served as the final streaming resting place for much of the catalog of their parent company, Warner Bros., and yet there are a surprising number of Warner Bros. releases leaving HBO Max at the end of September. Odd.

Regardless, here are five films leaving HBO Max that are absolutely worth checking out before they're sent back into the void ... or hopefully to another streamer.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Thanks to the success of "Everything Everywhere All At Once," international icon Michelle Yeoh is on top of the world,...

In modern-day Oakland, people of color are becoming as rare as polar bears in the arctic. That’s the idea behind “The North Pole,” the stylish and hilarious web series from the Oakland-based duo of Yvan Iturriaga and Josh Healey, who direct and write along with co-writers Reyna Amaya and Donte Clark. Set in North Oakland, California, from which the series takes its name, “The North Pole” follows three friends as they struggle to stay afloat amidst a rapidly changing neighborhood. In the Season 2 trailer, debuting exclusively below, executive producer Rosario Dawson plays an immigration lawyer with a comically pragmatic attitude.

“I’m excited to be part of this show that’s both outrageously funny and deadly serious — and could not be more timely,” Dawson said of the project, which she backs along with Movement Generation. “At a moment when children are being thrown in cages at the border, and...

Lindsay Lohan’s Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen turns 15 years on Wednesday and the film wouldn’t be the same without her love interest Eli Marienthal.

The heartthrob, 32, played Sam, Lola’s high school friend, and later, boyfriend.

He may have retired from acting, but Marienthal is still the cutie he was back in 2004 when the film was initially released.

Not only has he kept his good looks, but he’s also doing good work.

Marienthal co-founded a wilderness guiding, outdoor education organization called Back to Earth with his best friend Jesse Sachs in 2014.

The two have dedicated themselves...

It used to be, movies surprised us when we took our seats. We didn’t have so many sources for news and trailers a decade or so back. On Tuesdays, Warner Bros screened new films after hours and one night, the DC Comics crew filed in to see an animated feature called The Iron Giant. We didn’t know much about it or Brad Bird, the man behind it.

We were utterly charmed. None of us knew Ted Hughes’ The Iron Man book it was based on but found the 1950s setting perfect, and the old style animation well-done. Best, it had heart and soul and humor and a robot who wants to be Superman. What’s not to love?

Warner moved the release date so late in the process that tie-ins missed the opening and the marketing wasn’t what it should have been. As a result, this modern day classic withered and vanished.

“So we can’t call Ripley’s Believe it or Not, because… they wouldn’t believe it.”

The Iron Giant screens Friday night, April 15th at 9:30pm in Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium (470 E. Lockwood Ave.). The screening is Free

Without doubt one of the very best animated films of the past twenty years, Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant (1999) is a fabulous love letter to 1950s science fiction b-movies and b-fiction. The central figure is as grand and cool a physical design for a robot as ever put on film; perfectly balanced with the character of the robot.

The Iron Giant (voiced by Vin Diesel), befriended by a young boy named Hogarth (voiced by Eli Marienthal) who is himself a Sf b-movie junkie during the reactionary 1950s time period, engages the boy and his beatnik confidant Dean McCoppin (Harry Connick) with his trust. The Iron Giant comes to understand his own nature,...

Burbank, CA, March 29, 2016 – The classic beloved animated tale The Iron Giant returns to home screens when The Iron Giant: Signature Edition is released for the first time on Blu-ray on September 6. Also available on September 6 will be an Ultimate Collectors Edition. The 1999 film directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Tomorrowland) has been fully remastered and enhanced with two all-new scenes.

When The Iron Giant arrived in theaters, it was hailed as an “instant classic” (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal). “Imagine E.T.as a towering metal man, that’s the appeal of this enchanting animated feature” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). And the world soon learned another “giant” had arrived as well: filmmaker Brad Bird, who made his stunning directorial debut with this film and has gone on to win two Oscars®, as well as worldwide acclaim for his work on both animated and live-action features.

Brad Bird's much beloved (and rightfully so) The iron Giant is finally making it's way to the high definition format, along with some brand new bonus features for fans to delve into. Come inside for all the info!

In the year 2016 it seems inexplicable that such an iconic and amazing movie like The Iron Giant hasn't made its way to blu-ray. Well, here we are, and somehow it's happened. Thankfully, Warner Bros. is now remedying this, and bringing the film out on September 6, 2016. Best of all, it comes with an all new bonus documentary!

The classic beloved animated tale “The Iron Giant” returns to home screens when “The Iron Giant: Signature Edition” is released for the first time on Blu-ray on September 6. Also available on September 6 will be an “Ultimate Collectors Edition.” The 1999 film directed by Brad Bird (“The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” “Tomorrowland”) has been...

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has announced that Brad Bird's acclaimed and cult favorite animated feature "The Iron Giant" will be available for the first time on Blu-ray later from September 6th.

"The Iron Giant: Signature Edition" is the cheaper of two versions of the film in the works, both containing the new documentary "The Giant's Dream". The more elaborate 'Ultimate Collectors Edition' will include the 2015 Signature Edition and the original 1999 theatrical version in both high definition and standard definition, the documentary, a 32-page hardcover art bool, five collectible Mondo art cards, a four-inch plastic articulated Iron Giant statue, and a letter from director Brad Bird.

Winner of nine Annie Awards, the film is the tale of an unlikely friendship between a rebellious boy named Hogarth (Eli Marienthal) and a giant robot, voiced by a then little-known actor named Vin Diesel.

Source: Blu-ray...

Donald Trump vs. Starbucks' War on Christmas. The War on Christmas: The movies that come to mind We're still in November, but the War on Christmas – according to online buzz, a second cousin once removed of the War on Cops – has begun. Weeping and gritting of teeth has seized certain population segments in the U.S.A. (and perhaps other countries as well) after Fox News, that beacon of intellectual freedom at the end of the cable news tunnel, announced that … Starbucks' holiday season cups are a) red b) devoid of Christmas decorations. Could it be a satanic conspiracy disguised as politically correct inclusiveness? The result of a communist takeover at the Seattle-headquartered company? Cruel and unusual Christian persecution in the form of paper cups? Your guess is as good as mine. Far-right Republican icon, U.S. presidential candidate, and 2015 political circus ringmaster Donald Trump seems to think that Starbucks...

Wamg has your free tickets to see The Iron Giant on the big screen!

Warner Bros. Pictures and Fathom Events have announced that tickets are now on sale for the animated action adventure “The Iron Giant,” being re-released in theaters for a limited engagement this fall, remastered and enhanced with two all-new scenes as The Iron Giant: Signature Edition.

This special screening comes to U.S. movie theaters on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00 p.m. local time, with an encore event in select markets on Sunday, October 4 at 12:00 p.m. local time.

When The Iron Giant arrived in theaters, it was hailed as an “instant classic” (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal). “Imagine E.T. as a towering metal man, that’s the appeal of this enchanting animated feature” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). And the world soon learned another “giant” had arrived as well: filmmaker Brad Bird, who made...

Plot: Hogarth Hughes  (Eli Marienthal) lives with his mother (Jennifer Aniston) in Rockwell, a picturesque small town in 1950's middle-America. A sci-fi buff, Hogarth's dreams of adventure come true when he discovers a giant robot (Vin Diesel) with no memory of his origin or purpose. The two become fast friends, but a pesky government investigator (Christopher McDonald) threatens the safety of Hogarth's new pal,... Read More...

Earlier in the week, we shared The Iron Giant re-release trailer as Warner Bros. and Fathom Events announced the animated classic is heading back to theaters this September, prior to the release of The Iron Giant: Signature Edition Blu-ray. Now, we have word that a sequel may be in the works. And these words comes directly from The Iron Giant himself. Yes, Vin Diesel thinks we're getting an Iron Giant 2 announcement soon. He shared this on his Facebook page while promoting the return of this sci-fi adventure.

"I have been very lucky to have played so many interesting characters... one of the first and one of my favorites is... the Iron Giant. P.s. Don't be surprised when you hear WB announce the sequel."

Before embarking on the live-action blockbusters Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol and Tomorrowland, Brad Bird made his mark with his directorial debut The Iron Giant, which...

Vin Diesel may be taking a break from Fast & Furious sequels and making a return to animation if his Facebook page is anything to go by.

Posting a trailer for the 1999 film The Iron Giant last night, the actor also teased that a possible sequel to the film could be announced very soon.

I have been very lucky to have played so many interesting characters... one of the first and one of my favourites is... the Iron Giant.P.s. Don't be surprised when you hear WB announce the sequel.

Posted by Vin Diesel on Friday, 28 August 2015

"I have been very lucky to have played so many interesting characters," the actor shared alongside the video. "One of the first and one of my favourites is... the Iron Giant.

"P.s. Don't be surprised when you hear WB announce the sequel."

The tease comes after it was confirmed a remastered version...

Watch the trailer for what many consider to be one of the best animated films in cinema history, The Iron Giant.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Fathom Events have announced that tickets are now on sale for the movie, being re-released in theaters for a limited engagement this fall, remastered and enhanced with two all-new scenes as The Iron Giant: Signature Edition.

This special screening comes to U.S. movie theaters on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00 p.m. local time, with an encore event in select markets on Sunday, October 4 at 12:00 p.m. local time. See this one on the big screen!

Tickets for The Iron Giant: Signature Edition can be purchased online at www.FathomEvents.com, or by visiting participating cinema box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in more than 500 movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For...

Read More: Toronto International Film Festival Reveals Picks for Discovery Program, Along With Next Wave and Tiff Kids Sections There are few childhood classics more masterful than Brad Bird's "The Iron Giant," and few movie friendships as beautiful as that between nine-year-old Hogarth and a metal-eating iron robot that crash lands from outer space.  Currently celebrating its 16th anniversary this year, the 1999 family adventure film is getting remastered for the first time in what is being called "The Iron Giant: Signature Edition." The special re-release will also include two new scenes originally cut from the theatrical release. The voice cast includes Eli Marienthal, Christopher McDonald, Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr. and Vin Diesel. Restore your childhood sense of wonder and watch the trailer above, courtesy of Yahoo! Movies. The re-release hits select theaters starting September 30. Read More: 5 Things You Might...

Just over 16 years after director Brad Bird's directorial debut The Iron Giant hit theaters, Warner Bros. Pictures is teaming with Fathom Events for the theatrical re-release entitled The Iron Giant: Signature Edition. The animated film will be remastered and enhanced with two all-new scenes, in a limited engagement through Fathom Events. Fathom Events announced that tickets are available for this special event, while Yahoo! Movies released a new trailer.

The Iron Giant: Signature Edition arrives to theaters for a special event screening on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00Pm local time, with an encore event in select markets on Sunday, October 4 at 12:00Pm local time. The event will be presented in select movie theaters around the country through Fathom's Digital Broadcast Network. When "The Iron Giant" arrived in theaters, it was hailed as an "instant classic" (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal). And the world soon learned...

WB is releasing The Iron Giant back into select theaters and it is coming with two entirely new scenes and remastered for HD. Check out the details.

WB today announced that The Iron Giant: Signature Edition will hit theaters with a partnership with Fathom Events. The special event will take place Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00Pm local time, with an encore event in select markets on Sunday, October 4 at 12:00Pm local time.

Tickets and locations will be announced in August through the Fathom website.

Winner of nine Annie Awards, “The Iron Giant” is the tale of an unlikely friendship between a rebellious boy named Hogarth (voiced by Eli Marienthal) and a giant robot, voiced by a then little-known actor named Vin Diesel. The voice cast also included Jennifer Aniston and Harry Connick Jr.

The film first released back in 1999 and became an instant family classic film. I personally...

Brad Bird didn't exactly make waves with his latest feature, Tomorrowland. Given the man's track record, it seems fair that a dent would finally be made in an otherwise immaculate filmography. Back in 1999, Bird released his first feature-film, The Iron Giant. The animated tale followed an unlikely friendship between a rebellious boy named Hogarth (voiced by Eli Marienthal) and a giant... Read More...

Warner Bros. Pictures and Fathom Events are proud to announce that Brad Bird’s animated action adventure The Iron Giant will be re-released in theaters for a limited engagement this fall, remastered and enhanced with two all-new scenes as “The Iron Giant: Signature Edition.” This special screening comes to U.S. movie theaters on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00 p.m. local time, with an encore event in select markets on Sunday, October 4 at 12:00 p.m. local time.

Bird went on Twitter and posted these two posters:

Good to be working with an old friend. See #TheIronGiant at #Sdcc & learn more about the #SignatureEdition #rerelease pic.twitter.com/AMrSeeJQVY

— Brad Bird (@BradBirdA113) July 7, 2015

A cool new poster for an old friend. See #TheIronGiant at #Sdcc & learn more about the #SignatureEdition #rerelease pic.twitter.com/iPmXQZ3Fyn

— Brad Bird (@BradBirdA113) July 8, 2015

The ticket on-sale date and theater locations for The Iron Giant...

The Iron Giant may not have been a box-office success upon its original 1999 release, but the animated film based in 1957 Maine has come to be loved and appreciated by many in the years since. The quirky, heartbreaking sci-fi tale pairs the beauty of its hand-drawn animation with a powerful message.

Hogarth (Eli Marienthal, American Pie) is a young boy in fictional coastal town Rockwell (presumably named after this Rockwell) who stumbles upon a ginormous alien machine one night. Hogarth befriends the giant, who has lost most of his memory, and attempts to pass knowledge on to the larger being. Harry Connick, Jr. figures into the voice cast as a hipster scrap metal collector/artist who supervises some of Hogarth and the giant's interactions.

Meanwhile, Hogarth's widowed mom Annie (Jennifer Aniston) rents out a room to government agent Kent Mansley (Christopher McDonald, Thelma & Louise), sent to the town after reports of...

Available on Blu-ray, Sneak Peek Part 1 of the animated feature "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman", starring actress Kyra Sedgwick as the voice of 'Batwoman'.

"...a new heroine has arrived in 'Gotham' whose identity is a mystery— even to 'Batman'.

Batman must figure out who 'Batwoman' is and stop familiar enemies the 'Penguin' and 'Rupert Thorne', from selling illegal weapons to the nation of 'Kasnia', with gangster 'Carlton Duquesne', hired to provide protection.

"'But Bruce Wayne', Batman's alter ego, becomes involved with 'Kathy Duquesne', the crime boss's daughter, 'Dr. Roxanne Rocky Ballantine', a new employee at 'Wayne Tech' and 'Sonya Alcana'..."

Cast also includes Kevin Conroy, Kimberly Brooks, Kelly Ripa, Elisa Gabrielli, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin Michael Richardson, John Vernon, Héctor Elizondo, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Eli Marienthal, Tara Strong, Bob Hastings and Robert Costanzo.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Batman: Mystery Of The Batwoman...

Sneak Peek "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman", starring actress Kyra Sedgwick as the voice of 'Batwoman'.

Available for the first time on Blu-ray disc, the animated feature from Warner Bros. Animation, will be released March 12, 2013.

"...a new heroine has arrived in 'Gotham' whose identity is a mystery— even to 'Batman'. Batman must figure out who 'Batwoman' is and stop familiar enemies the 'Penguin' and 'Rupert Thorne', from selling illegal weapons to the nation of 'Kasnia', with gangster 'Carlton Duquesne', hired to provide protection.

"'But Bruce Wayne', Batman's alter ego, becomes involved with 'Kathy Duquesne', the crime boss's daughter, 'Dr. Roxanne Rocky Ballantine', a new employee at 'Wayne Tech' and 'Sonya Alcana'..."

Cast also includes Kevin Conroy, Kimberly Brooks, Kelly Ripa, Elisa Gabrielli, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin Michael Richardson, John Vernon, Héctor Elizondo, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Eli Marienthal, Tara Strong, Bob Hastings and Robert Costanzo.

Click the images to...

These days, Brad Bird is one of the most sought after directors around. He helmed "The Incredibles" for Pixar, still one of the company's best and biggest hits, and took over troubled project "Ratatouille" at the last minute, helping turn it into another classic and global hit. And last year, he made his live-action debut with the thrilling "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," which became the biggest film of Tom Cruise's career, and will follow it up in the near future with the Damon Lindelof-penned sci-fi "1952." But Bird has not always been so blessed. His first feature film, "The Iron Giant," while glowingly reviewed, was a huge flop on release. Loosely based on Ted Hughes' book, the film was set in the 1950s, and followed Hogarth, a young boy (Eli Marienthal) who discovers a giant alien robot (Vin Diesel) who's fallen from the space. Together with his mother...

This week, the Regent Showcase hosted the 3rd Annual Los Angeles Animation Film Festival. The four-day fest boasted 35mm screenings of The Iron Giant, Gulliver’s Travels, Team America, Grave of the Fireflies and A Cat in Paris, amongst many others. For a full rundown of just what screened and when check out the festival’s website. For select highlights from days two through four of the fest, hit the jump. For further coverage of the fest – see here. The Iron Giant “I am not a gun.” The simple motto perfectly encapsulates Brad Bird’s seminal masterpiece The Iron Giant. Critically adored upon release, The Iron Giant has only grown in repute since 1999. As presenter/Animation Director Tom Sito noted pre-screening “Iron Giant may be the only film that when the lights come up it’s all the guys in tears.” Even star Eli Marienthal (only thirteen when he voiced...

Hollywood can be a tough place to navigate the transition from youth to adulthood. Child actors are usually dorky, awkward little ragamuffins. But to be an adult actor, they need you to look like you were sculpted by Michelangelo.

So making the transition from child actor to adult can be nearly impossible for some to whom nature was not so kind. Some actors, like Josh Saviano (Paul from Wonder Years) simply get out of the business. But some persevere and, with a little help from good genes and a personal trainer, become successful actors as adults.

Seeing the picture of Jonathan Lipnicki that Ae recently posted had me thinking about how some boys we remember as looking like this:

Can miraculously turn into guyslike this:

So I thought it would be fun to look at some of the other young actors who have grown up rather nicely. Keep in mind,...

Films about robots have long captured the imagination of movie goers, who may or may not believe in its existence in the not-so-distant-future. Here are the top films about these intelligent mechanical human friends... or enemies. Check it out!

The Best Robot Movies'i, Robot'

When: 2004 Who: Will Smith and Bridget Moynahan What: In the not so distant future, (2035), a detective, who dislikes the rapid advancement of technology, investigates a crime that may have been caused by a robot.

Warner Home Video has announced a March 17, 2009 release for the first season DVD collection of The Zeta Project. The animated series was loosely connected to the futuristic world of Batman Beyond, with the character making guest appearances after setting up the premise during the “Zeta” episode. It ran from January 27, 2001 through August 10, 2002 on the KidsWB.

Voices on the series included Diedrich Bader, Julie Nathanson, Kurtwood Smith, Dominique Jennings, Eli Marienthal, Scott Marquette, Michael Rosenbaum, and Lauren Tom.

The 2-disc set will come with the 11 first-season episodes (per the studio's "production season"; note that not all online episode guides agree with this count!).

Bonus material includes both cross-over episodes of Batman Beyond, and an all-new Featurette about the origins of The Zeta Project. Cost will be $26.99 Srp.

Here's the breakdown of episodes on each disc for the first season set:

• Disc 1

1. The Accomplice

2. His Maker's Name

3. Remote Control

4. Change of Heart...

Opens

Friday, Feb. 20

A young actress of impressive poise, personality and comic chops, Lindsay Lohan more than held her own with Jamie Lee Curtis in last year's "Freaky Friday" -- which makes the underwhelming "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" all the more of a letdown.

In the title role, Lohan gets to show off her song-and-dance talents, but mainly she models David C. Robinson's costume confections, the only consistently buoyant aspect of the film. Girls ages 6-14 will get a charge from the fashion show, animation effects and, to a lesser degree, the cartoonish antics. But like most adolescent histrionics, the pic's impact on adults will be limited to mild amusement alternating with annoyance. The cute factor isn't enough to stir up significant boxoffice returns for the Walt Disney Co.

Lohan plays a budding Sarah Bernhardt who tosses aside her given name, Mary, for the more fitting handle Lola. She can't believe the calamity she's forced to endure when her divorced bohemian mother (Glenne Headly) moves Lola and her young twin sisters from New York to the netherworld of suburban New Jersey. A self-described flamingo among pigeons, the despairing Lola crosses the bridge as though into oblivion. She promptly clashes with Burberry-clad Heather-in-training Carla (Megan Fox, savoring every villainous taunt), nabbing the lead in the school play and thus displacing the reigning drama queen.

Lola flirts with Sam (Eli Marienthal) and becomes fast friends with the borderline-dowdy Ella (Alison Pill, in a disappointing follow-up to her high-strung turn in "Pieces of April"), who lives in a stuffy gated community and dares not disturb the universe -- until Lola comes along.

Ella and Lola share a passion for the rock band Sidarthur, whose lyricist, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), Lola considers the greatest poet since Shakespeare. A cataclysm of cosmic proportions takes place -- the band breaks up -- and the girls are determined to attend their New York farewell concert, though they don't have tickets. As fate would have it, Carla will be attending not only the show but the afterparty at Stu's Soho loft, and she won't let Lola forget it.

An adaptation of the book by Dyan Sheldon, Gail Parent's first feature script in 17 years captures teen-girl hyperbole but lacks fizz and certainly doesn't earn its supposed emotional climaxes. Helmer Sara Sugarman, making her studio debut, struggles to tap a comic vein, never establishing momentum. Her 2001 "Very Annie Mary", set in her native Wales, was a comic grotesquerie with a grounding connection to character and place. Here, striving for whimsy, she throws in an assortment of bells and whistles, but for the most part the material is stubbornly inert, and the actors at times appear to be flailing.

Dance sequences choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, including numbers from the school production, provide bursts of energy and flair. As the shrill drama teacher overseeing the present-day musical version of "Pygmalion", Carol Kane delivers an unfortunate caricature, while Garcia earns a laugh or two as a cartoon version of a besotted rock star. Stephen H. Burum's lensing puts a high sheen on Leslie McDonald's brightly colored production design.

CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN

Buena Vista Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures

Credits:

Director: Sara Sugarman

Screenwriter: Gail Parent

Producers: Robert Shapiro, Jerry Leider

Director of photography: Stephen H. Burum

Production designer: Leslie McDonald

Music: Mark Mothersbaugh

Costume designer: David C. Robinson

Editor: Anita Brandt Burgoyne

Cast:

Lola: Lindsay Lohan

Stu: Adam Garcia

Karen: Glenne Headly

Ella: Alison Pill

Sam: Eli Marienthal

Miss Baggoli: Carol Kane

Carla: Megan Fox

Calum: Tom McCamus

Running time -- 89 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13...

Opens

Friday, Feb. 20

A young actress of impressive poise, personality and comic chops, Lindsay Lohan more than held her own with Jamie Lee Curtis in last year's "Freaky Friday" -- which makes the underwhelming "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" all the more of a letdown.

In the title role, Lohan gets to show off her song-and-dance talents, but mainly she models David C. Robinson's costume confections, the only consistently buoyant aspect of the film. Girls ages 6-14 will get a charge from the fashion show, animation effects and, to a lesser degree, the cartoonish antics. But like most adolescent histrionics, the pic's impact on adults will be limited to mild amusement alternating with annoyance. The cute factor isn't enough to stir up significant boxoffice returns for the Walt Disney Co.

Lohan plays a budding Sarah Bernhardt who tosses aside her given name, Mary, for the more fitting handle Lola. She can't believe the calamity she's forced to endure when her divorced bohemian mother (Glenne Headly) moves Lola and her young twin sisters from New York to the netherworld of suburban New Jersey. A self-described flamingo among pigeons, the despairing Lola crosses the bridge as though into oblivion. She promptly clashes with Burberry-clad Heather-in-training Carla (Megan Fox, savoring every villainous taunt), nabbing the lead in the school play and thus displacing the reigning drama queen.

Lola flirts with Sam (Eli Marienthal) and becomes fast friends with the borderline-dowdy Ella (Alison Pill, in a disappointing follow-up to her high-strung turn in "Pieces of April"), who lives in a stuffy gated community and dares not disturb the universe -- until Lola comes along.

Ella and Lola share a passion for the rock band Sidarthur, whose lyricist, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), Lola considers the greatest poet since Shakespeare. A cataclysm of cosmic proportions takes place -- the band breaks up -- and the girls are determined to attend their New York farewell concert, though they don't have tickets. As fate would have it, Carla will be attending not only the show but the afterparty at Stu's Soho loft, and she won't let Lola forget it.

An adaptation of the book by Dyan Sheldon, Gail Parent's first feature script in 17 years captures teen-girl hyperbole but lacks fizz and certainly doesn't earn its supposed emotional climaxes. Helmer Sara Sugarman, making her studio debut, struggles to tap a comic vein, never establishing momentum. Her 2001 "Very Annie Mary", set in her native Wales, was a comic grotesquerie with a grounding connection to character and place. Here, striving for whimsy, she throws in an assortment of bells and whistles, but for the most part the material is stubbornly inert, and the actors at times appear to be flailing.

Dance sequences choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, including numbers from the school production, provide bursts of energy and flair. As the shrill drama teacher overseeing the present-day musical version of "Pygmalion", Carol Kane delivers an unfortunate caricature, while Garcia earns a laugh or two as a cartoon version of a besotted rock star. Stephen H. Burum's lensing puts a high sheen on Leslie McDonald's brightly colored production design.

CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN

Buena Vista Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures

Credits:

Director: Sara Sugarman

Screenwriter: Gail Parent

Producers: Robert Shapiro, Jerry Leider

Director of photography: Stephen H. Burum

Production designer: Leslie McDonald

Music: Mark Mothersbaugh

Costume designer: David C. Robinson

Editor: Anita Brandt Burgoyne

Cast:

Lola: Lindsay Lohan

Stu: Adam Garcia

Karen: Glenne Headly

Ella: Alison Pill

Sam: Eli Marienthal

Miss Baggoli: Carol Kane

Carla: Megan Fox

Calum: Tom McCamus

Running time -- 89 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13...

For years, the Walt Disney Co. has recycled its cartoon and live-action characters into TV shows, video releases, theme park rides, action figures, T-shirts -- you name it. Now Disney is reversing the flow with theme park attractions heading for the big screen. Later this year, a movie based on the fabled Pirates of the Caribbean ride goes into production. Even before that film, though, the company is releasing "The Country Bears", a family film based on its audio-animatronics novelty show "The Country Bears Jamboree".

Like that show, in which animatronic bear characters put on a hootenanny, the film confines itself to entertaining small children and perhaps a few adolescents. Anyone older will find himself glancing at his watch more than once. Theatrical prospects appear modest, but there may be gold in that ancillary mother lode.

The Mark Perez script lacks the clever humor and odd twists that can help a family film transcend age. Peter Hastings directs competently but without much visual style or playfulness.

While the movie is derived from the park attraction, its inspiration comes from the original "The Blues Brothers", with a group of characters hitting the road to get a legendary band back together. The Country Bears was a country group in which every musician other than the drummer was, yes, a bear.

The driving force behind the reunion is Beary Barrington (voiced by Haley Joel Osment), an 11-year-old cub who acts as if he were human because he has been adopted by a human family. Beary can't seem to take a hint about his "difference" from his older, disgusted brother Dex (Eli Marienthal). Beary, a huge Country Bears fan, wants to reunite the group for a benefit concert to help save Country Bear Hall, the venue where the band got its start.

Each bear character is a collaboration among four people: the suit performer, the puppeteer, the voice actor and the musician doing the singing. The characters are fun but a little dorky because bears are not the easiest animals to animate. The music is the best thing the film has to offer. John Hiatt has written six original songs, and such talents as Don Henley, Willie Nelson, Brian Setzer, Bonnie Raitt and Krystal Marie Harris mix it up with rock, country and blues music.

A guitar duel in the Honey Bar (where Queen Latifah turns up as the bartender) between a bear fiddle player and Setzer is fun. A retro coffee shop comes alive with "Kick It Into Gear", thanks to Jennifer Paige's singing waitress. The latter won't make you forget Aretha Franklin's memorable "Think" in "Blues Brothers", but it does give the movie a momentary charge.

Daryl "Chill" Mitchell and Diedrich Bader provide slapstick comedy as a pair of bumbling cops sent to look for the family's runaway son. Their chase of the Country Bears' tour bus through a car wash should have children squealing with delight.

Seeing Christopher Walken essay the film's twisted villain is strange, to say the least, but he plays it straight without any camp. Veteran actors Stephen Tobolowsky, Meagan Fay and Alex Rocco -- the latter not given nearly enough to do -- slip comfortably into the human roles.

THE COUNTRY BEARS

Buena Vista Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures

Credits:

Director: Peter Hastings

Screenwriter: Mark Perez

Producers: Andre Gunn, Jeffrey Chernov

Director of photography: C. Mitchell Amundsen

Production designer: Dan Bishop

Music: Christopher Young

Songs by: John Hiatt

Costume designer: Genevieve Tyrrell

Editors: George Bowers, Seth Flaum

Cast:

Reed Thimple: Christopher Walken

Norbert Barrington: Stephen Tobolowsky

Officer Hamm: Daryl "Chill" Mitchell

Raodie: MC Gainey

Officer Cheets/voice of Ted: Dietrich Bader

Rip Holland: Alex Rocco

Mrs Marrington: Meagen Fay

Dex: Eli Marienthal

Voices:

Beary: Haley Joel Osment

Trixie: Candy Ford

Big Al: James Gammon

Fred: Brad Garrett

Tennessee: Toby Huss

Henry: Kevin Michael Richardson

Zeb: Stephen Root

Running time -- 88 minutes

MPAA rating: G...

After one successful launch ("Space Jam") and two discouraging misfires ("Quest for Camelot", "The King and I"), Warner Bros.' outstanding "The Iron Giant" is a giant leap for the studio and robotkind. And, with the steady erosion of the Disney monopoly in feature animation, the Aug. 6 release is a potential sleeper hit for kids and adults.

Director Brad Bird ("King of the Hill", "The Simpsons"), adapting the original children's book by the late British poet laureate Ted Hughes, has created a wonderful character in the huge, childlike visitor from space. In the spectacular opening, the I.G. arrives in a ball of flames and crashes into the sea off the coast of Maine during a hurricane. Young human hero Hogarth Hughes (voiced by Eli Marienthal) befriends the sometimes clumsy behemoth after he saves it from being electrocuted by power lines, not knowing that the Big Guy has a dark secret.

Bird takes many liberties -- imagining a whole different destiny and hidden persona for the mammoth lead -- but the genre humor is clever and the supporting characters are mostly entertaining, while the anti-violence themes are universally relevant. Executive produced by the Who's Pete Townshend -- who released 1989 album "The Iron Man: A Musical" -- "Iron Giant" is more inspired by the previous versions than faithful to the original, with the story now set in 1957 not long after Sputnik has been launched and small-town Americans are scared by "War of the Worlds"-like rumors.

The elusive sense of joy, which movies such as the original "Babe" and "Free Willy" had, is found in the many funny and inventive scenes between parentlike Hogarth and the puppyish I.G. (voiced by Vin Diesel), who prowls around the countryside unseen at first, eating anything made of metal. Eventually, the lead learns to speak, and Hogarth teams with junkyard-owning hipster Dean McCoppen (voiced by Harry Connick Jr.) to keep it hidden from a fanatical government agent (voiced by Christopher McDonald).

Indeed, the subplots are fanciful and semi-serious re-creations of the prosperous and paranoid times -- from Hogarth's love of Action Comics and how that inspires the I.G. to become like Superman to the mysterious space robot's unexpected, climactic transformation into an awesome war machine -- and it might irk some NRA members and gun owners with its "what if a gun had a soul" premise.

The movie gets a bit shrill with the government agent's antics that lead to a tearful near-disaster, which the I.G. -- newly flying like his super hero idol -- narrowly averts. It concludes with a beautiful homage to the end of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the opening of Ted Hughes' original book.

The well-paced film, written by Tim McCanlies from Bird's screen story, also features solid voice contributions from Jennifer Aniston as Hogarth's single housewife mom and John Mahoney as a skeptical general, along with bit parts voiced by Cloris Leachman, James Gammon and M. Emmet Walsh.

With a 2-D visual style that is agreeably nostalgic -- reminiscent of 1950s comic books and science fiction pulp magazine covers, as well as Dave Fleischer's "Superman" and other '40s and '50s cartoons -- "Iron Giant" is a terrific use of the medium, including great sound work. Michael Kamen's soaring orchestral score is a classy bonus.

THE IRON GIANT

Warner Bros.

Director: Brad Bird

Producers: Allison Abbate, Des McAnuff

Screenwriter: Tim McCanlies

Based on a book by: Ted Hughes

Executive producer: Pete Townshend

Production designer: Mark Whiting

Editor: Darren T. Holmes

Music: Michael Kamen

Art director: Alan Bodner

Head of animation: Tony Fucile

Casting: Marci Liroff

Color/stereo

Voices:

Hogarth Hughes: Eli Marienthal

The Iron Giant: Vin Diesel

Annie Hughes: Jennifer Aniston

Dean McCoppen: Harry Connick Jr.

Kent Mansley: Christopher McDonald

Gen. Rogard: John Mahoney

Running time -- 86 minutes

MPAA rating: PG...

What with last year's "Boogie Nights" and "The Ice Storm", the big 1970s nostalgia-fest continues in style with "Slums of Beverly Hills", a bracingly funny, knowing, bittersweet coming-of-age comedy set during a time when success was measured by the height of one's brown shag carpeting.

A remarkably assured debut for writer-director Tamara Jenkins, the semi-autobiographical picture scores with biting originality and a terrific ensemble featuring young Natasha Lyonne in a breakout performance, the always effective Alan Arkin and an irrepressible Marisa Tomei in her best role since "My Cousin Vinny".

This quirky, smiley-face of a fish-out-of-water story should hold universal appeal for female adolescents and family members from virtually any generation and economic standing. Careful marketing could earn Fox Searchlight some pleasingly modest numbers.

Jenkins' poignantly dysfunctional reminiscence is seen through the somewhat cynical eyes of 15-year-old Vivian Abramowitz (Lyonne), who, along with her divorced, well-meaning car dealer father, Murray (Arkin) and her two annoying brothers, Ben and Rickey, (David Krumholtz and Eli Marienthal), are constantly moving from dump to dump with alluring names such as "The Paradise" and "The Capri", located on the fringes of the 90210 zip code so that the kids can attend the better Beverly Hills schools.

As if that isn't humiliating enough, there's the matter of Vivian's breasts, which have blossomed rather voluminously for the whole world to abruptly take notice. Suddenly Vivian's dad is insisting she wears her brand-new underwire bra beneath her halter tops -- a somewhat unsightly look even by 1976 standards.

Things begin to look up, sort of, when Murray's benefactor brother Mickey (Carl Reiner) agrees to supplement his meager income if he takes in his messed-up daughter, Rita (a sparkling Tomei), who's about to be released from drug rehab. The financial infusion means the Abramowitz family can move across the street into a luxury furnished apartment that looks like one of those swinging bachelor pads from a vintage "Love, American Style" episode.

Ultimately, despite the monetary and mammillary gain, Vivian learns how to accept both herself and her flawed but lovable family for what they are.

Filmmaker Jenkins has crafted a seldom-seen female rite-of- passage story that is equally outrageous and tellingly truthful. And, unlike the previous, somewhat jaded depictions of the era, she presents a quaintly bemused version of the '70s that neatly reflects Vivian's own personal upheaval -- both aggressively defiant and affectionately clunky at the same time.

As the heart and soul of "Slums of Beverly Hills", Lyonne delivers a perfectly rendered performance, one that painfully and comically captures the conflicting child-woman impulses of her character. As her unofficial mentor, meanwhile, Tomei is a free-spirited firecracker who has struggled, albeit disastrously, to come out from under the oppressive domain of her overbearing parents (nicely played by Reiner and Rita Moreno).

Effective also, are Krumholtz and Marienthal as Lyonne's all-too-real siblings: Kevin Corrigan, as a drug-dealing, Charles Manson-obsessed but nevertheless sweet neighbor and Jessica Walter as Arkin's starchy girlfriend.

Similarly on the money are the technical contributions, with fine, cringe-inducing period touches from production designer Dena Roth and costume designer Kirsten Everberg. Music supervisors G. Marq Roswell and Gary Calamar have dusted off an evocative mix of period tunes serving as gentle reminders that '70s music can be more than just disco.

SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS

Fox Searchlight

A South Fork Pictures production

Director-screenwriter: Tamara Jenkins

Producers: Michael Nozik, Stan Wlodkowski

Executive producer: Robert Redford

Director of photography: Tom Richmond

Production designer: Dena Roth

Editor: Pamela Martin

Costume designer: Kirsten Everberg

Music: Rolfe Kent

Music supervisors: G. Marq Roswell, Gary Calamar

Casting: Sheila Jaffe, Georgianne Walken

Color/stereo

Cast:

Vivian: Natasha Lyonne

Murray: Alan Arkin

Rita: Marisa Tomei

Eliot: Kevin Corrigan

Doris: Jessica Walter

Belle: Rita Moreno

Ben: David Krumholtz

Rickey: Eli Marienthal

Mickey: Carl Reiner

Running time -- 91 minutes

MPAA rating: R...

What with last year's "Boogie Nights" and "The Ice Storm", the big 1970s nostalgia-fest continues in style with "Slums of Beverly Hills", a bracingly funny, knowing, bittersweet coming-of-age comedy set during a time when success was measured by the height of one's brown shag carpeting.

A remarkably assured debut for writer-director Tamara Jenkins, the semi-autobiographical picture scores with biting originality and a terrific ensemble featuring young Natasha Lyonne in a breakout performance, the always effective Alan Arkin and an irrepressible Marisa Tomei in her best role since "My Cousin Vinny".

This quirky, smiley-face of a fish-out-of-water story should hold universal appeal for female adolescents and family members from virtually any generation and economic standing. Careful marketing could earn Fox Searchlight some pleasingly modest numbers.

Jenkins' poignantly dysfunctional reminiscence is seen through the somewhat cynical eyes of 15-year-old Vivian Abramowitz (Lyonne), who, along with her divorced, well-meaning car dealer father, Murray (Arkin) and her two annoying brothers, Ben and Rickey, (David Krumholtz and Eli Marienthal), are constantly moving from dump to dump with alluring names such as "The Paradise" and "The Capri", located on the fringes of the 90210 zip code so that the kids can attend the better Beverly Hills schools.

As if that isn't humiliating enough, there's the matter of Vivian's breasts, which have blossomed rather voluminously for the whole world to abruptly take notice. Suddenly Vivian's dad is insisting she wears her brand-new underwire bra beneath her halter tops -- a somewhat unsightly look even by 1976 standards.

Things begin to look up, sort of, when Murray's benefactor brother Mickey (Carl Reiner) agrees to supplement his meager income if he takes in his messed-up daughter, Rita (a sparkling Tomei), who's about to be released from drug rehab. The financial infusion means the Abramowitz family can move across the street into a luxury furnished apartment that looks like one of those swinging bachelor pads from a vintage "Love, American Style" episode.

Ultimately, despite the monetary and mammillary gain, Vivian learns how to accept both herself and her flawed but lovable family for what they are.

Filmmaker Jenkins has crafted a seldom-seen female rite-of- passage story that is equally outrageous and tellingly truthful. And, unlike the previous, somewhat jaded depictions of the era, she presents a quaintly bemused version of the '70s that neatly reflects Vivian's own personal upheaval -- both aggressively defiant and affectionately clunky at the same time.

As the heart and soul of "Slums of Beverly Hills", Lyonne delivers a perfectly rendered performance, one that painfully and comically captures the conflicting child-woman impulses of her character. As her unofficial mentor, meanwhile, Tomei is a free-spirited firecracker who has struggled, albeit disastrously, to come out from under the oppressive domain of her overbearing parents (nicely played by Reiner and Rita Moreno).

Effective also, are Krumholtz and Marienthal as Lyonne's all-too-real siblings: Kevin Corrigan, as a drug-dealing, Charles Manson-obsessed but nevertheless sweet neighbor and Jessica Walter as Arkin's starchy girlfriend.

Similarly on the money are the technical contributions, with fine, cringe-inducing period touches from production designer Dena Roth and costume designer Kirsten Everberg. Music supervisors G. Marq Roswell and Gary Calamar have dusted off an evocative mix of period tunes serving as gentle reminders that '70s music can be more than just disco.

SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS

Fox Searchlight

A South Fork Pictures production

Director-screenwriter: Tamara Jenkins

Producers: Michael Nozik, Stan Wlodkowski

Executive producer: Robert Redford

Director of photography: Tom Richmond

Production designer: Dena Roth

Editor: Pamela Martin

Costume designer: Kirsten Everberg

Music: Rolfe Kent

Music supervisors: G. Marq Roswell,

Gary Calamar

Casting: Sheila Jaffe, Georgianne Walken

Color/stereo

Cast:

Vivian: Natasha Lyonne

Murray: Alan Arkin

Rita: Marisa Tomei

Eliot: Kevin Corrigan

Doris: Jessica Walter

Belle: Rita Moreno

Ben: David Krumholtz

Rickey: Eli Marienthal

Mickey: Carl Reiner

Running time -- 91 minutes

MPAA rating: R...