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Entertainment Weekly

EW review: 'Baby' still enthralls

By Dalton Ross
Entertainment Weekly

Million Dollar Baby
Clint Eastwood and Hilary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby."

SPECIAL REPORT

• Gallery: Award acceptances
• Gallery: Memorable moments
• Gallery: Red carpet fashion

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS

Hilary Swank
Keanu Reeves
Clint Eastwood
Movies

(Entertainment Weekly) -- I'm not sure what the statute of limitations on movie spoilers is, so if you're still not hip to the big twist in "Million Dollar Baby," you'd probably best skip this page and go read about "The Nanny" or something.

At first, the film can't help but feel like another one of those fuzzy long-shot-makes-good sports flicks. OK, let's all watch the grizzled old trainer (Clint Eastwood) mold some raw female boxer (Hilary Swank) into a champion, sharing a few laughs and hugs along the way.

But not unlike Muhammad Ali hoodwinking George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle, the movie is simply playing possum -- lulling you into a safe comfort zone before leveling you with the haymaker. The smiley, happy ending never comes, making this pugilist picture one of the most daring sports films ever.

Considerably less daring, however, are the BONUS features on the DVD. The Eastwood-Swank-Freeman commentary track is excellent ... in concept. Too bad it doesn't actually exist.

The three actors do sit down in one extra, but unfortunately, it's for a morning-after-the-Oscars interview with James Lipton, who probes with queries like ''You must feel awfully good today?'' and ''Tell me about acting with Hilary Swank, sir?'' (The most interesting section occurs when Eastwood explains why he doesn't yell ''Action!'' at the start of a take: He feels it makes actors tense.)

Two other features reveal how producer Albert Ruddy bought the film rights (he got "Rope Burns" author F.X. Toole drunk on martinis), and the ways in which the movie mirrors the real boxing world (fighter Lucia Rijker, one of Swank's on-screen opponents, discusses the finer points of breaking people's noses). But as with most boxing matches, you should forget the undercard and stick with the main event.

EW Grade: A-

'Bill & Ted's Most Excellent Collection'

Reviewed by Paul S. Katz

There's nothing better than watching Keanu Reeves save mankind, best Death, and interact with nifty special effects -- and all without the word "Matrix" ever appearing on screen. Reeves paired up with Alex Winter in 1988's cult fave "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," traveling through time to meet historical figures like Napoleon ''short dead dude'' Bonaparte, then followed with the slightly disappointing sequel "Bogus Journey" (originally titled "Bill & Ted Go to Hell"), which lacks the sweet goofiness of the original.

EXTRAS Whoa! No Keanu. There is, however, a bodacious amount of bonus material in "Bill & Ted's Most Excellent Collection," this three-disc set: an episode from the 1990 cartoon series voiced by the actors; an amusing air-guitar tutorial with Bjorn Turoque, the self-appointed ''second-best air guitarist in the world''; plus a ho-hum interview where co-writer Ed Solomon insists, ''Bill & Ted were never stoners.'' But best of all is a behind-the-scenes featurette where we learn that Winter and Reeves have talked about a third Bill & Ted movie. And that would be most triumphant.

EW Grade: B+


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