MovieMantz Reviews: 'Cars' & 'A Prairie Home Companion'

There's No Place Like 'Home'

by Scott "Movie" Mantz

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When legendary filmmaker Robert Altman revealed at the Academy Awards that he had a heart transplant back in 1995, it could have been seen as one of Oscar night's biggest surprises or a bizarre publicity stunt to promote his latest ensemble project, "A Prairie Home Companion," based on Garrison Keillor's long-running radio show.

Either way, it doesn't really matter, because not only is "Prairie" a delightful dramedy with great music and terrific performances, but it also represents another effective use of the interweaving storylines and overlapping dialogue that Altman pioneered with his 1975 masterpiece "Nashville."

Altman has returned to this approach many times over the years, but for every gem like "Short Cuts" and "Gosford Park," there's a turkey like "Ready to Wear" and "Kansas City." Fortunately, "Prairie" is closer to the former and succeeds as a "Nashville"-lite gem that will make you smile from east to west.

It also features an amazing cast that includes Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin and Kevin Kline, but watch out for Lindsay Lohan, who holds her own against these vets with an impressive performance that brings the house down.

Also pulling into theaters is "Cars," the seventh computer-animated charmer from Disney/Pixar. Comparisons are bound to be made to other Pixar classic like "Toy Story 2" and "Finding Nemo," so to that extent, "Cars" falls a bit short â€" the premise is somewhat derivative of the 1991 Michael J. Fox comedy "Doc Hollywood," and the momentum runs out of gas about midway through. But it will still leave you laughing on all cylinders, and its striking visuals prove that Pixar is still way out ahead of the computer-animated rat-race.

As expected, "Cars" is a winner with most critics, getting 6 "see its" in our official poll…