JUDY

Rene Zellweger will no doubt be a front runner in the Best Actress category at the next Oscars for her performance as the legendary actress Judy Garland. Zellwegar does a lot more than just pretend to be Judy, she becomes Judy Garland, body and soul, and ever does her own singing.

I was thinking going in that it would be Judy's life story, and we'd see recreations of her role as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. What it turned out to be is the story of Garland during the last years of her life, when she was broke and addicted to drugs. Kind of depressing, but very well acted. The film shows what it's like when a star is born and then burns out. Apparently, this happens a lot in Hollywood.

For me, the big payoff comes at the end of the movie when Judy gets real and honest with her audience, and closes her show with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." No spoilers here, but the scene is quite heartwarming on multiple levels.

FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS

-Michael Buffalo Smith