Words are flowing out....

.... and they're flowing out because this movie was good.

While I'll admit that director Julie Taymor was a bit self-indulgent, Across the Universe is definitely worth the $10. It's not your typical musical, which makes it all the more real (and better).

The cast was perfect; they worked so well with and off of each other. Especially Jim Sturgess (Jude) and Joe Anderson (Max): best friends if I've ever seen them. Evan Rachel Wood did a wonderful job, and I was also really impressed with Martin Luther McCoy for his JoJo (Jimi Hendrix) and Dana Fuchs, who played the role of Sadie (Janis Joplin). I'd been listening to the soundtrack for about three weeks before seeing the movie, and when I first heard the song "Helter Skelter", I thought Janis had come back from the dead.

However, in a single scene, Eddie Izzard (that's right!) as Mr. Kite stole the show. It was surreal as can be and I absolutely loved it. After taking the course Surrealism and Rebellion with a man sent to earth as a gift (Michael Deragon, my former professor), I felt I could appreciate it a lot more. And appreciate it I did. I was so impressed with the circus scene. I'd see it again just for that.

The songs were great, even Bono's renditions of "I am the Walrus" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". You'd think that ANY cover of ANY Beatles song would be terrible, especially any done by Bono... but these were not terrible in any way. Like I said, I've been listening to the soundtrack non-stop. I highly recommend you get your butt to Amazon.com and buy it. Totally worth it.

There were some issues I had with transitions, but that's purely technical and fades away in the backdrop of a movie I won't soon forget.

I give Across the Universe 4 out of 5.