Going All the Way (1997) is a coming of age buddy movie. Unlike most, it does not take place in High School. Sonny (Jeremy Davies) is headed home to Indiana after being discharged from the Army. It is 1954, and he spent the Korean War stateside in a public information office. He was one of the invisible people in High School, and his biggest claim to fame was being the photographer for the school newspaper. As he boards the train, he spots Gunner (Ben Afflick), his chest covered with campaign medals, returning home from Korea. Gunner had been the number one jock, and a social demi-God, way out of Sonny's circle.

Sonny tried to hide from him, but Gunner spots him. The two find, surprisingly, that they now have the basis for a friendship. Gunner has become somewhat retrospective, and interested in understanding the world around him as a result of his travel. Gunner's mother is a swinging bachelor woman, while Sonny's parents are hyper religious. The two of them become inseparable. Gunner has any woman he wants. Sonny has a steady (Amy Locane) who he has sex with, but doesn't really want a life with her -- especially in Indiana. When he finally meets the girl of his dreams, Rose McGowan, he is very drunk, and can't get it up. The real conflict in the story is Gunner and Sonny's desire to expand their horizons and have great sex with fascinating women vs the religious atmosphere in the midwest of 1954.

Critics have this at 3 stars, while IMDB readers give it a 6.4/10, or about 2 1/2 stars. I agree with the IMDB readers. The film had a 2 week theatrical release. There are some inspired comedic moments in the film, such as when Sonny's mother brings home a born-again ex con to help him with his troubles, and both Afflick and Davies gave good performances. The women were there as objects/plot elements, and did not really have much to work with. I related to both Gunner and Sonny, and cared about the outcome, which kept me watching, but there was not enough pace or dramatic tension for me to call this a great film. Some of the lighting and photography was very nice, and long, clear topless scenes from Locane and McGowan are a real plus. Every man will find some elements of the story that strike a familiar note. The DVD transfer quality is very good, and contains loads of extras including nearly an hour of deleted scenes (which deserved to be deleted), and a directors commentary.

• I actually had to get out the scanner this week (it's kind of a Christmas thing that happens once per year), because I have the new Sleuth, and I haven't heard from Stone Cold. So here are the highlights.

Julianne Moore paparazzi. She's beautiful and elegant, but when you see in her live, she looks like a ten year old girl. I swear she can't weigh more than 90 pounds. Most of these female celebs are much thinner than you think, but this woman is very delicate and also very short.

Janet McTeer in "Portrait of a Marriage". To my knowledge, this is her only nude scene.

Janet McTeer paparazzi

Kim Basinger accepting her star on the Walk of Fame

Activist/actress Rachel Griffiths in a public protest in Melbourne.

Jennifer Tilly at the premiere of that Chucky film. Chucky is the dummy on the left.

Jennifer Tilly without Chucky.

Cate Blanchett in last year's Oscar dress

more of Cate Blanchett in last year's Oscar dress

Goldie Hawn topless paparazzi

paparazzi of Helen Hunt in a thong

Gwyneth Paltrow pokiosity, adding green nipples to her many outstanding characteristics

Kimberly Peirce see-through. She is the blue-haired director of "Boys Don't Cry"

TomCat

The Polish Puma has really been one busy bee this week, and there are more than a dozen new collages today alone.

Beverly D'Angelo in "Sentinel" (1, 2)

Charlotte Gainsbourg in "Suspicion" (1, 2)

Laura Lacz in "Stone Tablets" (1, 2, 3, 4)

Anne Parillaud in "Le Battant" . Anne was lookin' mighty good back then. (1, 2, 3)

Honor Fraser in "Recherche du passe"

Somebody else in "Recherche du passe"

Julie Delarme in "C'est la tangente que je prefere"

• I reviewed the DVD release of "Wall Street", the film which Oliver Stone meant as a ringing denunciation of the greedy life, but which over time has ironically become the anthem of the very greedy. No nudity.

• and "Don't Mess With My Sister", a movie so bad you can't even make fun of it. (Rated 2/10 at IMDB!). I rented it because it was by Meir Zarchi, the director of that legendary piece of sensationalistic crap "I Spit on Your Grave". Unfortunately, Zarchi decided to go straight, and this movie is not sensationalistic crap, but merely undiluted regular crap. So straight it could be an episode of a U.S. network TV cop show. No sex, no nudity, no violence to speak of. Just non-stop amateur acting and a plot which seems to end in the middle. Avoid it.

I really can't add anything else about how I feel about this Goddess so please enjoy them. I did!