See 'Across the Universe'

Don't listen to our critic, Brandon, on this one.

He kept vacillating between B- and C+, and the more he thought about it, the lower his grade went.

This isn't a movie meant to be thought about. It's meant to be experienced.

I'll admit that you get the sense that there were a behind-the-scenes battle between the writers and the design team and the design team won in a TKO. (I had a similar sense about the newer "Star Wars" trilogy.)

The characters are thin and the story is thinner. But, man, is it a thing of beauty.

The visuals, the singing, the originality ... they were intoxicating.


The little kid singing "Let It Be" sitting in a burned-out-car in the middle of the Detroit riots ... his chorus picked up by an amazing gospel singer at a funeral. I absolutely LOVED that stuff.

So what if the whole doesn't quite equal the sum of its parts. Those parts are so transcendent.

For Beatles fans, especially, the movie is a must.