Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

My wife and I went to a matinée performance of Cirque du Soleil's "Varekai" in the Nottingham Motorpoint Arena. As you would expect, most of the acrobatics were absolutely amazing, as were the costumes. Like other Cirque du Soleil shows, there was some sort of story but with most of the language being their traditional invented one that no one understands, this was not clear. But this didn't really matter. The music and vocals (even though I didn't understand them) were also very good. Regrettably, the circus tradition of using clowns was taken much too far, with about a quarter of the show dedicated to them. Their slap-stick antics were often bizarre or amateurish and at times downright irritating. They may have been entertaining a few decades ago but frankly fell flat and in some cases were risqué and unsuitable for the young children in the audience. So for us, this ruined what would otherwise have been an impressive and entertaining experience. Time for a re-think, SdS?

I have been to 6 Cirque shows now and this was not even close to any of the others. My daughter and myself were nodding off during this 4pm matinée! The costumes were fun and visually appealing and the talent of the performers was still excellent, however the show was simply boring. Even though there were moments of greatness, they were stained by the rest of the drab performance, which was woefully disappointing. For reference, we have been to: O Zumanity Amaluna Ka TotemI wish I could get my money back as I feel a bit ripped off. I hope this is not a hint of the future of Cirque given the new ownership.

The DVD is based upon the live act, which is constantly on tour. Because of that the DVD will always be great. Unfortunately, the live show took a turn for the worse today. I just saw the last show in Seattle, and tomorrow they head for Vancouver, B.C.Normally I love the Cirque, but today they made a big mistake. They have replaced their lead character Icarius, previously played by Anton Tchelnokov. I don't know yet if they have found a permanent replacement, but I do hope that it will not be the guy that they had as a stand-in for Anton today. He is dismally lacking the graceful naiveté that made Anton so believable as Icarius.The show is still an awesome experience... especially Kevin and Andrew Atherton's strap act, and the big finale with all of those incredible athletes performing on the Russian Swings. But for anyone who has seen Anton as the original Icarius, any show in the future will always be lacking something: a Russian kid named Anton who was born to play that role.Kevin L (kaveman7@msn.com)

I saw the entire DVD -AND- I saw it live. Meaning I attend to the theater and saw it live. It's a show more than a movie. It's so amazing too. It's a lot different than the DVD, it's much better live. So, for advice, you shouldn't say you hate it until you've seen the real thing. The acts are very clever and amazing, it nearly defies gravity! Completely AWESOME. The clown acts are funny, too. If it comes to your town, go and see it! You don't have to get front row either, because the theater is somewhat small (unless you are seeing it in Montreal, Quebec.) Unlike other Cirque du Soleil shows, this one REALLY has a story to it, and it's brought out very well. One of the best, a must see!