Martin-Sheen Movie Reviews

Martin Sheen stars in this Tennessee Williams one-act. What is the Camino Real? According to one character, it is "a funny paper read backwards," while another says everyone must figure it out for himself. Yes, we are in the world of allegory, in a melancholy dreamlike play set in an undefined Latin American country. Sheen plays an amiable Everysoldier, Kilroy. The play unfolds in 10 blocks, each a little vignette, that Kilroy winds his way through. The Camino Real is empty, sad, and menacing--so much so that the dead are simply scooped up by laughing street cleaners. As for the rest, well, figure it out for yourself. This is a fine production, but viewers will need to have a high tolerance for the kind of play where characters actually address each other as "You, Player of the Blue Guitar." Ten Blocks on the Camino Real is recommended for just that segment of Tennessee Williams fans. --Ali Davis

From the moment a flapping bouquet of brightly colored macaws bursts out of a single egg, Bird earns the full attention of its audience. Martin Sheen narrates the brisk look at this creature, whose different species number around 8,500. In classic D.K. style, this chapter in Dorling Kindersley's fascinating Eyewitness series treats viewers to sharply focused close-ups and a superrealism that almost gives a 3-D effect. The information flows smoothly, offering brief but memorable lessons in history, biology, math, geology, language, music, and religion. A metronome clearly compares an average human heart rate to a bird's. Popular myths and sayings are explained and sometimes challenged (for example, despite their wise eyes, owls aren't particularly smart). But while cruising on an eagle's wing or watching an ostrich run 40 miles per hour should please the very young viewer, phrases such as "metabolic rate" and "couriers of scandal" hint at an older target audience. --Liane Thomas