The Movie: At first I didn't really have much interest in watching this film -- the description on Netflix mentioned something about it taking place right after 9/11, and for some reason that put me off. But so many people around me, filmmakers even, were talking about this movie so I pushed it up to the top of my queue.

First of all, this film really has very little to do with 9/11. Yes, the setting is as the description says, in a post 9/11 time period, but when it comes down to it, it's not a major plot point really, and from what I hear, Paul Haggis had this story in mind for quite a while before 2001.

Crash is yet another one of those ensemble pieces that shows how a bunch of seemingly unrelated people are actually connected... there seem to be so many these days, but the difference is that Crash is a truly masterfully crafted story that culminates in a thrilling climax. The one weak spot I can point out is perhaps in the fact that the time after this thrilling climax seems to run a bit long, probably as a result of having so many loose ends to tie up with so many characters being involved in the story... and maybe the beginning did ring a bit preachy about racism...

I was pleasantly surprised by Sandra Bullock's performance here as I am usually absolutely annoyed with the perky personalities she is normally required to play. Don Cheadle is amazing as always, and I was also pleasantly surprised by Brendan Fraser's performance as well.

It's kind of hard to try and summarize the plot concisely since there are several different stories going on at once, but I can say that this film is definitely worth your time.

The DVD: This DVD features a very nice video transfer with excellent resolution, great color and an overall crisp, clean and beautiful picture. Just make sure you pay attention and don't accidentally buy the "full screen" version! The audio was also nice and clean and crisp. Special features include a cheesy video introduction to the DVD by writer/director Paul Haggis (maybe he just REALLY wanted to get in front of the camera for once?), an audio commentary track, a behind the scenes featurette, a (rather terrible) music video, and trailers... but for a bunch of other movies.

Overall it's a pretty decent DVD release for a film that you definitely must see, so check it out!