With the lines between fiction and reality becoming increasingly blurred — what with the preponderance of “reality shows” and newspeak accounts of everything from the war in Iraq to Midwestern flash floods — it’s almost easy to accept the premise of a documentary about a burglar presented in real time. Street Thief (premiering tonight on A&E, 10PM EST) takes brief pains to bill itself as a “filmed record” rather than a documentary, chronicling the crimes of an actual burglar. But the intent remains the same.

Once we accept the premise that Kaspar Carr, perhaps Chicago’s greatest and most elusive burglar, is allowing a couple of documentary filmmakers to accompany and film him as he commits his audacious heists, Street Thief becomes a compelling, if disturbing work of cinema verite told with a noir slant. Whether we believe director Malik Bader’s claims that he’s intimately familiar with the tricks of the trade the film depicts is largely inconsequential. It unfolds in such a matter of fact way that we’re drawn into the world of Kaspar Carr and his meticulous planning of each job he does. He’s utterly amoral, viewing each hit with a businessman’s eye.

We watch, fascinated, as he details the planning that goes into each heist. It’s by no means glamorous work—he digs through dumpsters for receipts; taps phone lines; surveys his target for months; and generally takes whatever measures necessary in the planning stages before he goes through with the burglary. They’re not glamorous heists, either—usually mom and pop grocery counters, strip clubs, and even a Cinemark movieplex. Carr finds his mark anywhere he knows there will be a great deal of cash when he strikes.

Kasper Carr, as portrayed by director Bader, is as complex as any person we know in our everyday lives. When he’s working, he’s completely focused on the job at hand. But during his “off” hours, he’s just a regular guy. He is even seen barbequeing steaks for his documentarian followers, politely asking them if they’re hungry before he pulls through a fast food drive-thru.

Throughout, he exudes a public persona that offers no hints as to how he makes his living. Much like the starry-eyed filmmakers who fall deeper into his world, we find ourselves wanting to hang out with Kaspar Carr, while every fiber of our being tells us he represents all that we loathe.

Street Thief is a confounding film at best, and therein lays its power. How much of it is based on reality is debatable, which was Bader’s intent. When it opened to much acclaim at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006, reactions ranged from praise for its gritty realism, to outrage for its toying with the viewer. The fact that it can elicit that kind of reaction is in itself a testament to its power.

Ultimately, it makes us look at our voyeuristic fascination with the outlaw in a way that’s rarely explored in film. In so doing, it forces us to take a look at where we’re going as a society. That alone makes it worth a view.

Bringing very successful Broadway musicals to the big screen is notoriously difficult. It is often easy to lose the power and intimacy created on a stage when a story is magnified to fit the bigger than life proportions of a Hollywood film.

Director Bill Condon (Kinsey) also wrote the Dreamgirls screenplay (he won an Oscar back in 2004 for penning Chicago), which was based on the book by Tom Eyen. Dreamgirls, the thinly veiled story of Motown and its most successful girl group, The Supremes, was a smash hit when it debuted on Broadway in 1981. For twenty-five years some of Hollywood’s biggest players, including David Geffen, tried to get a film version made but weren’t able to see it through.

Bill Condon was an excellent choice to helm such a complex story. Dreamgirls is the story of three African-American girls from Detroit with dreams of being singing stars in the early to mid-sixties. As the film opens, the three girls, Deena (Beyoncé Knowles), Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose), and Effie (Jennifer Hudson), known as the Dreamettes, intend to win a talent show using a routine cooked up by Effie’s brother C.C. (Keith Robinson) in hopes of a big break. Unbeknownst to them, the show is rigged against them. After the show a Cadillac salesman named Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx) who yearns to be a music industry insider realizes that the Dreamettes would be a perfect backup group for R&B star James “Thunder” Early (Eddie Murphy). Suddenly everyone’s dreams are falling into place.

Set throughout the turbulent sixties and early seventies, it quickly becomes clear that talent isn’t all it takes to become a star. Payola must be used to get the Dreamettes' records on the radio and most cruelly of all, Effie, the girl with the gigantic voice, is moved to back-up singer in favor of the visually stunning Deena.

The casting of Dreamgirls is simply superb. Beyoncé Knowles plays Deena with the burning ambition that Deena obviously has to succeed but she also gives her a sense of frustration that crackles below the surface through much of the film, blazing forth as she sings the song “Listen.” It is then that we are sure that she has found her own voice and the confidence to break away from Curtis Taylor Jr.

Jennifer Hudson simply became Effie. That’s saying a lot since Effie is the role that made the great Jennifer Holliday a star on Broadway. When I first went to see Dreamgirls in a movie theater I remember thinking, “Well, nobody can sing that part as good as Jennifer Holiday but maybe she wont be terrible.” Suffice to say, when Ms. Hudson sang “And I’m Telling You, I’m Not Going” the audience, myself included, was mesmerized. When the song was over, most of the audience applauded as if we were watching a live performance.

Eddie Murphy gives the finest performance of his career as James “Thunder” Early. Early represents countless black entertainers during the sixties who weren’t able to gain ‘superstar’ status because of the racial divides that existed in America at the time. He represents the musician who came before, making the success of artists like Otis Redding and James Brown possible.

Murphy gives Jimmy a real sense of vulnerability. We understand that he is not the confident man many think he is. He is indeed "fakin' his way to the top." Murphy’s performance was worthy of an Academy Award. Murphy sings and daces his way through the film but as time progresses, his body shows his slow disintegration as he loses his grip on everything he loves.

Watching Dreamgirls on DVD made me appreciate the film even more. While Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy received much acclaim for their performances, Beyoncé Knowles deserves kudos for her portrayal of Deena Jones. While Jennifer Hudson’s Effie chews up scenery with a fiery intensity in the forefront of much of the story, it is Knowles' character Deena who is pulling all the strings and doing whatever she has to do to make the Dreams as successful as possible.

Bill Condon successfully mixed numerous on-stage musical numbers with plenty of offstage material to set up the backstory. Condon makes you care what happens to each of the characters, even in those moments when you might not like them very much.

The DVD is a very clear widescreen transfer. Since Dreamgirls is a musical, it is essential that the sound be a crisp. The English audio is available in both 5.1 and 2.0. There is also a 5.1 mix in French, and English and Spanish subtitles.

The Dreamgirls (Two Disc Showstopper Edition) is bursting with extras and is a must-have for any fan of the film. The extras on disc one are all about the music from the movie. In addition to the promotional music video for the Beyoncé track "Listen" (a combination of a Beyoncé lip-sync and movie footage which I would call a trailer), there are 11 extended versions of performances from the movie and what is billed as an unreleased song by Jennifer Hudson. The unreleased track is "Effie, Sing My Song," and it's actually a short duet between Hudson and Keith Robinson when C.C. reunites with Effie and convinces her to record "One Night Only."

DVD 2 is all supplemental material chronicling the behind-the-scenes development of the Dreamgirls adaptation. Building the Dream is a full-length documentary (it runs nearly two hours). The story begins on Broadway, explaining the start of the stage version and moving into Bill Condon's involvement with the film right up to the premiere. Building the Dream also shows some of the cast auditions. Beyoncé performs "Dreamgirls" solo with piano accompaniment for her audition, Anika Noni Rose sings "Ain't No Party," also accompanied by piano.

Other features include “Dream Logic: Film Editing,” “Dressing the Dreams: Costume,” and “Center Stage: Theatrical Lighting.” All of these special features definitely provide something for everyone, and provide the viewer a backstage look at a special film.

Since I’ve watched Dreamgirls Two-Disc Showstopper Edition, I’ve been listening to The Supremes: The Ultimate Collection and wondering what Diana Ross thinks of the movie. What would Florence Ballard think? While these may be interesting thoughts to ponder, Dreamgirls stands as one of the finest movie musicals I’ve ever seen.

Taken from the front pages of the world's newspapers is the story of the kidnapping and beheading execution of Daniel Pearl, the South Asia Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal. As seen through her own eyes, and as told in her memoir, A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl, this film recounts these events from the perspective of Mariane Pearl.

On January 23, 2002, the six months pregnant journalist Mariane Pearl's (Angelina Jolie) life changed forever. Her husband, journalist Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman) was researching a story on the shoe bomber Richard Reid when leads drew him to Karachi, Pakistan. Here a go-between had promised access to an elusive source, Kaleem Yusuf (Telal Saeed) to discuss his meeting with Sheikh Gilani (Ikram Bhatti). As Danny left for the meeting, he told Mariane he might be late for dinner. He never returned.

As the story unfolds, the desperate hunt for Danny starts without any information. The story moves at a quick pace, as investigators search for information from cell phone towers, ISPs, color copiers, and informants. Seasoned international journalists with formidable investigative skills are left clueless.

The Inter-Services Intelligence agency (I.S.I.) is fully briefed on Pakistan's proliferating terrorist cells while the byzantine bureaucracy swamps the city in their search. After five harrowing weeks and a media frenzy, they find the kidnappers. This is the meat of the movie as the cloak and dagger scenes examine the shocking world of politics, religion, and war. Finally, Mariane is given the devastating news that Danny has been brutally murdered.

I was leery of the casting of Angelina Jolie as Mariane, but I was wrong to doubt her. She is outstanding as well as dignified without diminishing the character of the Pearl family. The scene where she learns of Daniel's death is one of her best performances — she gives out a heart-wrenching cry that is unspeakably real. This film manages to respect its source material without losing its direction.

In the five years since Daniel Pearl's death, nearly 230 journalists have been killed in the line of duty.

Directed by: Michael Winterbottom
Running time: 120 minutes
Release date: June 22, 2007
Genre: Drama, Adaptation and Biopic/Docudrama
Distributor: Paramount Vantage
MPAA Rating: R