1999, 2 hrs, Rated R for violence and language. Dir: Josef Rusnak. Cast: Craig Bierko (Douglas Hall), Gretchen Mol (Jane Fuller), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Hannon Fuller), Vincent D'Onofrio (Whitney/Ashton), Dennis Haysbert (Det. McBain).

Thank you Lord for helping to keep me grounded in the world of movie criticism. I can enjoy a movie for its pure entertainment value, and not be snobbish merely because I'm a "critic." For this reason, I was able to watch The Thirteenth Floor and like it, without counting its minuses because of similarities with Dark City of last year and The Matrix of three months ago. And trust me, there are countless instances where I took notice of this, which may be inevitable considering there is only a certain amount of originality that is available when making a movie about creating new worlds, new realities.

"They say ignorance is bliss..." is how we are introduced to The Thirteenth Floor, and is the common strain of all three movies. Which begs the question, if you knew your world wasn't real, would you still want to inhabit it, or take your chances with being in the "real world"? Would it really be worth it to abandon all you know and the people you love? This isn't the same as moving to Duluth. We're talking about living in a new world where nothing is the same, its a different time and place, and all the people you know and love will never be seen again. Tough choice, huh? Personally, I'd stay here. I'm doing just fine, thank you.

But the main characters in this "non-reality trilogy" would rather not be puppets of another system; in Dark City it is an alien species, The Matrix is controlled by robots, and The Thirteenth Floor? Us.

That is what sets The 13th Floor apart. The real world is not controlled by a sinister being, but by the supermarket checkout clerk smacking her gum and wearing too much makeup. Because of this, the people in control of the worlds can be corrupted to believe they are gods, and a human who thinks he is immortal is as sinister as the aliens on Independence Day.

The visuals, obviously computer-aided and that way on purpose, are great eye candy. The world of 1937 L.A. looks like a nice place to visit. In the future when we can travel in our minds through these kinds of games, maybe I'll take a trip there. Of course, I'd rather visit Renaissance Italy first, but there's plenty of time to see both.

The main actor, Craig Bierko, who plays Douglas Hall, I know I've seen before, but his name might as well have been Englebert Humpberdink, because I've never seen it before. He's a commanding presence on screen, though, and someone to look out for in the future. I've never seen a film with Gretchen Mol, and I always figured she was a ditzy blonde who only got her start by sleeping with the studio chief. But I love her! She's one classy dame. The supporting characters add to The 13th Floor. Their actions directly affect what happens, and makes them more than spectators.

Some of you may be wondering what the significance of the name, The Thirteenth Floor, means. In older buildings the floors went from 12 to 14, because 13 is bad luck. So to have a reality-game on the 13th floor adds to the surreal message of the movie.

Totally getting away from the actual movie, I want to complain about having to type out "Thirteenth." Just make it "13th"! It's shorter and easier to type, and everyone knows what you're talking about. Actually spelling out anything past ten is distracting. Not to mention it is bad journalism style for those of us who have worked in the media for years. If I spelled out "Thirteenth" at the newspaper I used to work at before CNN, I'd have been reprimanded for being an idiot. Okay, off my soap box now. It just bugs me to the nth degree.