I hardly ever (or maybe, never?) say this about the movies I've seen, but this one was very, very cute. My wife and I had seen the three previous Wallace and Grommit short films before, so we knew what we were in for. While there were (humorous) references to the style of horror films from the 30's and 40's, they were a small part of the film and (young) filmgoers not familiar with them should still have a good time regardless. Its a shame how many people will look at the trailers for this film and decide not to see it because it has "clay puppets". There's something wrong about our society when a piece of obnoxious trash like Madagascar can rake in $200+ million just because its a cartoon, and not funny or clever in its own right. But enough of my ranting. See this movie, either while it lasts in theatres, or when it makes it to DVD. You won't be disappointed.

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My wife treated me to the 40 Year-Old Virgin today for my birthday. The movie was flat-out hilarious. Steve Carrell plays Andy, a 40 year-old support techie at an electronics store. For reasons to humorous to relate here, he hasn't "done it". Once his co-workers find out, they make it their mission to help him on his mission. The scenes of Andy enjoying a typical evening at home are priceless. He has to have more action figurines than a comic book store. Kudos to all involved for making a comedy that is for adults, not teenagers. Unlike Wedding Crashers, there are no confounding moments of anger or melancholy to detract from the fun, which lasts from beginning to end. You have to stay around for the final musical number. With all of the reverence for all things 70's over the years, its nice to see the 70's lampooned for all its hippy-dippy silliness. Steve Carell is the new Will Ferrell. All hail the virgin!

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My family really enjoyed this documentary. Compared to other films that are targeted to younger viewers, this one isn't 2+ hours long. Its just over an hour, which is long enough to keep those with short attention spans entertained, or before they get full on popcorn(!). Don't get me wrong, I loved The Incredibles, but at two hours, it was a struggle for my son to watch the entire thing. The film does contain scenes of penguins frozen to death and penguins being eaten by various predators, but the filmmakers don't dwell on them to the point where the mood of the picture becomes overly dour or grim. The films overall message of triumph over extreme adversity should resonate with a lot of people, given the world we live in. If you don't feel like paying admission for what really amounts to a National Geographic special, then by all means wait for DVD.

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Deborah and I were able to see Red Eye for free tonight at the eMagine Theatre in Canton. The movie isn't due to be released for another two weeks, so I figured that the releasing studio is trying to generate some good buzz for the movie. Red Eye stars Rachel McAdams as Lisa, the manager of a posh hotel in Miami who is flying back home after attending her mother's funeral. Cillian Murphy (fresh off his turn as the Scarecrow in Batman Begins) plays Jack, a far too-helpful fellow passenger who takes more than a passing interest in Lisa both before and during their flight. The first act of the movie plays like a direct homage to the Airport movies of the 70's, replete with helpful stewardesses, an overbearing old lady who talk too much, and an obnoxious passenger who forgets that he will be flying with the same people he's annoying in the check-in line. Director Wes Craven deserves credit for keeping this act from turning into parody, although the moment where the head stewardess comes over to comfort the little seven year-old girl on her first flight brought chuckles from me. Do stewardesses today even do this? I would find it hard to believe anyone working at Northwest these days would even have the time to think about anything but the impact of the latest strike, but I digress.

Once the flight takes off, the movie itself takes off, as a claustrophobic thriller with Lisa trying to outsmart Jack. That this cat-and-mouse game works is mainly due to Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy, who sell their characters without going too far. Rachel McAdams is understandably scared but still tries to think herself out of her predicament, while Cillian Murphy terrorizes her without becoming a mustache-twirlling villain.

The last act finds Lisa and Jack squaring off in a physical confrontation, which seems unavoidable in any action/thriller out of Hollywood in this day and age. The movie goes to great lengths to make Lisa a strong character, although anyone looking at Rachel McAdams could never seriously consider her a Riot grrl.

Since my wife and I were able to see this movie for free, I found it passable entertainment. If I had to pay for it, I'd say wait for video or HBO. The movie is only 85 minutes long, its a perfect date movie for married couples who don't want to pay their baby sitter an arm and a leg for a night out.

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Deborah and I caught The Island at a sneak preview this evening at the eMagine Theatre in Canton. I liked the first act, even though it had shades of Coma, Logan's Run and The 6th Day written all over it. If you're going to steal plot devices, why not steal them from the better movies in the genre? The second act had some of the best action scenes I'd seen, including the one where Ewan McGregor is releasing huge steel barbells into the path of those pursuing Scarlett Johansson and himself. It was the third act that I was completely disappointed in.
Consider:

• When the elite security team (lead by Djimon Hounsou) finally capture Scarlett's character, wouldn't you think that they would take a moment to pat-down their target to make sure she isn't carrying anything detrimental, like a gun? Especially someone as pat-downable as Scarlett Johansson?
• If your futuristic society is completely dependent on one control room that makes it all happen, wouldn't you think it would be protected by something more than bulletproof glass? Maybe a few security guards with futuristic weapons would be in order?
• If you're the svengali-like overlord of your futuristic society, wouldn't it be better to dispatch of one of your creations using a futuristic weapon than your bare hands?

Ewan McGregor did a decent job with his character. After six years of being stuck in the Star Wars morass of non-acting torpor, looks like he's having a lot of fun here. Scarlett Johansson looks great, as always, but doesn't fit the role of tough action heroine. Her trademark husky voice sounds petulant when she's yelling at the top of her voice. However, since I did enjoy the first two-thirds of the movie, I'd say it is worth a look. Too bad the people behind this movie didn't use the same level of imagination and craftsmanship to fashion a satisfying conclusion.

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I really liked Batman Begins. The only thing that will probably keep it from being a runaway blockbuster is that there have already been four previous Batman movies. The last one, Batman + Robin, really turned me off. Rubber nipples just ain't my bag.

I thought this movie did an excellent job of providing a backstory as to how Bruce Wayne morphed into Batman. This "prelog" did extend the movie by about 20-30 minutes, which is the prime reason why this movie is 140 minutes long. The next movie in this series (Batman Continues?) won't have to worry about this, though.

I was also amazed at the amount of dialog in this movie. I was pleasantly surprised, in fact. I feel like I need to see it again to make sure I got all of the dialog. I guess the days of turning your brain off during a comic book movie are over!

Another thing I liked about this movie: no villains die. In my opinion, as an on-again, off-again comic book geek, killing off villains is a cardinal sin. Wouldn't you like to see Dr. Octopus in a future Spiderman movie? I sure would. I know, I know, comic book heroes like Spiderman and Batman have dozens and dozens of villains, but not all of them would be that interesting on the big screen.

Negatives? Well, I didn't buy Katie Holmes as a gig city assistant district attorney for a second. Any of the women who've appeared on Law & Order have more toughness in their little pinky than Katie Holmes. Also, how many more times do we need to see Liam Neeson as the teacher, jedi master, etc.

So, even if you hold Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns in high regard, go see this new version. I admit, I do miss the Gothic heights Burton tried to elevate the character to in Batman Returns. (I'm probably the only one in that camp.) However, I more than appreciate the new serious and literate direction the series is going.

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My wife and I saw Sin City today. Yes, you read right. My wife and I. She actually wanted to see this movie more than I did. Not that I didn't want to see it--I did. But my wife is a trendoid and anything she typically likes to see anything that looks cool and has some buzz attached. The movie itself is as close to a live-action version of a comic book as I've ever seen, outside of Saturday-morning cartoons. I was a bit concerned that my wife may get turned off by the ultraviolence, but she was OK with it. Having read a number of comic books in my lifetime, I can say that what was on the screen is typically what you see in comic books. My wife didn't even have a problem with the Jessica Alba as stripper angle. Not that you see anything, you don't. You'll actually see more of Jessica in the current issue of GQ. I think it would be great if there would be some sequels, but I have a feeling that the film's content and R rating will keep box office receipts too low to make that a given.

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