Week of 16 October 2006

Delight/Dud—Renaissance—This new French animated film is unlike anything I've ever seen with it's black and white only animation that achieve, nonetheless, a 3D quality. Unfortunately, the story needed to reveal the twist sooner in order to be as good as the animation.

Dud—Toby Jones—The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences has gotten itself into some trouble by giving a Best Actor Oscar® to Philip Seymor Hoffman for his portrayal of Truman Capote in Capote before seeing Toby Jones's do his thing in Infamous.

Dud—The Grudge 2—Yikes! This film was so disappointing. Convoluted, repetitive, and non-sensical. The best part of the film happens early before the opening credits, when Jennifer Beals improvises a new way of hitting her husband over the head with a frying pan. It's all down hill from there, and nearly no one can figure out exactly why she's in this film in the first place.

Double Dud—The Grudge 2—How on earth did The Grudge 2 beat out The Departed this weekend at the box office by $3 million? Come on kids!

Delight/Dud—Robin Williams in Man of the Year—It started off well with Robin Williams giving one of his best and most controlled performances since The Night Listener, I mean, since One Hour Photo, I mean since, on never mind. What was going on in Barry Levinson's mind when he decided to take all the potential fun out of this movie and instead turn it into a voting machine computer scandal film? Yuck. Is it yucky because it hits too close to home, or because he missed the boat on a really good time? Both, sadly, both.

Delight—Movie Preview for A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints—I saw the movie preview for the new Robert Downey, Jr. / Chazz Palminteri film, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, again three times this weekend, and I have to say it's one of the best movie previews I've ever seen. Sharp, edgy, provocative, with that great beat in the music in the beginning to which they are all walking, it is amazing. Split into two segments musically to match the change in time from the youth to older age of the characters, the editors of this trailer have created a mini-masterpiece.