Movie: Playtime

Tour-de-force bad, on par with Russian Ark. We’re talking grand unique concept, huge execution, laudable acting & cinematography, worthy of adulation in all things – and it is unbelievably boring. Filmed in large-frame 70mm to capture all the detail, it indeed captures all the detail as intended ... so very much detail that, in a possible and unintended view thru an autistic’s eyes, anything akin to story and social interaction is almost completely lost amidst the surrounding activity.

Movie: How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days

a decent date movie that no guy would want to see with his date. I only consented to see it long after I married her. Very predictable, occasionally embarrassing, generally an amusing chick flick. Next movie?

Movie: WALL-E

Another win from Pixar, marred only by the slightly heavy-handed moralizing about environmentalism. A long-awaited attempt at a pop animation with minimal dialog. Cute, clever, insightful ... but I just can’t quite think of much to add here.

Movie: The Phantom of the Opera

Not the high-budget drama-laden tear-jerking love-story version. This is the same story, but shows that one story viewed slightly askance becomes sheer horror.

Movie: Corpse Bride

Another nifty over-the-top physical animation by Tim Burton et al, following the feel of The Nightmare Before Christmas without being a sequel. Pretty good if you like that kind of thing.

Movie: Pitch Black

Over-the-top yet uber-cool bad-ass guy movie. Ok, so it’s about escaping a crash-landing on a planet that rarely sees night, which of course our heros & anti-heros arrive just in time for, only to watch the crew picked off by light-fearing hungry alien beasts.

Movie: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

TV adaptations of stories rarely live up to the depth & edge we hope for. Too much time building up the lanky, irritating character of Ichabod Crane, too much time on the obligatory and non-canonical love triangle, and far too little time on the encounter with the real-after-all Headless Horseman.