Jackson could easily have removed a half hour of battles and chases, and probably another half hour of ‘ambiance’ and produced much stronger characters. The evidence is right there on the DVD. But that wasn’t the choice he made, and I think that’s a common theme.

And I’m all for repealing the ban on cell phone jammers.

***

Sideways – Nice enough but nothing special.

The Incredibles – Noisy and violent, jokes weren’t funny, I walked out.

Downfall – Brilliant! Best take on the Nazi nihilism since Fritz Lang’s Testament of Dr. Mabuse way back in 1932, and the only good film on this list.

Melinda & Melinda – Good but not great, maybe a B+.

Kingdom of Heaven – Nice photography, but submental and boring as hell. Can’t believe I watched it.

Sin City – Not great, but different and stylish, and I liked the Dirty Harry/John Wayne ethos of the thing. (Odd that conservatives all ganged up on the most bluntly right-wing film of the year.)

House of Wax – Paint by numbers, I walked out.

Star Wars – Long and retarded. Not as bad as the previous ones, but then how could it be?

The Interpreter – More nice photography (Darius Khondji!), but its politics were as muddled as its storytelling. Feh.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – Kinda cute but largely routine, chix may like it.

Cinderella Man – Very good, even though we’ve seen it all before.

***

So there you have it. Inspired? No? Neither am I. Few outright turkeys, but only one film that was actually good – good enough to remember a decade from now – and that one (Downfall) came from abroad. The rest of them are little more than filler.

And Joe Schmoe is right – Vaudeville was a much better education than film school. Film school grads are all whiny dorks who still think it’s the height of cool to have blood go “pssssshhhhhhhhhh” in slow motion.

Exactly–not least because once forced to find alternatives, you don’t have any reason to go back. I wonder if French wines have regained any market share from the Australians?

In the theatre iteself, on top of making me pay to watch advertising, they roar it out at me at ear numbing volume and over-bassed enough to shake my seat. The movie comes on at the same volume and I despise it and the operators who are so stupid. It’s like being in a restaurant kept too cold for the customers because it keeps the staff comfortable.

The entertainment industry needs to make up its mind. Aim at 17 year old males and alienate everyone else, or aim at a broad market and include most 17 year old males. I need a clean theatre, proper volumes, decent seats, food, drink etc. Give me that and I might pay a $3.00 per drink margin…but the drink better not be a watered down coke. Without that, by-bye, ciao, sayonara, auf wiedersehen.