A Muddled Brown

I've never been a reader of reviews. They're too similar to a weather report. I understand being cautioned against natural disasters but nobody ever said, "If only I had checked Weather.com, I might not have lost my prized possessions in that tsunami." Like the weather, it's obvious when a movie is going to be good or bad. Yes, you may L-O-V-E that movie, but you might also enjoy a sizable helping of beef stroganoff and for that reason we will not be doing dinner and a movie.

This week I've seen four movies that range from ok to awful. Here are my reviews.

Greenberg: Better than I thought it would be. I heard that Stiller played a horrible person undeserving of love. I find that he plays a lovable person, undeserving of love. (Edith Carissimi, the manager of Musso & Frank's passed away this week. It's a sad day for foodies and landmark lovers.)

American Grindhouse: Its a good introduction to exploitation films. It's an even better introduction to Kim Morgan, whose expressions make the 101 level documentary worth it.

Red White & Blue: No.

Hot Tub Time Machine: The story is surprisingly unpredictable. Yet predictably mediocre. There are too many cringe inducing moments, such as John Cusack and Lizzy Caplan positioning themselves on a kitchen counter a la Sixteen Candles. He's better than Lizzy Caplan. He's better than Sixteen Candles. For God's sake he was in Sixteen Candles and he was better than it then. If he should be honoring the work of anyone it should be his. Hot Tob was the perfect opportunity to ski down the mountain with one ski. Or at least shout, "I want my two dollars!"