Yeah, the Polar Express thing just bugs me -- it looks so wrong somehow.

They showed a clip from the movie during Gilmore Girls last night. It was awful. Not only did all the characters look totally freaky, but they must have hired the cheapest composer in Hollywood. The song sucked, and Tom Hanks cannot sing

This is why I love my Tivo. So far, my favorite Polar Express review is from New York Magazine, purely for this opening line:

Strap yourself in and try not to vomit, because this is more of a theme-park event than a movie

DH and I saw Beyond the Sea last night, and it was every bit the excessive ego trip for Kevin Spacey that we expected. I ended up liking it in spite of myself, just because it was so ridiculously overblown that my choices were either (a) go with it or (b) continue to roll my eyes until they fell out of my head. There's about an hour in the middle that has almost nothing to redeem it (why do people keep casting Kate Bosworth in things when she really can't act and isn't even all that pretty?), but the music is fantastic throughout, and the beginning and the end hinge on this utterly absurd framing device that you can either hate outright, or shake your head and just accept that, yes, it sucks, but it sucks in an oddly endearing way.

Really, the only good thing about this film is the soundtrack. I enjoyed most of it in spite of itself, but I wouldn't blame anyone who wanted to smack me for recommending it.

Thin Man, Third Man -- both good, but very different styles. I'd recommend both, but not together as a double feature.

OTOH, my current double feature is Costume Dramas -- Forever Amber and Barry Lyndon.

The Third Man is the bestest the most awesome movie EVER and everyone should watch it RIGHT NOW.

Except, crap. Now I'm earwormed with that spookily cheerful zither music.

OTOH, my current double feature is Costume Dramas -- Forever Amber and Barry Lyndon.

Fred, in the imortal words of Joel Hodgson, you are one freaky mammajamma.

Re The Third Man: What. Vonnie. Said. Asscaps and all.

Polar Express? Uncanny Valley, all the way. I've been gritting my teeth through previews of it at every movie Hec and I have taken Emmett to since approximately April, terrified to make a sound lest Emmett suddenly be overcome with a desire to, like, see it or something (it's one of his favorite books). It looks like 96 minutes in the Uncanny Valley, with bonus Leni Riefenstahl as a gift with purchase. I'm madly in love with the last paragraph of Stephanie Zacharek's review in Salon:

I could probably have tolerated the incessant jitteriness of "The Polar Express" if the look of it didn't give me the creeps. The movie is more meticulously detailed than real life is -- even the characters' eyeballs have texture. Their skin moves with the pliability of warm latex, and it glows with an alien sheen. If nothing else, "The Polar Express" wears its dollar signs all over the screen: Appliqu&eacutr;ing all that wonder on, with such tight little stitches, sure is labor intensive. And if you think I'm being too tough on "The Polar Express," you're probably right. So I ask you to look at this rapturous holiday idyll with the eyes of a child. Just please give them back when you're done.

I may need to use the last two sentences as a tagline.

I was watching Ebert and Roeper the other night, and I swear, Ebert went into some kind of Seizure of Rapture, talking about how The Polar Express is one of those instant-classic children's movies that will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with The Wizard of Oz in time.

I may go see it, for I'm one of those weirdos who like being creeped out.

Re The Third Man: What. Vonnie. Said. Asscaps and all.

Oh, man. The cat and the shadow (one of the best entrances of a character ever.) The cukoo clock speech. The killer atmosphere. The marvellous Trevor Howard. And that long, wordless last scene, which just... GUH. Can't even articulate it properly. It kills me.

There was a hilarious bit with Brian Wilson semi melting down.

Sue, that's funny. I was just talking about that the other night -- one of the guys who went to see Brian Wilson with me was talking about crazy Wilson appears to be, and I mentioned seeing Theramin and that Disney biopic I Just Wasn't Made For These Times on the same night. The Disney one only played 10-second clips of Brian speaking (rather lucidly, too), but Theramin was kind enough to let the man rant.

A friend sent me a DVD of Beautiful Dreamer, the documentary about the making of SMiLE. If you get the chance to see this, do. It has some absolutely amazing scenes and it brought me and my wife to tears when Brian & the Wondermints launched into "Our Prayer" at the first performance of SMiLE in London.

And yeah, P-C, The Third Man is extraordinary. The Thin Man is entertaining, but it's not up to the uncanny blend of art & entertainment of The Third Man.

I've heard lots of reviewers say good things about "Polar Express" but it just looks really creepy to me.

No kidding. Don't think I'll be catching that one.