she went to congratate him/flirt with him after the event where Rufus Sewell dropped out, and he ripped into her for being nothing but a dumb and pointless girl because damn it, it wasn't really winning.

You are correct. It's a great movie to watch on the treadmill.

I always thought Kate and Wat would end up together, and Wat would do all the cooking as she blacksmithed her heart out. Roland would end up with Jocelyn's maidservant, and Chaucer would wander merrily away.

So, that's one that Caroline Dhavernas will be leaving off her resume if she's smart then?

If she's smart she would kill everyone who saw her in it to forever eliminate any chance of that career fumble biting her in the ass. It should be an easy task, if my 5 minutes in the empty theater are any indication. (Note I left before she appeared onscreen and only found out she was in it years after the fact, so no need to bump me off!)

Speaking of seeing rotten movies in empty theaters, I just got back from watching A Sound of Thunder with 2 or 3 other masochists. The nonsensical plot made my head hurt, and the laughably bad CGI that comprised maybe half of the movie made me think fondly of the monster FX on Hercules and The Lost World in comparison .

However, it did manage to vastly exceed the lowered expectations I posted earlier. Our Hero Ed Burns not only runs in sweaty athletic fashion from assorted menaces throughout, but also has two lengthy scenes in which the camera slowly, lovingly pans over his boxers-clad body in beautiful early morning sunlight. Meanwhile, the very pretty actresses remain entirely covered up except for one blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene by an incidental character early on. I am amazed to discover that the director is apparently a straight family man, as opposed to being Family .

Key word: "apparently."

He has a wife and 3 kids, and of his other movies only the ones starring Jean Claude van Damme featured the lead actor in such a fashion. (And really, what else is there to feature with him?) Maybe it was the cinematographer's doing and afterwards Hyams said "Oh well, let's keep it. Maybe the beefcake factor will sell some extra tickets in San Francisco?"

Peter Hyams, huh? I liked Outland, but lately his movies have kinda sucked. But I suppose beefcakitude might be all that was salvageable about Sound of Thunder, based on reviews.

Definitely. Straight Men, save your money. Or give it to your significant others to go see the flick instead and be prepared to reap the benefits afterward.

Sadly, even with a Bradbury pedigree, I had exactly zero interest in seeing Sound of Thunder. Don't know why. Just did not grab me.

There was an article in Slate the other day to the effect that Ray Bradbury is, most of the time, a pulp-horror guy. And as such, not always strong with the plot,although awesome at atmosphere. Even if this new movie were not a hunky underpants movie, I still doubt it could be adapted with any ease. Same again, "The Crowd" or "The Jar" or "The Veldt" or most of his better short stories.

I saw The Brothers Grimm, and it was half goofball, whizbang romp and half quasi-serious story-development Hollywood Script Lesson adventure story. Kind of a weird mix, but some fun folktale mishmash excitement. Also, Heath Ledger as an hysteric.

Maybe it was the cinematographer's doing and afterwards Hyams said "Oh well, let's keep it.

6 of 1, half-a-dozen of the other. Hyams is the cinematographer and, according to ImDb, has been for the last 11 of his full-length movies. :)

Ah. I'm at a loss to explain then, but thankful nevertheless.