tgregg-1

I WANTED to like this movie, but fell victim to the hype about no hype, and so I bought a NEW copy and found it to be easily the worst movie of the new century. The premise is fine, but the execution is terrible. It could have been a "Blade Runner" parody, but, instead, if could have been written by one of the cretins who populate the story's society. It's always good to see Luke (and Owen) Wilson's brother Andrew, who has a small role near the end, and it was good to see Robert Musgrave (like Andrew, Owen and Luke Wilson), a star from one of the great comedy films of the last century, "Bottle Rocket". Other than the kudos, there were more, but the actors mercifully opted for no credit, this was a bad, bad, bad movie. Surely fans of "Jackass" and "Jackass 2" would have found this film DUMB AND DUMBER.

What if the aliens of "Signs" had been friendly? Well, now we know. "Lady" is a tour de force for Paul Giammati (multi-faceted and brilliant, as usual) and Bryce Howard, but a huge step in the wrong direction for Shyamalan and his story-telling prowess, somewhat arrogantly depicted in his signature (and a bit-too-lengthy here) on-camera performance. Picture a fairy tale within a fantasy within too much of the "Signs" story (and music?), and you have a "Lady in the Water". As a big fan of Night, I've been enthralled by his tales of space creatures, comic book heroes and...yes...dead people. This movie is being critically panned, and, unfortunately, for good reason. Still, Giammati's performance is almost worth the price of admission...if, you attend an afternoon matinée.

This is a jewel of a short film, featuring always-brilliant Kevin Pollack. He plays a self-important psychiatrist who's found professional nirvana with a flock of dutiful patients suffering from varying psychoses, none of which he makes must of an effort to address. We meet each of his patients in a cleverly created montage, which features the good doctor's tricks to keep them coming back for more. His world is then rocked when he receives a phone call informing him he has just six weeks to live. It's amazing what a little vulnerability--and brutal honesty--can do to change people's lives. This is a first-rate short film, nominated for an Academy Award. The supporting cast shines and makes perfect use of every second on camera. You'll be wishing for more when "Our Time Is Up".