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First, I saw Memoirs of a Geisha and...well it did a lot to educate the audience about what a geisha really does, and I learned some things too. The plot ended up being pretty cliched girl-meets-boy kind of stuff in the end, but the world it was set in was beautiful and eye-opening, just like I predicted.

Second, I finally saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith and LOVED it - what a fun ride it was. Strange how sometimes I like remakes and sometimes I don't...

This week has been kind of strange in terms of movies being released, so I missed a couple with my last review, and there aren't any new ones coming out today really. So you may have already seen these, but here we go:

Fun with Dick & Jane: a bit short on time and plot, but in the midst of the predictable rise and fall and rise of Dick Harper's finances are some of the most well-conceived hilariously-executed original comedy moments I've seen (although this is a remake...one more for 2005, sigh). Jim Carrey rarely disappoints (well, percentage-wise...he's made so many movies that he's got quite a few stinkers, actually). And David Duchovny's beautiful wife rises to meet his comic genius. None of the rest of the character's are really important to us, but Richard Jenkins gives us some good sad-drunk stuff and Carlos Jacott's recurring "son of a bitch!" strangely never fails to draw laughs. Alec Baldwin is useless and wasted as the evil greedy corporate executive. I'm shocked that an actor with Baldwin's resume couldn't bring some more life to this character but he ends up doing a Bill Clinton impersination the whole time (I guess when you're thinking "scandalized public figure"...). Anyhow it was a good romp for 90 minutes.

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 - I already don't like remakes or pointless sequels. This was a movie based on a movie based on a book, and it only had ONE similarity - there were twelve kids in the family. Everything else was a total departure. I also hate movies with incompetent dads who don't spend enough time with their kids, but that's just a personal thing (I think it has something to do with fear of turning out that way). So making a useless sequel to this movie really has me on edge. I'm not at all happy with Hollywood for doing this repeatedly this year, and this is just another straw on a broken camel's back. Much like beating a dead horse.

King Kong - and yet here's a remake that I'm actually excited about seeing. I'm intrigued by it mainly because I haven't seen the original, and the more I discover about the new one the more I wonder about the old one and the mystery involved in the whole idea. This is one of the great cinematic pieces and I've not yet discovered all it has to offer. So probably the new one will be great fun and pretty faithful but of course I will want to see the old one first. Plus I respect Peter Jackson. Yes I'm a LOTR sucker, what can I say.

The Ringer - this is the second movie I've seen at the end of the year that makes its audience cringe with the apparent exploitation of the physically or mentally handicapped. Johnny Knoxville in the special olympics? So he gets hit in the head with stuff just as often as his co-stars who are only special to him because they are so different. I guess fat actors have gotten over getting cast in parts that need fat people, and plenty of midgets like getting short roles, but is it insulting to an actor to get cast in a role becuase "we need some retards"? If they're cool with it then I'm not gonna get offended on their behalf (but I know about 50% of Americans who will), and it should be a pretty funny movie.

That's all I can stomach for now, folks. Go watch Rudolph, Charlie Brown, and Jimmy Stewart for all your Christmas needs, and have a happy New Year!

I'll recap my Christmas experience more when I get back from seeing my dad's side of the family up in Baltimore this weekend

Peace and popcorn grease!