Fart -Jokes and Terror

When did we hit the age where a perfect Saturday night was a pajama-clad evening with a couple of movies and take-out? This weekend was no disappointment after a delightful shopping trip with fellow New Year's fun-doees Sarcastic and Cynical. For our cinematic pleasure, a Japanese adaptation starring our favorite Vampire Slayer and a celebrity-soggy animated comedy.

As with the other Pixar-wannabe films, Shark Tale was a mediocre repsonse to last year's gorgeous CG mega-hit Finding Nemo. 70 million dollars spent and all we got was an underwater retelling of A Bug's Life. Fish wants to be somebody special, doesn't realize what he has until he loses it all. But the plot is so heavy with fart-joke humor and cheap sterotypes that even the genius of falling down slapstick gets lost in the tired storyline. There were a few good laughs and the resemblace of the characters to their voices is kind of scary, in a positive way. Though not even a fraction as endearing as it's inspiration, this movie is clearly a big-budget knock-off packaged with the glitter of Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Renee Zelweger, and Jack Black. Save yourself an hour and a half and watch the Numa Numa video instead.

On the other hand...

The Grudge, a follow up to the equally terrifying The Ring, needs to be added to everyone's Halloween fright-fest collection. Watching this with the lights out is a sure way to keep yourself awake at night worrying about what's creeping up underneath your covers. Sarah Michelle Geller, rebounding from such previous classics as Scooby Doo 2 and I Know What You Did Last Summer, is actually quite watchable, though I kept wondering why she didn't speak in puns. Part mystery, part human drama, this beautiful film is terribly frightening and stays with you well past the credits. Even seeing the DVD cover jump out at you at Hollywood Video can cause an involuntary shudder. Excellent movie for a Saturday night.