Quick Jabs

Shrek 2

It's making green (excuse the pun) at the box office, and it's likely the kiddies will enjoy it for the most part. I found it boring as hell for the most part.

The Returner

Japanese (I think) sci-fi flik that blends many familiar plot elements together for a (mostly) interesting movie. There's even a bit of Transformers to be found here. Worth a look, but the English dub is horrible.

Psycho

TCM had a Hitchcock marathon tonight and I managed to catch this one. Of course I'd seen it before, but not in quite awhile. Like an idiot I spoiled it for the person I was watching it with, apparently they've been living under a rock. Still, I found myself amazed at the amount of detail and plot that Identity "borrowed" or "paid tribute to" during the course of that film. The comparison is obvious once you think about it, but Identity was so well made that it hadn't occured to me before now. I'm an idiot, like I said. For those that don't know, Hitchcock was a flippin' genius, and this is one of the best movies ever made.

Flight of the Navigator

An old Disney flik from the 80's, and one that was damn good. This doesn't get enough credit amongst the sci-fi crowd, mainly because it has quite a few borrowed story elements from other more popular films of the time. Basically it's the story of a kid that gets abducted by an alien spacecraft only to be returned back to Earth eight years later. While everyone else has aged, somehow he hasn't. Unlike alot of sci-fi B-movies, this one has a very well structured plot (even if it does use recycled elements) and a good explination for everything that pops up. I remember it fondly from my childhood, but usually things like that don't hold well over time. This does, in fact it's even more compelling now that I can understand what the film is talking about. Rent it, buy it, whatever, just watch it.

Twentysomething-Jamie Cullum

An English Jazz musician who's making a splash in the States, Jamie Cullum is amazing. Jazz fan or not, this is a must own. His renditions of The Wind Cries Mary, and Frontin' (a song written by Pharrel of the Neptunes, on the newest N.E.R.D. album I believe) are worth the price of admission. Add in All at Sea, These Are The Days, Twentysomething, and What a Diff'rence a Day Made and you've got a winner. Everything else is icing on the cake.

-L