Tammy and I had a rare and coveted free Saturday last weekend. We took the opportunity to see a matinee at the Movie Tavern. We decided to go see something brainlessly funny, something we wouldn’t have to think about, just some good old yuk-yuk entertainment. So we bought tickets for Mall Cop.

Ten minutes after the movie was supposed to start, after we’d already ordered our food, the manager stuck his head in and said he was replacing the bulb on the projector. “Hang tight.” Ten minutes later, he stuck his head in again and gave us the bad news. The project was a “no worky.” We could either get a refund or see something else.

Several times over the last few months, Tammy and I have lamented that Hollywood is just not putting out anything we want to see. Gory horror flicks, sappy chick-flicks, and feel-bad sob stories just aren’t worth my twenty bucks. I’d like to see Grand Torino, but that is not a “Tammy movie.”

The only other option that was even on our radar was Coraline. I had a feeling it was going to be too weird and gothic for Tammy (and that turned out to be true) but it was all we had left.

I’m a big fan of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and the sub-genre that it spawned. So Corline had an automatic head start on my review. It was only available in 3D, which may have canceled out that head start. There’s a big wave of 3D movies coming out and I’m just not a fan. The technology has been around for 50 years. Oooh, the thing reaches out from the screen in that one seen and makes your head rock back. I get it. If it doesn’t contribute to the whole experience of the movie, it’s not worth wearing the uncomfortable plastic glasses for two hours.

Coraline, like Despereaux, is based on a book, which means you have to go into it with that in mind, knowing that there’s more to the story that you won’t see, knowing that the plot will not follow normal movie patterns, and knowing that it might feel a little awkward in this medium.

With that in mind, the story is great. It has a great moral (eventually) and it’s entertaining. It is weird. It is gothic. It has a heavy dose of tween girl angst. (Didn’t that used to be teen angst? When did angst move in to elementary school?) But, ultimately it’s a fun story for grown-ups too.

I feel I should warn you. I would not take someone younger than, say, 12 to see Coraline, despite the target audience. It’s got some really scary scenes. And there is one scene, which I would call PG-13 (or worse). Without giving away too much, imagine (or rather, try not to imagine) an overweight septuagenarian dancing and singing wearing a bejeweled thong and pasties. Yeah. Ick.

My heart for the genre is just enough to pull this movie up to three grins.

I’m not sure how this review fell through the cracks. I saw this movie in the theater months ago and just stumbled across this draft this morning.

I understand the less than stellar reviews from some. The Tale of Despereaux is not Toy Story or Madagascar. Don’t expect to see Buzz Lightyear kitsch, or Shrek fart-jokes. It is a fairy tale of the finest sort.

I am a long time fan of CGI animation, since the days before Pixar was a household name (and I do love Toy Story). The artistry and technical achievements in this film leave me speechless. The characters emoted better than many live-action films. (They did seem to cut a couple of corners on non-critical characters. The cat was pretty bad by comparison, but it’s only in two scenes.)

The feel is very literary, as it should be. And you get the feeling they made some sacrifices to get the book to the screen. (Don’t they always?) The film makes me want to read the book and see what I missed. Still, the story stands well on it’s own.

The voice talent (What a star packed cast!!) was held in check allowing the story to shine through. You don’t find yourself thinking, “Hey, it’s Robin Williams!” or “Hey, it’s Mike Meyers!” (Thank God!) Instead, you enjoy the characters and only momentarily think, “I think I know that voice.”

It may be too cerebral (read “old skool”) for some of today’s iPod, Dragon Ball Z, Nintendo DS, 24/7 non-stop stimulation generation, but it’s exactly the kind of story they need.

I enjoyed the movie and will likely own it, but only because of my irrational need to own all of Pixar’s movies. I think the little mouse earned 3 grins

I just sent the following to both of my U.S. Senators, Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn. I strongly recommend you do the same before it’s too late. It’s likely Bronco Bomber’s spending bill will go to a vote in the next couple of days.

As usual, I want to thank you for the work you do representing our conservative values in Washington.

I have grave concerns about President Obama’s spending package. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that Rooseveltian government spending will not work to buoy the economy.

But far beyond the bad economics, I’m concerned about the billions of dollars that left wing Liberals are tucking into this bill that will undermine conservative values on multiple fronts.

It is clear to the American people that this “stimulus” bill is little more than a pay back to all of the ultra-liberal organizations that supported democrats in the last election.

Millions of dollars will go to Planned Parenthood to kill more babies, ACORN to sponsor more racism and hatred in inner city minorities. Even the “green” spending, from what I hear, is rife with anti-religious conditions.

I, along with many Texans, were sorely disappointed when both of our senators voted for the banking bailout after some sweeteners were added. Please don’t disappoint us again. Make it clear that your constituents will not stand for this bill. I have no confidence that “compromise” or “bipartisanship” can fix all that’s wrong with this bill. It must be rejected and a clean start made.

Thank you for your time.

My entire life can be summed up in this weeks white boa… Dangit, I forgot my lunch AGAIN!

How many kids with ADD does it take to screw in a li… HEY! Let’s go ride bikes!!