It's the holidays: piss off

The brief Times Holiday Movies section, which has lots of overlap from the Fall Movies section a couple of months ago. As then, I've stripped Dave Kehr's comments down to a fair-use sampling, but herewith links to his full wrap-up, divided into November and December/January.

As usual, I'm joined by Jennie Tonic.

November 5

• Tussenstand (Stages)--Dutch depression; 4. 2.

November 7

• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas--Another feel-good Holocaust flick (and I see they've dropped the Brit spelling of pyjamas); 2. 3.
• Gardens of the Night--Creepy child-abuse flick; 3. 3.
• The Guitar--Directorial debut of Amy Redford; yep: daughter. Poster featuring Saffron Burrows will be on many dorm room walls. 3. 4.
• JCVD--2. 3.
• Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa--No. 2.
• Otto; or, Up with Dead People--Per Kehr, "a comic fable about a young gay zombie . . . who finds himself cast in a German avant-garde horror movie"; well, hell, 4. 3.
• Pray the Devil Back to Hell--3. 3.
• Repo! The Genetic Opera--4. 2. TWO?! How can you be a 2?!
• Role Models--Having seen a trailer, I've dropped from "soft 3" to 2. 2.
• El cielo gira (The sky turns)--3. 4.
• Soul Men--Soft 3. 3.
• The World Unseen--3. 3.

November 12

• Slumdog Millionaire--OK, Danny Boyle, but still, 3. 3.

November 13

• Dinner with the President: A Nation's Journey--I should really be interested, I suppose, in "a documentary portrait of contemporary Pakistan, as a country divided by class, religion and cultural ambitions"; I mean, jeez, it's probably the most important place in the world right now; seriously, get interested! And yet, soft 3. 3.

November 14

• The Beautiful Truth--Barely 2. 2.
• Un conte de Noël (A Christmas tale)--Strong 4. 4 (Amalric).
• Dostana--Sort of a Bollywood I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry/Three's Company? Soft 2. 2.
• The Dukes--No, Not of Hazzard. Of doo-wop: 3, wanting to feel more 4ish. 3.
• Eden--3. 3.
• Das Haus der schlafenden Schönen (House of the sleeping beauties)--May I take the liberty of replaying our previous responses? 2: creeparama! 2, blech.
• How About You--Yet another dysfunctional-family holiday flick; Imelda Staunton's a plus: soft 4. 3+.
• Nobel Son--3. 3+.
• Quantum of Solace--Yeah, sure, 4. 4.
• We Are Wizards--3. 2.

November 19

• Harvard Beats Yale 29-29--5 (see the previous seasonal blurbs if that's a puzzler). 3.
• Special--2. 2.

November 21

• Nerakhoon (The betrayal)--3. 4 (but definite, because of NY immigrant).
• Bolt--3. 1.
• I Can't Think Straight--Lesbian Romeo and Juliet in London; hopeful 3, despite horrible pun of title. 4.
• Lake City--3. 3.
• Twilight--OK, Dr. Debs: you've persuaded me (it certainly wasn't the Times story) to come up to 3. 2.
• Were the World Mine--OK, maybe this is more than fair use, but I must quote Kehr at length: "Cast as Puck in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a gay high school student discovers the recipe for Shakespeare’s love potion and uses it to spread gender confusion throughout his conservative small town"; can you say "either fabulous or fabulously bad"? A hoping-against-hope 3. 3; intriguing.

November 26

• Australia--Maybe it'll be lots better than I fear, but for sure I'll be glad to stop seeing the trailers; skeptical 3. 3-.
• Four Christmases--Seen a trailer now, and notwithstanding Reese and Vince, 2. 3 (cast could charm).
• Milk--5. 4.
• Transporter 3--No. 1.

November 28

• Antarctica--Just a short hop from Australia. Except, of course, that that looks relentless hetero, while this is "a comedy about a brother and sister, both gay, who try to resolve their romantic conflicts with the aid and advice of an overbearing mother, played by the drag performer Noam Huberman under his stage name, Miss Laila Carry." Well, gotta be a better mom than Travolta; 3. 3.
• Rome & Jewel--Gave this a Shakespearean 3 earlier, but now that I've decided to do for Romeo and Juliet this winter what I did for Hamlet last, 5. 3.

December 3

• Staub (Dust)--3. 2.

December 5

• Cadillac Records--Oh, hell, yeah: strong 4. 4.
• Frost/Nixon--4, verging on 5. 4.
• Punisher: War Zone--No, and stop asking me! 1.
• Los cronocrímenes (Timecrimes)--Intriguing but unlikely: hopeful 3. 3.

December 10

• Wendy and Lucy--4. 4.

December 11

• Herbert--"Postmodernist comedy" with a paranormal twist; sure: 4. 3; interesting.

December 12

• Che--The 5est 5 of the season. 5, but prepared for disappointment. Yes, well, revolutionaries must always be.
• Dark Streets--4, as much on the soundtrack as anything else. Hm. 4?
• The Day the Earth Stood Still--Still 3, but leaning toward conditional acceptance of Keanu in the Michael Rennie role. Story in the Times mainly makes me think I should Nf the original, which I haven't seen in decades. 3.
• Delgo--Huh? 2. 1.
• Doubt--Trailer looks terrific; strong 4. 4+.
• Fados--4. 4.
• En la ciudad de Sylvia (In the city of Sylvia)--3. 3.
• Nothing Like the Holidays--Pushed back from 14 November: sign of editing trouble, or just an attempt to avoid the November yulelogjam of holiday flicks? Doubtful 3. 3.
• Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi--2. 2.
• The Reader--4, and I intend to read the novel by then. 4, I guess.
• What Doesn't Kill You--Hopeful 3, maybe even soft 4. 3–; same old crap.
• While She Was Out--Skeptical 3. 2.

December 17

• Gran Torino--Did we know Clint was doubling-down this season? This sounds a little like a repentant Dirty Harry; hopeful 3. 3.
• The Wrestler--Buzz on this has been huge, particularly for Mickey Rourke's performance; directed by Darren Aronofsky, strong 4. 3.

December 19

• The Brothers Bloom--4. 3.
• Nothing But the Truth--Skeptical 3. In fact, let's just say 2: it'd be different if Farmiga starred and Beckinsale was in a supporting role rather than the reverse. 3.
• Seven Pounds--3. 3-.
• The Tale of Despereaux--3. 3.
• Yes Man--Jim, get help, now; 2. 3-.

December 24

• La Graine et le mulet (The secret of the grain)--3, and still pissed off about the whitebread title rendering. 4.
• Theater of War--3. 3.

December 25

• Bedtime Stories--Adam, get help, now; 2. 3–; isn’t this basically Night at the Museum? No, you're confused: see, there's no museum. It's more like Night in the Kids' Bedroom, so way creepier.
• Entre les Murs (The class)--4, but still pissed off about the whitechalkdust title rendering. 4.
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button--4, looks like the Xmas Day lunch front-runner. 4, I guess.
• Hurricane Season--Doubtful 3. 3-.
• Marley & Me--Ditto doubtful 3. 3+, because dog.
• The Spirit--3. 2.

December 26

• Last Chance Harvey--Hopeful 3. 4.
• Revolutionary Road--Hard 4; maybe I should try to read this in the next few weeks also. 3.
• Valkyrie--Worried 4. 4.
• Waltz with Bashir--3. 3.

December 31

• Defiance--As I've carped repeatedly, don't like the trailer; 3. 3+.
• Good--Hopeful 4; I do like the Viggster. 3+; so 2009 is going to be the Year Against Nazis? Never could have happened pre-Obama.

January 9

• Bride Wars--Why would Anne Hathaway go from Rachel to this? Generous 2. 2.
• Venkovský ucitel (The country teacher)--3. 3+.
• Not Easily Broken--2. 3.
• Serbis--3. 3.
• Üç maymus (Three monkeys)--So I guess this will be only a quarter as good as that other flick? Still, hopeful 3. 3.
• The Unborn--Oy vey; 2. 2.

January 16

• Kirschblüten--Hanami (Cherry blossoms--Hanami)--Soft 3. 3.
• My Bloody Valentine 3-D--Oh, let's just not mess around w/ any numbers here; just say no bloody way. 1.
• Notorious--First it was Spellbound, now another documentary filmmaker steals a mid-'40s one-word Alfred Hitchcock title; next, Lifeboat, about the post-election night GOP; 3. 4, because shot in my ’hood.
• Paul Blart: Mall Cop--Well, something has to be the worst studio film of 2009, doesn't it? 1. 3. THREE?????!!!!!!! Oh, christ, go online and watch the trailer right now!