i’ve also seen a lot of movies lately, some great, some not. you can glean the recommendations versus the warnings from these:

les triplettes de belleville – 2 stars

if you go in expecting a really amazing piece of animation, you’ll be pleased to get it for sure — it’s an outstanding work. if you go in hoping for a good movie, like i did… well, you will have wished you spent those 8 dollars on a pizza, like i did too. it’s hard to get into a story with no dialogue and no characters you get emotionally attached to, at least for me. and i could have really murdered a pizza too.

dead man – 5 stars

jim jarmusch film starring johnny depp and a lot of cameos. fantastic characters, music from neil young, delicious pacing, cool dialogue. slow, but terrific.

sabrina – 2 stars

audrey is always adorable, but this one had way less personality than roman holiday, which i would rather watch any time.

raising arizona – 3 stars

a little slapsticky, but still surprisingly literate for a kidnapping movie. always love the coens. what’s with nick cage’s hair though?

elf – 3 stars

if you’re hesitating because it looks like a kids’ movie, well, it is, but if you’re a fan of will ferrell at all it’s definitely still worth it and a better christmas movie than seeing jim carrey butcher a childhood classic.