Two more from the liberry

Trouble with the Curve: You  know how I know a movie is bad news? When it is about my favorite sport of baseball, when it is directed by and stars Clint Eastwood, and when it co-stars the awesome Amy Adams, yet I still have trouble motivating myself to watch it. I love Amy Adams as much as I love the sax solo in The Motels' "Only the Lonely"--which is to say, a lot--but Eastwood somehow almost turned me against her.

Yep, I knew this film would be a problem when the early commercials kept showing a scene in which Justin Timberlake (whose own presence means strikes 1, 2, and 3!) says to Adams about her backstory, "I'd love to hear it," and she gives him a snotty, "I don't want to tell it." I mean, this is one of my favorite actresses telling off Timberlake. It should be a huge applause line--no, it should inspire standing ovations. But it somehow turns me off. Right there, I knew I was not going to like "Trouble with the Curve."

Yet I watched it anyway. I was all prepared to do a snarky takedown of it, too, until I discovered sportswriter Joe Posnanski already did, and not only that, but he goes at it with the same approach I would have taken--not that I would have written anything nearly as good, but his likes and dislikes are pretty much as I just enumerated my own above. His breakdown of how terrible the film is at just about everything--including or maybe especially baseball--is way more entertaining than the film itself. Just read that.

Puss in Boots: Some day, the world will appreciate the genius of Antonio Banderas' brilliant characterization of the title character. In this animated feature, he proves he is not just a colorful sidekick in the "Shrek" franchise, but a creature capable of carrying his own film. I always had a soft spot for ol' Puss, whose combination of macho swagger with a willingness to utilize cat cuteness always cracks me up.  Salma Hayek almost steals the movie from HIM, though, she is so good.

To me, this is one of the more underappreciated toons in recent years. It has everything: comedy, adventure, a hint of romance...The story is actually compelling with some twists and vivid supporting players. I highly recommend this and anxiously await a sequel.