Either you enjoy the films of Noah Baumbach, or you find the whole enterprise pretentious and annoying and wonder why anyone would want to spend another moment in the presence of his characters. Greenberg may mark the apogee of this distinction. Chloe isn't nearly as good as his masterpiece, Where the Truth Lies, but it is an Atom Egoyan film and deserves watching. I hope that all the Mormons who fought to ban gay marriage -- as seen in 8: The Mormon Proposition -- will expend an equal amount of energy fighting other supposed biblical prohibitions. Like, you know, following false prophets like Joseph Smith! What a bunch of fucking weirdos.
DVD Tuesday: Greenberg Meet Chloe
Box Office Review: How To Make a Dragon Movie
Parents and kids (and critics) were totally charmed by How To Train Your Dragon as it easily won the weekend box office race. It's huge haul of $43.3M demolished previous champ Alice in Wonderland ($17.3M | $293.1M) and disappointing newcomer Hot Tub Time Machine ($13.6M). The terrible, shitty, depressing The Bounty Hunter actually had a decent hold in its second frame ($12.4M | $38.8M) while Diary of a Wimpy Kid was clearly the victim of a nasty dragon bite ($10M | $35.7M).
Weekend Movie Guide: Gonna Get In The Hot Tub!
Week by week, trailer by trailer, Hot Tub Time Machine is growing on me. Now, I'm really itching to see it (and not just to see aging hottie Jessica Pare slumming it in a thankless role). Is it this year's The Hangover? We'll see on Monday morning! Atom Egoyan definitely belongs on the list of directors who never get the notoriety they deserve. Chloe looks fantastic (and not just because crush object Amanda Seyfried is all kinds of naked in it). What's the best reviewed movie of the week? How about How to Train Your Dragon. I love that the filmmakers employed ace DP Roger Deakins as a consultant. Does Pixar finally have a challenger?
Pencil This In: Marvin Hamlisch at UCLA's Freud Playhouse, Oscar Docs Screening
The film series Reel Talk with Stephen Farber presents the new Atom Egoyan film Chloe tonight at 7 pm in the Wadsworth Theatre. The film is a psychological thriller with Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried. Guest speakers tonight include screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson. Tickets $20. $10 student rush tickets available one hour before the show.
DVD Tuesday, uh, Wednesday!
It was good to see Sam Raimi dipping his toes into the horror pool again with Drag Me to Hell. Even better to see the great Alison Lohman headlining a film. She's had me since White Oleander and secured my eternal loyalty by stealing Matchstick Men. I'm glad that Sandra Bullock's career hasn't gone south like, say, Meg Ryan's, but I still ain't gonna watch The Proposal. One of the summer's biggest flops was Land of the Lost, and yet I still laughed quite a bit when I saw it. Such is the allure of Will Ferrell: he either works for you and you don't care or you don't care. If you haven't acquainted yourself with the films of Atom Egoyan, start acquainting! Adoration isn't up to the level of Where the Truth Lies or Exotica, but it's worth your time.
Where The Ratings Lie
Director Atom Egoyan will have a hard time selling his new film Where The Truth Lies. The MPAA slapped a rare NC-17 rating on the flick for explicit sexual scenes between the three costars: Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth and Rachel Blanchard. The movie also stars Alison Lohman.

