Groundhog Day

I must be missing a gene or something. Everyone else seems to love this movie; I'm less enthusiastic. I wouldn't call this a laugh riot, but the film also isn't gentle enough in its vision to be a heartwarming story either; there's a little too much of a cynical, acerbic air to really accept the emotional stuff at face value. Thus, the film winds up caught somewhere between two worlds--trapped in its own dilemma, as it were. Nor is this movie engaging for its entire length; in fact, I'm tempted to call some scenes downright boring. I guess it's good enough to avoid a HISS from the Bad Cat, but had I developed a more nuanced ratings system, this would probably get something below a MEOW.

The Ice Harvest

A run of the mill crime caper: the nervous partner; the crazier, cagier partner; the "perfect" crime; and how it all unwinds. All of this you've seen dozens of times before. This one brings its own unique touches of bad execution--Billy Bob Thornton's character, who seems more interesting than John Cusack's nervous shlub, disappears for long stretches of the story--to complement the standard issue cliches. It has its moments, as any professionally made movie will, but mostly it just leaves the viewer cold.