In Bruges Serious stuff. Two hitmen are sent to Bruges (It's in Belgium) to lay low after their last job. As they await further instructions, things start to go south. It's like Snatch with a little restraint thrown in. When they run out of story they actually think it through and come up with something instead of turning the camera upside down and blasting Euro-trash while everyone starts shooting.

Penelope It was good. It's not the type of movie one would think I would enjoy but it was. A nice little bow-wrapped fairy tale with a little message here and a little laugh there. No off-color humor. A mincing plot twist. Good performances all around. I loved the production. It takes place is this sort-of timeless London but switches gears to suit itself here and there. There's some Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam in there for good measure, but just a dash.

Smokin' Aces Starts out like Snatch, and I liked that part. It ended like Usual Suspects, and I hated that part. A worhtless final act on what could have been a very fun movie.

Dark Ride Pretty weak, even for a by-the-book slasher flick.

Juno Take an edgy subject, some local dialog and sprinkle in some left-of-center undergound indie alt-rock songs and you have Juno.

Really, though, the movie was charming. It got to the people in the audience big time. During the scene in the basement where Jason Bateman is dancing, the women in the audience were actually wincing and turning away. They really felt it.

Straightforward and without pretense, Juno is a good movie.