Scott Marks must have changed his meds to something that softens the heart. Either that, or the Aussies know how to handle sentiment and singing. At any rate, he really liked The Sapphires.

He was less impressed with the "easy marriage of convenience between movies and TV" represented by The Waiting Room. I mean, if there's gonna be an easy marriage of convenience in an ER, it better involve George Clooney. Hey-o!

My pick of the week is Blancanieves. THIS is how you retell Snow White. Well, maybe except for the ending, which takes things from Brothers Grimm to Brothers Bleak. But as for the rest: yes to the setting, yes to the look, yes to the use of the dwarves, yes to the added dynamics between father and daughter, yes yes yes.

Speaking of endings, there is something satisfying about the blood-soaked final showdown in the Evil Dead remake. But it's not enough to make for a satisfying night at the horror show.

I wish I could rave about The Place Beyond the Pines. It's set in my native Upstate New York! It invests our interest in regular people facing regular problems! It has a stellar cast and epic ambitions! But alas. For me, it fizzled. Epic gave way to sprawling, and the drama just leaked away like air from a punctured motorcycle tire.

You don't need me to tell you anything about Jurassic Park 3D. It's Jurassic Park. It's in 3D. That is all.

There are a couple of other things happening tonight that I'll mention in another post, but that about covers it for the Major Motion Picture Department. Toodles!