Christmas Movies created by the not easily bored Grinch

On Christmas we saw Marley and Me. It is a book that I have not read. I like dogs and this movie is about a dog that is a little out of control as a puppy but who grows to be a family stalwart. Marley eventually dies. My wife read the book and said it was wonderful warm and inspiring. But the movie is at best methodical. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston seem to read their lines - the whole perfomance is flat. The movie is also very long. This is not a great kids movie. USA Today said "Just don't expect the human portion of the story to wow you." Now that is an understatement.

We saw the curious case of Benjamin Button today. Benjamin Button is an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story that takes about an hour to read. Unfortunately the director of this likes to draw things out. My wife thought Brad Pitt was excellent. I thought the whole thing was a big bore. Fitzgerald's novella offers, at least as I remember it, some great commentary on the passage of time. What would happen if a person were born old and then regressed? But the movie is just long. Ken Turan of the LA Times raised the question "you have to wonder why everyone bothered." I did not get why the movie, which Fitzgerald wrote in 1921 was set in pre-hurricane Katrina New Orleans.

Marley has done $36 million while Button has done about $10 million less. My son in law commented at one point that he would rather go to a place where they pulled his fingernails out one by one than go to see Marley, I wish I had listened!
We also saw Four Christmases. We knew what we were getting into. But even then it was a disappointment. It was Vince Vaughn playing Vince Vaughn. He does a pretty convincing job of it. But a reprise of the self centered man about town runs thin the thirtieth time is has been presented. Of the three Four Christmases was the least disappointing merely because it was thoroughly what we expected. All three were at bargain matinees - and for at least two of them I thought I got ripped off - even with the discount.

We do want to see Slumdog Millionaire. This is an Indian movie but a director who Ken Turan says never makes the same movie twice (the other three above were reprises of previous performances or movie directions). We're also looking to Gran Torino - which looks like another good shot from Clint Eastwood. But so far this season has been a bust.