Barney’s Version (Richard J. Lewis, 2010). You know, I loved American Splendor, in which Paul Giamatti played a curmudgeon, but this one mostly left me cold. I found Harvey Pekar fascinating in Splendor, but Barney in Version is more like Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt, another one I didn’t care for. Barney is a jerk, but somehow we’re supposed to find him lovable. I didn’t, despite Giamatti’s solid performance. Rosamund Pike is strong, as well, but other than that, 6/10.
Creature from the Black Lagoon (Jack Arnold, 1954). Watched it for the billionth time as this week’s Saturday Night Creature Feature. It’s fun to watch the 3D effects on a 2D screen, and I always like seeing Whit Bissell. Richard Carlson makes his second appearance in the short, three-week history of the Saturday Night Creature Features, and is as earnest as ever. Julie Adams is a real looker. Everyone my age has fond memories of this one, but I admit this time I was noticing that even though it only runs 79 minutes, it has boring stretches. So I’m going to lower its rating one notch from where I previously had it. 6/10.
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