I’m sure if the sky really did start to fall, it wouldn’t be as dramatic or as comical as Disney’s Chicken Little. It would probably be mildly annoying and barely funny at all – kind of like today’s incentive sketch.

I was actually amped at one point to see Chicken Little, but the reviews it’s been getting have been brutal. "Uninspired," "self-referential in substitution of wit" and "Pixar does it better" are some of the more harsh barbs that come to mind.

I guess I shouldn’t be totally surprised. I really haven’t had that much faith in Disney movies since Atlantis: The Lost Empire came out in 2001. It’s been downhill from there. Treasure Planet? Interesting concept, poor execution. Home on the Range? Did anyone even see that? I suppose not if Roseanne Barr is your lead actress.

Chicken Little seemed different. At least from outward apperances. Casting Zach Braff in the title role lends it geek credibility, but I don’t know if I’m going to pay good money and dumb myself down for 90 minutes just for Zach Braff.

On the other end of the pendulm this week is Jarhead. Sam Mendes from American Beauty is behind the lens and it looks pretty good. I’ve read reviews that say the movie is essentially about nothing. And not in that funny Seinfeld way. Nothing in the sense that the soldiers depicted on film fight absolutely no battles. They just sit on their hands waiting for action. A few critics have bristled at this, but Gulf War veterans are calling it the most realistic war movie ever made because that’s what actually happened. All this build up for war and then… nothing. The anticipation of what could happen eating away at you. Always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Politically, I don’t know how closely it’ll mirror our current situation in the MIddle East nor do I know if it has to. But you look at something like this and your mind kind of leaps to that conclusion –  "What’s the secret meaning behind all this?"

In any case, Cami and I won’t be seeing either film this weekend. Steve Martin’s Shopgirl (which I dissected in this strip) and which was given a soft release in select markets last week finally comes to Des Moines on Friday. Both Cami and I were big fans of Martin’ s original novella. In fact, I also own his book "The Pleasure of My Company" and his collected essays – "Pure Drivel". Great stuff. I might actually have to read Pure Drivel again. It’s been a while since I looked at it.

I think casing Claire Danes as Mirabell is inspired. She does that world-weary, sad-sack-but-emotionally-mature-and-brilliant thing exceptionally well ever since My So-Called Life. Of course no one could play the detached, yet sophisticated Ray Porter better than Martin himself. I have to give extra points for whoever decided to bring on Jason Schwartzman as Jermey. Not only because I think he’s a very effective comic actor, but because he snagged the role from Jimmy Fallon after he dropped out. That version of the movie I don’t think I would have enjoyed as much.

I have some more thoughts relating to the new stuff I threw in the rotating top banner that I’ll come back and express later today. In the meantime, enjoy your Friday – whereever you are!