Best bet this weekend: Flushed Away

It's the rare film that will satisfy the whole family -- parents, little kids, teens, pets -- and Flushed Away is one of them. Charming, very funny, and visually spectacular, this collaboration between Aardman Features (the people who gave us Wallace and Gromit) and DreamWorks Animation (who gave us Shrek) brings together the best aspects of each studio: Aardman's painstaking attention to creating characters who are fully expressive even when they aren't speaking, as well as their dedication to gently sending up classic film, and DreamWorks' wonderful enthusiasm for expansive settings and beautifully realized action. And the voice performances are hilarious, especially Hugh Jackman as a pampered pet mouse, Ian McKellen as an evil toad, and Jean Reno as a sauve frog.

The other "family" movie opening this weekend, Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, wasn't exactly withheld from critics, but neither did Disney actually to go out of its way to get it in front of us spoilsports. I haven't seen the film, but the few critics who have aren't happy: the current Freshness rating of 19 percent at Rotten Tomatoes suggests that Disney was wise to keep it close to its red velvet vest. (Only 16 critics have so far checked in with reviews; a film widely screened for critics would have upward of 100 reviews or more on Rotten Tomatoes by opening day.)

Not all films should be suitable for grownups and children alike, and I beg all responsible adults to keep the kiddies far, far from Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Sacha Baron Cohen is unquestionably a genius -- a mad genius perhaps, but a genius nevertheless -- and his outrageous poking at the underbelly of the American outlook reveals the unpleasant racism, sexism, and assumed superiority that dogs us as a nation. Baron Cohen is reportedly stunned that his film received an R rating, and frankly I am, too: Borat is not suitable for the easily offended, or for those who cannot bear an unvarnished look in the mirror. If you can handle such things, and you're somewhere in the vicinity of one of the 800 or so screens on which the film is showing (it expands next week), then don't miss it. It's one of the most audacious movies I've ever seen, and one of the best films of the year.

Indie watch: It's a small weekend for indies as we all -- studios and lovers of serious film alike -- take a break and a deep breath before the holiday award season onslaught begins next week. The only "major" indie release today is Pedro Almodovar's Volver, starring Penelope Cruz, landing on five screens between New York and Los Angeles. But The Queen and Babel continue their slow rollouts, adding screens and adding cities and reveling, surely, in the kind of word-of-mouth that films barreling toward Oscars and Globes and critics' awards can only dream of.

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MaryAnn Johanson
author of The Totally Geeky Guide to The Princess Bride
minder of FlickFilosopher.com

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