You know what's so adorable this weekend at the movies that I could almost barf? We've got his-and-hers flicks opening. It's the ultimate luxury for the couple who has everything. I'd love to be a fly on the wall of the Affleck-Garner home on Sunday, when the early box-office returns start coming in. Do you think they made a bet? Box-office loser has to change the baby's diapers for a month?

We've got Smokin' Aces [my review], a simply dreadful entry in the ain't-cinematic-murder-sprees-fun genre, and it's so appalling that it makes you suddenly question whether other really cool similar movies, like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, were as awesome as we remember. (Don't worry -- they were.) Among the ooo-look-who-it-is cast of thousands is Mr. Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck, as a tough-guy bail bondsman. As is, I believe, de rigueur in this kinds of flicks, Afflecks sports some hideous facial hair that is one of the scarier things at work here.

And then there's Catch and Release [my review], a lovely romantic dramedy starring Mrs. Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, as a woman who buries her suddenly dead fiancé and finds herself falling for one of his pals. I know, it sounds a bit crass, but I promise you, this is a beautifully crafted film with fantastic performances, not just from Garner but also from the pals, including Timothy Olyphant (why isn't he a star yet?) and Kevin Smith, who just about walks away with the film, he's so sweet and charming. Go know.

Epic Movie, from the idiots who brought us the Scary Movies, and Blood and Chocolate, a werewolf horror flick, both open today, but you're gonna wanna stay far away from these if you've already graduated junior high school.

The only major new indie opening this weekend is the Civil War-era thriller Seraphim Falls, hitting a couple dozen screens in the usual places (New York, Los Angeles) but also in some less typical places: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas. It sounds weird until you look at the film -- it's a chase flick, and a spectacularly entertaining one, in which Liam Neeson hunts Pierce Brosnan through the mountains and across the deserts of the West. If this is on a screen near you, check it out: it's a winner.

Now that the Oscar nominations are out, the honored films are expanding into more theaters, giving many people across North America their first opportunities to see everything from The Queen and The Last King of Scotland to Babel and Pan's Labyrinth. Have fun.

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