The Green Hornet (2011)

"It's not as bad as you've heard." Which isn't to say it's good. It has a stylish look thanks to director Michel Gondry, but it's otherwise a mixed bag. It flirts with being a straight-out mockery of its genre, but fortunately when it gets serious, it doesn't get sentimental. The funniest aspect of the parody is that the sidekicks, Kato and Lenore, are actually smarter and more capable than Britt Reid, a.k.a. the Green Hornet. This threatens to make him a pure laughingstock, but they almost manage to make him so-dumb-he's-cool in the manner of a young Bill Murray. But there's too much adolescent bromance -- yet there's some really clever humor and over-the-top action and cool toys.

It's interesting that Gondry signs this "A Michel Gondry Film" when it is so clearly Seth Rogen's project. Not only does Rogen star, but he co-wrote and co-produced it with Evan Goldberg. But there's an anarchic quality to the goofiness that could well be Gondry's influence, and he definitely leaves his imprint visually. For all the lame shtick, it was refreshing to see a take on the masked crusader genre that wasn't stuck in the Marvel or DC modes. It was fun. Which isn't to say it's good.

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Amazingly enough, I hadn't seen this movie before. It's a romantic comedy, so stalking behavior is considered cute. Something Almodovar has drawn on in his screwball soap operas. And I had no idea that this was an RKO picture, with sets by Van Nest Polglase, who also did production design for the Astaire-Rogers musicals and Citizen Kane.