Movie day (reprised)

Arthur and the Invisibles

Every bit as enjoyable and appealing as I had hoped. They managed to capture a genuine sincerity and warmth without descending into schmaltz. There were some lovely little snide asides as well as a whole lot of un-saccharine sweetness. The animation was fairly impressive too, with a lot of effort put into facial tweaks that make the characters compelling. I'm seriously considering buying it when the DVD is released, it's that good. Besides, Selenia's just so cute (yes, I have a thing for animated females.)

The Number 23

I didn't have great expectations for this, and was pleasantly surprised by the resulting suspense. It wasn't a cheesy horror adaptation at all, but more a variation on the paranoid obsessive genre, closely resembling The Machinist in its handling and subject matter. Jim Carrey was believable enough as both male leads that it took me a little while to figure out he was playing both characters, and the plot was paced well, keeping me hooked and guessing at least until the last 20 minutes, which is pretty impressive in comparison to my normal 'Eureka' time.

Ghost Rider

Predictable plot, cheesy dialogue, cheesier posing, and none of that unexpected. I went for the flaming skull dude on a burning bike, and that's what I got, so no complaints.

The Illusionist

Probably would have had more of an impact if The Prestige hadn't mined this exact same vein first, but it was well crafted and well presented and Rufus Sewell as the Crown Prince completely stole the show for me, with Paul Giamatti coming a close second, completely eclipsing Edward Norton and Jessica Biel.