New reviews from The Movie Snob

Serenity (A-). I went into this movie without ever having seen an episode of Firefly, the short-lived television series it was based on, but that diminished my enjoyment not one bit. It's a good old-fashioned space opera, like a grungier, lower-tech Star Wars. The deal is this--in the distant future, most of mankind is ruled by a government called the Alliance, which definitely does not put a premium on the civil liberties of its citizens. So there was a civil war, which the Alliance won, and the losing side retreated to the remoter, less-civilized parts of the galaxy. Among the ruffians out on the frontier are Captain Malcolm Reynolds of the Millenium Falcon, er, I mean the Serenity, and his ragtag crew. They find themselves transporting a cargo that the Alliance very much wants to get its hands on--a mysterious and somewhat psychotic 17-year-old girl named River Tam who escaped from a secret government lab. If you liked Star Wars, or Star Trek, or Space Balls, I can pretty much guarantee you'll like Serenity. So get out there and see it so they'll make a sequel.

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (B). This is some weird stuff (although maybe not so weird if you've seen The Nightmare Before Christmas, which I haven't). This claymation fairy tale starts in a very grey, dour little village where nervous Victor, son of a wealthy fishmonger, is about to be wed to sweet Victoria, daughter of an aristocratic family that has fallen on hard times. But Victor gets cold feet, wanders out into the forest the night before his wedding, and while practicing his vows suddenly finds himself married to the lovely Emily--who just happens to be, well, dead. She drags him down into the netherworld, and then things start to get really weird. This short (76 minutes) film is a visual treat, as Burton takes full advantage of the freedom of animation--for example, the townspeople are a collection of bizarre caricatures, some fantastically skinny and elongated, others impossibly short and squat. There are a few musical numbers that aren't bad but aren't particularly memorable either. This movie probably won't be to everyone's taste, but I enjoyed it.