It's disappointing that producer Apatow and screenwriter Seth Rogen would follow up "Superbad" with a film that is such a blatant retread of previously covered material about an awkward skinny teen, a loud-mouthed fat teen and an even skinnier, squeaky-voiced über-nerd trying to navigate the tricky waters of high school. "Superbad" was an extremely funny, hugely successful embodiment of teenage fears and dreams (and centered around an awkward skinny teen, a loud-mouthed fat teen and an even skinnier, squeaky voiced über-nerd). "Drillbit Taylor," which focuses on the same thing for a younger crowd (note the less restrictive PG-13 rating), is nowhere near as good.

Donaldson's direction, however, keeps the proceedings taut and engaging. He keeps the goals clear and the twists coming, but they never get tangled over themselves or lose sight of the film's purpose - to entertain. In that regard "The Bank Job" is highly efficient, shifting back and forth between suspense and lighthearted moments with ease so that the film never feels choppy or false. Donaldson also does a fine job of not only evoking the 1970s as a time period but the style of filmmaking as well. "The Bank Job" may not be the best evocation of '70s filmmaking of recent years ("Zodiac" has that distinction), but it is still a very good, middle-of-the-road kind of entertainment that is hard not to like and respect.

Of course, solid mainstream films such as this one tend to get overlooked when they are released in the shadows of mega-blockbuster wannabes like the dreadful "10,000 B.C." "The Bank Job" is infinitely more skilled filmmaking and is one of the best films playing in wide release, and as such deserves far more attention than it has received. Movies used to be fun without being dumb, and "The Bank Job" fits that description perfectly.

AMERICAN TEEN is the heartbreaking and hilarious Sundance hit that follows the lives of four teenagers- a jock, the popular girl, the artsy girl and the geek – in one small town in Indiana through their senior year of high school.

We see the insecurities, the cliques, the jealousies, the first loves and heartbreaks, and the struggle to make profound decisions about the future. Filming daily for ten months, filmmaker Nanette Burstein (ON THE ROPES, THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE) developed a deep understanding of her subjects. The result is a film that goes beyond the enduring stereotypes of high school to render complex young people trying to find their way into adulthood.

Josiah Gamble was working the drive-through window Thursday at Starbucks when he got an unexpected customer -- Renee Zellweger, a star in the movie "Leatherheads."

"She came through and she had the visor down in her car like she was trying to block her face," he said.

Zellweger visited around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, driving a navy blue Ford Explorer -- a car Gamble said he thought was rented.

Her shoulder-length blonde hair was curled 1920s style and she had on her full costume, Gamble said.

"I was trying to be professional about it. I didn't want to scream or ask for her autograph or anything," he said.

Zellweger came to the window and ordered five drinks. Gamble couldn't remember exactly what she got but "it was all soy stuff," he said.

When she was at the window, she told Gamble she was going to come inside to use the shop's rest room and then she'd get the drinks.

"She was friendly and she had a really soft voice," he said.

FUNNY GAMES is one of the most despicable movies ever made. It is a pretentious, sadistic thriller intended to make a phony statement against media violence by showing in graphic detail the psychological torture of a family by two psychotic young men.

The filmmaker, Michael Haneke, claims that he’s trying to show “the reality of violence” and the pain it brings to victims. He also claims that this movie is a reaction against the violence in American cinema, “the way American cinema toys with human beings.” This is pseudo-intellectual baloney. Haneke never asks himself, So what? And, he never gives viewers a clue as to how they’re supposed to respond to the pain he presents. Thus, the only thing he accomplishes in the viewer is buyer’s remorse for being asked to pay for sitting through such a despicable movie. The actors involved should be ashamed of wasting their talents. The studio should also be held accountable for releasing it.

Michael Haneke's Funny Games will be released in theaters this Friday, and already the critical reactions have been extremely divided, with many crying "brilliant" while the others gather up their moral umbrage.

The difference is clear from the opening credits, where McDonagh makes great use of the scenery and architecture of the ancient town, accompanied by Carter Burwell's wistful piano theme. In fact music is one of the film's strongest aspects, especially the powerful use of The Dubliners' "Raglan Road" near the end of the film.

In Bruges works on so many levels - as a comedy, as an action film, as a mood piece, but above all, an exercise in pitch perfect filmmaking. McDonagh really nails this one, everything about it is perfectly executed and finely tuned for maximum impact, and all the performers are in absolutely top form (Gleeson and Farrell have never been better).

In short - I loved every single minute of it. McDonagh's first feature film hits it out of the park in a bloodly blaze of drunken Irish rage - with plenty of profane insults just for good measure. In Bruges is a an absolutely maniacal, and yet strangely beautiful, pleasure.

GRADE - ***½ (three-and-a-half stars out of four)

IN BRUGES; Directed by Martin McDonagh; Stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy, Jordan Prentice, Thekla Reuten; Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language and some drug use.

3. Better saber-toothed tigers. If you're going to have a movie with saber-toothed tigers, at least have them, you know, do something - like attack somebody - instead of going all soft-hearted because it has been rescued by a human.

4. Hire a historical consultant. The use of swords was bad enough - but woolly mammoths helped build the pyramids??

5. Find better actors. What happened to Camilla Bell? She was great in The Ballad of Jack and Rose, but now she does movies like this and When a Stranger Calls. Maybe they should hire someone who can actually, you know, act.

6. Dispense with the narration. The dialogue was bad enough (especially that romantic pap near the beginning about being "like a star in my heart"), but the narration was grating and unnecessary.

7. Spend more time perfecting the special effects. Some of it looked great, but some, especially early close-ups of the men running alongside the mammoths, are painfully obvious that they're greenscreen shots.

8. Throw out Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces. And do something completely original. I know Campbell says every heroic myth follows the same basic structure, but damn it's almost like you just gave up and followed the book's Cliff's Notes.

Through the performances of the mostly non-professional cast (Taylor Momsen, as Alex's girlfriend, has been around for a while though...my how far Cindy Lou Who has come), Paranoid Park captures the essence of high school life better than most teen movies could ever dream. Van Sant achieved a similar feat in the Palme D'Or winning Elephant five years ago, but despite some truly beautiful moments in that film I have never really been a fan of it. Here, however, Van Sant has achieved something very close to breathtaking. The blurred images of soaring skateboarders that repeat throughout the film take on a hauntingly surreal beauty, almost as if they are a foggy notion of what Alex could one day achieve, or something he sees begin to fade away as a tragic accident changes his life forever.