Snarky Movie Review of the Week

those things [Anne Hathaway's performance and Jessica Biel's legs] helped me sit through "Valentine's Day" rather than flee to some happier place, such as an Iranian prison.

From Salon's review of Valentine's Day.

But perhaps more revealing about the reviewer:

Taken as a whole, though, "Valentine's Day" involves watching talented and attractive people squander their energies on a pointless and random exercise, which ... hey! Wait a second! That's an excellent description of what the real Valentine's Day does to the rest of us (less talented and attractive though we may be).

Hostility to this flick is not terribly surprising given the current backlash against romantic comedies (when was the last really good one?) and the ritual Hating Valentine's Day.  Of course, I cannot partake of either, as I am a sucker for silly romance AND my daughter was born on V-Day, so I cannot hate the holiday, no matter how socially constructed it is.

The bigger disappointment for me are the reviews of The Lightning Thief since I just picked up the book and am really enjoying it.  Reviewers cannot help the Harry Potter comparisons especially with Christopher Columbus directing.  But then again, my family is pretty reviewer-proof so the only question is which one we will see first?