DUMBWAYS: My wife and I don't get to see a lot of movies these days, what with our boys and the alternate activities and fatigue that comes therefrom. But given my interest in wine and the great buzz around the movie SIDEWAYS, the wife and I saw fit to PPV it and Tivo it and then, finally, to watch it over the past weekend.

What a dud! The movie was slow city, taking forever to get going. I had heard it was a comedy, but I didn't actually laugh until about two-thirds of the way through the movie (when the car misses the tree, for those that saw it). Mostly I just squirmed between moments of why-should-I-care and oh-my-God-is-that-sappy. I didn't really like or believe anyone in the film, which made it awfully tough to care about any of them. If this little half-asser of a film is what suffices for quality indie cinema these days I'm glad I have two little diversions to keep me out of the moviehouse and in the backyard running through sprinklers where I belong.