V

V
Unlike BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (great until its disastrous final season), this update of the ‘80s sci-fi show doesn’t take enough risks to rise above merely serviceable. Alien queen Morena Baccarin is solely interesting amidst a painfully bland cast and the social / media metaphors are labored to the point of exhaustion.

Passengers

PASSENGERS
Anne Hathaway is a psychotherapist who senses something is amiss while treating five plane crash survivors (including an annoyingly Carpe-Diem Patrick Wilson). This plodding suspense thriller is obnoxiously Buscaglia-esque and its “twist ending” would be predictable even if THE SIXTH SENSE hadn’t rendered it a cliché.

Asterios Polyp

ASTERIOS POLYP by David Mazzucchelli (Pantheon)
This decade-in-the-making epic about an architect too smart for his own good is well worth the wait. Mazzucchelli’s masterful usage of comics’ unique storytelling flexibility makes the book as much about art as its protagonist’s journey. Depth and detail warrant repeat readings (but I hate that truncated dust jacket!).

Dexter Season 3

DEXTER The Third Season DVD
Can a quasi-sociopathic serial killer find true friendship and perhaps even a partner in crime? That’s the question asked (and brutally answered) in the third season of this ridiculously great show. If only the extra features weren’t so lame (more commentaries, less “bonus” episodes of other Showtime shows).