Film Friday: Nothing to Phone Home About

'Tis Thanksgiving weekend, which, to be honest, we plan on using to get through all of the video games, films, and books that we've had piling up waiting to be played/watched/read (if content is king, then we are absolutely its slave.)

And the studios don't seem to have much hope they're going to be able to rouse you out of the house either, with a slim selection of movies on offer—none of which particularly stand out. The big hitter is certainly Body of Lies, the latest in a long line of Ridley Scott films that we have absolutely no interest in at all—and by being about the war on terror, well, it's likely audiences won't either, though it does have Russell Crowe (yawn) and Leonardo DiCaprio (double yawn) in it. The Star's Peter Howell picks up something interesting in critiquing it, calling it a "cellphone thriller" as they "spend much of the movie arguing with each other over a cellphone. What a waste of dramatic potential, and it's all too common."

It's quite true! How cellphones have changed our entire culture in a few short years, eh? Howell does unfortunately later use that tired, old, and rarely true phrase "It's like watching a video game" later—but then again, he could be specifically referencing the Metal Gear Solid series (where you spend most of your time watching people argue over the phone), so fair enough.

Also out this week, City of Ember, All Together Now, and The Express.

In festivals, the Toronto Japanese Short Film Festival concludes tonight, and the ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival begins on Wednesday.