Did you notice how all of a sudden it's July. This always mystifies me.Pretty soon it will be September. So my best advice to everybody is to make the most of this great weather. Read your Couch Potato Chronicles on the deck. And don't forget the sunblock.

ALONG CAME POLLY (ONE POINT FIVE SPUDS)

If the Wife told me that Ben Stiller was in town and that he was coming over to Spud Central for lunch, I'm not sure I would be all that excited. To me, Ben is one of those 'beige' movie stars. Not super good looking, not especially talented, but always seems to be making a movie. After working on the fringes for a number of years, he hit it big in the mid nineties with a movie called There's Something About Mary, which to me was the intellectual equivalent of a two hour fart joke. But for some reason, maybe brain dead idiocy run amok, this movie was a big hit and propelled Ben up onto the A list. Since then he has comported himself with dignity in a series of movies that held very little interest for a Spud like me.

But Ben Stiller is not the reason I rented this flick. Jennifer Anniston is.Because unlike Ben, Jennifer is showing that she is the real deal, who seems to get better and better with each outing. Now that she's free to pursue movies full time, it should be very interesting to see
where her career goes.

In Along Came Polly, Ben plays a paranoid insurance appraiser who gets jilted by his princess wife (Deborah Messing) on the first day of their honeymoon, comes back to the Big Apple all sad and stuff, gets forced back into the social scene by his childhood pal (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and ends up running into Jennifer, who he knew from back in the day in high school, when she was a nerd too, but of course, is the farthest thing from that now.

Along Came Polly is a pretty decent little movie with a nice love story at the centre and a revolving door of great character performances including Hank Azaria playing the French beach bum gigolo who bangs Deborah. This is one of the funnier characters I have seen in a movie in a long time.

As the movie progressed, I began to notice that Ben was actually doing a pretty good job.Mostly because he had the monumental task of convincing me that somebody like him, (hardly ever mistaken for Brad Pitt) could actually develop, sustain and even save a relationship with a serious babe like Jennifer. And he pulled it off.

For a lot of people, especially Ben Stiller fans, this movie will be a twospudder. For me, it'sslightly less than that, because, sad but true, my benchmark for romanticcomedies is prettyhigh. (Return To Me, When Harry Met Sally, Moonstruck). This flick is OK,but simply not inthe same league.

SPARTAN (TWO SPUDS)

For most people who write words for a living, David Mamet's writing is generally a joy to behold. He has written more than his share of two spud movies. And Spartan is one of the best.

Spartan is the story of a special ops Marine Ranger, played by Val Kilmer, who can kill you six different ways with a nine inch piece of skanky dental floss and maybe a Tylenol capsule.

Val spends most of his time training other Marine Rangers to kill as good as he does. Val is living his internalized existential life and driving around in his pickup when he gets called upon by the Secret Service for a special mission involving the president's daughter. I won't tell you any more than that about the plot, because b) I'm not sadistic and b) you really should see this movie.

Spartan crackles with a theatrical authenticity that guys like David Mamet are very good at capturing. The secret service dudes and Val have their own way of talkin' that mostly only makes sense to them, but you can kind of figure it out, 'cause it's not rocket science, just colourful language and who knows what these guys really talk like, anyway.

There are several political crosscurrents running through this movie and a great deal of high theatrical irony. Because Mr Mamet is a playwright at hearts. And because he is who he is he's able to attract the best people in the business to his movies. Like William H. Macy, who plays a special advisor to the President and who has his own agenda going on.

Spartan is dark and economical in execution. Most character driven movies tend to be like that. There are no car chases, big time explosions or excessive use of weapons, though a few people do get offed. Val Kilmer has no trouble carrying this movie and he's always interesting to watch. In Spartan he reminds me of Tom Beringer, who, if this movie had been made ten years ago, would have got this part. I enjoyed this movie immensely. I like movies where there are a lot of twists and turns and

Spartan certainly has more than its share of those. I also like movies that are about something, which is always a sure bet with a Mamet flick.

THE ESSENTIAL TWO SPUD DAVID MAMET

Heist (2001) Hannibal (2001) State and Main (2000) The Winslow Boy (1999) Lansky (1999) (TV) Ronin (1998) Wag the Dog (1997) The Spanish Prisoner (1997) The Edge (1997) American Buffalo (1996) A Life in the Theater (1993) (TV) Hoffa (1992) Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) The Water Engine (1992) (TV) The Untouchables, (1987) About Last Night... (1986) The Verdict (1982) The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

FOOLPROOF (TWO LARGER THAN AVERAGE SPUDS)

Now this is something that I don't get to say very often, although I do hope it is part of the shape of things to come, but this is one terrific Canadian movie. It's written and directed by a guy named William Phillips (sounds like a pseudonym) and stars Ryan Reynolds, Kristin Booth, Joris Jarsky and David Suchet (Inspector Poirot).

Foolproof is a caper movie and you know the rule about that-no jabbering about plot. But I will say that the plot is extremely intricate and actually works. This means that it was well thought out and put together by Mr Phillips (if that's his real name). But over and above that, this film moves with a surefootedness that few Canadian films up to now have demonstrated. The characters are bright and individual and the alleged Mr Phillips gives them smart stuff to say. The music is hot. The editing is crisp and precise.And like all good caper flicks, it keeps you guessing to the end. Why this movie didn't take off like a bat out of hell when it got released late last fall is a testimony to where it was made, which was, in the Centre of the Universe, (the even uses specific references for chrissakes) where all the snotty star struck film goers tend to ignore anything that doesn't have some sort of big name attached to it. Well there are no big names in this one and honestly, it doesn't diminish the experience in the least.

Mr Phillips has made one other movie which I am definitely going to check out. It's called Treed Murray, which is about as 'indy' a title as you can get.

With all the formula crap up there on the big screen these days, I'm finding myself, more and more frequently turning to 'indy' flicks, and the great thing is that the 'indy' flicks, many of which used to be self-indulgent and artsy fartsy beyond belief, have now started to become more accessible. And for a mainline spud like moi, that's a good thing.

Foolproof is Two Spuderiffic homegrown entertainment. Treat yourself to it real soon.

50 FIRST DATES (TWO SPUDS)

Ever since his stint on Saturday Night Live, I've been a solid fan of Adam Sandler. He is a very unique talent. On the one hand he's kind of self-effacing and nerdy actor. On the other hand he's a great character actor. On yet another hand, he's a strong romantic lead actor.There really only a handful of actors out these days that can handle all that (Jack Nicholson, Christopher Walkin, Tom Hanks-after that, they become few and far between) Adam Sandler's Body of work so far has been fairly successful, because while most of his films are aimed at the mainline 18-34 horny male demographic, he tends to attract a lot of other people as well. Like me and the Wife for example.

In 50 First Dates, a 'high concept 'romantic comedy, Adam plays a marine veterinarian at a Seaworld type place in Hawaii who falls in love with Drew Barrymore. Trouble is (this is the high conceptjazz), Drew has a problem with her short term memory, and has been living the same day over and over and over for like 8 years. This becomes a big challenge for Adam, not to mention the screenwriter, George Wing, a rookie who hits it out of the park on his first trip to the plate. (However, it should be noted that this particular 'high concept' seems to be in a migratory pattern, since I saw it about ten years ago (or more) in a great movie called Groundhog Day, with Bill Murray.

But I digress, because in spite of the fact that this movie is powered by what you could call an unoriginal thought, it is nonetheless handled very well. The dialogue is pretty neat, some of the devices used to move things along are quite clever and like every good romantic comedy there are a lot of good character bits that run throught the film. In this film, the show stealer is Adam's Saturday Night Live alum, Rob Schneider, who plays Adam's wigged out Hawaiian buddy, complete with Cheech and Chong fright wig and a ton of man tan all over his skinny white body.

50 First Dates works on a number of levels, and though it's not believable in any way shape or form, Adam's persistence and perseverance make the story quite touching, and, in that inimitable way that Hollywood movies can, romantic. Drew Barrymore is also pretty good in a role that's pretty demanding. But I'm not as crazy about Drew Barrymore, as say The Princess of Pain, (wandering the Scottish Highlands, as I write this), because I happen to think she's a spoiled brat who hasn't been very convincing at all in most of the stuff I have seen her in.

Well that's all we got for this week. Have a great long weekend.