If you were guessing from the title that one of the three films I've seen in the last 24 hours was painfully bad compared to the other two, you would be absolutely correct.

Marie Antoinette was a terrible movie. It wasn't about anything! The first hour was basically, are they ever going to do it? And then they zipped through what could have been the interesting part of her life leading up to the French Revolution in the last half hour. Kirsten Dunst was actually okay for what they gave her to work with (she convincingly played both youthful innocence and a more mature resignedness), but the rest of the cast was just confusing. What the heck was the point of Molly Shannon's character? And Molly Shannon?!? In a period movie? Seriously?!? Plus I am always skeeved out by Jason Schwartzman, so that didn't help either. The costumes were gorgeous, so that nomination is at least allowable, but man was this bad. I don't even have the energy to talk about the fact that every actor spoke in the regular accent, regardless of where their character was actually from. That was just too much for me to handle. I say 1.5 stars, maybe 2 for the costumes.

Thankfully, the other two movies were great! I saw Pan's Labyrinth first, and was surprised by how much I liked it. I generally don't care for weird, creepy movies, so I was expecting to respect this movie but not love it. But the little girl was so captivating, and the special effects were insane. I just got so caught up in the whole thing, it was fantastic. Highly recommended! 5 stars.

Next up was Notes on a Scandal, which was also just awesome. Watching Judi Dench and Cate Blanchette play off of each other was just amazing. They should make up-and-coming actresses watch them to see how true professionals act in movies. Plus the story was so unique and different, and it wasn't unneccessarily drawn out. All of that with just the right amount of Bill Nighy on top, it was just a great film. Judi Dench and Cate Blanchette are two of the best actresses going, and their performances are not to be missed. 5 stars!

I'm going to see all the shorts tomorrow night, and I'm tempted to bring a notebook so I can give you all the rundown! I can't wait!