The Hangover, Part 2 - Yes, watching it felt like a hangover. Seriously, Dude, Where's My Car was funnier than this piece of crap.

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade - This isn't an adaptation of the classic Sega ninja series, but a Japanese martial arthouse film whose story can be described as being "Romeo and Juliet, but with super-powered ninja." I'm sure I would've watched the Leonardo di Caprio version of the story had it featured a kunoichi with a kiss of death, a Juliet with eye lasers, the Iga equivalent to Wolverine, a guy who fights with this sleeves, and a face-stealing Koga ninja. It's not perfect, but it entertained me for 97 minutes and that's enough for me.

Interestingly enough, the novel this is based on (The Kouga Ninja Scrollswhich was also adapted in the anime/manga Basilisk) is apparently cited for starting the whole idea of ninjas being mutant freaks with inheritable super-powers

A WISH FOR WINGS THAT WORK - Well, after a weekend of double big-time stinkers at the theater (The Sitter and New Year's Eve), I needed some cheering up. This unsung animated Christmas special from 1991 was the perfect thing to fit the bill. This special doesn't get a lot of respect. It was only aired on TV once, and never shown again due to terrible ratings. Also, it's creator and writer, Berkeley Breathed (creator of the Bloom County and Outland comic strips) has publicly spoken out against it. I have no idea why. This is a charming, funny, and extremely well made (there's some great animation here) special that will only set you back $5 for the DVD.

The story focuses on Opus the penguin (voiced by veteran voice actor Michael Bell), who writes a letter to Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, wishing for "wings that work", and would allow him to fly. In his letter, he recounts in flashback his experiences during the day (which make up a chunk of the special), which include his failed attempts at flight, many of which are accidentally foiled by his well-meaning, but not very sociable, friend Bill the Cat (voiced by comedian John Byner). Opus even goes to a support group for flightless birds with flying envy, but it does not help. Opus goes to sleep on Christmas Eve, dreaming of flying the next morning. Little does he realize, Santa Clause (voiced by voice acting legend, Frank Welker) runs into trouble during his flight, and it turns out that only Opus' stubby wings will be able to save him from the situation he finds himself in.

I don't want to spoil too much, as there are some great individual gags and moments here, such as Opus' nightmare he has while trying to sleep on Christmas Eve. (Let's just say "The Critic" didn't invent that "penguins can't fly!" joke.) This is a top quality production all the way, with beautiful animation, great voice acting, and even a memorable music score. There are even some uncredited cameos by Robin Williams (as a kiwi at the support group who is raging over his girlfriend leaving him for an albatross) and Dustin Hoffman (as a cross-dressing cockroach). Supposedly, they both got involved due to the fact that the special's Executive Producer, Steven Spielberg, was working with them on Hook at the time.

So yeah, I love this show, and I have no idea why it has such a bad reputation. It's become quite the cult classic, however. I advise you either pick up the DVD, or watch the special on Youtube, and discover this unsung Christmas treasure.