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Unsurprisingly, Republicans and other people who are afraid of EVERYTHING are afraid of furries - folks who dress up as animals. This is a quick and charming documentary that should assuage such stupid worries. Filmmaker Curt Pehrson chats with several furries (dressed in normal clothes) at a furries convention, and lets them explain what they do and why, and of course it's harmless fun.

One of the interviewees laughs at right-wing media's fevered coverage of furries as if it's all an animalistic orgy. "Have you ever worn a fur suit? It's like wearing your sofa. Some people can barely walk in them, and they get to be 110° in the course of about 90 seconds. If you want to try strenuous activity in that, you go right ahead. I'll be here, ready to dial 9-1-1."

Everyone says this is great, but meh. It's a cartoon about mysticism and spirit-wolves and gods and demons and ancient gods of the wilderness and a heroic quest.

The animation is very well done indeed, apart from the anime-standard big-eyed look, which always reminds me of Margaret Keane or Precious Moments or "Go, Speed Racer, go!"

It's a Japanese cartoon, dubbed into English with major league American actors including Billy Crudup and Minnie Driver and Claire Danes, but the voice work sounds like a first table-read.

The original Japanese voices, subtitled, must've been better, but between the big eyes and the spirit-wolves there's no way I'm subjecting myself to another two hours of this, in any language.

If you can get past the big eyes - obviously, I couldn't - it's visually a great movie, but I'm reminded of something my wife said several times: If the reviews keep telling you a movie *looks terrific, and that's all they can say, it means the story sucks." Unless the movie is Koyaanisqatsi, the story is what matters, and the story in Princess Mononoke is boring.

This is the life and times of a desk worker at a hotel, obviously written by and starring a desk clerk or (I hope) former desk clerk, Michelle Bowser.

It's amateur, so don't be expecting highfallutin' production values or a perfectly polished script, but sometimes amateur is a good thing -- it means she's saying what she wants to say, with no studio executives telling her what *not* to say.

Desk Clerk is frantic and funny all the way through, and had me smiling for an hour and a half, as Michelle deals with demanding, flirty, and insistent customers, laundry room refunds, a malfunctioning computer, disinterested non-help from IT's 800 number, and everything else that can go wrong in a hotel overnight.

The acting is not going to be Oscar-nominated, and the movie isn't quite as funny as it thinks it is, but it *is* funny, and makes me glad I've never been a desk clerk.