kibler@adelphia.net

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure (2003) Randy Quaid, Miriam Flynn, Dana Barron, Jake Thomas, Sung Hi Lee, Eric Idle, Fred Willard, Ed Asner, D: Nick Marck. Embarrassing direct-to-video flop has oafish Cousin Eddie and family on an expenses-paid vacation to the South Pacific by his boss, hoping the dunce won't sue his company after being bitten by a smarter lab monkey! Idiotic spin off can't measure up to any of the Vacation films (even European Vacation!), with a question of whether or not the filmmakers thought the script was actually funny. Not even Quaid, Willard, or Asner can make it remotely watchable. 83 min., Not rated. *

Singing Detective, The (2003) Robert Downey Jr., Robin Wright Penn, Mel Gibson, Jeremy Northam, Katie Holmes, Adrien Brody, Jon Polito, Carla Gugino, Saul Rubinek, Alfre Woodard, D: Keith Gordon. Half-baked translation of the 1986 BBC TV miniseries casts Downey Jr. as a hospitalized mystery writer suffering from a painful skin condition—who feels trapped in his own skin—and plays out a murder mystery musical in his own mind with him as his fictional alter ego, an L.A. gumshoe. Crime noir, slapstick comedy, and '50s rock n' roll musical audaciously combine to make an intricate puzzle structure, but compressed results never really draw you in. Everyone in the cast is very good, but the film is all over the map. Judging on its own merits, it misses the mark. Written by Dennis Potter, who also wrote the original. 109 min., rated R. ** ½

Sin City (2005) Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Jamie King, Brittany Murphy, Benicio Del Toro, Nick Stahl, Elijah Wood, Michael Clarke Duncan, Michael Madsen, Josh Hartnett, D: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino ("special guest director"). Gritty, violent, visually sensational comic-book film noir, based on Frank Miller's graphic novels, is set in the corrupt, crime-infested Sin City, full of thugs, dirty cops, bloodthirsty killers, and sleazy prostitutes. Film has a collection of interweaving stories: a burly brute (Rourke) on a mission to avenge the death of his love; an ex-photographer (Owen) who kills a cop with a gang of prostitutes and must cover it up; and a soon-to-be-retiring cop (Willis) who tries protecting the girl he once rescued. Virtuoso visual style (black-and-white with only splashes of color) feels overly self-indulgent at first, then overtaken by terrific energy from graphic violence, an array of hard-working talent, and crackling humor. Given a hard R-rating for a reason! 123 min., rated R. *** ½