Genre but not too generic

Splice.  Vincenzo Natali’s sci-fi/horror mash-up is a knowing wink at the genre of creature feature, made notable by the presence of Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley as a couple of genetic wizards (whose names reference The Bride of Frankenstein), bankrolled by big pharma, but with their own agendas as they create life in a test tube.  There is plenty of humor generated as they parent the rapidly growing half-human, half-CGI creature, as it passes through the “terrible twos” to a highly Oedipal stage of development.  Then there is plenty of yuck as the tale turns bloody and kinky.  This is no Gattaca when it comes to the ethics of genetic manipulation, but within its genre limits it’s shrewd enough to offer more than simple shivers of laughter and dread.  (2010, MC-66)

Whip It.  I will not take the invitation of its title and lash out at this pleasant piece of fluff.  Drew Barrymore’s first directorial effort looks at the revival of women’s roller derby in the hip enclave of Austin TX, whipping grrrl-power, teen yearnings for romance and escape, and sports movie tropes into a familiar yet appealing froth.  Ellen Page has no difficulty in turning on the adorable, and is surrounded by an array of equally familiar but appealing characters.  Her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) wants her to win teen beauty pageants as a way out of their backwater town, but our girl Bliss has her eyes set on a different breakout.  She joins with the likes of Maggie Mayhem and Eva Destruction to become Babe Ruthless, the rookie star of the roller derby circuit.  If you can do without depth or surprise, this is perfectly fun little film to watch.  (2009, MC-68)