I have to confess that my rating for Prince Caspian might have been a bit inflated, due to the fact that I saw it at a midnight showing surrounded by the hardcore. Still, it was a good film — I saw it a second time, and it held up almost as well. There are those who think it’s not as good as the first film, but in a sense that was inevitable since the second book was a much weaker offering from Lewis. Really, it’s a better adaptation of less worthy source material.

I can see some noir elements in “The Trap.” It certainly plays like a coal-black crime drama, complete with plenty of Serbian gangster heavies and a cool blond beauty. The protagonist, Mladen, is a bit too naive and spiritually uncluttered to fit the mold of a true noir protagonist. In the end, he’s just a working stiff trying to do right by his son. The film attempts to focus on Mladen’s inner torment (though it doesn’t entirely succeed), rather than on the twists and turns of a plot, so in that respect it’s very noir-ish. I mentioned Hitchcock, so I should note that the film’s high concept most resembles “Strangers on a Train”: Mladen is in an emotional and economic vice, and an opportunistic stranger approaches him with a proposal for a “perfect crime”. If that concept is enough to set the hook, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy it.

I’ll certainly say this for the “The Trap”: It’s better than any of the other new releases this week by a damn sight. And Balkan films in general need attention. So I’ll second the recommendation.

That said, this week I’ll be plunking down my money for either “Casablanca” or “The Shawshank Redemption” on Blu-ray.

I’m thoroughly disappointed with “Wanted,” especially since I enjoyed “Nightwatch” and “Daywatch” way more than I should have.

And Joel, my guess is it would be a sequel. Prequels are usually reserved for franchises that blew their wads a long time ago (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, now Saw, etc. etc.). And really, they can spin it however they want, since the material is so flimsy to begin with.

I’ll be curious to see how they spin a sequel out of it though. Or a prequel? Whatever.

And Phil, thanks for the recommendation on The Trap. I hadn’t heard much about it, but when I read the synopsis I was intrigued. Your 2 cents just adds to that.

Evan, I have to go with Luke on this one.

As for the X-files movie, I just watched it and let me warn everyone now: Don’t bother. Awful.