It's a commonly held belief, mostly because it's generally true, that no worthwhile movies open on either the last weekend of August or Labor Day weekend. So I hope I wasn't alone, among reviewers, in feeling trepidation about my most recent cineplex duties, given that this year, in a calendar rarity, those weekends were one and the same. (Would the films be twice as bad as usual? Would there be twice as many bad films to contend with?) But I'm pleased, and somewhat shocked, to report that my latest movie-going experiences weren't relentlessly grim. They were just relentlessly weird, especially considering I had the best time at the weekend's worst picture, and the lineup's most professionally rendered offering made me fall dead asleep.

THE TOWN

Director/co-writer/star Ben Affleck's crime drama The Town is an enjoyable, frustrating, fascinating contradiction: a movie with a storyline that's nearly impossible to buy, yet one performed and directed with such assurance and strength that it's nearly impossible not to buy. You can roll your eyes at the film's many clichés and contrivances, but you can't say they're presented with anything less than full commitment; for a two-hour-plus movie that doesn't provide even one truly novel character, situation, insight, or plot twist, The Town is remarkably fresh.