Hey, it’s early in California.

Flight: Robert Zemeckis makes his first live-action feature in twelve years, and he’s just as self-serious as ever … but the movie has its moments, thanks to Denzel Washington’s unreconstructed-asshole performance and a great supporting cast that includes Don Cheadle, John Goodman and the invaluable Bruce Greenwood.

How to Survive a Plague: David France’s history of ACT UP — and, by extension, the tale of the AIDS crisis in America — gets a rave from Jose.

The Man with the Iron Fists: The man men call The RZA directs a martial-arts movie. YEAH. He co-writes the script with grindhouse habitue Eli Roth. QUALIFIED YEAH. Russell Crowe is in it. YEAH, REALLY? But the studio wouldn’t screen it for press, so, um, NOT YEAH.

Manborg: Part man. Part machine. No relation to the Borg from Star Trek whatsoever. Rad is unimpressed; me, I’m still waiting in vain for that Kickpuncher spinoff.

Midnight’s Children: I’m sensing a little more conflict in Susan‘s review of Deepa Mehta’s adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s allegorical novel about two children born on the day of the partitioning of India and Pakistan than the 4N rating would suggest …

Wreck-It Ralph: John C. Reilly gives a stellar voice performance as a coin-op baddie who secretly wants to be a good guy. The movie has some pacing problems, but the voice cast is splendid. Still trying to make “I’m gonna wreck it!” my new text alert sound.

And that should get you situated. Me, I’m about to go into San Francisco to catch a movie, because I’m never really on vacation.