One-Liners

OF TIME AND THE CITY (B-minus) - A quaint tone poem from the ever-nostalgic Terence Davies, this is more of a mix-tape or a home movie than a documentary that the masses can appreciate. Davies -- the auteur behind the nostalgic feature films "Distant Voices, Still Lives" and "The Deep Blue Sea" -- pens a valentine to his hometown of Liverpool, England.

Davies employs archival footage of the port town known mostly for battleships and the Beatles. His raspy voice provides the voiceover, which borders on the bombastic. He's partial to purple prose from deep thinkers over the centuries, such as this one from Carl Jung: "We meet our destiny on the road we take to avoid it."

As you'd expect, this comes off as highly personal, as nostalgia-squared. It's so personal that it's not easy for the rest of us to appreciate Davies' intimate personal diary that's on display. He does shake things up by jumbling images and sounds. For instance, the start of World War II is heralded by the next-gen '60s classic from the Hollies, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother."

This is an interesting curiosity that quickly fades into hazy memory.

THE HAPPY SAD (C-minus) - Bad acting, clunky direction and cheap sets doom this attempt at breaking down gender and sexual barriers.

In the opening scene, Amy (Sorel Carradine, Keith's daughter, yawn) and Stan (rocker Cameron Scoggins) break up during brunch. To somehow make it easier, she makes up a story about developing a recent crush on her friend Mandy and says she needs time to sort things out. Stan, it turns out, is bi-curious, and he soon finds himself in the apartment of a gay man who just agreed with his partner of six years to open up their relationship. Meantime, Amy's idea of making a move on Mandy veers toward reality.

The possibilities here are intriguing. The execution is completely botched. Director Rodney Evans (who has explored the gay black lifestyle previously) tries to convert a stage play by newcomer Ken Urban. Both come off as hacks here. The dialogue is stale; the plot is often simplistic; and the cast come off as amateurs.

There is one promising moment in the second half -- when Amy and Stan fall back into bed together, and she gets him to enunciate his gay fantasies -- where there's a glimmer of hope that this film might have something significant to offer. but the moment is fleeting. And the production limps to a bland ending.