UNDERRATED / OVERRATED

UNDERRATED

Jim Carrey: We have to admit we shrugged at the coming of “Yes Man,” but numbers don’t lie. The ever-committed physical comic bested Will Smith and a big-eared cartoon mouse at the box office in its first week, and all without trying to work the dramatic range of “The Number 23” or, worse, “The Majestic.” Carrey may not be breaking any new ground here (“Liar Liar,” anyone?), but at least he’s back to making us laugh.

Ringing in the New Year with TV: Everyone’s feeling a pang of pressure to appear at any given be-all-end-all bash to kick off 2009, but we fully endorse under-planning. No doubt holiday parties, shopping and travel took enough of a toll, so why not just scratch this one and watch the ball drop with a toast to the comforts of home? New Year’s Eve is a big night, but it’s also amateur night. Save your strength -- it’s a long year.

OVERRATED

The shoegazing sound: Please don’t misunderstand: We harbor big love for the big guitar sound of late 1980s Britain. Yet, after hearing and rehearing so many bands from the last few years consult the My Bloody Valentine fake-book for swooning feedback textures and lilting lyrics, we’re ready to let this revitalized genre die once more. Not that we all need to go unplugged, but everyone, please: It’s time to look up.

This year’s

‘serious’ films: Is it just us, or does the 2008 crop of holiday Oscar-bait releases seem a bit underwhelming? We always relish ending our movie season with thought-provoking cinema, but some of us just can’t get worked up for a feature-length shouting match (“Revolutionary Road”), a bigoted vet (“Gran Torino”) or sympathetic Nazis (“The Reader”). May 2009 bring us lighter cinematic tidings.