UNDERRATED

Danny Boyle: With all the raves being justly handed down for the director’s M.I.A.-video-meets-Bollywood-fairy-tale “Slumdog Millionaire,” it’s worth remembering there’s more to Boyle than his oft-referenced “Trainspotting”: the brogue-heavy Hitchcockian “Shallow Grave,” the zombie flick game-changer “28 Days Later,” and the overlooked space-suspense epic “Sunshine.” Would he get more notice if he went by Daniel?

‘The Candidate’: We’ve been meaning to see this political satire for some time, and post-election seemed like the perfect opportunity. Though still undeniably 1970s in spirit (just what is that turquoise medallion Robert Redford wears in his first scene?), its emphasis on the media as the message remains relevant. It’s worth your time, if only to see Redford’s cracking-up candidate babbling in the back of a car en route to yet another stump speech.

OVERRATED

Classic characters in ads: What began with Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney sharing a soft-drink spot with Elton John continues unchecked, with satellite TV ads featuring reworked scenes from our favorite movies. Now, we see the stop-motion-animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer shill for an insurance company. Bah, humbug.

Christmas albums: Call us Scrooges, but every year a new batch of artists looks to cash in on holiday gold, and every year leaves us wondering why. Not to say that there aren’t some as-yet-unexplored nuances to “Little Drummer Boy” and “The Christmas Song,” but at this point we’re thinking anything beyond Vince Guaraldi’s soundtrack for “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is just gilding the lily. Want to hear Christmas music? Go caroling.