Underrated/Overrated

Tilda Swinton: While we’re on the fence about the occasionally heavy-handed “I Am Love,” there’s no arguing about Swinton’s arresting performance. Always a commanding, eccentric presence, whether portraying a witch in “The Chronicles of Narnia” or a wicked pediatrician in “Burn After Reading,” here the Italian-speaking Swinton inhabits her character’s every raw emotion, looking radiant and sensual in one scene, hollowed out and devastated the next.

Morgan Freeman’s ‘Through the Wormhole’: This Science Channel series sort of had us at hello with a title that geeky, but add the deity-friendly voice of host Freeman asking unanswerable questions about the universe and we’re hooked. Granted, we can barely understand some of the quantum mechanics and theoretical physics being tossed around, but it’s a delight to watch science programming on cable that doesn’t involve Bigfoot.

Werewolves: Between “True Blood” and the all-consuming (for some of us, anyway) “Twilight” saga, the age of the vampire seems to be giving way to the fond and familiar lycanthrope, right down to high school kids starting to dress like, well, teen wolves. We appreciate this evolution in tastes, but can’t we move away from such well-worn matinee favorites to some fresher mythical monsters? What we wouldn’t give for a good griffin subplot.

Steve Carell’s movie choices: Count us among the grateful that this gifted comic will walk away from NBC’s “The Office” after next season if it means he’ll have more time to find better scripts. Since nailing it with “Little Miss Sunshine” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” Carell has aimed low with “Evan Almighty,” “Date Night” and the already suspicious-looking “Dinner for Schmucks,” due this month. You’re so much better than this, Steve.