I just got ahold of a copy of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, a movie that I absolutely adored when it first came out, but which I hadn't seen in so long that I'd forgotten a lot of the details. (Including the fact that the fabulously wealthy, eccentric old man who arranges to have a crew of misfits and mercenaries sent off in search of a mysterious, magical island is named "Mr. Whitmore"; the Lost fan in me was very much amused. Can that really be a coincidence? Are both the show and the movie making reference to some third thing of which I am unaware?)

Anyhow, the weirdest thing about watching the film was the way that it so strongly echoes so many of my own story ideas, and the fact that I honestly can't remember what the causality of that is. Did I watch the movie and love it so much that I decided, consciously or subconsciously, to steal many the bits I liked best and insert them into my own stories? Or did my stories come first, and the reason I loved the movie was that it reflected the ideas that were already in my mind so beautifully? A bit of both? I kind of suspect it was the former, though I honestly can't remember well enough to be sure. It was a pretty strange feeling, regardless.

However, as much as I love it, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is also one of those films that makes me doubt my good taste when it comes to movies. Most movie reviewers didn't like it much at all, and for the most part, I can even understand and agree with their reasoning. And yet, and yet. The combination of visual spectacle and sharply written banter is more than I can resist. When a film is this fun to watch, it's hard for me to get too hung up on details of plausibility, depth, or even coherence.

Besides, a solid majority of reviewers liked -- even loved -- The Reader, so what do they know anyhow.