Fashion is one of the truest forms of self expression. Fashion is also one of the easiest ways to disguise oneself. Masquerades go beyond Halloween costumes and regularly figure into our daily lives.

Many girls use Halloween as an excuse to diverge from their usual, more conservative attire to dress like either a slut, whore, skank or ho. However, Halloween does not have to be the only day of the year that girls wear disguises that alter their ordinary appearance. Costumes are not necessarily the obvious outfits that we associate with Halloween; costumes can be worn everyday to disguise minor physical or intellectual attributes.

“Where's Bill Murray?” I found myself asking that question throughout The Darjeeling Limited. Murray makes a brief cameo in the movie as he enjoys a brief taxi cab ride. During this harrowing trip his face runs through a range of expression with such ease and unassuming panache that from that scene on I kept hoping he would pop back up and start speaking. At this point, Murray has became a de facto Anderson repertory player, and his absence in the rest of the movie is a sore lack. Murray can play sadness and ennui, so crucial for characters in Wes Anderson films, without even trying. The three (figurative) clowns who star aren't cut out for wallowing but slapstick.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, a marathon neo-western from Australian writer-director Andrew Dominik, could have been a classic. There are traces of a masterpiece interspersed throughout the overlong two-and-a-half hour run time. The problem lies not in the quality of the content, per se, but rather the sometimes-excruciating pace at which the story unfolds. Sometimes minutes fly by unnoticed. Other times, especially as the film builds towards the climactic murder, every second lingers, and time slows down to a stop. Add to these pacing issues a monotonous score that tends to make each scene blend together into a haze of tedium and you have yourself a movie more likely to bore its viewers to sleep than leave them satisfied as the credits roll.

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is not the worst movie you will ever see. There’s some good acting, a bit of humor, some cool visuals and Natalie Portman. But if you’re into plot, character development, or entertainment value, you may be disappointed. There’s not much to guess at after the first ten minutes, and most of the film is filled with empty and predictable emotional epiphanies. Toys and magic are cool—everyone knows that—but they do not a movie make. With a bit more story and another conflict or two, this film could have been good. Instead, it’s flat and mediocre.