the buzz log

Obsession with a twist rules the eclectic showings at the Buzz Multiplex this week, from a black cop against miscegenation, to a hunchbacked scientist who creates good for an evil science fair, to a spurned suitor who sends his piggish pal to the object of his fascination.

1. "Lakeview Terrace" (PG-13). Director Neil LaBute's creative history has had some critical highs ("In the Company of Men") and some whomping lows ("The Wicker Man" remake). That may explain his uneven take on the tale of as a racist cop who objects to his neighbor's interracial marriage. Regardless of critical reaction, Samuel Jackson as the "glowering cop" gets kudos for always being better than his surroundings, and bigger than his castmembers' searches.

2. "Igor" (PG). Yes, not all animators work for Disney or Pixar. An indie vision borrows Victor Hugo's tragic hunchback and spiffs him up for a 21st-century outing. This time, Igor has some Dr. Frankenstein aspirations and creates a sweet-natured Eva (voiced by Molly Shannon) for the annual evil-monster science fair. John Cusack lends his vocal chords as the lead hunchman, and Steve Buscemi is cast, in an oddly appropriate way, as a reincarnated rabbit. Mixed reviews call this a "screwball" comedy that's "wickedly funny," but MTV finds "Igor" suffers from a "humor deficit." (Check out the MTV review for a fleeting parenthetical history of the first Hollywood evil assistants.)

3. "My Best Friend's Girl" (R). The only R-rated movie of the bunch could be slicing out about a quarter of the potential audience, considering the 23% Search interest from kids under 18. Kate Hudson cuts her usual romantic-comedy screen persona loose with a foul mouth and sexual aggression. Hudson's appeal definitely outweighs the movie itself, in which Jason Biggs sends best pal and womanizer Dane Cook after his ex-girlfriend. The plan backfires, and Biggs also suffer the offscreen indignity of having only 8% of Cook's online popularity... and a third of castmate Alec Baldwin's searches, for that matter.

Others sought out on the Buzz Marquee... "The Duchess" (PG-13, limited release) is all about a big-haired Keira Knightley, who prefers Dominic Cooper to Ralph Fiennes. As if: Searchers certainly don't agree with her choice ... The old West returns with pardners Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris in the based-on-a-novel "Appaloosa" (R, limited) but Renee Zellweger provides much welcome female presence with more searches than the two cowboys combined ... A cast headed by Brit Ricky Gervais and Tea Leoni give "Ghost Town" (PG-13) a late Search surge ... Finally, the "Battle in Seattle" (R, limited) brings together Charlize Theron, Andre 3000, and Woody Harrelson in a film about the 1999 protests against the World Trade Organization.