Brian Gibson loves to buy DVDs. Come with him on his weekly journey into the depths of credit card debt as he tells you what to buy, rent and avoid.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, better known to many of us as The Academy, has announced the 14 submitted films for the Best Animated Feature Award that will be handed out next February.

Walt Disney Animation has a film that recently caught my eye — a clever little tale about a Hollywood dog who believes that he is a superhero in real life. It is called Bolt, and it looks like it might be just the right movie to cure my end of the year animation blues.

It was another losing weekend at the box office generally and for one Mr. Dane Cook in particular. His flick My Best Friend’s Girl crashed into third place at $8.3 million, allowing Samuel L. Jackson to win his own personal box office battle with Lakeview Terrace.

This is where most lower-quality animated films fail – not in the animation, but in the writing. The Pixar and DreamWorks CGI animated films often carry a message, but it is woven decently into the script rather than being delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

Kevin and Neil are recovering from the righteous wind storm that swept through the Midwest… or at least they’re using that as an excuse for not having seen all the movies this week.

Alright, maybe we shouldn’t go that far with it… But we can all admit that it hasn’t been an amazing year for ole’ Harvey and Bob. Plus, this animated inventor movie doesn’t show a whole lot of promise.