The Number 23

Director Joel Schumacher continues his “OK” movie streak with this silly yet entertaining murder mystery. Jim Carrey stars as a dogcatcher who gets his hands on a strange book that obsesses with the number 23. He starts identifying with a character at the center of the book’s murder mystery, and starts obsessing over the number, as well. The film looks great, and Carrey’s performance is both sensitive and warped. Credit Schumacher and company for making the ending a decent surprise and keeping you interested up until that surprise. Virginia Madsen is good as Carrey’s wife—angered yet intrigued by her husband’s newfound interest in the number 23. Schumacher is making it hard to rank on him lately because his movies have been decent lately. Let’s see how long he can keep that decent streak running.