For movie studios, January is traditionally the time when they dump off their really bad stuff. Coincidentally, I have a birthday coming up.

I like the idea that companies who produce stuff like Battleship and Transformers 8: Sexy Young Stars Pound a Pile of Scrap Metal with a Sledgehammer for 150 Minutes are capable of being embarrassed enough to wait to release their worst movies until everyone's all distracted by awards shows, resolutions to eat less cake, and dying alone in a wind-carved snowfield. Alternately, it could be less about embarrassment and more about believing a given picture probably won't make much money (i.e. only slightly more than you and three generations of your offspring will make in your collective lifetimes).

Whatever the case, in much the same way I fully expect to see a double play whenever the Mariners load the bases, I'm now conditioned to expect nothing but unrelenting torture from my January theatergoing. Lowered expectations can have a big positive impact on how you first view a movie, but in the case of The Green Hornet, I think it'd do just fine without them.

-- Local show times, theaters, trailer.

Seth Rogen is the hard-partying son of hard-nosed Tom Wilkinson, owner of a high-profile LA newspaper. When Wilkinson dies of a bee sting, Rogen bonds with Jay Chou, Wilkinson's mechanic, who knew the old man could be tough on those around him.

Together, Rogen and Chou strike out to engage in some anti-Wilkinson vandalism, but end up beating down a vicious gang of thugs. Inspired by Chou's martial ability, Rogen comes up with a new plan: together, they'll pose as bad guys to bring the city's crime bosses crashing down.

The Green Hornet is directed by Michel Gondry, which is a little like hiring a baboon to tutor your 6-year-old in the math. An average baboon, too, not those illegal Canadian ones you can teach to drive your car and poison the neighbor's lawn. Gondry's known for work such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind-- stuff that has little to no interest in the powerful kicking of asses.

For a while, his offkilter approach works great with cowriters Rogen and Evan Goldberg's joke-heavy script, suggesting a goofier, sloppier action flick is on the way.

Then it becomes, well, your typical action flick.

But it's a pretty good one. Gondry's visual panache (I think that's a breakfast pastry) leads to some bright, thrilling, anarchic-yet-tightly-choreographed action scenes. They're not as revolutionary as, say, inventing weights that lift themselves, but they are a lot of fun to watch.

So enjoy that while The Green Hornet's plot is fumbling to keep its villains involved. Or Chou's performance, which is funny and just a bit touching. Yeah, Rogen and Chou's crime-busting escapades are glossed over pretty fast and their inevitable falling out doesn't go anywhere particularly interesting, but the cast (including Christoph Waltz and Edward James Olmos) is as strong as Strongdor, God of Punching.

Your final appreciation of The Green Hornet is going to ride heavily on whether you like Rogen and Goldberg's sense of humor (they've also written Superbad and Pineapple Express). If you're a fan, you'll probably be a fan of this. If you're not, I shake my head sadly at you and say a silent prayer for the death of your inner child. Or inner stoner. Actually, there's no pot humor in this one, unless you count the gun that shoots green knockout gas, which you probably should.

Most of my disappointment with The Green Lantern didn't come until I sat down to think about it. In the moment, you may be laughing too much to care.

Grade: B