It's funny how much difference a role can make. Javier Bardem, the ultratalented Spanish actor, is so believable in "No Country for Old Men" that I'm still afraid that his character is waiting for me when I get home at night.

But then I went to see "Love in the Time of Cholera" and, despite Bardem's best efforts, he wasn't able to do anything with the character of a love-struck simpleton. At least that's how the Garcia Marquez-inspired character that Bardem played came off.

What a waste of time and effort this film is. Why they didn't cast it with an all-Spanish-speaking cast is something I never will understand.

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