MOVIES: Flubs ‘R’ Us — ’88 Minutes’

   Maybe it’s because I’m a crabby movie critic, but I really hate it when movies make sloppy mistakes. Take the new Al Pacino thriller "88 Minutes" — please.
   For one thing, any movie that with a specific time in its title ("High Noon," "3:10 to Yuma") ought to pay attention to that title. Which means a movie called "88 Minutes" should end after 88 minutes, not after 108 minutes.
   But there are more careless mistakes on view, especially in relation to its supposed setting: Seattle. Sure, the Canadian city of Vancouver shares a Pacific Northwest location with Seattle. Last time I looked, however, American pubs didn’t have signs proclaiming they were "Licenced." Seattle has plenty of ferries, but not to Victoria Island. More dead giveaways: a newsstand advertising the Canadian newspaper 24 Hours and the Canadian drugstore chain Shoppers Drug Mart.
   Maybe if "88 Minutes" had been a consistently riveting thriller, I might have been too caught up in the excitement to ponder such minor details. But with a movie that stretches credibility as much as "88 Minutes" does, it’s dangerous to give audiences too much time to think. (Another reason it should have been only "88 Minutes" long.)