Puss in Boots and Other Disappointments

I loved the story of Puss in Boots when I was little. Having a movie made about him wouldn't be such a bad idea on the whole. However, Puss in Boots is the spin-off movie to the Shrek franchise that not even his fans wanted to see (Nella: Damn you, star! I didn't even wish upon you! It's not even night time!). What I was expecting was a backstory to the character leading up to his appearance at the tavern as an ogre-slaying hitman in the second Shrek movie. This is not what I got out of it. We can assume he ended up in the tavern sometime after being run out of town alongside Kitty Softpaws at the end of the movie (though I haven't seen the Three Diablos tie-in movie and don't plan on it), but there is a serious gap in the storytelling.
The backstory is that Puss grew up in an orphanage in a Spanish village alongside several other fairytale characters like Little Boy Blue. He became the town hero while his BFF Humpty Dumpty became a repeat-offender who tricks him into aiding and abetting him in a bank heist. The plot to steal the magic beans from Jack and Jill (not even the same Jack, who we meet later as he is rotting in jail for stealing someone else's cow, which he had mistaken for his own) arises from the obsession the two of them had had since childhood. Already I'm thinking this shouldn't be happening - none of it.
I like Antonio Banderas, and this role has been very good to him, but this isn't exactly the best movie he's ever done. I hear there's going to be a buttload more Kung Fu Panda sequels, so if Dreamworks decides to cast him in a roll for one of them I wouldn't mind it terribly because those have been awesome.

Here are some short reviews of some disappointing movies I was able to see despite not wanting to.

Shrek Forever After: Okay but not great, and certainly not necessary. Dreamworks made this franchise allegedly out of hatred or spite for Disney, and it shows. Oh look, here are Phelan and Allison having fun at the Shrek-themed restaurant at Magfest:
http://blip.tv/phelous/the-adventure-to-shrek-feast-6496970

Jim Carrey's A Christmas Carol: Not the best one I've seen despite Carrey and the CG. It dragged on too much in some places, and in others I couldn't really tell what was going on or who people were. The Grinch was a better character for him. Oh look, here's what Doug Walker thought of it. At least the two of us can agree on the Mickey Mouse version being awesome.
http://blip.tv/nostalgiacritic/disneycember-a-christmas-carol-6502909
http://blip.tv/nostalgiacritic/sibling-rivalry-overlooked-movies-christmas-carol-1984-6457571

Dinner for Schmucks: I hated the first half, but the second half was pretty good. Still, I think it needed more Jeff Dunham. The only good line he got was accusing his puppet Diane of being drunk. The rest of the time he just sat there in uncomfortable silence. On an added note, he should use her in one of his specials sometime...unless he goes ahead with the idea of the retired dummies special (zombies!).