Daddy needs to pay the bills

January is a pitiful month for movies. We all know that. But less commented on is what a wonderful time it is to observe an actor doing what he can to make ends meet. In "Taken," Liam Neeson is a vision of hustle. With every kicked groin or threat to destroy the Eiffel Tower, I saw another paid bill. Wham! There's the cable! Pow! The babysitter! Kablooey! The contractor.

There is little other reason for a star of Neeson's talent and integrity to perform in junk like "Taken." This is not a matter of opposing a very good actor appearing in a very bad movie. May all stars make more trash. It's just that Neeson appears to be afraid of getting his hands dirty. He's workmanlike in his destruction of everything, but trash needs a kind of joy, however secret or remote. And the only joy one imagines Neeson finding in "Taken" is the news that the studio's check has cleared.

David Strathairn is having a similar if less relentlessly marketed kaching! moment in "The Uninvited," a soupy horror movie that opens today. His part is small and his performance dutiful. He's playing the sort of horror-movie character that's forced to be dumb to serve an equally stupid story.

His participation is understandable insofar as times for everyone are tough, and one never knows when the next job might come. So here he is, looking lost and confused (if extremely fit, tan, and handsome), even while he makes love to Elizabeth Banks atop an office desk. With each befuddled stare, you can see him having a "Price Is Right" moment. Bob: "Rod, tell our contestant what he's playing for." Rod: "Well, Bob. [Dramatic pause] A new car!"

What you see in this current wave of paycheck acting (and what actor hasn't acted only for the pay? The upcoming "Pink Panther 2" is a bonanza of such acting) makes a intriguing mirror of our times. If corporate America or Bernard Madoff himself hasn't run off with our finances, it certainly makes sense for us to behave as though he might. Act now. Apologize later.