2005: The Top 10 (2005 Dec 30)

Every year, I get asked why I don't post this list earlier. After all, some critics make theirs available in mid-December. To me, it's unseemly to reveal my favorites of the year before the year is over. So here's the list, with a few comments for...

2005: The Bottom 10 (2005 Dec 28)

Bottom 10 lists are curious things. They're more fun to read than to produce. (Doing so requires the critic to peruse titles of which he/she would prefer not to be reminded.) They are often used to promote a critic's "message," with some Bottom ...

2005: Performances Worth Mentioning (2005 Dec 27)

In the past, I have tried to match performances with the Academy's four vaunted categories: Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress. However, since who gets into what category is a matter of games and politics, I'm not going ...

The Longest Month (2005 Dec 24)

For as long as I can remember, January has been my least favorite month. It's a long, bleak stretch from New Year's Day to Memorial Day, and this is only the beginning. On a sunny day, there are about nine hours of light. The daytime high ...

So How Bad Was 2005? (2005 Dec 23)

For me, the year in movies 2005 is over. I have seen everything I'm going to see. (The exception is Wolf Creek, about which I'm on the fence. Roger Ebert and I don't always agree, but zero stars?) So I'm now in a position where I can look back on...

What Theaters Can Do (2005 Dec 19)

Robert Iger is my hero. (Well, one of them.) The guy is unstoppable. Here's a man with some clout in the industry who believes that the release paradigm has to change - that the DVD release date needs to be rolled forward until it coincides (or ...

In the Gut of the Beholder (2005 Dec 17)

Whoever came up with the cliche "comedy is subjective" knew what he/she was talking about. Few things are more individual than humor. One person's Monty Python is another person's Freddy Got Fingered. This makes reviewing comedies especially hard...

The Lead Globes (2005 Dec 15)

Every year, I receive a few e-mails asking why I don't provide coverage of The Golden Globes. This year, the nominees answer that question. How is it possible to take seriously an awards show that fails to nominate Munich, while acknowledging both ...

How Big Is He? (2005 Dec 12)

Every time you turn around, King Kong is another height. In the 1933 version, he started out about 18 feet tall, then grew seven feet for the New York scenes. In the 1976 re-make, he was between 40 and 50 feet tall. The Japanese Kong movies ...

Love Affair with a Giant Ape (2005 Dec 10)

I know where Peter Jackson is coming from, because I have walked down a similar road. Admittedly, King Kong hasn't become the lifelong obsession for me that it has been for him but, when it comes to love of a movie, King Kong was my first. And, as ...

Self-Defense (2005 Dec 09)

There are two philosophies of how a public (or semi-public) figure should react to an attack. The first states that ignoring it is the best approach. The attacker is looking for attention and validation and to give it to him/her is to satisfy a ...

The 12 (Actually, 13) Movies of Christmas (2005 Dec 06)

Let's face it... most Christmas movies are bad. They're enough to keep any self-respecting movie-lover up all night with visions of The Santa Clause and Jingle All the Way dancing in his/her head. To counter the charge that Christmas movies are all...

Predictable as Ever? (2005 Dec 03)

From my review of Aeon Flux: "I'll never understand why studios sometimes choose to withhold films from critics. The lack of advance screenings of Aeon Flux establishes an expectation that the film is likely to be tough to sit through. It's the ...

November Leftovers (2005 Nov 30)

I'll end this month by providing follow-ups to a few recent entries I have written that have generated significant e-mail volume. Starting tomorrow, it's time to turn the page on the calendar to December. That means a few columns about King Kong ...

The Game's Afoot (2005 Nov 29)

Over the years, I have gotten my share of irate e-mails from annoyed devotees who don't think I give video games enough credit. I think at some point, I may have written something along the lines of "this movie has a plot worthy of a video game" - ...

Presents and Lumps of Coal (2005 Nov 28)

At long last, December is upon us (or close enough so it doesn't matter). This one month - 31 days long - is the critic's reward for enduring the other 11. I like to think of the movies released during the Holiday season as presents. The majority ...

Ghosts of Thanksgiving Past (2005 Nov 24)

In the United States, today is Thanksgiving. Historically, the holiday commemorates a feast that occurred to mark the first successful harvest in the United States, and the peacable interaction between the pilgrims and the Native Americans. (How ...