Beltmann

Have you seen Frozen River yet? I watched it tonight, and I think it's about as perfect as a movie can be.

I don't think I'd say '59 Sound is the "best" album of 2008, but it's probably my favorite in the sense that I listened to it more than any other, and still can't put it away. It's an album that means something to me. Also, I think the comparison to Marah makes a lot of sense.

Surely Saving Private Ryan is better than Shakespeare in Love, but that's one of my favorite Oscar moments ever. It's rare when the show actually has a moment that doesn't feel pre-ordained, and that one was a shocker. Great fun, that was. I suppose we could get worked up about who wuz robbed, but seriously: Does Saving Private Ryan, or any other good movie, really need the validation of Oscar to endure or be treasured? A win is merely a footnote, a nice bit of trivia attached to the history of the movie's journey.

Haven't seen it yet, but it's pretty high on my must-see list. If you like it, then I would strongly recommend Akin's earlier Head-On and even earlier In July.

Fixed it for ya. I just don't see it. Benjamin Button is a major wide release, popular with both audiences and critics, starring two major actors. Frost/Nixon is another high-profile Hollywood release, based on a well-known play, made by one of the most successful and popular directors in the industry. Milk is a conventional biopic starring one of Hollywood's top actors, and directed by a highly-regarded artist with a long career. The Reader is an adaptation of a bestseller--an Oprah selection!--starring a major actress and directed by a prior nominee. Slumdog Millionaire is a commercia

Or maybe the Academy adored both Gran Torino and Eastwood in it, but just liked five others a bit more. Yeah, they always give it to squares like Eminem and Bob Dylan.

I guess I just don't get the notion that awards ought to reflect popular taste. If you want a list that's in touch with American filmgoers, read the box-office report (and give the Oscar to Paul Blart: Mall Cop). In my view, the most worthwhile thing an awards show can do is introduce intriguing movies to people who otherwise wouldn't have thought twice about them, since they are too busy being bombarded with commercials for Marley & Me. Besides, this list seems like yet another year where Hollywood rewarded its own relatively mainstream product rather than the really adventurous and i

Roger Ebert loved it:

The Curious Case of Forrest Gump

Revolutionary Road. I'm not a fan of movies that make the shallow, Palinesque assertion that the "suburbs" are somehow less real than anywhere else. Plus, all of the actors seem like they are acting rather than embodying the characters. The whole thing reeks of smarminess.

I agree with you in general principle, but these new regs make the situation more complicated. First, several laws, including Title VII, already provide protection for workers who don't want to participate in abortion-related services. The right to refuse has existed for three decades. These new regs go much further, though, and make it virtually impossible for hospitals to anticipate all the situations where a worker might invoke the conscience clause; they may also render certain state laws unenforceable, such as those mandating contraceptive insurance coverage or the availability of emer

To my eyes, Paranoid Park is by far the best of Van Sant's recent cycle of impressionistic "vibe" films. This time, the psyche of the main character feels fully explored, not merely hinted at with vague approximations.

About half are available on DVD... I suppose Transsiberian, Honeydripper, and The Visitor are the most "accessible."

Fatherhood dramatically altered my moviegoing habits, too--and 2008 saw the arrival of the second spawn, so I ended up seeing less than in any year since the mid-Nineties. Still, I did a decent job of staying on top of the 2008 movies I was most excited about. What got cut was all the obvious crap--I think I've lost interest in being comprehensive--and, unfortunately, a high number of second-tier titles. Having two kids really changes things, which is frustrating at times but overall is still a terrific trade-off: Now I have the pleasure of introducing my kids to all sorts of movies, and th

I loved The Dark Knight, Benjamin Button and Slumdog as much as anyone, but if it were up to me, these films would be up for more awards: The Edge of Heaven A Christmas Tale My Brother Is an Only Child Transsiberian The Visitor Wendy and Lucy Honeydripper Shotgun Stories The Last Mistress Paranoid Park Flight of the Red Balloon and many others...

Stacy and I are planning to be there!

We're on the same page.

Gotcha. But even so, when we look at Eastwood's entire CV, there's plenty that fits the "Dirty Harry" mold but nearly as many projects that try something different. I'm not sure it's still fair, all these years on, to say that persona is the only enduring association of his career. (I say this as someone who thinks Eastwood the director has only become better, and more interesting, with age.)

I found the main character insufferable, but the moviemaking is classy--it's a good film, despite my personal irritance.

I've seen all of those, and most liked Benjamin Button and Rachel Getting Married. I guess I'm mildly curious about what will be nominated, but I don't have any strong feelings about it--awards shows are just not a reasonable way to discuss "quality" in cinema.

I don't think his recent output is all that different from everything else--they certainly cover familiar themes and ideas, albeit in new formats. Besides, what's wrong with mixing it up? Is an artist not being "true" if they veer away, over time, from their established persona? In my view, what would be false is if Eastwood allowed himself to be boxed-in by preconceptions the audience might have. Million Dollar Baby might be miles away from, say, The Outlaw Josey Wales, but I'm not sure that makes it any less Eastwood-y.

Starting from today--the 18th--I'd highly recommend these: Sex & Lucia For the Bible Tells Me So Joe Strummer The Puffy Chair

I liked Doubt and really liked Gran Torino--even if the Christ-figure stuff at the end was a bit over-the-top. And The Curious Case of Benjamin Button might be among the year's best.

That was my first computer, too. I even had the Datasette gadget that allowed you to store stuff on cassette tape.