Beltmann

All the best bits of business emerge from the movie's singular, absurdist tone--I laughed a lot, and had to immediately rewind the "cool beans" scene to watch it again.

Seconded.

Nine-year-old Anna tries to understand why her parents have turned their home life upside down in order to become political radicals in Paris in the Seventies. What I liked most is how the story is told, with steadfast consistency, from the young girl's point-of-view; in specific terms, it's a movie about how a child tries to navigate the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of political conviction, but in general terms, it's a movie about every childhood.

Since release dates vary from region to region, I always go with when a movie first became available in my area. Lives of Others, for example, was a 2006 release, but wasn't released in Milwaukee until later in 2007, so it's eligible for my 2007 list. Such are the vagaries of film distribution. The same reasoning explains why I think Killer of Sheep qualifies for my 2007 considerations, even though it was first screened in 1977.

Movies I really dug this year (at least so far), in alphabetical order: American Gangster / Ridley Scott / USA Away from Her / Sarah Polley / Canada Black Book / Paul Verhoeven / Netherlands Blame It on Fidel! / Julie Gavras / France The Bourne Ultimatum / Paul Greengrass / USA The Bubble / Eytan Fox / Israel Deliver Us from Evil / Amy Berg / USA Eastern Promises / David Cronenberg / USA Gone Baby Gone / Ben Affleck / USA The Host / Bong Joon-Ho / South Korea Hot Fuzz / Edgar Wright / UK I

I am a huge fan of Eastern Promises.

Yeah, I think Mom was a little embarrassed to explain her quest! I believe I made a super-clever crack like, "A dentist party? You gotta be pulling my... tooth?"

He's 7, I think. That's the trouble--my wife just mentioned Shakiest Gun in the West, and my first thought was: What are the odds these kids will know that one? I guess I'll add it to the list. I'll let Mom determine what's in their range of knowledge.

A friend of mine has a child with an upcoming birthday, and the boy wants a dentist-themed party. (Mom was pushing for a baseball or Spider-Man theme, but he was having none of it!) Anyway, mom wants to play a game where she presents various movie clips and have the kiddies guess the film--but she wants all the scenes to be related to dentistry. She asked me if I could think of any familiar kids' flicks with dentist scenes. I thought of only a few, so I'm asking VC for their suggestions. Any thoughts?? My list is pretty short right now: Finding Nemo Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Mar

I've heard exactly half of your list... and now have a printed copy to remind to keep an ear out for the rest.

Fixed it for ya.

That's what she said.

The term "all studio recordings" implies recordings beyond the albums, right? Should we expect them to include material like, say, "Just a Kid"?

Finally got around to seeing A Mighty Heart. I've been beating the drum for Michael Winterbottom for many years, but while he's consistently one of the most interesting--and important--filmmakers alive, he still hasn't hit a home run. A Mighty Heart is like every other Winterbottom film: Visually aggressive, overflowing with ideas and anger, and in desperate need of a quality editor. Jolie's awesome, but the movie isn't fully shaped; in particular, the midsection grows redundant.

I was planning to make a trip for a sneak preview of Sweeney Todd tonight, but today's mountain of snow and sleet, which is still piling up with no end in sight, makes it unlikely. Bummer.

Under normal circumstances, Stacy and I would be there fo' sure. But the dates couldn't be worse--we have super big domestic plans that week.

I just started listening, so I don't have specific feedback other than it sounds very promising! I'll try to offer more later on...

) ) ) ) ) V I B E S ( ( ( ( (

I used to love that song.

It seems like I've always known he was there, but did I notice upon first viewing? Frankly, I don't remember... that was 1995, dude.

Me too. Love that movie.

Yeah, but only in jest.

Cage would have been a superstar in the silent era.