To any who haven't heard the grisly news, Artie Lange is recovering from an awful suicide attempt back east. As a longtime fan of The Howard Stern Show, I hope he gets back back to a healthier place soon. Let me get this straight -- Magnolia and Boogie Nights on Blu-ray on the same day? Can I call in sick to work? More stuff like Che, Steven. Less like this shit. How can you not love Kirby Dick? Anyone who outs self-hating conservatives is aces. I would watch Damages just to watch Rose Byrne floss her teeth. How is it that Ricky Gervais can't not make great TV shows, but can't get close to making an entertaining movie? I wish the wonderful Kate Beckinsale of Cold Comfort Farm and The Last Days of Disco would replace her current, soulless incarnation. Dorf! And they're still making Blair Witch titty-based parodies? What year is it? more ›

If you somehow missed both had top-drawer casts and the imprimatur of quality. Both were also awfully dull. Tom Cruise takes another step down from his previous perch of box office invincibility. more ›

Yes, we know that rainy days and Mondays can get you down. And doubly so today. But you can turn that mood around by stepping out tonight to one of these great events. Just watch for puddles. more ›

"No Country For Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," and "Atonement" all received nominations for Best Picture this morning, as the Academy Award nominations were announced in Beverly Hills. "No Country" and "There Will Be Blood" are the front runners with eight noms apiece, including a Best Actor nod for perennial Oscar fav Daniel Day-Lewis, and directing nominations for the Coen Bros. and Paul Thomas Anderson. While Javier Bardem was recognized with a Best Supporting nom for his work in "No Country," neither Tommy Lee Jones nor Josh Brolin were nominated for the film (although Jones is in the running for a Best Actor award for his work in "In the Valley of Elah" -- did anybody actually see that?). more ›

Legend holds that after seeing . I'm not sure if it's Paul Thomas Anderson's best film, but I'm certain that it's his most peculiar and ambitious. more ›

I had originally planned to forgo a "best of" list and just talk about all of the movies I enjoyed in this very deep and rich year. After some consideration, though, I decided I should stick my neck out a little bit and go with the best of the best. I'm sure I went with a few outliers and even ignored some consensus picks, but that's why you do these things, right? The hardest films to leave off were --see them all if you haven't already. With that said, here's my ten best. more ›

The list is a little long this week since I'm including the Christmas Day openers. Having already raved about yesterday, I'll lead off with what some are calling the best horror film of the year, The Orphanage. For any horror fan who's tired of torture porn and bad Japanese re-makes, this is the movie for you. Grim and spare, it's a horror film for adults and Spain's foreign-language entrant for next year's Oscars. more ›

I certainly can't speak for anyone else, but is sure to go down as one of the best films in what has already been a very strong year--maybe the finest since 1999. more ›

The Michael Bay-directed, gigantic budget, summer blockbuster comes out today, but some may remember the 1986 animated feature Transformers: The Movie. Released the same year the current film's star Shia LaBeouf was born, the animated classic cast the vocal talents of Orson Welles, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Idle, Judd Nelson and Casey Kasem. The movie also featured the song "The Touch" by Stan Bush. Director Paul Thomas Anderson gave a tongue-in-cheek nod to the anthem... more ›

As August draws to a close, blogland seems to be on hiatus, leaving us with re-runs. But repeats can be rewarding. For instance, LA journalist Rodger Jacobs posts a 1999 article about his experiences writing a documentary about porn legend John Holmes. How could you not love an essay that begins with: more ›