Josh Tate

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...

The list is a little long this week since I'm including the Christmas Day openers. Having already raved about There Will Be Blood 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...

I certainly can't speak for anyone else, but There Will Be Blood is my most anticipated film of the year, and it finally starts today at the Arclight. Part of me doesn't want to even mention this since it will only spur more people to crowd the theater tonight. The better half, though, thinks it's worth announcing since Blood is sure to go down as one of the best films in what has already...

After debuting last week on the Internet, Jackass 2.5 is coming to DVD tomorrow. I'll be watching, laughing and drinking--in that order. If you missed Eastern Promises in theaters, pick it up immediately. Viggo has never been better. I enjoyed The Kingdom, but I think I would have preferred the original ending (spoiler warning!). The Heartbreak Kid was funnier than critics gave it credit for and had the best last line of any movie...

In a crowded weekend of new movies, it was National Treasure: Book of Secrets that topped the box office with a haul of 45.5 million dollars. I Am Legend showed good strength in it second weekend ($34.2M/$137.4M) as did Alvin and the Chipmunks ($29M/$84.8M). Charlie Wilson's War managed fourth place in its debut ($9.6M), just ahead of fellow opener Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ($9.3M). P.S. I Love You had a...

Though his recent output has been sparse and not particularly memorable, there can be no argument that Francis Ford Coppola has left one of the larger imprints on the history of film. This is a man who once directed, consecutively--consecutively--The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather: Part II and Apocalypse Now. Tonight, he'll be at the 7:40 screening of his latest, Youth Without Youth at the Landmark Theater at Pico and Westwood. Incidentally, if you...

One day the golden touch of Judd Apatow will fade and one of his films will bomb (Drillbit Taylor is the likeliest culprit). For now, though, he can seem to do no wrong and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story looks to be his latest triumph. It's a bit of a departure for Apatow--there's a strong Zucker vibe coursing through Walk Hard--but I'll be piling into the theater along with everyone else this weekend...

Though most film coverage focuses on the stars of a particular movie, there is a large legion of supporting actors who give shape and weight to the world of that film. Before Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of the stars of Charlie Wilson's War, he had a brief but memorable role many years ago in Scent of a Woman. Now, also in Charlie Wilson's War, Hilary Angelo jumps off the screen as one of the...

Like American Gangster earlier in the fall, Charlie Wilson's War tells a fascinating and (mostly) true story that's so improbable you wonder what's taken it so long to reach the big screen. If you don't already know, Charlie Wilson was a fairly nondescript Congressman from Texas (known more as a hedonist than a legislator) who almost single-handedly provided the money and weapons that the Afghan Mujahideen used to defeat the seemingly invincible Soviet Union....

Only Bryan Singer has directed a better superhero movie than Guillermo del Toro's original Hellboy. It was one of the real surprises of 2004 and starting next July the whole gang is back for Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Early details about the film have been sparse (expect Del Toro compadre Harry Knowles to have the lion's share of exclusives), but today at noon the first trailer for the film rolls out simultaneously on...