The Twilight Saga: New Moon, like last year’s Twilight, is critic-proof.  We film critics don’t get it, this film isn’t for us, and the fans will love it.  However, none of that means New Moon isn’t worthy of humorous derision or concerned analysis of the disturbing subtext.  New Moon is a bad movie which fails on nearly every level, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fascinating.  The series is one of the most popular young adult stories of the last decade yet the movie, which wouldn’t dare make radical changes to the book, lacks so much: a strong female protagonist, subtlety, joy, a positive message to young women, and above all, shirts.  The men of New Moon need shirts.

I opined when it came to Up that it’s hard to judge the Pixar canon because there are so few missteps, but when it comes to favorites, everyone’s got to have one. You have to at some point think of which one you love the most. It’s not like they’re your children. Though a case can be made for almost every single one of their films, the one that gets me the hardest, and the one that always works me over like a sap is Monsters Inc. My review of it after the jump.

Lloyd Dobler. This name resonates for those who love Say Anything because if you make a list of great cinematic romantic characters, Lloyd Dobler is one of the few truly resonant male characters in the genre. Soulful, but not weak, Dobler is an outsider smart enough to know what he doesn’t want. Cementing the appeal of John Cusack for generations, even with some classic characters in Better off Dead and the series of comedies that followed, Cusack was a light comic actor. Here he takes it to the next level. My review of Say Anything after the jump.

Chris Columbus used to have a magic touch. Sure, you might not have liked the movies, but he was the hand behind the first two Home Alone movies and the first two Harry Potter films. He’s had misfires, for sure, but his first major script was Gremlins. Gremlins. But when you look at his filmography he goes from highs to lows, but there’s something of a chance-taker in him too. He was the guy who wanted to direct Rent, for god’s sake. And though his plastic hands have released such odious affairs as Stepmom and Bicentennial Man, he’s not a filmmaker to write off. My review of his latest - I Love You Beth Cooper - after the jump.

We’re done with Sacha Baron Cohen’s most famous creations, cinematically speaking. When Da Ali G show hit it was a sensation in England, and a cult hit in America, and ignitied some stateside interest in this great prankster. On the show he played the daft Ali G (which was turned into the film Ali G Indahouse, released DTV stateside), the foreigner Borat (which was turned into runaway hit Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan) and the gay German fashionista Bruno (turned into Bruno). With the huge success of Borat, the possibility of Cohen being able to prank people got smaller and smaller, and so Bruno is the last shot until Cohen turns himself into something new, or hides for a while. My review of Bruno after the jump.

It’s A Wonderful Life is a wonderful film.  Does that sound cliché? Well, too bad, because it has been voted the number one most inspiring film of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI).  Frank Capra’s film holds up to the hype, and that’s a very difficult thing to live up to after so many years and years of fanfare.  Broadcast every holiday season, this film is considered a “Christmas movie” though it’s not really about Christmas at all.  It was continually shown during the holiday season, as the rights had fallen into public domain, so TV stations ran it endlessly during the holidays without having to pay a royalty.  The aggressive broadcasts assaulted the public, happily creating several generations to take notice.  Though it may have always been regarded among only film buffs as a great film, television is responsible for it its rediscovery, and for crowning it one of the royal classics, along with Gone with the Wind and the Wizard of Oz. My full review after the jump:

I remember when Clerks was announced. It was a Sundance favorite and trailered along with Pulp Fiction. Having had some counter experience, and being a Star Wars nerd, Clerks looked like sweet elixir. And I went to see it opening weekend (in a double feature with Stargate), and was in the Kevin Smith. Revisiting his films Clerks, Chasing Amy and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back on Blu-ray in the Kevin Smith collection is a chance to wrestle with what makes Kevin Smith great and somewhat terrible. My review after the jump.

Any serious fan of Walt Disney and his films who owns a DVD player should be aware of the Walt Disney Treasures series by now.  If not, you are truly missing out.  The Walt Disney Treasures DVD sets are 2-disc Limited Editions presenting rare Disney shows along with bonus features that go into the making and history behind each program.  The two new Zorro Treasures releases break the 2-disc rule and include 6 discs in each set, containing the entire series-run, along with plenty of fun extras.  I am very glad that the entire seasons are included.  It could have been easy for these sets to be released with just a small sampling of each season, staying with the 2-disc formula.  Thank you Walt Disney Home Video for not taking the easy way out and giving us the entire run of Walt Disney’s Zorro! More after the jump:

Hollywood has figured something out, which is that even if you spend a shit-ton of money on a film, that in and of itself can attract an audience. It’s hard to look at the relative success of Waterworld at the box office as anything more than rubbernecking on the freeway, and it was worthwhile for many who had grown tired of Kevin Costner. My review of Waterworld after the jump.

Big hair, big boobs, ridiculous revenge storylines, and endless juggling combos. And wait till we tell you about the females. Yes, boys and girls: Tekken 6 has finally arrived on next generation consoles. How does this brawling series legend fare in comparison to its ass kicking counterparts? Find out after the jump.

If you have seen a single advertisement for 2012, you know what this movie is.  I’m not saying you know the plot (as if it mattered) or anything like that.  You know that the world ends in a spectacular fashion and all you have to do then is extend that out to 2 ½ hours and you have a movie that is exhilarating to the point of exhaustion.  If you grouped 2012 with director Roland Emmerich’s previous disaster films, Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, then 2012 would be the crowning achievement of an unofficial “I Hate Earth” trilogy.

It was an unusually warm day in November when I got word that there would be an advanced screening of Focus Features’ newest picture, Pirate Radio. In addition to the screening, I would get the chance to talk with Tom Sturridge, a bit of an acting newcomer who would serve as the film’s lynchpin, and the writer/director of the film, Richard Curtis.  Well, I grabbed The Who’s Greatest Hits album, aptly titled after one of their greatest singles, My Generation, jumped in my Chevy and sped away towards midtown Manhattan.

Being a bit of a Richard Curtis fan for his work as a writer on one of Britain’s most celebrated sitcoms ever, Black Adder, and for his directorial debut with Love, Actually, to say I was amped up would probably be an understatement. I had also wanted to desperately see this movie since I had heard of it because I usually enjoy time-period pieces about one of my favorite subjects, the history of TV and radio.  What I thought of the film and more after the jump:

Wings of Desire is one of those films that I’ve always wanted to see, but been weary of getting around to watching. Sure, it’s a well-respected classic of its time, often cited as one of the great films of the  1980’s, and held the cache of “the foreign film people who don’t watch foreign films love” much like films like Amelie or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But when the film came out Pauline Kael decimated it in her review. And I hate being the movie guy who doesn’t like films that everyone else likes, which is often the case. My review after the jump.

I am an anglophile.  I will own up to that straight out of the gate.  I grew up watching every BBC program offered by my local PBS station.  That’s how I came to start my lifelong relationship with Monty Python.  That’s where my fascination with Red Dwarf began.  That’s how I came across Rowan Atkinson’s gem of a series Black Adder.  Brit humor fans click to find more after the jump.

AFM* fun continues with the first images and full synopses for All Good Things starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, Pirhana 3D starring Elisabeth Shue and Richard Dreyfuss, Shanghai starring John Cusack and Ken Watanbe, and The Fighter starring Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, and Amy Adams.  These are all films that should be on your radar because there’s a good chance that these films will be getting some major marketing when they hit theaters.

I write and read about films every day and with the exception of The Fighter, these films weren’t really on my radar.  After reading the synopses and seeing some shots from these movies, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for further news about them.  Hit the jump to check out debut photos and what you need to know about these upcoming flicks.

Catalog titles FTW. I am one of those rare people who enjoy being “double dipped.” I like upgrading to Blu-ray if I love a film, because you only get to watch a movie for the first time once, and so a different and better transfer is a reason (at least for me) to get excited about a film you’ve seen a number of times. When I would go see something in the theater on multiple occasions, I’d often go to different theaters (or failing that, different seats). My reviews of the Blu-rays of Heat and Logan’s Run after the jump.