The best films you've never seen.

Among the better-known films reviewed in the book are "Ronin," a crackling thriller starring Robert De Niro and directed by John Frankenheimer (with some "impressive car chases," Turan writes with understatement); "High Fidelity," the John Cusack film based on the Nick Hornby novel about music and relationships; "Spirited Away," the already-classic work of Japanese animation; "Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey," a documentary about the inventor of the strange electronic instrument; and "The Third Man," director Carol Reed's classic work, from a script by Graham Greene, set -- and filmed -- in the bombed-out rubble of postwar Vienna (and featuring Orson Welles' great "cuckoo clock" speech).

Huh. Those liars. I think I've seen all those.

I don't remember much of the Theremin one. But there were Theremins in it.

Huh. Those liars. I think I've seen all those.

Yeah, I've seen and liked the first three. Didn't know they were considered to be underappreciated.

From the Polar Express review:

This season's biggest holiday extravaganza, "The Polar Express," should be subtitled "The Night of the Living Dead." The characters are that frightening.

The Flick Filospher says that the animators actually transformed Steven Tyler into an elf--"it's something that should only be attempted in a horror film."

I saw a recent ad for Polar Express. It was one of those ads where they quote good reviews but they put the names of the critics and their papers/stations in tiny print.

The preview looks really bad to me....

They showed a clip from the movie during Gilmore Girls last night. It was awful. Not only did all the characters look totally freaky, but they must have hired the cheapest composer in Hollywood. The song sucked, and Tom Hanks cannot sing.

I don't like movie technology that makes it possible for Tom Hanks to be lead and supporting actor.

They need to warm me up to it with, say, Johnny Depp.

Seen 'em all, own several. Just saw Stage Beauty, by the way. Despite some terrific dialogue and Billy Crudup's mesmerizing performance, it didn't quite work for me. It felt about an hour longer than it actually was, never a good thing.

Still, a shirtless Billy Crudup and Ben Chaplin making out? Extremely, um, diverting.

a shirtless Billy Crudup and Ben Chaplin making out

Why has this not been mentioned before?

::heads to Netflix::

::heads to Netflix::

Head to your theater, dude.