Kathryn Bigelow (pictured) and Mark Boal–remember those names? Of course [...]

Bob Anderson, Olympic fencer, stunt man and sword master, died [...]

Time to take stock, filmwise, of the year that was. My grading system (from 0—none this year though I could barely bring myself to give a 6 to the much-applauded Tree of Life—to 20) helps do a quick scan of the hundreds of films I’ve seen in 2011. What does a film have to be and do to get 20? Keep me consistently engaged, not have any off moment, not have any special goofs or anachronistic touches, offer intelligent writing

[jwplayer config=”Default-Post-Player” mediaid=”8270″]

Actors Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the prom queen and [...]

You’ve heard right! J.J. Abrams, whom you might remember from [...]

It’s that time of year again when this critic must sift through the hundreds of films consumed in the past twelve months and make choices—some easy, some more difficult—about the year’s best batch of films. A Separation – Asghar Farhadi’s marital drama snatched top prize at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, and for good reason. Back in February, I wrote, “One of the film’s best qualities is that it treats heavy subjects in a down-to-earth