I always preferred letting the movie do its thing to me before committing so much as a word to paper, or even the THOUGHT of a word to paper until after the movie was over.

If something funny happened onscreen, I was invariably the only person to chuckle or laugh in the theater. The penlight contingent, I felt, put up an invisible wall between themselves and the movie which meant they weren't watching it like a normal person would. There's no way in hell a film will get a fair shake with that in mind.

And it's interesting that your line-up of Hoffman, DeNiro, Pacino and Nicholson have all become paycheck actors..Hackman is probably the only actor I recall from that period that went out with grace, and Eastwood defines his mastery behind the camera.

I noticed that Midnight Meat Train was playing in the discount second run theaters for its first run. Maybe thats an alternative.

And I haven't heard one thing about APPALOOSA but it sounds like it could be quite the surprise. Hope to see your thoughts on it soon.

Can we expect to see these more regularly?

Gene Hackman really should be counted in that great panathon of actors, as for young actors under 40, the problem is as soon as they show some promise the studios start throwing money at them to be in big budget movies (see JGL in GI Joe) and we also don't have the talent of writers and directors that the 70s had, who do we have that compares to 70's Coppola, Speilberg, Lucas, Kubrick, Shrader, Scorecese, Bogdonavich, etc

Let the sledging begin!

Hey, they actually say "from the studio that brought you" with a straight face, so that can't be too far behind. Veggo even looks a bit like Olyphant there - although Harris looks like Eastwood...

I will be interested to see "Religous" and Mori's comment that the radicals will want Maher's head makes me all the more interested, but yet it also depresses me because it will once again bring out the screamers. There are those who HATE conservative Christians, and then there are the radical whack jobs who HATE everyone who doesn't think like them, and then there is the %90 of us left over who are told that we must fall into one of the above camps. What if I don't wanna? What if I want to not perscribe to a single religion, but also accept and live peacefully with those who take every word the Bible says literally. Or what if I decide to be one of those people, do I have to lose my rights to be part of the conversation, or does my word not count because now I am one of "those" people.

Remember MLK's dreams about racial harmony? I think the same sentiment need be said for socio-religous-political harmoney. One day the screamers and the smug arrogant jerks will stop forcing the public to choose a side. One day the Limbaughs and the Hannity's will no longer have an audience, and the Olbermann's and Moore's will be forced to shut up with no one left to argue with. This is the kind of stuff I would love to see.

Jeez, don't know how I landed there, but well there you go, that's my attempt to not shoot poo allover this talk back Mori. Even if I did go off on one small comment you made.

I agree that Quint's column is fantastic, although there were some might fine reviews to be had in this article as well.

I agree Jack Nicholson has done a lot of “paycheck” movies in the past decade. However, I thought his performance along with Morgan Freeman’s were superb in The Bucket List. I was surprised how much I liked it. It’s Rob Reiner best flick in a long time. Another good Nicholson performance in this decade is in The Pledge. Try another in an overlooked movie from the 90s called Blood and Wine.

I know people endlessly whine, bitch, moan, complain, and criticize this but I’d like it if you put Amazon links on the posters for the films. I earmark movies of interest on my list at Amazon, not necessarily to buy, but so I don’t forget the titles later. I can already hear the barrage of vitriol calling me an Amazon plant for saying this. Uuuuugh.

Good column, Mori. And yes, Quint is The Man for AMAD.

I really think people believe that its better to defend the racist on their side, because "at least he doesn't believe what those other people believe." And everyone does it! Many Democrats will blindly support other Democrats, no matter their missteps and issues, because to criticize them would be to give in to the evil Republicans.

And Christians will follow whoever the latest big preacher/politician/personalit y is no matter what they do, because they invoke the name of their lord.

We have taken on this mafioso mentality where we believe that we must "never go against the family" and if we do we must do it behind closed doors so that the other side doesn't hear and use that armor against us. Everyone has to be labeled, everyone must say they are this or that. This goes beyond politics and religion into sports (I'm a Sox fan, therefore I hate you, the Yankees fan, even though I don't know you) to hobbies (I surf Wind'N'Sea, you don't live within 5 miles of my beach, I will now key your car and slash your tires, this beach is MINE!) to random pop culture crap (I'm a Trekky, I therefore must hate Star Wars, and I also like Iron Man, therefore Dark Knight sucks and all DC properties are crap!).

It is socially acceptable to take on the same immature monikers of being "labeled" like we did in High School with nerds and jocks. We seem to revel in this aspect of choosing sides. And just because you dislike the "jocks" for their arrogant ways and their cheap shots on the nerds, makes you no better than they are when you stereotype all people who play sports because "they have it coming."

Look, I understand that human existence is nothing but the history of "picking sides" but we have taken it to the extreme, and have made acceptable for those, whose side was picked on last, to lash out at the most populated side because, well, "I was picked on by one of them, therefore all of them deserve to be punished for that one's past actions."

Okay, stepping down from the soap box, any takers, anyone want to jump up there and challenge me, go ahead, I don't mind, that's why we chat.

"FUCK YOU advertisements, how dare you impede my vision, everytime I look at you, you are there, GAHHHH, so irritating!"

Once home, Cock Tease turns on the TV, as always, and then goes off on the programming

GODDAMMIT TV! You fucking suck! Your programming is terrible, be more funny, or interesting, stop sucking so badly!"

It really is pretty sad.

I think the first season was great because of the pacing, the cliffhangers that were unusually harsh and vivid, and Hiro. 2nd season fucked up the cliffhangers (let them last a commercial instead of a week) and stuck Hiro in nonsense land with a drunk white dude. I still have hopes for season 3, except I think the loss of Bryan Fuller was the catalyst for its mediocrity.

at any rate. Heroes at least deserves points for bringing this to prime time TV, and doing so with such success, yeah?

I really don't see much difference in what it cribs in comparison to the unoriginal -- yet the original -- Matrix. It's just not as well put together.

You're right - it's a perfectly good word. And yet, very gay. I keed because I love.

My kids are one 8, and two 5-year-olds. Not having had them baptised, I am NOT popular with my Mum. Having said that, she sees elements of marriage as misogynistic insults, rather than stilted remnants of pagan rituals incorporated as familiar practices to draft said pagans...

You're only thinking as far back as the Seventies? Come ON man! What's changed is that things have changed BACK. It's just the net and tv and magazines rather than magazines and the radio and posters and carefully sculpted photographs. Sure things are more front-loaded now but that's clutching at straws.