" Well, I couldn't disagree more with YOU, CC--and here's my point:
My vitriol against "No Country..." was because, because of that ending, there was absolutely NOTHING redeeming to take away from the 2+ hours that I wasted and the money I paid for it. There was nothing worth watching, in the end.
All you had was numerous innocent people getting murdered in cold blood, two primary characters whom you really liked and were rooting for getting slain, a tired old veteran of the police force "losing his religion" and his idealism/love for his career, and an absolutely icy, amoral serial killer/assassin getting away scott-free.
Frankly, that happens WAY TOO MUCH in real life, and do I think that that's "entertainment"?! Certainly not. There was no sense of justice, retribution against utter evil, or a sense of satisfaction. As I said, that's the type of stuff that happens too much in real life; movie making is supposed to take you away from all that, to provide an enjoyable diversion, and it pi$$ed me (and my girl) off that I was robbed of that experience.
It would have been much better if Tommy Lee Jones had retired, bitter and cynical, and then serendipitously ran into the killer in like, a drugstore or something while he was shopping for Benzocaine or something innocuos, and had a satisfying shootout or something with him where at least you kept the theme of "Sh*t happens" but this time it would have at least had a sense of justice and perhaps, karma? "

" Marvel is here to stay. Apparently the now self-producing studio is eyeing a new Spider-Man to replace Tobey Maguire in "Spider-Man 4" and "5."

I could rant at length about the wrong done to the hero's rich mythological web in the third film, but instead I'll merely state that I hope its sequels restore some cinematic prestige to the wall-crawler.

To do that, I think there is no finer candidate to wear the spandex than Joseph Gordon-Levitt. If the name invokes the image of a stringy-haired pre-pubescent on "Third Rock From the Sun," then you have some movies to watch. Namely "Brick" - one of my favorite films in recent memory - in which Levitt dryly wisecracks his way through a noirish West Coast high school as a disheveled outcast playing detective when his ex-girlfriend turns up dead. Levitt's still-youthful appearance betrays vulnerability and naivete but the maturity he conveys beneath that surface is astounding. As Peter Parker, these qualities would serve Levitt perfectly.

In "The Lookout," Levitt masterfully falls apart as a brain-injured young man consigned to the night custodial crew of a bank whose former in-crowd brethren asks his help pulling off a heist. The wounded pride and stunted ambitions of Levitt's character are heart-wrenching to behold as laid bare by the young actor's scarily talented hands.

Levitt masks similar strains of vulnerability in his role in "Mysterious Skin," which will also smash any remaining innocence you attach to his name. As a child prostitute with a past marred by sexual abuse, Levitt hides his scars behind a dark charisma and frightening enthusiasm for his chosen profession.

Given this deep, if abbreviated resume of emotionally cracked roles, Levitt readily leaps to the head of the pack of potential new Spider-Mans. Give him the chance, and I'm sure he'll top Maguire's doughy-eyed, lovestruck grin as well.

-David

p.s. Tomorrow I'll continue the Marvel discussion by addressing the rumors of an "Avengers" movie. "

" I cannot disagree more with Karl's sentiments about "No Country for Old Men."

But I cannot ignore them. Ending a film is always a tricky task, and doing so open-endedly ("The Rules of Attraction") or protractedly ("The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King") sours the note on which audiences exit the theater.

SPOILER WARNING - But in the case of "No Country," I see nothing open-ended about the ending. If Anton Chigurh's grisly death is what you're looking for, you won't find it, nor should you. He's not a mere character but an embodiment of the enduring force of evil. Like all other forces, Chigurh is subject to chance, which he consistently acknowledges with his coin tosses. And that force, in turn, is what permits him to live on.

Our only other surviving main character has traveled his arc as well. Tommy Lee Jones' sheriff has seen the barbaric phenomena that bucks him off his small-town beat and he is resigned to live on, reflecting on what he's seen. But he only reaches this point after also subjecting himself to chance by stepping in the hotel room where Chigurh may or may not have been lying in wait with his silenced shotgun. With Jones' dream that closes the film, we are invited to reflect on these events with him.

-David "

" Wow, I owe you all a few updates. I'll try to make up the debt today.

Obviously the big news in the world of film is the death of Sydney Pollack. Cinema lovers will eulogize the man with reverence for the classics he directed, such as "Tootsie" and "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" (my personal favorite). Younger audiences may recall, "That was the guy in the movie commercial that tells me to turn off my cell phone, right?"

Regardless, the man deserves to be remembered for his substantial on- and off-screen contributions to cinema. "They Shoot Horses" was a defining work of the early '70s New Hollywood, one that bellowed the hopelessness and human meat-grind felt by its audiences of that and subsequent times. It's not a cheerful viewing, but a valuable one from the pensive mind of a cinematic master.

-David "

" Don't even waste your time with "No Country for Old Men"!
YOu know those movies that keep you on the edge of your seat, and then they have absolutely NO ENDING? Like, the credits roll and you're sitting there in your seat saying to yourself; "You've got to be kidding me?"
That was this movie!
Good for 1 hour and 59 minutes and then the ending ABSOLUTELY SUCKED!!!!!
YOU'LL BE SORRY, TRUST ME!!! "

" Almost a decade ago, Rotten Tomatoes was my faithful road map to the movie theater. It reliably alerted me to movies I should avoid and those I should seek. By the time I discovered the site, I had realized that my taste in film was far off from that of my local critic (I think the sharpest reminder hit me when he gave "Lost in Space" an 8 out of 10). Instead of that singular, dominant voice of cinematic authority, Rotten Tomatoes democratized the process and presented the consensus opinion. Surely ALL the critics couldn't be wrong, right?

But the way Rotten Tomatoes presents that opinion can be misleading. Each review is classified as either positive (fresh) or negative (rotten), and the movie's resulting mark is merely the percentage of positive reviews. However, it seems people are quick to interpret that percentage as a qualifying score when, in fact, a 100 percent movie could be universally agreed upon as just above mediocre in quality.

Take "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Most critics say the film is barely worth watching and a far cry less enjoyable than "Raiders of the Lost Ark," but "Skull's" Rotten Tomatoes score is nonetheless a relatively high 80 percent.

Then there is the preponderance of reviews submitted by non-professional critics from personal blogs and Web sites. The trustworthiness and credibility of these voices should be considered with caution, especially due to the weight they exert on Rotten Tomatoes percentages.

If you're searching for a sharper gauge of critical consensus, visit Metacritic.com, which not only averages each reviewer's actual score, but narrows the field to writers from credible newspapers, magazines and Web sites. And if you're still unsure whether to see a film, just flip a coin. It's almost as arbitrary.

-David "

" The next "Indiana Jones" reportedly introduces aliens to the franchise. The titled crystal skull is an alien creation, and the fourth installment of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas' love letter to 1940s adventure serials supposedly finds its hero in Roswell, N.M. - the central attraction on the U.F.O. sightseeing circuit.

Guess whose bright idea this was?

Apparently Lucas first wanted to go all-out alien invasion with "Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men from Mars." I think it's time for him to silently retire to Skywalker Ranch and handcuff himself from meddling with any more greatness for which he was once responsible.

We all saw how the second "Star Wars" trilogy spoiled its classic predecessor simply by association. By saddling Indy with flying saucers, he's threatening to take all the fun out of another classic American adventure. We'll have until Friday to wait and see whether he really does.

p.s. - Sorry for the week delay, I was on vacation.

-David "

" I must be insane.

I actually laughed at the trailer for an Adam Sandler movie, "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," a movie I was ready to dismiss based on its ridiculous title. Sandler's character actually looked like a refreshing change from his cutesy schlub specialty. His Israeli accent was even decent.

I must be insane.

-David "

" "Iron Man" made about $100 million this weekend to take second place honors among non-sequel openings on the all-time list. Somewhere, Niko Bellic sulks.

This blows away my prediction that the Marvel property would make $70 on its opening weekend. You could probably attribute some of my margin of error to the abundance of critical praise for the movie and some to the fact that gamers DO like to get out once in a while - even at the expense of a few hours of "Grand Theft Auto IV."

But the other big reason my guess fell short was probably because movie-goers, like everyone else, just want to feel like summer is here.

-David "

" "Iron Man" made about $100 million this weekend to take second place honors among non-sequel openings on the all-time list. Somewhere, Niko Bellic sulks.

This blows away my prediction that the Marvel property would make $70 on its opening weekend. You could probably attribute some of my margin of error to the abundance of critical praise for the movie and some to the fact that gamers DO like to get out once in a while - even at the expense of a few hours of "Grand Theft Auto IV."

But the other big reason my guess fell short was probably because movie-goers, like everyone else, just want to feel like summer is here.

-David "

" So I'm a day late. But only because I wanted to write this entry about "Iron Man," which I wasn't able to catch until this afternoon.

And it was excellent. As superhero movies go, it charts high, alongside "Batman Begins" and "Spider-Man 2." The action obviously delivers. But everything else is quite enjoyable, from the acting to the story's relevance to the abundant humor.

Robert Downey Jr.'s motormouth charisma makes him a perfect Tony Stark. He plays the billionaire tech genius a lot like he played Harry in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" with a wisecracking guise hiding a steely resolve. That it wasn't a particularly outstanding performance for Downey Jr. - yet a brilliant one for a comic book movie - speaks highly of his talents.

-David "

" "Lars and the Real Girl" was much more dramatic than Ryan Gosling's goofy smile suggested on its promotional art. As I watched the movie I kept scoffing at the idea that a small community would not only enable, but encourage a man's delusion that his plastic doll of a girlfriend is, in fact, real.

And yet, this fantasy dynamic doesn't detract from the otherwise dramatic story. This accomplishment is only outdone by the fact that director Craig Gillespie ably steers his film from degenerating into a string of cheap sight gags. Instead, it's a heartwarming, even divisive story about the conflict between love and normality.

When does an unbelievable story work for you? When does it not?

-David "

" One more week until the summer season hits. I predict "Iron Man" will make about 70 to 75 million on its first weekend, but the effect of "Grand Theft Auto IV's" release on the weekend theater traffic is not to be underestimated.

In fact, better make that prediction 60 million.

-David

p.s. I promise updates every other day. Hold me to that! "

" This weekend I at last tracked down the last of my major awards season leftovers, "Sweeney Todd."

As a big fan of the recent Broadway revival, I had high hopes when I heard Tim Burton would be directing the movie. Its darkly comic sensibilities could find no better film author than Burton, so there would have been few excuses for a poor adaptation.

And to my delight, it's quite rich. While the film's music is forgettable and pales to that of the stage play, Johnny Depp broods with a possessed bloodlust as the titled Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Helena Bonham Carter is beautifully warped as cannibal cook Mrs. Lovett. With those two, Burton conjures a hellish landscape of 19th century London lightened by the Dickensian hallmarks of its streetfolk. There, the film's tale - Todd seeks revenge on the covetous judge who wrongfully imprisoned him - careens toward its climax with as much reckless tragedy as the show, though Burton's work ends on an even more grim note than I remember on Broadway.

I also purchased the two-disc edition of "There Will Be Blood" last week. For $10 more than the standard edition, its bonus material absolutely failed to justify the money spent.

Maybe half an hour of slideshows, a few deleted scenes and dailies join a half-hour documentary about oil drilling in the 1920s on the bonus disc. But there is no insight into Paul Thomas Anderson's filmmaking process. In fact, it almost seems the director deliberately tries not to expose that process in order to preserve the dark mystique of his work. That motive would be more respectable if he didn't also profit from misleading people into believing that, with this release, he would pull back the curtain on what I feel is the finest movie of the last decade.

-David "

" Charlton Heston passed away this weekend, and to most people my age, that means the world is at last rid of the crotchety old man who dodged Michael Moore's questions in "Bowling for Columbine."

OK, perhaps it's crotchety of me to suggest that. But it is tough to dispute that Heston has become more distinguished in recent years for his politics than his portrayals of Moses and Judah Ben-Hur.

So to memorialize the Oscar-winning actor, I'd like to look back on his role in one of my favorite films, "Touch of Evil." Here again, Heston's outstanding work is overshadowed by a dubious detail - in this case, the very white Heston's casting as a Hispanic. Still, he balances the bloated excess of Orson Welles' crooked detective - and his wildy stylish film noir aesthetic - with a dogged calm. This mood anchors the film and allows the audience to jump on board for a bizarre ride through a Mexican border town.

It wasn't politics, but memories like this that prevailed when I heard that the world lost Charlton Heston.

-David "