And it's a mystery! Thanks for blowing the big spoiler!

The cliched plot elements of “L.A. Confidential” bothered me when I saw it in the theater (is anyone who has ever seen any movie surprised at the revelation of the villain?), but once it showed up on cable I found I was re-watching it compulsively. There's so much there: the powerful symbolism of the weathered “Victory Motel” sign; poor Bud White's desperate longing to be taken seriously as a detective; Jack Vincennes' realizing the perfect message to send Exley. Even the language at times has its own odd beauty: “There's something wrong with the Night Owl,” as Bud says, having put his finger on the crux of the plot and summing it up in one elegant line.

One wonders how much more successful the movie would have been on its initial release if Crowe hadn't been almost fresh off the boat.

I love the Marx Brothers, but “A Day at the Races” is one of their worst efforts; “A Night at the Opera” is a classic, but as soon as Thalberg died their movies started running out of steam, and even “At the Circus” has more laughs than this pathetic attempt. Watch the movie again and I dare you to realize how long it takes for the first real laugh to show up, or Groucho himself for that matter. My guess is that Dan saw this movie or another like it and it soured him on the Marxes forever. Just take two movies (“Horse Feathers” and “Monkey Business”) and call me in the morning.

TCM had a surprisingly strong lineup the other night, even for Oscar month: The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Return of the King, Silence of the Lambs, and Seven. All letterboxed, of course, so they looked great on my new HDTV!

And it's a mystery! Thanks for blowing the big spoiler!

The cliched plot elements of “L.A. Confidential” bothered me when I saw it in the theater (is anyone who has ever seen any movie surprised at the revelation of the villain?), but once it showed up on cable I found I was re-watching it compulsively. There's so much there: the powerful symbolism of the weathered “Victory Motel” sign; poor Bud White's desperate longing to be taken seriously as a detective; Jack Vincennes' realizing the perfect message to send Exley. Even the language at times has its own odd beauty: “There's something wrong with the Night Owl,” as Bud says, having put his finger on the crux of the plot and summing it up in one elegant line.

One wonders how much more successful the movie would have been on its initial release if Crowe hadn't been almost fresh off the boat.

I love the Marx Brothers, but “A Day at the Races” is one of their worst efforts; “A Night at the Opera” is a classic, but as soon as Thalberg died their movies started running out of steam, and even “At the Circus” has more laughs than this pathetic attempt. Watch the movie again and I dare you to realize how long it takes for the first real laugh to show up, or Groucho himself for that matter. My guess is that Dan saw this movie or another like it and it soured him on the Marxes forever. Just take two movies (“Horse Feathers” and “Monkey Business”) and call me in the morning.

TCM had a surprisingly strong lineup the other night, even for Oscar month: The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Return of the King, Silence of the Lambs, and Seven. All letterboxed, of course, so they looked great on my new HDTV!

And it's a mystery! Thanks for blowing the big spoiler!

The cliched plot elements of “L.A. Confidential” bothered me when I saw it in the theater (is anyone who has ever seen any movie surprised at the revelation of the villain?), but once it showed up on cable I found I was re-watching it compulsively. There's so much there: the powerful symbolism of the weathered “Victory Motel” sign; poor Bud White's desperate longing to be taken seriously as a detective; Jack Vincennes' realizing the perfect message to send Exley. Even the language at times has its own odd beauty: “There's something wrong with the Night Owl,” as Bud says, having put his finger on the crux of the plot and summing it up in one elegant line.

One wonders how much more successful the movie would have been on its initial release if Crowe hadn't been almost fresh off the boat.

I love the Marx Brothers, but “A Day at the Races” is one of their worst efforts; “A Night at the Opera” is a classic, but as soon as Thalberg died their movies started running out of steam, and even “At the Circus” has more laughs than this pathetic attempt. Watch the movie again and I dare you to realize how long it takes for the first real laugh to show up, or Groucho himself for that matter. My guess is that Dan saw this movie or another like it and it soured him on the Marxes forever. Just take two movies (“Horse Feathers” and “Monkey Business”) and call me in the morning.

TCM had a surprisingly strong lineup the other night, even for Oscar month: The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Return of the King, Silence of the Lambs, and Seven. All letterboxed, of course, so they looked great on my new HDTV!

“The Mating Season,” which is on tonight, is underrated and very funny. Next Tuesday evening, “The Ox-Bow Incident” is one of the most powerful Westerns ever made.

This Oscar season reminds me a lot of 2000, when almost all the nominated films were good-not-great (this year, I'd argue that “Atonement” isn't even good) but nothing was crying out to be awarded an Oscar. Certainly not “American Beauty.”

Where does it rank against “No Country For Old Men”?