Grade: B | Genre: Comedy/Drama/Holiday
Summary: The Family Stone is a funny, poignant tale that never forgets that family is what make the season so very stressful and utterly priceless, all in the same breath.

It just wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't have a couple movies barreling into theatres hoping to spur on that holiday spirit. Goodness knows with the sparring over the hot toy of the season and waiting in three-hour lines for a moment on Santa's lap, our daily preparations can sour those extra helping of joy this time of year. This year's film, striving to be the companion to the Yule log and the carved turkey, is The Family Stone. With a big name cast and a sharp wit, Stone stands out as one of the better holiday fare we've seen in recent years. It almost makes up for having to suffer through Ben Affleck in Surviving Christmas. On second thought, there's not much that will be able to wash away the foul taste of that stinker.

Grade: C- | Genre: Alternative Rock
Summary: Wild painters flailing about, Teddy Ruxpin morphed into a boy and endless blathering about sheer nothingness. How did this sure thing show go so wrong?

Date: April 25, 2006
Location: Atlanta, GA
Blue Merle was a great band just peeking onto the musical horizon before they came to an untimely end. You could say they were aping Coldplay's sound, but couldn't you say the same of Stone Temple Pilots to Pearl Jam and John Mayer to Dave Matthews when they first hit the scene. They were a talented group with great potential, and it's sad to see them fizzle out after one brief album. After missing Blue Merle's swing through Atlanta countless times, I finally got a free evening to checkout lead singer, Lucas Reynolds, playing an intimate show at Smith's Olde Bar. Smith's holds in the neighborhood of 300 people so that's quite a change from the venues three times this size that the collective played when they made their way through Atlanta. I was pretty jazzed about the possibilities inherent in this show. Little did I know about the bizarre world I was about to cross over into. Wild painters flailing about, Teddy Ruxpin morphed into a boy and endless blathering about sheer nothingness. How did this sure thing show go so wrong?

Grade: A- | Genre: Drama
Summary: Strong performances, interesting character dynamics and an intriguing storyline pull together one of 2005's most interesting films in Match Point.

Woody Allen has been jettisoning down this film roller coaster, bugs lodged in his teeth, for many, many years. I don't know if he's been too busy soaking up his own peculiar pallet of neurosis or just feeling stale in the streets of New York. Regardless, I think all film buffs have grudgingly resigned themselves to the fact that we'll never again see anything as clever and mischievous as Annie Hall, spilling from his chaotic mind. Last year's Melinda Melinda, starring Radha Mitchell, certainly showed a lot of promise through its story bending formula, but it was still heavily steeped in the baggage of Allen's lifetime of film. Match Point only looks like a Woody Allen film in its title sequences and its character interactions. Otherwise, it is a fresh, savvy piece of cinema far removed from Allen's beloved New York (filmed in London) that shows a spark in his step we feared was lost forever. Strong performances, interesting character dynamics and an intriguing storyline pull together one of 2005's most interesting films in Match Point.

Grade: B- | Genre: Drama
Summary: Overall, this is Claire Danes' film. She single-handedly transforms this piece into an intriguing watch from material that is fairly forgettable.

Freshman year of college, I had a rather sizeable crush on Claire Danes, or was it the character she played on My So-Called Life? It's hard to tell and funny how those things are pretty much inseparable at the time. Angela was the modern equivalent of Holden Caulfield, a square peg attempting to fit into a round world. She captured the heartache, exuberance and stifling existence of the teenage years in a way few actresses could. Its been ten years since My So-Called Life closed the doors on its solitary season, and in the years since, Claire has found herself much like Angela -- helpings of promise largely left unfulfilled. Chalk it up to choosing bum roles if you will or just not getting the choice scripts coming across her desk, but Hollywood has neglected this rare gem for much too long. Within the past few months, she's had two substantial roles (The Family Stone and Shopgirl) that have generated considerable buzz, bumping her squarely under that unaccustomed spotlight. Her work in Shopgirl is even getting her name mentioned as a potential nominee in the Oscar race for best actress. Truthfully, she's just giving us a look back at Angela Chase, swapping out the teenage angst for loneliness as the twilight of her twenties dim.

Grade: D | Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
Summary: While its not completely unwatchable, thanks to Charlize modeling this season's Frederick's of Hollywood line, there's not much here to concern yourself with. The slick veneer is impenetrable for good reason. There's nothing beneath.

It was this time two years ago that we were taken aback with shock and awe over the transformation that the stunning Charlize Theron took to morph into the stomach turning Eileen Wuornos in Monster. Her portrayal was akin to crawling into the skin of the serial killer and having her mail forwarded. It seemed to be Charlize's shot across the bow saying, "I will not be written off as just another pretty face in Hollywood." Oh the difference a couple years make. Her latest sci-fi picture takes that equation and flips it on its head. Aeon Flux is a glossy airbrushed feature, overweighed so much by style I think they ran out of room to squeeze in any real content. I heard one writer comment that Charlize Theron officially has her Catwoman. While it falls a shade short of being as painful as Catwoman, this is certainly no gem. The storyline is a convoluted mess that doesn't even try to connect up much less takes a stab at making any sense. For a cast of top rate actors, we get a lot of phoned in performances, compounded by their ridiculous costumes. Ultimately, they've adapted a comic that really shouldn't have ventured outside the ink and flickering television screen.

Grade: A | Genre: Satire/Comedy
Summary: Thank You for Smoking is easily the best film to hit theatres thus far in 2006. Its savage commentary on cancer sticks, Washington lobbyists and a moral compass gone haywire is priceless.

It's been a while since Aaron Eckhart was really allowed the means to light up the screen. After a phenomenal breakthrough performance in Neil LaBute's savage take on misogyny, In the Company of Men, Eckhart has been languishing away in films that should have been tagged straight to video like Suspect Zero and the Core. It seemed he would be one of those actors with tremendous potential who never got a chance to take it around the block for a spin -- that is until now. Eckhart spearheads the most biting satire in years through the wily fun of Thank You for Smoking. As a lobbyist fighting for the rights of big tobacco, Eckhart transforms the slimiest being on the face of the planet into an unlikely hero to cheer for. The laughs are bold yet subtle, plastering a smile on your face for the duration over the utter ridiculousness of defending tobacco.

Grade: A | Genre: Brit Punk/Pop
Summary: Whatever People Say I Am, That Is What I Am Not is a first class ticket to life in all its dirty, fast paced charm. Lets hope the filthy riches of success, that the music buying public are showering them with, doesn't make these blue collar chaps forget what made them hungry to begin with.

The new punk is alive and thriving in rock. Just look at the explosive popularity of bands like the Killers and Franz Ferdinand if you are fishing for proof. These hard-hitting popsters come packing nostalgic lunchboxes and a newborn's love for the Clash. Many bands have latched onto these lucrative coattails, hoping to cash in on this ticket to honeys and the bling. Inevitably, we hit saturation point where we've just heard enough. They need to prop a sign up saying go sell crazy some place else cause we're all full. Then we have a band come along called the Arctic Monkeys. Funky name aside, they are plying their bleeding guitars and drum assault in this same space, but it sounds amazingly fresh and exciting. Almost like the revolution was waiting for a new scrappy hero to take it to the next level. These indie rockers are definitely taking the music world by storm. Their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That Is What I Am Not cracked the UK and the Australian charts at number 1 in its first week of release. This accomplishment is unheard of from a band without a major label backing them with a barrage of advertising and paying DJs under the table to make their newest golden boy into a household name. They did it the old fashion way through touring, building a fanbase via the Internet and playing catchy as hell music that has to be passed along to a friend.

Grade: C+ | Genre: Comedy
Summary: If you aren't up to your eyeballs in hock and want to have a pleasant, no-brainer evening out with your spouse or significant other, then go see Fun With Dick and Jane. If, on the other hand, your house is being repossessed next week, maybe you should opt for a quick rental from your local video outlet.

In this remake of the 1977 comedy starring George Segal and Jane Fonda, Jim Carrey and Tea Leone try to update Watergate era financial woes with "W" era overspending. Things follow the same basic path as in the original (that in itself being a sad comment on the present day), but somewhere near the end of it all, the new version wimps out and fails to make a stand. It's not that Segal and Fonda's comic romp is a harder hitting satire, it's just that the bad guy, Ed McMahon (of all people!) at least gets his just desserts.

Grade: B+ | Genre: Drama
Summary: This was one of the better episodes we've seen in a while. Hurley is one of the more neglected characters in this reality, so it's good to see him step front and center to uncover some of his inner mysteries.

When you're stuck on a deserted island, it should be expected that a few individuals would go coo-coo for cocoa puffs. We saw it with baby wrangler Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) and now we have hefty bag Hurley (Jorge Garcia) one sandwich short of a picnic. I guess if you're seeing polar bears pop up in tropical jungles and Others are trying to rotiserrize you over their campfire, neurons firing correctly are the least of your problems. Now the Hurley crazy factor was hinted at within his back-story earlier in the series. We know he got his cursed lottery numbers from his compadre in the mental ward. The exact 'why' he was institutionalized was a revelation kept in its wrapper for another day. Well that day is here as we get a free pass to go spelunking through the caverns of Hurley's mind. Bring your appetite.

Grade: A- | Genre: Drama/Romance
Summary: The heart wants what it wants in this haunting love story which is made with a depth, passion, and sincerity that has not been seen in a romance in years. Phobias should be left at the door.

Despite all circumstances and societal pressures, a sensitive, tender love grows between two people caught in an era that, simply put, is not ready for them. Brokeback Mountain is the history of a romance that lasts through many seasons and changes, and this film demonstrates unflinchingly and painfully, the consequences of what can happen to people who fail to follow their hearts. In this movie based on a short story by Pulitzer Prize winning author E. Annie Proulx, two poor ranch hands take jobs guarding a flock of sheep on Brokeback Mountain in the lush Wyoming wilderness. Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) are stationed in this desolate world and come to know each other as men and eventually, out of loneliness, as lovers.

Grade: A- | Genre: Fantasy/Drama/Adventure
Summary: A beautiful, honest-to-goodness family film that has eternal messages to share and reminds us, through the presence of a saintly lion, of the reason for this holiday season.

If there is such a thing as an innocent movie these days, this film is it. Even entirely animated cartoon flicks have risque one-liners that are geared more toward adults than children, but not The Chronicles of Narnia. C.S. Lewis, a respected English author and close friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the "Rings" trilogy, produced his seven-set chronicles after he returned from to his Protestant faith from a period of atheism. In fact, we have a devout Catholic to thank for his Christian-based works -- Tolkien himself. The story of their friendship is fascinating enough, but while both authors embraced spiritual themes in writing their epic works, C.S. Lewis was more unabashed in sharing Christian principles. In a time of strife across the world, it seems as if movies that have Christian-based themes are being welcome without shyness as this movie out grossed King Kong and most other films from this past year in its opening weekend. And guess what? You do not have to be Christian to appreciate the messages of sacrifice, forgiveness, unconditional love, and good triumphing over evil. For those who have read and loved The Chronicles of Narnia, the added plus is that the movie is utterly based on the book. Who knew Hollyweird had it in them? What a novel idea. Someone writes a tremendous book, and the director and producers stick to the story -- maybe this will start a new trend.