Great Page With Convenient Links To Help Haiti

Still one of the best, most concise pages of compiled links of aid organizations in Haiti: Huffington PostRed Cross and Partners in Health are both recommended. (Required time commitment: 20 seconds.)

It's even easier to give to the Red Cross if yo...Read more

Star Trek

Star Trek

(director: J.J. Abrams; 2009)

As soon as I saw the preview to “Star Trek,” I was congratulating myself. Here was a chance to verify my impeccable judgment. Here was another installment of a franchise that refused to die, captained by J.J. Abrams, who helmed the directionless “Felicity,” “Alias” and “Lost.” The new relaunch wa...Read more

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Waltz With Bashir

Waltz With Bashir

(director: Air Folman; 2008)

"Waltz With Bashir" is an intriguing groundbreaker. It has been called an animated documentary; it would more appropriately be called a dreamscape painting. The loose plot whirls around director Folman himself, who’s forgotten his experiences in the Lebanon War of 1982, w...Read more

Brüno

"A Christmas Tale"

Lions in the Winter

“A Christmas Tale.”

by Jimmy So

The ensemble (pronounce it in French, if you prefer) of “A Christmas Tale” comprises only a single family, and that’s plenty. The big-hearted Abel Vuillard (Jean-Paul Roussillon) is married to the cold-hearted Junon (Catherine Deneuve), and they have three children: the emotionally wounded Elizabeth (Anne Consigny), the desp...Read more

"Slumdog Millionaire"

What’s in a Name?

“Slumdog Millionaire”

By Jimmy So

I met a friend for a drink just after I came out of “Slumdog Millionaire,” and I outlined the plot to him without giving away the ending. “Wait a sec, you mean to tell me that in the beginning you don’t know that he’s won the million bucks? The title’s not exactly keeping that a secret.” I suppose in a literal interpretat...Read more

"Let the Right One In" and "Twilight"

Vampires"Let the Right One In" and "Twilight."By Jimmy SoA child falls in love with a vampire in a bloodless, faded town—and you thought I was talking about “Twilight.” Children are getting mixed up in all things superhumanly strong, bloodthirsty, and garlic-adverse. If you have kids, you might not want them interested in sharp fangs, but the silver s...Read more

"Man On Wire"

Song of Innocence“Man On Wire.”by Jimmy So“The Sorrow and the Pity” is the domineering parent of its documentary children—the weight of the name can break the backs of all those college dropouts with their cameras. It did justice to a subject as “The Times of Harvey Milk” did justice to a person. It was oral history and a story that no one else would tell, like “Hoop Dreams.” Its search for truth made it...Read more

"Quantum of Solace"

The Great Depression

“Quantum of Solace”

By Jimmy So

Are we being overloaded with bad news about the financial “tsunami?” (As it is called in, of all places, Asia.) What we damn well need is a reminder that somewhere in the world, someone still has the prerogative to budget in an Aston Martin for James Bond to smash up. Of course 007 would deliver a swift uppercut to the glo...Read more