Weekend Report
by Leonard Klady

Hoodwinked marks the first time the nascent Weinstein Co. has had a picture top the weekend charts. The acquisition drew little attention when it played a week to qualify for the Oscars and wasn't expected to gross more than $10 million in its national bow. Tracking, and a perception of the film's primary appeal, greatly under appreciated the draw it ultimately had for pre-teens that have been largely ignored in recent weeks.
Weekend Estimates (Full List)

4-Day Estimates	Weekend	% Change	Cume
Hoodwinkied	16.7	-	16.7
Glory Road	16.4	-	16.4
Last Holiday	14.9	-	14.9
Chronicles of Narnia	13.1	-35%	264.3
Hostel	11.7	-40%	36.9
Fun With Dick & Jane	10.4	-27%	94.3
King Kong	9.2	-40%	204.7
Tristan & Isolde	7.9	-	7.9
Brokeback Mountain	7.1	3%	32.1
Cheaper by the Dozen	6.8	-40%	74.7
Munich	6.1	-33%	34

Digital Nation
by Gary Dretzka

Naturally, the possibility of watching Lost and Desperate Housewives while at work, or sitting on the potty, attracted the usual flurry of media coverage, as well. While not entirely grasping the concept of downloading entertainment content for use on portable micro-screens – let alone, the economic and social ramifications of such techno-wizardry – airhead news anchors delivered the companies’ pitch with the same urgency usually reserved for high-speed police chases, drive-by shootings and Michael Jackson sightings.

Pride, Unprejudiced
by Ray Pride

No Sundance predictions for you yet, fellas, but some ruminations (but no fulminations) on Match Point, Munich, Caché, Innocence, Runin, and conversations with Marc Levin about The Protocols of Zion and Richard Shepard about the giddy, profane Matador.

In a single masterful stroke, Michael Haneke explains everything in his new movie, Caché. And the solution is a matter of something being hidden in plain sight. If you are impatient, more than unobservant, you might miss it.

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MCN DVD Wrap-Up
The Constant Gardener

The Constant Gardner was as provocative as it was exciting to watch … unusual for a picture grounded in the dramatization of such a complex socio-economic issue as unethical pharmaceutical research. More>>

The Hot Button: The Constant Gardner is two movies. It is a mystery/thriller, set in Kenya. It is also a powerful love story.

Plus: Wedding Crashers: Uncorked, Broken Flowers, The Constant Gardener, Hustle & Flow, Saraband, The Magnificent Seven, Dead Poet's Society, Good Morning Vietnam, Secuestro Express, Café Lumiere, Missing in America, Strong Medecine, Gunsmoke, All In The Family, Rebus, The Pale Horse: Agatha Christie, Hands of a Murderer, Gerald McBoing Boing, Stormy Weather, Hallelujah, Green Pastures, A Great Day In Harlem, The Gospel: Special Edition, Snatch: Deluxe Edition

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20 Weeks To Oscar
It's The Movies, Stupid
by David Poland

Two weeks ago, Capote was "out," behind King Kong. Match Point, and History of Violence. A few guild nominations and Capote is competing for the win and Match Point is dead with Kong monkeyed out of the race.

But what actually changed? Nothing. All that happened is a small percentage of the community was polled. And they found certain answers. We have no idea how close other movies were, how strong the nominees were in vote count, etc. We are still guessing.

The Oscar Charts Quiz
A. A nomination lock... regaining power for a win
B. The second child never gets enough attention
C. Endangered species
D. Really?
E. Would help if he was performing

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The Ultimate DVD Geek
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
by Doug Pratt

The 2005 film is messy, with an obtuse beginning and no ending whatsoever, but the twist is spirited enough, and accompanied by enough pyrotechnics, to forge sufficient entertainment, preventing the film from being a complete waste of time. Of course, the movie wants desperately to be a metaphor about marriage and relationships, and it overplays that hand, but the zingy dialog is full of quips that couples will identify with, and the stars are accomplished enough performers to hold up their end no matter how dumb the movie becomes. Either you like them or you don't, and your opinion of the film will conform to that measure.

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Crash, Capote, And Amy Adams Return From The Dead To The Top Of The Pops.  And The Gurus wonder what surprises lay ahead in the Oscar race....

Best Picture
Best Supporting Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Surprise Nominations?

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The Hot Button
Munich: In Sequence
by David Poland

I've been looking for the best way to engage in a discussion about Munich. What I have found, as I discuss the film with others, is that people end up citing different scenes that have had an impact on them.

So what I decided to do, as a starting point, is to break the film out, sequence by sequence, which I have done for Act One, Act Two and Act Three. In the process of doing this, a lot of the detail work becomes clearer.

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It's Oscartown, Jake
What A Difference A Day Made
by Kristopher Tapley

Or two days, as it were.

Last week the four major guilds from the film industry announced their nominees (the writers, the directors, the producers and the actors). What we are left with are four films that hit the grand slam, including the Screen Actors Guild's Best Performance by an Ensemble, establishing in the minds of many a collectively "definitive" list of shoo-ins for the Oscar's Best Picture line-up.

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The Updated Scoreboard
31 new critics.. not a single move up or down in the top 16. Brokeback Mountain extends lead... all nine Best Picture candidates in Top 19

The Big Scoreboard Of Bad
Stealth exposed in the Worst Of Year Scoreboard.

The Top Twenty: Batman Flies Into The Top Twenty

The Scoreboard At A Glace
Critics Awards, Top Tens And The Gurus All In A Row

The Individual Lists
The List of Critics
The Worst
Critics Awards Scoreboard

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Updated throughout the day
Updated: 10:54 pm

Golden Globe Winners
Film And Television

Hans Zimmer To Score Da Vinci Code

ThinkFilm Grabs Down In The Valley

The 177 Film Santa Barbara Film Festival Line-Up

David Thomson On Marshall Fine On John Cassavetes

The Online FIlm Critics Give A Little Love To A History Of Violence And Sin City

A Good Piece On The Roll Out Of Digital Projection... Except For The Lazy & Inaccurate "Can This Save Theatrical?" Obsession

A Piece On The New Kirby Dick Doc That Seems Too Busy Trying To Be Blog-Clever To Actually Be Clear About Its Point

Tricks For Marketing A Small Movie

How Many Times Have You Seen Walk The Line? She's Heading Towards #63

Roger Ebert Remembers Chuck Jones And His Looney Tunes

How Did MCN Miss The Title Bump Of Ms. Utley & Mr. Gilula Moving Into The COO Position In The P-Rice Empire?

The Latest Film From Documentarian Vikram Jayanti, Lincoln, Premieres On The History Channel On Monday Night

From The Film Experience - The Most Excellent Foreign Language Films Chart & An Interview With The Editor Of Crash

The Floating Film Festival Sails But Once Every Other Year

The New World Of Q'orianka Kilcher
"This is like a very thin line between magic and madness."

Non-CG Animation Dominates Oscar Race, If Not Box Office

Ro Jo On Dan Futterman Acting Like A Screenwriter

The Road To Hoodwinked

A Piece About Why Theatrical Will Live... Even If The Author Gives Up On It In Spite Of Evidence To The Contrary In Every Other Medium

Tremendous Pre-Sundance Package From The Salt Lake City Tribune

Sundance Entry Alpha Dog Reverberates In The Real World

Anne Thompson Profiles A Guy Who Makes The Risky Business Column Title Into A Double Entendre, Don Murphy

The Woman Who Had It All
Shelley Winters Passes On At 85

Revisiting The Passenger 25 Years Later
"At 21, arrogant and priggish, I was certain I'd never make the mistakes Locke does.. At 51, Antonioni's point seems more convincing."

Sunday Parade Of Awards Pitches
The Man On A History Of Violent Sex
Tony Scott On Tight-Lipped Syriana
Holden Onto Nine Lives
Edelstein On True Man PS Hoffman
The Parade Of John Williams Nods
Mark-O!!! Oscar Campaign-O!!!

NBC Charges News Agencies $1200 For Photos From The Globes - To Pay For A New Server?

Please Stop The Rocker/Rapper-Turned- Actor, Pleads John Patterson

Peter Rainer's List Of Movie Theatre Don'ts

The ACE Eddie Nominations

The NeoCons Continue The Anti-Munich Drumbeat In The Washington Post & The Wall Street Journal

Scripter? I Hardly Know Her
Scripter Voting Narrowed To Capote & Syriana, Which Tied And Will Now Have A Runoff, Winner To Be Announced At Feb 11 Dinner

Sex & The Senior Girl

UK Comics Hit The Big Screen

Central Ohio Film Critics Vote With A History Of Violence

A Film That Pisses Off Arabs

Remember That Guy Who Drove HIs Car Into Q's Pool Hall And Tried To Commit Suicide Who Wrote The Hitcher? Paul Cullum Sums Up The Story

"And Is The Akeelah Blend Smooth Or Harsh?"
If Only They Could Go Back In Time And Cross-Promote Freebie & The Bean

Casablanca, Groucho Marx, And The Warner Brothers
"Even if you plan on releasing your picture, I am sure that the average movie fan could learn in time to distinguish between Ingrid Bergman and Harpo."

The European Trailer For Gael Garcia Bernal And William Hurt In The King

Ray Pride Previews Sundance

The Reeler On The NY Jewish Film Fest And Phoenix & James Grey Reteam

USA Today Launches The O-Factor... Oscar Six Months A Year...Porn From April To September?

As Per Rumors, Former Lions Gater Hegeman Joins The New Rice Order

Anne Thompson On The Year In Leadership

Altman Gets The Honorary Oscar For A Career That Has Reinvented The Art Form

The ASC Nominations Are Here

Memoirs Of A Geisha Brutalized By Fox's MadTV

The Carpetbagger Goes Whole Blog On NBR Dinner With 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Entries
And - Kehr On Same

More Munich Trouble At BAFTA

The Iowa Critics Love Brokeback, Too

Mike Snider On The Ongoing Battle For High-Def DVD Supemacy

Sarris's Favorite Things... And 10 Movies That Others Like But Andrew Doesn't

Observing The Lack Of Female Box Office Stars

The People Have Spoken
The People's Choice Award Winners

Want To Be In A Movie, Little Girl?

Crashing The Image Awards

Another Day, Another Unknown Filmmaker Who May Find Success At A Festival

Rotten Tomatoes Golden Tomato Award Goes To Good Night, And Good Dog

Army Archerd Talks To Terrence Howard About Being Thurgood Marshall

E! Gives The Most Thorough Coverage Of Mr Blackwell's List

Patrick Grades Studios On The Goldstein Curve.. Reasserts Many Box Office Myths That The Media So Loves

Heath Ledger - "I heard a while ago that West Virginia was going to ban it. But that's a state that was lynching people only 25 years ago, so that's to be expected."
And Washington Post - "The last two reported lynchings occurred on Dec. 10, 1931, in Lewisburg, W.Va."

Corliss Gets Worked Up About Four 2005 Performances... 4 Supporting, 2 Leads

AMPAS Announces The Oscars For Scientific and Technical Achievements

The Very Ordinary Eric Bana

Nominations From The Online Film Critics

"No musical numbers. No, really. Seriously." And 14 Other Suggestions For Oscar

The BFCA Critics Choice Awards
Brokeback, Witherspoon, Hoffman, Crash
Scoreboard Update

Academy Sets Seven For Squeal Off For Sound Editing?