I hadn't planned to say anything about Bob Dylan’s Modern Times; what would be the point, with all those words already flyin’ about the æther? But then Neddie went and posted a fine item on the structure of songs, and I felt I had to. Actually, it isn’t only about the structure of songs. It’s ab...

The opening title sequence was really wonderful. That’s not to denigrate the rest of the film, which was just the job for a slightly morose Monday evening. But the book of Thank You For Smoking is funnier and perhaps more interesting. Of course a film can’t often be as nuanced as a book, but fre...

The DVD of Bad Santa skipped badly, so I sent it back. But I asked filmacasa.it to send me a fresh copy, because I just had to see whether and how Billy Bob Thornton's Santa could possible redeem himself. Which, being a Hollywood movie, he obviously had to. But they left it awful late.

My ratin...