Bloody. Gorgeous. 4 stars.

Julie Delpy as Woody Allen? Sure, why not. 3 stars.

Ripping good yarn, well told. Plus: circus! A book to borrow.

The feel-good Charlie's-Angels-spoof indie lesbian-Romeo-and-Juliet film of 2004! 3 stars. Hat tip to Anvil & Sprocket's review which convinced me to Netflix this.

"Well, that was the gayest Hitchcock I've ever seen." 3.5 stars. Half a star for the line "He was a Harvard undergraduate. That might make it justifiable homicide."

This week's Family Movie Night selection was mine, and while Lucas shamelessly rips off every fantasy / sword'n'sorcery movie ever (and a few of his own), it still holds up after 20 years. And the boys liked it, although they were concerned for the welfare of the baby-who-must-be-saved. 3 stars.

We've instituted Family Movie Night in our house every weekend, with the rules being 1) No Movies We've All Seen Before, and 2) Everybody Gets A Turn To Pick. This was the first grownup choice (Debbie's) and a big hit with all of us. Miyazaki, marvelous. 4 stars.

There's probably a German word for the deep sense of unease one gets from these dreamlike stories. But I don't know what it is. Definitely one for the Curious Bookshelf.

You only think you saw this movie in 1985. 3.5 stars but probably only if you're a guy.

I can't remember where I read a reference to a Balthus tie knot, but after some searching I found Thomas Fink and Yong Mao, two physicists who figured out every conceivable way to tie to tie. And they wrote a book. More here. Get it for your geek who hates to wear ties but must on occasion.

It's good to go back to Middle Earth. But tragedy -- and I mean tragedy with a capital classical T, not in the modern sense of "something sad or unfortunate" -- is a hard read. Interesting to read at the same time as the Icelandic sagas, lots of parallels.

I was pretty fearful that they would eviscerate one of my favorite books. This film adaptation wasn't bad, but it's not great either. It does look good. But mostly it just made me want to re-read the book. 3 stars.

Basically delivers on its fairy-tale-in-New-York promise. And a funny holiday movie to boot, which is hard to pull off without schmaltziness (or worse, unfuniness). 3.5 stars.

A bit tweeny for the boys, but basically delivers on its fairy-tale-in-New-York promise. Amy Adams really makes the movie. 3 stars.

OK, so I'll throw it half a star for special effects, and another half star for "best use of the subtitles as a visual element in the film." Why don't movies do that more often? Or ever? Anyway, back to the film, it's mainly senseless bombast. I felt like I was watching "Highlander," but in Russian, with better special effects, and vampires, but without Sean Connery, and not as good. 2 stars.

Represents all that is empty and soulless about Hollywood. Plus as a feminist it, well, bugs me that they have to take one of the great matriarchial societies in nature and turn it into a hive where the males seem to do most of the work. C'mon, Jerry, I'm willing to overlook the four-limbed-insect thing, but there's great comic potential in the life of a drone. And the Bee Dance could have been a great number. One star.

Oh, you mean that Zion. Finally, I can listen to reggae -- without the guilt!

Thanks to Balls & Walnuts for suggesting this -- otherwise I might have missed this Sergio Leone Western that out-Westerns the Western. So over-the-top, so mightily mythic, and the four principals (Jason Robards! Charles Bronson! Claudia Cardinale! Henry Fonda... as the villain!) are just great. 4.5 stars.

There's a class of movies based on books where it's essential that you see the movie first, because they aren't adaptations as much as mutations, so if you know the book you'll keep wondering why they changed so much. I'd put Howl's Moving Castle in this category, along with Children of Men. Read this after you've seen it.

If you like early-70s Hammeresque Horror, pick this one up -- it's worth it to watch Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing face off. Also for this exchange:

Christopher Lee: "I've got to get hold of that skeleton somehow."

Doctor Perry: "Oh I don't know... There is the question of professional ethics."

Christopher Lee: "Oh indeed, indeed... that is why I shall have to employ someone for whom ethics have no significance."

3 stars.

I'll have to agree to disagree with the Owlanphys about the voiceover, but I did think this deserved 3.5 stars. Then again, I'd probably think differently if I'd read the book first.

Debbie: "Those people deserved to be overthrown." Half a star for the visuals in this Louis XIV costume drama, but half a star off for a romance that strains the bounds of credulity. 3 stars.

Ben has checked the "young adult" Jedi Prince books out of the school library, despite never having seen Star Wars. And really, they make The Phantom Menace look deep and interesting by comparison. Yes, Jabba's father (actually mother!) is really named Zorba.

Yes, it will give you dystopian nightmares. But wow, what a film. 4 stars.

Last and best season. (Note, these seasons are only six eps apiece.) This one is based around a production of King Lear, which I'm going to see this week at BAM, so it's also a good refresher.