Kids Watching MORE TV Than Five Years Ago

Whew, what a relief. With YouTube and MySpace and online gaming and so on, it seemed like we might lose a generation of kids. Happily, they're watching just as much TV as ever.

Billboard's Top 10 Songs -- Beyonce Still Queen

Make that 10 weeks at #1 for Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," a song that is definitely living up to its name. Big debuts include the screamable teen band the Jonas Brothers at #40 with their clever "Year 3000" (the album came out last August so I'm not sure why this one is taking off now) and UK sensation Mika, whose addictive debut single "Grace Kelly" debuts at #81, with the Naked Brothers Band bringing up the rear at #83 with "Car Crazy." The top 10, per Billboard:

1. "Irreplaceable" -- Beyonce
2. "Say It Right" -- Nelly Furtado
3. "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" -- Fall Out Boy
4. "It's Not Over" -- Daughtry
5. "The Sweet Escape" -- Gwen Stefani featuring Akon
6. "Runaway Love" -- Ludacris featuring Mary J. Blige
7. "I Wanna Love You" -- Akon featuring Snoop Dogg
8. "We Fly High" -- Jim Jones"Smack That" -- Akon featuring Eminem
9. "You" -- Lloyd featuring Lil Wayne
10. "Walk It Out" -- Unk

American Idol Recap

They tell us that 172 people went to Hollywood. We saw maybe 40 make it through. Some of the shows were weighted too heavily to losers and people who weren't serious. But 40 different people to keep in mind, learn their stories and watch them as they succeed or fail in Hollywood seems about right. The producers obviously know which ones make it to the final 24 (12 guys and 12 gals), so for all our complaints I'm guessing they knew what they were doing. Still, there's no reason not to soften the hard edges a little. And they did with several contestants, especially Alexander, the flexible Puerto Rican who loved Paula and couldn't sing a lick. The judges went out of their way to be polite to him while not sugarcoating the fact that he can't sing.

TAMI -- butch gal who sang "Whipping Post" and gave off a Janis Joplin vibe. Cool and bluesy, which for me has been this year's musical genre du jour.

PAUL -- Asian guy annoyed by William Hung's "popularity." Sang "If I Ever Fall In Love Again." Good looking but pretty standard on first glance.

GINA -- sang "Black Velvet." I wouldn't have put her through.

EBONY -- roller skating girl who sang Whitney Houston. Her friend was okay but Ebony was beautiful and had a really distinctive voice. definitely one to watch and by far the best of the night.

LAKISHA -- belted out "Think." Strong belter.

Now Hollywood takes place in one week, so a week from Tuesday we'll be watching the Top 12 men perform (in a two hour show), a week from Wednesday we'll watch the top 12 women perform, and two weeks from today we'll having our first results show.

New Eagles Album Available ONLY At Wal-Mart For One Year!!

My college friend Geoff Boucher has a nice chat with Don Henley in the LA Times. A famed environmentalist, Henley is naturally defensive about having the Eagles team up with Wal-Mart. Don insists that anyone who criticizes couldn't possibly know about all the green initiatives Wal-Mart is pursuing. Isn't it possible that people could just disagree with him? Anyway....

Putting aside all of that, this article contains a hum-dinger of a revelation. The new Eagles CD -- their first studio album since 1979 -- will be available ONLY at Wal-Mart for an entire year! That's a terrible, terrible thing to do. My complaint has nothing to do with Wal-Mart -- I think exclusive artist deals with Wal-Mart or Best Buy or Starbucks or ANYONE is a terrible disservice to the fans and bad for business. And for a YEAR? That's just an awful decision that doesn't help anyone but the chain that has exclusivity. It certainly doesn't help the Eagles. Henley's contention that it's a whole new world in the music business hardly applies to the Eagles. Their live album "Hell Freezes Over" (with four new tracks) sold eight million copies in the US, despite only two modest Top 40 hits. Does Henley really think the band with the best-selling CD in history wouldn't sell truckloads of CDs? Of course they would. But this exclusive deal just makes it that much harder for fans to get it and helps no one, certainly not the Eagles.

As an aside, I'd take mild issue with Boucher's description of the music of Garth Brooks as "predictably neutral." Brooks was pretty darn rebellious and liberal and controversial in the world of country music and delivered songs about spousal abuse and another with gay-friendly lyrics, to name just two that came to mind. He wasn't Dylan, but he didn't play it safe, either.

Does Anyone Care If Critics See Movies In Advance?

The short answer is of course "no." But some film critics have been getting in a lather about the increasing practice of movie studios not screening some of their junk movies like "The Messenger" (and perhaps "Ghost Rider") to critics before the movie opens. Does this hurt the box office by losing out on the free press of reviews on the Friday a film opens? Of course not, since no one going to see bad horror flicks knows or cares what critics have to say about it. Can critics help a movie's box office? As Roger Ebert -- and most critics -- say, critics can help a little on little movies, steering people towards smaller films they might have otherwise avoided. And sure if a big movie gets viciously bad movies, someone on the fence who actually cares what critics think might decide against checking a film out. But that's a small minority. Whatever critics say about Eddie Murphy's "Norbit," it won't change one bit the movie's opening weekend. Even if they love it, it's still a certain type of movie that will attract a certain type of audience. Only in the long-term can massive critical praise make any difference and even then it's usually for something small like "Little Miss Sunshine" that they can have an effect. Holding back horror films and indeed most movies from critics doesn't hurt the openign weekend box office at all. Would anyone headed to Martin Scorsese's The Departed have stayed away because critics didn't review it on that Friday? Of course not.

Celine Dion Performs Morricone At Oscars

What, Celine Dion warbles along to that awesome theme from the spaghetti westerns? No, sadly she won't be trying to vocalize "wa-wa-wa-wa-waaaaaaah!" Instead Dion will be performing a song with music by Morricone (a theme from "Once Upon A Time In America") and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, who have been hosting tributes to themselves in the last few weeks. The producers of the film wisely thought an epic gangster film didn't need a pop song but now we're getting "I Knew I Loved You" all the same. (Would it have played over the rape scene, I wonder?) A tribute to Morricone could be a great moment at the Oscars, if they compiled a well-edited montage of some of his great work from "The Mission" and "those westerns and "Days Of Heaven" and about a million other movies (perhaps with Jack Black's tribute from "The Holiday" thrown in for good measure). Having Celine Dion sing a pop song -- even one based on a theme from his movies, even one that's really, really good -- has nothing to do with paying tribute to his brilliant work as a film composer and takes time away from what would be a real tribute, which is SHOWING the work that he's done. Dreadful time waster.

College Kids Boost "Grey's Anatomy," "Office" Etc.

A series of TV shows got a bump in viewers now that Nielsen is finally starting to pay attention to the millions of young adults who go to college. Yep, for all these decades, Nielsen let college students slip through the cracks. Now the Associated Press is reporting that "Grey's Anatomy" scored its highest ratings since the season debut and "The Office" and other shows got a boost in the millions as well. I suppose this means cynical networks DON'T want Nielsen to go into retirement communities and start measuring viewership in the TV room.

He Makes Phil Spector Seem Reasonable

That would be the odd British producer Joe Meek, who had a "string" of hits (if you can call "three" a "string") but delivered such a strange assemblage of pop songs and was such a volatile figure that he's still fondly remembered today. The Guardian has an appreciation of Meek, which gently refers to his being arrested for "cottaging," a quaint British term for having sex in restrooms (this was when people could be thrown in jail for being gay -- and were). But they go to far in saying Meek released the first concept album in 1960. Frank Sinatra, at least, was there in the early 50s, with "In The Wee Small Hours" of 1954 widely acknowledged as a concept album that revolutionized how people listened to music and upended expectations of what an album might achieve.

Indiana Jones Release Date

The fourth Indiana Jones movie will hit theaters on Memorial Day, May 28, 2008, says the BBC. Filming begins this June. The date is now official, but we might have guessed since they said the film would come out in May and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" came out on Memorial Day in 1989 and "Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom" came out on the Wednesday before Memorial Day weekend in 1984. "Raiders" spoils that a bit since it came out on June 12, 1981. But by and large, Memorial Day belongs to Indy the way July 4th belongs to Will Smith.

The NYTimes Looks Lost On "Lost"

I'm probably just jealous, but the NYTimes coverage of TV is just downright odd. They can't really take TV seriously because it's beneath them. But so many of the reviews and articles they write treat TV with absurdly high-falutin' analysis. Recently, they decided reality shows like "American Idol" were an example of generational warfare. (The truth is that "Idol" is wildly popular in part because it is one of the few shows entire extended families from grandparents to grandchildren can watch and enjoy together.) Now they're dissecting "Lost" and the NYTimes seems as lost as ever.

“Lost” is at heart a science-fiction thriller, while “Heroes” is more of a comic book, but both genres have a similar appeal: they provide an alternative society for those who don’t fit comfortably into their own. (That is to say, smart, socially awkward adults and all 12-year-old boys.)

No matter how far-fetched and complicated that imaginary world may be, it is bound by its own intricate set of rules and customs, be it Quidditch regulations at Hogwarts; etiquette on Superman’s native planet, Krypton; or military rank in “Battlestar Galactica.”

"Lost" and "Heroes" appeal to smart, socially awkward adults? Meaning socially well-adjusted adults can't be bothered with them? I think they're confusing the feelings of some of the characters with the audience. Surely, "Heroes" appeals to anyone who enjoys fun, well-written TV shows. Does "24" appeal only to hawkish people with a taste for torture?

And whatever could they mean by the intricate set of rules and customs when they refer to the etiquette on Superman's native planet, Krypton? I haven't devoured ALL of Superman's many forms, but I've seen many of the movies and TV shows and read years of the strip and haven't a clue as to what she might be talking about. And the military protocol on "Battlestar Galactica" is so loose an entire storyline was built around their shock when they came into contact with another ship that WAS run by the rules. Some more strange comments:

The fans of these kinds of serialized thrillers are unusually passionate and devoted, carrying a clout not unlike that of anti-abortion activists — their intensity is in some ways more powerful than their numbers.

Talk about socially awkward -- bringing up anti-abortion activists in discussing "Lost" is a conversation-stopper. But what do they mean? Fans of these shows are more powerful than who? More powerful than people who DON'T watch these shows? Why would producers care what people who don't watch the shows think about it? Presumably they're hinting at the difference between casual fans and the ones who talk about it obsessively online. But is there any reason to think there's a massive or even minor gap in the attitudes of the two? I've been annoyed with "Lost" since season two and most fans online have been too.

They end by saying lots of shows quietly reflect our disillusionment with the government post-Abu Ghraib (great, first abortion and now torture) and making an oddball reference to global warming. (That polar bear on "Lost.") The one thing they don't do is give you any handle or any new insight on any of the shows they talk about.

My New Favorite Website

Gymanstics is one of those sports I love to follow but never get to watch. (I prefer men's to women's gymnastics because -- especially at the Olympics -- the girls are SO young I find it just to unpleasant to watch those children put under such intense pressure.) The Men's National Championships are just starting in Las Vegas and USA Today has an article on the Hamm twins who have just decided to recommit themselves to the sport and shoot for the 2008 Olympics. Blaine Wilson is doing the same thing but with his injuries and age he'll likely be more of a cheerleader than a leader for the team. Apparently, no sports network was interested in a reality show -- but who needs TV? They're going to post regular videos of their training and competition on the way to the Olympics at Making The Olympics.com. Paul especially deserves another shot at undiluted glory since his gold medal was unnecessarily tainted by politics and bad judging that should never have taken away from his achievement. (Paul was the first American to ever win an individual all-around gold at the Olympics and he did it with an amazing, deserving performance.) You can check out their video announcement about rejoinging the sport here. Best of all, they got rid of those dorky, parted-down-the-middle haircuts!

Steven Jobs: Stop Making It Hard For People To Listen To Music

That's what it boils down to: the record companies have all sorts of stupid technological gimmicks to try and fight piracy. All it really does is make it hard for people to listen to the music they want on their iPod or stereo or cell phone or computer or whatever. It doesn't slow down the real thieves a lick. That's why Jobs is calling for the record companies to stop music copy protection and make it easier for people to buy and listen to digital files of music. He'd be a lot more convincing if Jobs didn't refuse to make iPods compatible with other online music stores -- it's a real pain to convert a tune you bought digitally somewhere else to play on an iPod. But Jobs is stating the obvious. In Europe, the courts are increasingly ruling that these sorts of restrictions are illegal. Plus, when record companies say they need to combat piracy and keep these files restricted, they're just being stupid: they sell music and movies every day that aren't restricted in any way: they're called CDs and DVDs. And the second new anti-piracy software is released, hackers post ways to break them. Jobs needed to go much further: calling for an end to ALL the technological gimmicks that rob consumers of their right to watch movies and shows or listen to music in every legal way possible, to make copies for their cars and boats or rip copies to play on their music devices and cell phones or watch on a handheld device. I have a DVD player that freezes up if I try to make an audio cassette copy of a CD, even though that's my right. Do they really think home copying is a problem? All mechanical devices should stop their crazy firewalls that just make life difficult for law-abiding consumers. You fight online piracy by making movies and music available digitally at a reasonable price in a safe enviroment, not by making life hell for the average consumer.

Billboard's Top 10 CDs -- Norah Jones At #1

Norah Jones debuted at #1 of course with her new CD "Not Too Late." It sold 405,000 copies, a far cry from the 1.02 million of "Feels Like Home." That was feeding off the momentum of her massive selling debut "Come Away With Me," which had sold 10 million copies in the US alone. But 400,000+ copies is still a very strong debut and more than respectable. Just outside top 10 is Harry Connick Jr. at #11, Jill Scott at #12, Madonna at #15 with her live CD/DVD set and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at #47. The Top 10 per Billboard:

1. Norah Jones -- "Not Too Late"
2. Katharine McPHee -- "Katharine McPhee"
3. Daughtry -- "Daughtry"
4. Celtic Woman -- "A New Journey"
5. Pretty Ricky -- "Late Night Special"
6. Akon -- "Konvicted"
7. TK (not mentioned by Billboard -- charts released on Thursday)
8. The Shins -- "Wincing The Night Away"
9. Robin Thicke -- "The Evolution Of Robin Thicke"
10. Various Artists -- "2007 Grammy Nominees"

American Idol Recap

It was a kinder, gentler "Idol" last night, a nice respite since tonight will seemingly be devoted to more awful auditions. But always keep in mind, it's been three weeks and just six episodes and the auditions are over. 90% of the show is NOT about making fun of bad auditions. Last night, I thought the judges came off nice with the girl Simon asked is her audition was for real. When she cried, they were all pretty sympathetic, but Randy said, "You want us to be honest, don't you?" And for the girl, Jasmine, who complained that the judges were rude and bored even before she sang, that's EXACTLY what "real" auditions are like. In fac, real auditions are far LESS friendly than "Idol." You don't talk back or get air time or explanations or polite explanations that singing just isn't for you. All you get is a barked out "Thank you. Next!"

Having said all that, several things were again uncalled for and buttress those who think the show is meaner. First, I don't understand Ryan's continued cooler-than-cool attitude with the contestants, especially his tactic of just remaining quiet and leaving people hanging while the cameras are rolling. It just seems designed to make them feel awkward when Ryan should be doing everything he can to make them feel NOT like idiots. It was also mean-spirited of them to show the relatives of Jasmine who sported a sign that said "Jasmine: Are Next American Idol." What's the point of making fun of uneducated people? That was followed by quoting one of her relatives who asked, "Where's Simon from? He should go back to English...." Later in the show, a voice-over from Ryan said something about Simon going to "English" in a further mockery. Finally, if they don't take two seconds next season to post a sign on the exit doors pointing to the one that isn't locked, they're just being dicky.

HALEY -- this was the girl with the dress that exposed her back big time. There was a quick reaction shot of Simon's jaw-dropping (as popsurfer aaron pointed out to me) that was priceless.

BAYLIE BROWN -- this 16 year old was great, though I fear she might think Paris Hilton is a role model. Hopefully she won't be wedded to country or she'll seem too much of a Carrie Underwood. But a terrific job on a Faith Hill song and very cute and her name is ready to be in lights. A real comer.

COUSINS -- the first cousin who sang "Amazing Grace" was hilarious when he explained to the judges he would be trash-talking on the way out and then let off a tirade that everyone on the outside believed was genuine. Very very funny. And Akron Watson sounded terrific on "A Change Is Gonna Come" and especially "Let's Get It On."

ASHLYN CARR -- I didn't think she made as many weird facial gestures as the judges said and I certainly would have said yes the first time around. She's got a nice distinctive voice and is certainly worthy of Hollywood. I wished one of them -- after their many many comments about her weird-looking tics -- had mentioned the fact that she was quite pretty, just to be nice.

JIMMY MCNEAL -- I hated Simon's sudden compulsion for referring to him as Jimbo but Jimmy's "Cupid" was smooth and very very appealing. He and Baylie were definitely the highlights.

Overnight TV Ratings --

Another night of amazing dominance by "American Idol." And for the first time, I didn't even TAPR last night's "Gilmore Girls." The last few episodes, I've been half-heartedly taping and then sort of skipping through the show, searching for some moments that wouldn't annoy me. Not last night. Sadly, the CW has been such a flop -- not a single successful new show and most of the returning shows are down from a year ago on WB and UPN, that I don't see how they can NOT bring back "GG." For a complete ratings breakdown, go to MediaWeek's Marc Berman.

8 p.m
1. American Idol -- 33.07 million viewers
2. NCIS -- 16.17 million
3. Dateline -- 5.75 million
4. America's Funniest Home Videos (r)-- 5.62 million
5. Gilmore Girls -- 4.62 million

9 p.m.
1. House -- 24.95 million
2. The Unit -- 12.34 million
3. Law & Order: Criminal Intent -- 8.85 million
4. Primetime Live: The Outsiders -- 7.55 million
5. Veronica Mars -- 2.47 million

10 p.m.
1. Law & Order: SVU -- 13.39 million
2. The Unit -- 10.43 million
3. Boston Legal -- 9.83 million

Gotta Run

Heading to Lincoln Center to interview Jack O'Brien, the director of the massive trilogy, "The Coast Of Utopia." Back later to blog.

Dylan Wins Village Voice Pazz & Jop Poll

I always feel shameful when I file my best CDs list AFTER Village Voice releases its poll. Here's the list of the best CDs of the year, based on a poll of music critics around the country. I will (shamefully) deliver my picks next week.

Rev. Ted Haggard "Completely Heterosexual"

What a relief.

"Iron Man" Cast Impressive

I've never read the comic book "Iron Man," but the film version helmed by Jon Favreau certainly has an impressive cast. The lead is Robert Downey Jr, with Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow in supporting roles. Ever since "Superman" attracted Gene Hackman, comic book movies often get stuffed with terrific actors. I guess a big paycheck and a summer blockbuster is a nice way to slum. "Iron Man" will be released on my birthday, May 2, 2008.

Overnight TV Ratings -- "Heroes" A Hero 24/7

Maybe Jack Bauer SHOULD have taken the day off and made that feature film: "Heroes" is now beating it regularly at 9 p.m. Mind you, neither one of them wins the time slot; that honor belongs to the modest sitcom "Two And A Half Men" on CBS, the sort of bread and butter sitcom that gets little press but brings in viewers and will do great in syndication -- a place wherre serialized shows like "Heroes" and "24" falter. Hey, at least they've got DVD sales to look forward to. By the way, "Heroes" is fun, but those over-heated previews that promise the episode will BLOW...YOUR...MIND!!! are really tiresome. Finding out who the cheerleader's daddy was a modest little twist that would have been MORE fun if they didn't hype it all week. For a complete ratings breakdown, go to MediaWeek's Marc Berman.

8 p.m.
1. Deal Or No Deal -- 17.33 million viewers
2. How I Met Your Mother -- 10.78 million/The Class -- 9.72 million
3. Prison Break -- 10.14 million
4. Wife Swap -- 8.4 million
5. Everybody Hates Chris -- 3.15 million/All Of Us -- 2.74 million

9 p.m.
1. Two and a Half Men -- 17.77 million /Rules Of Engagement -- 14.89 million
2. Heroes -- 14.56 million
3. 24 -- 13.58 million
4. Supernanny -- 9.55 million
5. Girlfriends -- 2.72 million/The Game -- 2.66 million

10 p.m.
1. CSI: Miami -- 18.2 million
2. Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip -- 7.18 million
3. In Style: Celebrity Weddings -- 5.6 million

3-D Movies Are Back For Good

First James Cameron announced he would follow "Titanic" with a 3-D movie. Now director Robert Zemeckis ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Back To The Future") has made a deal with Disney to produce 3-D films. On top of that, Disney and Pixar and all the studios convert new live action and animated films into IMAX 3-D all the time. George Lucas wants to convert the "Star Wars" films to 3-D as soon as there are enough theaters. Those dorky glasses from the 50s may be a thing of the past. But 3-D is definitely the wave of the future: a way for big Hollywood spectacles to offer something in the movie theaters that you can't get at home. Yet.

Best Movies Of 2006

In New York City, 626 films were released in 2006. So far, I've seen 126 of them. I rarely say this, but it's been a weak year for movies. I rarely say that because usually I've been to film festivals and seen so many little films at art houses and on DVD that I think there's plenty to get excited about, even if Hollywood falls short. This year, only three studio films of any sort made my list and they were all modestly budgeted affairs, two of them with no-name casts. I strongly considered listing the films alphabetically since none of them screamed out to me "best film of the year." But these are all worthwhile and worth your time. First, the list of my favorite films. Then the same list with brief comments. Then the list of all 126 films I've seen (so far) along with a rating. All ratings are on a four star scale.

THE BEST FILMS OF 2006

Brick
Volver
Pan's Labyrinth
Borat
Half Nelson
L'Enfant
United 93
Time To Leave
Fateless
The Pursuit Of Happyness

Honorable mentions: Neil Young: Heart of Gold, CSA: The Confederate States Of America, Duck Season, Solo Con Tu Pareja, Climates, District B13.

BRICK -- a clever blending of film noir and high school, I loved "Brick" because it was such an unexpected delight. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a high school loner determined to find out the truth behind his missing ex-girlfriend. It plays with every noir convention (right down to the vice principal being akin to a gruff police captain) and creates hard-boiled dialogue with original slang that is the freshest and funniest since "Clueless." Best of all, it came on the heels of Gordon-Levitt's terrific performance in "Mysterious Skin" and proves that he is an exceptional actor with great taste (which is just as important). He has a long career ahead of him. (Gordon-Levitt is also good in 2007's upcoming drama "The Lookout.")

VOLVER -- Like many people, I became a fan of Pedro Almodovar with "Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown," explored his hilarious early work and then watched with amazement as he began to make the melodramas he used to satirize so effectively. Always intelligent and funny, some of Almodovar's more somber recent work has thrilled others more than me. But "Volver" feels like a rich summation and the best of all possible worlds: a woman's film with a sly humor and a rich, sexy performance from Penelope Cruz, who should simply never make a film with any other director.

PAN'S LABYRINTH -- Nothing can break a film lover's spirit like a film festival. Go to Cannes and you'll wade through a LOT of bad movies and wonder why you were there. I wasn't even a fan of director Guillermo Del Toro's earlier work -- not Hellboy or Cronos or Mimic or Blade II. (But somehow, I'd seen them all.) But I love fairy tales and this dark film set during Fascist Spain at the end of World War II is a doozy. It came on one of the last days of Cannes, when all the good movies are usually already screened. I expected nothing and came away delighted by a film that was creepy and sometimes gorey but most of all emotionally moving, something I never expected from Del Toro. And Ivana Baquero (probably 11 at the time of filming) gives a great performance as the little girl at the heart of the film.

BORAT -- Sure it's meanspirited. There's a big difference between tricking celebrities and politicians into behaving like idiots and doing the same thing to clueless regular folk. But no movie in years has left me helpless with laughter like this one did.

HALF NELSON -- Unlike Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I already knew Ryan Gosling was a terrific actor who had a long career ahead of him. But his performance as a junkie teacher -- in which he does so much with his eyes and let's us see what he's thinking and feeling at every moment without ever being showy -- was still a revelation for me. And he was matched every step of the way by Shareeka Epps as the student who befriends him. I don't know if she is a great actress or was just cast perfectly here (it's hard to tell with kids) but she's certainly great here. I don't even know if the script is that good, but what Gosling and Epps brings to the film elevates it tremendously. They made this film special.

L'ENFANT -- The Dardenne brothers are one trick ponies, sure. I know that. All their films are intense, over-the-shoulder looks at the desperate people on the fringes of society, loners and losers without a hope in the world. See one of their films and you've seen them all. But I'm sucked in by the humanity of their characters and the immediacy of their filmmaking every time. Here we follow a homeless young guy and girl who are crazy about each other. He sells their new-born baby to make a few bucks, she freaks out and he spends the rest of the film trying to undo what he's done. That's it. But the simple power of the film -- the way the characters make a choice and then another choice and then suddenly find themselves buried up to their necks and wondering what the hell happened -- is overwhelming.

UNITED 93 -- It works. Heartbreaking and thoroughly convincing in recreating what it might have been like to be a passenger (or a suicide bomber) on that plane. No backstories, no flashbacks, no speeches -- just an intense focus on what is happening. It's not "grueling" -- grueling is for bad or unpleasant films. It's gripping.

TIME TO LEAVE -- French director Francois Ozon has been playing with genres recently, but this straightforward drama about a successful young man who finds out he has a fatal illness is his most emotionally satisfying film since "Under The Sand." The young man is kind of a jerk and happily, without making him lovable or having some sort of emotional rebirth, we actually sort of come to care for him and are moved by his unexpected, unsentimental reaction to the sad news. Simple, clear-eyed and moving.

FATELESS -- Good heavens, another movie about the Holocaust? Surely everything has already been said? It has and this movie doesn't really break any new ground. The big shift is to not paint life before the Holocaust as all peaches and cream and to show the bitterness of returning home to Hungary from the camps only to find yourself filled with anger at the countrymen almost sorry to see you return. Still, most of it is very familiar territory. But it's so clearly specific, so clearly one person's particular story that it feels fresh again. And the cinematography by Gyula Pados is brilliant.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS -- The first Will Smith film that has ever made my top ten list. He's a very appealing actor with generally terrible taste in movies. Smith has turned one dog after another into a massive worldwide hit. Happily, this time he strips down all his charm to tell the story of a man struggling to become a stock broker while becoming effectively homeless with his little son. Another great child performance from Smith's real-life son Jaden. Other supporting turns are very good too (including Thandie Newton as the wife who leaves him). But it's Smith all the way. Thanks to Italian director Gabrielle Muccino, Smith gives the least complicated, most complete performance to date. The movie is nicely unforgiving and unsentimental in its depiction of his plight, but it will still move you by the end. If this were an Italian or French film rather than an English language movie starring Will Smith, it would be on every critics' list in the country. They're not prejudiced. It's just that film reviewers are wary of sentiment unless it comes with subtitles.

Click here for a list of every 2006 film I saw (126 and counting) along with my rating for each film.

Apple and Apple Make Nice

Apple Computers and the Beatles -- who originally gave Apple the right to use that name as long as they stayed out of the music business -- settled their lawsuits today. I always thought the Beatles had an open and shut case, but one judge ruled that iTunes -- the online music store that accounts for a good 5% of the music industry sales -- somehow doesn't mean Apple Computers is in the music biz. Now the Beatles and Apple just walked away from their lawsuits and will each pay off their own lawyers. Apple now owns ALL the rights to the name and will license them back to the Beatles for their mostly moribund record label. Bizarre, since the Beatles and Apple were around long before Apple Computers. Apple of course used a Beatles song to introduce the iPhone. And apparently the rumor is that newly remastered Beatles songs will be sold as downloads soon (we were supposed to see an ad on the Super Bowl, but didn't) followed by (finally) new CD remasterings of their classic albums, the first time they've been cleaned up since coming out 20 years ago.

Premiere Magazine For Sale

And it may just shut down after years of losses. I can still remember when the first issue of "Premiere" magazine came out -- it was revolutionary in covering the film indsutry seriously. Very few other publications did on-the-set pieces. Premiere did them all the time. Premiere launched the Power List, a ranking of everyone in Hollywood by their amount of power. Brilliantly, it made PREMIERE powerful since everyone wanted to be on that list and higher than they were the year before. Premiere also perfected the ranking of Summer and Fall movies -- they used to give actual tough predictions, unafraid to say what looked like bombs, etc. Now EVERYONE has a Power List and everyone ranks or previews summer movies. Premiere did great, meaty in-depth stories and while they weren't afraid of colorful personal lives, the focus was firmly on great artists making (or trying to make) great films. They took movies seriously but still had fun. They've been so copied and beaten by the nimbler Entertainment Weekly, that Premiere has faded in recent years. But it was extremely influential and it was the only place I wanted to work at when I first moved to New York and it gave me my first internship and job and byline so I will always be fond of it.

UK Music Charts -- MIka Still On Top

Mika is still on top of the UK music charts with his deliriously catchy single "Grace Kelly." On the album charts, Norah Jones predictably debuts at #1 with her new album. And Doris Day must have had a song used in a commercial or something, because she debuts at #20 with "The Magic Of Doris Day" compilaiton. If you haven't checked out Mika, go here.

Rick Rubin To Join Columbia

This seems like a very strange mistake to me. Rick Rubin is easily the coolest producer around and I buy almost any album he's associated with and urge him to work with acts I'd love to see revived, like Bill Withers. But Rubin doesn't really produce "hits," and he certainly hasn't discovered or launched any new acts in a long time, perhaps not since the Beastie Boys. And what does he know about marketing? So why does Columbia want him at their label to find new acts and work on marketing? Especially since he'd still be free to do the big-name producing jobs at other labels that he's done so well recently. If you were taking him off the market, maybe I'd understand. (Not that he's a huge COMMERCIAL force, just very cool and talented.) But to do something he hasn't even tried to do in many years? It's a head-scratcher, though I wouldn't mind doing business with Rubin either. He's great.

Super Bowl Ratings

The final numbers aren't in yet, but the Super Bowl drew about the same audience as last year, which in this day and age is a success. As for the post-game show "Criminal Minds," for some reasons families sitting around watching football didn't want to follow that by watching a show about a serial killer. This is a FAMILY event, CBS. As others pointed out, they would have been much better off to show the Super Bowl-themed episode of "How I met Your Mother." (And no, it shouldn't have been stretched to an hour or paired with another sitcom. The Super Bowl runs extremely long so a half hour sitcom would be the perfect post-game way to wind down. Huge mistake for CBS.

Joss Whedon Leaves "Wonder Woman"

Joss Whedon, the guy behind "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," seemed like the perfect talent to revive Wonder Woman and make her cool. Now he's off the project. One big problem in my mind? The producers are determined to make it a contemporary film when Wonder Woman works much better against the backdrop of World War II (plus, you get Nazis!). Plus, JJ Abrams probably won't be directing the new "Star Trek" movie. Hollywood Reporter gives a rundown of all the franchises in development and what's happening with them. Or you can turn to the Daily News, where I give a modest look at how studios keep franchises going.

Nothing Succeeds Like Failure

Jeff Zucker is the "Today" show wunderkind who took over NBC and has watched the network stumble into third and even fourth place. His only new hits worth mentioning are "Heroes" and cult shows like "The Office," which is only a hit as a Thursday sitcom is you ignore the 25 years NBC dominated that night. So what happens? He gets promoted to take over NBC Universal. Congratulations!

Weekend Box Office -- Not So "Epic"

"Epic Movie" dropped to third as some weak new films came out. "Dreamgirls" is crawling towards $100 million, with only the performances at the Oscars to look forward to as a final boost. The Top 10, per Box Office Prophets:

1. The Messengers -- $14.5 million total
2. Because I Said So -- $13 million
3. Epic Movie -- $8.2 million ($29.4 million total)
4. Night At The Museum -- $6.8 million ($225.4 million total)
5. Smokin' Aces -- $6.3 million ($25 million)
6. Stomp The Yard -- $4.2 million ($56 million total)
7. Dreamgirls -- $4.0 million ($92.8 million total)
8. Pan's Labyrinth -- $3.7 million ($21.7 million total)
9. The Pursuit Of Happyness -- $3.1 million ($157.4 million total)
10. The Queen -- $2.7 million ($45.5 million total)