At the movies: Certified Copy.

The new Abbas Kiarostami film is kind of awesome. It's alive and strange and it does things to your mind...

It even restored my Boston associate's love of the cinema for a little while.

At the movies: White Material.

It's staggering that it took almost two years for the latest Claire Denis film to make it to the U.S. But we can certainly be glad that it did. It's a haunting and majestic film that will nonetheless make you think about what Africa is and represents in your own life.

At the movies: Paul.

So, apparently I liked this movie way more than the rest of the world (barring Steve K and Zack H). I acknowledge some of its flaws, but I stand by it as being a lot weirder and more complex than it's getting credit for.

Also, it does that epic tracking shot along the underside of a spacecraft, and I just adore that.

At the movies: Cedar Rapids.

A genial enough comedy about institutional corruption and nascent Peter Panism.

At the movies: Kaboom.

The more I think about Gregg Araki's latest film, the more I love it. I've seen it three times now, and its genial awesomeness grows exponentially. It's very Nowhere, but with a great deal more positive sex vibes (which is something that the world desperately needs). If I said this was like the sex-hippie version of Demonlover, would that make you want to go?

My Very own Oscar Preview/Complainarama.

So I actually was asked to put my thoughts about this year's Oscars in writing, and I jumped at the chance. It's always a nifty opportunity to try and second guess such an amorphous and frustrating group as AMPAS, and I hope I've managed to get at some quality points about what's awesome and what's awful about this (and most) award shows.

If I had an awards show, you can rest assured it would be awesome.

At the movies: Hadewijch.

Not playing in Nashville, except on IFC On Demand/In Theatres. But well worth your time. It's haunted me since I first saw it back in Fall '09.