I love inlareviewer. And lissa. And Anne Hathaway and Rosemarie DeWitt. And almost everybody else, too.

But mainly I love In Bruges and The Visitor and Iron Man because none of them have a chance. At Oscar, that is. 'Round these parts they might do some damage.

And no one mentions Burn After Reading's Malkovich or W.'s Cromwell either. Huh?

I've only seen the two Bens once on At the Movies, and though they certainly ain't no Siskel and Ebert, I didn't loathe them nearly as much as most people seem to be doing. Ben Mankiewicz in particular I think is pretty smart; he's a host on TCM and has some fairly sharp comments on movies on that network, and of course he's a nephew of Joseph L. or Herman or somebody in that family. Which doesn't mean anything, but I decided to do a weird kind of name-dropping.

I've only seen the two Bens once on At the Movies, and though they certainly ain't no Siskel and Ebert, I didn't loathe them nearly as much as most people seem to be doing. Ben Mankiewicz in particular I think is pretty smart; he's a host on TCM and has some fairly sharp comments on movies on that network, and of course he's a nephew of Joseph L. or Herman or somebody in that family. Which doesn't mean anything, but I decided to do a weird kind of name-dropping.

They weren't too bad. It was the panel of three that gave their views that were really annoying.

inla--I think Downey and Paltrow were amazing in Fe Guy (see, I'm learning), but acting nominations for a superhero movie (unless you're Heath Ledger) are out of the question.

As for Brolin, he deserves the supphose nom for Evap without a doubt. As for UU, not so much IMO.

And now I promise to stop doing inla. Unless he smiles real nice.

As my most recent addition to the gallery of role models, Louise from St. Louis, would say, I still believe in love. It's the thing, you know.

Ben Lyons is Jeffrey Lyons' son.

According to Wikipedia, Ben is actually Herman's grandson, believe it or not. They say Ben's father is Frank Mankiewicz, who was born in the 1920s and is the cousin of Tom Mankiewicz, who went to Yale at the same time I did.

Ben M. is apparently about 15 years older than Ben L., who doesn't deserve the spot on the show nearly as much as older Ben. But if they put In Bruges and Iron Man on their ten-best list, they can't be all bad.

I've loved Richard Jenkins since SFU, and wanted more of him in the series. Then he had a small role in Shall We Dance and I just thought he needed to rise to the ranks. As a leading man, in such a profoundly moving - but subtly portrayed - role (The Visitor, he rocks it, and I'm hoping this isn't the end of his leading man turns.

As for the drum playing? I enjoyed it. I'm no expert (but fast becoming one with my son taking up drums this past year), but really, the music was more than just skill; it was concept and it came through. It was symbolism, not talent that matters in this film. And while I respectfully defer to you, yambu, for your expertise, if we start pulling apart symbols to critique the talent, we're looking too far into the microscope.

The film is one of the most decent films I've seen. Not only is Jenkins subtle, but the whole film - writing, acting, plot - sensationalizes nothing. It brings awareness to an invisibly existent problem that also brings sympathy to the plight of those it affects, and for that reason alone, I'd recommend it. But the storyline, and the lack of Hollywoodisms (no happy endings, per se) won me over from the get-go.

Okay, I shall have to see In Bruges if I'm to be in this crowd. Ya talked me into it.