From Elvis to Brooke Shields, see how the stars have cozied up to Saint Nick
Vacation Robo-Post: The Worst TV of 2012
It is time, as Frank Costanza would say, for the airing of grievances. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… the 10 Worst TV Shows of 2012!
A Hobbit Holiday: Bilbo Beats Babs and Tom
On a weak pre-Christmas weekend, Streisand and Cruise get coal in their stockings
Programming Note
I’m going to be spending the time between now and the New Year not working. But that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook, suckers!
Quartet: The Least Exotic Country Retirement Home
Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay and Pauline Collins are up to their usual fine standard, but Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut about retirees putting on a show to help save their retirement home lacks bite
Les Misérables Director Tom Hooper on Choosing His Stars and Creating New Songs
The Oscar winner talks revolution, Jean Valjean’s new number and picking a winner in Wolverine vs. Gladiator
Matt Damon’s Promised Land: What the Frack!?
The star and cowriter takes on the natural-gas industry, and everyone loses
On the Road: Sex, Drugs and Kristen Stewart
Walter Salles’ film of the Beatnik novel has cool moments but remains stillborn, like a diorama in a Kerouac museum
Mary Pols’ Top 10 Movies of 2012
Because while our critic Mary Pols had fun writing about the worst films, she has more fun with movies she loves
What We Should Be Thinking About Pop-Culture Violence, and What We Will Probably Do Instead
It should be possible to criticize excessive, numbing, bludgeoning violence in pop culture without reaching for a dubious argument that it leads to massacres.
Oscar Surprise: Why a 5-Year-Old Actress Might Just Win Over the Academy
At the age of five, Quvenzhané Wallis was on the set of ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild,’ delivering a fierce and unforgettable performance. Now four years later, critics are hailing the fantasy as one of the best films of 2012. …
The Impossible: Naomi Watts Keeps This Disaster Film Afloat
The technical and emotional marvel from the Spanish filmmaking team of Juan Antonio Bayona and Sergio G. Sanchez hits you like a tidal wave
It’s The End(s) of The World As We Know It: Did Pop Culture Cause Mayan Apocalypse Panic?
What part did movies, TV shows and comic books play in making people believe in those crackpot prophecies?