David Edelstein of Slate feels there should be more Seabiscuit in Seabscuit. Roger Ebert liked, but not loved, it. Jami Bernard of the Daily News thinks the movie "get it right." more ›

X2...blah blah...X-Men United...blah blah...X2...need to see it...better than the first, but the first is different...blah blah... Critics pretty much love the sequel to X2, from A.O. Scott rhapsodizing about Anna Paquin's kissability, Kenneth Turan giving Brian Cox props and Stephanie Zacharek's admission that X2 is good though less lyrical than the first. Gothamist is debating whether to see X2 this weekend, as it will be hella crowded, even at the stadium seating multiplexes. more ›

Finally, the British hit Bend It Like Beckham opens here. It's about an Anglo-Indian girl whose parents want her to lead a traditional Sikh life while she is crazy about soccer. The Beckham in the title refers, of course, to the impossibly attractive and talented David Beckham of Manchester United. Here are reviews from A.O. Scott of The New York Times and Kenneth Turan of the L.A. Times. Stephanie Zacharek of Salon calls love interest Jonathan Rhys-Myers "sullen and dull. Hee. more ›

As a hopeless cinephile, I feel that the year I spend watching movies is like having a crush on some unattainable person. It makes me feel alive, with all the planning and dreaming and effort I put into it, and somehow, even when I see a bad movie, it’s okay, because it’s one of the knocks I take in wishing that maybe this in time, after paying $10+ for a movie, it might reward my desperate passion with an enlightening moment that can transcend time and place. (For the record, that includes Owen Wilson’s goofiness, Katharine Hepburn trying to hit Cary Grant, and the way Christopher Doyle moves a camera.)
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