With a tip of the hat to my former colleague Gregory Weinkauf, who pioneered this form of year-end list as best I can tell (though we both came up with 13 independently), here is my best movies of 2011 list. I saw less this year than usual, but what I [...]]]> http://www.lytrules.com/blog/2012/02/06/the-top-13-suggested-double-features-of-the-best-films-i-saw-in-2011/ We’ve come a long way, you readers and I, these nine years. And if any of you are still around, you know I haven’t been updating this blog much any more. There are many reasons for this. Facebook basically destroyed the blogosphere, allowing people to interact and share items the way only folks with blogs [...]]]> http://www.lytrules.com/blog/2011/04/17/where-do-we-go-from-here/

It seemed like every other month, my aunt Betsy (“Bebby”) would complain of some new ailment, real or imagined, that she was certain was going to well and truly kill her this time. Yet she outlived her sisters by a longshot, and the end came quickly, much like my grandfather’s — sudden stroke, then coma, [...]]]> http://www.lytrules.com/blog/2011/03/15/elizabeth-wherley-1920-2011/

I would like you to tell me which are your two favorite FAST FOOD REVIEWS from Geekweek.

I would also like [...]]]> http://www.lytrules.com/blog/2011/01/22/important-reader-survey/ [note: these are the prepared remarks, and not a word-for-word transcription]

I think it’s cool that we’re honoring a movie about facebook tonight, because it means that LAFCA president Brent Simon can no longer pretend not to know that it exists.

I’m like Mark Zuckerberg…I sit alone in my office, constantly refreshing, hoping that Brent will show [...]]]> http://www.lytrules.com/blog/2011/01/16/text-of-my-lafca-speech-awarding-best-soundtrack-for-the-social-network/ It wouldn’t be the end of the year without at least one critic bemoaning the state of cinema as worse than ever. In 2010, however, the movie mainstream did seem to produce more misfires than usual, as Hollywood gradually figured out that post-conversion 3-D doesn’t work very well, M. Night Shyamalan [...]]]> http://www.lytrules.com/blog/2010/12/31/my-top-ten-movies-of-2010/ Lotta catching up here. My bad. I hope some readers will have already seen these by following my Twitter, etc., but if not…

BLUE VALENTINE Blue Valentine caused some controversy with an initial NC-17 rating that has since been successfully appealed following some heavy Weinstein Company lobbying. But here’s the thing: Unfair stigma aside, this [...]]]> http://www.lytrules.com/blog/2010/12/30/reviews-ad-infinitum-2/ November 29, with Amy Nicholson and Melissa Molina: Watch live video from GeekWeek on Justin.tv

December 6 Watch live video from GeekWeek on Justin.tv

December 13 Watch live video from GeekWeek on Justin.tv

December 20, with Julia Boyd and “Emily XXX” Watch live video from GeekWeek on Justin.tv

Next post: catching up on a shit-ton of E! Online reviews. Sorry, readers, it has [...]]]> http://www.lytrules.com/blog/2010/12/28/yes-ive-been-lax-more-first-dollar-gross-shows/ Why should you still care now that the fest is over? Because many current and future Oscar hopefuls were involved. Here’s the breakdown of blogs; click on the red dates to read:

Nov. 6 - Heartbeats, Blank City, Precious Life, Abel, Nothing’s All Bad, The Housemaid

Nov 6 - The King’s Speech, including description of Q&A with [...]]]> http://www.lytrules.com/blog/2010/11/26/my-complete-afi-fest-2010-coverage-for-geekweek/