On Movies & Media

Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson ended up parting ways on their collaboration on "The Hobbit." Del Toro described it as his career's most heartbreaking experience. And the world will probably never see much of what he had in mind. So, as Del Toro is returning to the big screen soon with "Pacific Rim," perhaps it's time to revisit one of Del Toro's great fantasy films — "Pan's Labyrinth" — to appreciate his strengths.

An open letter to Neil Gaiman: Why? Why has "The Graveyard Book" been taken away from Henry Selick, the master animator who gave us "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Coraline"? And why does it appear to be in the hands of Wrong Howard?

Every year, I end up adding a couple of late titles to my top ten list, and "The Queen of Versailles" definitely belongs on the shelf with my favorites of 2012. It's easily my favorite 2012 documentary so far: A fascinating and scary portrait of the lives of the 1%... or maybe the .05%... that will make you feel right at home among the 99.95%, even as it shows you some unsettling things about yourself.

A lot of people are talking about last night's Golden Globes awards. And why not? How often do we get to drown out any substantial conversation about movies with a tsunami of meaningless celebrity buzz? Why not pretend that we're doing the world some good by pretending that art is a contest!

Who's "Barbara"? What's wrong with "Zero Dark Thirty"? Why are critics ganging up on "It's a Wonderful Life"? What is the connection between "American Horror Story" and The Glen Workshop?

Writing, I find, is a joy and an adventure. But it's not much of a job. In fact, you need another job in able to afford to do it.

Sure, there are some critics out there who strive to seem superior to others. But most critics are just fans of movies... such big fans that they like to examine and talk about everything that's in a movie. Today, I came across a reminder of what a great critic can accomplish.

I'd invite you all to a New Year's Eve Listening Party, but there are just too many of you. So allow me to deliver this party to your doorstep. Here is some music from my favorite recordings of 2012.