Linkspam round up

Curled up on the couch, waiting out the rain and getting over a cold, so I thought I'd plow through my google reader and see what we have.

First up, AFI will be opening for Green Day in a summer tour. Punk boys from the east bay - oh hell yes. Be still my heart. Also - a new blaqk audio album is coming out this year. One song, Ill Lit Ships, has already been leaked.

Because we are masochists; the front-runners for next year's Oscars. Thrilled to see Betty Anne Waters and The Fighter on there, but y'all know how I feel about Robin Hood.

A bunch of cinematical columns I've been putting off:

What classics have you been meaning to see forever? Ah, yes, the 10-20 spots in my netflix queue. Along with Timecrimes, the 25th Hour, Half Nelson, Michael Clayton, Old Joy, Amores Perros, the Thin Red Line, and Lantana all live near the top of my queue. Hello boys.

Do you want romances to have a happy ending? Hell, no.Well, that's too harsh - generally not. Two of my all time favorite movies are Moulin Rouge and Shakespeare in Love, so I love a good sad ending. But I also like the Scarlet Pimpernel and Stardust, so a happy ending every once in a while is okay. [And how much better would the English Patient have been with the author's imagined ending?]

What should an Oscar-winner look like? Or why The White Ribbon should have won cinematography.

All of Hitchcock's cameos

Adam Shankman's best dance moments Not sure Heart and Souls qualifies, but I had totally forgotten that film! Every movie is better when set in San Francisco.

Action movies and the girl who loves them

That pesky foreign film Oscar

Like Best in Show. But real. And with rabbits.

Why I'll always like Angelina Jolie

How open are you, movie-wise? One of my co-workers derided me the other day for liking everything. To which I countered, I like anything that's done well. I enjoy a great horror film as much as a great drama (mostly). I don't understand people who will only go see rom-coms (for many reasons).

What it means to be a film critic in 2010

Not surprisingly, I love Lady Gaga's new video (product placement aside). Although I find it odd that it came out so much later than the single.

Related, and weird, and hey! That was Gwen Stefani, not Gaga! Gaga in Wonderland.

Hey, remember how I was talking about Suck? Now it has a trailer.

Film industry by the numbers

Ronald Searle's first interview in 35 years (scroll down)