Movie | Following | PASS

Knockout, slow paced, non-linear tale of a man who gets involved in robbery for less than clear reasons. This is Christopher Nolan's (Inception, Memento, Batman Begin, Insomnia, The Prestige) first full length feature (he shot it, too!) and filmed in gorgeous black and white on a shoestring budget. Arguably his best work. Meticulously made and a definite PASS!

Movie | Blow Dry | Pass

An all star cast supports this lightweight date night movie about hairdressers who descend on a small town for a competition. Cutesy, with minimal homosexual jokes (actually, there's a reversal), but super thick accents might put off some. A Pass.

Movie | Burke and Hare | Pass

True so-so period story of two grave robbers who often didn't wait for the grave part. A tremendous cast nearly saves this unfunny comedy. Should have been better, but a Pass.

Movie | How To Cook Your Life | PASS

Excellent documentary about a Zen Buddhist tenzo (chef). The pacing of the dialogue might bother some (it did me, a bit). Marvelous and a must see!

Book | My Gun Is My Passport | Pass

Fun Western style yarn, set in the middle East. The editing can be highly distracting even though it's a bit better than his previous novel, but this is a fun independently produced tale of dust, bullets and bad guys. Great editing is such a skill unto itself (a skill which I do not possess!). A quick read and a Pass.

Movie | Lo | Pass

Indie Faustian tale of a man who summons a demon to retrieve his girlfriend from Hell. Surprisingly grotesque, though there is minimal gore (just a lot of discussion of truly disgusting things). Set and shot as if a play on a stage, it's all very inventive and creative if you can stomach the topic subject. Amazing low-budget effects. A Pass based on effort, ingenuity and execution (no pun intended).

Movie | Mad Dog Morgan | Pass

TV | Big Love | RIP

After 5 years of a knockout series, Big Love has been laid to rest. Wild and creative writing, killer acting and amazing production values combine to form classic, timeless television. While the show was most certainly not for everyone, if you're a fan of marvelous writing, plot twists and super storylines, it's hard to see not loving this show. If you just want to go brain dead for an hour and want lots of stuff blowing up, this will not be your bag.

All others....need to watch this show beginning to end. A definite PASS and it's heartbreaking that it's now gone.

Movie | Faintheart | Pass

Wonderful underdog movie about a soon to be divorced dad who loves participating in Viking battle reenactments. A great feel good movie with an excellent cast, decent plot (though slightly predicable) and an interesting connection to MySpace. Odin says, "A Pass!"

Movie | Mary & Max | Pass

Excellent claymation about friendship that blossoms across the planet, time and place. Warning: it's a heartbreaker.

Fantastic music by Penguin Cafe Orchestra, one of my favorites!

Despite the movie poster, it's in English. Despite all of that, a definite Pass!

Movie | Dance of the Dead | Pass

Fun, cheap zombie gorefest about a group of teens that have to fight off the undead. Very 80s in its' execution (no pun intended) - and that a good thing! Some slightly less than stellar acting and music don't detract from this one. A pass!

Movie | Night of the Comet | Pass

Super cheesy 80s end of the world flick from the perspective of two valley girl sisters. Some absolutely horrific editing, direction and acting don't remove the fact that this is a cult classic. A Pass!

Movie | Red Hill | Pass

Excellent thriller-Western from Oz.

Movie | The Mad | Pass-ish

The only thing good about this dad and daughter versus the zombies is the comedy. Purposefully cheesy, you'll only like this if you liked movies like Motel Hell. Billy Zane stars and it's unclear why he's in this. It's always a bad sign when the movie poster is a painting and doesn't feature the stars (though, I found one later). What, Zane wasn't recognizable enough? Maybe he made sure they didn't put his picture on it! Still, there are some really fun scenes that are worth seeing (Zane and Castle, in particular) and that's why it gets a "Pass-ish".

TV | The Wild Wild West | PASS

Great TV series.

Movie | The Good The Bad The Weird | Pass

Excellent Korean homage to The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Oddball fun!

Movie | El Topo | Pass

Quite possibly the most surreal, disturbing Western ever made. Not for the squeamish.

Movie | Westworld | PASS

Fantastic Twisted Western starring Yul Brenner, James Brolin and Richard Benjamin. A keeper and the sequel and subsequent TV series were good, too.

Movie | Lone Wolf (Series) | PASS

One of the greatest chambara series ever. Period. Zatoichi not withstanding. That series also contained weaker entries (some downright pedestrian), probably because of the number of them.

Movie | Fighter | PASS

Excellent (though slow to get rolling) remake of Karate Kid 4 (AKA The Next Karate Kid), fed through a Muslim lens. Strange mixture of martial arts (Kung Fu, but wearing Karate uniforms and fighting Ninja). Very good!

Cars | Wagons Are Dead | FAIL

Click on the title to read one of the dumbest automotive reports, ever.

Wagons are not dead. If they are, somebody needs to tell Subaru! Besides the Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Dodge Caliber, Ford Flex and MB offerings mentioned in the article (wait, I thought the wagon was dead?!?), here's a partial list of wagons available in the 2011 model year (I've probably forgotten one or two):

• Acura TSX Sport Wagon
• Chevrolet HHR and Aveo
• Ford Fiesta, Grand C-Max ('12) and Focus ('12)
• Kia Rio and Soul
• Saab 9-3
• Nissan Cube, Versa and Leaf
• Lincoln MKT
• Suzuki SX4
• Toyota Venza, Prius, Yaris and Matrix
• Mini Clubman and Countryman
• Scion xB
• VW Golf, Jetta and Passat
• Subaru Imprezza, Forester and Legacy
• Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
• Lexus CT200h
• Honda Accord Crosstour, CR-V, Element, Fit and Insight
• Hyundai Elantra Touring
• Mazda2, 3, and 5

Hello?

Even if you remove the "crossovers" (the CR-V, for example) and 4-door hatchbacks (isn't that the definition of a wagon?), you still couldn't say that the wagon is dead any more than you could in years past. Just an absolutely moronic article. I think I'll go drive one of my two wagons (both of which are still in production) and shake my head in disgust.

Movie | Ravenous | PASS

Superb horror/western/thriller about a Civil War soldier who fights the temptations of cannibalism. Robert Carlyle and Guy Pearce knock it out of the park, supported by a superb cast full of great actors. The marvelous soundtrack is fantastic. Other than some slightly jerky editing, this is a great movie and a PASS!

Movie | Dawn of the Dead | Pass

Everything that the Day of the Dead remake wasn't - actually scary, with plenty of tension. A definite Pass and one of the best zombie movie remakes. Thankfully, Rhames is allowed to act in this one.

Movie | The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia | Pass

Excellent documentary that traces the life of an infamous redneck family with the last name White. Scary, grotesque, frightening, enlightening, sad and touching, this is certainly not for everyone but I enjoyed every minute. Johnny Knoxville's hand in the film is nowhere apparent, thankfully. A Pass!

Movie | Day of the Dead | Pass

Barely passable "remake" of the original by the same name. Decently cast (except a ridiculously over the top Cannon), though most of the roles are underutilized by the script, especially Rhames. It's entertaining enough and that's about all I can say!

Movie | The Haunted World of El Superbeasto | Pass

For Ralph Bakshi, Heavy Metal: The Movie, John Kricfalusi and Forbidden Zone fans only.

Movie | Survival of the Dead | Pass

Standard Western with the Hatfields versus the McCoys (or whomever), which of course, is just Shakespeare. But, add zombies to this one. Starts really strong and sort of peters out towards the end but worth a watch if you like both genres. I was really looking forward to this and had heard great things about it, but it didn't quite live up to the hype.

TV Movie | Island of the Dead | Fail

Dreadful tale about killer mosquitoes on an island off of NY where "unknown and undesireable" people are buried. Yet, all of the coffins shown have names written on them....

It's a bummer, because it actually has a decent cast, including Mos Def.

Movie | Right At Your Door | PASS

Great, simple (aren't all of the best ones of the genre?), end of the world flick about a young LA couple dealing with a chemical attack of some sort. Not terribly action packed, this is more of a psychological thriller. Superb, but be prepared for a downer ending.

Movie | Dead Alive | Pass-ish (Begrudgingly)

Another director that I'm not a fan of - Peter Jackson. He's particularly disappointing because he clearly has all the potential in the world. His earliest works are his best and this is his third feature length film, which was released in 1992. Billed as possibly the goriest, bloodiest movie ever made, it certainly is waaaaay over the top. But, it's all very cartoony and, frankly, that's what saved it for me. Every element is so hammy, corny and the actors clearly were have some fun making it, that it saved it for me. Still, it's a total gross-out and the entire thing is blatant B-movie.