I will go with you to that party, and thank you for your kind words regarding my little Lincoln piece.

Movie reviews are hardly under represented, proliferating in blogs, web sites and papers across the world as if it was the highest artistic form within which one could work. What has always puzzled me is how orthodox all the reviews have remained. There is a form, and writers always seem to follow that form. At a certain point, it becomes almost pointless to try to distinguish one critic from the next ( apart from obvious and personal exceptions) and I’ve always thought that movie reviews should be highly personal and whimsical, more personal essay than an attempt at objective criticism, as there is an over-abundance of the latter.

And I will say this, much to your disgust, I imagine, but I LIKED the Social Network. As much as I hate Sorkin, I also love him, and find myself drawn into whatever he writes as if it was some cyclone of cotton candy and parades. I also liked the soundtrack. Now, let’s argue like critics!!

Michael – I’ve now read it three times! In fact, I just read it out loud to my wife Liza, after seeing that Lincoln leads all “noms” at the Golden Globes. As a lapsed movie critic, I can generally say I hate almost all Oscar-related entertainments. This time of year it’s good to see something by Tarkovsky or maybe one of Michael Snow’s early experimental works. Or: as you guys point out, Babe: Pig In The City. That’s a good choice too.