This is just a random comment, but 2002 is shaping up to be a great year for movies. Admittedly, we've only had a couple of standout films so far this year (Minority Report being the most obvious), but the upcoming release schedule is so rich that even if half of them hit the mark, we're talking about a real bouquet of goodies. I have a theory that a Star Wars film, even if it isn't all that good, has a sort of gravitational pull that draws great movies into its immediate orbit, just like The Phantom Menace did three years ago. Just look at this roster (ranked roughly by my own level of anxious anticipation): Gangs of New York, Punch-Drunk Love, Catch Me If You Can, Adaptation, Solaris, Frida, Red Dragon, 8 Mile, etc., not to mention wild cards like Chicago, Jonathan Demme's Charade remake The Truth About Charlie and George Clooney and Charlie Kaufman's Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, as well as high profile sequels like The Chamber of Secrets and Die Another Day.

Oh yes, and The Two Towers. God, I wish I were still a film critic....