The Aristocrats ++ I view 4 letter words as punctuation and punctuate most sentences myself. However, unnecessary expletives detract in real life. Provocative but not terribly appealing.
Capote +++++ This is the story of Truman Capote and involves his non-fiction novel In Cold Blood. If you are homophobic stay away. If you are an open minded human see it. It will be nominated for a best picture and should be neck and neck heading into the stretch.
The Constant Gardener. Honesty is the ultimate victim. Ralph Fiennes will get a best actor nomination +++ Paranoid men will walk out of this one going "I thought so."
Flight Plan. Think of this as a two hour advertisement for Amtrak and cruise ships. Jody Foster is very good. Movie an interesting B/B+ ++ She may get a nomination although this is not her best movie.
Good Night and Good Luck - a movie about Edward R. Murrow, beautifully nuanced +++++. Take a smart person with you and talk about this movie afterward. This movie will get several nominations.
Jarhead - a thinking man's anti-war movie about the first gulf war. Jake Gyllenhaal will be nominated for best actor but Peter Saasgaard will win for best supporting actor. ++++ Parents will not send their children into Iraq after they see this.
March of the Penguins. - A movie without a category. Simply superb. Will make people on the Golden
Gate Bridge come down from their ledges. There are good reasons to live and this movie reminds us of the joy of being alive. +++++ Might get best picture if it qualifies, otherwise best documentary in a walk.
Prime. A movie about a love affair between an older woman and a younger man. ++ Meryl Streep is better than this role lets her be. Uma Thurman is the older woman and every man would like to be the younger man.
Shopgirl. - This is a cerebral but fundamentally mean spirited Steve Martin movie. A disengaged man does the right things but without feeling. Claire Danes as a vulnerable young woman may get a best actress nomination for her role in this interesting movie. Take your psychologist with you. You'll have plenty to talk about. +++
The Squid and the Whale. A very real if not very happy movie. It's like reading a very good short story about an unhappy subject. +++ If you are looking for a quality downer here it is.
Walk the Line. This is a musical for psychiatrists, psychologists and anyone over 50. Reese Witherspoon broadens her curriculum vitae. ++++ Johnny Cash returns to life to correct and update the record. The car almost crashes and we end up happy they're happy.
The Wedding Crashers. Imperfect and light. A diversion ++ A good movie to see after a bad day.
The 40 Year Old Virgin. You have enough crap in your life without this.
Movies resonate with different people for various reasons. Hopefully some of these will work for you.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
