Quote of the day.

"When are today's movie's going to regain that old habit they had, of getting us to the point of fucking?"

--Lucy Thomson, as quoted by her husband David in his book The Whole Equation. (This after Ms. Thomson took in a screening of Love Actually. Before you jump to the conclusion that this quote is a condemnation of the film, it's not. The Thomsons think Love Actually is a charming, old-timey movie that puts them in the mood.)

Relatedly, Mr. Thomson recaps the year in film for The Independent. Among the choice bits, this depressing realization: "Only the other day I calculated that the entire work of Ingmar Bergman must have been made for less than the bill on Alexander." And this prediction: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I think, will be the picture of this year that lasts the longest, and comes into its own - it may be a masterpiece." Always cautious that Mr. Thomson.