The Movie: Tex
The Crush Object: Jim Metzler
The Story: Tex McCormick (Matt Dillon, rocking the standard-issue lank-haired butt-cut of the era) is having the customary operatic S.E.-Hinton-verse adolescence: his mother died of pneumonia when he was …

…Because we're stupid, that's why.
Okay, seriously: Couch Baron and I decided each to write up one film for every day in December. For him, it's a way to get a jump on Oscar season; for …

The Movie: Rounders
The Crush Object: Goran Visnjic
The Story: Law student Mike (Matt Damon) is also a savant poker player torn between his natural ability at — and affinity for — the card-playing life and a …

The Movie: Mystery, Alaska
The Crush Object: Ron Eldard
The Story: Co-written by David E. Kelley and directed by Jay Roach (Meet the Parents), Mystery, Alaska opens on the town awaiting the arrival of a Sports Illustrated …

The Movie: Taps
The Crush Object: Timothy Hutton
The Story: Brian Moreland (Hutton), a rising senior at Bunker Hill Military Academy, has just gotten a promotion to head cadet; he even got to sip brandy and shoot …

The Movie: Practical Magic
The Crush Object: Goran Visnjic
The Story: Sally and Gillian Owens (Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, respectively) struggle with their family legacy. Not only do they come from a long line of witches, …

The Movie: Backdraft
The Crush Object: Kurt Russell
The Story: The Netflix plot summary pretty much covers it: "[Firefighter] brothers Brian and Stephen McCaffrey (William Baldwin and Kurt Russell) are battling each other over past slights while …

The Movie: Virtuosity
The Crush Object: William Fichtner, initially
The Story: LAPD is working with LETAC, a Halliburton-type software company, on developing a virtual-reality program that uses a composite virtual killer named SID 6.7 (Russell Crowe) to …

What I'm watching — or no longer watching — and why.
NEW SHOWS
Boardwalk Empire. I have to catch up on recent episodes, but so far, A-minus — the minus is for the pacing, which is very …

I need some help from you guys on a few things.
I need you to watch Terriers on FX. All y'all Donal Logue fans will eat it up, and it's a good show besides that. I'd …