The Other Man (2009)

Liam Neeson discovers his dead wife Laura Linney had an affair with Antonio Banderas (of course) and flirts with revenge for about five minutes. Then the movie becomes a series of boring, melodramatic chess matches (literally) between the two men.

d: Richard Eyre | imdb.com | trailer

Jennifer’s Body (2009)

Director Karyn Kusama (“Girlfight”) and screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno”) craft a knowing, feminist take on the teenage slasher film with Amanda Seyfried as the tough, vulnerable heroine and Megan Fox as the body. Cody’s hip kid-speak is satiric fun.

d: Karyn Kusama | imdb.com | trailer | Kissing scene | Evil

Patrick Swayze (1952-2009)

Patrick Swayze used good looks and a background in ballet to become an iconic romantic lead as bad boy Johnny Castle in “Dirty Dancing” and a tortured soul in “Ghost,” while also starring in the cult action films “Red Dawn” and “Point Break.”

imdb.com | Time | Los Angeles Times | The Washington Post
Nobody puts Baby ... | the pottery scene | “Road House” rules

Larry Gelbart (1928-2009)

Comedy writer Larry Gelbart was funny in every medium, writing the Oscar-nominated films “Tootsie” and “Oh, God,” the Broadway musical “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and most famously the landmark television series “M*A*S*H.”

imdb.com | The New York Times | Los Angeles Times | “Tootsie”
Archive of American Television | “M*A*S*H”

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Bumbling scientist Cary Grant and adorable socialite Katharine Hepburn lose a tame leopard (Baby), a dog and a dinosaur bone in a classic screwball comedy. They prove an excellent slapstick duo, especially when the back of Hepburn’s dress is ripped off.

d: Howard Hawks | imdb.com | trailer | Get behind me.

His Girl Friday (1940)

Newspaperman Cary Grant schemes to win back ex-wife and ex-reporter Rosalind Russell in the most delightful sort of romantic comedy — a world where love is expressed through verbal sparring and faster, faster dialogue that overlaps at the seams.

d: Howard Hawks | imdb.com | trailer | the whole movie

Extract (2009)

Mike Judge (“Office Space”) captures more mundane workplace moments, but there isn’t enough smart satire to sustain the film. Jason Bateman owns an extract flavoring company and resides in a sexless marriage (to Kristen Wiig). Ben Affleck plays his druggie pal.

d: Mike Judge | imdb.com | trailer | Brad Chavez | Stupid Brad
“Film Forum with Beavis and Butthead”