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(Thing 1) -- Please raise a glass of your favorite adult beverage in honor of the great Richard Widmark, who died on Monday at the age of 93. Had the great pleasure of seeing him in person during a Telluride Film Festival way back when. My favorite Widmark: the cynical pickpocket in Sam Fuller's sensational "Pickup On South Street" (1953).

(Thing 2) -- If you you want to have a terrific evening at the movies (and who doesn't), I just came from watching one of the two or three best films I've seen all year (so far): THE BANK JOB. Really terrific.

I'll have one for Mr. Widmark.

I agree about THE BANK JOB. Very good movie.

I'll add another: PENELOPE was quite a pleasant surprise to me. Who is Summit Entertainment???

Summit is a new indie with plans to release several films each year. Some of their people are from the old MGM.

here's to Mr. Widmark.

The Bank Job was to me a breath of fresh air. Save the Ocean's 13 and its phony but fun premise and give me a straight forward crime flick with real people doing the best they can at being bad and not so bad. It was a rare sympathetic look at a criminal mind. I really liked the movie. Even though it did not do as well as I hoped we held it over.

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Michael Hurley
Impresario