The Bishop's Wife (1947)

I'm a sucker for all things Christmas, especially Christmas movies. I love 'em all -- "It's a Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street," "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," "A Christmas Story," etc. But this is the film that makes all the others seem like runners-up.

Dudley (Cary Grant - playing an angel) is an inspiration to me each time I see this movie. Goofy, I know, but true. It's filled with humor, not the punch line kind, but the conversational kind. This is a movie of magic - and that's the best kind of movie for Christmas.

By the way...don't settle for the Whitney Houston remake "The Preacher's Wife," it's a shadow of the original. Why did they bother?

A+

The War Room (1993)

I don't profess to know anything about the inner workings of a political machine, so I was really interested in seeing a behind the scenes look at what goes on. As ignorant as I am, The War Room didn't tell me anything new. There seemed to be a consciousness (either on the part of the "war room" staff or the filmmakers) that this movie was in no way to smudge Clinton's image. So, we see a whole lotta Clinton supporters with no cracks showing in their dedication. The Clinton campaign machine comes off as the good guys while choosing to show Bush at his most offensive. These scenes were, I'm sure, included to make me appalled at the tactics employed by Bush, but instead it just made me realize that I'd probably learn more about campaigning if I were allowed 90 minutes in the REPUBLICAN war room.

James Carville was quite impressive in all of his tic-riddled glory. If I were running for anything, I would certainly want him in my corner. But the most clear-headed person to hit the screen was the enemy, Mary Matalin. She may not be charismatic, but she seemed to be the only who truly believed in her candidate instead of the hype.

C+

The Turning Point (1977)

MacLaine and Bancroft are fine; the dancing is lovely; but it's all in vain as they're trapped in a thoroughly uninvolving story. There's no one to root for (with the possible exception of Tom Skerritt - who logs about 10 minutes of screen time) and our promising ballerina "heroine" has about as much acting ability as Andie MacDowell (no, that ain't a compliment).

Do yourself a favor, fast forward to any Mikhail Baryshnikov dance piece and forget the rest.

D+