I was going to call this blog entry the golden gerald award, but then I realized it was going to be more of a list of my favorite movies from last year.

I have seen a few films last year that were very good. The best movie I saw last year was The Last Samurai (A grade). I feel this film met all the requirement for a film. The story was told through intelligent dialogue and, most importantly for a movie in my opinion, visually. The characters achieved depth not only through dialogue, but also by things unspoken like facial expressions or body language, or the passing of Samurai sword to emperor.

The movie that made the largest impression on me from last year was another film with Samurai themes running through it and that film is Kill Bill- Vol. 1 (B+ grade). The funniness, and creativity of this ode to the kung fu movie will remain with me as one of the most pleasant (and bloody) movies I have ever experienced. It is the funniest movie I saw last year.

My third favorite movie of the past year was Finding Nemo (A grade). What a well voiced, scripted and beautifully made movie this is. It is filled with richly developed characters (fish, sharks, pelicans) that put many regular films to shame.

The Lord Of The Rings- The Return Of The King (B grade) comes in fourth. I did not like this one as well as the first two films in this trilogy but it still delivered and I see the movie making community and professional critics finally decided to reward this film.

The best Lord of the Rings movie is The Lord Of The Rings- The Two Towers (A grade). See the brilliance of Tolkien’s story, the skill of the director and his crew, and the excellent performances by the actors to know what I am talking about here.

The most objective reporter or reporter on television news that I think is the most objective is Bob Franken of CNN. He explains a story in a clear and detailed manner and you cannot detect a leaning or attempt to shape the views of the audience in his reporting.

Bob Franken does not seem to be pursing more prestigious jobs, or seeking more important titles at the CNN operation. He seems to be content being a regular beat reporter who is expertly reporting the news in an unbiased manner.

He is like a ‘working stiff’ within the television news business. Bob Franken should be acknowledged for his years of consistently reporting the news in an objective and professional manner. He is definitely a dying breed in the news business.