A couple of days ago, I finished the project that's kept me working around the clock for weeks — and I celebrated by getting some sleep, and by checking the theater news I've been neglecting since the end of the stagehands strike. I was thrilled to discover that some of my Broadway and movie musical favorites were just inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

On the diva front, we have Barbra Streisand's “The Way We Were.”

Movie theme songs don't get much better than this, and divas don't get much better than Barbra. You know you want to watch her belt the song back in the day, so here you go: … continue reading

In their next issue, Vanity Fair will publish their list of the top 40 movie soundtracks of all time. But we don't need to wait to find out their top 10: Purple Rain, A Hard Day's Night, The Harder They Come, Pulp Fiction, The Graduate, Superfly, Trainspotting, Saturday Night Fever, American Graffiti and The Big Chill.

I don't know about you, but this is not exactly my top 10. I own and agree with a few -- A Hard Day's Night, The Graduate, American Graffiti and The Big Chill. And Purple Rain is tricky. I can understand why others would rank it as such, but I wouldn't. Ranking soundtracks is complicated though, because there can be so many factors to consider. Do the songs tell the story of the movie? Do they evoke scenes from the movie? Are they just a collection of great songs? Ten people could probably come up with ten different criteria for what makes a great soundtrack.

Therefore, instead of analyzing Vanity Fair's selections, I'm going to have more fun making my own list. Here are the parameters: It must be a movie soundtrack. I must own it. I must have listened to it in the past year. And I'll give each pick a category for context. And I won't pick all movie musicals (even though I could.)

1. The Sound of Music (Best movie musical soundtrack)

This one is a no-brainer. The Sound of Music is, without question, my pick for best movie musical ever, so it stands to reason that the soundtrack would be the best movie soundtrack. … continue reading

The American Film Institute has revised its list of the 100 greatest movies of all time. I have to say I'm glad I wasn't on the "panel of experts." It was traumatic enough just tallying up your votes for the hot 100 — imagine actually trying to select the 100 best films from the universe of film based on your own so-called expertise. Jeez. (Technically, the experts chose the 100 best films from a pre-selected list of 400 movies, but let's not get picky.)

Anyway, my sympathy for the panel won't stop me from complaining about the list. Let's just start with the most obvious source of annoyance: Citizen Kane (1941) tops the list. Again.

Fine, fine. It's a great movie, I guess. I've seen it once and don't particularly care to see it again. The point is, where is the suspense? This movie is No. 1 on every list everywhere. Let's mix it up a little, eh? Give someone else a chance, Orson.

The Graduate (1967) is at No. 17. Why does everyone love this movie so much? I find it self-indulgent, misogynist and eye-roll–inducing. At least it's starting to fall out of favor: It was initially No. 7 on the list. Of course I admit that Anne Bancroft was phenomenal (and, incidentally, was only six years older than Dustin Hoffman). … continue reading