Well, this arrived just in time to make me feel bad about consuming that enormous bag of popcorn at "New Moon" the other night. (Hey, it was my dinner.) But seriously, was anyone out there thinking that movie popcorn was nutritious? I eat it all the time, under no illusions -- though I do pretend that not adding the scary "buttery" topping makes it, if not good, at least not as bad as it might be. And I'm wondering when the nutritionist quoted in the story last went to a movie theater, if she thinks that the popcorn counter and the candy counter are two different places.

While we're talking about movie food on this rainy Friday, here's a question: Anyone tried the new chicken nuggets at Pacific Place? I saw a sign advertising them the other day, but didn't have nerve to try them; nor have I sampled the egg rolls at the Meridian. Neither seem like they would go well with popcorn. (Little-known fact, shared with me by several Pacific Place employees: You can carry in your own food -- but only if it's from one of the Pacific Place restaurants.)

And finally, on this black-and-white day, here's a black-and-white clip that's sure to cheer. It's Ginger Rogers singing "Let Yourself Go," a 1936 song I was happy to hear just yesterday on the soundtrack to Richard Linklater's charming new film "Me and Orson Welles" (opening in Seattle Dec. 11). The song, irresistibly catchy, was written by Irving Berlin for "Follow the Fleet," from which this clip was taken. Watch it and smile, and have a nice weekend.

This is slightly old news (it happened while I was away on vacation), but a reader brought this to my attention this week so I thought I'd post it. As I posted a few months ago, the long-awaited DVD release of John Huston's beautiful final film "The Dead" was announced last summer for November 3. Sadly (and inexplicably), Lionsgate managed to botch the release, putting out a version of the film that was missing about ten minutes from the early scenes. They quickly recalled the product, leaving many puzzled. I talked to a Lionsgate staffer this week and she gave me the following statement:

It has come to our attention that due to a technical malfunction, the initial DVD shipment of John Huston's THE DEAD contained an incomplete version of the film. We deeply apologize to all our consumers for this unfortunate error and want to offer them an opportunity to replace their current copies with the complete version as soon as it is available to ship the week of November 23rd. We regret this inconvenience, as Lionsgate is committed to providing our consumers the highest quality home entertainment experience.

All consumers who purchased a copy and wish to receive the new complete version should do one of the following:

EMAIL lionsgatecs@orderassistance.com with their address and a scan/attachment of their receipt
FAX (310) 222-5562 with their address and copy of their receipt
MAIL their receipt along with a note including their address to: 20102 S Vermont Ave Torrance, CA 90502

Or please call (800) 650-7099 directly if you have any further questions

She said that correct versions of the DVD will be available in stores or for online purchase starting November 23. If you buy (or rent) a copy, be sure to check the running time: Huston's version is 83 minutes. And yes, this exquisite film is worth the trouble.

So, I'm sitting watching "New Moon" at Cinerama last night, and the girls of Team Jacob have finally stopped screaming everytime the kid comes on screen, and we're watching the ill-fated movie date-and-a-half (what else do you call a date that involves three people?) between Bella, Mike and Jacob, and I'm thinking, wow, that theater looks familiar. Indeed it was: The Ridge, my neighborhood moviehouse in Vancouver, B.C., where I grew up and where "New Moon" was shot. (The first "Twilight" movie was primarily filmed in Oregon; the second two in Vancouver B.C. Yes, it's supposed to be Forks, Washington, but the filmmakers didn't shoot there.) The Ridge, which has been around forever, has a distinctively skinny lobby with a staircase on one side, on which Jacob and Bella sit. I think I've sat there too, and maybe even on a date, though not with a werewolf.

If you grew up in Vancouver, you see a lot of familiar sights on screen, as so many movies and TV shows shoot there. And you're often amused by geography: Vancouver is usually passing for some other city (often Seattle), and you see funny stuff like Al Pacino, in "88 Minutes," driving down the Seattle viaduct and, immediately afterwards, arriving at the University of British Columbia campus.

Ever been surprised by an oh-so-familiar location in a movie? Do share.

Let's briefly interrupt the all-"New Moon"-all-the-time-ishness of this week for something completely different. Today I saw Wes Anderson's delightful new stop-motion-animation film, "Fantastic Mr. Fox," based on the children's book by Roald Dahl. It's funny, sweet and wonderfully creative -- and you get a sense of how creative it is by watching this brief featurette about the making of the film. I was surprised to see how teeny the animal figures actually are (stitching those little costumes must have been a chore), and that Anderson had his cast record their voice tracks outdoors at a farm, rather than in a studio. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" opens in multiple Seattle theaters Wednesday, Nov. 25. It's a treat.

This morning I heard from the nice people at Fandango, who told me that "New Moon" recently became their biggest advance seller ever, moving more early tickets than "Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," "The Dark Knight," or any "Harry Potter" movie. So, who's buying all these tickets? Do teenage girls really have that much money? How many closeted Twilight Moms are out there? Let's take a poll:

Feel free to add comments explaining your choice. Me, I'm going to the premiere screening tonight, because it's my job. (Would I go if it wasn't my job? Umm . .. probably not. Certainly not opening weekend, anyway.) If you're coming, look for me; I'll be the one without a "Team Jacob" or "Team Edward" T-shirt, and an amused yet vaguely frightened expression, kind of like the one Bella gets when she's hanging out with the Cullens. I'm expecting a sort of "Rocky Horror"-like atmosphere, with a lot of teens yelling "Bite me!" at the screen. Wish me luck.

Doesn't anybody ever smile in this movie? Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner doing that moony thing in "New Moon" (Photo credit: Kimberley French, courtesy of Summit Entertainment)

Yes, my friends, it's "New Moon" week, and every other item in my email box has something to do with The Movie Everyone Is Asking Me If I've Seen Yet. (Answer: no, tomorrow night, along with about a thousand screaming teenagers. I'm scared.) Here's just a sampling of today's "Twilight"-themed potpourri.

-- From MovieTickets.com: 2,150 screenings of "New Moon" have already sold out (and, in an item last week, "New Moon" advance tickets were selling four times faster than "Twilight" tickets last year).

-- From Moviefone: a list of the 10 greatest screen vampires, in which Robert "The Hair Is 75 Percent Of My Performance" Pattinson ranks only at #6. (The winner? Bela Lugosi, but of course.)

-- From a random publicist: an announcement of the available-for-interviews-ness of a university professor who seems to spend an awful lot of time thinking about "Twilight," and who notes that the Stephenie Meyer books are "a gateway drug" that drive teens to better literature. Let's hope.

-- From another random publicist: the announcement that some university researchers who've spent an awful lot of time thinking about "Twilight" have concluded that the books have an abstinence message. No kidding.

Me, I'm reading "New Moon" (well, "barrelling through" might be a better description) and bracing myself for tomorrow night's decibel level. And wondering whether the 15-year-old me would be on Team Edward or Team Jacob. (Probably Edward, despite the unfortunate glitter-skin thing.)

Edward, Bella, Jacob, and Jacob's biceps in a still from "New Moon." So, whose hair is the prettiest? (Photo by Kimberley French, courtesy of Summit Entertainment)

Update: I just spoke to my editor, the brilliant and always well-coiffed Lynn Jacobson, about upcoming holiday movies, and she observed that "Hugh Grant is the Edward, and George Clooney is the Jacob." "New Moon" for grownups, people. I have nothing more to add.

It's mid-November, which means it's officially not too early to talk about the Oscars, and Steven Zeitchik at the Hollywood Reporter weighs in today on the Best Actress race -- which is, he says, unusually shallow this year. There's one sure thing -- Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia" -- and a couple of newcomers who are likely possibilities: Carey Mulligan in "An Education" and Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious." Otherwise, he says, slim pickings. Maybe Abbie Cornish in "Bright Star," though the movie didn't find a wide audience; maybe Emily Blunt in "The Young Victoria," Helen Mirren in "The Last Station" (which nobody's seen yet), Saoirse Ronan in "The Lovely Bones" (ditto), or somebody in the ensemble cast of "Nine" (though is there a star turn in that movie? No one knows yet). As usual, it's been a year in which strong roles for women are few and far between.

I won't argue with that, but I will throw out a few wildcard performances that Zeitchik doesn't mention, any of which are deserving. (I'm also much more positive than he is that Cornish will turn up among the nominees.) Here are a few of my under-the-radar favorite lead performances by actresses this year, all worth a look if you missed them:

-- Elle Fanning in "Phoebe in Wonderland." Yes, I know she's just a kid, but I can think of few performances this year more haunting than this one, as a little girl overwhelmed by her own imagination.
-- Amy Adams, "Sunshine Cleaning." Far better than her too-cute work in "Julie & Julia," this underseen, quirky charmer showed Adams at her determinedly sunny best.
-- Hiam Abbass, "Lemon Tree." Abbass, seen recently in "The Visitor," does beautiful work in this Israeli film about a Palestinian woman fighting to save her family's lemon grove.
-- Michelle Pfeiffer, "Cheri." The great Pfeiffer, so beautiful she almost seems a special effect, gives a performance of great delicacy and poignancy as an aging courtesan in Stephen Frears' delicious period piece, based on the novel by Colette.
-- Audrey Tautou, "Coco Before Chanel." You'll forget "Amelie" (not that you'd want to) in
watching Tautou's tough, smart performance in Anne Fontaine's biopic about the great French fashion designer.

That's my five, and sadly I think the Academy will remember none of them. And what do you think? What's your favorite performance by a lead actress this year?

The sure thing: Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia." Just the trill she puts on the word "do" (or "doooooo") deserves an award. It makes me happy just to watch her.

A.O. Scott, in the New York Times magazine yesterday, posted a couple of interesting lists, both looking back on the last decade of movies (2000-2009). His Movies of Influence list includes the likes of "The Passion of the Christ" (for reminding Hollywood about the power of Christian-themed popular culture), "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (for kicking off the Judd Apatow reign of comedy), and Tyler Perry's "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" (for launching Tyler Perry's entertainment empire). His "Movies of Quality" list (tellingly, there's no overlap between the two lists) includes several of my favorites of the past decade: "Gosford Park," "WALL-E," "Pan's Labyrinth," and most of all "The Best of Youth." (If you haven't seen Marco Tullio Giordana's glorious six-hour tribute to love, family and the poetry of time, for heaven's sake, go rent it. You'll thank me.)

Such lists, of course, are fun to read as a starting place for our own versions. Best films of the decade? I'd add, off the top of my head, Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love"; Pedro Almodovar's "Volver" (though Scott picked "Talk to Her," which I wouldn't argue much with); Pixar's "Finding Nemo" or "Ratatouille"; Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain"; Alexander Payne's "Sideways." Most influential? Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," surely (which might well deserve a place on both lists); Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge," which kicked off a new era of movie musicals; and, love it or hate it, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," whose indie success spawned a slew of imitations.

And what do YOU think?