You're probably thinking you don't need another documentary about the Iraq War. But you're wrong, because Alex Gibney's Taxi to the Dark Side is finally being released, and the film is one of three necessary docs dealing with Iraq. The triad, which would make a great box set if only the same company distributed all three films, also includes Charles Ferguson's very highly acclaimed Sundance jury-award-winner No End in Sight (on which Gibney was a producer) and Patricia Foulkrod's under-appreciated 2006 work The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends.

What do they have in common? Well, if you put them together and watch them all, you'll feel like an expert on three important aspects of the war and its most significant repercussions. They may not tell you everything there is to know about the Iraq War, but they're more thorough and informative than most. No End in Sight is the most directly involved with the actual conflict, from its causes to its effects (read Kim's review here). The Ground Truth more specifically deals with the American soldiers, but in an all-encompassing, training-to-homecoming portrait of modern combat and its consequences (see my review here). Taxi to the Dark Side is sort of like a flip side to that film, though it doesn't necessarily focus on the enemy combatants. Instead it deals with suspected enemies, soldiers or otherwise, who are held and oftentimes tortured in prisons such as Iraq's Abu Ghraib.

Taxi to the Dark Side somewhat falls outside the box (set), though, in that it really isn't about Iraq. In fact, Gibney insists that his documentary is not an 'Iraq film.' Yes, it does feature a lot of details about, and footage of, Iraq's Abu Ghraib, which is probably the best-known prison of its kind, but it also prominently features Bagram, in Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, the two other facilities used in the detention and interrogation of individuals presumed to be involved with Al-Qaeda, the Iraqi insurgency or any other enemy of the U.S. in its "War on Terror."

When you ask people to name their favorite holiday movies, the same answers crop up everywhere: It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street, and perhaps some version of A Christmas Carol (Muppet Christmas Carol and Scrooged seem most popular these days). A few people might try to be different and name Die Hard or Bad Santa, and a few traditionalists might reminisce about Meet Me in St. Louis. And of course there's the Silent Night, Deadly Night crowd. Personally, I would have to bring up Auntie Mame.

But the movies I'm about to mention have only a few fans these days. Most are widely available on DVD, and are not shown very often during the holiday season. Some are forgotten treasures, some date badly. One is a well-known Oscar winner that may be too depressing for some New Year's Eve viewers. But if you are tired of watching Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, or have had enough of the leg lamp and the Red Ryder BB gun, consider some of these films for your holiday viewing ... if you can find them.

There have been countless debates about which James Bond is best, and as we saw from Kevin's post last November, the fans are all in disagreement. But those who side with Sean Connery can now celebrate a scientifically conclusive victory over the others, since a computer has apparently proved that the first Bond was the true Bond. Two U.K. psychologists -- one based in Scotland and one based in England, in case you think there's regional bias -- produced a composite image using a prototyping technique on a computer, and of all the Bond actors the image most resembles Connery.

The funny thing is, according to their procedure, the psychologists' proof is incorrect. Maybe they should have stressed that Connery is the closest thing to a real Bond ever portrayed in an official 007 film, because the real movie Bond would have to be David Niven, who plays the character in the parodic adaptation Casino Royale (the 1967 one). See, the composite image was made by feeding the computer pictures of other actors who Bond author Ian Fleming had said in 1961 had a facial structure similar to what he imagined for the character. Those actors were Stewart Granger, Richard Burton, Patrick McGoohan, James Mason, Rex Harrison, Cary Grant and, yes, David Niven. Considering the fact that McGoohan is still alive, there is still time for a tie, but I'll go ahead and crown Niven with the honor despite what a computer tells me. Either way, though, one important thing the composite seemed to indicate is that Daniel Craig is the furthest of all from being the true Bond.

You know I'll use any possible excuse to look for images of Cary Grant. And since today is his birthday -- he was born in 1904 -- a photo was inevitable. I selected this particular photo over some very nice images from His Girl Friday and Bringing Up Baby that I'll have to find a reason to post later. I figured that most of us remember what Grant looked like in late 1930s and 1940s films, but it's easy to forget the films from the early 1930s, before the iconic Grant we knew started to take root, back when he was a pretty boy playing the love interest for Mae West or Marlene Dietrich.

The above photo is from She Done Him Wrong, a Mae West vehicle from 1933, adapted from her hit Broadway play Diamond Lil. West was a playwright as well as a performer. The plots of her movies are never as memorable as the dialogue, although I enjoyed I'm No Angel, a West film released a year later that also includes Grant. She Done Him Wrong is the film in which West first said "Why don't you come up sometime and see me," which she reused in I'm No Angel, changing it to the now-legendary line, "Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" She Done Him Wrong was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, but lost to Cavalcade, an adaptation of a Noel Coward play.

Grant isn't onscreen in the two West films often enough to suit me, and it's rumored that he didn't like working with West. By the end of the decade, the Production Code of film self-censorship essentially hobbled West's career, but Grant was just warming up into the onscreen personality we associate with the actor.

I am one of the world's worst gift wrappers. People look at the presents I give them, and ask if I let my niece or nephew wrap the gift for me. I admit I can't be bothered to spend a lot of time getting the ribbons to curl just so, and to make sure that the wrapping paper fits the present size before I start cutting it out. Over the years, I've learned to rely a lot on gift bags, which are reusable (good for the environment) and look very smart with some tissue paper and perhaps a little raffia used to attach the gift tag. The gift bags were also good for quick last-minute wrapping during the years when I used to take the plane to my parents' house for the holidays, because wrapped gifts aren't allowed on flights.

A big reason why my gift wrapping isn't fabulous, however, is that I don't pay much attention. I'm very fond of putting on a movie in the background while I'm wrapping presents. The idea is that the movie should be something I've seen before, so I am not tempted to put down the scissors and ribbons and watch closely. It's also nice to watch a movie with a holiday theme, to get me in the right spirit for all that gift wrapping.

Therefore, I've put together a list of seven movies that are my favorites for background watching while wrapping presents during the holiday season. Many of them are on TV during the holiday season, so if you're stuck in the back bedroom of someone else's house on Christmas Eve, frantically wrapping before anyone comes in to see what you're giving them, you might be able to find one of these movies on cable (Turner Classic Movies especially).

According to Bottlegreen Drinks Co., the most beautiful British woman of all-time is Gone with the Wind star Vivien Leigh. Okay, I imagine you American readers are now wondering, "What is Bottlegreen Drinks Co. and what do they have to do with the movies?" Unfortunately, I can't really give any answers. I'd never heard of Bottlegreen before this news, either, and a quick glance at their website doesn't have me going, "ooooooh, they make _____." As for their expertise on surveys about British celebrity, I can't find a thing.

Nonetheless, the company apparently polled 1,000 men and women, and Leigh, who died nearly forty years ago, topped the list of British beauties. And what about the most handsome British man, you ask? Well, that would be Cary Grant, whose popularity still astounds me (even though he's grown on me, if only because he appears in so many great films), particularly in the looks department (that hair and butt-chin are awful!). If women aren't ignoring his voice when they claim the attraction, then I give up trying to figure out what women want. Unfortunately, the reports of this news don't include a full list of the male runners-up. As for the other nine ladies who followed in the top ten, you can check them out after the jump.

Happy Labor Day! All year long, you've been working hard, meeting deadlines, filing reports, sending emails, crunching numbers and counting up those vacation days, while strategically placing them at certain times throughout the year in order to maximize their potential. Heck, you deserve a day off -- 24 hours of rest, relaxation and a whole lot of nothing.

My favorite kinds of movies to watch on Labor Day are those that remind me why this day is important in the first place -- ya know, why it matters. And, what a better way to do that then to throw in a package of tasty microwave popcorn, slide into those comfy slippers and settle down with a few of your favorite work-related flicks. So, on a day that's dedicated to the American working men and women, how about we celebrate not working by enjoying some of the following films:

Actress Irene Dunne, who died on this day in 1990, didn't look like a likely candidate for the lead role in romantic comedies. She was handsome rather than pretty, and she was in her late thirties herself when she co-starred with Cary Grant in the 1937 film The Awful Truth (in fact, she was more than five years older than Grant). The three leads shown in the above photo all had roles in romantic or screwball comedies before The Awful Truth: Dunne starred in the screwball comedy Theodora Goes Wild, Grant was the suave costar in Topper, and Skippy, aka Asta, made a name for himself in the Thin Man series of films.

The Awful Truth is one of my favorite romantic comedies from the 1930s. It's part of a subgenre known as the comedy of remarriage: the romantic leads are usually together at the beginning of the film, separated by misunderstandings or unfortunate events, and then somehow manage to reunite on some level by the film's end. (I'm not spoiling the movie -- anyone who's seen more than one film knows how romantic comedies end). Grant and Dunne's characters have to split custody of their adorable dog when they divorce; meanwhile, the oilman played by Ralph Bellamy, whose characters never get the girl, tries to replace Grant in Dunne's heart. (I'm very fond of the scene in which Bellamy recites her a poem he's written.) My only complaint is that Asta doesn't get enough screen time near the end of the film; he should have been included in the movie's resolution, although I can't imagine how it would be managed. Sadly, The Awful Truth was one of the last comedies directed by Leo McCarey (Duck Soup) -- his later films included Love Affair, Going My Way, and An Affair to Remember.

I don't know about you, but when I think of a movie, set in the 1940s, about a man who cheats on his wife and decides the best solution is to kill her, rather than force her to go through the "shame of a divorce," I think satirical, Cary Grant-starring screwball comedy. Now, as far as I know, Cary never plotted to kill any of his movie wives, but that plot fits him perfectly, doesn't it? He'd be perpetually exasperated at the wife's ability to unknowingly avoid countless attempts to end her life, and everything about the movie would make it clear that his character is a (lovable, dapper) moron.

I bring this up because that very story is about to be brought to the big screen by Ira Sachs, who also wrote the screenplay (he did the same double-duty on last year's inexplicably praised Forty Shades of Blue). Here's the one big difference (apart from the fact that my fantasy star is long-dead): Sachs' film, entitled Marriage, is a drama. Wha? So, he's going to make a serious movie about a guy sincerely trying to spare his wife by killing her? That sounds ... interesting. I guess. Maybe they're setting it in the 1940s so that the period atmosphere will make his actions seem rational, or something.

In talks to star in the film are Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Rachel McAdams (She better be a freaking daughter, and not the girlfriend -- is she even half Brosnan's age?), and Patricia Clarkson; Sachs hopes to begin shooting in a few months.

One of my all-time favorite films is the 1938 version of Holiday, the lesser-known of two movies adapted from Philip Barry plays that starred Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. The better-known film is The Philadelpha Story, which was filmed a couple of years later. I like Holiday better; it's less talky and artificial. The story—about a hard-working man who wants to quit big business after he earns enough money to support himself (and maybe a wife) so he can have a holiday and see what's going on in the world—isn't dated and in fact seems quite relevant today. The publicity shot above doesn't quite reflect the relationship Grant and Hepburn's characters share in the film: he's engaged to her sister, and she's the black sheep of her wealthy old family.

Holiday has been released on DVD in the U.S. for the first time on Tuesday as part of The Cary Grant Box Set from Sony. I hope it also will receive a single-disc release in this country soon. I've been waiting for years and years for an American DVD release for this movie, so you know exactly how I'm spending my entertainment-budget money this week. I am crossing my fingers for a decent DVD transfer. (Now, if only I could get the chance to see the 1930 adaptation of Holiday ... but since the only print is in the Library of Congress, I won't hold my breath.)