IAmJcksBeatinHrt

Law & Order: Criminal Intent is far and away the best series in the Dick Wolf universe (to date). I was a fan of the original series up until Elisabeth Rohm (cringe...come on Dick, what happened to the brunettes?) joined the cast and the stories became a bit too bland. I did enjoy SVU for a few years as well, but the nature of the crimes, coupled with the grating acting of Meloni and Hargitay caused me to stop tuning in.

Criminal Intent is a superb crime drama, filling in the gaps that the other two series cannot due to the structure of those two shows. Each of the series regulars, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Jamey Sheridan and Courtney B. Vance are perfectly cast. There are those who see D'Onofrio as a "scene chewing ham", but I vehemently disagree. The character is an amalgamation of the greatest fictional detectives of all time (Sherlock Holmes is the most obvious), brilliantly crafted by D'Onofrio after having the freedom to create the character granted to him by the producers. Only on television would a feature film character actor like D'Onofrio be allowed to forge and sustain a character like Robert Goren.

Kathryn Erbe is fascinating to watch as the tough cop, Alex Eames, who is Goren's partner. There are those who view the character as "one note", but I believe she is the life blood of the show (as demonstrated by the recent less than great Season III episodes when Erbe was on maternity leave). She never bows down to Goren or praises his abilities, quite the opposite actually. It is always subtle, but she keeps him in line, helping to focus the investigations and the writers always allow Eames a bit of comic relief (usually at the expense of Goren). "Wallet's loaded, plastic's all accounted for. Maybe one day we'll get lucky and robbery will be the motive."

It is Sheridan who is not given much to do, which is a shame. His Captain Deakins is a cop's cop and the brass (Chief of Detectives, etc.) is always breathing down his neck. I personally think Courtney B. Vance is vastly underrated. His calm, deliberate demeanor as ADA Carver serves as yet another contrast to the Goren character and the other ADAs from the original series and SVU (who are usually shrill, egotistical and/or confrontational). Carver is a gentleman with a "just get me the evidence and I'll get you a conviction" style that is refreshing.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent is certainly the best of the L&O series and is also one of the best dramas on network television.

This show has great potential. It can be fun and serious in the "dramedy" vein of Ally McBeal, but they need to scale back the V.I.P look slightly. The acting talent far surpasses anything on the latter show, especially Gershon and Marshall. I loved Paula Marshall on Cupid (a show which did not deserve the ax) and Gina Gershon is smoldering in everything. If David E. Kelley maintains his creative vision for the show (while not necessarily writing every episode) it should do well. I've heard this probably won't be the case, which would be a shame.

I can't understand why people don't like this film. I'm not a fan of Anne Rice, but I still love this film. All of the homo-erotic talk aside, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise prove that they are actors as well as pretty-boys during the course of this movie. Pitt's performance as the guilt-ridden Louis is subtle and powerful. The best aspect of this film is still the cinematography by Philippe Rousselot. This is the most beautifully shot movie of the decade...outside of The Thin Red Line. Also, Elliot Goldenthal's score is both haunting and moving. The opening song, Libera Me, sets the tone for the entire film. I actually hope that none of Rice's other books in the Vampire Chronicles series ever get made into films...they simply would not work on the level that this film does.