Everything is coming up parties and games this week. I've been busy making a kickass birthday cake for a friend, planning for the party, and finally picking up a belated gift of Scrabble for another friend. Top that off with news stories about Kevin Kline and chess, and getting sent pictures of really cool Blue Velvet cakes, and, well, I've got games and parties on the brain.Picking this week's films was a bit of a challenge, but it all depended on the angle. Did I just want movies with games in them? Did they have to be performed at parties? Would I consider the likes of Bobby Fischer or Jumanji? Nah. Instead, we've got two films that boast insanely great ensemble casts, have some pretty fierce competition, and yet are wonderful for completely different reasons: The Anniversary Party and Clue.

I feel the need to channel Juice Newton: Just call me angel of the morning, Angel! (Sidenote: The song was written by the brother of Jon Voight.) I just can't get this song out of my head with this latest news bit, and luckily it's a satire, so it's not completely inappropriate.
Her first film,
One thing we can always be sure of are new Christmas movies -- not just ones released during the season of lights, egg nog and presents under pine trees, but ones that focus on the holiday itself. The next in the long line of jolly flicks is a feature-length animated musical called Snowyville, which is based on director 










