The new poll question is: "What was the best filmed drama of the 90's"?Here's the link Vote away. Comments and whining to lawdogusc@hotmail.com.

The last poll was "what is the best sex scene in a mainstream picture?" Here are the eight movies that received more than 25 votes:

• 8. Nicholson and Lange in "The Postman Always Rings Twice". I still have no idea what the title means. Here is the scene that was voted in (the table top passion). Here is one more scene. Here is her topless scene Here is the brief glimpse of her pubes.
• 7. DeMornay and Cruise. "Risky Business". This is the major nudity in that movie. (1,2, 3,4).
• 6. (tied) Gershon and Tilly, "Bound". (1,2,3)
• 6. (tied) Heche and Chen, "The Wild Side". (1,2)
• 4. Turner and Hurt, "Body Heat". (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
• 3. Basinger and Rourke, "Body Heat". (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• 2. Stone and Douglas, "Basic Instinct". (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
• 1. "Wild Things". (1, 2) Members: In honor of its first place finish, I just did a new series of captures from "Wild Things", appearing now in the members' version. Click here to sign up, get info, or log in

  More movie stuff

  Oscar buzz: this is the preliminary buzz on this year's Oscars, in the new Rolling Stone:

  Best Picture: American Beauty, The Sixth Sense, The Green Mile, Angela's Ashes, The Straight Story. Sixth Sense is the current favorite. Others like Malkovich, Three Kings, and Fight Club are considered to be too far from the academy's chosen path. I would probably include Malkovich and the South Park movie if I had a say in it. Angela's Ashes is the usual token arty nominee.

  Best Actor: Richard Farnsworth is considered the preliminary favorite for his geezer on the grasscutter routine. Other likely nominees: Spacey, Denzel (The Hurricane), Jim Carrey as Andy, Russell Crowe in The Insider. I like Richard Farnsworth. I don't know if this is the right choice or not. He is a completely limited guy - not really an actor at all. He always brings Richard Farnsworth on the screen. But, damn, is he a great screen presence! With only a few words or even no words at all, he can show you the depths of compassion, understanding, and an infinitely measured and sensible view of the world. You wish your dad could approach and understand the world the way Farnsworth seems to. He's nearly 80, and won't get many more chances, and he's well loved by all, so this may be the one for him. Too bad they choose only one. By the way, I wonder if Carrey is really that good in the Kaufman movie. I sure miss Andy. The name of this page was stolen from a rarely seen Kaufman TV special "Uncle Andy's Fun House". Hard to believe he's been gone 15 years now.

  Best Actress: Bening, Foster (Anna and the Frigging King), McTeer (Tumbleweeds), Judd (Double Jeopardy), Swank (Boys Don't Cry)

Y'know, it's really dumb, but it isn't such a bad watch. It is stylishly directed, the cutting and editing is done very well to maximize the tension of the moments, and the whole thing has a professional high-budget look, and some scary moments. And it has a good premise: a man has to feel pretty helpless in the water with a 45 foot shark who is 20 times his size and can swim 20 times as fast - and has artificially enhanced intelligence which makes him smarter than most members of the Reform Party.

Like most of you I don't keep track of what scientists are working on these days, but if I had to generate a priority list for government or corporate funds, I'd have to say that genius sharks are very low on my priorities. So if you scientists are out there reading this, create an apple that can feed a family of 12 for a year, or something to neutralize all chemical pollution. Then, after you have done some of these things, then you can work on sharpening up those shark math skills.

The movie has one monumental flaw. Every plot twist, every line of dialogue, all the comic relief, every major development is totally predictable if you watch a lot of movies. Not a real high score for originality, but a good watch if you're in the dorm with nothing to do, and you have a decent buzz on. Although you can predict in general what's going to happen, the movie still manages to surprise you in the moment with a couple of specifics. My favorite moment was the way Samuel L Jackson bites the farm - but I won't spoil it for you.

It does have one really, really silly moment. The shark traps LL Cool J, the cook on the scientific study team, in an oven and uses his nose to spin the dial in order to set the oven to "broil" at 500 degrees. A really smart shark would know that rappers taste best when "baked" at 450.