Oh, boy — check out the teaser trailer for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” I was a little worried, especially when the trailer wasted time reprising the first three movies, like we don’t already know them by heart, but then we get some glimpses of the new one and it looks like it’s shaping up to be up to the level of the best of the first three. Only three months to go!

Mental Floss has a very intriguing list of 8 movie metaphors worth puzzling over. Yes, there’s the knight playing chess with Death in “The Seventh Seal” in the intro, but the list also has some unexpected and thought-provoking items, including the dying fish in Badlands and the pudding in Punch-Drunk Love. The list is rich and rewarding, with some marvelous clips, some thoughtful comments, and a wonderfully insightful quote from Roger Ebert about a dancing chicken.

And from the sublime to the (intentionally) ridiculous: Cinematical’s list of the worst first dates on film, from the funny (“License to Drive”) to the horrifying (“Hard Candy” and “Taxi Driver”). I’d add Ben and Elaine’s first date in “The Graduate,” the awkward but heart-warming date in “Marty,” and, of course, “Sixteen Candles.”

Entertainment Weekly has a great list in honor of next week’s “Be Kind Rewind” — movies about making movies. You can’t do better than Singin’ in the Rain and Sullivan’s Travels, two of the greatest films ever made. I was glad to see the list include neglected gems Living in Oblivion and The Big Picture. Movie fans have spent hours speculating on the inspirations for some of the characters and situations satirized in those films. Francois Truffaut’s lovely film Day for Night is another great choice. I would add to EW’s list the David Mamet film State and Main and the movie about the making of “Citizen Kane,” RKO 281 – The Battle Over Citizen Kane.

They also salute the end of the writer’s strike with a list of movies about writers. It’s hard to make a compelling film about someone staring at a blank page and pounding on a typewriter, but movies are, after all, written by writers, and writers love to write about what they know best. So, there are a lot of movies about writing movies and the people who write them. The list includes In a Lonely Place with Humphrey Bogart, “The Muse” with Albert Brooks and Sharon Stone, and Nicolas Cage as twin brothers with very different approaches to writing in Adaptation.

The Insurance Information Institute has issued its list of the best movies featuring insurance agents and adjusters. They’ve got classics like Double Indemnity and Memento, but what about The Incredibles? Who can forget Mr. Incredible’s ignoring the rules to help a client get her claim paid?

What were the best spiritual movies and performances of last year? See this year’s nominees for Best Spiritual Film, Best Spiritual Performance, and Best Spiritual Documentary. Then watch clips, join the debate, and vote on your favorites.
Nominees:
Best Spiritual Film: Amazing Grace, Away From Her, Atonement, Juno, The Kite Runner
Best Spiritual Performance: Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart), Ellen Page (Juno), Julie Christie (Away From Her), Will Smith (I Am Legend)
Best Spiritual Documentary: Into Great Silence, For the Bible Tells Me So, War/Dance, Nanking, What Would Jesus Buy?

In 2008, I did a Valentine’s Day tribute to great movie couples, from Mickey and Minnie to The Princess Bride and with suggestions for all ages. Here’s a list of five of my all-time favorite falling-in-love (or realizing you’re in love) stories for teenagers and grown-ups. Cuddle up with your valentine and a bowl of popcorn and enjoy these movies about how love makes us crazy and immeasurably happy at the same time.

1. Moonstruck Cher won an Oscar as the bookkeeper who has given up on love until she meets the brother of her fiance, who tells her:

Love don’t make things nice – it ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It makes things a mess. We aren’t here to make things perfect. The snowflakes are perfect. The stars are perfect. Not us. Not us! We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and *die*.

2. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet find that they really don’t want to forget each other, no matter how painful love can be.

3. You’ve Got Mail This third version of the story of a couple who are at war in person, not realizing that they are tender lovers through the mail, updates the story to the computer age. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have so much chemistry on screen that we know from the first moment what it will take them the whole movie to discover — they are meant to be together.

4. The Philadelphia Story On the eve of her wedding, socialite Tracy Lord’s ex-husband shows up with a couple of journalists and we get to watch three of the greatest stars in Hollywood history sort out their affections. This movie has everything: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart (who won an Oscar), George Cukor as director, wit, heart, and romance and an important lesson about how sometimes it is not about falling in love but recognizing that we have already fallen.

5. To Have and Have Not

As tough guy Humphrey Bogart meets the even-tougher Lauren Bacall (only 19 years old when this was filmed), we get to see the real-life romantic sparks that gave the on-screen love story some extra sizzle. Watch her tell him how to whistle.

And be sure to check out Beliefnet’s other Valentine thoughts and recommendations.

Thanks to SlateV for sharing this charming short film about finding the only person in the world who sees things just the way you do: