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I've always loved France, and most everything French. One key reason is the French people's enviable reputation for knowing how to live well. They seem to possess the perspective and confidence to savor all the good things of life: food, wine, romance, and leisure.

“England and America are two countries divided by a common language.” That famous quote is most often attributed to gifted playwright George Bernard Shaw, who was actually Irish. It’s not just witty but wise, containing a core truth. We’ve always had an innate curiosity about our cousins across the pond, because though we do share a language, we are different in so many other ways.

Congratulations! Dates one and two went so well that a third date is now on the books. This is a critical juncture. The charming awkwardness of the first couple of dates is wearing off and relationship potential is beginning to seem like solid currency.

We decided to look at a few of the past winners (and losers) to try to discern what might have contributed to some of the more head-scratching wins.

How often we wish we had a crack team of screenwriters scripting our lives, especially when the moment calls for a tart tongue. One of the many pleasures of the movies is that we can watch as others tackle the smack-talk for us, and revel in idealized comedowns delivered with serious relish.

In our divine gathering of movies that tackle the big question of what happens when we die—or when we don’t die as planned, we immerse ourselves in fantasy. Or perhaps not. Do angels exist, and is there a heaven? If so, where do all the evil folks go? Of course, nobody knows, but visitations from angels or other spirits counter the notion that death brings only oblivion. And that's a comforting thought indeed.

It isn’t Christmas without cookie-making, candy canes and chocolate Santas. But what we forget is that all that sugar puts kids on fast forward. To counter the ill effects of too many frosted things and to captivate spun-out minds, we've put together a list of can’t-miss movies for kids that grownups can enjoy too.

It boggles the mind that only a couple of generations back, women were sometimes referred to as “the weaker sex.” That’s not only sexist, but misleading.  Plenty of tough, cunning, even deadly female characters have graced the screen over the past six decades that prove this idiotic saying wrong.   Here are an even dozen.