Everyone Welcome Back Manohla Dargis!

After a nearly two-and-a-half month hiatus, the gifted and beloved NY Times critic Manohla Dargis returns today with a pair of reviews, including a steadfastly tolerant glimpse at Joaquin Phoenix's otherwise intolerable I'm Still Here: "Much of the movie involves Mr. Phoenix's having, or more likely pantomiming, a meltdown, for which he puts on a really good show," she notes, describing the star's rejection of celebrity and rebirth as a rapper. "But the programmatic nature of his antics strongly suggests that he is self-consciously playing a role in a narrative, one that isn't simply about him." This calls for a toast! Coffee mugs up... [NYT]