We start every year the same way: a countdown ushering out the old, a kiss, a song, and best wishes for the next twelve months. Some years fulfill the promise that exists at 12:01 on January 1; many do not. It takes 365 days to make a determination...
I have long since moved away from calling my Bottom 10 a "Worst of..." list. Considering how many truly awful films I have given myself the latitude to skip, it's almost unfair to those remaining to be singled out as the biggest cinematic offenders. ...
Today, November 23, 2013, is the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. In a perfect world, I'd be able to write an eloquent passage putting the show is some sort of cultural context but The Last Whisper of the Gods has constricted my available time. So ...
[To start, a follow-up note to answer some of the e-mail questions I received about The Last Whisper of the Gods. First, this is a completely new series and is unrelated to any previously posted fiction. Second, it is my intention to post samples (...
Recently, I have been repeatedly asked two questions regarding my website. (1) Have you stopped writing ReelThoughts? (2) Are you ever going to review older movies again? Both are fair questions and deserve answers. So here goes: (1) no. (2) yes. Not...
The first half of 2013 was a strange time for movies. Coming after the amazing final two months of 2012 - easily the best 60 days ever in my 21 years of reviewing - anything was bound to be a disappointment, but a fall this far was unexpected. The ...
It's "Star Trek week." Once upon a time, that meant something. For a Trekkie, it was a more special occasion than Christmas. After all, Christmas comes every 365 days - the usual break between Star Trek weeks was 2.5 years. I don't sense the same ...
How would Roger Ebert like to be remembered? A Pulitzer Prize winning writer? The man who, along with co-host Gene Siskel, invented TV film criticism as we now know it? The first major journalist to embrace the Internet and all it entailed? A die-...
So, the Pirate Bay is now operating out of North Korea. That rather ironic development represents the latest illustration of a major flaw in the way intellectual property is treated in 2013. Copyright Law was written and developed for another world...
For those who weren't keeping track, I scored 15/21 on my prediction sheet, which is about par for the course. I missed Best Supporting Actor, Best Director (like many people), Best Animated Film (should have stuck with my first guess), Adapted ...
Time to lay out the rules for the 2013 edition of the "Beat Berardinelli" Oscar prediction contest. Not a lot has changed from last year. For a complete list of my picks (in all categories except the shorts, which I traditionally ignore), click over ...
There are five categories in which I have minimal confidence in my predictions. These are the too-close-to-call races, where two films are so close that it could lean either way. With the locks, I believe there's a 95% probability those predictions ...
Note: Rules for the "Beat Berardinelli" contest will be announced in a few days, both in the forums and in ReelThoughts. The contest will be open starting at noon ET on Sunday, February 17. One of the things to remember about the Oscars is that ...
It's Superbowl Sunday, but I'm thinking about the Oscars (presumably because I can't generate much enthusiasm about either the 49ers or the Ravens). In recent years, I have become increasingly fascinated by the combined science/art of predicting ...
For me, January is a month of anniversaries. When it comes to my relationship with movies, all the major milestones except one have come in the first month of the year. It's hard to believe that it has been 21 years since I first committed thoughts ...
Another year, another Top 10. A few notes/curiosities… First, 2012 was one of the best movie years of the young century, although I might not have held that opinion on November 1. This year was incredibly back-loaded, far more so than usual. It's ...
In the summer of 1977, there was only Star Wars. No "Episode IV." No "A New Hope." Just Star Wars. That talk started when the greatly anticipated sequel was released as Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. This provoked discussion in fan ...