For the dead, death is a permanent state, its precise composition impossible to determine by anyone able to discuss it. What lies on the other side is something no one can assert with surety. We can believe, but that's another thing. For the living, ...
When the 2014 Oscar nominations were first announced, it looked like there would be a number of tight races. As is often the case, however, the fortunes of the nominees have waxed and waned. Some of the front-runners have become also-rans and a few ...
Time to lay out the rules for the 2014 edition of the "Beat Berardinelli" Oscar prediction contest. There are some tweaks from last year's rules, a few of which are designed to make my job easier. There has also been a change in the prize. This year...
"George R.R. Martin is not your bitch." Thus wrote Neil Gaiman in his blog on May 12, 2009 in response to a growing tide of dissatisfaction from fans upset that Mr. Martin takes so long between published chapters of his Song of Ice and Fire saga. ...
This past week's snowstorm, with its foot of snow, howling winds, and frigid temperatures, brought back memories of a similar (although bigger) storm a little more than 18 years ago. The snow totals from that epic early 1996 blizzard were more than ...
The nominations won't be announced for another four days but I thought I'd get a jump start on my gripes. When it comes to actual nominations, there's a pool and the Academy will draw about 95% from that pool. Let me hasten to add that there's ...
I'm not a big one for making resolutions. I think at some point, maybe when I was in my 20s, I made a single resolution each January and invariably forgot about it by the end of the month. However, I like to plan and some of those plans come close ...
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 ...