Writer's block has never been a problem for me. When there are long lags between ReelThoughts entries it's usually one of three things: I'm taking a break, I'm busy doing other things, or I have some sort of temporary infirmity that is limiting my ...
Every January/February, I make alterations to ReelViews. Some are small, almost unnoticeable except to the obsessive reader. Others are big, and will catch the attention of someone who visits infrequently. Those hoping for a massive site re-design ...
Originally, I was going to post this tomorrow. Upon remembering that April 1 is not the best day to post anything, I decided to get it up today. So don't expect any postings tomorrow. I'll take April Fool's Day off - that way no one will have to ...
Time is a strange thing, as many have remarked. Days (especially those spent on trans-Pacific flights) can seem to take forever, while ten years can pass in the blink of an eye. These days, the average American may have about eight decades of life...
It has taken several years away from the Sundance Film Festival to give me a perspective that I didn't have when I was attending annually. After four consecutive, frustrating Januarys spent in Park City, I stopped going after air travel became ...
For those in the United States who (a) don't live near the Canadian border, (b) don't have a region-free DVD player, or (c) don't play around in the land of bittorrents, tonight may represent a first exposure to a unique television show. At 9:00 EST...
Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has written.After reading tons of e-mail, some of which have extolled the virtues of the new site and some of which have condemned them, I have done quite a bit of tweaking. The version of movies.html (the main ...
This is another one of those entries in which I ramble. I'm not sure whether that's indicative of having too much or too little to write. Or whether I'm procrastinating with the Oscar picks. I can only delay for so long. Of course, if I wait ...
(Contains spoilers for: season five 24, season two Lost, season two House.)With the approach of June, television enters the "summer season." When I was a kid, this was the "rerun season," when everything on TV was a repeat because no one stayed ...
It's late at night. The date on the calendar has already switched over. I'm sitting placidly at the computer surfing as I do research on one subject or another. My cat is curled up on my lap, sleeping, and my wife is in the next room, having gone ...
Two days ago, I wrote about a tenth anniversary. Today, I'll turn the clock back another decade.In my life, there have been two nationally seismic events - world-wide news stories that have been given constant television coverage and that have ...
Thoughts on the ramifications of Crash winning Best Picture... (Since everyone else is weighing in on this, I figured, "Why not?" One more fly buzzing around two days-old roadkill won't make a difference.)It amazes me the way fans of Brokeback ...
Snakes on a Plane is being widely viewed as a box office failure, although that's a qualifier for inflated and unrealistic expectations. Sure, the final theatrical gross will be around $25M (against an estimated budget of $35M and advertising costs ...
August is typically not a good month for movies. So, after looking at the release roster for the next four weekends (Aug 11, Aug 18, Aug 25, and Sep 1), the temptation is to hold my nose and state, "Time to wait for Toronto." Of course, there are ...
When I'm asked if I recommend either United 93 or World Trade Center, I begin my response as follows: "If you can handle a movie about 9/11..." The qualifier is not meant to be sarcastic or condescending. It is not intended as a put-down. There are...
Yes, I expect some hate mail from this...Orignally, I was going to write something about James Frey and his fact-or-fiction "memoir," A Million Little Pieces. However, not having read the book, I realized I didn't have much of intelligence to add to...
It had to happen some time. We have reached the point when the number of movies being released to DVD is in a downturn. The reason is obvious: with the majority of the studios' A-list and B-list catalog titles available, there's a scarcity of ...