It happens every year. Critics see a film and praise it. Early audience response is rapturous. Adulation pours in from every corner. The director and stars are interviewed and the photogenic ones find themselves in a paparazzi-generated fishbowl...
Going forward, I'm going to use the Friday ReelThoughts to reflect on the week's new releases and make some general comments that are intended to be less "spoiler-ish" and less specific than the individual reviews. This week, however, there are only...
In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking. But now, heaven knows, anything goes. (Cole Porter)For boys of a certain age (my age, that is), many experienced their first glimpse of the mature, naked female form via Hugh ...
The time has come for me to provide my annual Oscar picks, although this time they are arriving accompanied by a "Beat Berardinelli" contest (to be run through the forums) which will provide an opportunity for one lucky contestant to win something. ...
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 ...
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...
There's a dual purpose to this post: to provide my Oscar picks and to introduce a contest that will allow someone to win a fabulous prize for doing a better job than me. I don't consider myself an expert Oscar prognosticator; I average around 67% ...
Time to lay out the rules for the 2015 edition of the "Beat Berardinelli" Oscar prediction contest. As is the case every year, I have made a few minor changes. Also, a new prize. This year, as was the case last year, my "live commentary" will come in...
When it comes to reading, I'll devour almost anything, but my preferred genres are mystery (preferably British) and fantasy novels. When P.D. James releases a new book (a trend that lamentably won't continue much longer since she's getting close to ...
So apparently it's over, and does anyone really care? From the beginning, I never understood why this relationship was such a big deal, and why the media circled these two like they were worth front page gossip column coverage. Yes, they courted ...
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 once again for my annual act of self-flagellation: predicting the Oscar winners.
If you're playing along at home, here are my predictions...
From time-to-time, I receive e-mail requests about where to find the Top 100, so I thought this was as good a time as any to create a special page devoted to the list, which I originally generated in late 2001 and posted over 100 weeks during 2002 ...
In actuality, I get more enjoyment out of making Oscar predictions than I do watching the telecast. It's sort of like entering an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship pool. I don't spend a lot of time watching the games (unless there's a team playing...
While out driving yesterday, I passed a building that once housed a movie theater. The theater closed in the early '80s and, since then, it has been a self-storage locale and is currently a pet supply store. I was taken by a momentary pang of ...
Originally, this week's ReelThoughts was going to be about how the practical length of human immortality is about 175 years. Or why I hate vampires. But an issue about which I have a perspective has leapt to some prominence in the so-called "...