As I get older, I get crankier. I wonder what I'll be like if I live to be 70. Not that long ago, I could sit through a three or four hour movie without a word of protest. Thinking back, I don't remember having trouble with films like Gettysburg, ...
I love irony, even when it's directed at me. Thanks to the reader who made me aware of the following amusing little bit of information.Yesterday's ReelThoughts entry, "Interviewing False Deities," was designed primarily to be a commentary about the ...
I am willing to give Paramount's publicity and marketing department a huge share of the credit for transforming Iron Man into a must-see event. Though Tony Stark's legion of devoted fans may howl at this pronouncement, in the pantheon of comic book ...
A crisis of conscience can be good for the soul - or the writing. So I have always believed. Over the course of nearly 17 years of writing reviews, I have had many instances of self-doubt. The roots can be varied and hard-to-define. Perhaps I ...
Just a few random thoughts about the book. If you're not interested, you can skip to tomorrow, when I'll provide my thoughts about the final episodes of a few TV series.The Price of the Crown was written in late 1990 and early 1991, approximately a ...
A long time in coming? Indeed.When I posted the first two installments of my fantasy trilogy last year, they were in a mostly finished form, having been written and edited in the early 1990s. The third book, The Price of Terror, was incomplete at ...
What is The Last Whisper of the Gods? It's the first book in an epic fantasy trilogy I have toiled over for the past three years. Actually, I began writing The Last Whisper of the Gods in early 2007 and had about half the book done when real life ...
While watching bits and pieces of the Olympics coverage over the weekend, I couldn't help but wince every time a sycophantic NBC reporter (usually a blond woman) approached a victorious athlete following his/her win. The questions asked in those "...
"The movie seems like a video game brought to life on a big screen." Question: Is that comment intended as an insult or a compliment? Once upon a time, the answer would have been clear. Critics, myself included, used that language (or something ...
Tonight and tomorrow night, at 9 pm, The National Geographic Channel is presenting the two-part, four-hour documentary, Inside 9/11. Sticking to the facts and using available private & public footage, this is said to be the most comprehensive look ...
Last year, The Chicago Tribune filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. Today, Philadelphia's major papers, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News, joined the parade. The same fate has befallen many smaller papers, and more ...
Whoever came up with the cliche "comedy is subjective" knew what he/she was talking about. Few things are more individual than humor. One person's Monty Python is another person's Freddy Got Fingered. This makes reviewing comedies especially hard...
During the course of my recent trip to Manila, I read two books. The first, read from cover to cover during the trip over, was Sue Grafton's R is for Richocet, the latest (and 18th) in the "Alphabet Murder" series. There's not too much to be said ...
Note: For those who don't live in the United States, here's a quick recap of the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) rating system:G: General Audiences. Suitable for all ages.PG: Parental Guidance Suggested. May not be suitable for young ...
For one day, let me switch from discussing movies to discussing books.When I read fiction, I place it in one of three categories: filler, page-turner, or immersive. Further explanation is probably useful. "Filler" is something that doesn't intrigue...
Like many of those reading this column, I have been glued to the television this week watching coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The images are stunning, like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster. This is reality but, in a way, ...
It's prediction time. A lot of people make predictions on or around January 1, but few bother to revisit them at the end of the year. However, I am a firm believer in reminding myself and my readers of what a terrible prognosticator I am. So, ...