The recent discovery of footage from Metropolis, previously thought to be lost, is encouraging news for film historians and lovers of old movies alike. It promises the near-term opportunity to view the movie as director Fritz Lang intended. This ...
A number of years ago, I asked myself the question of why Top 10 list are made only at the end of the year. Why not make one at the mid-point? The idea behind this is not to create yet another list (anyone who reads enough of the stuff I write ...
"I don't get no respect." That's how Rodney Dangerfield put it. And that's how Internet critics sometimes feel. I occasionally write about how slow Hollywood is to recognize cultural shifts and a failure to acknowledging the growing importance of ...
Any other week, I might be rhapsodizing about the pure fun of watching something as deliciously violent and adrenaline-charged as Wanted. While it's true that Wanted is a cauldron of relentless entertainment, it's not the best movie opening this ...
Perhaps the most compelling reason to start a DVD collection is that, without one, the TV serves no real purpose. Gone are the days when TV consoles were made to look like living room furniture. Now, they sit in a corner with their big, flat screen...
I read an article recently that discussed the propensity for younger members of society to flout certain copyright laws. According to the article, about 50% of the content on the "average" young person's iPod is illegally obtained. Does this mean we...
This weekend's group of box office newcomers is dominated by the comedy: Steve Carell's remake of Get Smart and Mike Myers' satire of Eastern self-help philosophies, The Love Guru. Myers, who has often been a critical darling, is getting slammed ...
About ten years ago, I arrived at a plan whereby I intended to attend three film festivals per year. My annual vacation allotment of 22 days allowed this, and there were no financial impediments. There was only one year when I achieved the goal: ...
It's the color of grass, leaves, money, Oscar the Grouch, and the pants of Captain Kangaroo's sidekick. It evokes images of spring, baseball fields, Saint Patrick's Day, and Christmas trees. Apparently, though, there are some readers who don't agree...
It's Friday the 13th, and Jason isn't in sight. That's not to say Hollywood has given up on one of America's most venerable and bloody cinematic serial killers but, at least for this year, he won't be slashing his way through a crowd of nubile ...
In my experience, there are two kinds of people - those who have a "once and done" approach to movies and those who find pleasure in re-watching them. My father is a card-carrying member of the former category. Once he has watched something, he ...
Over the years, Roger Ebert has maintained a position that he doesn't see any computer/video games as being "art." While I agree with him that I have yet to see a video game I would consider to be art, there are two points to consider: (1) I'm not ...
Is Adam Sandler slowly losing his appeal? While the actor still has a vocal and loyal following, the passion and magnitude of that group has been on the wane in recent years. There was a time when the opening of an Adam Sandler movie was something ...
I have spent more money on DVDs this week than during any week in recent memory - and all of my purchases were Blu-Ray. Although I already own several versions of Patton, any new, improved release of the film is guaranteed to end up in my library...
I was originally going to wait a few days before discussing reactions to the site redesign but, after 150+ comments, now is probably as good a time as any. I'll defer my intended topic for today - a rumination about how a combination of reliance ...
Looking at the few films opening in theaters this weekend, I can affirm that it's a good time to go to the multiplexes for horror fans and devotees of Sex and the City. Everyone else might do better staying home. Big summer movies often have the ...
For Blu-Ray, the victory in the high-def DVD format war was only the beginning of a long struggle to convert the masses from standard DVD to its 1080p counterpart. With the cash cow of the last decade showing signs of weakness, Hollywood is looking ...