Addressing this subject is nothing new. I have done it many times in e-mails and written a prior ReelThought or two devoted to the subject, but it keeps coming up. What exactly do the star ratings mean?Every film critic who uses a rating system has ...
From a distance, the March movie slate doesn't look as stale as leftover Christmas cookies, but neither is it brimming with promise. There are some high points, but those who would prefer to lengthen their hibernation are justified. The long-term ...
Recently, it was reported that the porn industry has elected to "adopt" HD DVD as the format of choice for high def DVDs. This isn't precisely true - no such declaration was made and Blu-Ray has not been summarily rejected. However, from an ...
In a word: lame.In two words: lame and long. (What, you expected me to be complimentary?)It took me 70 minutes (with ample exercising of my right index finger on the FF button) to slog through Sunday night's Oscarcast. I pity those who had to endure...
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...
I was surprised by the saturation media coverage associated with the death of Anna Nicole Smith, and not just by the tabloid TV shows/journals but by the "major" news outlets. What should have been relegated to a back-page footnote or a one-column ...
With stormy winter weather threatening the northeast, now seems as good a time as any to re-iterate why the word "expected" accompanies projected post dates for new reviews. That date assumes all goes well and that snow, sleet, or ice skating rinks ...
There's nothing wrong with killing off characters in TV series and movie franchises, but there's a rule that should always be observed: Be respectful. Longevity plays into this. If the character has only been around for a few TV episodes or a movie ...
This isn't about the Bill Murray movie, but it uses the idea of the movie as a jumping-off point. The essence of Groundhog Day is simple: one day, lived over and over ad nauseum. With Groundhog Day, director Harold Ramis develops this premise to ...
If you're a Harry Potter fan, it doesn't get better than July. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but it can't be a coincidence that the last Harry Potter novel (oddly titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) arrives in bookstores a week after Harry...
I find myself trapped between the belief that all film critics should write something about Oscar nominations and the assertion that all articles about Oscar nominations are inherently dull. I have read probably a dozen Oscar related columns during ...
First, a few notes. I will be writing something next week about the Oscars, although I'm formulating how to do it in a way that's different from the other million columns written about the nominations. I dislike being boring and repetitive (...
As of today, ReelViews is officially eleven years old - not quite a teenager but getting close to puberty. Then again, maybe 'Net years are like dog years. That would make ReelViews 77.Much has changed since the tenth anniversary celebration, when ...
Negativity Alert!!!I recently read an article that touted the Sundance Film Festival (underway as I write this) as one of the world's three most important film festivals. This categorization flabbergasts me. Since when did the bigger-than-it-should...
To begin with, thanks to everyone who sent book recommendations last week. I have already placed several orders and should have enough material to keep me occupied for the rest of the winter and into the spring. I have compiled a list with all of ...
I promised a while ago to share some of the hate mail I have gotten. I often save these missives, although most of the recent ones haven't been as creative as some of the older classics. Generally, I don't respond to hate mail, since a response is ...
I hate this PC crap. Why does it have to be "And the Oscar goes to..." instead of "And the Winner is..."? Does the wording make the losers feel better? "Hey, I didn't lose. The Oscar just went to someone else." Stupid, stupid, stupid... But that...