The BBC Science Fiction TV series "Doctor Who" first came to the United States in 1978, fifteen years after its debut in the U.K. (There were isolated instances of the program being shown pre-'78, but that was the year when Time-Life purchased four ...
Now to an episode-by-episode overview of the new "Doctor Who." As I see it, the 13-epidode season is divided into two sections: the setup (episodes 1-7) and the payoff (episodes 8-13). Most of the bad stuff and the least successful stories comes ...
Full disclosure: I have not seen this movie. What movie? It's called The Passage of Youth, a six-hour picture produced for Italian TV and released in the U.S. in two three-hour installments by Miramax. I can safely say that, if I see this movie, it...
For those who read The Price of the Crown, welcome back to the land of Devforth. For those who haven't, I would encourage reading the first book, but it isn't a necessity. The Price of Magic is intended to be a stand-alone, although there are ...
"24" and "Lost" tomorrow... I promise. A movie opened this weekend that I didn't recognize as a remake until after I had posted the review. The film in question is Fever Pitch and it shares its title with the 1997 original. I saw that movie 8 ...
Those who know me are aware that I'm a sucker for romances - as long as they are well-made and lacking in excessive sentimentality. Tear-jerkers like Ghost don't do anything for me. (I hate that film with an unholy passion.) But give me something ...
Since I "converted" ReelThoughts into a more conventional blog (rather than just a convenient place to stick commentaries), I have been pretty good about posting something nearly every day. Next week, my resolve may falter, so I have decided to ...
Sometimes, I just don't understand movie distributors. And none is more difficult to fathom than Miramax, which occasionally buys the rights to a film, then allows it to rot away on a shelf. For example, take Hero. In order for that film to see ...
Sorry, "X-Files" fans, this isn't for you. (I'm not one, but my wife is, so I know what that phrase means to you.)I have never understood why Hollywood is always so eager to slap a "Based on a true story" tag on movies. Most of the time, the basis ...
There's an example of the MPAA's unfairness and irrationality on display in theaters for everyone to see. If you believe that using the ratings is a reasonable way to determine the moral suitability of a film, this may cause you to re-think your ...
Every once in a while, I am asked why I don't conduct interviews. This has not always been my policy - it has developed over the course of my 14 years as a film reviewer/critic. There was a time when I participated in interviews - those who browse ...
These days, it seems that almost every TV show known to man is available on Region 1 DVD. Even some of the most abysmal excuses for entertainment are showing up. ("T.J. Hooker," anyone?) Oddly, however, four of my favorite TV shows from the mid-to-...
A month or two ago, I wrote something about how I regularly watch four television shows: "24," "NYPD Blue," "Lost," and "Battlestar Galactica." Two of those are no longer running new episodes. "NYPD Blue" has shuffled off the squad room in the sky...
One of the biggest marketing scams out there is the existence of "Unrated DVDs." Oh, it's not always a ploy. There are times when a director may have to cut content to allow an NC-17 film to obtain an R rating. In these cases, the director's version ...
Generally speaking, I am amused by hate mail. Sometimes, it's banal - along the lines of: "You suck. You wouldnt know a good movie if it bit you on the ass." (Real e-mail from a couple of days ago.) Those are boring and are punished for their lack...
I'm not a "vacation person." My idea of a perfect vacation is sitting at home for a week - watching movies, lounging around my pool, and puttering around in the yard. Maybe a day trip or two to the shore. That's about it. Boring but restful. No ...
Robert Iger is my hero. (Well, one of them.) The guy is unstoppable. Here's a man with some clout in the industry who believes that the release paradigm has to change - that the DVD release date needs to be rolled forward until it coincides (or ...