There is a certain kind of movie viewer who wants to know the entire plot of a film before it opens. Such a person delights in uncovering clues and finding out things first. For him or her, movie-going is the culmination of a long treasure hunt. ...
I'm going to push off my discussion of the R-rating and the MPAA in general (a rant that it likely to take three days because there are three aspects of the ratings system I want to cover) by another day or two because there's another subject that ...
What better topic for Tax Day than to discuss how much it costs to take a date to the movies? (Feel free to ignore the following discussion if you routinely go alone and/or surf from theater-to-theater - a tactic that will allow you to see multiple ...
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 ...
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 ...
It's always nice to have a helpful group of on-liners to show me the error of my ways. Such is the case when it comes to the poor, misunderstood group of Star Wars fans who are lining up in L.A., hoping to be among the first to file into the theater...
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...
"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 ...
For those of who waiting with baited breath to hear what I have to say about "24" and "Lost," you'll have to wait another day or two. Something else caught my attention and I have to make mention of it. Last night, my wife told me about a news ...
From time-to-time, as I have previously mentioned, I am asked questions about why I choose not to see a particular movie. Typically, it's a combination of preference and opportunity. Sometimes I will see a movie I don't have high hopes for if it's ...
No, this isn't turning into one of those movie rumor sites, nor is this intended to be a scoop. But it's not a joke, either. With casting on Bond 21 (Casino Royale) still up in the air (Pierce Brosnan? Clive Owen? Daniel Craig?), it's a safe bet ...
Generally speaking, when I arrive at a theater, I like to get there as close as possible to the movie's start. I try to avoid all commercials and most trailers. One theater that I attend has a firm policy of NO commercials and THREE trailers (...
The first Monday in April is Baseball's Opening Day. Once upon a time (as in a fairy tale), this was a day of renewal and rejoicing, of green grass and warm breezes whispering promises of the summer to come. It was a day when every team was in ...
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...
One reason I no longer do April Fools' pranks is that they rarely work. I ran into a bunch of them yesterday while perusing on-line and was uniformly unimpressed. None of them were clever, and almost all of them called immediate attention to ...
Perhaps making this declaration on April Fools' Day is not a good idea. After all, I have from time-to-time played pranks on my readers (including a fake review of a movie that didn't exist and a glowing review of a universally reviled title). In ...
I can sum up my reaction to last night's Oscar telecast with one short phrase: a good start. With a running time that barely topped three hours, producers are on their way to trimming down the most obese of all awards shows. I'm not sure that I ...