Consider this to be my initial first-hand report on Blu-Ray, and its nature may surprise a few people. To start, it's necessary to note that for many videophiles, the fervor that accompanies adherence to a new technology or format borders on ...
Over at rogerebert.com, the argument rages on: Can video games be art? This discussion is into its second year, and has its genesis further back. A few e-mails have asked my opinion about this issue. They presume - rightly or wrongly - that since I ...
For those involved in the motion picture industry, the process of editing commercial DVDs for content then offering them for sale in that edited format is anathema. There are a number of companies that offer this "service": CleanFilms, CleanFlicks, ...
It's multiplex bashing time again! This is a semi-regular event in this space because the more time I spend in multiplexes, the more irritated I become. At this time of the year, with so many general releases falling into the "not screened for ...
This past Tuesday came and went with barely a whimper. But do you know what day it was? Not the Ides of March - that was last week. Not St. Patrick's Day - that was Saturday. And not the First Full Day of Spring - that was yesterday (although, to...
First, a Mojolingo update: Based on the advice of a reader, I blocked Mojolingo's IP address so they can no longer re-direct to ReelViews. This means anyone accessing through them is getting nowhere. I just checked and the proper link has also been...
January is a painfully slow month for movie critics. After the frenzy of December, it can be considered a relief, but the fall-off is almost too sudden and dramatic. It's easy to get into a pattern of seeing four or five movies a week and writing ...
In recent weeks, the rhetoric surrounding the high-def DVD format war has escalated to a new level. This is in part the result of two high-profile Internet "personalities" taking opposite sides. By throwing his full (and considerable) weight behind...
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 ...
For fans of J.K. Rowling's mega-bestselling Harry Potter books, July represents the best of times and the worst of times. The best of times - because there are two reasons to get excited: the opening of the fifth movie, Harry Potter and the Order of...
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...
May, with all of its gargantuan, multiplex-eating releases, is in the rearview mirror. Despite the record-breaking that accompanied Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, I sensed an overall lack of enthusiasm ...
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 ...
May brings good news to those who have had trouble getting excited about 2007's theatrical fare. In fact, thus far the only movie to really excite movie-goers in general has been 300. Sure, there have been other success stories, but the adaptation ...
I'm not the only one expressing this sentiment this weekend: Welcome back, Roger. Oh, I know he hasn't really been away. He has written occasional reviews and other columns for the Chicago Sun-Times and has been hard at work rehabbing, but there's ...
There's a curious trend in recent movies that I have noticed: strippers keep their clothes on while addicts take them off. This is by no means a hard-and-fast rule, but it has struck me as a curious development. I have a few thoughts about what it ...
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 ...