Slightly belated, but better late than never (as they say), this year's "halftime" Top 10 will represent January through July, rather than January through June, as has been the case in the past. Historically, about the top two or three titles on ...
From among the numerous e-mails I have received in the last few days, I thought I'd reprint (and respond to) a few in a public forum. (This is a cheap excuse for me to superficially cover a number of topics without going into any real depth.)(1) "I ...
I have gotten a lot of e-mails lately regarding my opinions of the two latest blockbusters, Transformers and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This gives me an opportunity to address some of these comments while exploring a few "larger" ...
For many in the northern hemisphere, July represents the start of summer - outdoor barbecues, days on the beach, nights lying out under the stars. For Hollywood, July is the beginning of the end of the blockbuster season. With movies being so ...
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...
By now, everyone is probably aware that an "unauthorized" copy of Michael Moore's Sicko has appeared on-line. But is this a case of brazen piracy or is it an incident of savvy marketing? If it is the latter, Moore will never admit it (nor will his ...
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...
I'm sure many of those reading this have had a similar experience to the one I am about to relate... You're sitting in a theater showing an R-rated movie waiting for the feature to start. In walks a mother or father pushing a stroller. Also with ...
SPOILERS for the final episode of The Sopranos...So, for fans of the long-running HBO mob drama, the fat lady has sung, but did she hit a low note or a high one?By now, the controversy has boiled over, being discussed in front of water coolers, on ...
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 ...
So, what was I doing on May 25, 1977? Frankly, I have no idea. The date is unmemorable to me. If it was warm out, I was probably skateboarding. If it was raining, I was probably curled up in a chair reading. Or maybe I was unpacking boxes (we had ...
There's a saying that states "Third time's a charm." In life, this may often be the case, but when it comes to movies and their sequels, third time's anything but a charm.May 2007 has seen the release of three part threes. Spider-Man 3 has already ...
I'm occasionally asked if I have to be "inspired" in order to write a review. The simple answer is "no," but a little inspiration always helps. The sad truth is that when it comes to the motion picture industry, inspiration is in short supply. ...
Calling a movie a "blockbuster" attributes it with a special distinction. Traditionally, blockbusters aren't just successful motion pictures, they are mega-successful motion pictures. Once upon a time, a movie's gross had to cross the magic $100 ...
The art of acting is a complex and difficult discipline. Distilled to its essence, it requires that the actor perform a not-to-simple feat: convince an audience that something artificial is real, that he/she is someone other than who he/she really ...
Over the years, many of you have written to me to tell me about your favorite theater - often an oasis of sorts away from the impersonal, generic insides of a multiplex. For eleven years, I have had such a place. Called the Ritz 16, it was run by ...
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 ...