Rewinding 2008: The Top 10 (2008 Dec 30)

To p 10 lists are curiosities: fun to glance at but not of much greater or lasting value. Take them for what they're worth. One reason I enjoy putting mine together is that it allows me to spend time re-watching and reconsidering some of the year's ...

Rewinding 2008: Performance Anxiety (2008 Dec 28)

Okay, let me get this out of the way to start with. Who's not on this mixed lead/supporting actor list? Heath Ledger. It's not that I have something against the late performer or his work in The Dark Knight. In fact, I believe it was about the ...

The Dirty Harry Approach (2008 Dec 27)

We interrupt my year-end look back at 2008 for a story I stumbled upon in today's Philadelphia Inquirer. The direct link is here, but I'll copy and paste the relevant details:"A South Philadelphia man enraged because a family was talking during a ...

Rewinding 2007: The Bottom 10 (2008 Dec 27)

People ask if it's fun compiling a Bottom 10 list. Yes and no. It's not fun being reminded of the year's dregs but it is fun getting in a parting shot at them. All Bottom 10 lists must be taken with a king-sized grain of rock salt. For major ...

Rewinding 2008: Naked in the Multiplex (2008 Dec 25)

It's time to start looking back at 2008. This year, I'll start this three-part series with a look at screen nudity. Before getting to the specifics, let me establish some parameters and provide a few definitions. For the purposes of this column, I'...

Yes, Virginia... (2008 Dec 22)

Permit me a day's respite from my usual cynicism to wallow in sentimentality. Oh, and today's column isn't recommended for children under the age of about 10. 35 years ago, I was a believer. That didn't make me unique. I was one among many. The ...

Turning the Page (2008 Dec 20)

At the risk of sounding like I have my priorities reversed, I'm going to look ahead before looking backward. By "ahead," I'm referring to early 2009 - specifically, where the website is going in the near future. Next month, ReelViews will turn 13 ...

One Long Interview (2008 Dec 16)

It seemed like a good idea at the time… Dan Schneider contacted me and asked me if I would be interested being the subject of an upcoming interview at his website, Cosmoetica, and I said "sure." Little did I know the extent of the questions he ...

Re-Telling the Tale (2008 Dec 14)

Remakes are not an inherently bad thing, but they are often unnecessary. Complaining that remakes are indications of creative bankruptcy is not fair (although, at times, it may be accurate). They are many reasons why remakes exist - some good, some ...

The Wrappings of December (2008 Dec 08)

The Wrappings of December"It's the most wonderful time of the year…"December is Hollywood's opportunity to make amends for the past 11 months. 2008 represents a classic case of "backloading." All of the big Oscar guns are being locked and loaded ...

Giving Up TV for Advent (2008 Dec 04)

One year when I was a kid, I tried to give up TV for Lent. I got through about three days then had to amend the abstention to exclude a number of beloved programs. I'm no longer a practicing Catholic and I realize one doesn't give up things for ...

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? (2008 Nov 30)

You get asked that question a lot as a kid. When I was little - by that, I mean four or five years old - I wanted to be a construction worker. At the time, the town was doing some major work on the dead-end street where my family lived and I spent ...

The Turkeys of 2008 (Worst 10 List) (2008 Nov 26)

Tradition dictates that "Best of" and "Worst of" lists should appear in late December, so as to capture the entire year's worth of films. In honor of the U.S. Thanksgiving (where the turkey is the traditional meat), I'm going to be pre-emptive this ...

From Titanic to Twilight (2008 Nov 23)

When James Cameron's Titanic opened on December 19, 1997, there were a lot of nervous executives at 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures, the two studios that had co-funded the hugely expensive, special effects-laden extravaganza. While most who ...

Wall-E World (2008 Nov 19)

With the release of Wall-E, Blu-Ray may have finally come into its own. So far, for the most part, Blu-Ray had been touted as the "format of the future," but the future hadn't arrived. Sure, there have been some movies that have looked great in Blu-...

Midnight Bondage (2008 Nov 17)

Once, the concept of a "midnight screening" was reserved for the specialist of special blockbuster movies - films for which fans would stand in line for days or even weeks just so they could be among the first to see it on the big screen. (Remember ...

Spitting Into the Wind (2008 Nov 12)

Note: Over the next week (or so), there will be fewer than usual ReelThoughts entries. I'm in the middle of a stretch during which I'm making five speaking engagements in seven days, so my time for writing has been curtailed, and I want to ...