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Theatrical Releases (2008 Feb 29)

It's a wasteland out there. The tundra of the local multiplex is as barren as the surface of the moon. When I say that, I'm not referring specifically to the quality of new theatrical releases (although that's nothing to get excited about), but the ...

Theatrical Releases (2008 Mar 07)

It was a year ago this weekend that 300 was released, igniting a box office that burned brightly until well into the summer. Alas, there is no 300 this year, which means the February free-fall will migrate into a March malaise. There are movies on ...

Theatrical Releases (2008 Mar 14)

When it comes to the box office this weekend, there's only one movie to keep an eye on, and it's not either of the two genre derivatives: the mixed martial arts story, Never Back Down, or the apocalyptic action vehicle, Doomsday. (The latter was not...

Theatrical Releases (2008 Mar 21)

If you're interested in going to the movies to see something new this weekend, things don't look good. It's Easter weekend and the distributors are assuming traffic will be light. The strategy is surprising because, although a large percentage of ...

Theatrical Releases (2008 Mar 28)

It's brutal out there. There's no other way to describe things at the multiplexes this weekend. Has anyone else noticed this? For the third straight weekend, Horton Hears a Who! will likely take the Box Office Champion crown, and that's mainly ...

Theatrical Releases (2008 Apr 04)

It's like a broken record, and one that has been broken since the end of January: another weekend, another lackluster crop of movies. Interest in multiplex fare is at a low ebb. I drove past a theater at 7:45 pm this evening - prime movie-going ...

Theatrical Releases (2008 Apr 11)

The end of the drought is nearing: Al Pacino, a Judd Apatow-produced comedy, and a teaming of Jet Li and Jackie Chan. But that's next weekend. What about today? Sadly, more of the same. A lot of movies that few people care about and even fewer ...

Theatrical Releases (2008 Apr 18)

This is an odd time for theatrical releases. It's the first weekend in a while when a few mid-budget films are opening that are capable of generating some interest. It's also a weekend when studios are taking the trash out, getting things nice and ...

Theatrical Releases (2008 Apr 25)

Consider this the proverbial calm before the storm. Choices are mediocre this week. Next week is, of course, Iron Man, and fans are already gearing up for it (and, in at least one case, lining up for it). The interesting thing about next week is ...

Theft of Services (2008 Aug 01)

An interesting e-mail showed up in my inbox the other day. It asked, in part: "Do you consider those who use ad blockers while reading your site to be stealing content?" On the surface, this may seem like a ridiculous suggestion, but I can assure ...

Things I Won't Write About (2008 Oct 21)

I have been getting e-mails asking why I haven't written about certain topics and/or issues. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to discuss five things about which there will likely not be independent ReelThoughts entries. (The economy is not ...

Things that Go Pop (2008 Jan 30)

If it's a Wednesday (my normal weekday blog entry day off), this ReelThoughts must have something to do with site processes or something of minimal general interest to movie-lovers. I don't like to "waste" my regular valuable columns for this less ...

Toronto Film Festival Update #10 (2008 Sep 13)

Another ten days in September, another festival in the book. I'll offer some parting thoughts at the end of today's final update, but first there are three additional movies I want to offers comments upon.Flash of Genius is based on the real-life ...

Toronto Film Festival Update #2 (2008 Sep 05)

It was good to see Roger Ebert in Toronto yesterday. For me, this festival has always been associated with Mr. Ebert. It was based on his advice that I first attended in 1997 (after receiving accreditation in part because of a letter of ...

Toronto Film Festival Update #3 (2008 Sep 06)

A quasi-scandal had grabbed some attention this year, and it highlights the fine line that film festivals walk when balancing the desire to program creative, interesting movies with the need to generate as much publicity as possible. By veering a ...

Toronto Film Festival Update #4 (2008 Sep 07)

The only thing needed more at a film festival than a large supply of coffee is an equally generous abundance of volunteers. Without them, chaos would reign supreme, fistfights would break out from line cutting violations, and the festival would ...

Toronto Film Festival Update #5 (2008 Sep 08)

An interesting synergy exists between Judd Apatow and Kevin Smith. With films like Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy, Smith opened a door that, only about 10 years later, Apatow walked through. Now, with Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Smith has fully ...