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Interactive Cinema (2008 Oct 29)

"The movie seems like a video game brought to life on a big screen." Question: Is that comment intended as an insult or a compliment? Once upon a time, the answer would have been clear. Critics, myself included, used that language (or something ...

HYPE! (2008 Jan 10)

Cloverfield has become the latest motion picture to try to build excitement and word-of-mouth via the Internet. An informal poll of movie-goers has indicated that anyone who spends more than an hour per day surfing the web is more aware of ...

How Bad Is It? (2008 Apr 07)

A slump seems to be a poor way to define the free-fall situation in which the movie industry finds itself. Hollywood has only itself to blame. When the multiplex output consists of one lame film after another, what could the expectations be? This ...

Hollywood's Hangover (2008 Feb 25)

First, let me say that I enjoyed "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck" more than the entire Oscar ceremony. Okay, so it wasn't as good as "I'm Fucking Matt Damon," but it was about as good as a rebuttal could be. Also impressive was the star power Jimmy Kimmel...

Halloween Through the Years (2008 Oct 27)

Return with me to 1978. 30 years ago - it doesn't seem that long. Back then, the "horror movie" of today did not exist. There were, instead, "monster movies." This broad category encompassed everything from the old Universal classics (Dracula, ...

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 ...

Full Speed Ahead (2008 Mar 03)

Since I'm spending about 50% of my free time working on the ReelViews re-design, I figured it was worth at least a column to discuss the direction in which I see the site going. Admittedly, the original goal was to make a better home for the ads so ...

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 ...

Fox Isn't the Only 20th Century Studio (2008 Jun 23)

I read an article recently that discussed the propensity for younger members of society to flout certain copyright laws. According to the article, about 50% of the content on the "average" young person's iPod is illegally obtained. Does this mean we...

Film as Product (2008 Jun 09)

Over the years, Roger Ebert has maintained a position that he doesn't see any computer/video games as being "art." While I agree with him that I have yet to see a video game I would consider to be art, there are two points to consider: (1) I'm not ...

Fearless Predictions (2008 Jan 01)

1. The WGA strike will not be settled but the writers will go back to work. With both sides deeply entrenched, the likelihood of a settlement is slim – at least any time in the near future. However, the repercussions of a prolonged strike could ...

Escapism Postponed (2008 Aug 25)

It's time to begin hoping that The Quantum of Solace is a home run because, if it isn't, this could be a very dry holiday movie season. Over the years, the studios have done a good job of programming the November/December schedule such that there is...

Entitlement (2008 Oct 24)

Most cinematic horror stories come from unsuspecting movie-lovers who stumble into a Friday night or Saturday night showing of the latest teen-friendly blockbuster only to discover that half the audience is more interested in having conversations and...

Double-Dipping with Dr. Jones (Video View) (2008 May 13)

Beginning this week, I have decided to re-structure the "Video Views" weekly column so it no longer represents a prose catalog of new releases but instead concentrates on one or two hot topics or something interesting associated with a new release. ...

Doctorin' the Pirates (2008 Feb 18)

Now that the WGA strike is over, I feel remiss that I haven't even hummed a few bars of the "Hallelujah" chorus. The fact is, though, that the writers could have stayed on strike for another six months and it wouldn't have bothered me. In fact, I ...

Defanged (2008 Oct 08)

Note: Someone sent me an e-mail last week encouraging me to write more frequent ReelThoughts. His rationale was that it would be "good for business," which is hard to deny. More Reelthoughts = more pageviews = more opportunities for readers to ...

Consistency as a Hobgoblin (2008 May 05)

Generally speaking, consistency is a desirable quality in a film critic. It's how individuals use reviews to determine the likelihood of liking or disliking a movie. If a reader doesn't have a barometer for a critic, it's impossible to tell how ...