June 14, 2013
20 Feet from Stardom
My review of 20 Feet from Stardom? GO SEE IT! ASAP! This documentary about the great backup singers of rock and roll opened today. In the next few days, I'll feature some videos of the featured singers. We'll start out...
April 04, 2013
RIP, Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert, just days after announcing a recurrence of cancer, died of the disease today. The tributes and obits are pouring in, including a fine one from his newspaper home. A quick search indicates that I've posted about Ebert more...
November 03, 2012
IMDB Top 250 in 2 1/2 Minutes
[Thanks to Brian Rose]...
September 14, 2012
I Miss Siskel & Ebert...
...and especially how funny they were together, as the videos on this blog post illustrate....
April 08, 2012
Is This Anything?
[Thanks to waxy.org]...
December 28, 2011
Roger Ebert's Top 20 Documentaries of 2011
Good stuff (I've seen more than half of them and give a big thumbs up to Ebert's choices, although I wouldn't put them in the same order)....
September 22, 2011
The Bechdel Test
It's amazing how many film classics violate the Bechdel Test. Here's the comic strip that launched THE RULE....
August 17, 2011
Before They Were Stars
June 22, 2011
Tom Hanks Doing Something Or Other To Promote New Movie
May 29, 2011
Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher
Scary huh? Here's more:...
January 14, 2011
Social Network Screenplay
If you haven't seen The Social Network, you should. If you haven't read Aaron Sorkin's screenplay, you should. And here's a link, courtesy of Deadline Hollywood....
December 15, 2010
The Year in Movies
November 22, 2010
13 Movie Tricks Revealed!
How does James Franco cut off his arm in 127 Hours? How do actors have sex on film? Shoot heroin? Vomit? Marlow Stern exposes movie-making secrets you’ve always wondered about....
May 28, 2010
The Power of Editing...
...and music. Here's the official teaser ">trailer for 500 Days of Summer: And here's the reboot, ">as a thriller:...
April 22, 2010
The Best Scene in Movie History?
February 12, 2010
Why Americans Hate Wall Street
Cantor Fitzgerald proposes derivatives that would allow folks to bet on the grosses of new movies. Bad idea....
January 29, 2010
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Promo
I'm always whining about the state of movie trailers, especially those for big-budget Hollywood movies. They tend to give away too much (too much plot in dramas, too many jokes in comedies, too much blood and guts in action movies)...
January 25, 2010
What Happens to the Glasses You Toss in the Box After a 3-D Movie?
This is what I wonder about when watching Avatar....
January 24, 2010
Betty White Rocks it at the SAG Awards
She's the Greatest....
January 12, 2010
Eric Rohmer, RIP
One of my favorite film directors, Eric Rohmer, died on Monday at the ripe age of 89. If you aren't familiar with his work, I'd recommend you check out My Night at Maud's. If you aren't familiar with his work,...
January 10, 2010
A Peek into Netflix Queues
What were the most rented films in your ZIP code? Find out here....
December 31, 2009
Roger Ebert's Year-End Lists
Happy New Year, all! I love eyar-end lists, and I haven't found any more interesting than Ebert's roundups. It's startling how many interesting movies I've missed....
August 30, 2009
Meryl's Lament
The Onion is a brilliant satirical newspaper, but sometimes its popular culture criticism is incisive even when it comes from a comic writer rather than a reviewer. I can't think of a better example than this mock Op-Ed piece by...
August 07, 2009
Some Came Running
If you are a film buff and don't know about Glenn Kenny's blog, you should go there right now. Kenny, the former editor-critic of Premiere Magazine until its demise, is nothing if not opinionated. For example, check out his sort-of...
June 05, 2009
Away We Don't Go
It's not often I bother posting a warning about a pop culture experience. But unless you are an aficionado of annoying movies, I urge you not to see Away We Go, directed by Sam "Revolutionary Road" and "American Beauty" Mendes,...
June 01, 2009
Cool Guys Don't Look at Explosions
May 29, 2009
It's a Bikini World!
May 20, 2009
The Proposal
Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds: Behind the Scenes of The Proposal from Betty White I hate most movie trailers, especially ones for comedies. Here's one that works....
Sometimes, You Gotta Go
Ever know you are not going to make it through a movie? But when can you bolt for the bathroom? RunPee comes to the rescue, with all the, er, poop on when to leave, how much time you have to...
May 12, 2009
Beatles Tube
Want to have access to every Beatle song on video in one place? Try Beatles Tube, which includes lyrics to each song. Want to browse by album? Or watch one of the Fab Four's movies? No problem....
May 07, 2009
The New Star Trek Movie: The Ultimate Betrayal
Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'...
April 30, 2009
Does Russell Crowe Look Like a Dumpling in a Wig?
New Yorker critic David Denby thinks so....
April 12, 2009
Fix Rumer
Among the more obscure blogs I've ever stumbled upon: a site devoted to photoshopping the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore....
April 01, 2009
Aharrr!
How could the author of Why Do Pirates Love Parrots? not link to a short film about a voiceover artist playing a pirate before the most annoying director of all time? This reminds me of so many real-life incidents during...
March 06, 2009
What If Woody Allen Directed Watchmen?
Dan Kois and Ashley Quigg ponder....
February 18, 2009
Who Gets Heath Ledger's Oscar?
The Academy has decided. [Thanks to Karla Robinson]...
February 07, 2009
Dreamworks Lands at Disney?
Nikki Finke provides details about why Steven Spielberg may wind up at the Mouse House....
January 27, 2009
Oscar Trivia
Some highlights from this year's nominations....
January 19, 2009
Elevation and the Movies
Roger Ebert on why he cries at happy rather than sad moments in movies, and much more....
January 16, 2009
Ricardo Montalban
Even though he died this week, it's still hard to suppress a giggle when the name "Ricardo Montalban" is uttered. But I loved this story from blogger extraordinaire Mark Evanier, which makes Montalban a little more human and a lot...
July 07, 2008
TV Tonight
Network TV may be in the doldrums, but on a "slow" Monday night there's all kinds of good stuff to watch. Of course, the intellectual elite will be watching the finale of The Bachelorette, but there are many other treats:...
June 13, 2008
Crossing the Bridge
I haven't seen it, but have heard great things about this documentary about the modern Turkish music scene. Tonight on Sundance at 10:00 P.M. I'm firing up the DVR....
May 14, 2008
Ashton Kutcher and the Cougar Effect
Why is Ashton Kutcher's career on the upswing? Maybe because his leading ladies are more mature?...
March 25, 2008
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Yesterday, I saw this movie directed by Sidney Lumet and starring a wonderful cast of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke (at his best), Marisa Tomei, and Albert Finney. It is one of the most relentlessly downbeat movies I've ever seen....
February 13, 2008
If They Picked the Winners
Richard Roeper and Michael Phillips weigh in on who they think should win the Oscars. For some reasons, this show is on the Web only. It looks like a regular Ebert & Roeper show, but unforunately is interrupted by commercials...
October 30, 2007
Inside Inside Inside
James Lipton interviews himself and likes what he sees!...
October 29, 2007
Heroes of the Writers Strike
What will writers do if the Guild strikes?...
August 26, 2007
The King of Kong
Last night, I saw a wonderful documentary about the two top Donkey Kong players in the world. The trailer might look like the film ridicules the players, and there are many laughs in the movie. But dang it if, by...
August 11, 2007
Movie Pulchritude Morphing
Beauty through the cinematic era. [Thanks to Mark Evanier]...
May 17, 2007
100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers
Here's a keeper from YouTube....
March 08, 2007
Why Has There Been No Sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Rich Drees has the answer on FilmBuffsOnLine....
February 28, 2007
The Fugly Women Review the Oscars
Go Fug Yourself is its usual witty self in the annual Oscar rundown. Any description of an outfit that starts with "Even though your skirt looks like an enormous cartoon fish vomiting up its own membranes, we appreciate..." has got...
February 25, 2007
Oscar Predictions
I predict that a bunch of my predictions this year will be wrong. Oh sure, there are some prohibitive favorites in the major categories. It will be a shocker if Helen Mirren doesn't win for "The Queen," Jennifer Hudson for...
February 23, 2007
Oscar Telecast Spoilers
Crack TV critic Aaron Barnhart, proprietor of TVBarn, linked to an article by Nikki Finke that reveals many secrets about Sunday's telecast. This could be an interesting Oscars....
December 23, 2006
Stationery Movies
For those who love quizzes. And movies. And stationery....
November 29, 2006
RinkWorks
Don't have time to watch movies these days? How about a movie-a-minute? A book-a-minute can save you even more time. Plenty of other stuff to check out at RinkWorks, and I especially recommend the All Movie Talk, a weekly podcast...
November 18, 2006
I Thought Daniel Craig Was James Bond
But evidently I was wrong....
August 13, 2006
Hair Makes the Woman Redux
I just received this email from Ahree Lee, director and star of the film featured in my last blog: I'm flattered that you enjoyed my film enough to feature it on your blog. However, the version on YouTube that you...
August 10, 2006
Hair Makes the Woman
Imagine taking a photo of your face in the same position every day for three years, and then assembling a video of each photo in quick succession. That's what Ahree Lee has done in less than one minute's worth of...
July 28, 2006
Little Miss Sunshine
This comedy opened in major cities on Wednesday, and will be rolling out throughout the country, I'm quite sure, because it's hard to believe it won't be a huge hit on the Indy circuit. I saw it today and pretty...
March 06, 2006
Oscar Ramblings
Yikes, I forgot to post my Oscar picks. In all the categories, I only missed four this year. Twice, I picked Narnia for technical awards that King Kong won. I missed for Best Song (although I think if a fourth...
February 03, 2006
Documentary Alert!
Tonight, debuting on Discovery, check out what some critics consider the best documentary of the year, Grizzly Man, Warner Herzog's film about Timothy Treadwell, who lived, and died, with grizzlies. Not for the squeamish....
January 10, 2006
Oscar Nominations
Think you know how the Oscar nomination process works? We're betting that you don't. [Thanks to Brian Rose]...
December 08, 2005
The Carpetbagger
New York Times reporter David Carr has just launched The Carpetbagger, a blog chronicling the race to the Oscars. Carr portrays himself as a newcomer to the madness (he is) but the site is full of fun links. This is...
November 04, 2005
Farce of the Penguins
Is nothing sacred?...
October 15, 2005
A Great Night for Art Movies on TV
The broadcast networks have conceded failure on Saturday nights. Viewer levels are so low that NBC, CBS, and ABC have chosen to play reruns (of course, Fox is airing the baseball playoffs). As a result, the premium cable networks have...
October 11, 2005
We Have a New Bond!
And, praise be, it ain't Colin Farrell....
August 27, 2005
Best Reason To Stay Home on a Saturday Night
Dodgeball makes its TV debut on Cinemax tonight, 10:00 P.M. E.S.T. If you avoided Dodgeball in theaters because it sounded dumb, your instincts were only partly right. It is dumb. It's also hilarious....
August 22, 2005
Bright Leaves
May I recommend a film that I haven't seen? The PBS documentary series, POV, has snagged the broadcast premiere of Bright Leaves, the documentary about tobacco directed by Ross McElwee. Don't expect a Michael Moore-type polemic against the industry, but...
July 02, 2005
Separated At Birth
Went to see Batman Begins last night and I highly recommend it, even if it isn't without flaws. The cast is wonderful. There were a couple of actors who I recognized immediately but couldn't place. I couldn't recognize Gary Oldman,...
June 30, 2005
War of the Worlds vs. Scientology
In the latest Village Voice, Jessica Winter writes about the intersection of Scientology, Tom Cruise, and a little movie directed by Steven Spielberg....
June 25, 2005
The Education of Shelby Knox
It's been awhile since I've seen a documentary as uplifting and entertaining as The Education of Shelby Knox, which aired this week on the PBS series, POV, in many cities. The summary on the POV website puts it perfectly: "A...
May 24, 2005
Not On Cruise Control
Oprah Winfrey is a talented broadcaster, and often can be an incisive and tough interviewer, but put her in front of a star and she is horrifying. Yesterday, she engaged in her usual kissfest with Tom Cruise. Of course, T.C....
February 27, 2005
Oscars
This is an unusual year. In the major categories, only Jamie Foxx is a prohibitive favorite, and even this is rare (usually, when an actor is nominated for best actor and best supporting actor, he wins the supporting prize, but...
February 04, 2005
Query Letters
When I worked at NBC-TV, I read more than a few horrendous pitches for television shows. After I left NBC and worked on the proposals for what became my first two books, I did a little consulting and read even...
February 02, 2005
Eurotrip
I love a smart dumb comedy, and thanks to a tip from my nephew, Michael, I checked out 2004's Eurotrip, a surprisingly funny and eccentric movie in the Road Trip/American Pie genre (but much better than either, in my estimation)....
January 27, 2005
Movie Club with John Ridley
Just what we need. Another television show with folks sitting around talking about movies. In this case, we do. None of the four regular critics on this American Movie Classics show will displace Roger Ebert as a TV critic, but...
January 24, 2005
Festival Dailies
This week, The Sundance Channel offers daily coverage of this year's Sundance Film Festival, starting tonight through Saturday at 9:00 P.M. E.S.T. While you're tuned to the Sundance Channel, you might want to check out Control Room, Jehane Noujaim's controversial...
January 18, 2005
R.I.P. Ruth Warrick
A great woman died at her home on January 15. Ruth Warrick gained fame for playing the wife of Orson Welles in Citizen Kane, and in television for an amazing 35-year run on All My Children. Here is today's New...
January 14, 2005
In Good Company
Check out this charming comedy from director Paul Weitz (About a Boy, American Pie), featuring a stellar cast in a gentle satire about ageism and megacorporations. Topher Grace is sensational (as he was in a lesser movie, Win a Date...
December 25, 2004
Two Documentaries Worth Checking Out
I just watched The Other Final, a modest and charming film about a football match between the two lowest-ranked countries in the Federation of International Football Association standings (numbers 202 and 203): Bhutan and Montserrat. The Other Final will be...
December 21, 2004
Two Movie Masterpieces
Two of my all-time favorite movies are on TV in the next 24 hours. Turner Movie Classics is featuring an eight-movie tribute to George Stevens, who directed his share of classics (Gunga Din, Woman of the Year), but his greatest...
December 13, 2004
The Shop Around the Corner
Why is it so difficult to make a good romantic comedy in the 21st century? In 1940, director Ernst Lubitsch got it right with The Shop Around the Corner, which is playing tonight on Turner Classic Movie. Watch Jimmy Stewart...
December 05, 2004
Closer
In a previous entry, I mentioned how much I loved a one-minute promotional spot for Mike Nichols' new movie, Closer. As expected, the full movie couldn't live up to the promise of the advertisement. Closer can't shed its theatrical roots,...
Oh, About that Henry Rollins Movie Show on IFC...
Never mind....
December 04, 2004
Henry's Film Corner
It's been awhile since Ebert & Roeper have had any significant competition in the TV movie-talk arena. Tonight, on the Independent Film Channel, rock star (?) Henry Rollins hosts Henry's Film Corner. Might be worth checking out....
November 22, 2004
My Architect
My favorite movie of 2003 was a documentary. I enjoyed two other documentaries that were also nominated for an Academy Award for best feature, Capturing the Friedmans and Fog of War, but My Architect is the documentary that has stayed...
November 21, 2004
Kinsey
I highly recommend Kinsey, the newly-released movie about the famed sex researcher. Kinsey somehow avoids the reverential tone that afflicts most biopics. Although I have a few quibbles with the film's treatment of Kinsey, the film is buoyed by wonderful...
October 21, 2004
Team America
I was mildly disappointed with Team America, Trey Parker and Matt Stone's satire about American foreign policy, Hollywood's sanctimoniousness, puppetry, and most of all, bad action-adventure movies (Jerry Bruckheimer has more to fear from this movie than George W). The...