Animadversions.

With three episodes to go, I feel it’s safe for me to let you all in on the BIG SECRETS left to be unveiled as the series wraps up. How do I know these things? Well, I am an Entertainment Industry Insider, with access to all manner of curious things.
But it would be [...]

[Read more →]

A few thoughts:
- Hugh Jackman was good. He showcased his talents, he called out pictures that got snubbed, he managed to work Wolverine into a song and dance routine. He also disappeared for most of the show, making him seem more like an act than a host.
- No Nicholson? BOO.
- Having certain [...]

[Read more →]

The following is pretty much spoiler-central, so stop reading now if you haven’t seen Doubt.
Let me just start with the following ABSOLUTE statement:
It is shameful that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was nominated for Best Picture and Director this year while Doubt was not. While films like Milk and Slumdog Millionaire are certainly [...]

[Read more →]

Annoyed to find out that Choke isn’t playing anywhere nearby, we settled for seeing Oliver Stone’s latest presidential film - W. Overall, I was generally unimpressed. It’s not a clever film. It’s not illuminating in any real way (or even in a “crazy Oliver Stone conspiracy theory” way). It’s not so [...]

[Read more →]

Here’s a one line review of Bill Maher’s new film, Religulous:
Too long, too mean, not nearly funny enough.
That being said, I agree with the core tenet of Maher’s argument that religion is irrational, abusive and dangerous. It’s tempting to view this film as a main stream entry into the “New Atheist” movement, but the [...]

[Read more →]

Ledger’s Joker is - as we’ve been told - a wonder to behold. Bale is, as always, spot-on. The supporting cast is perfect - just having a Rachel Dawes we don’t all hate throughout the picture was a major improvement. Even at 2 1/2 hours in length, the story moves quickly and [...]

[Read more →]

If McCain wins, we can get rid of Susan Sarandon. But if Obama wins, we can get rid of Stephen Baldwin. That’s a tough call.
Maybe if Bob Barr wins they’ll BOTH leave.

[Read more →]

Good news, everybody! According to Rolling Stone, The Dark Knight is made of awesome:
Heads up: a thunderbolt is about to rip into the blanket of bland we call summer movies. The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan’s absolute stunner of a follow-up to 2005’s Batman Begins, is a potent provocation decked out as a comic-book [...]

[Read more →]

The great Stan Winston has passed away. If you’ve enjoyed any (non-Lucas) special effects bonanza over the past 30 or so years, he’s probably the man to thank.
The world officially sucks a bit more now.

[Read more →]

Quick and dirty, spoiler-free review:
It’s quite good. Harrison Ford looks great and plays his role in a way that makes frequent (perhaps TOO frequent) nods to his age without sacrificing any of the action we expect from Dr. Jones. Shia LaBeouf plays his role with surprising effectiveness, switching effortlessly between comic sidekick and [...]

[Read more →]

Roger Ebert says the new Indiana Jones movie is good.
I haven’t read the review and will be avoiding live TV for the rest of the week, but 3 1/2 stars out of 4 ain’t bad.
[edit] Oh my. He also gave The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith 3 1/2 stars. Perhaps [...]

[Read more →]

…is made of awesome. And do yourself a favor:
Sit through the credits. ALL the way through.
Trust me.

[Read more →]

“If you need a ceiling painted, a chariot race run, a city besieged, or the Red Sea parted, you think of me.”
Charlton Heston passes away at 83.
[UPDATE] I like this snippet from the Guardian:
To his detractors, Heston could be an inflexible, monolithic presence, weighed down by his own mantle of heroism and pious sense of [...]

[Read more →]

DC’s come to its senses and recast Kevin Conroy as the voice of Batman in the upcoming Gotham Knight project.
“Anytime we initiate an animated Batman project, ‘Will Kevin Conroy voice Batman?’ is the first question we hear from fans,” said Bruce Timm , Executive Producer. “To meet Kevin is to know that he’s not anything [...]

[Read more →]

7/10 ain’t bad (and Tilda Swinton winning Best Supporting Actress and then giving possibly the greatest acceptance speech EVER should count as a moral 8th point).

[Read more →]

My picks for this year:
Best Picture:
Who I think WILL win: No Country for Old Men
Who I think SHOULD win: Michael Clayton
Best Actor:
Who I think WILL win: Daniel Day-Lewis
Who I think SHOULD win: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress:
Who I think WILL win: Ellen Page
Who I think SHOULD win: Ellen Page
Best Supporting Actor:
Who I think WILL win: Javier Bardem
Who [...]

[Read more →]

They HAVE to be. Just look at the Transformers movie.
But perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself.
Meet the V-22 Osprey:

She’s a funny-looking bird - a hybrid of a helicopter and a prop plane meant to replace the Vietnam-era CH-46 as a troop transport and general service lifter-of-things. Fans of hot-hot military hardware probably [...]

[Read more →]

This is mostly spoiler-free, but there are a handful of implied plot-points that I touch on, so click below if you want to see the full deal.

[Read more →]

Connect the dots, flee in terror:
John Romero:
“I started looking at what I was going to do next, so I looked around on the net and I saw there was an opportunity for an MMO, there was a person starting an MMO so I contacted him. We talked for hours on the phone, we had [...]

[Read more →]

Inspired by Ralf, my picks for the Academy Awards for categories I actually have an opinion on (some from the actual list of nominees, some not):
Best Picture: A History of Violence and Lord of War (tie) - Both wildly underrated films that basically no one saw. Both string you along and make you think [...]

[Read more →]