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From the category archives:

Movies

Friday Morning Notebook

May 2, 2008

(Some of you may have noticed this post previously marked for Thursday morning. I was just in a fog earlier. It is beginning to lift.)
A few thoughts on summer movies I want to see are here.
My review of "Made of Honor" is here. Short version: I didn't like it.
Later today I expect to post about [...]

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British Film Awards Announced

February 10, 2008

"Atonement," Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard are among the winners. Complete list here.

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17 Reasons Why I Prefer to Watch Movies at Home

February 4, 2008

I did squeeze in a viewing of "Atonement" this afternoon completing my circuit of Oscar's best-picture nominees. I've already started an "Oscar Watch" post about it, but first let me give you the 17 reasons …

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Golden (Yawn) Globes

December 13, 2007

You can find all the nominees here.
My friend Alan Sepinwall makes an interesting point about the Globes' TV nominees on his blog (as well as giving me props for the Chamber of Commerce theory of awards). But I'm going to focus on the movie noms here.
I know there's all that talk about the Globes [...]

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Day/Night Movie Doubleheader

November 6, 2007

Cate Blanchett as one of many Bob Dylans in "I'm Not There"

Robert Redford, director and co-star of "Lions for Lambs"
I had hoped to post at least briefly last night but had technical difficulties. Probably just as well, since I was a little weary, but I had a few brief comments about the movies illustrated above. [...]

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The Great Movies/TV Divide

September 17, 2007

For those of you who have not yet found it online, my fall-season rumination is here. (The first line in text is actually a subhead, with the story beginning on the following line.)
But, even as we all get psyched about the TV season to varying degrees, there are still those who view TV as an [...]

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Harry Potter Rules the Movie World

September 11, 2007

So says Warner Bros., in an announcement proclaiming that the "Harry Potter" movies in total have now grossed more worldwide than any other film franchise, including "Star Wars" and James Bond. (Potter still trails top-ranked "Star Wars" and Bond at the North American box office, according to Box Office Mojo.

Warner gleefully notes there are still [...]

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More on "3:10 to Yuma"

September 7, 2007

You can find my review of the Russell Crowe western here. It's not a hugely enthusiastic review, and I think I've figured out why.

It's not just that the movie is merely OK. It's that it kept hinting at the possiblity that it could be something more extravagant. I am thinking of Ben Foster's performance, which [...]

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The Passed-by Moment of Alicia Silverstone

August 31, 2007

Flixster – Share Movies

I've got these sounds in my head. …
Not just the woman this morning who, in a drive-through lane at the bank, screamed "GET IN THE CAR SEAT" over and over at a kid who had crawled from the back to the front. Or "Don't Stop Believin'," a semi-constant presence since the "Sopranos" [...]

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When Good Actors Play Good People Doing Bad Things …

August 30, 2007

Yesterday morning I saw "The Brave One," the upcoming movie with Jodie Foster as a woman who begins killing bad guys as a way of dealing with her own feelings of victimization after being brutally beaten. (See trailer below) …

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Something I Should Write More About …

August 22, 2007

I've lost track of how long I've been meaning to write a column about movie (and possibly TV) romances where the wrong couple ends up together. Not a situation where, as happens on TV, the wrong couple is together but breaks up a season later, but ones where the whole thing ends and you're just [...]

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Technology, Relentlessness and "Live Free or Die Hard"

August 12, 2007

The bride and I finally got to "Live Free or Die Hard," which has been on our viewing list for some time, but which always seemed to bump against another obligation. The watching not only included a reasonable amount of over-the-top action but a few thoughts about James Cameron, and the parallels between "Live Free" [...]

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Which Stars Are Worth Their Paychecks?

August 6, 2007

In some of my recent public appearances, I've more than once mentioned "Evan Almighty." The reason: It's a good example of the financial definitions of Hollywood success. According to Boxofficemojo.com, it has so far taken in more than $97 million at the U.S. box office (about $109 million when you throw in international revenues). But, [...]

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So Much for "Grindhouse"

August 1, 2007

When the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez double feature comes to DVD, the movies will be split into separate sets …

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The Miracle of Barbara Stanwyck

July 22, 2007

Richard Corliss's profile of John Travolta in the July 30 begins with Travolta talking about old Hollywood stars and his presenting an honorary Oscar to Barbara Stanwyck in 1982.
"If you'd met Stanwyck," he explains, "she would have crushed you with her ability to adore and adorn you, just like a Southern belle." …. "Oh, you [...]

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Movies Vs. TV: A Critical Difference

July 16, 2007

Covering just about any entertainment medium these days can involve some tap-dances, but I really don't like the steps that I'm having to take for "The Simpsons Movie." …

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"Hairspray"

July 12, 2007

LOVED it. …

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Charles Lane, R.I.P.

July 10, 2007

The smart, scene-stealing actor has died. Obit here, although "Petticoat Junction" fans know that his character's name was actually Homer Bedloe. Nice photo here.

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Slogging Through Harry Potter: The Movies

June 30, 2007

It was about 15 minutes into "Chamber of Secrets" that I decided I had had enough Potter onscreen for one day …

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"Transformers": Absurdity Triumphant

June 28, 2007

(Because studios get hinky about movies being reviewed too soon, this is not a review. More like notes from a viewing of what could well be the summer's biggest movie. To the notes, then:)
One of the smartest things about "Transformers" is that it knows that the basic idea is pretty ridiculous …

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