my week at the movies: ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ ‘Fido,’ ‘A Mighty Heart,’ ‘Interview,’ ‘Gracie,’ ‘Day Watch,’ ‘Mr. Brooks’

pirates! Tonight I see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Just a few hours to go! Most of it waiting on line at the theater to make sure I get in because Disney doesn’t think onliners are real film critics! But we still get threatened with the plank if we post reviews before Friday! … more…

we’ll never, ever get far far away from Shrek

Noooooooo!: Shrek 4: The Early Years? Next installment to cover ogre’s origin. Look: Shrek Babies? A diaper-clad Donkey and a toddler Shrek and goo-goo, gah-gah in the swamp? Could someone just shoot me now? After the first Shrek flick, I might have trusted that a movie about the grumpy ogre as a baby would avoid … more…

commenting slowness… argh!

I know that the commenting system has been very slow lately — I can see from the multiple submissions of the same comments that you’ve all been encountering “lost network connection” errors. I see those much more often on the back end, and it’s driving me nuts. I think it’s an issue with my Web … more…

Waitress (review)

It’s funny how we can go from a comedy about molestation — Garry Marshall’s repulsive *Georgia Rule* — that’s not just desperately unfunny but actively disgusting to a comedy about professionally unethical behavior, spousal abuse, adultery, and stalking that is warmly bittersweet, genuinely funny, and sincerely heartfelt. But there we are.

network blues, and what TV will look like in 2012

What is television going to look like in a couple of years? Oh, I’m not talking about the switchover to from analog to digital broadcast that’s scheduled to happen in February 2009, which will make the picture and sound we all see sharper and way cooler. I’m talking about the content we watch on those … more…

Shrek the Third (review)

It’s not even summer yet, but already it’s the summer of the three-quel, and already we’re oh-no for two. I’m tellin’ ya, if *Pirates the Third* is this ho-hum, I’m gonna curl up in bed and hibernate till September.

‘Jericho’ cancelled, decent civilization ends

It’s not like ‘Jericho’ was My Favorite Show Ever or anything, though I’d stuck with it despite its many problems, even through the ridiculous months-long hiatus that seems to be the new norm for network dramas this year. What makes me really mad is how representative the ‘Jericho’ story is of the utter dim-wittedness of network television today.

Kirsten Dunst’s Blondie ambition

Everyone wants to be a rock star. Even movie stars: One way or another, “Spider-Man 3” star Kirsten Dunst is determined to play punk/new-wave icon Debbie Harry in a biopic. “It’s in development,” she said excitedly about playing the Blondie singer. “I’ve talked to Debbie. We’re both Jersey girls, and I think she’s the coolest … more…

The Fountain (review)

Though the film intrigues me intellectually, it doesn’t make me feel anything: and movies for me are primarily emotional experiences. By that measure, ‘The Fountain’ fails for me. But it’s one of the more interesting cinematic failures I’ve ever seen.