movies Articles


LOTR nitpicker's guide

For those looking for a solid (albeit not comprehensive) list of errors and omissions in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, here's a pretty good one.

The airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow

For those fans of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the question that is on all of your minds is now answered. Jonathan Corum has answered the question (at least for the European variety) in this article from style.org. As a bonus, he throws in the capital of Assyria …

Is iMovie a ticket to Sundance?

According to an article in Wired, it certainly was for Jonathan Caouette. The 31 year old made his Sundance Film Festival entry for a total of $281.32 (in supplies, not counting his Mac). Caouette's film, Tarnation, recounts his troubled childhood in a highly dysfunctional family. Sundance is showing a …


Review: Big Fish

I had no idea what to expect when we went in to see Big Fish. The film is the latest work by acclaimed, but eccentric, director Tim Burton (of Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and Nightmare Before Christmas fame). But, is it any good? I certainly thought so, but it wasn't what …

Review: Calendar Girls

The capsule summary is that this film is at least as good as its reviews say. I had heard about Calendar Girls a few weeks back and Carol and I decided to go see it during the week in order to get a break and brighten things up. Brighten things …

Film version of "The Producers" coming... again

It appears that a musical that started its life as a movie will be returning to the silver screen once again. An article in the New York Times indicates that The Producers will return as a new film to begin shooting in 2005, staring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, who …

Simultaneous Movie/Net release of film in 2004

According to an article from CNet, Morgan Freeman and his production company are planning to release a film simultaneously on the Internet and in theaters later this year. No word on what kind of DRM (Digital Rights Management) will be used, but it will be interesting to watch.

BAFTA award voting stopped

Voting for the BAFTA awards (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) has been stopped due to problems with the ballots, reports The Scotsman. The problems include missing actors and actresses, films in the wrong categories, and incorrect sex for some foreign actors and actresses. The BAFTA awards are considered …

Review: Matrix Revolutions

If you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one better than the second one. For one thing, it is shorter, for another, it actually has an ending (as opposed to a "to be continued" from the second one). All in all, it was a fitting end, but I …

Up to their level or down to ours?

An interesting article from the New York Times brings back my favorite equality question. The title "Everything a Man Can Do, Decapitation Included" aptly describes a trend for women to long for equality by proving that they not only can do anything a man can do, but should. Don't get …

Review: Runaway Jury

Runaway Jury is the latest John Grisham book to be made into a movie, and by some accounts this movie may even best the book. I haven't read the book, so I can't make a first hand comparison, but unless it was quite good, there's a decent shot because the …

Of carpenters and movie piracy

While we're on the topic of movie piracy today, I'd like to chime in on the MPAA "policy" advertisements that have been airing since August on movie screens prior to major feature films. This ridiculous campaign is certainly rubbing me the wrong way and I don't think I'm the only …

MPAA's no DVD decree could hurt indies at Oscars

Roger Ebert has a good article about the new move by the MPAA to ban the sending of DVDs prior to this year's Oscars and its likely chilling effect on independent films. At issue is a decree made last month by Jack Valenti (head of the MPAA) in an effort …


Ebert defends Whale Rider against PG-13

In the Q&A section of Roger Ebert's web site at the Chicago Sun Times, there is an interesting exchange about the movie Whale Rider (reviewed very favorably here in June). The crux of the problem is an endorsement that Ebert gave to the film that the MPAA (you remember …

All the Presidents Movies

An article from BBC News tells of an upcoming documentary on Bravo called All of the Presidents Movies, showing 7pm on August 7th. Drawing on the memories and notes of a projectionist who served many presidents, the special takes a look at the films most requested by US Presidents and …

Review: Seabiscuit

Let me be the latest reviewer to jump on the bandwagon for Seabiscuit and give it a strong recommendation. The horse tale where "our horse is too small, our jockey is too big, our trainer is too old, and [the owner] is too stupid to know the difference" is a …


MovieFest: SIGGRAPH 2003 Electronic Theater

Since I've got a DVD version of the 2003 Electronic Theater presentation, I figured I'd do a showing of it before I leave to go to the Canyon. The plan is to do the showing next Sunday (8/10) afternoon at 5pm. Please RSVP if you are interested in coming …