How did the NHL lose touch with my generation? When I was in college, EA’s NHL games were more popular than Madden; they boasted the easiest controls and the most fluid game play. And people were learning new names (Jaromir Jagr, Joe Sakic and Sergei Fedorov), while playing with established greats (Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux … Continue reading
Just so you know, Greg Mottola is not upset at a perceived lack of credit for Superbad‘s success – even though some folks have tried to spin this blurb at New York Magazine‘s "Vulture" blog as evidence of hostility toward an allegedly credit-glomming Judd Apatow (who, I’m sure, has never glommed a thing in his … Continue reading
(If you’re looking for my preamble, and recommendations for the silent era, click here.) When your grandparents used to complain about Hollywood "not makin’ ’em like they used to", they really meant "not makin’ ’em like they were forced to make ’em as a result of the Production Code" – or "The Hays Code". Though … Continue reading
The cast and crew of Frank Miller’s The Spirit just got another killer set of curves to ogle. Less than a week after landing Scarlett Johansson as the femme fatale Silk N. Floss (coincidentally, the name of my dermatologist), the production has now found its Sand Saref – the love of The Spirit’s life – … Continue reading
Remember those "Twisted World of Oz" figures McFarlane Toys released a few years back? Ready to see a bound and blindfolded Dorothy being victimized by a nasty pair of munchkins on the big screen? Well, screenwriter Josh Olson isn’t, but he’s going to help turn the toyline into a film anyway. I didn’t answer in … Continue reading
Just when we think Harvey Weinstein’s lost his self-promotional chutzpah, he comes roaring back with a pair of press releases dutifully printed by Variety and The New York Times in one twenty-four-hour news period. Impressive. I’ve no real problem with The New York Times story, if only because it’s dubious reportage deployed in the service … Continue reading
The Crop: Passengers The Production Company: Davis Entertainment? The Director: None The Writer: Jon Spaihts The Actors: Nada The Logline: "A guy wakes up on a space ship that’s on a 120-year mission 90 years early, and apparently is the only one on the ship. Allegedly pretty good, a character study in a sci-fi environment." … Continue reading
If Match Point and this new trailer for Cassandra’s Dream are any indication, Woody Allen’s vigorousness as a filmmaker seems directly related to the viciousness of the material. When the seventy-one-year-old writer-director tried to downshift back to comedy after Match Point, he delivered the pleasant but forgettably benign Scoop (which, I’ll admit, is better than … Continue reading
Not content with the controversy he’s surely going to cause with his documentary on religion (currently titled Religulous… eh), Bill Maher has revealed to the all powerful, all knowing, perhaps thirty-percent living Larry King that the film is targeting an Easter ’08 release date. You’ll recall Easter as the day that, according to the New … Continue reading
Though I have the utmost respect for director David Frankel and screenwriter Scott Frank, I cannot countenance another film based on a memoir of personal growth hitched to an author’s relationship with a dog. The emotional distance traveled is usually very small, while the narrative always ends with the faithful, furry companion keeling over. It’s … Continue reading