“[A]nd throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks.”

Comparing TMP with Wrath of Khan is one of my favorite object lessons for how all the money in the world can’t compensate for fundamentals like an exciting story concept and good characterization. There was a little bit of luck involved too. In my opinion, it’s hard to underestimate how much James Horner’s score…

When was that ever stated or implied?

STTMP just went way, way over budget - it came in came in equal to Heaven’s Gate at a bit over $44 million. Remember, Heaven’s Gate is a film that required extensive location shots, elaborate period set sets and costumes, and large numbers of extras. Star Trek mostly involves the same seven or eight people wearing…

In certain film-nerd corners, 2007 has a reputation for being a great movie year...

Rowling said what she said. It was duly noted, well reported, and people have denounced her for it, and boycotted her books. That’s not a violation of her “free speech.” That’s just the open marketplace of ideas and opinions at work. If you have the right to express your views, it’s only fair that others ought to…

I think it would have been interesting to see Edwards do a full Pink Panther movie with Alan Arkin. I believe he made a cameo in one of the later Sellers-less sequels.

I always found it kind of sad how Blake Edwards kept trying to return to the Pink Panther series after Sellers’ death, first with the zombie/salvage job sequel Trail of the Pink Panther, then with two non-starters of attempts at reviving the series with a new lead actor.

I think Spielberg is one of the great arrested talents in film history.

Redford’s kind of an interesting “exception that proves the rule.” He actually started in the mid-to-late 60's as part of the Ken Doll class of late studio system actors. But he just had better acting chops. I would also argue that, despite being typified as the ultimate WASP golden boy, he too has a sort of…

Wednesday: I don’t want to be in the pageant.

I like when they do the America’s Most Wanted/Unsolved Mysteries style segment about her (hosted by Peter Graves), and it pans to photographs of her in all her various disguises, the last being a headshot of Kathy Lee Gifford.

As I noted over in the Very Brady Sequel thread, this movie belongs in the rarefied class of sequels that are better than the original, and is in my opinion a classic film as a stand alone work. There are three main reasons for this: First, as is the focus of the review, Ricci was really coming into her own as an…

The key, I think, was bringing on Paul Rudnick to write the script. It’s just

I’d suggest there’s kind of a third category, “Character actor plus.” Take someone, for example, like Edward G. Robinson - a person who would seldom be thought of as being a traditional lead, yet who did manage to get the leading role in certain types of films.

It’s a cyclical thing. In the 40's you had your Bogarts, your Mitchums, your Robert Ryan’s, etc. - handsome in a kind of worn down, world weary, almost homely (particularly Bogart) sort of way. Then in the 50's and early 60's Hollywood started going for the clean, square jaw, stereotypically all-American type. Guys…

The Challenger tragedy demonstrates a tendency which continues to bedevil our society to this very day: People in power making decisions based upon desired outcomes, while disregarding proven realities.

I believe it’s pretty commonly accepted that they survived the explosion, and were probably killed on impact. The debate usually revolves around whether they were conscious, and for how long.

But there’s so much more to appreciate about Genera+ion, which focuses on a diverse group of high school students, following their highs and lows as they explore their identities and the very meaning of ‘identity’ in today’s world. The show was created by 19-year old Zelda Barnz, who wanted to tell a story that…

I put this in almost same category as Adams Family Values. While it’s nowhere near the unrecognized classic I consider that film to be, it’s still much more enjoyable for me than its predecessor. And I think the review pinpoints the exact reason - it’s not just a formulaic 70's fish in 90's waters comedy. Instead, it…