(Thanks to my pals Smacky and Dave for a couple of these.)

“Bring It On” (2000)

“Bring It on Again” (2004)

“Bring It On: All or Nothing” (2006)

“Bring It On: In It to Win It” (2007)

“Bring Some More of It On” (2009)

“If There’s Any Still Left, Please Bring It” (2010)

“Bring It On 2: Electric Bringaloo” (2011)

“Bringin’ in the Rain” (2012)

“Stop Or My Mom Will Bring It” (2013)

“When in the Course of Human Events, It Becomes Necessary for One People to Dissolve the Political Bands Which Have Connected Them with Another, and to Assume Among the Powers of the Earth, the Separate and Equal Station to Which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God Entitle Them, a Decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind Requires that They Should Declare the Causes which Impel Them to Bring It On” (2014)

“I Know What You Brought Last Summer” (2015)

We’ve already amply covered the subject of negative reviews of “The Dark Knight” being attacked by the movie’s fans (or pre-fans, since most of them hadn’t yet seen it when they went ballistic). But it turns out you can write a glowing, extremely positive review and still upset some of the fanboys!

Here is an e-mail I got yesterday from an anonymous person. His or her — oh heck, let’s assume it’s a guy — e-mail address contains “86,” which usually suggests the year of birth, and the word “kelly.” So it’s probably a 22-year-old guy named Kelly. At any rate, this is what he said:

I have an objection to your superficial and colorless description of the Joker as “the devil.” [Actually, I said he's like the devil.] How very lazy it was for you to make that comparison.

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OMG YOU GUYS DID YOU SEE THE NEW ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY COVER??!?!!?!!? OMG OMG OMG OMG

(Click to embiggen.)

My friend and colleague Dave Cornelius is good with the Photoshop, and he likes to make parody movie posters. Sometimes I have ideas for posters that I think he should make, that I cannot make myself because the Photoshop, I am not so good with her. So here are three that I have suggested to Dave in recent weeks that he has obligingly produced. Admire their craftsmanship, if nothing else.

A couple of readers recently posted “WALL-E”-related questions that warrant attention…

I don’t know much about the Oscars, but are animated films eligible for best picture? (I’m thinking of “Wall-E” here obviously).

Yes, any type of film is eligible for Best Picture, including types for which there is also a special category, i.e., animated films, documentaries, and foreign films. Only one cartoon, “Beauty and the Beast,” has ever been nominated, though, and the addition in 2001 of the Best Animated Feature category kind of ghettoizes cartoons, in my opinion. Academy voters figure, “Oh, we don’t have to bother considering the animated films for the top honors, because they have their own special category over here.”

But the fact is, animated films are often among the very best movies of any kind in a given year, and there’s already talk that “WALL-E” might break through the barriers and get a Best Picture nomination. At any rate, it’ll definitely win the Best Animated Film category.

Can it be nominated in both categories? Yes.

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We’ve used up half of 2008, folks. We’d better start conserving or we’ll run out of 2008 within six months, seven tops.

As of the midpoint, I’ve watched 225 movies so far this year. Holy crap, can that be right? Wow. I guess it is. At that rate, I’ll have 450 by the end of the year. But that rate won’t continue, because the first half of the year was crammed with film festivals (Sundance, SXSW, CineVegas), while the second half will have one at the most. Still, the point is the same: I watch a lot of movies.

Not all of those were for review. Some were just me watchin’ a movie for fun. And two of them were “Anchorman.” (Why have I watched “Anchorman” twice so far this year? I dunno. Long story.) But of those that I have reviewed, here’s what I’ve liked the best. Please note that this list is non-binding, and if some of these don’t wind up on the year-end list, or wind up in a different order, you’re not allowed to yell at me or question my methods for YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME.

Top 10 Movies of 2008 So Far

1. “WALL-E”
2. “American Teen” (in theaters this month)
3. “Son of Rambow”
4. “Young @ Heart”
5. “Cloverfield”
6. “Dear Zachary” (see below)
7. “Snow Angels”
8. “Funny Games”
9. “The Signal”
10. “The Promotion”

Number 6 is a documentary that played at Slamdance and SXSW that I just barely got around to watching. It’s one of the most emotionally wrenching films I’ve ever seen. Last I heard, they’re looking at an August theatrical release for it. I’ll write up a review soon-ish.

Rotten Tomatoes, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, operates on a simple concept. It looks at all* the movie reviews on the Internet, translates each into either “Fresh” or “Rotten” (i.e., positive or negative), then tells you what percentage of critics liked a particular movie. If the percentage is 60 or higher, then the film is considered “Fresh.”

“WALL-E” is the “Freshest” movie of the year so far, with a current Tomatometer score of 96% — that is, 147 out of 153 critics reviewed it favorably. Those other six critics … well, they’re in the distinct minority.

And so I got to thinking: When have I been in the distinct minority? What is the “Freshest” movie that I’ve ever given a “Rotten” rating to?

Each individual critic’s page at Rotten Tomatoes (here’s mine) actually lets you sort his or her reviews by Tomatometer, making it easy to check: It was “The Pianist,” which has a 95% Tomatometer score. I gave it a C+, which is just barely on the “Rotten” side, but “Rotten” nonetheless. I’m one of only eight critics (out of 165) to review it negatively.

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(This post contains minor “WALL-E” spoilers.)

Many of you saw “WALL-E” over the weekend, and no doubt some of you noticed biblical themes in it. You can’t name a main character “Eve” without invoking the Garden of Eden, of course; nobody could miss that. But what about all the humans living on a ship and waiting for an envoy to return with a plant as proof that it was safe to go home? Did that remind anyone of Noah’s Ark and the dove?

In my review, I mentioned that there were biblical allusions along with the cinematic references like “2001: A Space Odyssey” and Buster Keaton. (I didn’t mention it, but writer/director Andrew Stanton is a Christian, and he discusses how that influences his work in this interview.) My review prompted a Methodist minister to write to me:

I have read 7 reviews so far all by the “top” critics, and while they are all excellent writers, they all, until you, have missed the biblical narratives so skillfully woven into the story. Thanks for having the guts to mention it.

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Hoo boy, if you read this week’s “Snide Remarks,” entitled “YM I So Tired?,” you’re definitely gonna wind up with a song stuck in your head. Just so you know.

Also of note: I saw “The Strangers” over the weekend, and it’s actually pretty scary. Weird, huh?

Also of note, too: Are you my Fat Brother Jeff? If so, then happy birthday! In fact, let’s all wish Jeff a happy birthday! He handles the technical side of this website, and he does it for almost no money. Of course, I handle the creative side of this website, and I do that for almost no money, too. But it’s not my birthday, so who cares? Happy birthday, JJ!

This week’s “Snide Remarks,” including the audio version, is here.
The audio version (i.e., the podcast) is also here.
Subscribe to the podcast’s feed with this URL.

Do you enjoy listening to movie geeks talk about movies and TV and video games and movies? Me too! And the nice folks at Always Watching were kind enough to invite me on as a guest geek for this week’s podcast (which is entitled The Watchers). You can view a rundown of what we discuss, and also listen to the podcast itself, and also subscribe to the podcast, here. (A mild warning: I think there’s some naughty language at one point, though I don’t remember when or how much.)

We recorded it Tuesday night, at which time it also was being streamed live for whoever happened to be listening. The regular crew is David Chen (who’s a big fan of mine, inexplicably), Devindra Hardawar, and Adam Quigley; guests were me, Myles McNutt of Cultural Learnings, and Alex Billington of First Showing. A good time was had by all. I think they talked more than I did, though, because I’m nervous around strangers, especially when I can only hear the strangers and not see them.