Eric D. Snider's Blog: As Seen on the Internet!

Occasional link roundup – April 14-27

Eric D. Snider — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:11:07 +0000

I’m doing a new column at Film.com! Sort of. Basically, instead of doing one-off features like I’ve been doing, they’ll be gathered under a heading: “Eric D. Snider’s Movie Column.” It took us a long time to come up with that. The first one is about CinemaScore: what it is, what it wants from us, whether it can hurt us, etc.

Eric’s Bad Movies is still a thing, of course. This is separate from that, a weekly-ish repository for me to write about whatever film-related things are on my mind, without being restricted by a particular topic or format. I might even be able to sneak an occasional Re-View in there…

“Pain & Gain” C [Twitch]
“Oblivion” C+
“My Brother the Devil” B+ [About.com]
“To the Wonder” C- [About.com]
“At Any Price” B+ [Twitch]
“The Angels’ Share” B+

Eric D. Snider’s Movie Column: What Is a ‘CinemaScore’? — Breaking down the audience polling service [Film.com]

Eric’s Bad Movies: “Barney’s Great Adventure” (1998) — Terrifying prehistoric monster visits children [Film.com]
Eric’s Bad Movies: “Chain Reaction” (1996) — Keanu Reeves solves the world’s energy problems [Film.com]

Snide Remarks #686: “Correction News Network” — CNN clarifies some of its earlier coverage

Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider #157 (4/19) — “Oblivion,” “Room 237,” “Lords of Salem,” “Upstream Color,” “The Company You Keep” [MovieBS]
Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider #158 (4/26) — “Pain & Gain,” “Mud,” “To the Wonder,” “Arthur Newman,” “NO,” “The Angels’ Share” [MovieBS]

Subscribe to In the Dark, a weekly email with all my latest reviews, DVD releases, and Netflix recommendations.

Follow me on Twitter.

Occasional link roundup – March 24-April 13

Eric D. Snider — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 07:07:41 +0000

Here is a fragrant, florid pile of links to things I’ve written in the last few weeks, both here and at other sites. Please to read them, won’t we?

Movie reviews:

“42″ C+ [Twitch]
“Admission” C+
“Antiviral” B-
“Evil Dead” B
“G.I. Joe: Retaliation” C
“The Place Beyond the Pines” B+ [About.com]
“Room 237″ C+
“Scary Movie 5″ F [Twitch]
“Simon Killer” B- [About.com]
“Stoker” B+ [About.com]
“Upstream Color” B+
“Wrong” B

Other things and/or stuff:

___Snide Remarks #684: “What I Think About What You Think” — Opinions, and the people who have them.
___Snide Remarks #685: “Spring Breaking Point” — Relax and get aggravated at the movies!

___Eric’s Bad Movies: “Casablanca” (1942). I tried something a little different. [Film.com]
___Eric’s Bad Movies: “Lords of the Street” (2008), starring Kris Kristofferson, DMX, and a guy who isn’t DMX. [Film.com]

___The 8 Most Annoying Movie Marketing Tactics. From character posters to six-second teasers. [Film.com]

___Interview: David Zucker. On how spoofs have changed from “Airplane!” (which he co-wrote and directed) to “Scary Movie 5″ (which he co-wrote and produced). [Film.com]

___You’re Old: “Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life” Came Out 30 Years Ago. A sketchy visit to April 1, 1983. [Movies.com]
___You’re Old: “Indecent Proposal” and “The Sandlot” Came Out 20 Years Ago This Week. What a strange double feature that was on April 9, 1993.

___Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider #154 (3/29). “G.I. Retaliation,” “Admission,” “Ginger & Rosa,” Pitch Me, and more. [MovieBS]
___Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider #155 (4/5). “Evil Dead,” “Reality,” “Jurassic Park 3D,” personal memories of Roger Ebert, and more and more. [MovieBS]
___Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider #156 (4/12). “42,” “Trance,” “The Place Beyond the Pines,” “The Sapphires,” “Somebody Up There Likes Me,” Character Casserole, and more and more and more. [MovieBS]

Subscribe to In the Dark, a weekly email with all my latest reviews, DVD releases, and Netflix recommendations.

Follow me on Twitter.

Occasional link roundup – March 3-23

Eric D. Snider — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 05:23:21 +0000

Howdy, gang! Wait, that looks wrong. A group of people who could be described as a “gang” would not answer to “howdy.” So never mind. I’m going to start over. No, I’m just going to regurgitate some links.

“Olympus Has Fallen” B-
“The Croods” B-
“Oz the Great and Powerful” B-
“Somebody Up There Likes Me” B
“Beyond the Hills” D
“Reality” B+
“Ginger & Rosa” B [About.com]

SXSW coverage:
The 8 Most Memorable Premieres in SXSW History. Or the eight I remember the most, anyway. Except for the one I wasn’t at. The seven I remember most, plus one that sounds like it was fairly noteworthy. [Film.com]
The Great Debate: SXSW vs. Sundance. I took the Sundance side, with Film School Rejects’ Rob Hunter sticking up for SXSW. [Film.com]
“Go for Sisters” B [Twitch]
“Hours” D [Twitch]
“Haunter” B [Twitch]
“Drinking Buddies” B+ [Twitch]

Eric’s Bad Movies: “Land of Doom” (1986), set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, like all ’80s movies. [Film.com]

Eric’s Bad Movies: “Mr. Hush” (2011), about a man tormented by a vampire and a lack of acting talent. [Film.com]

Snide Remarks: “Empty Pockets,” in which traveling by air requires giving up on everything.

Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider: Episode 151 has “Oz the Great and Powerful,” “Emperor,” and an interview with “Rewind This!” director Josh Johnson. Episode 152 has “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” “The Call,” and my report from SXSW. Episode 153 has “Olympus Has Fallen,” “Spring Breakers,” “The Croods,” “Stoker,” and an interview with “On the Road” director Walter Salles. [MovieBS]

Subscribe to In the Dark, a weekly email with all my latest reviews, DVD releases, and Netflix recommendations.

Follow me on Twitter.

Weekly link roundup – Feb. 17-March 2

Eric D. Snider — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:30:30 +0000

A big ol’ “thanks, y’all!” to the Oxford (Miss.) Film Festival, which I attended for the fifth time last weekend as a juror. Good times were had. New friends were made. The passive voice was used. In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been up to lately:

“21 & Over” C+
“Jack the Giant Slayer” C+
“Snitch” C
“A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III” D- [About.com]
“Bless Me, Ultima” B [About.com]

Eric’s Bad Movies: “A Talking Cat!?!” (2013), which is about — get this — a talking cat (!?!). [Film.com]

“Snitch,” Guns in Movies, and Why Hollywood Can’t Shoot Straight: A li’l thing about how guns are unrealistically portrayed in movies. [Film.com]

You’re Old: “Army of Darkness” Came Out 20 Years Ago This Week. This was a couple weeks ago. Now you’re even older. [Movies.com]

Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider: Episode 149 has our review of “Snitch” and some pre-Oscar gab; episode 150 has “Jack the Giant Slayer,” “21 & Over,” and a bloody game of Interquel. [MovieBS]

Subscribe to In the Dark, a weekly email with all my latest reviews, DVD releases, and Netflix recommendations.

Follow me on Twitter.

Weekly link roundup – Feb. 10-16

Eric D. Snider — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 05:28:57 +0000

Here are some reviews and other things that I wrote that you can click on with your Internet.

“A Good Day to Die Hard” D
“Beautiful Creatures” B- [Twitch]
“Safe Haven” D [Twitch]
“Barbara” B [About.com]
“NO” B+ [Twitch]

Snide Remarks: “Get Out of the Way, Idaho,” which discusses the strict regulation of minor infractions in The Potato State™

The Great Debate: “Casablanca” vs. “Gone with the Wind,” with me taking the correct side (“Casablanca”) and Corey Atad taking the losing side. [Film.com]

Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider: We reveal the entire boring-then-crazy plot of “Safe Haven,” plus reviews of “A Good Day to Die Hard,” “A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III,” and “Beautiful Creatures.” [MovieBS]

Subscribe to In the Dark, a weekly email with all my latest reviews, DVD releases, and Netflix recommendations.

Follow me on Twitter.

Link roundup – Feb. 3-9

Eric D. Snider — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 19:46:46 +0000

A few reviews, a Snide Remarks, an Eric’s Bad Movies — why, it was a week so full of things that you could scarcely ask for more things!

“Side Effects” B [Twitch]
“Identity Thief” D+ [Twitch]
“The Playroom” B+

Eric’s Bad Movies: “The Octagon” (1980), starring Chuck Norris as a man protecting someone from ninja assassins. [Film.com]

Snide Remarks: “Jamaican Me Crazy” — Adventures in getting offended by proxy, courtesy of the Super Bowl.

Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider: Episode 147 has reviews of “Identity Thief” and “Side Effects,” a quick preview of the Portland Int’l Film Festival, a round of Character Casserole, and a variety of other happy fun-time shenanigans. [MovieBS]

Subscribe to In the Dark, a weekly email with all my latest reviews, DVD releases, and Netflix recommendations.

Follow me on Twitter.

Link roundup – Jan. 13-Feb. 2

Eric D. Snider — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 02:35:16 +0000

January is always a busy month because of Sundance squatting in the second half of it, but this year that busyness was not manifested in my written output. Lots of traveling, administrating, strategizing, and recuperating, but less writing than usual. Such are the vagaries of festival coverage! Such are the caprices of fate. [Fart noise]

Here’s what has come out of my word hole over the last few weeks.

“Warm Bodies” B
“Stand Up Guys” C
“Parker” C+

Sundance things!

“Austenland” review [Twitch]
“Upstream Color” review [Twitch]
“Prince Avalanche” review [Twitch]
“Mud,” “Mister & Pete,” and This Year’s Breakout Kid Actors at Sundance [Movies.com]
“Escape from Tomorrow”: The Thrill of Sneaking Around Under Mickey Mouse’s Nose [Movies.com]
“Fruitvale” and “Valentine Road”: The Biggest Tearjerkers at Sundance [Movies.com]

Eric’s Bad Movies: “The Wraith” (1986), with Charlie Sheen as a supernatural manifestation/drag racer. [Film.com]

Snide Remarks: “Low-Capacity Magazines” — Another lesson in gossip interpretation.

Steven Soderbergh’s Top 5 and Bottom 5 Movies. [Film.com]

Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider: Episode 145 has talk of “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,” “Amour,” a Sundance wrap-up, and more. Episode 146 has “Warm Bodies,” “Stand Up Guys,” and more. [MovieBS]

Subscribe to In the Dark, a weekly email with all my latest reviews, DVD releases, and Netflix recommendations.

Follow me on Twitter.

Weekly link roundup – Jan. 6-12

Eric D. Snider — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 05:48:17 +0000

Ahh, the first full week of the new year. After all the hustle and bustle of November and December, it feels good to settle back into the regular routine! For exactly one week. And then it’s Sundance time. Busy busy! I am busy like, how you say, beaver. Here are the things I have beavered this week:

“Zero Dark Thirty” B+
“Gangster Squad” C [Twitch]
“Amour” B+
“The Impossible” B+
“I Am Not a Hipster” B

Eric’s Bad Movies: “The Curse” (1987), starring Wil Wheaton, Claude Akins, and no curses. [Film.com]

Comment: Why Are the ‘Django Unchained’ Action Figures Offensive? Spoiler: they’re not. [Film.com]

Hollywood’s New Year’s Resolutions. I got an exclusive! [Film.com]

Snide Remarks: “Anti-Anti-Semitism” — Hating the Jews seems like a lot of work.

Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider. You won’t want to miss our reviews of “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Gangster Squad,” “Rust and Bone,” plus the other lame stuff we talk about. [MovieBS]

Subscribe to In the Dark, a weekly email with all my latest reviews, DVD releases, and Netflix recommendations.

Follow me on Twitter.

All my stuff from the last couple weeks

Eric D. Snider — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 21:06:40 +0000

Happy new year! I hope you’re enjoying this “2013″ business so far. Here are the end-of-2012 pieces I wrote for you (yes, you specifically):

The Best and Worst Movies of 2012
Eric’s Media Inventory: What I Watched and Read in 2012
My ‘best’ film-related pieces from 2012
2012 film titles: a dramatic reading [Film.com]
The wide releases of 2012: a handy list

And here are the various reviews and other features from the last couple weeks, in case you haven’t been paying attention because of “Christmas” or whatever:

“Django Unchained” B [Twitch]
“This Is 40″ C+ [Twitch]
“Jack Reacher” B
“On the Road” B-
“Les Misérables” B [Twitch]

Snide Remarks: “Claus for Reflection” — Assorted yuletide childhood memories
Eric’s Bad Movies: “Creature” (2011), about a creature. [Film.com]

My ‘best’ film-related pieces from 2012

Eric D. Snider — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 21:16:30 +0000

Not counting reviews of new releases, I wrote 131 movie-related features for five websites (besides this one) in 2012. Of those, 96 were ongoing columns like Eric’s Bad Movies, What’s the Big Deal? (R.I.P.), and Re-Views (R.I.P.), to which you’ll find a thorough list of links elsewhere. The remaining 36 features varied in subject and tone, and some were better than others, and some I don’t remember writing. But here are the ones that I think are the least bad.

March 5: What Household Items Will Become Movies After the Board Games Are Used Up? [Film.com]

April 4: Things the Avengers Theoretically Would Not Assemble For [Film.com]

May 4: Every Girl’s Guide to ‘The Avengers,’ by Internet Princess Quartney Vagington [Film School Rejects]

June 22: The Apocalypse Is All the Rage [Film.com]

Aug. 1: The Aurora Tragedy: Have We Found Every Way to Exploit It? [Pajiba]

Aug. 3: Happy Anniversary to 1987, the Worst Year in Film History [Film.com]

Aug. 28: Pitch Meeting: ‘Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure’ [Film.com]

Aug. 29: ‘Beached’ and Other Animals-Raising-Kids Movies We Want to See [Movies.com]

Nov. 7: Quiz: Female Character in a James Bond Film, or Drag Queen We Made Up? [Pajiba]

Nov. 7: 007 By the Numbers: Every James Bond Statistic You Never Knew You Needed to Know [Movies.com]

Nov. 9: 007 By the Numbers: Part 2 [Movies.com]

Nov. 16: Dear ‘Twilight’: Thank You for Ending [Film.com]

Nov. 28: Movies That Should Be Remade by Name-Appropriate Directors [Twitch]

Dec. 6: Pitch Meeting: ‘Playing for Keeps’ [Film.com]

Dec. 7: Don’t Listen to Critics Who Say Negative Things About ‘The Hobbit,’ by Someone Who Has Not Seen ‘The Hobbit’ [Pajiba]

Dec. 13: 2012 Film Titles: A Dramatic Reading [Film.com]