Blog
Michele Schalin is a plagiarist
Michele Schalin is a forty-something woman who lives in or near Austin, Texas, where she owns a web-design company, hosts a weekly Internet TV show (this you gotta see), and writes film reviews for her website, The Movie Junkies.
Well, that's misl...
Eric’s Bad Movies needs suggestions
I write a column called Eric's Bad Movies every week at Film.com. The premise is that I watch a bad movie and then make fun of it. It's not very complicated. But finding bad movies to write about can be tricky. That's where you come in!
It's time ...
Link roundup for the last few weeks
March has been a busy month for me, with a trip to Austin for the South By Southwest Film Festival, thence to Houston to visit friends, thence to a private hospital in Zurich for a few "procedures." The last one of these link roundups I posted was Ma...
Weekly link roundup – Feb. 25-March 2
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"The Lorax" (C+)
"Project X" (D-)
"Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie" (B)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Tentacles" (1977), starring John Huston, Shelley Winters, Shelley Winters' giant hat, and an oc...
Weekly link roundup – Feb. 18-24
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Wanderlust" (B+)
"Act of Valor" (D+)
"Gone" (D-)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Bulletproof" (1996), starring Adam Sandler and one of the Wayanseses.
What's the Big Deal?: "American Graffiti" (1973)...
Please help send Movie B.S. to Cannes!
As you may know, I am the cohost of a weekly podcast called "Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider." I'm the Snider part; my friend and colleague Jeff Bayer is the Bayer part. (It took a while to settle on those roles, but we're happy with the way it turn...
Weekly link roundup – Feb. 11-17
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" (C-)
"This Means War" (D+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
What's the Big Deal?: "Ben-Hur" (1959), full of chariots, slave ships, Christian allegories, and Charlton Heston.
Re-Views: "Sp...
Weekly link roundup – Feb. 4-10
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Safe House" (C)
"The Vow" (C)
"Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" (C+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "The Dungeonmaster" (1984), featuring neither dungeons nor masters.
Re-Views: "Masked and Anonymou...
The state of Snide Remarks address
My fellow Internet users, I am pleased to stand before you this evening to present the annual state of Snide Remarks address, which has never happened before and isn't even really a "thing."
It has been 11 months since the new batch of Kickstarter...
Link roundup for the last couple weeks
Excuse me, waiter, you brought out the February too early. I wasn't finished with my January yet! No, it's OK, not a big deal. I'm just saying. Anyway, here's everything that's happened in the last couple weeks, linkwise.
SUNDANCE:
At Film Scho...
Weekly link roundup – Jan. 7-13
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"We Need to Talk About Kevin" (A-)
"Joyful Noise" (C-)
"Contraband," which has to do with Marky Mark taping drugs to his chest and sneaking them somewhere, or something like that, was screened at the same time as "Joyful No...
Randy Newman’s title song from the movie ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’
Since "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is a very serious and harrowing movie, I thought it would be funny if it had a jaunty, shufflin', New Orleans-y theme song by Randy Newman.
This is what I came up with. Being a huge fan of Randy Newman, his olde...
Weekly link roundup – Jan. 1-6
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"The Iron Lady" (B-)
"The Devil Inside" (F)
"Pariah" (B)
"Angels Crest" (B)
"Roadie" (C+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Double Dragon" (1994), which was the second video game movie ever made and help...
Link roundup for the last couple weeks
Here's everything you might have missed in the second half of December, along with all my end-of-the-year stuff.
END-OF-THE-YEAR STUFF:
The Best and Worst Movies of 2011. Plus miscellaneous data.
Eric's Media Inventory. What I watched and read...
My ‘best’ film-related pieces from 2011
Here is a pile of links to some of my one-off movie columns from this year that you might find "funny" or "interesting" or "not very long." Except as noted, all of these were for Film.com, where my editor, Laremy, is nearly always responsible for com...
All the wide releases of 2011
Do you like lists of things? Then here is one! It is a list of the 141 movies that 1) opened in the United States in 2011 and 2) played on at least 600 screens. Movies that opened smaller but eventually got to 600 screens are included, as long as the...
Weekly link roundup – Dec. 10-16
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" (B+)
"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" (B-)
"Young Adult" (B)
"The Sitter" (D+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Hunk" (1987), about a dweeb who sells his soul ...
Help defeat my friend’s evil kidney
Dawn Taylor was the first new friend I made when I moved to Portland in 2005. We'd had some Internet interactions before that through our membership in the Online Film Critics Society, but we didn't meet in person until she sat next to me at the "Fan...
Weekly link roundup – Dec. 3-9
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"New Year's Eve" (D-)
"Shame" (B)
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (C+)
"I Melt with You" (D)
"Hugo" (B+)
"Melancholia" (B-)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Under the Cherry Moon" (1986), starring Prince,...
Weekly link roundup – Nov. 26-Dec. 2
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
There aren't any movies this week, because Hollywood has forsaken us. Maybe you should think about what you did wrong.
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Steel Dawn" (1987), a dull post-apocalyptic Western in ...
Weekly link roundup – Nov. 19-25
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"The Muppets" (A-)
"Arthur Christmas" (B+)
I don't have a review of "Hugo." Here's why, as explained in this week's In the Dark email:
Martin Scorsese directed this charming adaptation of the novel "The Invention of Hugo C...
Weekly link roundup – Nov. 12-18
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Happy Feet Two" (B-)
"Breaking Dawn -- Part 1" (B-)
"The Descendants" (B+)
"Like Crazy" (A-)
"Immortals" (C)
"The Lie" (B+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Body of Evidence" (1993), starring Madonna...
Weekly link roundup – Nov. 5-11
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Jack and Jill" (D)
"J. Edgar" (C-)
"Martha Marcy May Marlene" (B+)
"The Skin I Live In" (C+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Roller Boogie" (1979), starring Linda Blair and a real live artistic roller...
The annual Amazon.com reminder
With the Unspecified Holiday Season having descended upon us, you have perhaps wondered, "How can my gift shopping benefit Eric D. Snider?" And the answer lies in the Amazon affiliate program.
It’s simple. Every time you plan to buy something on...
Weekly link roundup – Oct. 29-Nov. 4
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Tower Heist" (B-)
"A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" (B-)
"Anonymous" (C+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "The Gate" (1987), about a backyard portal to hell.
What's the Big Deal?: "The Sound o...
Weekly link roundup – Oct. 22-28
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Puss in Boots" (B)
"The Rum Diary" (C+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" (1993), the glorious conclusion to the groundbreaking trilogy.
What's the Big Deal?: "Franken...
Weekly link roundup – Oct. 15-21
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"The Three Musketeers" (F)
"Johnny English Reborn" (C)
"Paranormal Activity 3" (B-)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "The Allnighter" (1987), best known as the movie that launched Bangles lead singer Susa...
Eric D. Snider programming updates
Things are hoppin' over here at Eric D. Snider headquarters! The Laotian kids who work in my sweatshop are barely able to keep up with the demand. This calls for some reorganization -- but don't worry, nothing is being discontinued. (A column being d...
Weekly link roundup – Oct. 8-14
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"The Thing" (C+)
"The Big Year" (C+)
Why no "Footloose" review? Because while the movie screened several times in Portland, the only screening critics were allowed to attend was the one that conflicted with the actual only ...
Weekly link roundup – Oct. 1-7
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Real Steel" (C+)
"The Ides of March" (B+)
"Tucker and Dale vs Evil" (B+)
"The Human Centipede 2" (D)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
What's the Big Deal?: "Sullivan's Travels" (1941), an affectionate Hollywood satire that...
Angry Letter: Don’t mock newspapers!
I got this email a few weeks ago from a Film.com reader. It will be relevant for you to know that my author bio at Film.com says this: "Eric has been a film critic since 1999, and a beard wearer since 2008. He holds a degree in journalism and used to...
Weekly link roundup – Sept. 17-30
My schedule has been all cattywampus lately because of getting ready for Fantastic Fest, and then going to Fantastic Fest, and then recovering from Fantastic Fest. Some columns haven't been running on their regular schedule, which is normally the ver...
Weekly link roundup – Sept. 10-16
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Drive" (A-)
"I Don't Know How She Does It" (D)
"Straw Dogs" (C+)
"Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star" (F)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: The schedule on this column has been a little wacky lately, and wi...
Weekly link roundup – Aug. 27-Sept. 9
This is two weeks' worth of stuff, actually, because I missed last week's update, because of reasons.
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Contagion" (B)
"Warrior" (B)
"Apollo 18" (D)
"Beware the Gonzo" (B-)
"Attack the Block" (B+)
"A Good Old Fashioned O...
2011 fall TV premiere dates
It's the most wonderful time of the year! Fall TV! Here is a list of season premiere dates for the networks and a handful of cable outlets whose shows I think are noteworthy. New series are marked with an asterisk. Rev up your DVRs!
"30 Rock" and ...
Weekly link roundup – Aug. 20-26
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" (B)
"Colombiana" (C)
"Higher Ground" (A-)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Happy Birthday to Me" (1981), chosen entirely at random.
What's the Big Deal?: "Some Like It ...
Weekly link roundup – Aug. 13-19
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Fright Night" (B)
"Conan the Barbarian" (C-)
"One Day" (C+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Hercules in New York" (1969). In honor of "Conan the Barbarian," forever associated with Schwarzenegger, I w...
Weekly link roundup – Aug. 6-12
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"The Help" (B+)
"Final Destination 5" (C+)
"30 Minutes or Less" (B-)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Top Dog" (1995). Chuck Norris is a cop; a dog is his partner. It writes itself.
What's the Big D...
Weekly link roundup – July 30-Aug. 5
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (B+)
"The Change-Up" (B-)
"Bellflower" (A-)
"Another Earth" (C+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: ... took the week off.
What's the Big Deal?: "Grand Illusion" (1937)...
Weekly link roundup – July 23-29
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Cowboys & Aliens" (C+)
"Crazy Stupid Love" (B+)
"The Future" (B+)
"The Guard" (B)
"Point Blank" (A-)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Cyborg" (1989), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, but not as a ...
Weekly link roundup – July 16-22
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Captain America: The First Avenger" (B)
"Friends with Benefits" (B+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Butterfly" (1982), in which a sultry young Pia Zadora puts the moves on Stacy Keach, who is her fath...
Weekly link roundup – July 9-15
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" (B+)
"Winnie the Pooh" (A-)
"Tabloid" (B)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Magic in the Water" (1995). A children's movie about the Canadian equivalent of t...
Weekly link roundup – July 2-8
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Horrible Bosses" (B+)
"Zookeeper" (D+)
"Terri" (C+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Furry Vengeance" (2010). One of the benefits of not reviewing something terrible when it comes out is that I can go ...
Weekly link roundup – June 25-July 1
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (C)
"Larry Crowne" (D+)
"Monte Carlo" (B-)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: Has the week off, for freedom and America.
What's the Big Deal?: "Mean Streets" (1973). Thi...
Weekly link roundup – June 18-24
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Cars 2" (C-)
"Bad Teacher" (C)
"Conan O'Brien Can't Stop" (B+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Lost in Space" (1998). The very picture of a bloated, pointless big-screen version of a TV show.
What...
Weekly link roundup – June 11-17
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Green Lantern" (B-)
"Mr. Popper's Penguins" (D-)
"The Art of Getting By" (C-)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Freejack" (1992). You know how sometimes you're a race-car driver who gets pulled into the...
Weekly link roundup – June 4-10
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Super 8" (B+)
"The Trip" (B)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Hawk the Slayer" (1980). A true gem in the Bad Movies crown, and one I'd never heard of until one of you knuckleheads suggested it. Who was i...
Weekly link roundup – May 28-June 3
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"X-Men: First Class" (A-)
"Midnight in Paris" (B+)
* * * * *
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Teen Wolf Too" (1987). Let's be honest, the first "Teen Wolf" wasn't exactly a great movie anyway, but this sequel -- u...
Weekly link roundup – May 21-27
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Kung Fu Panda 2" (B-)
"The Hangover Part II" (C+)
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Thrashin'" (1986). There were several skateboard-centric movies in the 1980s. I chose this one because it was available on Netflix. ...
Weekly link roundup – May 14-20
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Pirates of the Caribbean" (C-)
"Priest" (C)
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Cutthroat Island" (1995). This is far from the worst movie I've dealt with in this column. In fact, seeing it the same week as the new "Pirates ...
Weekly link roundup: May 7-13
NEW MOVIE REVIEWS:
"Bridesmaids" (B)
"Priest" (C)
"Everything Must Go" (B+)
"Hesher" (B+)
MOVIE COLUMNS:
Eric's Bad Movies: "Bats" (1999). Starring bats. As a personal challenge, I didn't make any Batman jokes.
What's the Big Deal?: "Lawr...
Eric’s Bad Movies needs suggestions!
It is time once again to solicit suggestions for Eric's Bad Movies! This is a weekly column that I write for Film.com, in case you didn't know, and I rely upon you, the readers, to point me in the direction of terrible movies that deserve mockery. Tr...
Weekly link roundup: April 30-May 6
New movie reviews:
"Thor" (B)
"Hobo with a Shotgun" (A-)
"The Beaver" (B+)
"Something Borrowed" (D) [Film.com]
Even in death, Bin Laden entertains
The best thing you can do with Twitter is use it to fire off one-liners seconds after a news event happens. We once had to wait until the next night's talk show monologues or "Saturday Night Live's" Weekend Update to get this kind of joke; now it's t...
‘Snide Remarks’ bombshell: I’m dumb
So here's the thing. Remember that one time when I had the Kickstarter campaign for a year of "Snide Remarks," and the deal was that I'd do 50 columns in 52 weeks -- basically every Monday, except that I'd get a couple weeks off? Well, do you know wh...
Friday link roundup – April 22
OK, so there are three new wide releases this week, and I didn't see any of them. I am not to blame, however! I am blameless.
Tyler Perry's "Madea's Big Happy Family" wasn't screened for critics at all. I caught it Friday afternoon and reviewed it...
Friday link roundup – April 15
This used to be the Friday Movie Roundup, a collection of links to my reviews and movie-related features from the previous week. But from now on it's the Friday Roundup of Links to Many Types of Things (title still in development). It'll still be the...
Friday movie roundup – April 8
If you follow me or any other movie-oriented people on Twitter, you probably know that the fine movie blog Cinematical was essentially shut down this week, with the last of the editors quitting and nearly all of the writers (including me) being dismi...
Friday movie roundup – April 1
Five new reviews for you this week, four of which are not new at all because they're movies that played at South By Southwest a few weeks ago. That makes things easier for me, which I like!
"Source Code," starring Jake Gyllenhaal, was the SXSW ope...
A big pile of my SXSW links
South By Southwest was a blast, as always. The film lineup might have been the best since I started going (2006), and it was great to see so many old friends and colleagues and to meet several new ones.
Here are links to all my SXSW reviews and fe...
Friday movie roundup – March 11
Remember how last weekend had a couple of great new movie options? Well, go see those. This weekend's offerings are significantly less thrilling.
The best of the lot is "Battle Los Angeles," a solid collection of war-movie cliches applied to an al...
‘Airplane!’ director David Zucker on comedy
Last week I wrote something for Film.com about "Duck Soup," the loony Marx Brothers movie from 1933. In discussing the influence the Marxes had on modern comedy, I mentioned the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker team that made "Airplane!," "Naked Gun," and "Top...
Friday movie roundup – March 4
Well, lookee here! It's the first really good movie weekend of the year! Our false gods in Hollywood have not forsaken us after all!
I love two of the new releases: "The Adjustment Bureau," a smart 'n' twisty sci-fi romantic thriller (?) starring ...
My Oscar predictions and wagering
Jeff Bayer is not just my friend, colleague, and podcast co-host. He is also my rival and sworn enemy. So on this week's "Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider," we wagered on who could correctly predict the most winners at Sunday's Academy Awards. The lo...
Friday movie roundup – Feb. 25
Two new wide releases this weekend, and they're both super R-rated. But a couple weeks ago there were two G-rated releases at once ("Gnomeo and Juliet" and the Justin Bieber thing), so it balances out.
"Hall Pass" (review at Film.com) is a not-ver...
My Twitter philosophies: a manifesto
Many people have no use at all for Twitter, and good for them. But for people like myself, who are basically sitting at their computers all day, Twitter is an excellent way to stay connected to the world, to keep up with friends and colleagues, and t...
Friday movie roundup – Feb. 18
If you like mild, PG-13-rated adventures that are sort of good but not great, then this is your weekend!
In "Unknown" (review at Film.com), Liam Neeson wakes up from a coma to find that nobody knows who he is, and that maybe he isn't who he though...
Friday movie roundup – Feb. 11
Monday is Valentine's Day, yet the closest thing to a romantic comedy opening this weekend is "Just Go with It," starring Adam Sandler as a pathological liar who must create a fake soon-to-be-ex-wife in order to date the smokin' hot babe he met at a ...
Help my niece help the Ukrainians
Do you love baked goods? Do you love helping Ukrainian orphans escape a life of poverty and Ukrainianism? Do you love seeing adorable 6-year-olds endeavor to bless the lives of others? Then this is your lucky day, Hector!
In Utah dwells one Gary C...
2011 Sundance Film Festival linkage
Maybe it was just the luck of the draw, or maybe I'm getting better at selecting which movies I see, or maybe the high altitude is finally making me loopy, but the 2011 Sundance Film Festival seemed like one of the best in several years. Of the 24 mo...
Friday movie roundup – Jan. 21
Just FYI, no one in Hollywood cares if you go to the movies this weekend.
The one wide release, "No Strings Attached" -- in which Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman have non-committal sex until (I'm guessing?) one or the other falls in love -- was...
Wishing Mom well on her new knee
My sainted mother, known colloquially as Momma Snider, is having her knee replaced today! Wouldn't you like to post a comment wishing her a speedy recovery and abundant health and happiness??
To answer some questions:
Yes, she is having it done...
Everything Ricky Gervais said last night
Here is a transcript of everything Ricky Gervais said at the 2011 Golden Globes on Sunday night. This hardly does it justice, of course, since timing and delivery are so important. (You can see a video of the first four minutes -- up through the Hugh...
Friday movie roundup – Jan. 14
Well, "The Green Hornet" isn't as bad as we thought it might be, given the problems in its production and its release date shift from primo December to dumping-ground January, and its starring Seth Rogen as a superhero. It's not bad at all, actually,...
Friday movie roundup – Jan. 7
Hello, and welcome to January, the month where movies go to die!
The first sacrificial lamb of 2011 is "Season of the Witch" (review at Cinematical), a long-delayed medieval fantasy starring Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman. It is stupid and corny, th...
A year of new ‘Snide Remarks’?
In a perfect world, I would be writing "Snide Remarks" every week, and you would be reading it, and all would be edified. Our world is imperfect -- but together we can take a step toward remedying that!
I'm excited to officially announce a Kicksta...
Friday movie roundup – Dec. 31
Happy New Year! 2011, specifically, is the year that I hope will prove happy for you. As usual, no one bothered to release any big new movies over New Year's weekend, but we have some other things to discuss.
Here are my two end-of-the-year featur...
Film.com and Cinematical: 2010 in review
The organizations that keep me most gainfully employed are Film.com and Cinematical. The editors I work with -- Laremy Legel at the former, Erik Davis and Scott Weinberg at the latter -- are a writer's dream: supportive, professional, laid-back, and ...
All the wide releases of 2010
For people who like lists of things, here is a list of the 137 movies that opened in wide release in the United States in 2010. "Wide release" means it played in at least 1,000 theaters. Some movies started much smaller than that and expanded; this l...
Wednesday movie roundup – Dec. 22
It's that magical time of year when movies come out on Wednesday instead of Friday! It is a Christmas miracle.Â
Among new wide releases, your best option is "True Grit," the Coen brothers' rip-roarin' new adaptation of the 1968 novel. Jeff Bridge...
Friday movie roundup – Dec. 17
Exactly one year -- 52 Fridays ago -- a movie called "Avatar" was released to much fanfare. It was universally admired for its amazing visual effects and stunningly realistic imaginary world, but criticized for its lackluster story. In honor of this ...
Friday movie roundup – Dec. 10
Nothing but a big pile of meh for you this weekend. (Yes, it's still Friday as I post this. Let's agree to that.)
The "the"-heavy sequel "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (review at Film.com) is just good enough to be cons...
Friday movie roundup – Dec. 3
Weep with sorrow, ye denizens of the multiplex, for Hollywood has forsaken you! Only one new film opens in wide release this week, and it wasn't screened for critics, and it's about ninjas and cowboys. It's called "The Warrior's Way." Review to come....
My ‘comedy’ ‘songs’ are on the Internet
One of the secrets from my past is that I recorded two CDs of live comedy. Mostly it's me playing the piano and singing, though there is also some talking. (I am better at talking than singing.) "Will Make Jokes for Food" came out in 2003, with the f...
Friday movie roundup – Nov. 26
I hope that your Thanksgiving was suitably happy and gluttonous. Goodness knows mine was. The cold that I've been working on for a few days subsided long enough to enjoy the holiday, but now it is back and I am loopy. Loooooooopy. This is all stuff t...
Friday movie roundup – Nov. 19
In brief: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" (review at Cinematical) is very good; "The Next Three Days" is pretty good; "Skyline" (from last week) is dumb.
Over at Film.com, I wrote a report from the year 2020, and also offered relati...
Friday movie roundup – Nov. 12
The train in "Unstoppable" is, in fact, stoppable, and "127 Hours" is barely an hour and a half long. Otherwise, those movies are pretty good. Especially "127 Hours," which is still in limited release but will soon be more widely available.
"Morni...
Friday movie roundup – Nov. 5
Citizens of Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Austin, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington D.C. should skip the big studio releases this weekend and see "Four Lions," which is a very funny and dark British comedy about terrorism. Goodness knows we coul...
Friday movie roundup – Oct. 29
Pardon the non-Fridayness of this Friday Movie Roundup. There was a technical issue with Eric's brain on Friday that caused it to seize up and not do anything.
But there aren't any movies anyway, so whatever. "Saw 3D" (review at Cinematical), one ...
Friday movie roundup – Oct. 22
'Tis the bewitching season, as ye well know. Clint Eastwood's latest movie, "Hereafter," is a very slow and boring rumination on the afterlife, while "Paranormal Activity 2" (review at Film.com) offers more of what "Paranormal Activity" offered, i.e....
Friday movie roundup – Oct. 15
This is the weekend of movies about people doing serious bodily harm to themselves and others. All hail pain!
"RED" is about some retired CIA people who are called back into action to do some killin', and it's OK, not great. Then "Jackass 3D" (rev...
Friday movie roundup – Oct. 8
Do you like horses who run very fast in comparison to other horses? Then the story of Secretariat is probably among your favorites! The movie "Secretariat" (review at Cinematical), however, pretty generic stuff.
Do you like romantic comedies in wh...
Friday movie roundup – Oct. 1
Welcome to the fourth quarter of the year, i.e., the one where the good movies are! Good day to you, late-summer-blahs! I said good day!
October brings two excellent films that could easily have been terrible. "The Social Network," about the found...
Friday movie roundup – Sept. 24
There is a movie about owls coming out today, so that should make you owl lovers happy. It's called "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," which sounds like the title of something I would not like but that turns out to be pretty entertainin...
Friday movie roundup – Sept. 17
Yeah, I don't know why this didn't go up on Friday. Goblins?
Ben Affleck's "The Town" is wicked smaht. "Easy A" is a sharp, funny teen comedy. "Devil" (produced by M. Night Shyamalan), one of Hollywood's Shameful Secrets®, is mediocre but not bad....
‘What’s the Big Deal?’ needs big deals
Thank you all for your suggestions for "Eric's Bad Movies" a few weeks ago, and feel free to continue contributing ideas by posting comments in that thread. Now I come to you again seeking suggestions for my other Film.com column, "What's the Big Dea...
Friday movie roundup – Sept. 10
It's time for the post-summer doldrums, with only one new wide release this weekend, and one aimed at a specific demographic. Everyone else can just stay home.
"Resident Evil: Afterlife" -- one of Hollywood's Shameful Secrets® in that it was not s...
Friday movie roundup – Sept. 3
Since Labor Day weekend is usually pretty slow at the box office, Hollywood tends to put out movies that aren't particularly worth seeing anyway. Or maybe the mediocrity of the movies is why Labor Day weekend tends to be slow. Who knows/cares? Either...
2010 fall TV premiere dates
Culled from various generally reliable sources. All times are Pacific and Eastern. People in the flyover time zones probably already know that everything comes on an hour earlier there. Besides, you have DVRs, so what difference does it make what tim...
Friday movie roundup – Aug. 27
The end of summer is always a little sad, though it's made merrier by my birthday (which was Thursday; thanks for the many tweets and e-mails!). Late-August movies tend to be kinda stinky, too, so it's nice that this year's batch isn't bad.
"The L...
