Interesting, MJ, because the scene in Batman Begins where Bruce Wayne's parents are killed plays out like an NRA ad. Would that the NRA actually run this as an ad. I supposed they could super-impose something like this over the bodies of the dead Wayne's: " NRA: Guns don't kill, people with gu...

Raimi's Spider-man , an origin story, has considerable humor and a lot of action. Webb's The Amazing Spider-man , also an origin story (with some obligatory similar plot points to Raimi's, but a different story), deals considerably more with Parker's teenaged angst and has less action, although it i...

I hated Batman Begins so much that I swore not to watch any more comic book movies. I guess I wasn't ready for an NRA Batman NRA Batman? Batman is pretty famous for hating and not using guns, and that mythology is a part of The Dark Night series, particularly The Dark Night Rises where he flat out ...

I knew you'd know Borax! ("Any resemblance to the living or dead is the bunk.") Great cartoon.

I was almost done when I remembered ol' Neon Noodle, so just had to squeeze him in, too.

Many thanks!

The new Beatles compilation Tomorrow Never Knows is available as an exclusive on iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tomorr ... d545992709

Will my passport do? The first year we were required to have a photo ID to vote, I handed over my passport and the poll worker, who had only gotten driver's licenses before me, was going to reject the passport as ID until the head honcho came over and said passports would do. So whaddya think about...

Since I contributed to this subject, I should clarify my position on PLANET OF THE APES. It's not that I flat-out oppose retelling that particular story. I'm not one who holds up a cross and says, Remake, be gone! But Burton's film offers little new, little exciting; basically no reason to see the ...

There aren't enough horror/gangster films, but The Walking Dead is certainly the best.

I thought these were fascinating and wanted to share. They are a look at how Keaton used various shooting speeds to active some of his gags and stunts. (If you only want to sample one, I'd suggest part 4) [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfQgTirVhdY[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/w...

This is very confusing. You hate remakes, especially how they made a "true mockery of War of the Worlds ." But, you also "wouldn't mind seeing someone like Speilberg re-making Frankenstein …" You do realize that it was Speilberg who helmed the mockery ? (He's also guilty of Alway...

Stepping backwards, do we dare discuss the "Psycho" remake? I see Van Sant's remake of Psycho as an experiment. It was a deliberate attempt to re-shoot the film exactly as Hitchcock had done, same camera setups, dialogue, etc. As a film, it doesn't work all that well for me. But as an exp...

I would love to see a remake of Them . Done right, like, say, the remakes of Ocean's Eleven, The Italian Game and True Grit , to name a few, a remake of Them could be great. And if it's horrible, so what? It's gone as quickly as 08's The Women , and the classic film is still intact. Since Hollywood ...

Spoilers I think the film purposely blurs the line between reality and illusion. It begins with the two apparently meeting for the first time and building some kind of relationship as they talk with each other. (This is where I was reminded of Linklater). At the restaurant, the waitress assumes the...

RedRiver, you ask the eternal puzzling question. Not just with Burton's unnecessary redo of "Planet of the Apes" but the tampering of all classic cinema: Why? Why do I suddenly hear the ka-ching of the cash register? Hollywood has always done remakes. Fleming's Dr. Jekyll came out only te...

I very much liked Certified Copy . It's been a little while since I've seen it, but I found it very thought provoking as it asks quite a lot of questions about art and love. Like Linklater's Sunrise/Sunset films, it essentially is just two engaging people talking (with plenty of beautiful scenery fo...