Obvious statement: there are things to love and things to hate about the new Harry Potter movie. Some changes they made, such as the shield around the castle, were fun and even sensible. Others, such as the omission of the confrontation in the Ravenclaw Common Room and the long, drawn out fight against Voldemort at the [...]

Poor, poor summer of 2010. You’re like the Jan Brady of summers; a complete disappointment to everyone. You don’t yet have a Marcia’s-nose-sized box office explosion like Dark Knight, Finding Nemo , or Transformers 2 , nor do you have an adorable Cindy-indie (500) Days of Summer or Little Miss Sunshine . Even your two biggest hits so far, Iron Man 2 and Shrek Forever [...]

I just watched the 24 series finale. And I feel odd. I feel sad, wistful, old, regretful, youthful, and invigorated. Which is probably a bit too many emotions to feel over the end of a pulpy television show with a one-torture-per-three-episodes requirement. One night, a few years ago, I met up with an ex in a pub in London. We [...]

Ah, Kick-Ass. Don’t you just love when a comic book thing becomes the hot topic du jour? Well, I don’t, but that’s for another entry. There are about a billion and one topics I can talk about with Kick-Ass. There’s Hit-Girl and how for some reason, holding a kid at gunpoint or knife point (as seen in numerous films, [...]

Citizen Kane is quite an anomaly when you think about it. Or at least its reputation is. Can anyone agree on the best novel ever written? If asked, someone might throw out Joyce’s Ulysses, but another might immediately counter with Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu or Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina . Even if you limited the question to novels [...]

Another month, another holiday, another list of ten. In honor of Easter, I have decided to take this time to celebrate my ten favorite methods of resurrection in fiction! Originally, I was going to do my ten favorite resurrected characters, but there are just too many of them. And, for those of you offended, just think: [...]

“Song is awesome vid is gay” (airballer 13) “umm the video is kinda……….. if you know wat i mean like WTF!? Lol” (aliciaboo12) “This song rules I mean it but the video just sucks. Love this band and song” (Nevertrustme232) “never ever ever trust a ho HAHAHAHA this song is kinda insulting to girls but i frickin love it” [...]

Last week, I, like most Americans my age, found myself in a rapturous stupor over the nirvana that is Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s video for “ Telephone.” And then I, like many, listened to “Telephone” around a bajillion times, all the while thinking about the video. One of the roughly bajillion things I loved about the video [...]

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! While I could do an entry on favorite Irish characters or green stuff or best movies with carbombs, I have chosen instead to do something far classier and more appropriate to honor such a special day for my fellow Irish-Americans. Without further adieu, I give you the ten fictional places at [...]

The past month, I had a few dreams that have been parodies/homages of The Wizard of Oz . Naturally, I mean the movie, not the book, as the dreams tend to be Technicolor spectacles and involve me skipping down the Yellow Brick Road (since, ever since Judy Garland did so in 1939, there really has not been an [...]

25 Thoughts on the Oscars: 1. The Oscars amuse me so much. Just think of the concept of all those actors gathered in one studio, all just sitting next to each other. The whole image is sort of hilarious when you take a step back. 2. I am sick of Neil Patrick Harris. I know, I know – [...]

Twas the night before Oscar, And all through my head, I thought of the picks, That would make me wish I were dead. Maybe my head wasn’t screwed on just right, Or maybe it was that I wanted a fight, But all the stars in Hollywood and all the – Er, I’m a bit confused. Anyway, on Oscar Eve, I have decided to [...]

Up to now, I’ve speculated and weighed in on quite a few categories and awards. But there is one I have not mentioned: The Dead Person Popularity Contest. For those of you who are not Oscar savvy, the Dead Person Popularity Contest is the part of the Awards show where they “pay tribute to those who have [...]

In a supreme act of nerdiness and/or unemployedness, today I watched all the shorts that were nominated for Oscars, both live and animated. A local Clearview was playing both and since I get two free tickets to Clearviews thanks to my Optimum account, I decided I might as well watch. Watching shorts in a theater is a [...]

This entry is going to be a bit more personal/auto-biographical than my usual work. This past summer, I received a Kindle as a graduation present. My mom’s fiancé (who is a standup guy) got it for me with the best intentions; he knew I was a bibliophile and thought I should try out the much-discussed “next [...]

Time for me to finish off my predictions and ranting. Well, sort of. I have a few more crazy things in store for the BAH!scars before the big night…but before I get to those, time to do my good duty as a blogger and weigh in on the rest of the big categories. Best Direction “Avatar” — James [...]

I don’t exactly understand the title myself, but like many a line in a Bruce Springsteen song, it sounds cool despite not be completely decipherable. Now, without further ado, I present my take on the four acting categories. Actor in a Leading Role Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” George Clooney in “Up in the Air” Colin Firth in “A Single [...]

Welcome back to another installment of the BAH!scars! This entry really requires no introduction…so I’ll stop now. Level 1 – the Other 3 These were the three films that were kind of the toss-up when it came to the Best Picture nomination discussion. Obviously, they all stand an Aronofsky’s chance of winning (despite Aronofsky’s films being able to [...]

Sunday’s Valentine’s Day. You know what that means: every restaurant is booked. Dammit! In honor of the event and to spite everyone who is being wined and dined, I present 10 movies that fuck with love and show how love fucks with you. Note 1: SPOILERS. If you haven’t seen a movie and don’t want it spoiled, [...]

As some of you may know, Sony is currently considering rereleasing classics in 3-D . Granted, I do not know what exactly they mean by “classics.” This article mentions Spider-Man and Casino Royale alongside Taxi Driver , but as someone who tutors high schoolers, I do know that there are people who consider anything pre- Juno “old.” How far back would this go? Would [...]