Given the genre cred of Simon Pegg and the ascendance of Rosamund Pike, I approached Hector and the Search for Happiness with a certain level of curiosity. I was unfamiliar with the original novel by French author Francois Lelord and somehow missed the film’s release back in September. 20th Century Home Entertainment resolved that with…
Whenever some sports superstar gets caught doing something untoward, the media wrings its hands and repeatedly shouts “What type of role model is this? Think of the children! Think of the children!” Invariably, the sports superstar in question points out he’s not a role model, he’s a ball player, or whatever. Usually he’s not very…
I’m having a hard time focusing this week. See, Sunday is my annual Hanukkah party, and I’m in a tizzy making sure that I have enough food for my guests. My parents taught me that if I don’t have leftovers, I didn’t get enough. I don’t know how many people are coming. Which is complicated…
Once upon a time, there was a very bad man who got caught committing armed robbery. Caught red handed. But the very bad man was never brought to trial. Never convicted. Never even arrested. In fact, the bad man got away scott-free. And no one lived happily ever after. Except for the very bad man….
It’s a strange power. Almost a mutant ability. Being right for the wrong reason. Ask anyone who’s played a round of trivia with me, they’ll tell you. I frequently figure out the correct answer by making logical deductions from a known fact. Then, when I give my reasons for my answer, I’m told my “known”…
I can’t believe Dracula Untold got made. It’s an amazing jumble of nonsensical film parts that I can only believe the pitch meeting between screenwriters Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless and the development executive at Universal went something like this: Matt: So, we want to make a Dracula movie that tells the origin story of…
I really hate it when I’ve got nothing. Writing the column becomes a war between the empty page and my keyboard, with my brain as no-man’s land. It’s been like this since Friday. At times like this, when I’m feeling unengaged and disinherited from the comics industry and generally just plain discombobulated, I just want…
You think it’s hard to balance a life as a mother and a businesswoman, or that of a governor and a single dad, how about alternating trying to cultivate a new relationship while you’re off saving the universe? Clara Oswald has got this very problem. Luckily she down’t have to deal with it alone, she’s…
It is driving you absolutely mental, this whole time paradox business. You lie awake nights wondering what would happen if you hopped into a time machine and went into the past and killed your own grandpa when he was a child. Because, as you well know, if you offed gramps he would never beget your…
The first two Expendables films worked for me in the same way old-timers days work for me in baseball. They take a career that scarcely has any use for people over the hill and gave them a place to look relevant in a limited space. My biggest problem with The Expendables 3 is that it…
Ike Perlmutter and his legendary, ah, frugality… http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/v/MoviesNews/HowMarvelBecameEnvy This article first appeared in the August 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. In 2008, only a few years ago, Marvel Entertainment was operating …
Have you been noticing that the digital comics scene is a little… active… these days? You’ve got the market getting estimated at $90M for 2013. There are a lot of different reports about how many copies the same day digital editions sell. I’ve heard anywhere from 10% to 25% of the print sales. It seems…
