SEINFELD WRITES TO THE NEW YORK TIMES. REALLY.

Jerry Seinfeld has not only starred in one of the most successful sitcoms in TV history, he has now set a record for the most-read letter-to-the-editor of the New York Times on the newspaper’s website. Seinfeld’s letter was touched off by a column by the Times‘s media critic Neil Genzlinger about his contempt for the […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA

What do monster movies and Adam Sandler movies have in common? Well, usually it’s that they both get lousy reviews. But Hotel Transylvania isn’t really a monster movie — the animated monsters in it are rather cute — and it’s not really an Adam Sandler movie — although Sandler does provide the voice of Dracula. […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: THE EXPENDABLES 2

Given the surprising success of the original The Expendables, Lionsgate quickly ordered a sequel, and voilá, just two years later, here it is — and it’s nabbing more favorable reviews than its predecessor. Mind you, most of those reviews appear to be written reluctantly. Neil Genzlinger in the New York Times, for example, remarks that […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS

The expectations for the third installment of the Wimpy Kid franchise aren’t high. But the same could have been said about last year’s sequel, Rodrick Rules, which, to everyone’s surprise turned up at the top of the box office. Like its two predecessors, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is receiving several decent reviews. […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: STEP UP REVOLUTION

Clearly one doesn’t go to the Step Up movies expecting a compelling story, gripping performances, or awesome special effects. They’re all about one thing: the dancing. More Bollywood than Hollywood. And they’re clearly not most critics’ cup of Darjeeling. So, how’s the dancing in Step Up Revolution? Frank Levece in Newsday says it’s OK. “While […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: BATTLESHIP

Stupid. That’s the general consensus of critics reviewing the big-budget, board-game-based, sci-fi epic Battleship, about aliens bent on destroying the world. Take Amy Biancolli’s review in the San Francisco Chronicle: “It’s loud, it’s large, it’s stupid, and its best gag involves a chicken burrito. It features Taylor Kitsch wearing many more clothes, and maybe one […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: PROJECT X

Of all the major U.S. newspaper film critics, only one gives Project X a favorable review — Neil Genzlinger, who refers to himself as a “second tier” arts critic for the New York Times. And what a favorable review it is! “The Oscars are swell, but once in a while a film comes along that […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: JOURNEY: MYSTERIOUS ISLAND

There’s not much point in approaching Journey 2: Mysterious Island as serious cinema fare. It’s one of those “lost island” tales with volcanoes threatening to erupt, prehistoric creatures on the loose, and pristine jungles with nary a dead leaf to spoil the greenery. “This is transcendently goofy,” Roger Ebert remarks in the Chicago Sun-Times, remarking […]

TV REVIEWS: SMASH

Pinning its recovery hopes on a show about a Broadway show, NBC is launching Smash tonight (Monday) with a $7-million pilot that will be followed by a weekly series costing $4 million per episode. (The network has also reportedly spent as much as $25 million to promote the series.) If the public’s reaction is anything […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: ARTHUR CHRISTMAS

Arthur Christmas has already brought the gift of smiles to the faces of generally hard-boiled critics. It’s one of those animated films, they say, that parents don’t have to merely endure but can actually enjoy. There are “plenty of sly jokes for grown-ups,” Neil Genzlinger assures his readers in the New York Times, while Amy […]

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