If you are at all interested in the possibility of a North American DVD release for Song of the South (1946; my comments), or if you are at all interested in the controversy that has flared up over the upcoming The Princess and the Frog — formerly known as The Frog Princess, until Disney changed the title to avoid offending people — then you have to read Jim Hill’s latest report. Read more

As if the American ratings system wasn’t politicized or puritanical or murky enough as it is, the MPAA says it will now “consider” all forms of smoking when rating films — but it is not at all clear what this will actually mean in practice. Variety reports: Responding to years of criticism from child advocacy groups and health organization, the Motion Picture Assn. of America announced Thursday it is expanding its current consideration of teen smoking to all smoking when... Read more

A few years ago, there was a kerfuffle in Christian movie-critic circles over the revelation that “Dr.” Ted Baehr is sometimes paid to promote films that he reviews for his magazine, Movieguide. I was reminded of that yesterday while watching the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated, which notes that the MPAA’s ratings appeal board includes two religious representatives, one Protestant and one Catholic. And while the film doesn’t mention it, both of these church representatives write film reviews,... Read more

The ever-vigilant Lou Lumenick says one of the films opening this week — Delta Farce, starring Larry the Cable Guy — “isn’t good enough to be screened in advance for critics”. That might be true in the States — and certainly the last live-action film to star Larry the Cable Guy, Health Inspector, wasn’t screened for critics — but for what it’s worth, there was a screening here in Vancouver on Monday. I might have gone, if it hadn’t been... Read more

… the result is Escape from Planet Earth. Saith the Hollywood Reporter: Ed Jones, an executive producer on feature animation Oscar winner “Happy Feet,” has joined Rainmaker Animation to produce “Escape From Planet Earth.” The Weinstein Co. is financing the comedy and will handle worldwide distribution. Additionally, Steve Nichols has joined Rainmaker as animation director. . . . The film marks the first theatrical animated feature for Rainmaker. Production began last week at the company’s Vancouver facility; voice talent has... Read more

What a beautiful film. I regret missing it during its theatrical run. Visually, musically, thematically, and in terms of the actors’ performances, there is quite a bit to chew on here, and I find I’m still thinking about it the day after I watched the DVD. No time for a review, but two brief points. First, I was struck by how this film seemed, at first, to follow that old rule of portraying marital sex by not portraying it —... Read more

Well this sucks: Asserting that our neighbors to the north have become major suppliers of pirated pics around the globe, Warner Bros. is taking the unprecedented step of canceling all promotional and word of mouth screenings there until the Canadian government makes it illegal to take camcorders into theaters. According to Warners, more than 70% of all pirated Warners titles released over the past 18 months originated in Canada. “Within the first week of a film’s release, you can almost... Read more

Barbara Nicolosi announced today that she and some partners have secured the film rights to Sheldon Vanauken’s A Severe Mercy, which she will adapt into a screenplay. She calls it “a really beautiful and wonderful project with strong transcendent themes (and a cameo appearance by C.S. Lewis!)”, and while I have not yet read the book myself, the review at Amazon.com indicates that it is an autobiographical story dealing with pagan love, Christian conversion, jealousy, grief, and the relationship between... Read more

Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest. Hot Fuzz — CDN $2,120,000 — N.AM $16,145,000 — 13.1%Fracture — CDN $3,340,000 — N.AM $26,453,000 — 12.6%Next — CDN $1,170,000 — N.AM $11,835,000 — 9.9%Blades of Glory — CDN $10,120,000 — N.AM $111,632,000 — 9.1%Spider-Man 3 — CDN $12,250,000 — N.AM $148,000,000 — 8.3%Disturbia — CDN $4,880,000 — N.AM... Read more

It’s awards season again — and apparently my film column for BC Christian News won second place in the ‘Media Review – Newspaper’ category at the Canadian Church Press awards last Friday. The judge, Marianne Meed Ward, commented: Well written, relevant to the interest of your audience, packed with quirky facts and informative — it’s a media survey and piece by piece review rolled into one brief engaging package that never forgets the needs of the audience. A rare achievement.... Read more