We’ve all seen those films in which someone goes undercover and does what it takes to blend in with a group, and then they get caught or arrested and the very things they did to “blend in” become evidence that is used against them. Did something like that happen to at least one of the “bad apples” at Abu Ghraib? Errol Morris, director of the recent Abu Ghraib documentary Standard Operating Procedure (my review), seems to think so. To wit,... Read more

Let’s tackle these in historical-chronological order! 1. The Associated Press says some of the late Charlton Heston‘s movie memorabilia will be auctioned off this summer, including a titular set of “faux granite tablets” from The Ten Commandments (1956). 2. Variety reports that Danish director Asger Leth has signed on to direct Olympia, a love story “set against the backdrop of the ancient Olympic Games in Greece as war waged between Athens and Sparta.” The script has gone through drafts by... Read more

More evidence that Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed may be coming to Canada on June 6: The date apparently came up in court yesterday, as lawyers defended the film against Yoko Ono’s accusation that they had violated her copyright by including a few seconds of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ on the soundtrack, and the judge in that case has promised a “fast decision” because of the Canadian release date and other time-sensitive matters. To quote the Associated Press: U.S. District Judge Sidney... Read more

From USA Today‘s story on the “tightrope” that the makers of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian have walked, between satisfying Christian fans of the book and broadening the movie’s appeal: He also had to leave out some beloved scenes and characters. Goodbye to Greek God Bacchus and his wild girls who in the book accompany Aslan on a joyful romp; writer Stephen McFeely said the Greek gods are no longer an easily recognizable cultural reference. Um, isn’t that kind... 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. The American Trap — CDN $113,597 — N.AM $113,597 — 100%Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay — CDN $6,470,000 — N.AM $34,098,389 — 19.0%The Forbidden Kingdom — CDN $5,210,000 — N.AM $50,368,985 — 10.3%Made of Honor — CDN $3,280,000 — N.AM $33,903,519 — 9.7%Forgetting Sarah Marshall — CDN $5,310,000... Read more

Various blogs and websites — here, here, and here — are reporting that the pro-Intelligent Design documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed may be coming to Canadian theatres June 6. The rumour had better be right, since Ben Stein has already begun to promote the film on Canadian TV, chatting about it a few nights ago on CBC’s The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos — where, bizarrely, he seemed to imply that gravity and the laws of thermodynamics fall under the heading... Read more

To get ready for the rumoured alien visitation in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I recently spent a few nights watching all three versions of Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) — a film that I had not seen since high school — and I found it interesting on multiple levels. For one thing, there are only two feature films where Spielberg has had sole credit for the final screenplay — this film... Read more

Last week I had the pleasure of going to see Son of Rambow with my priest. The movie concerns two British boys who make a home-video sequel to First Blood (1982), and since one of the boys comes from a Plymouth Brethren family and is not allowed to watch movies, and since my priest grew up in a Plymouth Brethren home, I figured I’d get his perspective on the film. For what it’s worth, he said the film’s portrayal of... Read more

I haven’t gotten around to re-watching the entire Indiana Jones trilogy yet, but I am seeing the new film tomorrow, so I figured I might as well get around to posting some of the Indy-themed things that I’ve been sitting on. First and foremost: The character’s ambivalent relationship with real-world archaeologists. One of the reasons my wife and I like Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) better than the other two films is that it is the only film in... Read more

The videos that MTV puts up on its website are inaccessible to Canadians, so I have no idea what happens in this clip, but the written intro alone gives me a chuckle: We did it last year with “World’s Sexiest Woman” Megan Fox, and now we’re scouting the local shopping scene with another up-and-coming actress. This time we saddled up with “Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” star Anna Popplewell, who’s reprising her role of older sister Susan for a second... Read more