Those who have kept tabs on my collection of baby pictures at Flickr.com might have noticed that there are currently almost no photos of my wife Deanna there. This is partly because she and I tend to visit the babies at different feeding times, so as to give them collectively more time with their parents; and this is also partly because, on those occasions when we do go together, she is busy feeding them and, if I do take any... Read more

Dan Brown, author of that curiously popular beach-read that so many people take seriously The Da Vinci Code, made a rare public appearance and a rare statement to the media today, to defend himself against charges made by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh that his novel constitutes a breach of copyright. Baigent and Leigh co-authored the 1982 book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, and they say that Brown stole their ideas. As ever, there may be a fine line between theft... 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. Running Scared — CDN $439,564 — N.AM $3,075,000 — 14.3%Brokeback Mountain — CDN $9,338,394 — N.AM $75,424,000 — 12.4%Freedomland — CDN $1,039,532 — N.AM $10,778,000 — 9.6%Nanny McPhee — CDN $3,847,455 — N.AM $42,596,000 — 9.0%Eight Below — CDN $3,872,021 — N.AM $45,055,000 — 8.6%The Pink Panther — CDN $5,166,972... Read more

Just for the record, I am one of several people quoted in Douglas Cramer’s article ‘Longing for Other Worlds: Faith, Fantasy, and Orthodox Christians Today‘ in the current issue of Again magazine. Here is the relevant paragraph: The best fantasy likewise reminds us of the feel of godly power. Film critic Peter Chattaway, a recent convert to Orthodoxy, explained his own experience: “I began attending an Orthodox church while Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings adaptations were still coming out,... Read more

Ah, bliss. Last night, my brother and sister and a few friends and I went to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre to see Koyaanisqatsi (1983), one of my five official favorite films of all time, with live musical accompaniment by the Philip Glass Ensemble. It had been several years since the last time I saw this film on the big screen, and I had never, ever attended one of Philip Glass’s concerts before, so the whole experience was a real treat.... Read more

Studio Briefing reports today that there were no advance media screenings of Madea’s Family Reunion in the United States, presumably to avoid the critical drubbing that Diary of a Mad Black Woman got when it opened last year. However, I happened to see the film four days ago with a bunch of other local critics, so I guess Canada is an exception — which is an interesting reversal of sorts, since Diary didn’t open or even press-screen in Canada until... Read more

If we bracket off all those low-budget slasher flicks that seem to be all the rage these days, Running Scared just might be the sickest mainstream movie since Sin City (2005; my review). True, it does not aspire to quite the same kind of visual creativity, but it has a few tricks of its own up its sleeve — the rewind-and-replay-from-a- different-angle feature is a particular favorite — and it has a similarly trashy flair for sex, violence, and a... Read more

I can think of many reasons to ban Space Jam (1996), but this ain’t one of them. Variety has the scoop: Jessica Rabbit isn’t welcome in China — and Michael Jordan shouldn’t show up with any of his Looney Toons pals. In one of the more bizarre orders from China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, TV shows and films featuring human thesps with animated companions will be banned. “These human live-action, so-called animation pieces will not receive distribution... 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. Brokeback Mountain — CDN $8,965,604 — N.AM $71,439,000 — 12.6%Nanny McPhee — CDN $3,676,956 — N.AM $37,960,000 — 9.7%The Pink Panther — CDN $3,751,837 — N.AM $42,485,000 — 8.8%Eight Below — CDN $1,678,496 — N.AM $19,850,000 — 8.5%Firewall — CDN $2,280,664 — N.AM $27,240,000 — 8.4%Freedomland — CDN $495,152 —... Read more

My review of Eight Below is now up at CT Movies, as is my review of The Second Chance. Read more