academy awards
Despite trying to avoid controversy, the Academy's industry-pleasing efforts have often created controversy through its choices and non-choices. That aside, the annual spectacle is faithfully watched by over a billion people in over one hundred countries every early spring.
What Theaters Can Do
Noted online reviewer James Berardinelli has some thoughts about DVD release dates, theatrical presentation and the advantages of home theatre.
warner bros. animation
While not as critically accepted or praised as the Disney Studios, Warner Bros. was nevertheless home to some wild and creative genius. The Warner Bros. animation studio was a hotbed of talent, with such animators as Chuck Jones and Tex Avery, a gifted composer by the name of Carl Stalling, and the voice talents of Mel Blanc. The sites on this page offer an insight to the wacky and inventive world of Warner Bros. animation. Also included is a tribute to Tex Avery.
walt disney & disney studios
Much has been said both for and against Disney as an animator. Perhaps he was a better showman, hiring the right people to work behind him and acting instead as the friendly corporate spokesman. The sites on this page explore all sides of the Disney empire but they all agree that he was one of the most pivotal forces in mass entertainment of the twentieth century.
New on the movie blog page are Cinematical -- an active collective of nearly two dozen cineastes -- and Kaiju Shakedown -- Variety.com's Asian film blog. [movie blogs]
Slanguage Dictionary
Since 1905, Hollywood's Variety magazine has used its own, distinctive slanguage in headlines and stories eg: multiplex (a movie theatre with more than two screens but less than 16) versus megaplex (a movie theatre with more than 16 screens). Entertaining and educational. [glossary of film terms]
Animated Film
In the hundred or so years since Edwin S. Porter filmed Fun in a Bakery Shop in 1902, the movies and animation have come a long way. Some might argue that today's blockbusters are simply animated films with some live action thrown in. The sites and articles on this page document the art of animation and how it has evolved over a century of filmmaking. Also included are pages devoted to anime -- the Japanese animation style -- and voice actors. [movie genres]
Action & Adventure Movies
It was back in 1903 when director Edwin S. Porter first yelled "Action" to start cinema's first narrative film, "The Great Train Robbery." The template first set by the Thomas Edison Manufacturing Company title can still be seen a century later at a movie octoplex in your neighbourhood and remains the medium's most enduring genre. [movie genres]
Dreamspeakers Film Festival
The four day festival is a gathering of First Nation filmmakers, performers and artists from around the globe. Took place June 22 through 25, 2005. [edmonton and the movies]
Coming Attractions
If you find the coming attractions segment of your cinema outing as interesting as the main feature, then the sites on this page are for you.
Film Noir
If you hear a voiceover like "She was so gorgeous that you got bloodshot eyes just by looking at her" you're probably watching a noir film. [movie genres]
Classic Cinema
They've become part of our culture and have survived the test of both time and trend. We can watch them over and over again ... and that's why they're called classics! [movie genres]
Classic Movie News Briefs
Since 1997, Lynn Dougherty at Reel Classics has been reporting the news about stars from the classic era of moviemaking. [movie news]
James Berardinelli's ReelThoughts
While his entries are not a blog in the modern sense, noted online reviewer James Berardinelli offers frequent observations on life in the movie ticket lane. His column has been added to the movie blogs page and what he calls "The Living Room Factor" is featured on the cinematic complaints page.
Los Angeles Times
The Times has discontinued their experiment with a subscription-based service for their Entertainment coverage, which is great news for fans of noted movie reviewer Kenneth Turan. The return of the Times to common sense allows us to post their site on our movie news and movie reviews pages.
Cinematic Complaints
When it comes to going to the movies, it seems like there is a lot not to like. From loud movies, pre-movie advertising, blatant product placement, boorish movie manners and bad projection practices, there's enough to gripe about to fill a web page, and that's just what we've done.
Letterbox Versus Pan & Scan
The debate over how film is transferred to video has artistic, practical and emotional considerations. Assembled here is a near-comprehensive round-up of sites devoted to the subject.
Widescreen, IMAX and Other Format Films
It was Norma Desmond who said that it was the pictures that got small, but a trip to your local stadium-seated movie octo-plex will tell you differently. Find out about the history and technology behind Cinerama, IMAX and other large screen processes.
Film Critic Organisations
Most major film critics belong to associations within geographic regions or broadcasting/publishing circles. Their sites offer member's year-end best of lists, and some offer current movie reviews.
Richard Roeper: He's not a film critic, he just plays one on television
It's been five years since Richard Roeper slid into the seat as the second most visible film critic on television. Here at the Last Link, we're getting tired of throwing our shoe at the set whenever he appears, so we've decided to post this eFilmcritic.com article on the site about why Roeper is the wrong man for the job. Find it and more sites like it on the everybody's a critic page.
Cold Fusion Video Reviews
Binge-viewer Nathan Shumate is determined to have your brain (or at least five minutes of your attention). Read his slightly B-sided reviews at his nifty site. Find him and more sites like his on the more movie review sites page.
Canada.com's Dose Magazine Movie Listings
Canada.com/CanWest Global Communications Corp. has unleashed Dose Magazine, a new and free culture/news daily (at least Monday through Friday) in Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa. Of course, they also have an online edition. See how they're doing -- but why did they have to call it Dose? Find the site and more like it on the edmonton and the movies
page.