Confession time: I did not see the Academy Award-nominated The Princess and The Frog. In my defense, the reason was because I refused to the see the film in a theater filled with children, and midnight screenings were scarce. But this critically-acclaimed attempt to revive Disney 2-D animation has nevertheless excited me since it was announced something-something years ago, and Disney’s other 2-D Blu-Ray releases – Sleeping Beauty, Pinnochio and the prologue to Enchanted – are stunning jewels in high-definition. I literally can’t wait until this arrives at my doorstep tomorrow, so I can geek out about a Disney Princess movie in the privacy of my own home… which I have ironically just told the world about.

This article is filed under Movies, The Fourth Wall.

Music videos have also of course been a spawning ground for great motion picture directors, from David Fincher to Spike Jonze, from Antoine Fuqua to Mark Romanek, and many many more. But in the first installment of The Great Music Videos (which are numbered in order of publication, not necessarily quality or historical significance – so don’t read too much into that “#1″) I would like to call attention to a video directed by an already great motion picture director, who directed a beautiful animated video for the song “On Your Mark” by the Japanese rock duo Chage & Aska. I am of course referring to the Academy Award-winning animation legend Hayao Miyazaki.

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“On Wednesdays we wear pink!” (Mean Girls: a frightfully accurate portrayal of peer pressure and conformity.)
Full disclosure: the first day of seventh grade I wore the same straight-cut jeans I’d been wearing throughout elementary school (or possibly stirrup pants–if so I’ve blocked it out). It was immediately apparent I needed flared jeans, ASAP. Everyone [...]

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This week in honor of the Academy Awards – traditionally the last opportunity to discuss the previous year of films in a critical light – we here at The Fourth Wall take one last look back at 2009. The Weekly Listicle proudly presents William Bibbiani and Julia Rhodes’ lists of the Best and Worst Films of 2009.

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Corey Haim, one of the ’80s brightest teen stars, was found dead aged 38 of an accidental drug overdose. Haim was most recently in Crank: High Voltage and a cameo in the ill-advised Lost Boys sequel. His drug addiction was well-publicized in a reality series he did with best friend Corey Feldman called (what else?) [...]

This article is filed under Movies, Television, The Fourth Wall.

Every week, dozens of DVDs and Blu-Rays are released unto the world, and in this economy it gets harder and harder to decide what to spend your money on. The Weekly DVD Heist is here to tell you what your primary objective is, determine the difference between high priority and low priority targets, and help [...]

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Hey everyone. Well, I screwed up. I stand by my picks as logical predictions, but as Julia pointed out in her most recent posting I lost our Oscar wager a staggering 19-11. This is, incidentally, the worst showing I’ve ever had at predicting the Academy Awards. I look forward to taking my public lashings from the clearly more talented Julia Rhodes. In the meantime, let’s see where I screwed up, shall we?

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Well, folks, I type this through a haze of last night’s bubbly. The Academy Awards ceremony itself, as well as the dresses, were hit-or-miss this year. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin were good enough hosts–though Hugh Jackman nearly charmed the pants off me last year and I’ll hold others to that standard, thank you.
And [...]

This article is filed under Best Movies, Movies, The Fourth Wall.

The mythology behind the Wonderland books is so complex, there are sure to be disappointed diehards, but Alice in Wonderland is a fun reinterpretation of the stories so many of us grew up reading and watching. It is easily the most visually impressive release since Avatar, and though it’s by no means Burton’s best movie, it is among his better ones.

This article is filed under Movies, Movies & TV.

With the Academy Awards coming up this Sunday, March 7th, Julia Rhodes and I – William Bibbiani! – have decided to spice things up a bit with a wager. Whichever one of us avowed Oscar Enthusiasts picks the most winners gets to assign four writing assignments to the loser over the next two months, which must be completed promptly and without question.

This article is filed under Movies, The Fourth Wall.