Iron links

Oooooh boy, the summer movie season is finally upon us, and while my expectations for the summer blockbusters are fair-to-middling this year, it's still exciting to see what they have for us. As much as I've been kvetching on Twitter about the new Star Trek film, for instance, there's no way I can avoid seeing it, simply because it is Star Trek. The superhero movies, on the other hand, I've cooled down on a little bit - too much of a good thing, y'know - but hope springs eternal. Can Christopher Nolan's influence have a positive effect on Zack "Overkill" Snyder in Man of Steel? If the teasers are any indication, the answer may very well be yes. On the other hand, I'm all Wolverine'd out, so unless this new one is the Greatest Thing Ever, I'll pass. And I'll see Iron Man 3 if for no other reason than to complete the trilogy. We'll see how the rest fare in due time.

I hate to have to keep asking, but I really am interested in what you think of "City Mouse Goes West." If you hate it, tell me. If there's something you wanna see more or less of, tell me that too. I was considering putting it on temporary hiatus for a month or so, but if I know you like it, I'll keep doing it, so please, don't be shy. Speak up.

Raquel has some great photos and great stories from the TCM Film Festival.

I recently saw the trailer for Mira Nair's new one, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and it looks pretty good. I thought Ruth's perspective on the film, as an immigrant herself, was helpful.

Brian from Sanity Clause was at Ebertfest and saw this really strange film.

Have you read Monstergirl's Last Drive-In blog? Well, you should. Here's an example of what to expect: a post about an eerie 60s Brit horror flick called Seance on a Wet Afternoon.

Should critics care about spoiling a movie? Depends. If it's a bad movie - I mean, really, really bad - critics should absolutely say what's bad about it in order to keep people from seeing it. Otherwise, it's absolutely possible to write about a movie without giving away key surprises and plot twists, and I think critics should exercise discretion - to a point. I agree with the author that the reader also has an obligation to avoid reviews if they want to be completely surprised. Unfortunately, it has become so difficult to keep movie plots from being spoiled to some degree, thanks to movie news sites that constantly post images and teasers and trailers from movies as a kind of second-hand PR network. Yet that kind of stuff gets traffic and hits, so there's obviously a market for it. The individual critic, though, should not have to contribute to that.

The next film to be distributed by AFFRM/ARRAY is Slamdance entry Big Words.

Here's an interesting piece that examines the trend in which older leading men tend to stick with younger leading women.

What will Roger Ebert's death mean for the Chicago Sun-Times?

Finally, you must look at this short film IBM made out of atoms.