The Scare Power of the "Paranormal"

A scene from the hit film "Pranormal Activity". (Paramount Pictures)

While The Popcorn Reel will be returning in full force very soon with a ton of updates -- my computer crashed hard two weeks ago and I've had to do some extensive recovery -- I will be posting stories here that I'm currently writing for The Examiner newspaper group. I recently became the San Francisco Indie Movie Examiner writer, as well as a member of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle.

Halloween is coming, and earlier this week I wrote a story about the cinematic phenomenon that is "Paranormal Activity". Take a look.

Breaking The Law

Happy Friday!

Are you a law-abiding citizen?

Here's my review of F. Gary Gray's new film, which opened today in the U.S. and Canada:

http://www.popcornreel.com/htm/lawcitrev.htm

For The Author Julie Powell, It's Lights! Camera! Cooking!

A delightful conversation with Julie Powell, author of "Julie & Julia", was had earlier this week. Julie is a passionate cook whose life was in freefall just seven years ago. Julia Child, the iconic cooking legend and author helped inspire Ms. Powell and soon the Austin, Texas-born Ms. Powell started a blog and cooked more than 500 of Ms. Child's recipes in one year. The film "Julie & Julia" which is based on Ms. Powell and Ms. Child's separate books, opens in the U.S. and Canada on August 7. Here's the feature story. Enjoy. And eat!

"Julie & Julia"

Look out for "Julie & Julia" -- I saw it last night. The film, based on two true stories, is about cooking master Julia Child and cooking aspirant-turned-famous cook Julie Powell, and is directed by Nora Ephron. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams (both of "Doubt") star in Ms. Ephron's film. "Julie & Julia" opens on August 7 in the U.S. and Canada.

"Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince"

Pottermaniacs: This "Harry" Gets Better With Age. David Yates gets this edition right, with a few imperfections. http://www.popcornreel.com/htm/hpotter09rev.htm

Back On The Popcorn Trail

It's been a while - have neglected The Reel more than I'd like. I've been very busy and have also fallen under the spell of Twitter -- I can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/popcornreel. I will also be blogging here regularly.

When Obsession Is Beyond Obsession

I don't have the words to explain. But something has to be done. Just read on, please.