"Ebert Presents At The Movies", Coming January 21, 2011 to PBS Television

Whew!  Time has vanished in 2010.  I'm pleased to announce on this blog that "Ebert Presents At The Movies" is the new title of the show, which thus far is in over 200 affiliate PBS television markets in the U.S., with over 90% saturation nationally.  Armed Forces Network will carry the show internationally.

Roger has recently sent a link of this news with more details, including a PDF of the stations in the cities and states that will carry the show, which begins on January 21, 2011 on PBS.  Some further news about the show and who will be its co-hosts and contributing critics is to be announced in the near future.

The January 2011 television brochure pictured above is from the show's flagship station WTTW, based in Chicago, where the show will be based. 

You should hear some official announcements from one of the show's producers, Chaz Ebert, soon, so stay tuned! 

Merry Christmas!

I'm back! And a word about "Roger Ebert Presents At The Movies"

I've been away from this blog for far too long -- one month shy of one whole year away. 

October 20, 2009 was the date of my last post here, but now I will be updating this blog much more often!  In these intervening months I have been wondering whether Twitter and Facebook have made blogs more or less obsolete.  I'd be foolish to answer "yes", but Twitter is where I have been spotted on numerous occasions over the last year.

A great deal has happened since October of 2009, including the announcement ten days ago (September 10, 2010) of Roger Ebert's new movie review/film criticism television show "Roger Ebert Presents At The Movies".  The new show will air on PBS television in the U.S. beginning in January 2011.  Roger will be joined on the show by lead co-hosts Christy Lemire (pronounced "Lem-eer") and Elvis Mitchell.  They will review the latest new film releases.  Kim Morgan and me will be substitute co-hosts and contribute various feature pieces to the show, which will air each week and be a total of a half-hour in length, and without commercial interruption.  Chaz Ebert produces.

Here's a statement about the show that I published on my movie/interview/essay/video website The Popcorn Reel on Saturday, September 18.

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