http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson RSS Feed for Gary Thompson en-us Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20091107_Gary_Thompson___Child__follows_search_for_reincarnated_soul.html One of 2009's most intriguing documentaries played so briefly that you probably missed it. But thanks to the eternal life promised by DVD, you can see "Unmistaken Child" in the comfort of your own living room. It could rock your world. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20091106_Gary_Thompson__Not-so-classic_noir_a_better_buy_than_take-it-or-leave-it__Pelham_.html 'THE TAKING of Pelham 123" and "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra" hit DVD this week - two titles that will not be on the expanded list of 10 Oscar best-picture nominees. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20091105_men_who_stare_at_goats.html "The Men Who Stare At Goats" is the latest Hollywood look-in on the Iraq war and, well, it's not "The Hurt Locker." In fact, it's not the least bit interested in capturing any kind of boots-on-the-ground reality, and I guess the title is your first clue. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20091105_christmas_carol.html There are four ghosts in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," but most movie versions have downplayed the story's pee-your-pants potential. That changes with "Disney's A Christmas Carol," a Robert Zemeckis animated movie that uses the latest 3-D and computer-graphic artistry to bring up the scare quotient in Dickens' classic story. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20091105_Fooled_ya__Fourth_Kind_uses_Internet_to_trick_moviegoers.html "The Fourth Kind" takes its title from the sliding scale of alien encounters - sighting, evidence, contact and abduction. Oh, those boorish extra terrestrials. Haven't they skipped a few steps? http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20091105_Gary_Thompson_.html AS THE movie biz prepares for its first 10-candidate best-picture race in 56 years, insiders are having second thoughts. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20091030_Gary_Thompson__Trick-or-treaters_at_the_door_-_zombies_on_the_DVD.html THE BIG-name titles this week are "Ice Age 3" and the Woody Allen/Larry David collaboration, "Whatever Works." But, hey, it's Halloween, and though the idea of Woody Allen and Larry David making a movie about an old guy who romances Evan Rachel Wood is pretty scary, it's appropriate to look for a real horror movie. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20091029_paranormal_activity.html THREE WEEKS have elapsed since "Paranormal Activity" crept into local theaters on little Internet feet. It's now the No. 1 movie in America, so it is no longer ethically possible for me to ignore it. In my defense, the first week's showings were at midnight, way past my bedtime. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20091029_Saints_comes_marching_in__again.html The original "Boondock Saints" built its following on DVD - talked up from teen to teen as the movie that Hollywood and other grown-ups did not want you to see. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20091029_Horror_in_slow_motion__Antichrist_too_showy.html Danish downer Lars Von Trier says, a bit defensively, that he was depressed when he made "Antichrist." No kidding, Lars.