Movie critics can say what they want in public or in print about classic cinema -- in private, most of us acknowledge that the greatest movie ever made is "Big Trouble In Little China," released 25 years ago this week.

I had a chance to talk BTILC with director John Carpenter earlier this year when he accepted a local film festival award. He remembers the movie fondly, but making it for an uncomprehending studio was a chore.

"What the studio wanted was 'Indiana Jones." I didn't see that. I saw it as way to get into the asian cinema that I loved. I wanted to make a kung fu movie, something that was fun to watch," he said.

Indiewire has started a new video essay blog, and has kicked it off with an appreciation of "Rocky" by filmmaker Steve Neave and Matt Zoller Seitz.

Neave describes the movie as essentially a love story -- a man meets the right woman, and becomes a better version of himself. And vice versa. He notes the way Shire is photographed more flatteringly in the final shots. He also reminds us of the movie's first shot -- an image of Jesus over the boxing ring, foreshadowing the salvation to come.

Neave also appears to have been influenced by "The Fighter," since he seems to be channeling Christian Bale's Oscar winning performance.      

Michael Bay's hype over "Transformers" 3D paid off -- the audience for "T3" was 60 percent 3D, way over the 40 percent that "Thor" and "Green Lantern" were pulling in, thought to be the new industry norm as consumers back away from the technology and the mark-up,.

So although attendance was down relative to parts one and two, the "T3" numbers were solid, thanks to the 3D premium.

"Cars" was off 60 percent -- it's Pixar's first word-of-mouth failure.

Turns out Tom Hanks, with friend and writing pal Nia Vardalos ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding") had been writing the "Larry Crowne" script for the better part of a decade.

For most of that stretch, Hanks had been thinking of Julia Roberts as the female lead -- the community college professor who falls for one of her middle-aged students, played by Hanks.

Hanks had her in mind before they worked together on "Charlie Wilson's War," where they became friends, and it was then he suggested she give his script a read.

"Cars" and the superhero movies are making about what everyone expected them to make this summer.

The surprise is the R-rated, female-driven success of "Bridesmaids" (still a positive buzz juggernaut) and now the R-rated "Bad Teacher." The Cameron Diaz comedy opened at better than $30 million despite mediocre to hostile reviews, most of the latter from critics who detected mysogyny in the movie's narrative (slutty, gold-digging teacher who bullies her students).

If so, the word of the movie's purported anti-woman character has not filtered down to women, who made up nearly 60 percent of its audience -- it skewed more heavily female that "Bridesmaids."

There was a weirdly tardy review of "Inside Job," the Oscar-winning documentary about the financial crisis, this week in the Washington Post by Ezra Klein.

Klein says the movie was wrong to assert that people should have/could have easily seen the real estate bubble forming, and/or the risk to the credit system growing. He repeats the "S--- Happens" defense offered by JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon (what Dimon actually said, to Congress, was that S... happens every seven years). 

Klein cites the case of author Michael Lewis, who wrote a book ("The Big Short") about investors who DID see all of it coming, and bet accordingly. The subjects of Lewis book are the exception, Klein argues, that proves his rule. He also cites pre-crisis pieces by Lewis himself, downplaying the danger.

THR reports that "Jackass" fans took to Twitter to slam movie Critic Roger Ebert for his online remarks regarding Ryan Dunn.

Ebert posted a Twitter comment a few hours after Dunn's fatal auto accident, saying that "friends don't let jackasses drink and drive" -- obviously before an investigation had been conducted. Ebert did not apologize, and doubled down on his remarks after being attacked by fans.

"The Green Lantern" posted a decent weekend number at $53 million, but BOM notes softening numbers Friday through Sunday, indicating that fans are not talking it up.

"Super 8" did decent holdover business -- 40 percent -- but I expected better. The buzz hit continues to be "Bridesmaids," which just keeps cranking. Down only 29 percent, now approaching $140 million.

As a female-pitched comedy in a hail of action movies, "Bridesmaids" has found a sweet spot. Good news, possibly, for Cameron Diaz' "Bad Teacher," opening this Friday. Along with "Cars 2," the horse whisperer documentary "Buck," the comedy documentary "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop" the gospel documentary "Rejoice and Shout," which has a strong Philadelphia flavor -- Dixie Hummingbirds, the Ward singers, the Metropolitan Opera House. The Italian thriller "Angel of Evil" opens at Bala, and at Oaks. 

Pennsylvania Pol Pat Toomey pops up in "Mr. Popper's Penguins." 

It's not an official cameo -- that is, it's not a flesh and blood appearance, and won't show up on imdb.com. Toomey appears on screen during a CNBC broadcast that features prominently in a running gag about the penguins being addicted to television.