Pop-Ed: I review movies for a living and can count on one hand the number of smart, thoughtful, well-made American films released this year. I'm not talking about films shown in art house theaters or during film festivals. I'm talking about mainstream movies released in commercial theaters. Are American films getting dumber? Why does it seem like there just aren't that many smart films made in ...

Pop-Ed: How accurate do TV shows and movies have to be when it comes to telling real-life history? Is it OK to fudge the details to enhance the story? Or should the storyteller be a stickler for detail? While doing press for 'The Pacific' earlier this year, Tom Hanks told listeners of Dennis Miller's radio show that the HBO series wasn't really intended to be a "big picture" view of the war in ...

Pop-Ed: Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are making headlines again. First came the shocker that they got engaged a couple of weeks ago, although their parents, including Bristol's famous mom Sarah Palin, don't approve. Then came the news that they're shopping a reality show around. I like to think there's hope in everything, but let's face it, this situation seems doomed. It's hard enough for a ...

If you've been following the making of 'The Hobbit,' you know the project has been on a roller coaster ride since it was optioned in 2006. But the troubles date back to 1995, when Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh expressed interest in filming the story as part one of a trilogy. Frustrations arose over production and distribution rights, and Jackson and Walsh went on to adapt the 'Lord of the Rings' ...

The news that Steve Carrell is definitely leaving 'The Office' after next season has got us thinking about a few of our favorite TV bosses and the lessons we've learned from them. So maybe some of these lessons aren't ones we'd necessarily take into our own workplace; they're really more like lessons about what not to do. Either way, clearly we have a lot to learn from these bosses, including ...

Pop-ed: Fans of 'True Blood' were told that this season of the HBO hit about vampires and werewolves would include some of the most twisted scenes on TV, but did last night's episode -- particularly its closing moments -- go too far? After the credits rolled, I filed my review for TV Squad, attempted to regain my sense of what's right and wrong in the world, posted a note on my Facebook ...

It hardly seems like a year has passed since ambulances were called to the rented Los Angeles home of Michael Jackson, but June 25 marks the one-year anniversary of the pop star's death. He was pronounced dead at a LA hospital after suffering cardiac arrest. So much has happened during those twelve months, not the least of which is that his estate earned $783 million from album and DVD sales, ...