Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as — in metonymy — the field in general. The origin of the name comes from the fact that photographic film (also called filmstock) has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist — motion pictures (or just pictures or "picture"), the silver screen, photoplays, the cinema, picture shows, flicks — and commonly movies.

Films are produced by recording actual people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects. They comprise a series of individual frames, but when these images are shown rapidly in succession, the illusion of motion is given to the viewer. Flickering between frames is not seen due to an effect known as persistence of vision — whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Also of relevance is what causes the perception of motion; a psychological effect identified as beta movement.

Film is considered by many to be an important art form; films entertain, educate, enlighten and inspire audiences. The visual elements of cinema need no translation, giving the motion picture a universal power of communication. Any film can become a worldwide attraction, especially with the addition of dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue. Films are also artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them.

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Movies Reviews

Review for Fireproof - Must Go! - A Movie of great quality
This is a fantastic movie. Everyone should go to see this film. It has a great clean story line to it, that is appropriate for the whole family. There needs to be more films just like this one, and we need to show the producers and companies who make movies that this is the type of movie everyone wants to se. A must see. Great for a date, or a night out with the family.
Review for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - Go - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Well as the movie's title boasts the music in this movie was awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Nick and Norah slowly fall in love. I was let down every time they hit a speedbump on their road to each others arms. And the soundtrack played as a beautiful backdrop to it all. This movie has it all, a love story, music, a few gross out moment, a funny messy drunk girl, a horribly evil ex girlfriend, and 2 gay best friends. Watch out for the gum!!
Review for Nights in Rodanthe - No - Nights in Rodanthe
Movie was unrealistic, the house would have collasped, the people would have died and disappeared, apparently the people in Hollywood don't watch the weather channel. I could not get into the movie and root for two characters who were still married but not to each other and what a burden the mother put on the daughter, the movie did not make me weepy or sad for the couple just angry that I spent so much money for a junky movie!

L.A. Times - Movie Reviews

'Ashes of Time' impeccably restored
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Also reviewed: 'Breakfast With Scot'; 'Fraude: Mexico 2006'; 'Talento de Barrio' and more Wong Kar Wai's beautiful but demanding 1994 martial arts epic "Ashes of Time" has been impeccably restored, with "Redux" added to its title, and boasts excellent subtitles that help the viewer understand that it is set in the parallel universe of its genre and unfolds in five parts according to Chinese seasons. Visually superb, its score enhanced by added music, "Ashes of Time Redux" is an elegiac, contemplative work with an elliptical narrative that is hard to follow.
'Body of Lies'
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Director Ridley Scott and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe can't make up for a thin story. "Body of Lies" is a film in disguise. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, except in this case the disguise is better than what it's covering up.
'Good Dick'
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Touching, human performances by Marianna Palka and Jason Ritter turn an improbable premise into a sweet, grounded love story. Some people feel most at home burrowing in the depths of other people's pain, and Jason Ritter's unnamed character in Marianna Palka's "Good Dick" is clearly one of those people.

Movies

Religulous
Bruce Diones Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000
The Film File
Rachel Getting Married
Anthony Lane Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000
The Film File
Nights and Weekends
Richard Brody Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000
The Film File

Rolling Stone Movie Reviews

Miracle at St. Anna
Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:57:21 -0700
Starring: Omar Benson Miller, Michael Ealy, Derek Luke, Laz Alonso Review: Critics are raining down hard on Spike Lee's first war epic. And it's not like I don't have objections. Miracle at St. Anna is too long, lazily constructed, and crammed with too many characters and subplots for any director to develop fully outside of an HBO miniseries. But Lee isn't any director. He's an African-American maverick with a legit gripe against the white face that Hollywood puts on war. The first scene in Miracle shows us a black World War II veteran watching John Wayne on TV lording it over the D-Day invasion in The Longest Day. "We fought that war too," says the vet. Point taken. It's no surprise that Lee decided to make a film of James McBride's well-received novel about the Buffalo Soldiers, black GIs segregated from the regular Army, who served with the 92nd Infantry... Rating: 2 Stars
Eagle Eye
Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:54:34 -0700
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan Review: Questions: Did everyone involved in this botched thriller OD on speed? Does jimmy-legs director D.J. Caruso think if he slowed down the action we'd figure out how stupid the plot is? Did Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan think there was any acting involved in playing characters on the run from a computer intent on global domination? Are BlackBerrys and iPhones the enemy because they make us easy for the computer to track? Can the computer make me forget this movie? Rating: 1.5 Stars
Flash of Genius
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:19:41 -0700
Starring: Greg Kinnear Review: For a while, it looked like Greg Kinnear showed his acting chops best with supporting roles in the likes of As Good as It Gets, Little Miss Sunshine and the current Ghost Town. Well, hang on. Kinnear takes the star spot in Flash of Genius and rides it to glory. He plays Robert Kearns, the Detroit professor, inventor and father of six who came up with the idea for the intermittent windshield wiper during the 1960s. Go ahead, groan. I felt the same way. A night reading patent law seems more exciting. But Kinnear takes this true story — John Seabrook's 1993 New Yorker article formed the basis of the script, by Philip Railsback — and runs with it. Kearns had his "flash of genius" when a champagne cork popped his eye on his honeymoon with wife Phyllis (Lauren Graham). Why couldn't a... Rating: 3 Stars

Rotten Tomatoes: Top Movies

43% Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:05:01 -0700
Despite hitting some sweet notes, Beverly Hills Chihuahua is little more than disposable family entertainment.
27% Eagle Eye
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:05:01 -0700
Eagle Eye is a preposterously plotted thriller that borrows heavily from other superior films.
72% Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:05:01 -0700
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist combines a pair of charming leads, the classic New York backdrop, and a sweet soundtrack.

NPR Topics: Movies

'Duck Soup': Take One Fiscal Crisis, Boil Merrily
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:26:00 -0400
Depression-era comedy sends the Marx Brothers skating through economic territory their namesake Karl would recognize — and it begins with talk of bailouts, tax breaks and other things that Bob Mondello says you'll find familiar, too.
'Lucky' Thing: Mike Leigh's Oddly Happy Heroine
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:50:00 -0400
A London schoolteacher (the bubbly Sally Hawkins) keeps her cool — and her smile — through a string of mishaps. But Mike Leigh's movie feels decent and affirmative, never cloying or melodramatic. (Recommended).
Operatives And 'Lies' In Ridley Scott's New Thriller
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:16:00 -0400
David Edelstein reviews Body Of Lies, a new spy thriller directed by Ridley Scott and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Set in Iraq and Syria, the film charts a young CIA operative's growing disillusionment with his superiors in Washington.

NYT > Red Carpet

The Lawsuit Over Producer Credit for 'Crash' Gets Personal
SHARON WAXMAN Thu, 09 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0400
A top executive of the movie academy described one of the producing team behind the best-picture winner, "Crash," as throwing a tantrum in suing over credit for the film.
News Analysis: Los Angeles Retains Custody of Oscar
DAVID CARR Tue, 07 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0400
Los Angeles, a place where race is discussed rarely, saw itself in "Crash," a film where encounter and understanding are just a random fender-bender away.
'Crash' Walks Away With the Top Prize at the Oscars
DAVID M. HALBFINGER and DAVID CARR Mon, 06 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0400
In a stunning twist, the motion picture academy turned its back on "Brokeback Mountain," awarding the Oscar for best picture to "Crash."

Village Voice | Films

Wong Kar Wai's Ashes of Time Gets Its Comeback
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Cynics make the worst romantics; they should know better, they know they should know better, and they'd die if you knew better. Forced underground by a formative heartbreak, a cynic's romantic nature can flourish into a sort of private dementia. You can take my weary word for it, or you ca...
Joe Sawnberg and Greta Gerwig Attempt To Tell the Truth in Nights and Weekends
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Nights and Weekends telescopes a year-and-a-half relationship into a sampler of chats, spats, and screws. James and Mattie are two kids in their mid-twenties, just feeling out the world; they're played by the film's co-directors, Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig. James you could imagine a few...
A Shallow Look at Ghetto Clichés in Talento de Barrio
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
When conservative watchdogs snarl about the ugliness of gangsta rap, Talento de Barrio might be what they picture in their head—a vile, stupid, violent-crime drama that would be laughable if its content wasn't so toxic. Drug boss Edgar Dinero (reggaeton star Daddy Yankee, who mostly ...

Film News from Times Online

Steve McQueen’s Hunger: featuring one of cinema's greatest ever scenes
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0000
Read our review of Hunger
Gomorrah
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0000

The House Bunny
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0000


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