The Huffington Post has assembled a slide show based on the worst movies adapted from ridiculous inspirations...If you think it's absurd that the board games Monopoly and Battleship are coming to the screen, consider that a movie based on the old Viewmaster toy is also in the works. It won't be long before we are expected to see Grudge Match: Viagra vs. Cialis.  Click here to read

The Huffington Post provides us with a slideshow tribute to some lovely ladies who have done justice to skin-tight catsuits. (In the interest of fair play, they also include Sacha Baron Cohen as Bruno!) Click here to view

In an interesting article in the Huffington Post, writer Aladdin Elaasar discusses Will Smith forthcoming action film The Last Pharoah in the context of how the tale of an ancient rule fits in with the dilemma of Egypt's current political problems. Elassar also covers the legacy of other films relating to ancient Egypt.  Click here to read

Oh, Lee, I have no problem with an article on celebrity cleavage. They're
celebrities; they're inherently objectified. But why is it necessary to
say such an article "unites all movie fans"?

Please remember that many, many movie fans are not cleavage-drooling straight males. It is really not too much to ask that when you think of fans, you think beyond the constraints of your own orientation and genitalia.
 
Best,
 

Deborah

Retro responds: Gosh, Deborah - won't anybody give middle-aged, white, cleavage-drooling, straight males a break? Actually, you are right...I should have said that the cleavage at the Oscars article (which actually ran on the Huffington Post- we just linked to it), had united "cleavage-drooling, straight male" movie fans all over the globe. We obviously don't know your sexual orientation, but if its any consolation, please keep in mind that we often run equal-time photos of hunky male stars and routinely get favorable letters from both straight women and gay guys for doing so. We have always provided an equal-opportunity for straight, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gender droolers around the world. To prove it, see early cheesecake photo of Clint Eastwood above. Now that we've resolved all of this, I'm going back to my drooling, which, by the way is not limited to ogling photos of sexy women (as anyone who has had the misfortune of watching me eat a bowl of chili can attest)-Lee Pfeiffer

Whatever you thought about the Oscar ceremonies, here's an angle that is sure to unite all movie fans: the Huffington Post's photo essay on which actresses displayed their cleavage best. Check here to see the contenders.

The Huffington Post has a slide show dedicated to films that undeservedly won the Best Picture Oscar. It isn't that these are bad films, but history has shown they have remained far less respected than some of the movies they beat. Click here to review

In a fascinating article on The Huffington Post, writer Patricia Zohn interviews legendary dancer Marge Champion, who, as a teenager, was one of the living models hired by Walt Disney to inspire his famed group of artists who were working on the land-breaking Snow White feature film. Marge, who went on to marry Gower Champion, is now 90 years old and provides fascinating, first-hand insights into the process of making this masterpiece. Click here to read.

This year's Super Bowl made history for being the most-watched broadcast of the game. In case you're wondering what other events have generated the highest ratings ever, the Huffington Post provides the background and dates of the top ten American TV broadcasts. Click here to view. 

There is some context being given to Dennis Hopper's deathbed decision to file for divorce from his wife of 14 years, Victoria. Apparently, Hopper's adult daughter Marin is instigating the divisive action, according to The Huffington Post which quotes family sources and friends as saying its all about excluding Victoria from receiving her share  of the will. Hopper is battling terminal cancer and is said to have filed for divorce during a period when he may have been mentally unable to comprehend what he was doing. Click here for more on the real life soap opera. 

The Huffington Post has assembled their own list of the worst movies of the decade. Don't worry, Eddie Murphy is well represented and Battlefield Earth has its inevitable place of dishonor. However, there is one low blow- including Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Okay, it may have been like the Beatles reunion that never happened - it could never have lived up to expectations - but one of the worst movies of the decade??? Click here to see if you agree with the Hall of Shame inductees.

Robert Downey Jr, who plays the title role in the new Sherlock Holmes film, seems to be on a one-man crusade to thwart the studio's attempts to brand the legendary detective as a modern action hero. Downey keeps making jocular remarks in interviews alluding to the fact that Holmes and Watson may be more than friends. He points out that the two characters even share a bed. Such behavior was not seen as overtly gay in Victorian times and the Holmes/Watson relationship has generally avoided being branded as such. However, Downey seems intent on stirring the pot concerning director Guy Ritchie's determination to make Holmes a man of action, as adept with his fists as he is with his mind. Huffington Post writer Rob Shuter speculates that the studio publicity department thinks such inferences can do damage to the film's box-office appeal, which is aimed at young males. The fear is that, if the perception is that this is a Victorian love story between two men, it may diminish the lure for action-oriented audiences. Click here for more.

The Huffington Post has an amusing photo presentation of famous actors and actresses who have changed their names. Click here to read

The Huffington Post features an opportunity to vote for your favorite Thanksgiving-themed movies of all time, and generously provides the original trailers. It's hard to top John Hughes' Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but there is some stiff competition. Click here to view 

Better not invite director Barry Levinson and New York Times TV critic Alessandra Stanley to the same cocktail party. Levinson is livid about Stanley's negative review of his new documentary Poliwood, which documents the often uncomfortable crossing of celebrities into the world of politics. Levinson says he doesn't begrudge the fact that Stanley doesn't like his movie. However, he eviscerates her professional credentials in an op-ed on The Huffington Post in which he accuses her of using misleading information in her review. For good measure, Levinson also digs up Stanley's negative assessment of Walter Cronkite and his coverage of the JFK assassination! Click here to read

There are probably good uses for Twitter, which limits the user's message to 140 characters or less. However, it's largely been defined by people who bore their friends by sharing their frustrations over what type of lettuce to buy as they peruse the grocery aisles of their supermarkets. Then there are the doofy elected officials who are desperate to prove they are hip by shooting out impromptu observations that generally have to be explained by their long-suffering staffers who spin like whirling dervishes to mitigate their true meaning. The Huffington Post site has some fun with the Twitter rage, however, by offering readers to offer up summaries of classic books in 140 characters or less. The results are inspired and very funny. Here is one reader's synopsis of Lolita: "Erudite horndog marries a cougar so that he can get his hands on her hot underage daughter, who doesn't end up aging well. Kills a guy, too." For more click here

Writer Nick Carr of the Huffington Post site lists his choices for the best horror films set in New York City. We only take issue with the inclusion of Wait Until Dark, which is more a thriller than a horror film. On the other hand, Carr is canny enough to include the original Planet of the Apes, although, again, this is a sci-fi film rather than a horror movie. Check out the list and see if you concur with Carr's opinion. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

In yet another example of America's cable news networks jumping on any story to fill air time, yesterday wall-to-wall coverage was devoted to a bizarre story centering on a home made hot air balloon that was accidentally launched from a family's backyard in Colorado. A 9 year old boy in the family said his 6 year old brother was inside a small basket in the balloon when it took off. The networks began streaming live video of the balloon's 80 mile flight, breathlessly speculating as to whether the kid was somehow inside the balloon or whether he was in a basket that had dropped off somewhere. Everyone but Lassie was called in for the rescue attempt, and when the balloon finally landed, the kid was nowhere to be found. Reporters spoke breathlessly about his presumably horrible fate- perhaps he was struggling to survive in some desolate patch of wilderness. This went on for three hours virtually uninterrupted. This on the same day as the President's visit to New Orleans and as the health care debate continued to heat up. At 6:00 PM, I tuned in to political commentator Ed Schultz's nightly news analysis program on MSNBC - generally a compelling and informative show. I was distressed to find that Schultz, who never engages in sensationalist stories, was carrying over the "Boy in the Balloon" tale. It was then revealed that the story was a non-starter because the little brat was found hiding in his attic, having possibly set the entire thing up as a joke with his brother.

This should have been the end of the story, but even the normally sober Schultz continued to exploit it, bringing on a woman named Sheree Silver who - get this- had been a contestant with the boy's family on the nutcase ABC reality show Wife Swap. She described her adopted TV family as a bunch of eccentrics who were obsessed with amateur science projects with the intention of proving the existence of extraterrestrials. The father is apparently a combination of Caractacus Potts and The Nutty Professor, who dabbles in building the kind of home-made contraptions that always end up transporting hapless people to the moon in B sci-fi movies. According to Silver, the young boy (whose first name is Falcon!) was a foul-mouthed prankster who was rarely disciplined by his family. If you thought it couldn't get any crazier, Silver then revealed herself to be a self-proclaimed psychic! Schultz kept driving the story even after introducing political commentator Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post. To her credit, Huffington quickly chastised Schultz and asked why the hell they were still discussing this non-story even after it was proven to be a possible hoax. Amazingly, Schultz dug in his heels and tried to defend the relevance of the story on the reed-thin premise that it would teach parents to better keep an eye on their kids. (Yeah, there's been a rash of kids in runaway helium balloons in my neighborhood - how about yours?) Huffington was not having any of it and kept criticizing Schultz until he was embarrassed into switching the topic to the war in Afghanistan. If only someone with Huffington's good instincts could show up on cable news every time network ninnies decide to abdicate real news in favor of unproven, but sensational stories, the medium might enjoy some respect once again. (Click here to watch the debate) The bad news? Now we'll be inundated by thousands of reports of UFO sightings from naive people who observed the runaway balloon.

Update: Speculation is growing that this story was a hoax from the start, possibly caused by parents who simply wanted to get media attention. Disgracefully, even though the networks knew yesterday the kid was never in the balloon, the family has been rewarded by being given coast-to-coast interviews on TV. This morning on two TV shows, little Falcon vomited on air. The kid is clearly sick, but the family keeps shuffling him in front of TV cameras - with the full co-operation of network brass who would rather endanger a child than pass up the opportunity for ratings.

Writer Danny Groner of the Huffington Post site has compiled an amusing collection of movie titles that all wittily incorporate a character's name in the title. Click here to view

Who's the hottest older dude in show business? According to The Huffington Post's poll, the top vote getter is Sean Connery- with fellow honorees Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood and Hugh Hefner chalking up support as well.  (If only Walter Brennan was still alive!) Vote for your favorite by clicking here. 

Yesterday, we linked to the men's iconic swmsuit poll on the Huffington Post. Today, legendary women's swimsuit scenes from the silver screen are being voted on. Click here to view the top vote-getters. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

The brave new world of internet communication and entertainment has a major stumbling block that most members of the general public would rather not contemplate: many of the most-visited web sites are going broke. The main problem is that most web sites outside of the porn industry are compelled to give their content away for free, 'lest they seem uncompetitive. While the free model makes countless consumers aware of their brand name, if there is no basic product to sell, what's the point? You Tube, for example, is a gold mine in terms of public awareness and name recognition. However, the company is bleeding cash in the tens of millions of dollars and can't even cover its basic overhead. The only revenue derives from subtle advertisements on the site for which You Tube gets a commission on any sales that transpire through third party vendors. However, if the ads are more pervasive and numerous, then it turns off people from visiting the site: a classic Catch-22 situation. 

Since our web traffic is going swimmingly, Cinema Retro feels entitled to take a little detour outside of mainstream movie news by linking to The Huffington Post's "Guess the Celebrity Breast Implants" slideshow contest. This way, we feel we're still keeping readers abreast of the news, even though the only "booby prize" you'll win is the pleasure of viewing the photos. Click here to immerse yourself. 

Michael Russnow of The Huffington Post doesn't consider himself a huge fan of Clint Eastwood's acting, saying most of his performances have been non-distinguished. However, Russnow is gushing over Eastwood's work in Gran Torino, calling it a superb achievement and comparing this late career role to that of Rooster Cogburn, the role that won John Wayne his only Oscar. For more click here

Kudos to Huffington Post critic Jack Donaldson who supports what Cinema Retro has been saying for years - that the overload of CGI effects has robbed movies of their heart and wonder. Yes, we'll grant special dispensation for the super hero flicks which look far better than the days when we used to see a string hanging from George Reeves' back. However, as Donaldson points out, there is literally no sense of awe left in the movie-going experience. What could you possibly see onscreen that could match the first glimpse of James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 or breathtaking thrill of seeing the space battles in Star Wars? Sure, some of the effects used in these films look crude by today's standards, but the fact is that fans return to these earlier efforts far more than the do the more recent entries in these series. When CGI was first introduced, it was used practically and sparingly. The first glimpse of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park was thrilling, but by the time the first sequel was released, the effects were already yawn-inducing. It won't be long before stuntmen are as relevant today's film industry as Fatty Arbuckle. You'll just have the star of the movie waving his arms in front of a blue screen. It will look convincing, but it won't be the slightest bit thrilling. To read Jack Donaldson's column click here.

Linda Carter as TV's Wonder Woman: it's a wonder a woman can get a quality role in today's film industry.

Huffington Post columnist Daniel Holloway, writing in response to a recent New York Times article bemoaning the dearth of quality roles for actresses in contemporary Hollywood, makes a compelling case for the return of the ultimate kick-ass female superhero.

To read click here.

Film critic James Rocchi of The Huffington Post recently took in a rare big screen showing of the classic 1964 flick Zulu and recounts its virtues. To read click here

Writer Amanda Christine Miller has a light-hearted and amusing interview with famed director Peter Bogdanovich on The Huffington Post site. Bogdanovich speaks at length about his signature "logo" - the stylish neck scarves that are an omnipresent part of his wardobe. He also reflects on the legendary film figures his came to know and expresses the most admiration for John Ford and Howard Hawks, though he concedes Ford's grumpiness made him an unpleasant person to be around. As for his own icon of fashion, Bogdanovich chooses Cary Grant and tells an amusing ancedote that reveals that Grant's Brooks Brothers suits were straight off the rack. To read the interview click here

Huffington Post columnist Alexandra Zacharios-Haight pays tribute to the recently departed grand dame of British cinema. To read click here

Just came across a very amusing blog by Jeffrey Shaffer on The Huffington Post site. Shaffer perceptively points out that all science fiction perceptions of what we'll look like in the future seem to be trending wrong - particularly the prediction that future embodiments of human beings would sport big heads (Donald Trump not withstanding). Shaffer says we were misled by those immortal images of David McCallum in The Sixth Finger episode of The Outer Limits Richard Kiel's To Serve Man episode of The Twilight Zone - and hell, we won't even get into all those Lex Luthor appearances in the Superman comics. It's about time this scandal is exposed for what it is: a vast bald, wing consipiracy to make those with a bare pate synonymous with great intelligence. (Again, Benito Mussolini and Curly not withstanding) Check it out by clicking here