James Berardinelli | |
---|---|
Born | New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S. | September 25, 1967
Occupation | Writer |
Education | Cherry Hill High School East |
Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania (BS, MS) |
Period | 1992–present |
Genre | Fantasy |
Subject | Film |
Spouse | Sheryl (m. 2004) |
Children | 2 |
Website | |
reelviews |
James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) [1] is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ReelViews. Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of reviews of movies on DVD and video. He is also a fantasy novelist, publishing a trilogy from 2015 through 2016 known as The Last Whisper of the Gods.
Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. [2] When he was nine, his family moved to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where he attended Cherry Hill High School East. [2] [3] Later he moved to Piscataway. [4]
He attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 1990, obtaining both a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering. [2] After graduating he worked for Bellcore Company, now Telcordia Technologies. He worked during the next 15 years "in a variety of fields, including fiber optics, video testing, and software systems." [2]
Berardinelli has categorized himself as an agnostic and a libertarian. [3] He resides in Mount Laurel, New Jersey with his wife, Sheryl, whom he met through his website. [3] [5] [6] [7] They have two children: a son born in May 2010, and a daughter born in November 2019. [8] [9]
Starting in January 1992, Berardinelli began writing movie reviews, his first being a review of the 1991 drama Grand Canyon . [10] His first review published to the Internet was of the 1992 drama Scent of a Woman , which was posted both to Usenet and his Colossus Inc-hosted [11] website, ReelViews. [12]
Roger Ebert referred to Berardinelli as "the best of the Web-based critics" in 2001, [13] and wrote a foreword for the 2003 book, Reelviews, a collection of Berardinelli's reviews. [14] Berardinelli is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. [15] [16]
In January 2004, [17] he began his blog ReelThoughts, by which time his reviews could attract as many as 100,000 readers, [18] up from around 1,400 weekly readers in 1997. [19] In August 2006, [20] the site moved to ReelViews.net, a domain Berardinelli had originally registered by late 2000. [21]
In September 2013, Berardinelli announced that he had been working on a trilogy of fantasy novels entitled The Last Whisper of the Gods. [22] The first book was published in November 2015, the second was released in January 2016, and the third in March 2016. [23]
Berardinelli appears as a guest on the pop-culture radio program Fictional Frontiers every two weeks. [24]
Three Colours: Blue is a 1993 drama film directed and co-written by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski. It is the first of three films that make up the Three Colours trilogy, themed on the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity, followed by White and Red. According to Kieślowski, the subject of the film is liberty, specifically emotional liberty, rather than its social or political meaning.
Eugene Kal Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He is best known for co-hosting various movie review television series with colleague Roger Ebert.
The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Anthony Minghella, and based on Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel of the same name. Set in the 1950s, it stars Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, a con artist who is sent from New York City to Italy to convince Dickie Greenleaf, a rich and spoiled playboy, to return home – however, after failing, Ripley takes extreme measures. Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman also appear in supporting roles.
That Darn Cat is a 1997 American mystery comedy film directed by Bob Spiers, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and starring Christina Ricci and Doug E. Doug. It is a remake of the 1965 film That Darn Cat!, which in turn was based on the 1963 book Undercover Cat by Gordon and Mildred Gordon.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a 1994 science fiction horror film directed by Kenneth Branagh who also stars as Victor Frankenstein, with Robert De Niro portraying Frankenstein's monster, and co-stars Tom Hulce, Helena Bonham Carter, Ian Holm, John Cleese, Richard Briers and Aidan Quinn. Considered the most faithful film adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, despite several differences and additions in plot from the novel, the film follows a medical student named Victor Frankenstein who creates new life in the form of a monster composed of various corpses' body parts.
The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Winter Hill Gang; the character Colin Sullivan is based on the corrupt FBI agent John Connolly, while the character Frank Costello is based on Irish-American gangster and crime boss Whitey Bulger. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg, with Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Anderson and James Badge Dale in supporting roles.
Shadowlands is a 1993 British biographical drama film about the relationship between academic C. S. Lewis and Jewish American poet Joy Davidman, her death from cancer, and how this challenged his Christianity. It was directed by Richard Attenborough with a screenplay by William Nicholson based on his 1985 television film and 1989 stage play of the same name. The 1985 script began life as I Call It Joy written for Thames Television by Brian Sibley and Norman Stone. Sibley later wrote the book, Shadowlands: The True Story of C. S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. The film won the 1993 BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film. The film marked the last film appearance of English actor Michael Denison.
Welcome to Mooseport is a 2004 American political satire comedy film directed by Donald Petrie, and starring Ray Romano and Gene Hackman in his final film role. It was filmed in Jackson's Point, Ontario and Port Perry, Ontario.
Munich is a 2005 epic historical drama film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, co-written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth. It is based on the 1984 book Vengeance by George Jonas, an account of Mossad assassinations following the Munich massacre.
Love Jones is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Theodore Witcher, in his feature film directing debut. The film stars Larenz Tate, Nia Long, Isaiah Washington, Bill Bellamy, and Lisa Nicole Carson.
Undertow is a 2004 American psychological thriller film co-written and directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Bell, Devon Alan, Dermot Mulroney and Josh Lucas. Taking place in Georgia, the film tells the story of two boys pursued by a murderous uncle.
Flirt is a 1995 drama film written and directed by Hal Hartley and produced by Good Machine.
Man of the Year is a 2006 American political satire film written and directed by Barry Levinson, produced by James G. Robinson, and starring Robin Williams. The film also features Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, Lewis Black, and Jeff Goldblum. In the film Williams portrays Tom Dobbs, the host of a comedy/political talk show, based loosely on the real-life persona of Jon Stewart. With an offhand remark, he prompts four million people to e-mail their support; then he decides to campaign for President. The film was released theatrically on October 13, 2006, and was filmed in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, and in parts of Washington, D.C. Man of the Year received mostly negative reviews and earned $41.2 million on a $20 million budget.
Religulous is a 2008 American documentary film written by and starring comedian Bill Maher and directed by Larry Charles. The title of the film is a portmanteau derived from the words religious and ridiculous. The documentary examines and challenges religion and religious belief.
20 Dates is a 1998 American mockumentary film. Myles Berkowitz directs and stars as himself, a man who decides to combine "the two biggest failures in my life--professional and personal" by setting out on a filmed quest to have 20 dates and come out with both a movie career and a love interest. While most of his dates are disasters of varying stripes, Myles ultimately meets the lovely Elisabeth on his 17th date and they completely hit it off, leaving him with a new dilemma when he wants to finish the movie anyway and puts his new romance at risk.
Three Colours: Red is a 1994 romantic mystery film co-written, produced and directed by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski. It is the final installment of the Three Colours trilogy, which examines the French Revolutionary ideals; it is preceded by Blue and White. Kieślowski had announced that this would be his final film, which proved true with the director's sudden death in 1996. Red is about fraternity, which it examines by showing characters whose lives gradually become closely interconnected, with bonds forming between two characters who appear to have little in common.
Water for Elephants is a 2011 American romantic drama film directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Richard LaGravenese, based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Sara Gruen. The film stars Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz, and Hal Holbrook.
Bachelorette is a 2012 American comedy film written and directed by Leslye Headland, adapted from her play of the same name. It stars Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher as three troubled women who reunite for the wedding of a friend who was ridiculed in high school. The play which the film is based upon was originally written as one of Headland's cycle of "Seven Deadly Sins" plays.
The Walk is a 2015 American 3D biographical drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by him and Christopher Browne. It is based on the story of 24-year-old French high-wire artist Philippe Petit's walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit, alongside Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, and Steve Valentine.
The Lazarus Effect is a 2015 American science fantasy horror film directed by David Gelb and written by Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater. The film stars Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde, Donald Glover, Evan Peters, and Sarah Bolger. The film was released on February 27, 2015, by Relativity Media. It received negative reviews from critics but was a box office success, grossing $38 million worldwide against a budget of $3 million.
...turning 17. Beginning September 25 [1984], I could drive and see R-rated movies without an accompanying adult.
James Berardinelli is not a professional movie reviewer, but he plays one on the Net. Log onto his Web site ReelViews, and you'll find 1,200 film reviews that the Piscataway, N.J., electrical engineer has written since he started posting messages on Internet newsgroups in 1992.
I missed a good part of November due to the birth of my daughter
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)