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New terror sleeper cell uncovered?

Seven men from now: How many Chicagoans does it take to make up a phony terror cell? On Monday night's The Daily Show, Jon Stewart reported on the big press conference called by Attorney General (and Pillar of Integrity) Alberto…

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Opening Shots: Keep 'em coming!

It's really not that difficult. I'll be publishing your Opening Shots submissions all this week. And I'll provide the answers to both my Opening Shots Pop Quizzes (and further appreciations of the shots themselves) on Friday or over the weekend.…

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Opening Shots: 'Aguirre, the Wrath of God'

From Nadia Aboufariss: "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" begins with a shot of a huge, wooded mountain side, shrouded in the mist. We can just barely make out the figures who are slowly descending the slope, little bigger than specks…

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Opening Shots: 'Miller's Crossing'

Enlarge image: Clink! Enlarge image: Gurgle. From Dave McCoy, Editor, MSN Movies: The Coen Brothers love to use objects as symbols for characters, especially before we actually meet them. Think of the tumbling tumbleweed that starts "The Big Lebowski" --…

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Opening Shots: 'His Girl Friday'

Enlarge image: Newsroom hustle... Enlarge image: ... and bustle. Notice the emphasis on women at work in the very first moments. From That Little Round-Headed Boy: "His Girl Friday": Anybody who ever worked in the journalism business, or wished they…

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Opening Shots: 'Altered States'

View image View image View image "Altered States" opens with the image of a fluorescent, egglike shape surrounded by darkness. It is a window. From below, in comes a floating human figure (William Hurt as Prof. Eddie Jessup), who appears…

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Shyamalan recounts Disney nightmare

M. Nightmare Shyamalan: "Sometimes Night would close his eyes and see little oval black and white head shots of Nina Jacobson and Oren Aviv and Dick Cook floating around in his head, unwanted houseguests that would not leave. The Disney…

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Opening Shots: Quiz 2: 10 Easy Pieces (+2)

Set your timers -- it'll be a blast! OK, I know the Opening Shots Pop Quiz is difficult -- mainly because, even though many of the movies are famous (or by famous directors), they're very personal favorites of mine that…

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Opening Shots Project: Pop Quiz

It feels like an unbroken stream (of consciousness)... We've received some terrific contributions to the Open Shot Project. Thank you so very much. And please keep 'em coming in. (And tell your cinemaniacal friends.) I'm going to start posting them…

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"This is my happening and it freaks me out!"

Enlarge image: Messrs. Meyer and Ebert at the time of their collaboration. Yes, "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" is available on DVD at last. Dennis Cozzalio has a fine assessment of Russ Meyer's busterpiece over at Sergio Leone and…