James Sims

Movies

  • Alexis Bledel, Unemployed ‘Post Grad’ (HuffPo)

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    James Sims

    If you ask Alexis Bledel whether college was a worthwhile experience, you’d discover that without her time at school she might not have become an actress. Now 27, she started out with a focus on writing and directing. “I figured out that I was interested in acting while at NYU,” she told me while discussing…

  • ‘Passing Strange’ Explodes On Screen

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    James Sims

    Passing Strange has seen various incarnations since its initial development at the Sundance Institute in 2004. From an out-of-town run in Berkeley to its Off-Broadway then Broadway premiere, the rock and soul stage musical has now made its way to the silver screen. For any New Yorker that caught Passing Strange on Broadway there should…

  • Remembering John Hughes

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    James Sims

    Director John Hughes hadn’t been on my mind for quite some time. My insanely large DVD collection is stocked with his complete collection of films, and I never hesitate to tune in whenever a Brat Pack movie comes on HBO or Showtime, but I haven’t brought up his name for a while. Then I saw…

  • (500) Days of Summer Gets a Music Video

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    James Sims

    This summer has seen two quirky romantic films — both with somewhat depressing endings — bucking the trend of horrendous action blockbusters. Adam and (500) Days of Summer explore the idea that love doesn’t always conquer all. While Adam is the superior movie, (500) Days of Summer is the slicker production, and features one of…

  • Max Mayer’s ADAM Falls For NYC

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    James Sims

    To live in a world in which anything could be bluntly said is almost unthinkable. Imagine if Hollywood’s creative community simply told producers that they refused to work on a runaway production.  Perhaps the number of local film shoots wouldn’t be so dismal. Unfortunately, social norms and self-preservation tell those without industry power to bite…

  • The Wrap: ABC Family’s ’10 Things’ Takes on CW Demographic

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    James Sims

    Just last week, I stumbled upon an email invitation from my high school reunion committee. It has been 10 years since I departed Saugus High, a mostly white-bred school in an innocuous Los Angeles suburb. I’ve yet to decide if I’ll be making a trip back to California for this little shindig. There isn’t much…

  • 4 Films for 4th of July

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    James Sims

    That firecracker of a holiday, Independence Day, is nearly upon us. And what better way to celebrate the 4th of July then by watching a few great films. That is of course, if you can take time away from blowing your limbs off with illegally imported explosives. Tinseltown is as American as apple pie —…

  • The Wrap: Let’s Hear It For Maya Rudolph!

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    James Sims

    Whenever I bring up leading “Saturday Night Live” ladies, nearly all of my pop culture obsessed friends proclaim Tina Fey is the best and brightest. There is no disputing that her comic writing skills are untouchable — “30 Rock” is perhaps the best comedy on TV right now. And her time on SNL yielded some…

  • J.J. Abrams Flies Star Trek into Black Hole

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    James Sims

    J.J. Abrams has stretched his theory of alternate realities to the limit with his re-imagining of “Star Trek.”

  • It Takes a Frog to Save Disney

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    James Sims

    I randomly flipped on “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” the other day and quickly recalled a gathering I attended a few years back where Andreas Deja, a Disney animator, spoke about bringing the zany rabbit to life. Deja had joined the Disney animation department in 1980, where he actually had a chance to meet many of…