Ben Mankiewicz

Memorial Day, Father's Day and Getting Dad to Talk World War II

Ben Mankiewicz | Posted 07.31.2011

Read More: Frank Mankiewicz, World War 2, Ben Mankiewicz, Father's Day, Memorial Day, World War II, World War Two, Los Angeles News
Ben Mankiewicz

This time of year, as Memorial Day runs into Father's Day, I always try to coax my dad into talking about World War II. It's not as if he won't answer my questions, but he's never started a dinner table conversation with "Did I ever tell you about the time I killed two Nazis with my canteen?"

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Mitchell Page: What to Do When Your Boyhood Hero Dies

Ben Mankiewicz | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: 1977 Rookie of the Year, Page, Mitchell Page, Oakland a's, Washington Nationals, Eddie Murray, Ben Mankiewicz, St. Louis Cardinals, Hitting Coach, Baseball, Sports News
Ben Mankiewicz

I'd met him only once, in passing. He didn't know my name or anything about me. He was a 59-year-old alcoholic who'd been battling those demons for years. But Mitchell Page was a huge part of my life.

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The 10 Best Non-Independent Movies of 2010

Ben Mankiewicz | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Macgruber, 127 Hours, The Social Network, The Other Guys, LA Culture, Ben Mankiewicz, Jon Hamm, The Town, Knight and Day, The Ghost Writer, Christian Bale, Video, The King's Speech, Toy Story 3, Will Ferrell, Slidepollajax, Best of 2010, The Fighter, Tom Cruise, Top 10 List, Edge of Darkness, Los Angeles News
Ben Mankiewicz

You will find no independent films here, no brilliant art house dramas, no documentaries. I'm dismissing all "small" movies that deliver a "big" message.

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Born to Rank: The Top 25 Bruce Springsteen Songs

Ben Mankiewicz | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Racing in the Street, The Ghost of Tom Joad, Top 25, Thunder Road, Incident at 57th Street, Lucky Town, Ben Mankiewicz, Youngstown, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Thom Zimny, Born to Run, Factory, The Price You Pay, Glory Days, This Hard Land, Reason to Believe, Murder Incorporated, Downbound Train, American Land, The Rising, The Promise, Growin' Up, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Magic, Atlantic City, Bruce Springsteen, Tougher Than the Rest, Cynthia, Ramrod, Backstreets, Slidepollajax, Bruce Springsteen Songs, Top 25 Bruce Springsteen Songs, Bruce Springsteen the Promise, Springsteen, Entertainment News
Ben Mankiewicz

2010-09-22-bruce.jpgThe criteria are flexible. They're a combination of songwriting, listening pleasure, live performance and at what point in the song I begin to cry like an 11-year-old girl.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street -- Wildly Inappropriate (And Also Bad)

Ben Mankiewicz | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ben Mankiewicz, Child Abuse, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger, Entertainment News
Ben Mankiewicz

There's really no comparing the latest rendition of A Nightmare on Elm Street to Wes Craven's now-iconic 1984 slasher film. The original is far better and mind you, I say this having never actually seen the original.

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Scorsese vs. Polanski: Finally Some Real Movies, Shutter Island and Ghost Writer

Ben Mankiewicz | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Turner Classic Movies, Ben Mankiewicz, Shutter Island, The Ghost Writer, Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese, Los Angeles News
Ben Mankiewicz

Martin Scorsese one night. Roman Polanski the next. It isn't often you get to see fresh work by a couple of Oscar winning directors on back to back evenings.

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Amy Adams, Michael Cera and Why Movies Suck in January

Ben Mankiewicz | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: New Moon, Michael Cera, Leap Year, Turner Classic Movies, Youth in Revolt, Ben Mankiewicz, Amy Adams, Ethan Hawke, Daybreakers, Los Angeles News
Ben Mankiewicz

Movies suck in January, a time Hollywood commonly refers to as a "dumping ground" for films that don't match the high quality of 2012 and Did You Hear About the Morgans?

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Top 11 -- Yes, 11 -- Movies of 2009

Ben Mankiewicz | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: An Education, The Hurt Locker, District 9, Up in the Air, 2009 Movies, Every Little Step, In the Loop, Sugar, Tcm, Inglorious Basterds, Ben Mankiewicz, I Love You Man, Up, Sin Nombre, 2009, Year in Review, Slidepoll, Top Movies of 2009, Los Angeles News
Ben Mankiewicz

Because there's no place for number bigotry in a free society and because I couldn't figure out which movie to drop -- to paraphrase Nigel from Spinal Tap -- this list goes to 11.

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New Moon Hits New Low In Boredom

Ben Mankiewicz | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Movie Reviews, Ben Mankiewicz, New Moon, Kristen Stewart, Twilight, Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson, Entertainment News
Ben Mankiewicz

Here's what happens in New Moon. Three teenagers spend nearly two hours frowning and moping and not screwing. Also, there's a tremendous amount of male shirt removal.

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Ben Lyons, Ben Mankiewicz Dropped As "At The Movies" Hosts

AP | FRAZIER MOORE | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: AO Scott Michael Phillips, Michael Phillips, At the Movies Lyons Mankiewicz, Ben Mankiewicz, Ben Lyons, A.O. Scott, At the Movies, At the Movies Scott Phillips, Media News

NEW YORK — Cue the closing credits for "At the Movies" co-hosts Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz, who've endured a year of caustic reviews for their...

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Lyons, Mankiewicz Respond To Critics: "Just Wrong"

AP | LYNN ELBER | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ben Lyons at the Movies, At the Movies Lyons Mankiewicz, Ben Mankiewicz, Ben Lyons, At the Movies, Media News

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — "At the Movies" critics Ben Mankiewicz and Ben Lyons have been taking it as well as dishing it out since joining the sho...

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In Defense of Ben Lyons

Cenk Uygur | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Movie Reviews, Television, Young Turks, Ben Lyons, At the Movies, Entertainment Industry, Movie Reviewers, Ben Mankiewicz, Movies, Entertainment News
Cenk Uygur

The whole entertainment industry is built around sucking up to celebrities. You think Ben Lyons is uniquely responsible for this? Have you watched any entertainment "news" in your life?

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Two White Guys "At the Movies"

Esther J. Cepeda | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Minority Movie Critics, Richard Roeper, Ben Lyons, At the Movies, Roger Ebert, Minority Journalists, Gene Siskel, Robert Feder, Movies, Ebert & Roeper Replacements, New at the Movies Hosts, Ebert & Roeper, Tribune, Sun-Times, Ben Mankiewicz, Turner Classic Movies, E! Entertainment, Movie Critics, Media Bias, Chicago News
Esther J. Cepeda

It's 2008 and some black dude is running for president, but the movie review show based in Chicago - which has one of the largest black and Latino populations in America--couldn't find one single movie writer, reviewer, or blogger "of color" to fill one of the seats?

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Ben Lyons & Ben Mankiewicz Take Over "At The Movies" From Ebert & Roeper

AP | LYNN ELBER | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ben Lyons, Ben Mankiewicz, Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper, At the Movies, At the Movies Lyons Mankiewicz, Media News

LOS ANGELES — Over the years, TV's best-known movie review show has gone from hosts Siskel and Ebert to Ebert and Roeper to Roeper and guest cri...

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