Scott Mendelson

Scott Mendelson

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The basics - 29 years old, married with one child, currently residing in Woodland Hills, CA. Aside from my day job (kind of a secret, but it’s independent contracting), I dabble in voice over and occasionally play around on the Improv scene.

I am simply a longtime film critic and pundit of sorts, especially in the realm of box office punditry. I also syndicate myself at The Huffington Post and Open Salon. Aside from the usual film gossip (not the US Weekly or Nikki Finke variety), I’ll be dealing with box office analysis and comparison and criticism of film criticism and journalism (watching the watchmen, as it were). I will dabble in politics here and there, but I'm sure there are many people on this site who can do that better than I.

For an archive of all of my work, go to Mendelson’s Memos (http://scottalanmendelson.blogspot.com). That site also contains pretty much every film review I have ever written, yes even some of the garbage I wrote when I was sixteen.

I will update as often as my schedule allows. Yes, I'm on Facebook/MySpace/Twitter, so feel free to find me there. All comments are appreciated, just be civil and try to keep a level discourse, as I will make every effort to do the same. Thank you.

Scott Mendelson

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Blog Entries by Scott Mendelson

HuffPost Review: Precious (2009)

3 Comments | Posted November 10, 2009 | 12:56 PM (EST)

Precious
2009
109 minutes
Rated R

Precious, based on Sapphire's novel Push, is a uniquely...

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I'll Analyze It... With Science!

Posted November 9, 2009 | 11:22 AM (EST)

Thank you Roger Ebert for finding this thing.

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HuffPost Weekend Box Office in Review

Posted November 8, 2009 | 07:02 PM (EST)

As expected, Disney's A Christmas Carol opened at number one over the weekend. If the opening weekend number of $30 million feels...

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HuffPost Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

43 Comments | Posted November 6, 2009 | 05:28 PM (EST)

The Men Who Stare At Goats
2009
90 minutes
Rated R

The Men Who Stare at Goats...

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HuffPost Review: A Christmas Carol: The 3D IMAX Experience (2009)

3 Comments | Posted November 3, 2009 | 05:26 PM (EST)

A Christmas Carol: The 3D IMAX Experience
2009
96 minutes
Rated PG (for scary sequences and images)

by Scott Mendelson

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This Is It Becomes the World's Highest-Grossing Concert Film in History

32 Comments | Posted November 1, 2009 | 05:04 PM (EST)

First off, the facts. Michael Jackson's This Is It grossed $34.4 million in five-days, which gives it a surprisingly high 4.64x multiplier...

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Huff Post Review: This Is It: The IMAX Experience

14 Comments | Posted October 28, 2009 | 03:45 AM (EST)

This Is It: The IMAX Experience
2009
112 minutes
Rated PG

There is no getting around the obvious exploitation...

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Huff Post Review: Saw VI (2009)

15 Comments | Posted October 27, 2009 | 12:36 PM (EST)

Saw VI
2009
91 minutes
Rated R

With Saw VI, we see the surprising sight of a long-running franchise...

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Weekend Box Office: Underdog Horror Film Crushes Sixth Chapter of Formerly Underdog Horror Film Series

7 Comments | Posted October 25, 2009 | 05:39 PM (EST)

In a somewhat shocking turn of events that played out like a season finale of a television series, the long roll-out of Paranormal...

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Just in Time for Halloween: The 10 Best Modern 'Direct-to-DVD' Horror Films

9 Comments | Posted October 22, 2009 | 10:53 AM (EST)

Last Halloween, I took you on a tour of the worst horror films that my wife had forced me to watch over the years. This year, I'm staying positive. Even before the HD boom allowed pretty much everyone to become a filmmaker in their back yard, low-budget horror was...

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Huff Post Review: Weekend Box Office

10 Comments | Posted October 18, 2009 | 05:07 PM (EST)

It was good news for everyone at the box office this weekend. Not only did every major new release open within or above expectations, last...

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HuffPost Review: Where the Wild Things Are: The IMAX Experience

17 Comments | Posted October 15, 2009 | 04:57 PM (EST)

Where the Wild Things Are: The IMAX Experience
2009
100 minutes
Rated PG

It is often said that

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HuffPost Review: Paranormal Activity (2009)

18 Comments | Posted October 13, 2009 | 01:05 AM (EST)

Paranormal Activity
2009
86 minutes (wrongly listed as 99 minutes on most websites)
Rated R

It is a rare thing to...

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Huff Post Weekend Box Office Review: Couples Retreat Triumphs While Paranormal Activity Explodes

3 Comments | Posted October 11, 2009 | 06:25 PM (EST)

There are two major surprises this weekend, both good news for those involved. After weeks of four or more major releases opening over each weekend,...

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Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet DNC pulls out unpeaceful tactics from the Bush years.

2 Comments | Posted October 9, 2009 | 05:37 PM (EST)

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On the plus side, Obama seemed as surprised and confounded as many of us are this morning. I'm sure he feels similar to how David Hyde Pierce felt upon winning the Best Supporting Actor Emmy that everyone thought would go that year to the recently deceased Phil Hartman. He doesn't really think he deserves it either, but he can't very well turn it down or chide the Nobel committee for giving it to him. His remarks show a humility and acknowledgment that the prize was about a promise for future good works that now must be delivered.

On the negative side, the DNC chairman Brad Woodhouse has responded to the various jeers from the GOP by explicitly playing the 'you're with us or the terrorists' card.

"The Republican Party has thrown in its lot with the terrorists - the Taliban and Hamas this morning - in criticizing the President for receiving the Nobel Peace prize. Republicans cheered when America failed to land the Olympics and now they are criticizing the President of the United States for receiving the Nobel Peace prize - an award he did not seek but that is nonetheless an honor in which every American can take great pride - unless of course you are the Republican Party. The 2009 version of the Republican Party has no boundaries, has no shame and has proved that they will put politics above patriotism at every turn. It's no wonder only 20 percent of Americans admit to being Republicans anymore - it's an embarrassing label to claim."

Not cool, Brad Woodhouse, not cool at all. It's one thing to chide those who celebrate the American loss of the 2016 Olympics as being somewhat unpatriotic, but labeling those who disagree with the awarding of an honor to a single American citizen as 'having thrown in their lot with the terrorists' is right out of the Bush/Cheney/Ashcroft play book in the 2001-2004 era. Alas, other left-leaning sites such as Media Matters and Daily Kos are jumping on the bandwagon. Apparently certain facets on the left are suffering from an irony deficiency this morning. It was a cruel, unfair, and stupid tactic in 2002 to equate opposition to the Iraq war of the general War-On-Terror strategy with siding with Al Qaeda and otherwise being 'un-American'. How very well can we say that Obama is receiving this award primarily due to his differing diplomatic approach from George W. Bush when his supporters use the same fear-baiting smear tactics that the GOP used during the previous administration?

For the record, I don't think Barack Obama deserved the award either, certainly not so early into his presidency. Does that make this bleeding-heart liberal a terrorist-sympathizer too?

Scott...

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HuffPost Review - Trick 'R Treat (2009)

9 Comments | Posted October 9, 2009 | 11:53 AM (EST)

Trick 'R Treat
2009
82 minutes
Rated R (for horror violence, some sexuality/nudity and language)
Available on DVD,

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HuffPost Review: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)

9 Comments | Posted September 30, 2009 | 02:55 AM (EST)

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
2009
67 minutes
Rated PG-13 (for action violence throughout and a crude comment)
Available on September 29th...

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Huff Post Review: Whip It (2009)

2 Comments | Posted September 28, 2009 | 01:05 PM (EST)

Whip It
2009
111 minutes
Rated PG-13

by Scott Mendelson

Whip It is a textbook example of how...

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A Nightmare on Elm Street Remake Gets a Trailer

2 Comments | Posted September 28, 2009 | 02:19 AM (EST)

Well, that's a little underwhelming. What's most apparent is that, aside from a few flourishes (the opening scene of Fred Krueger being burned to death, a pool-party scene that may or may not be cribbed from...

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