Trailer Critic

There is a vital question at the heart of each of this week's mainstream cinematic offerings.

Lost Boy

Corey Feldman, who has been speaking out about the death of his actor comrade, Corey Haim, took to his blog as he recounted events yesterday morning as his brother and sister awoke him and told him about Haim. "My eyes weren’t even open all the way when the tears started streaming down my face," Feldman writes.

Haim died yesterday of a suspected drug overdose in Hollywood that is being investigated by the local coroner.

Mr. RIKSHAZ9LIRK

What's Conan O'Brien been doing since he was ousted from his late night talk show job on NBC so that Jay Leno could have the slot back? He's been tweeting like mad. For instance on Feb. 25, he tweeted, "This morning I watched Remington Steele while eating Sugar Smacks out of a salad bowl. I was naked." And we'd assumed he was walking around in his underwear. A day later, he struck again: "Today I connected all the freckles on my arm with a Sharpie. It spells out RIKSHAZ9LIRK. Clearly I am The Chosen One."

Now O'Brien finally has something real to tweet about.

Batter Up!

The Colorado Rockies announced today that five-time All-Star first baseman Todd Helton has agreed to a two-year contract extension and will accept a portion of his sizable salary to give the Rockies payroll flexibility. 

Big Bucks

Forbes' annual list of billionaires is out and American computer mogul Bill Gates who has a practical stranglehold on the No. 1 position for nearly a generation, has been bumped to No. 2. Carlos Slim Helu, of Mexico, the mastermind behind the America Movil telecommunications company, is No. 1 after his company was valued at $53.5 billion, up from $18.5 billion a year ago. That edged out Gates by a few pennies. He's worth $53 billion, up $13 billion from a year ago, according to Forbes. Warren Buffett, who was No. 1 in 2008, is now ranked third. His fortune grew by $10 billion to $47 billion last year.

What recession? 

Shaken

About two weeks after a powerful earthquake rattled Chile, more struck this morning as officials prepared for the inauguration of President-elect Sebastian Pinera, an economist and Harvard graduate. A 6.9 magnitude quake hit near Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins in central Chile about 20 minutes ago, a follow-up to 7.2 quake 40 minutes ago. About two hours prior to that, a 5.1 quake two hours ago that rocked Araucania, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were reports of rattled windows, in the Chilean capital, according to various news reports. 

How Sucky is Boston?

So, you're a Boston Celtics fan and your team was on the wrong end of a 20-point beat down last night at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies. What's the most appropriate reaction? Well, if you're like any Boston fan, you boo your team off the floor. "It surprises me," said Paul Pierce, who has played on some pretty bad teams in the past. He admitted that the team has to be more consistent in its efforts, but honestly Boston: chill.  

The Supreme Court recently freed corporations to spend more money on aggressive election ads. But if businesses take advantage of this new freedom, the public probably won't know it, because it's easy for them to legally hide their political spending. Under current disclosure laws for federal elections, it's virtually impossible for the public to track how much a business spends, what it's spending on, or who ultimately benefits. Experts say the transparency problem extends to state and local races as well.