The Ring: Scary As Hell
Written by Xiola According to Amy nothing freaked her out more about this film than when I, “scary movie goddess” proclaimed The Ring one of the scariest movies I’d ever seen. Before I’d gone, I had heard and read nothing…
For Kids Who Read Good
There was a time in my life when I wouldn’t have been caught dead paying money to see a movie like Zoolander (around the same time I wouldn’t have been caught dead listing to pop music, actually). But I remember…
Liberation in a G-String
Yesterday I was watching this old special hosted by Gene Kelly that I had TiVo’d, called That’s Dancing. In it, he narrates a series of clips about dancing on film, intercut with some interesting interviews from aging dames. Then he…
Moulin Rouge: The DVD Experience
Like most people, I have discovered the magic of DVDs. I get all excited when reading the back of the boxes. They’ve got special features! Could anything be cooler? No! And I feel deep and utter disappointment when there are…
True Confessions
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is either one of the slowest-paced movies in recent history, or it proves that all those studies about the shortening of the American attention span are true. It’s 113 minutes of plot, oozing along at…
Crushing on Jim Jarmusch
It all started innocently enough. I was a good independent film fan. I went to all the free art films screened at my college. I appreciated movies with unusual narrative structure, innovative cinematography and unusual characters. I read issues of…
Anime A-OK
Written by Kathy Adams In a way, I’m probably not the best choice to give a review of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (hereafter FF:TSW, because I’m lazy). I play the Final Fantasy games religiously, and I’m sure I’m right…
No, YOU Stick It
In the last decade, there have been few teen-targeted films that were truly brilliant. Kids these days (she said, sounding like somebody’s grandfather) have not had the honor of growing up with a John Hughes, someone who so thoroughly got…
Things I Never Stopped Loving from The 90s – The Jessica Edition
1. Juliana Hatfield My first introduction to Juliana Hatfield came from MTV’s Sunday night alternative video show, 120 Minutes (another favorite below). They would always show her video for “What A Life” and “My Sister.” I immediately ran out to…
Punch Drunk Love
I’m sure you’ve all read the reviews of Punch Drunk Love. Heard the praise. Oooh-ed over the prestigious awards the movie won. Or award. I can’t recall. But what do all the reviews and awards and praise add up to?…
The Deal With Mandy Moore
Inevitably, every single time I told someone I was going to go see the movie How To Deal with Mandy Moore, someone would ask me, “Is it going to be the same as that OTHER Mandy Moore movie?” What they…
8 Mile Falls Short
Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who doesn’t think 8 Mile is Phenomenal! Amazing! Brilliant! I’ve read all these descriptions and more, all praising the flick to high heaven, and I’ve yet to figure out why. Because, honestly,…
One Hour Photo. The stalking’s on us!
If you are going to see this movie because you love Robin Williams and even though he will forever be Mork to you, you loved him in the “dark” Death to Smoochy (which, for the record, I loved), don’t. If…
Dirty Dancing Gone Wrong
It’s all Amanda’s fault, really. We’re innocent parties in the whole shenanigans. Because neither of us would have willingly gone to see Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights by choice. A long time ago, Amanda had managed to brainwash Shana into thinking…
Lee Does Lee
Confession: I went to see The Hulk because it was directed by Ang Lee. Despite my appreciation for comics and an affinity for the television show, The Hulk has never been one of my favorite stories, and the trailers I…
8 Mile: Not Quite Lost
I just saw 8 Mile, and I’m not sure if it had a plot or meaningful dialogue, but the lead character was played by some skinny white boy named Eminem. And that’s how I’m going to play this review -…
Got the Job Done?
Amy and Amanda hit separate coasts to see The Italian Job. Here’s what they thought… Amanda: I just want to say up front that I was not a fan of The Italian Job. Amy: I rather liked it. I wasn’t…
Reality Shines in American High
I know Michelle hates it, but there is something to be said for reality programming-when it is showing us actual reality and not some farce dreamed up by greedy producers in search of the Next Big Ratings Gimmick. Not that…
Harry Potter’s Brave New World
The biggest difference in Alfonso Cuarón’s interpretation of the Harry Potter franchise is not in the way it looks – although it’s certainly different – but in the way it feels. Cuarón’s Prisoner of Azkaban is more mystical and less…
Come For The Chicks, Stay For The Clips
Written by Anthony Imm. On July 24th I went to my first Comic Con in San Diego. (I wanted to make it out last year to see Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie and Eliza Dushku, but I wasn’t living on the…
Orange Crush
Orange County officially opened this weekend, but I actually saw it a couple of months ago at a test screening in San Francisco. Even though I am over the target age for the movie (MTV films wanted everyone in the…
American Finale
On the surface, American Wedding is about the impending nuptials of Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan). Is that the best they could come up with to end the American Pie franchise? From the proposal – predictably involving an…
Dear Diary, Today I’m a Princess
There is something about ugly duckling stories that really appeals to me. (I was going to say, “to girls,” but I don’t want to speak for an entire gender, even if I do suspect it’s true.) So even though my…
10 Awesome Movies That Don’t Exist (Yet)
During the Network Upfront announcements, Liz Belsky whipped up some key art in the style of NBC’s painfully awkward key art to announce the new fake John Mulaney show Think Fast: SURPRISE! NBC has added a last-minute comedy series to…
The Big Jim Jarmusch Event
5:00 p.m.: Leave work, but not before changing into outfit for the Big Event (that being “A Conversation with Jim Jarmusch and Jonathan Rosenbaum,” which I have chosen to interpret as “My Conversation with Jim Jarmusch”). Want to look gurly…
PopGurls Guide to Hello, Bollywood!
Pleased to be making your Bollywood acquaintance. First, let’s define the term “Bollywood.” Clearly referencing the heart of the American (or “Amrikan”) film industry, “Bollywood” comes from the “B” in “Bombay” and refers to the corresponding cradle of Hindi-language film,…
Harry Potter Strikes Again
I hated the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone movie. I thought it was unimaginative, devoid of life and overstayed its welcome by at least an hour. Even now, when I can’t fall asleep, I pop in the DVD and…
Grease is The Word, Sort Of
Michelle: Okay, so we can’t really explain it, and I, for one, used to hate it, but Amy and I are addicted to Grease 2. Amy: Oh, but I loved it from the first moment I saw it, I did.…
Ahoy Ye Teenies
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl isn’t so much a movie as it’s an event – albeit a highly entertaining one. And since we all know that attending an event takes careful planning, here’s some things…
Serendipitous
Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way first. Serendipity is about two people who meet while trying to purchase the same pair of gloves in Bloomingdale’s five days before Christmas. They share blended coffee beverages, pertinent information (favorite…