Were you freaked out by Stifler eating poop in American Wedding? Did the carefully choreographed murders send you home nervous after Sever? Do you fast-forward through the surgery on ER? People complain about shock cinema and how far it has to go now to penetrate our jaded, desensitized sensibilities. Grotesque rape-ballet […]

I had the rare opportunity to see screener videos for the animated and live action shorts that were nominated for Academy Awards this year. Most people, myself included, generally only get access to the Pixar or Warner Brothers’ animated short that comes before their animated feature of the year, making your office Oscar pool […]

What can one say about Shortbus without painting oneself into a corner? Shortbus and its performers are brave, talented, self-involved (explained later) and worthy of attention. This is a movie that would be weird to watch with a family member, a lover, or alone. [For the record, I opted for alone.] […]

It is a testament to the sheer technical filmmaking skills of the shooting crew that this movie is as entertaining as it was. All the acting was impeccable; the airplane set was amazing, interesting, and claustrophobic even with its absurd size. The cinematography and editing were eye-catching and kept your heart beating. […]

The single words that I could use to describe Kung Fu Hustle are: surreal, funny, weird, neat, cartoonish. At times the films feels like it wants to be this great serious epic, and when that is happening, I sense cultural touchstones with great meaning slipping below my radar faster than a Dennis Miller monologue interpreted in […]

Keep in mind that this review comes from a gal who laughed giddily through all of 2004’s zombie movies and who doesn’t blink during Terminator or Saving Private Ryan or Desperado. I’m no doily-crocheting pastor’s wife with an agenda and a Hayes Code sampler on the wall. This movie is obscene. Not […]

At first, you pity wee Pendragon Pictures - they finally make a blip on the radar screen by producing a feature film of a popular science fiction story but doing it for the first time as it was originally written, set in 1898 with Martians chasing horse drawn wagons, etc - and then the Spielberg […]

This list was formulated before the last-second crush of movies (12/17) so it may be challenged by new releases…
Top Ten who have a chance at award recognition (in no order)
De-Lovely - beautiful, moving, innovative, and under my skin (and on my video shelf)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - beautiful, moving, innovative, and under my […]

All controversy and religious fervor or outrage aside, this film needs to be looked at as what it is: a movie. Despite the spectacular amounts of hype and hoopla, despite the lightning strikes (literally) and conversions, this is, after all, still a movie. Is it a good movie? I’ll tell you what […]

Yes I completely understand that it’s February and these things traditionally come out to be read through a New Year’s Day hangover. I blame a trip, a show, and the vexing lack of hours in a day.
For my newer readers (and there are a lot of you) I have no hard and fast tradition about […]