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Web site reviews offer good movie previews
■ Numerous web sites
offer plenty of reviews on
movies in-the-make, but
not all are worth the time
By Joe Walsh
Oregon Daily Emerilff;'
Whether you want to know
who will play the next Anakin
Skywalker, or you just want to
find the movies and show times
for your local theater, you can
find it on the web.
"Cinema Confidential”
(cinecon.com)
Have you heard there may be
a fifth Batman movie? There are
also rumors about a fourth “Back
to the Future”, a third “Ghost
busters” and a second “Men in
Black”, but you probably would
n’t know unless you were sleep
ing with the Hollywood higher
ups. Well, at Cinema
Confidential, they do the dirty
work so you don’t have to (or so
it seems). This site has all the lat
est gossip, from Leonardo’s next
role (Spiderman?) to the status of
the “Silence of the Lambs” se
quel. There are also movie re
views and previews, full trailers
and a “weekend outlook” that al
lows viewers to scan local
movies and show times, along
with letter grades and brief com
ments on the films. There are
even message boards and a Q &
A page that allow movie buffs to
post questions to other users or
staff members. This site has it
all, is easy to use and gets to the
point... A+
"Coming Attractions”
(www.corona.bc.ca/films/
homepage.htmi)
This text-based Web site reads
like the Wall Street Journal. It’s
got all the info, but it’s not too
exciting. In fact, it’s no less than
incredible how much informa
tion these guys can get on a
movie that’s not even in produc
tion yet. The “Stars Wars
Episode Two” page contains
around 20 pages of information,
and George Lucas hasn’t even
finished the script It makes one
wonder: who are these people?
Don’t they have something bet
ter to do than sit around wonder
ing whom the next Boba Fett
will be? Apparently not, and
that dedication to the facts has
earned this site several awards,
including Virgin Net’s “Cinema
Top Ten Sites” (1998). This site
definitely knows what’s up in
Hollywood, although it can be
pretty dry... C+
“Movie Bloopers Online”
(moviebloopers.com)
“Movie Bloopers Online” is
another site that begs the ques
tion: how much free time do
these people have? Don’t go here
if you’re expecting to see hilari
ous outtakes, because that’s not
what this site is about. The staff
at “Movie Bloopers Online” con
sists of those dorks... err... ex
tremely perceptive people who
find the inconsistencies in
movies. Have you ever noticed
the so-called blooper in “Billy
Madison”? In one frame Adam
Sandler is holding a beer and
sun tan lotion while in the pool,
but he’s not holding either item
in the next frame! There’s a
downloadable animated spoof
on Star Wars called “Star
Dudes.” “The Big Lebowski”
meets “Star Wars” in this spoof
that runs the course of the entire
“Star Wars” movie in less than
five minutes. It’s worth it just to
see Darth Vader pick up a soldier
by the throat and ask, “Where
are the hidden plans, dude?” But
that's the only thing worthwhile
on the entire web site. By the
way, if you are one of those peo
ple who think it’s impressive
when you point out movies
flaws, please knock it off... D+
“The IGN.com Anti Awards”
(antis.ign.com)
According to this site, the
Academy Awards is “an orgy of
sequins, kisses, standing ovations,
tears, excess, flash and
pageantry.” That’s outrageous!
But it’s true. The Academy
Awards are intriguing, but at
times it can be a bit too, well, Hol
lywood. The Anti Academy, com
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prising online critics, journalists
and industry mavericks, takes
care of that, giving out its own
awards. It also lets the people
decide who should win in its
“People’s Choice” awards. The
Anti Academy hands out many
of the same awards as the real
Academy, but adds a few ex
tras. There are awards like
“Most Underrated Film”
(“Fight Club”), “Best Death”
(Samuel L. Jackson in “Deep
Blue Sea”) and “Biggest Dis
appointment” (“Star Wars,
Episode One”). It’s interesting
to see a different, and well-in
formed, opinion on movies,
so it’s worth checking out. Of
course, once you’ve seen the
site once, there’s no point in
going back until next year.
In the meantime, check out
IGN’s movie web site at
movies.ign.com, where
you’ll find enough pre
views, reviews, features
and gossip to keep you en
tertained and informed
until next year’s awards...
B
“Shadowculture’s
Mr. Cranky” (mr
cranky.com)
When you get tired
of hearing positive re
views from suck-up
film critics, this is the
place to go. Mr. Cranky
doesn’t like movies too
much, and he isn’t shy
about it. His ratings range
from not too bad (a one
bomb rating means “almost
tolerable”) to terrible (a
bundle of dynamite rating
means “So godawful that it
ruptured the very fabric of
space and time with die sheer
overpowering force of its
mediocrity”). While Mr.
Cranky is always negative,
there is almost always a valid
complaint that most critics
aren’t willing to make. This site
is funny at first, but it may not be
the best resource for informative
movie reviews, as it only looks
for the bad. Besides, a person can
only take so much negativity..
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