Alien Apocalypse (review)

No Wood There’s a certain level of expectation built into a Sci-Fi Channel Original Film. One tunes into expecting — nay, hoping — to see laughably incoherent plots, full of holes and aping, in a cheap, made-for-TV way, some cheap, made-for-the-big-screen SF flick; ridiculously bad FX, replete with awful bluescreening and obvious CGI that some … more…

Beauty Shop (review)

This Barbershop spinoff is like a wan, third-generation photocopy, only with chicks, and despite the fact that it’s an enormous mess, the terrific cast is undeniably ingratiating. Hair stylist Gina Norris (Queen Latifah: Taxi) has moved from Chicago (the character appeared in Barbershop 2: Back in Business) to Atlanta, where — after escaping from a … more…

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (review)

It’s off to Vegas for FBI agent Gracie Hart. Or is it back to Vegas? Was *Miss Congeniality 1: Even Grown Women Can Be Juvenile Idiots* set in Vegas too? I’ve tried to hard to forget that film, and now it all comes rushing back, like the kind of nightmare you wake from with a scream, in a sweat, and vowing never to sleep again. All that girly squealing and female bonding over evening gowns — ack, make it stop!

V-Day: Until the Violence Stops (review)

Eve Ensler’s powerful one-woman — emphasis on “woman” — off-Broadway show The Vagina Monologues so stirred women around the world with its themes of self-empowerment and self-determination that it spawned a worldwide movement against rape, “female circumcision,” and other female-directed violence. This, Abby Epstein’s impassioned documentary, tells the story of that movement, from the celebrity-studded … more…

The Specials (review)

More amusing when taken by moments than as a whole, this superhero spoof is a worthy companion piece to the similarly themed Mystery Men or the animated cult TV series The Tick, but it fails to reach their heights of satiric brilliance. The Specials are the sixth or seventh greatest superhero team in the world, … more…

Sex Is Comedy (review)

Leave it to the French to create a Moebius strip of a movie about the difficulties of shooting an effective, believable sex scene that holds multiple mirrors up to itself, creating a neverending series of reflections and self-referents. Director Jeanne (La Femme Nikita‘s Anne Parillaud) is getting ready to shoot the most important scene in … more…

The Greatest American Hero: Season One (review)

Believe it or not, it’s only now that this charming fantasy series is hitting DVD, and it’s most welcome. Half tribute to the Superman mythos and half sendup of it, this cult-favorite series — and one of the more inspired successes from prolific producer Stephen J. Cannell (Silk Stalkings) — laid the groundwork for all … more…

The Flame Trees of Thika (review)

Call it Little House on the Serengeti. Delightful and deeply affecting, in that way that genuine, heartfelt stories about growing up can often be, this is a treat for fans of British TV — a beloved 1981 production is at last on DVD — and childhood memoirs. Based on the book by Elspeth Huxley, this … more…

The Ring Two (review)

‘We only made one copy,’ Naomi Watts laments as people start dying again, six months after she made that only one copy. Obviously, Naomi Watts has never been on the New York City subway on any given Friday, when an army of little Chinese people roams the trains, offering for sale bootleg DVDs of every theatrical feature film that opened that very day.

Steamboy (review)

It’s the most expensive animated film ever produced outside the United States, with a reported budget of $27 million… which will probably end up being mostly what it’s remembered for, since what those many millions bought is somewhat less notable. Oh, there’s some eye candy to be found in this Victorian-era science-fiction tale, from Akira … more…