bias update

obsession: still Doctor Who (most recent episode blogging: “Midnight” — yes, I’m behind) boyfriend: David Tennant as the Doctor (see my summer of Tennant and Hamlet) psyched: absolutely nothing (because it’s the dead end of summer) dreading: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (what, the first one wasn’t torture enough?) enemy: Eddie Murphy, and … more…

Shrek (review)

If there’s any truth to the saying that cynics are nothing but disappointed optimists, then Shrek is the very embodiment of it, its cheery and confident optimistic heart beating underneath a tough outer layer that’s grim and twisted, one that seems at first to have given up on fantasy.

Bowfinger (review)

Chubby Rain may be a disaster in the making, but Bowfinger itself, written by Martin, has one of the best scripts to hit the screen this year: slyly and outrageously funny, by turns edgy and sweet. I suspect that Bobby Bowfinger is more Steve Martin than appearances might suggest.

Mulan (1998) and Hercules (1997) (review)

Damn! Mulan is thisclose to being not just a brilliant animated film, but a brilliant film, period. It has a dramatic story, a heroine who kicks butt, a villain who kicks butt, a square-jawed hero with a not-so-nice side, and some of the most sweepingly gorgeous visuals since Beauty and the Beast. But Mulan is dragged down by insipid songs that feel tacked on and silly, inappropriate sidekicks and secondary characters.