What's the haps, America? Like all other entertainophiles out there I was glued to the TV for the Winona Ryder trial. Who could believe they would find her guilty, just because they had her on tape and caught her in a few lies? Let the message go out to all celebrities: If you are no longer on the A-list and try to get away with a misdemeanor crime, YOU WILL PAY.

There, sorry to get so serious on everybody. But now for the fun stuff—movie city, here we come!



In Theaters



8 Miles of M&Ms

If I've said it before, that's one time I said it: I don't watch documentaries. They're always the same boring thing, some political message against CEOs of car and shoe companies or some film crew getting lost in the woods looking for a witch. But when a movie's good, it's good regardless, and 8 Miles of M&Ms is amazing! Allow me to get the obligatory quote for the commercial ball rolling by saying, "8 Miles of M&Ms is a sure-fire Oscar contender—no, winner! Winner! It does for rap music and M&Ms what E.T. & T. did for phone companies and Reese's Pieces." Wow, that kicked ass. I'll expect my name to be included on the guest list for some of those Hollywood premieres from now on.

The Santa Clause 2

I was not a big fan of the first installment of this franchise, even though I love that Buzz Lightyear in almost anything. But this one is a big improvement. The whole premise of the movie—that Santa Claus spends his other 364 days as a trial lawyer in civil litigation suits—is pretty sketchy, but this one is livened up by a dramatic drinking problem as ol' Santa Claus proves even though he's a lawyer he can't pass a bar. Donner and Blitzen's intervention is a real tear-jerker, and not to ruin the ending or anything, but it's all worth watching just to see what that curmudgeony old judge gets in his stocking.

Punch-Drunk Love

Why can't everyone just leave Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston alone? Sure, she's a crack addict with a darling voice and he's a brutal, talentless lump who whips her ass like he's paid to do it, but I wouldn't want everybody sticking their nose into my private life if I married a more talented celebrity then started abusing her, driving her into drug abuse. As a film, the melodrama is in full effect, but you have to admit casting Adam Sandler was a brave choice, though I will always prefer Whitney's version of "The Bodyguard Song" to his.

I Spy

I hope somebody got his ass handed to him for this clunker of a movie. Remember when I said I wish Hollywood would try something daring and different? Well, I take it back, they should stick to formulaic and proven. When they try to do something new it's always crap like this, a 90-minute version of the famous car trip game. An hour and a half straight of a filmed trip to Wisconsin, and we're all supposed to have fun pointing out things on the screen and hoping our seat neighbors can guess it from our clues. Bump that! The good news is that the dismal failure of this one has resulted in Hollywood scrapping its planned film version of "The License Plate Game."

Femme Fatale

You know the Roland McShyster motto, "If it's French, don't see it"? I broke that rule of mine when I saw a poster for this one with that sexy Rebecca Romaine-Lettuce on it, and I'm glad I did. What a kick-ass movie! The French didn't screw this one up, amazingly enough. Sexy Steve Buscemi is a cyber geek whose girlish throw gets him routinely pounded on by a bunch of frat guys, until a magic genie (Rebecca whosits) turns things around. Now Steve can kill whoever gives him any backtalk, and he becomes an inspiring role model for all the geeks around him. I love it when jocks get the tables turned on them and creepy weirdoes end up with superhot model chicks.




That's a bag of movies, collected and finely crushed into powder by yours truly for your entertainment pleasure. But don't leave me to have all the fun, America! Get out there and see some movies of your own, or make them, if you have a friend. Just don't show them to me.

October 28, 2002
Hello hello, America!

Boy have we got some nipples for you this week! I ca- nipples? You know what I mean, America, movies. Weird. Some people think it's significant when you nip out like that, ma- slip up, nip rocks, whatever. It's not like... (10/28/02)

October 14, 2002
Come quick, America, you've got to see this. Okay, well, maybe not, but the quicker we get to the movie reviews the quicker Roland McShyster can get back to the high-powered binoculars he picked up for a dollar at a yard sale. These things are... (10/14/02)

September 30, 2002
Happy Birthday, America!

Yeah, I know it's a little late, but some crackhead stole my Dayplanner, so what can you do? We've got eight different kinds of fun coming your way from Entertainment Policeland today, so I hope you're ready. No, that's... (9/30/02)

September 16, 2002
Howdy Doody, America.

I'm sorry folks. That was just a pathetic attempt to sound upbeat. I should give you people more credit than that. We all know where we find ourselves, plum in the middle of the doggy-style days of autumn, a movie... (9/16/02)

September 2, 2002
What a shitty prom date we've got this week, America. I'm not kidding folks, there isn't dick coming out in the next fortnight. And it looks like I'm the one left holding the dead broad's head when the music has stopped, because I've still got to... (9/2/02)