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To my surprise, "Girl, Interrupted" was one of the better movies I've seen in 1999, but it's not exactly what you call a "feel-good" movie. When I left the theatre, I felt rather depressed, which shows that the film had an effect on me.

Many critics have compared this film to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", while the only similarity in the two films is its setting. "Girl" takes a life of its own, and becomes a fascinating character study of a young woman trying to live life how she wants to live it. Winona Ryder gives one of her strongest performances as Susanna Kaysen, while Angelina Jolie is brilliant as the sociopath Lisa. Though Ryder and Jolie are the two central characters in the film (with the scene-chewing performances), there are several other supporting characters that we learn to sympathize with as the film progresses.

Though there isn't much Oscar buzz for this one (except for Jolie's performance), I think that Ryder should at least get an Oscar nomination for her daring, original performance. It's been a while since I've seen her do something this good. 8/10

"The Positively True Adventures..." is a surprisingly smart and effective look at how power-hungry and ruthless the media can be on such a small matter. Even though the film looks like a screwball comedy, it's actually a satire not far from the similarly themed "To Die For".

Holly Hunter and Beau Bridges are excellent in their roles, deserving the praise and awards they got for them. Even though the documentary-style outtakes are distracting at first, it shows that Hunter can easily become the character she's portraying.

The last half hour of the film is the best, when the central characters are all being confronted by the media to sell their stories, and most major networks are planning to make a movie. Hunter's character claims that she doesn't want her life to be made into a cheesy TV movie-of-the-week, and it hasn't: it's been made into an intelligent satirical look at the mass media. 8/10.

When Showgirls was released, it was welcomed with a barrage of bad reviews, which led it to be the reigning champ of the 1995 Razzie Awards. Following all of the criticism and bad-mouthing, I finally decided to rent it one night with a friend of mine. And I was surprised - it wasn't that bad.

No, I didn't like it for the gratuitous nudity (my friend and I happen to be gay, but that's beside the point). It was so overdone that it has a campy, cult-classic quality to it. Elizabeth Berkeley and Kyle McLachlan were bad in the movie - but they were meant to be bad - it's like a parody of the kinds of people that make a living in Las Vegas. Only Gina Gershon shows any real promise (before anyone heard of her), and now she's building herself to be one of the more promising actresses of the late 90s.

Sure, the writing is horrendous. The direction is lame. (Most of) the acting is laughably amateurish. But I was never bored by the eye-dazzling set designs and the inspired dance numbers. Just expect the worst movie ever made, and "Showgirls" will surprise you. It's not that bad. **1/2 out of ****.