NinadeL

The first time I saw the film, I thought: "Okay, finally a film that just tells a story but doesn't give you advice on how to solve it." That was very new then. In fact, it still is. And Madonna has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

Not Evita, but rather A League of Their Own - that's the absolute BEST movie with Madonna. At the same time, A League of Their Own is one of the absolute best films with a sports theme and one dealing with civilian life during World War II. The story of women's professional league baseball is a wonderful art adventure composed by the collaboration of director and producer Penny Mashall, cinematographer Miroslav Ondříček, composer Hans Zimmer, and a host of outstanding actors - led by Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and Lori Petty, and ending with Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell. Madonna's hit "This Used To Be My Playground," which plays in the closing credits, is just the definitive underlining of a superb experience that doesn't lose its freshness, wit, or poignancy with each rerun.

A very good retro adventure story set in the period from 1937 to 1938 that reflects on the then-married couple of Madonna and Sean Penn. From today's point of view, the raspberry-anti-appreciation of the time is quite ridiculous. Also, considering the fact that this is Madonna's first major serious film, it makes the entire thing even better. Although it may not have looked the best at the beginning, during the first half the necessary amount of the main characters acting in concert was present, the plot became more dramatic, the jokes had more spark, and there was also some imaginative eroticism. I thus have no problem ranking Shanghai Surprise among the pleasant contemporaries of its genre. It is worth noting that Madonna did not let herself be discouraged and literally found herself in retro films and thus became one of the most prominent personalities drawing from the glamour era. Other good to excellent films attest to this: Bloodhounds of Broadway, Dick Tracy, A League of Their Own, Shadows and Fog, Evita, and W. E. Those who know Madonna's musical career take this trait of hers for granted. Others can only be pleasantly surprised. And who co-produced the film, made a cameo, and is responsible for the music? George Harrison.

On August 3, 1934, the first and last original colorized cartoon with Betty Boop was first introduced. It was a prestigious affair, the runtime was generously extended, and everything was just wonderful. What more could you ask for in the first volume of the new Color Classics series, which ran until 1941? As was the case that year with Betty In Blunderland (in Betty Boop Cartoon), this also built on the success of adaptations of classic fairy tale themes featuring Betty Boop, in which she had begun appearing in 1931. This version of Cinderella was a wonderful little musical, reminiscent of the big-budget feature films of its day. There’s nothing to fault the film for. You have to see it for yourself. :)

A brisk and entertaining sequel that doesn't let the recasting of Evelyn Carnahan O'Connell ruin the main charm of the first films. Maria Bello is very different, but still a very likable and suitable heroine, ideally suited to stand alongside Brendan Fraser.

I liked this a lot. It’s beautifully naive, like those teen horror series of books. R.L. Stine also sometimes worked on it. The most memorable episode was The Tale of the Midnight Madness, about how an old movie theater was saved by a Nosferatu-style horror film - but with an ending in which the vampire won... and then it left the silver screen. It’s got excellent ideas, clever twists, and a real genre gem here and there.

When I used to watch TV after school, among all the cartoons, there was also one really good live-action series called Ready or Not. Much like the Nickelodeon features we later came to love on SuperMax, this classic Showtime series was exactly what everyone who grew up in the '90s needed. Laura Bertram later made it big in Andromeda, but I never heard from Lani Billard again. Back then, the pair in Heavenly Creatures looked similar.

I also know a lot about sex, but at the same time, I'm not afraid to relegate HBO hits to FX, Showtime, and Starz. Although as I get older, I've become more tolerant of this retro. Especially after a contrasting encounter with The Carrie Diaries. It would be a shame to consider the series worse than it is if one only knows it in passing.

As is always the case with new series with a basic set of around 20 episodes, it didn't find a second wind until near the end, but unfortunately, it was too late by then. I don't mind it so much in this case, though. And Karen Cliche happens to be stylish and gorgeous once again.

Karen Cliche won me over as Lexa Pierce in the third season of Mutant X, and this was her previous series, so there was nothing worth talking about. However, I'm sorry to say that she's never managed to be the star of any show for more than a year (see Vampire High, Young Blades, or Flash Gordon). Adventure Inc. has all the good traits of Canadian syndicated entertainment, so it's no surprise that the second half of the episodes are better than the ones at the beginning, and overall it was well poised for the next few years. Yet that didn't happen because the third main character, Jesse Nilsson, died on April 25, 2003.