98 Degrees would like you to know it is not your average boy band. For instance, there are four members, instead of the usual five.
There is no working filmmaker today with a better ear for his films than Cameron Crowe. In addition to the writer-director's eternally quotable dialogue and pauses placed so carefully they stand up to the work of Harold Pinter, he also has the firmest grasp on how to use music to bolster a film. For instance, Crowe was the first to document the Seattle grunge sound with "Singles." He is also the man who used Bruce Springsteen's "Secret Garden" to frame the tender love story at the heart of "Jerry Maguire." And he carved out one of the most lasting images in the lexicon of teen love in "Say Anything" - is there anyone who doesn't remember John Cusack holding a boom box over his head, blasting Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes?" But music steps out of the back and into the driver's seat in Crowe's "Almost Famous." The former Rolling Stone writer surpasses his previous work with "Famous," the most personal and representative film of his directorial career. Related Links Official Site for "Almost Famous"   William Miller (newcomer Patrick Fugit, in a solid turn) is a 15-year-old who gets the chance to travel with a touring band in order to write an article for Rolling Stone.
Heavy metal has very few gods, but that select group of long-haired deities is held in such great admiration that its members can do no wrong.
An actress stands alone onstage, waiting in the dark. As the footlights come up, we see that she does not have a single article of clothing on.
Back by unpopular demand, the sequel to the 1998 semi-hit "Urban Legend" was obviously made to cash in on a built-in audience.
In a time when teenybopper pop bands rule the airwaves and teenage starlets flaunt themselves on MTV, Fastball proves that growing up is the only way to first-rate music. After a popular sophomoric attempt at "trendy" music in 1998, Fastball follows up "All the Pain Money Can Buy" with a new, more mature look at the world.
It was more than 16 years ago when Madonna first boogied so convincingly into the music scene, her image offering something highly atypical, yet remarkably marketable: in-your-face female sexuality, amplified to the max - a risky move for a woman at the time.
From "Purple Rain" to "I Got The Hook-up!," it seems to be an industry rule that good soundtracks and good movies don't necessarily have to be on speaking terms.
In my opinion, there are two great "hackers vs. the government villains" movies out there, and, unfortunately for Jamie Foxx, "Bait" isn't one of them.
There is nothing worse than performing at a concert to an unresponsive crowd. Many artists say the energy they get to make a show "great" depends directly on the energy they get from the audience.
I'll be honest. I feel duped. I pride myself on being a cynic, but somewhere along the way I got my hopes up only to have them trounced upon once again. The reason for my heartbreak?
It's a topic we avoid like the plague, especially the nearer we get to our graduation day: What will become of us?
"What the hell happened to Joan Osborne?" is one question you might just ask yourself before, and after, listening to her new album "Righteous Love." Where is the young, curious folkie whose debut hit asked if God was one of us?
Bona fide rap hit-makers attempting to go "street" again often embarrass themselves worse than any pair of parachute pants can.
In 1994, Boyz II Men was known for its sultry lyrics and sensuous voices. The very thought of the group might conjure up an image of middle schoolers slow dancing at their first homecoming.
They may very well be the best Canadian import since Molson Golden. A little more than two years ago, these five Toronto-based pop rockers released their quadruple-platinum selling album, Stunt.
"The Watcher" is a non-original thriller in the classical sense. It overcomes an overly ambitious director and tired screenwriters to become a fairly good movie. Joel Campbell (James Spader) is a burnt-out FBI agent who moved to Chicago from Los Angeles, trying to cope with a guilty consciene: He failed to close a serial killer case that took a personal turn.
Christopher McQuarrie is a very smart man. He can lead audiences through twist after twist without ever losing their interest, and he can persuade them to root for the bad guys from the start.
Few awards shows provide the fusion of talent and tackiness that is the Video Music Awards on MTV.
Soap operas are an interesting, under-appreciated phenomenon. They find a captive audience in people who live vicariously through the exaggerated and interwoven storylines, and the viewers in turn find companionship in the daily presence of the characters they come to know. Such is the case of the title heroine of "Nurse Betty" (Renee Zellweger), whose only diversion from her humdrum life as an unhappily married waitress in Fair Oaks, Kans., exists in her obsession with the hospital-set serial, "A Reason to Love." In fact, Betty's dream of living the life of a soap character (not as an actor, but as an actual character) is what grants her the power to escape. "Betty" marks a departure for director Neil LaBute.
