Movie sites Internet Movie Data Base: www.imdb.com Movie Review Query Engine: www.mrqe.com Irreverent movie reviews and previews: www.rottentomatoes.com Movies news, reviews and spoilers: www.aint-it-cool-news.com Lots of links to other movie-related sites: www.cinema-sites.com Reviews, features, interviews: mrshowbiz.go.com Movie reviews, news, trailers: www.film.com Classic Hollywood, American films: www.filmsite.org Life and times of Louise Brooks: www.pandorasbox.com Official Academy Awards site: www.oscars.com Good info for moviegoers in Chicago: chireader.com/movies/ The New Republic online: www.tnr.com New York Observer online: www.observer.com

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(September 12, 2000) -- The Internet is a movie-lover's paradise, with nearly as many sites as there are movies to fuel them. With clever mouse-clicking, you can read reviews galore, check on release dates, get box office returns, read about stars, check for news about movies on video, DVD or television, and so much more.

But like everything else, the world of the movies on the Internet is an unchecked marketplace of ideas, opinions and news. The Internet is the most democratic of all media; that's both its strength and its weakness, for just about anybody with any thoughts about movies can put them on the Internet. It's amateur hour out there.

Still, there are several Web sites well worth pursuing if you care about the movies. Here are some of my favorites, with Web addresses in the box at right:

Bible of cinema

The Internet Movie Data Base: The bible of cinema on the Web, a well-documented, all-purpose encyclopedia of film information. Type in a title of a movie in the search engine, and you'll get background information, cast and crew lists, amateur reviews (which you can also submit), links to professional reviews and to the official studio Web site, release dates, box office information and more.

The Movie Review Query Engine: An easy-to-use search engine to find any and all professional film reviews of a movie. Type in the title, and you'll see a list that will link you to the newspaper, magazine, Internet or trade journal reviews you want.

Rotten Tomatoes: A more irreverent and entertaining version of the Movie Review Query Engine that organizes the reviews as short blurbs that either approve or disapprove of the film.

Ain't-It-Cool News: An irreverent, very personal and wacky film site, filled with reviews by Internet critics who chase after advance and test screenings.

Cinema Sites: A broad-based listing of movie-related links; a good place to start.

Mr. Showbiz: A magazine-format entertainment site, with reviews, features, interviews and links.

Film.Com: A wide-ranging magazine-style site, with features, trailers, links and news.

The Greatest Films: A superb site for fans of classic cinema, complete with argument-starting 100-best lists, essays and star and director biographies.

Fan pages

The Louise Brooks Society: A fine example of a fan page, a thoughtful, artful site devoted to the life and times of a fabled silent movie legend, with rare articles from the '20s and superb photos.

The Academy Awards: The official Oscar site, with listings, history, clips and information; a key site in Academy Award season.

Jonathan Rosenbaum page: An example of how the Internet allows access to critics at smaller independent outlets, including this Chicago Reader critic.