Movies with two female leads are rare. Movies with two female leads in which they aren’t fighting over a man are rarer still. And movies with two female leads in which they aren’t fighting over a man and are under the age of 50 are the rarest of all. So it was with this kind of Halley's Comet anticipation that I watched the new trailer for Sunshine Cleaning featuring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. I was not disappointed.

The film, from the producers of Little Miss Sunshine (find a word that works and stick with it, I guess), is a sometimes comedic, sometimes dramatic look at two sisters — single mom Rose (Amy) and her slacker sister Norah (Emily) — who start a crime-scene cleanup business together to make money. Alan Arkin (another hold-over from Little Miss Sunshine) plays the sisters’ father.

While the set-up may sound a bit grim, the trailer left me smiling. … continue reading

The 2008 MTV Movie Awards are live this Sunday night, but with a disturbing lack of female nominees (is anyone really surprised?), I’ve realized that you might more incentive to watch than usual. How does this do it for you?

OK, so the Pussycat Dolls might not exactly provide a huge musical presence, but the aesthetic boost certainly doesn’t hurt, does it?

Additionally, there are some lovely A-listers scheduled to present awards as well; Sarah Jessica Parker, Lindsay Lohan, Charlize Theron, Katherine McPhee, and Megan Fox are only a few.

Hello, Megan!

My shallow tendencies aside, I can’t really ignore such an obvious opportunity to see drunken celebrities act like, well, I usually do on weekends. After all, who can forget the fabulously groan-inducing Sarah Silverman jokes about jail-bound Paris Hilton a year ago? If only Mike Myers wasn’t hosting this year; I foresee more Love Guru plugs in this show than the American Idol finale. … continue reading

The shine isn’t even off the 2008 Academy Awards yet, but I say on to 2009! What? No point dwelling in the past. While it’s still an entire year until the next set of statuettes gets handed out, it’s never too early to be totally wrong with your Academy Award predictions. Here’s a quick look at 10 upcoming projects that caught my eye and maybe, possibly, with any luck, might catch Oscar’s eye as well.

The Argentine/Guerilla: An ambitious two-film project by Steven Soderbergh about Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara, starring Benicio Del Toro, Franka Potente, Benjamin Bratt and Catalina Sandino Moreno. Viva la revolucion!

Australia: Moulin Rouge maestro Baz Luhrmann returns with an epic love story set during World War II, about an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) who teams with a ranch hand (Hugh Jackman) to herd cattle across the outback. Sounds like Far and Away meets City Slickers. I kid, I kid.

Burn After Reading: All you need to know is Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and John Malkovich in a political comedy-thriller about top-secret CIA information falling into the wrong hands — and it's directed by the Coen brothers. Yes, please.

The Changeling: Angelina Jolie may get her 2008 Oscar snub revenge with this Clint Eastwood–directed Prohibition-era thriller about a woman whose kidnapped son is returned, but he could be the wrong child. Clint has been money when it comes to Oscar nominations these past few years, so Angelina, start thinking up a snappy speech. … continue reading

I have a really long to-do list in a notebook somewhere. I call it my things-to-do-before-I-croak list. It includes stuff like places I want to see, books I want to read and things I'd like to accomplish. Thanks to AfterEllen.com, I can sort of cross off one of those items. No. 67: Get published. Sure, the Internet wasn't what I had in mind when I added that particular item to my list, but it counts in my world.

Another thing on my to-do list is attend the Sundance Film Festival. If I could manage to squeeze in the time off and barter my way to Utah, I'd make 2008 the year to get that one crossed off the list. The complete list of films screening at next year's festival was released over the course of the past couple of weeks. Not only do some of the films sound intriguing, but the list of who's in those films should make the red carpet a true treat. In last week's Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. we told you about one reason to head for the Utah mountains, a reason named Saffron Burrows. Here are a few more reasons to make the trek.

One of the people I would expect to see strutting about town is Lena Headey. Not only would I love to drool over her in person, but I'd also like to see the movie she's in that's screening at Park City at Midnight. It's called The Broken and tells the tale of a woman who sees herself drive by in her own car while on a busy London street. She follows the mystery double into "a living nightmare." Lena Headey in what sounds like an eerie psychological thriller? Count me in. … continue reading

Some actresses — Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer come to mind — have the power to get me to the movie theater just because they're in a film, regardless of its reviews. Frances McDormand is one of my favorites in that category.

Although McDormand has enjoyed a long career, I first noticed her — as did many people — when she played pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson in Fargo.

She is the quintessential character actress, whose talent for playing smart, tough women with dry wit and a very direct manner often lands her in strong supporting roles. (OK, she wasn't so smart in Blood Simple, but that was her first movie, so give her a break.) I loved her portrayal of Jane, who designed trendy and expensive clothing but couldn't be bothered with washing her hair, in Friends With Money.

But I'm always happy to see her take the lead, as she does in the upcoming Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. … continue reading

The reigning queen of accents is about to tackle another challenge: Julia Child.

Meryl Streep will play Child in Julie and Julia, based on the book Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, by Julie Powell, which was based on the Julie/Julia Project blog. (I'm not sure if this is the first movie based on a blog, but hey, Hollywood, you know where to find me.) Nora Ephron will direct and Amy Adams will play Julie. … continue reading

Ah, classic Disney. A princess, a prince, an evil queen and ... a divorce lawyer? In Disney's new movie, Enchanted, the answer is yes.

Enchanted, due to be released Thanksgiving Day after a long production journey, combines animation and live action to tell a fairy tale that Patrick Dempsey, who plays Robert the lawyer, calls "a love letter to Disney." The story begins in Andalasia, an animated world reminiscent of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Handsome Prince Edward (James Marsden) falls in love with the lovely Princess Giselle (Amy Adams). … continue reading