Aint-It-Cool
By Sharon Cumberland
Aint It Cool News is Harry Knowles' all-purpose movie site--reviews,
gossip, games, trailers, and speculation of all kinds. The "Father
Geek" as Knowles calls himself, welcomes reports from anyone,
anywhere, and evidently has loyal stringers inside the business as
well as fans all over the world whose combined efforts turn up enough
skivvy on the industry to make the site more interesting than a lot
of indie review sites. There's nothing serous (read academic) about
these reviews--it all operates in the realm of the purely personal.
One long essay, for instance, laments the inability of media reviewers
to understand the true revolutionary nature of "Hannibal."
Another disses "Valentine" as "lame, lame, lame"
for a lack of T&A, gore or suspense. In the "Cool News"
section are tidbits from extras on sets, passers-by who get glimpses
of sets, people in sneak previews, and other peripheral "insiders."
Anyone wanting to monitor progress on a favorite shoot may find something
of interest here.
The site itself could give a person epilepsy--jumping casino ads,
flash animation of Harry peeking in keyholes--together with jumpy
typography and lots of little javascript messages blinking at you.
As a new visitor to the site I searched in vain for FAQs, "about
us" or any clues at all as to what's going on with the site.
One has to go with the flow and just let the reporters report. The
most amusing aspect to this site is the humor and tone of the individuals
who send Harry the news. It's not especially cool--"Father Geek"
must be using the term ironically--but it's fun.