That’s Infotainment

Reviews of entertainment-oriented Web sites

Mr. Showbiz

Address: https://www.mrshowbiz.com/

What it is: Interviews, bios, quizzes, daily polls, movie and music reviews, entertainment news, games (Plastic Surgery Lab and Romantically Linked) and other features, including a face-off of the worst Oscar fashions and “The Critical List”--video rentals that should be avoided at all costs.

Comments: The most irreverent, wry, clever site of its kind, from the gang at Starwave, a company owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Mr. Showbiz has it all--and is written better than all of the rest. What other site will give you a whole section of “Star Wars” haiku? (“Rhh, Rhh, Rhh, Rhh, Rhh/Rhh, Rhh, Rhh, Rhh, Rhh/Hey shut up, Chewbacca.”)

Filmzone

Address: https://www.filmzone.com/

What it is: A home for behind-the-scenes information on foreign and independent films--those with small budgets and big visions. Clips of interviews and movies are interspersed throughout the articles, which are a sort of combination review/summary/indie infomercial. And big moneymaking movies aren’t left out completely; the Zone recommends avoiding “Vegas Vacation” and “Dante’s Peak.”

Comments: It suffers from a tendency to be a little self-conscious and proud of itself. But when clever (search for the article on 11 actors who chose to act like Jesus without actually playing him and the list of the worst films of 1996) or informational (a list of 49 films not available on video), this site is, as they say, in the zone, man.

The Celebrity Chronicle

Address: https://www.polaris.net/~merlin/celeb_frames/FameMain.html

What it is: A listing of regular people’s encounters with celebrities; categories include Drinking, Potty and Jerky. There’s even a place to add your own experiences, though stalking stories are forbidden.

Comments: No sound clips, no movie clips, no screen savers, no important information. So why bother? Because where else are you gonna find tales of Jackson Browne giving a guy a wedgie, Dana Plato giving a fan a cheap thrill and Joe DiMaggio giving a kid a glass of milk?

Please send entertainment site suggestions and comments to Krissy Harris via e-mail at haringbat@mobsters.com