- LINKS TO GREAT FILM SITES -

INFORMATION AND REVIEWS
If you're here, I can't imagine that you haven't already checked out the Internet Movie DataBase, but it's always good to have at your fingertips, no? If you're curious about box-office statistics, BoxOfficeMojo is a stunningly exhaustive and easy-to-use site; skip the stupid reviews, but check the global box-office and almanacs of past info. For an encyclopedic array of awards info and predictions, special features on crafts like costume design, interesting reviews, and fetching attitude, you can always wile away a few hours at Nat Rogers' The Film Experience, known in saltier quarters as FilmBitch. My favorite film critic is Tim Robey of the Daily Telegraph, who also chimes in occasionally on his personal blog. Variety is the official industry news mag, with priceless articles, statistics, and insider buzz, but you'll need to pay a subscriber's fee for most of the goodies. On the opposite side of the film spectrum, Acquarello's Strictly Film School website provides exhaustive and enthusiastic intro's to all kinds of directors and film cultures you may never have heard about; if you're already a fan, you'll have just as good a time.

RENTAL SITES
NetFlix is just the tip of the iceberg. GreenCine has a vault of independent, foreign, auteurist, and other hard-to-find titles right alongside this week's mainstream releases. Adding to your pleasure are the copious news bulletins and feature articles by people who really love film and really know what they are talking about. If these two sites don't have what you want, try Facets Video, which offers DVD and VHS for sale or for rent, but at steeper prices and for shorter rental spans than the other sites allow.

RELEASE CALENDARS
Dark Horizons has the web's most reliable calendar of upcoming releases, though scheduled expansions of limited-release films are sometimes easier to track on Box Office Mojo, which has a much shorter forecast but does include DVD releases as well. If you're still hankering for a movie that has left all the cinemas, Video ETA provides both a weekly calendar of DVD/VHS releases and a searchable database of planned releases for at least six months in advance. Which, speaking of...

RETAIL SITES
If you're already considering buying a DVD, especially a top-dollar Criterion release or expensive import, it's worth a trip to DVDBeaver to get an intensive, graphically-enhanced review of each disc's image quality, menu options, and special features. Once you've made your decisions, DeepDiscount is a reliable and inexpensive place to get your cinematic bling for a good, marked-down price, especially if you pre-order, and they ship quickly.