Are you a Movie-aholic? Acceptance is the first step.

Hello, my name is Vanessa and I'm a movie-aholic. Now let's go around and have everyone introduce themselves. You think it's funny now but sometimes I seriously wonder if I have a problem. Most people go to the movies to hang out with friends or use it for an opportunity to go out with someone new, but when the question, "what do you wanna see", comes up, I'm the first one with a suggestion and I may even bail on you if you choose something that doesn't fit my taste. I like to go to the movies to actually see them! I take pity on the poor soul who might try to motivate me otherwise. And of course, I doubt there is any movie out there that I don't have an opinion about, and yes, I tend to share them whether encouraged or not.

I own over 150 DVDs in my premature collection and Blockbuster is like a second home to me. I watch trailers on-line at Apple Trailers and Fandango and my search engine is IMDB. In my spare time I use YouTube to search interviews and clips and I've even been known to tape Letterman or Ellen if they are promoting a good new movie. As a teenager I had a few embarrassing movie obsessions, the craziest by far being Titanic (1997). I spent 50 bucks on a photo-book of the screenplay and at around 13, that's a little ridiculous. So when I was required to start a blog for a class I immediately knew I could write a lot about movies.

As you can see, this is specifically a chick-flick blog and yes I dropped the k in chick and not just because I think I'm cooler than I actually am. I want to re-establish the chic-flick as a film genre instead of a movie goer's guilty pleasure by deconstructing and commenting through review posts in the future. I'll essentially highlight the substance, discuss overlooked issues and problems that create nasty stereotypes separating genres like chic-flicks from good film and award-worthy drama in the minds of movie goers. Not that there aren't problems with many a girly flick which I intend to discuss, I'm sure, at length.

Through this experience I will hopefully gain some insight and post interesting trends and not so interesting ones, right and wrong moves, common misconceptions and mishaps that I come across. I'll eventually compile lists of haters (bloggers or critics who judge them too harshly) and people I recommend reading, my favourite chic-flicks, and my not-so favourite ones, common themes, different types in the genre and tips on how to spot a bad one in the first 15 minutes.

I was disappointed to notice that I was a little embarrassed to admit my fascination with these movies and start writing about them, so I hope to justify my taste (because I still believe I have a damn good one) and even branch out to skeptics and serious film geeks who believe that all they have to offer is eye candy and fluff. Expect reviews of new, old, sad, funny, animated, live-action and any other kinds of movies reviews basically based on my strength of opinion about them. You will definitely see my reviews referencing other reviewers, bloggers and critics, like my trustworthy friend Roger Ebert (typical, I know), and cites like Rotten Tomatoes and Yahoo!Movies.

I like strong female characters, witty dialogue and a story that's fresh and keeps your interest, and sadly that's not so easy to find. My basic criteria for any good movie is substance, integrity, chemistry, intelligence and hope. I'm sure I'll be picky, harsh or too lenient, but I always have a reason and I'll always make you aware of it. I learned from the best (my man, Roger), that a good movie critic always thinks about the films intended audience and my guarantee is to make recommendations based on the audience I believe will enjoy the film. But, in the end, I'm the Chic-Flicker and these are my fancies. Welcome to Cinema Coquette, where everyone's entitled to MY opinion...No! I mean, sorry, where all personal tastes and comments are valid and appreciated.