Gearing up for the summer action movies, Lori and I list our favorite female action heroes of all time, from Bridget Fonda in Point of No Return (1993) to Halle Berry in Die Another Day (2002) to Michelle Yeoh in three movies, including the upcoming Mummy one.

Along the way, we lament the lack of non-martial arts roles for Asian American actresses, debate whether Harry Potter's Hermione can properly be considered an "action hero," and argue over the value of women in Bond movies.

Plus: which female action heroes were the most groundbreaking? Check out our answers, and then let us know if you agree in the comments.

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Have you ever had that dream where it’s the future but it’s not the future — like, everything kinda looks the same but somehow you know anyway that it’s the future — and you’re standing there enjoying a fruit smoothie and all of a sudden Kristanna Loken as a Terminator and Summer Glau as a Terminator both come around the corner and you’re all, like, “Oh no!” but it’s OK because they’re fighting each other? But you’re kinda freaked out anyway and you don’t want to get hurt, so you run into this muffler shop that’s nearby but when you get inside it turns into some kind of Ye Olde Inne and Saloon and Charles Barkley is there playing the piano? And you look outside and the Terminators have spotted you and they’ve decided they want to fight you and they start running towards the muffler shop/Ye Olde Inn and Saloon so you hide behind the counter, but there’s this midget there who’s dressed up like Where’s Waldo (except that he’s also wearing a vest) and he’s totally looking at you with eeeeevil intent and he’s holding a knife? So you decide that you’d rather take your chances with Kristanna Loken and Summer Glau (Terminators or not) than with a murderous midget dressed up like Where’s Waldo so you go back outside ... and when you get outside it’s snowing and the Terminators are making out and then a unicorn comes along and offers you some gum and then you wake up?

Well, if you’ve ever had that dream, then there’s a chance that your dream could come true this Sunday at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention! Yes, folks, on the 13th, Summer Glau and Kristanna Loken (along with Leelee Sobieski) will be making an appearance and signing autographs at the fabulous Shrine Auditorium Expo Center. If my dreams mean anything — and I think they do — then there’ll be Terminators fighting and making out everywhere.

What? It’s totally possible. This one time I had a dream about my car breaking down and then 8 months later it happened! That’s not just a coincidence. … continue reading

Theoretically, the Spike TV Scream Awards should totally not be my thing. First, it’s on Spike TV, the channel with the subtle tagline “Get More Action” and programming aimed at the young adult male market. You know, the polar opposite of Lifetime Television for Women. Second, it’s an award show dedicated to horror, sci-fi and fantasy. While I enjoy a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, I’ve never been a big horror fan. I can’t help it; I scare easily. And finally, I can’t take any event seriously that asks Paris Hilton to appear. But then I heard Lena Headey would also be there, and suddenly all that other stuff didn’t seem to matter that much.

Oh, Lena. Even your crazy choice of potato-sack couture could not deter my devotion. Now I’m going to have to tape the telecast and fast-forward to your parts. Or, better yet, wait until some similarly stalkerish devoted fan posts the clips online.

The Scream Awards were held last Friday in Los Angeles, and the broadcast airs at 10:00 tonight on Spike. And for those of you with a somewhat less obsessive view of lovely Lena, there are some other reasons to watch. Like, say, Rosario Dawson’s tongue: … continue reading

Now that Lord Voldemort has returned, I've been thinking about villains lately. In particular, sure, He Who Must Not Be Named is scary, but why is it that male villains are usually so unattractive? What is it about evilness that makes male villains turn into hairless, unicorn blood-drinking tyrants with no fashion sense? (See Darth Vader for another option: still hairless, but that helmet clearly makes him fashion-challenged.)

Female villains, on the other hand, tend to be uniformly hot (and sometimes uniformed). Maybe it's because the female villain partly emerges from the long (and, dare I say it, glorious) tradition of the dominatrix: She'll whip your ass, and she'll look fantastic while doing it. And no, I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

Without further ado, here are my top 10 female villains:

10. Jordana Brewster as Lucy Diamond in D.E.B.S.

Clad all in black and bent on world domination, Lucy Diamond doesn't let her previously foiled plots (including an attempt to sink Australia) get her down. In D.E.B.S., she sets her sights on D.E.B.S. agent Amy (Sara Foster), and she quickly succeeds in seducing her.

Here's a (mysteriously silent) video of Lucy smooching Amy: … continue reading

Remember the '80s? Big hair, big belts and blue eye shadow. The Bangles taught us to "Walk Like an Egyptian." Conservative Christians crucified Madonna for her latest video devilry (OK, some things never change). And at The Breakfast Club, Claire (Molly Ringwald) realized that, despite all their differences, she really could fall for Allison (Ally Sheedy). Oh, wait — that was me.

With this week's theatrical release of Transformers, everyone's saying the '80s are Hollywood vogue. And it's true that we'll soon be seeing an animated Thundercats, G.I. Joe, and a live-action He-Man (I'm not kidding). Not to mention that a sixty-something Indiana Jones will find something else to raid in 2008. (AfterEllen hottie No. 48 Cate Blanchett will appear in that one — count me in!)

I was the '80s girl who ditched her Care Bears for the neighbor's more poseable boy-dolls, so even though the trailer for Transformers features stunningly hackneyed dialogue like "The car picks the driver. It's a mystical bond between man and machine," I can't help but feel a little nostalgic. And all these years later, I know what was missing back then: the lovely Australian lass Rachael Taylor. Here she is as Maggie Madsen, head of a DOD anti-robot team:

Probably few Pentagon employees show up to work with a lacy black bra peeking out, but whatever. At least she has the underwires to support a run for her life, unlike Megan Fox, whose character Mikaela Banes could be auditioning for an episode of What Not to Wear to Armageddon: … continue reading

You've probably seen "Caption This!" posts on other blogs. We've been wanting to give that a try too. Take a look at this shot from Bloodrayne, starring Michelle Rodriguez and Kristanna Loken:

Here's my weak attempt: "Dammit, Michelle, how many times do I have to tell you? Touch the points together. It's YMCA, not Y-M-C-V-with-a-crossbar."

I know you can do better. Leave your caption in the comments!