Krysten Ritter (Lucy on Gilmore Girls) co-stars in the Disney comedy Confessions of a Shopaholic, which comes out on DVD and Blu-ray on June 23, 2009.

In Confessions of a Shopaholic, Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) moves to Manhattan to pursue her love of shopping and her career in the fashion magazine world. She has a great flat with her friend Suze (Krysten Ritter), who tolerates her crazy ways but can’t reform her shopaholic friend, no matter how much debt she gets into! Rebecca takes a job writing a financial advice column (oh, the irony) as her “step up” to her dream job. Her articles, written for the everyday person, propel her to fame. Which would be great, except for the debt collector hounding her every move.

The movie is poignant at times. It has a classic romance, and fabulous best-friend story, and follows Rebecca as she tries, over and over again, to battle her own demons while still reaching for her dream. It takes Rebecca a long time to learn that her shopping addiction is hurting her - and it takes hurting those around her for Rebecca to ’see the light’, so to speak.

Krysten Ritter had a larger part in the movie than I expected. Her own character, Suze, was spunky and interesting too - though in different ways. As you can tell from the photos, Suze is getting married in the film!

All in all, I enjoyed the movie. It was predictable in a Disney way, but very satisfying. A great chick flick!

Photos of Krysten Ritter in “Confessions of a Shopaholic”

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Rini Bell (Lulu on Gilmore Girls) stars in the comedy Baja Beach Bums, which was released to DVD on May 5, 2009.

In Baja Beach Bums, a group of surfer friends are on their annual trip to Baja, Mexico. However, this year the trip goes awry when an outsider decides to tag-along. The tag-along? A cocky dot-commer who has hit rock bottom. The group of friends come to his rescue and show him how to have a good time in the “here and now.” Rini Bell stars in the film as one of the friends, Unis.

Also starring in the film are Kansas Carradine, Kenny Morrison and Tom Carver. The film is rated R.

“Baja Beach Bums” Trailer

Image: Amazon.com

Alexis Bledel’s (Rory Gilmore) upcoming movie, Post Grad, has released a novel! Post Grad, the film, will be out in August, but you can read up on the story now in the Post Grad Novel or Audiobook.

The story, and film, tell the story of Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel), a recent college grad whose aspirations include landing her dream job at a publishing house and living in a posh apartment. Sadly, things don’t work out that way. Ryden’s college nemesis grabs her perfect job and Ryden is left with no choice but to move back home.

Stuck with her eccentric family and no job prospects, Ryden feels like her life is going nowhere. The only things keeping her together are her best friend Adam (Zach Gilford) and her next-door neighbor, David (Rodrigo Santoro).

If you want to check out the books before you buy them, you can read the first two chapters here! It also looks like the film will be adding some blog posts and webisodes as the movie comes closer to release! You can also enter a contest to win a trip to the LA screening of Post Grad.

Images: Amazon

You can now pre-order the DVDs for Heroes - Season Three (starring Milo Vengimialia) & Supernatural: The Complete Fourth Season (starring Jared Padalecki). I personally enjoyed both series’ this past season, though Supernatural was fantastic beyond compare. Heroes made a bit of a comeback, so I look forward to where next season will go!

In addition, you can pre-order Samantha Who?: The Complete Second Season (starring Melissa McCarthy), which (unless the petition is successful) is the last season of the show. The DVD will *probably* contain the un-aired final episodes. Cancelled early in 2008 and also available on DVD are My Own Worst Enemy: The Complete Series (starring Mädchen Amick) and Trust Me (starring Vanessa Marano). And for those David Sutcliffe fans, don’t forget Private Practice: The Complete Second Season .

Gilmore Girls stars made SO many guest appearances on tv in the past year that I can’t name all the DVDs. But you’re sure to find the talented cast appearing in lots of your favorite shows!

Images: Amazon.com

Keiko Agena (Lane Kim on Gilmore Girls) recently decided to express her creativity through illustrated art. After taking a $40 online course for Illustrator, Keiko began putting together humorous drawings. She has now turned those drawings into a business - Mango Pop!

Keiko is creating a series of Mano Pop cards, crafted each with an inspiration from someone close to her. Each card celebrates an addiction too - from chocolate to napping!

You can check out some samples of Keiko’s work here, and it looks like they should soon be available for purchase. You can follow Keiko on Twitter here, where she’ll hopefully soon announce more details!

Edward Herrmann (Richard Gilmore on Gilmore Girls) co-starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Hatching Pete, which debuted on April 24th and was released to DVD in the double feature with Dadnapped on May 12th.

In Watching Pete, a shy high school student becomes the center of attention when he adorns the costume of his high school mascot, the Chicken. It all comes about when Poole (Mitchel Musso) convinces Pete (Jason Dolley) to take over his role in the costume, since he’s allergic to it. Pete agrees to do it, but his identity as the new Chicken remains a secret. Pete loves this and finally is able to “break out of his shell” and makes the Chicken an instant celebrity. Pete struggles with Poole getting all the credit. Edward Herrmann stars as Principal Fred Daly.

“Hatching Pete” Trailer

“Hatching Pete” Full Video

Image Credit: © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Arielle Kebbel (Lindsay Lister then Forester) starred earlier this year in the horror flick The Uninvited, which comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray on April 28th.

Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel, & Elizabeth Banks in “The Uninvited”

Arielle stars in the movie as Alex, older sister to Anna Rydell (Emily Browning), a girl who is just coming home from a stint in a psychiatric ward after the death of her mother. She’s still struggling with the emotional aftermath of that trauma when, upon returning home, she must deal with the fact that her father (David Strathairn) is now living with her mother’s former nurse, Rachel (Elizabeth Banks). Alex & Anna suspect that Rachel is hiding a secret, that she’s a murderer… spurred on by the fact that Anna can see the ghosts of her victims.

The movie is less of a horror and more of a psychological thriller. Anna’s innocence makes you want to trust her, and yet you fear for how naive she is. You want to know if Rachel truly is evil. And you’ll likely really dislike Anna & Alex’s father for his decisions. I found a few of the family encounters to be very flat and unlikely, but the movie was overall fairly good with a great twist at the end. I didn’t see it coming!

The DVD special features include an “Unlocking The Uninvited” segment, deleted scenes, and an alternate ending.

View more photos & the trailer here.

Photo Credit: Kimberley French © 2008 DreamWorks LLC and Cold Spring Pictures / Paramount Pictures

Last month I mentioned that Keiko Agena (Lane Kim on Gilmore Girls) wrote a comic for an upcoming graphic novel anthology, Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology. I have had a chance to interview Keiko about her story, Learn to Share, as well as interview the graphic artist, Ming Doyle, who helped bring her story to life.

Preview of Keiko Agena’s story, ‘Learn to Share’, with art by Ming Doyle

Learn to Share is just one of the comic book stories in the Secret Identities anthology, each story telling the tale of Asian American superheroes. Check out the SI site for more about the editors, artists and writers behind these great stories.

Keiko Agena was paired up with Ming Doyle for their story, ‘Learn to Share’. This was their first time working together, which Ming calls an “honor” and Keiko saying Ming was “amazing throughout this experience.”

GilmoreGirlsNews.com - How did you get involved with the ‘Secret Identities’ anthology?

Keiko Agena: I’m good friends with Parry Shen who is one of the editors of the book. He approached me a few months ago and asked me if I was interested in submitting anything.

GilmoreGirlsNews.com - What was your inspiration behind writing Learn to Share?

Keiko Agena: When I first heard about the project this image of a young girl isolated from the rest of the world came to mind. I was attracted to this sense of her lonliness and separation.

GilmoreGirlsNews.com - What is your story about?

Keiko Agena: Sera is a young Thai girl who, due to her traumatic childhood, loses her sight. She discovers she can momentarily regain her sense of sight by “stealing” someone else’s. In those moments she can see both from her point of view and theirs. She becomes aware of a young girl who has gone missing and uses this “power” to see through the eyes of everyone in the city to find the girl. By the end, she’s happy and can see, but only by permanently borrowing it from someone else… Read more

I have three DVD & Blu-ray updates for you for movies from Alexis Bledel, Arielle Kebbel and Shelly Cole.

The first, Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore on Gilmore Girls) starred in the cult classic, Sin City, which came out on DVD in 2005. On April 21st, that movie is coming to Blu-ray! Sin City is a film noir based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel series of the same name. It weaves through several plot lines, of killers, cops, hookers and hit men, all inhabiting one very dangerous, very sexy city. Alexis Bledel starred in the film as Becky, a prostitute and spy. The 2-disc Blu-ray features 2 version of the film plus 8 hours of bonus features, including an interactive game.

The Uninvited, starring Arielle Kebbel (Lindsay Lister then Forester on Gilmore Girls), comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray on Apr 28, 2009. The film follows sisters Anna and Alex as they become entangled in a deadly battle of wills when their father becomes engaged to Rachel, their mother’s former caretaker. Rachel’s past is questionable and Anna is confronted with ghostly visions and nightmares.

And lastly is Shelly Cole’s (Madeline Lynn on Gilmore Girls) film, The Village Barbershop. The film centers on a widowed barber who takes on an unlikely stylist at his shop, that of a young woman played by Shelly Cole. The story is about their unusual relationship in an unlikely place.

“The Uninvited” - ® & © 2008 Dreamworks LLC and Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. / “Sin City” - © BVHE. All Rights Reserved. / “The Village Barbershop” - © 2007 Hot Shave, LLC

Milo Ventimiglia (Jess Mariano on Gilmore Girls) may play a superhero on television, but he’s also changing things up a bit with his new comic book, Berserker, created with Top Cow Productions and Milo’s Divide Pictures partner Russ Cundiff.

The series has been drawn by Jeremy Haun, cover artist Dale Keown, and written by Rick Loverd. The new comic follows the lives of 2 lead characters who realize they have incredible strength when they get angry. These people are descended from Norse berserkers, fierce warriors, but have little control over their abilities. It’s just blind rage. The story was originally conceived as a screenplay, for television or film, but Russ & Milo saw its strength lies in the comic world. You can already buy the preview, edition #0, with #1 coming soon! Read more