Saturday, July 11, 2009
The Visitors
In next month’s Peter Jackson-approved District 9, extraterrestrial refugees are assigned to a restricted area of South Africa.
Bad things happen afterward.
They came to Earth almost 30 years ago, looking for shelter. Instead, humans rounded them up, and soon left them to be managed by a private company eager to capitalize on their advanced weaponry, which the aliens refuse to give up.
With tensions rising, the impasse comes to a head when a company operative contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. He quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, not to mention the most valuable since he is key to unlocking the secrets of the alien technology.
The only place left for him to go? Yep, District 9.
I think District 9 sooo has the potential to be huge hit, a successful sleeper à la 28 Days Later.
In next month’s Peter Jackson-approved District 9, extraterrestrial refugees are assigned to a restricted area of South Africa.Bad things happen afterward.
They came to Earth almost 30 years ago, looking for shelter. Instead, humans rounded them up, and soon left them to be managed by a private company eager to capitalize on their advanced weaponry, which the aliens refuse to give up.
With tensions rising, the impasse comes to a head when a company operative contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. He quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, not to mention the most valuable since he is key to unlocking the secrets of the alien technology.
The only place left for him to go? Yep, District 9.
I think District 9 sooo has the potential to be huge hit, a successful sleeper à la 28 Days Later.
Photo: Sony Pictures.
Labels: Previews/MovieMartin
Ryan Reynolds Goes Green
Sorry, Brian Austin Green and Bradley Cooper – Ryan Reynolds is the one who will be playing the Green Lantern in an upcoming movie about the superhero.
He appeared in the Wolverine prequel, from which his he scored his own spin-off thanks to his winning turn as Deadpool, and the surprise hit The Proposal. He looked super-smoking on the cover of Entertainment Weekly’s Must Issue. And now this.
Sorry, Brian Austin Green and Bradley Cooper – Ryan Reynolds is the one who will be playing the Green Lantern in an upcoming movie about the superhero.(Justin Timberlake was also said to be in the running for the role, but that rumor has been denied.)
This a big deal for Reynolds, who’s definitely having a moment, heck…a good summer, this year.
He appeared in the Wolverine prequel, from which his he scored his own spin-off thanks to his winning turn as Deadpool, and the surprise hit The Proposal. He looked super-smoking on the cover of Entertainment Weekly’s Must Issue. And now this.
Let me hear you make some noise for Reynolds!
Btw, Green Lantern is part of an intergalactic police force who fights baddies using a magic ring that can conjure almost anything its wearer can imagine. Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) will direct the movie, which is reportedly slated to begin shooting in January. Expect the movie to hit theaters in summer 2011.
Photo: PhotoBucket.com.
Labels: Eyes Wide Open, Ryan Reynolds
Friday, July 10, 2009
A Tale of Two Js
In a summer of loud and obnoxious sequel blockbusters (not that they’re all forgettable and unnecessary – I’m really looking forward to the new Harry Potter), the movies that stand out are the quieter, unpressured ones, like The Hangover, or The Proposal, or Away We Go.
Then we have the triumphs that combine the best of commercial appeal and storytelling, like Up.
And then August comes around, and people get antsy. The weather gets agrroyingly unbearable. And it seems Hollywood releases nothing but dog for those, well…dog days.
One of the movies that I’ve been looking forward to the most this season, though, opens on Aug. 7: Julie & Julia, starring Doubt’s Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.
Adams plays Julie, a frustrated temp secretary who embarks on an ambitious year-long culinary quest to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Her story, which takes place in 2002 Queens, is complemented by a narrative set in 1950s Paris, in which we see Child’s (Streep) rise to gastronomic greatness.
Sounds – and looks – delightful!
In a summer of loud and obnoxious sequel blockbusters (not that they’re all forgettable and unnecessary – I’m really looking forward to the new Harry Potter), the movies that stand out are the quieter, unpressured ones, like The Hangover, or The Proposal, or Away We Go.Then we have the triumphs that combine the best of commercial appeal and storytelling, like Up.
And then August comes around, and people get antsy. The weather gets agrroyingly unbearable. And it seems Hollywood releases nothing but dog for those, well…dog days.
One of the movies that I’ve been looking forward to the most this season, though, opens on Aug. 7: Julie & Julia, starring Doubt’s Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.
Adams plays Julie, a frustrated temp secretary who embarks on an ambitious year-long culinary quest to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Her story, which takes place in 2002 Queens, is complemented by a narrative set in 1950s Paris, in which we see Child’s (Streep) rise to gastronomic greatness.
Sounds – and looks – delightful!
Photo: Columbia Pictures.
Labels: Previews/MovieMartin
Thursday, July 09, 2009
I Should Book My Flight Now
Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman will star in A Steady Rain on Broadway this fall. The play will open on Sept. 29.
Previews are set to begin Sept. 10 for a sure-to-be-hot-ticket 12-week engagement.
Keith Huff’s A Steady Rain follows a pair of Chicago policemen, but OMFG, with these two actors in it, it very well might be a play about two guys standing on a theater stage looking out into the audience.
I’m telling you: If it’s the last thing I do….
Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman will star in A Steady Rain on Broadway this fall. The play will open on Sept. 29.Previews are set to begin Sept. 10 for a sure-to-be-hot-ticket 12-week engagement.
Keith Huff’s A Steady Rain follows a pair of Chicago policemen, but OMFG, with these two actors in it, it very well might be a play about two guys standing on a theater stage looking out into the audience.
I’m telling you: If it’s the last thing I do….
Photo: NYMag.com.
Labels: Broadway, Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman
When Brüno Met Matt Lauer
Boy, do I wish I’d seen this live on Today this morning because, you know, I would’ve laughed a lot earlier (Matt Lauer’s a good sport, and I can’t wait to see Brüno):
Boy, do I wish I’d seen this live on Today this morning because, you know, I would’ve laughed a lot earlier (Matt Lauer’s a good sport, and I can’t wait to see Brüno):
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Labels: Eyes Wide Open
Time to…
“Celebrate.”
That’s the name of Madonna’s new single, the lead-off of her upcoming third greatest hits album.
“Celebrate” drops on July 28.
“Celebrate.”That’s the name of Madonna’s new single, the lead-off of her upcoming third greatest hits album.
“Celebrate” drops on July 28.
Let me hear you make some noise!
Photo: MadonnaTribe.com.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Do It, Cameron!
Michel Gondry is set to direct the summer 2010 movie based on a script by Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg.
And yes, I have clearly fallen all over again for Diaz. I cannot get enough of her this season.
Photo: GeniusHair.com.
Labels: Eyes Wide Open
Can’t Keep a Secret for His Life
This fall, Matt Damon will be The Informant! for director Steven Soderbergh.
In the very-Soderbergh-funny-looking drama, Damon plays Mark Whitacre, the vice president of an agri-business giant-turned-bumbling informant.
Click here to read more about the movie, which is based on the true story of the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history – and for which Damon put on quite a bit of weight.
This fall, Matt Damon will be The Informant! for director Steven Soderbergh.In the very-Soderbergh-funny-looking drama, Damon plays Mark Whitacre, the vice president of an agri-business giant-turned-bumbling informant.
Click here to read more about the movie, which is based on the true story of the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history – and for which Damon put on quite a bit of weight.
Photo: Filmofilia.com.
Labels: Previews/MovieMartin
Coulda, Woulda, So Frakkin’ Shoulda
Lindsay Lohan needs to fire her momager, Dina, or whoever is doing a poor job of managing her so-called career but right now.
Evidently, L2 turned down the role of stripper Jade in this summer’s sleeper hit The Hangover because it “had no potential.”
Us Weekly’s reporting that director Todd Phillips approached La Lohan to star in the hit movie, which has raked in $205 million so far, after their mutual agent campaigned on the actress’ behalf.
“The agent tried hard to get Phillips to consider her,” said a source, “and when he finally agreed, Lindsay said she didn’t like the script!”
I thought beggars couldn’t be choosers.
Oh well, her loss was Heather Graham’s win.
Lindsay Lohan needs to fire her momager, Dina, or whoever is doing a poor job of managing her so-called career but right now.Evidently, L2 turned down the role of stripper Jade in this summer’s sleeper hit The Hangover because it “had no potential.”
Us Weekly’s reporting that director Todd Phillips approached La Lohan to star in the hit movie, which has raked in $205 million so far, after their mutual agent campaigned on the actress’ behalf.
“The agent tried hard to get Phillips to consider her,” said a source, “and when he finally agreed, Lindsay said she didn’t like the script!”
I thought beggars couldn’t be choosers.
Oh well, her loss was Heather Graham’s win.
Photo: AskMen.com.
Labels: Lindsay Lohan
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Yes, It’s Lovely
Maroon 5 has covered Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight” for an iTunes celebration of Ol’ Blue Eyes.
If you didn’t think Adam Levine was swoon-worthy before, you will now.
Click here to listen to him sing to me. I mean, the song….
Maroon 5 has covered Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight” for an iTunes celebration of Ol’ Blue Eyes.If you didn’t think Adam Levine was swoon-worthy before, you will now.
Click here to listen to him sing to me. I mean, the song….
Photo: EW.com.
Labels: Adam Levine, Music
Nostalgia, Pt. 32
As family and friends prepare to say their final good-byes to Michael Jackson, today we remember the late King of Pop.
Yes, we’ve been remembering him every single day ever since we heard the news of his untimely death late last month, but today’s different.
Today’s final.
We remember MJ with a little more respect today, and as the Rev. Al Sharpton said we should this morning on the Today show, with a little more attention paid to the legacy of his work as one of the world’s most iconic entertainers.
Michael Jackson never was a visceral experience for me.
I listened and danced to “Thriller” at parties, and just FYI, I never dared recreate his moves in the video.
My older sisters used to needle me with a version of “Beat It” they’d reworked just for me.
And I never saw him perform live, although I once came close when he toured the world in support of his HIStory, a show that would not go on and make it to South America because of one his many legal troubles in the ’90s. I remember my mom went to return the tickets to this department store, and came back home with a new washer and dryer and a new sofa. “It was either that or store credit,” she told my dad, who was not amused.
The MJ I knew best wasn’t the headline-maker of “Bad,” “Billie Jean,” “Smooth Criminal,” or “The Way You Make Me Feel.” Sadly, I came to know him as the embattled headline-grabber who, on rare occasion, put out a good song like “Black or White,” or “Scream,” his duet with his sister Janet.
Once upon a time, at the height of his popularity, he was the King of Pop. Jackson reached across borders, bridged differences between people, and, indeed, made billions of people feel like one. He had such singular power. He cared about us, and we really did care about him.
Until the very day end, ever the consummate entertainer, Michael Jackson was good for a memory, for a laugh (be it well-intentioned or mean-spirited), so let’s let today mean something good.
In MJ’s words, let today be a day when “we stand together all around the world joined in a common purpose to remake the planet into a haven of joy and understanding and goodness”:
I think Michael Jackson truly wanted to make this world a better place. As he once again brings billions together, I can only hope we can all remember we can heal the world.
It’s what he would’ve wanted.
Long live the King!
Update 1: I thought Jennifer Hudson performing “Will You Be There” (the Free Willy song!) was fantastic.
Update 2: Seeing MJ’s daughter Paris address the crowd at the Staples Center moved me:
As family and friends prepare to say their final good-byes to Michael Jackson, today we remember the late King of Pop.
Yes, we’ve been remembering him every single day ever since we heard the news of his untimely death late last month, but today’s different.
Today’s final.
We remember MJ with a little more respect today, and as the Rev. Al Sharpton said we should this morning on the Today show, with a little more attention paid to the legacy of his work as one of the world’s most iconic entertainers.
Michael Jackson never was a visceral experience for me.
I listened and danced to “Thriller” at parties, and just FYI, I never dared recreate his moves in the video.
My older sisters used to needle me with a version of “Beat It” they’d reworked just for me.
And I never saw him perform live, although I once came close when he toured the world in support of his HIStory, a show that would not go on and make it to South America because of one his many legal troubles in the ’90s. I remember my mom went to return the tickets to this department store, and came back home with a new washer and dryer and a new sofa. “It was either that or store credit,” she told my dad, who was not amused.
The MJ I knew best wasn’t the headline-maker of “Bad,” “Billie Jean,” “Smooth Criminal,” or “The Way You Make Me Feel.” Sadly, I came to know him as the embattled headline-grabber who, on rare occasion, put out a good song like “Black or White,” or “Scream,” his duet with his sister Janet.
Once upon a time, at the height of his popularity, he was the King of Pop. Jackson reached across borders, bridged differences between people, and, indeed, made billions of people feel like one. He had such singular power. He cared about us, and we really did care about him.
Until the very day end, ever the consummate entertainer, Michael Jackson was good for a memory, for a laugh (be it well-intentioned or mean-spirited), so let’s let today mean something good.
In MJ’s words, let today be a day when “we stand together all around the world joined in a common purpose to remake the planet into a haven of joy and understanding and goodness”:
I think Michael Jackson truly wanted to make this world a better place. As he once again brings billions together, I can only hope we can all remember we can heal the world.
It’s what he would’ve wanted.
Long live the King!
Update 1: I thought Jennifer Hudson performing “Will You Be There” (the Free Willy song!) was fantastic.
Update 2: Seeing MJ’s daughter Paris address the crowd at the Staples Center moved me:
Labels: Nostalgia
Monday, July 06, 2009
Just Because, Pt. 42
Fret not, Rupert Penry-Jones.
Christian Slater may be replacing you in the upcoming ABC show The Forgotten, but you’re such a cutie patootie, you shan’t have any trouble bouncing back.
Now, I gotta catch up with Penry-Jones’ BBC series, Spooks, or I won’t be a good new fan.
Fret not, Rupert Penry-Jones.Christian Slater may be replacing you in the upcoming ABC show The Forgotten, but you’re such a cutie patootie, you shan’t have any trouble bouncing back.
Now, I gotta catch up with Penry-Jones’ BBC series, Spooks, or I won’t be a good new fan.
Photo: RadioTimes.com.
Labels: Just Because, TV
This Is What I Call a Snap and a Half
The funny just got redefined.
Queen D Kathy Griffin will serve as the Roast Master at Comedy Central’s Roast of Joan Rivers. The pairing is the first all-female Roast Master and Roastee in the franchise's history.
“It will be my distinct pleasure to honor a true comedy legend. The One and Only, The Great, Joan Rivers,” Griffin said. “I mean, not that Pam Anderson wasn’t a comedy legend or anything….
“Let’s just say it will be an evening of highs and lows.
“I will be roasting Joan with more gentleness and tenderness than her latest chemical peel, and, on the other hand, I will give her a verbal pap smear and God only knows what I’m going to find down there.”
The Roast of Joan Rivers will air on Aug. 9 – and I could set my TiVo now, you know I would.
The funny just got redefined.Queen D Kathy Griffin will serve as the Roast Master at Comedy Central’s Roast of Joan Rivers. The pairing is the first all-female Roast Master and Roastee in the franchise's history.
“It will be my distinct pleasure to honor a true comedy legend. The One and Only, The Great, Joan Rivers,” Griffin said. “I mean, not that Pam Anderson wasn’t a comedy legend or anything….
“Let’s just say it will be an evening of highs and lows.
“I will be roasting Joan with more gentleness and tenderness than her latest chemical peel, and, on the other hand, I will give her a verbal pap smear and God only knows what I’m going to find down there.”
The Roast of Joan Rivers will air on Aug. 9 – and I could set my TiVo now, you know I would.
Photo: TVGuide.com.
Labels: Eyes Wide Open, TV
Cameron Does Madonna
Everybody wants to be Madonna, and Cameron Diaz is no exception.
The My Sister’s Keeper star has posed for the cover of V Magazine in garb reminiscent of the Queen of Pop circa her True Blue re-invention – complete with a cheeky bra (you know the one) made of gaffers tape.
I think this is pretty rad.
Everybody wants to be Madonna, and Cameron Diaz is no exception.The My Sister’s Keeper star has posed for the cover of V Magazine in garb reminiscent of the Queen of Pop circa her True Blue re-invention – complete with a cheeky bra (you know the one) made of gaffers tape.
I think this is pretty rad.
Photo: People.com.
Labels: Eyes Wide Open
She’s Freaky and She Knows It
In the fine tradition of Heathers and Jawbreakers, here comes Jennifer’s Body.
Out on Sept. 18, this darkly comic movie written by Oscar winner Diablo Cody stars Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s Megan Fox as a high school girl possessed by a boy-eating demon.
Check out the red-band trailer below (be careful where you watch it), and tell me if you’re not just tickled:
I’ve warming up to Fox lately – thank you very much, Harry Smith – so this movie just might make me too hot for her.
In the fine tradition of Heathers and Jawbreakers, here comes Jennifer’s Body.
Out on Sept. 18, this darkly comic movie written by Oscar winner Diablo Cody stars Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s Megan Fox as a high school girl possessed by a boy-eating demon.
Check out the red-band trailer below (be careful where you watch it), and tell me if you’re not just tickled:
I’ve warming up to Fox lately – thank you very much, Harry Smith – so this movie just might make me too hot for her.
Labels: Previews/MovieMartin
Sunday, July 05, 2009
From M for MJ
As expected, the Queen of Pop honored the late King of Pop in concert last night:
I’m kinda loving that Madonna quoted Princess Selenia, the character she voiced in Arthur and the Invisibles, at the end there….
As expected, the Queen of Pop honored the late King of Pop in concert last night:
I’m kinda loving that Madonna quoted Princess Selenia, the character she voiced in Arthur and the Invisibles, at the end there….
Labels: Eyes Wide Open, Madonna
