Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! Oh, Yes!

Before you say you’ll have what I’m having, rumor has it we will, indeed, have more Sex soon – and the City, too.

How you like’em (big) apples?

I guess it’s true what they say: Ask and ye shall receive.

Photo: HBO.com.

A Sprinkle of Stardust

Matthew Vaughn, the director of 2005’s Layer Cake (which starred the man who would become Bond, a.k.a. the man who had many feeling jumpier than a virgin at a prison rodeo), is back with his latest, Stardust.

In the movie opening Aug. 10, a young man named Tristan (Casanova’s Charlie Cox) tries to win the heart of Victoria (Sienna Miller), the beautiful but cold object of his desire, by going on a quest to retrieve a fallen star.

Tristan’s journey takes him to a mysterious and forbidden land beyond the walls of his village, where he finds the star, which has transformed into a striking girl named Yvaine (Claire Danes). However, Tristan is not the only one seeking the star.

A king's (Peter O'Toole) four living sons – not to mention the ghosts of their three dead brothers – all need the star as they vie for the throne. Tristan also must overcome the evil witch Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), who needs the star to make her young again.

As Tristan battles to survive these threats, encountering a pirate named Captain Shakespeare (Robert De Niro) and a shady trader named Ferdy the Fence (Ricky Gervais) along the way, his quest changes. He must now win the heart of the star for himself as he discovers the meaning of true love.

Sounds cute, huh?

Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Nostalgia, Pt. 8

There’s something I just got to say: Sometimes, I really miss Sex and the City.

I miss the perfectly over-the-top outfits, I miss the puns, and I miss the way it made me feel and think.

I know it was just a TV show, but I’d like to think it was a lot more than that.

But I also know I’m not the only one who thought there was something there. (Here, have a laugh.)

So I really, really hope they do make a movie soon.

Photo: HBO.com.

Boy Just Wanna Have Fun

FYI: Mika’s Life in Cartoon Motion is out now.

I have been waiting for this CD for a long time.

One, two, three: “I could be brown / I could be blue / I could be violet sky / I could be hurtful / I could be purple / I could be anything you like.”

Photo: BN.com.

Sneak Peeking at Fall

I know the current TV season isn’t over yet, but do you want to know what the networks are preparing for next season?

Well then click here, already.

Among the trends for Fall 2007 are star vehicles (hello, Parker Posey!), soap-ish ensembles (like Dirty Sexy Money, led by Peter Krause, or the Lucy Liu-led Cashmere Mafia, or Lipstick Jungle, led by Brooke Shields), as well as remakes of British imports in Football Wives and Viva Laughlin.

They all sound kind of interesting – just as long as Veronica Mars returns for a fourth season.

Photo: BlogCritics.org.

Someone’s “Bitch”

That’s who I am.

And I love it.

But don’t you think to say so, OK, ‘cause I want it that way.

Speaking of bitches, whatever happened to Meredith Brooks?

Photo: DailyVault.com.

Time Goes By…

So slowly.

So to make it go by a little faster, I push the pedal down…and watch movie trailers online.

The one for Georgia Rule is out; check it out here. Have you seen the one for Grindhouse? How about Disturbia’s?

"You'll wake up one day / But it'll be too late."

Photo: DreamWorks Pictures.

Magical Threesome

Putting an end to all speculation Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe, and Emma Watson have signed on to reprise their roles as teen wizards Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger, respectively, in the final two Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The three actors have been with the series since its first installment, 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Over the years, questions arose whether they would get too old to play students at Hogwart's – and whether some of the actors still even wanted to play the roles.

"Through the years, and in each of the films, we have watched [them] grow into extraordinary young adults as well as remarkable actors," said Jeff Robinov, Warner Bros. president of production. "It would be inconceivable to imagine anyone else in the roles with which they have become so identified, so we are thrilled and proud that Daniel, Rupert, and Emma have chosen to complete the arc of their characters in the final two films."

The fifth film in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is due out in theaters July 13.

Photo: Warner Bros. (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix).

Their Hearts Have Gone On

Titanic co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet will reunite after a decade for a drama about post-war disillusionment, DreamWorks announced today.

Revolutionary Road will be directed by Winslet's husband, Oscar-winning British filmmaker Sam Mendes (American Beauty).

The project, based on the 1961 novel by Richard Yates, revolves around a suburban couple caught between their hopes for a life of art, culture, and sophistication, and the everyday drudgery of boring jobs and domesticity.

Does this make you…happy?

Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Have You Done the "Jane Fonda"?

I’m really feeling "Lost Without U" these days, so when I got word that Robin Thicke was going to perform at the Sagamore Hotel last night, I made it my mission to get it together and make it out there to catch his show.

I have say to all the people who are calling Thicke Justin Timberlake 2.0, that they need to stop it, like, now. Thicke is the real thing – sexy and soulful and one heck of a showman.

I was not disappointed, and I can only wish I had had a richer experience last night, which, I’m sorry to say, was the second time I had the chance to see this It Guy perform. The first time was last New Year’s Eve at the Delano Hotel…but I was too busy keeping my eyes open for Lindsay Lohan to notice that next big thing in music already was happening in front of me.

Anyway, the point also is that before Thicke came on, Mickey Avalon hit the stage to sing his funky and raunchy story-like songs.

I’d never heard of Avalon before, but now I’m convinced that he is "so rich, so pretty, the best piece of a-- in this whole damn city" – but, you know, in a completely artistic kind of way (so not my type).

By the end of his set, Avalon had me doing the "Jane Fonda". I didn’t know, but he showed me how.

Photo: BN.com (Mickey Avalon).

Ricky Martin Vuelve

All I could ask myself when I found out that Ricky Martin is coming to Miami was, “Do you really want it? Do you really want it? Do you really want it?”

And all I could think was, “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!”

I'm sooo there on May 19.

Photo: MTV3.fi.

Simply Irresistible, Pt. 11

Vanessa Redgrave will take to the stage a week from tomorrow in a Broadway adaptation of Joan Didion's best-seller The Year of Magical Thinking, directed by Oscar-nominated playwright David Hare (The Hours).

What I would give to be able to see that.

The Year of Magical Thinking, about a particularly devastating portion of her life, details Didion’s feelings from the death of her husband and longtime collaborator, John Gregory Dunne, from a massive heart attack on December 30, 2003, to the nightmare-ish experience of seeing their only daughter lay unconscious in a hospital after suffering septic shock. (She died a few months later.)

In response, Didion found a safe harbor in "magical thinking," stunned that "life changes in the instant," and feeling an irrational certainty that her husband "will come back and need his shoes."

Now, if this combination of actress and material isn’t irresistible, I don’t know what is.
Photo: NewYorkCityTheatre.com.

Rrrrr You Ready for More?

Coming out less than a year after last July’s record-setting Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, a.k.a. part two in the inspired-by-a-theme-park-ride franchise, is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, a.k.a. part three.

Set to navigate into a theater near you on May 25, the movie once again will follow the high seas adventures of Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley).

And as the subtitle of the movie – and the trailer – reveals, our heroes will go to the end of the world, and each will have to choose a side in a final battle, as not only their lives and fortunes, but the entire future of the freedom-loving Pirate Way, hang in the balance.

Photo: Walt Disney Pictures.

Just Because, Pt. 1

“Get into the groove /

Boy you've got to prove /

Your love to me, yeah /

Get up on your feet, yeah /

Step to the beat /

Boy what will it be.”

Photo: Madonnalicious.com.

Girl Power

Talk about it!

Felicity Huffman, Jane Fonda, and Lindsay Lohan will star in the upcoming Garry Marshall-directed Georgia Rule.

I haven’t found a trailer to share with you just yet, but the indie – about three generations of women spending a summer together and coping with a rebellious granddaughter's revelation of incest – already sits high on my To Watch List for Summer.

Georgia Rule is due out in theaters on May 11.

Photo: Universal Pictures.

I Was Having a Good Morning…

“Was” being the operative word.

I just found out that The CW is considering – rather seriously – canceling Veronica Mars.

This cannot happen. I almost want to believe it won’t since, let’s face, the network doesn’t have that many buzzed-about scripted shows on schedule as it is, except for Smallville (Gilmore Girls probably won’t be returning for an eighth season next fall).

So, I ask: Would you deny one of the most beautiful, smart, and witty heroines ever to grace the boob tube a fourth season? Just take a look at Kristen Bell’s eyes, for crying out loud. Do it.

Now help Save Veronica Mars!

Photo: The CW.

Sorry, But…

Heaven must be missing an angel.

I’m mean, just look at Madonna as she works the paps on her way to celebrate the launch of her new clothing line, M by Madonna, designed exclusively for H&M, in London yesterday.

It doesn’t get any better than this.

The Queen of Pop's designs will be available in H&M stores starting on March 22.

Get ready to do some serious shopping, indeed.

Photo: People.com.

Get It While It’s Hot

FYI, y’all: Casino Royale is out on DVD today.

The two-disc release includes the featurettes "Becoming Bond" (on new lead actor Daniel Craig), "Bond Girls Are Forever" (which is quite self-explanatory), and "James Bond: For Real" (about the stunt work), as well as the video for the Chris Cornell-penned theme song "You Know My Name.”

So one more time for the cheap seats in the back: Get while it’s hot!

Photo: MGM/Columbia Pictures.

Bursting the Bubble

I hate to say it, but the tail-end of the TV season is pretty much here…which means some of my favorite shows might be in danger of not returning to a schedule near me next fall.

Tear.

Among the shows that are “awaiting their fates” – and that matter to me – are The CW’s Gilmore Girls, which should return only if both Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel sign on the dotted line for a final season, and Veronica Mars, which has proved to be critical and cult hit, but hasn’t caught on with viewers in a large scale. Don’t ask me why; the show rocks – and you ought to catch up with its first two seasons on DVD like, yesterday!

NBC appears to have given up on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I can’t say I’ll miss that show, for it certainly had its merits (like when it was not taking itself too seriously with issue plots), but I will say that the network’s other Saturday Night Live send-off, 30 Rock, is tremendously worthier of another go. It has proven to be infinitely more effective – and quotable – which means more and more people are responding to it. And by “more and more people” I mean me.

Jericho over at CBS is facing a big ol’ question mark about its tomorrow as well. A modest hit after it premiered last fall, the show, about a small town coping with the aftermath of several nuclear explosions, was sheltered for three months right as it was hitting its stride. It returned last month – but some viewers already had left it in favor or the little talent show with the kooky judges over at FOX (a network that, according to me, has little to worry about, what with 24, Bones, and Prison Break doing well). I want to know who dropped the bombs – and why. I just hope this show isn’t this year’s Invasion.

ABC seems to be standing the firmest. Grey’s Anatomy might birth a sounding-better-and-better spin-off later this season – and if it does, I’m sooo going to miss Kate Walsh, and Scrubs might…uh…scrub in if NBC decides to pass on it for next season. I suppose I’d be kind of sorry to see the Anne Heche starrer Men in Trees go, if anything because I’ve heard good things about it and I totally would catch up with it over the summer.

To be completely fair to the networks, though, I could live without of these “on-the-bubble” shows – if I had to. Except for Veronica Mars. There’s no need to cancel it, but there is a need for it to be allowed to be what it wants to be, CW, so quit hampering with it.

Photo: NBC.com (30 Rock).

Hear the Rainbow

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has joined forces with Cyndi Lauper to launch a 15-date national tour this summer, in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality.

The True Colors 2007 Tour will feature Lauper and other artists, including Erasure, Debbie Harry, the Dresden Dolls, and host Margaret Cho, as well as a variety of special guests such as Rufus Wainwright in certain cities. HRC will receive a portion of every ticket sold.

Tickets went on sale exclusively for HRC supporters today. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday.

Photo: PassportMagazine.com.

It’s Not the Size of It That Matters

By now y’all know that Zack (Dawn of the Dead) Snyder’s “spectacular” (yeah, I’m quoting myself) 300 made boffo box office business over the weekend (to the tune of $70 million), so I’m going to try and keep this short and sweet for the lot of you who may have yet to see the movie.

Before, though, click here to read Frank Miller’s take on the difference between his comic and the movie.

Alright, back yet? Cool.

A complex, dark, and lavishly violent recreation of the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae – where King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro, of TV’s Lost) and his massive Persian army – 300 is quite the visual treat.

The first 20 minutes are a bit of a drag, though.

With a tedious narration, 300 needlessly tries to establish itself as a serious pop corn action fantasy – a sort of Gladiator-meets-Tom of Finland, for the post- post- post-MTV generation, if you will.

But things pick up nicely once the action begins, the army of 300 looking mighty fine as they prepare for glory. The movie even paces its main plot with a humanizing, if predictable subplot about politics and the reasons for which Leonidas "really" goes to fight.

In any case, it is quite the spectacle to behold. It’s nice to see that, indeed, it is what you do with it that matters (the small army, that is, which, by the way, someone should send after this loudmouth), and to see Butler finally bask in some Hollywood glory.

My Rating ***

Photo: Warner Bros.

Strength in a Number

The spectacular 300 opens today...but you're going to have to wait for a full review until Monday; unforeseen technical glitches are preventing me from posting it.

Just know that the movie starts rather slow, but it builds up quite nicely as the epic Battle of Thermopylae approaches.

Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, 300 features plenty of eye candy and battle scenes that should peak your interest in all things Sparta.

Photo: Warner Bros.

The Boy Within Is Très Heureux!

Nick Rodwell of Hergé Studios announced today that DreamWorks has committed to produce at least one movie based on the famed Belgian cartoon character Tintin.

Rodwell said the company will go into preproduction on a film, which should be in theaters in about two years.

There are more than 20 cartoon books chronicling Tintin and his faithful dog Milou's adventures from which to choose from for a first movie script.

May I suggest they start with 1932’s Tintin in America?

Photo: Wikipedia.com.

M Is For Fashion

Click here – I said click it! – to watch Madonna’s brand new, 90-second-long commercial for her latest M by Madonna line for H&M.

The spot, I understand, was directed by the Queen of Pop herself (and some dude named Dan Cadan).

And I love it.

Photo: Madonnalicious.com.

“Petro-noia” Getting To Ya?

Yep, gas prices are on the rise…sooo…I figured why not giving something else to look forward to in the couple of months:

Terrence Howard feels the Pride and Rainn Wilson (TV’s The Office) searches for The Last Mimzy on March 23;

The Will Ferrell-Jon Heder figure skating farce Blades of Glory (featuring – OMG, this is too good – real life husband-and-wife team Will Arnett and Amy Poehler) arrives in theater a week later;

Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale find a scary Vacancy they wish they hadn’t on April 13;

Scarlett Johansson reads from The Nanny Diaries and Meg Ryan returns to the big screen In the Land of Women on April 20; and

Keri Russell plays Waitress on April 27.

Photo: Screen Gems (Vacancy).

A Mummy Thing

Have you heard? BFF Madonna, Stella McCartney, and Gwyneth Paltrow’s kids often get together for play dates.

One of my heroes, EW.com columnist Michael Slezak, has imagined what a conversation at one of these exclusive gatherings would sound like.

It. Is. The. Funniest. Thing. I’ve Read. All. Day. Long.

Photo: BBC.co.uk.

Same Dog, New Tricks

In next month’s Year of the Dog, Molly Shannon plays Peggy, a happy-go-lucky secretary – a great friend, employee, and sister – who lives alone with her beloved dog, Pencil.

But when Pencil unexpectedly dies, Peggy must embark on a journey of personal transformation.

Year of the Dog marks the directorial debut of The Good Girl and School of Rock screenwriter Mike White – and features, I hear, an unexpected tour de force from former Saturday Night Live MVP Shannon.

Photo: Paramount Vantage.

Simply Irresistible, Pt. 10

Say what you will about the third season of TV’s Lost, one thing that cannot be denied is the fact that Evangeline Lilly, a.k.a. Kate on the show, has been delivering some of her best work since the (once?) cult and critical darling came back on the air.

Perhaps it’s the fact that Kate is taking charge again, or perhaps Lilly knows something that we don’t, but her recent performance strikes me as reinvigorated.

Clearly, like Lost, Lilly has more to offer than meets the eye (she has endured some tough words from critics). I hope I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Photo: Elle.com.

So Looking Forward to It

While in Mexico yesterday, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin said that the band’s upcoming new album will feature “one song that we feel like everybody has to hear...before we die,” possibly meaning the band’s best song yet.

Coldplay’s last album, the underrated X&Y (featuring "Fix You," "A Message," and "Swallowed in the Sea") was released in 2005.

Personally, I don’t think Coldplay could ever do better than they have – not because I don’t think they’re an extremely talented bunch, but because I live for their songs already.

Photo: PBS.org.

Must Watch Film

Craig (Hustle & Flow) Brewer’s Black Snake Moan opened today amid a fury of controversy.

The film follows a God-fearing bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson) as he tries to save a wild young woman (Christina Ricci) who, as a victim of childhood sexual abuse, looks everywhere for love, never quite finding it.

Why is this film sparking such polarized reviews? Because Jackson’s characters chains Ricci’s to his radiator.

And because some people feel Ricci is being exploited.

And because, of course, it would be a cold day in the h-e-l-l if everyone appreciated an original idea – and I’ve only seen the trailer for the film – that perhaps, just perhaps, is actually an extreme commentary on the characteristics of life it so provocatively presents.

What do you say...are we there or what?

Photo: Paramount Classics.

Mystery Men

Right away I have to tell you, you have to see Zodiac this weekend; it’s really, really good.

But don’t get yourself the biggest soda at the concession stand: the film clocks in at 160 minutes. That’s an awful long time to cross your legs, and trust me when I tell you this film is an edge-of-your-seater during which you do not want to have to make a quick restroom run.

Having said that, David Fincher’s tremendously tantalizing thriller achieves near perfection its first half.

As a brutal serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his blocky ciphers and letters – which, to up the ante, he sends to the San Francisco Chronicle and other newspapers – investigators in four jurisdictions search for him while trying to keep the community calm.

The case, one of the most infamous ''cold'' cases in U.S. criminal history, becomes an obsession for three men – Inspector Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), Chron cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), and Chron reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.), whose lives and careers are built and destroyed by an endless trail of clues.

Suspense builds in Zodiac at an incredibly fast pace, probably because the film effectively covers more than 30 years worth of events, starting in 1969, but Fincher tends to every detail as if it was the most important.

He also engulfs every main and supporting character relevant to the investigation with the subtlest soupçon of is-he-the-Zodiac?, which only adds to the urgency of the investigation, to the unresolved nature of the case.

When Graysmith all of people, determined "to look him in the eye,” finally gets nearest to the would-be killer, Zodiac ends, with the only certainty that the bad guy may have gotten away with it, after all.

My Rating ***1/2

Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Nostalgia, Pt. 7

Every once in while a radio station will play some Roxette, and I gotta tell ya…boy, does it take me back.

Alright, it takes me back to like, the early-to-mid-1990s, but still….

I remember I saw Swedish pop masters Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, a.k.a. Roxette, in concert in Lima (Peru, not Ohio) and just having a great time.

Roxette’s songs are catchy and they taught me that I always should try to be “Dressed for Success,” that, as agonizing at it may be, it’s OK to “Listen to Your Heart,” and that “Sleeping in My Car” just might be a whole lotta fun (the first two songs appeared in their 1988 release Look Sharp!).

Last year, the CD Collection of Roxette Hits: Their 20 Greatest Songs was released, featuring fan favorites like “Joyride” and “The Look,” as well as two new tracks ("One Wish" and "Reveal").

The compilation should prove a must have item for anyone who calls themselves a fan of Roxette.

Photo: Amazon.com.