Saturday 14 July 2007

First look of Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There"

Not really sure what to think. I can see people going wild for it, but for me it looks a little too mannered and calculated.
I remember that story that according to Katharine Hepburn's official biographer A. Scott Berg, Meryl Streep was her least favorite modern actress on screen: "Click, click, click," she said, referring to the wheels turning inside Streep's head (petty jealousy from Ms. Hepburn).
That is EXACTLY what I am thinking here with Blanchett's performance of Bob Dylan.
Check it out

Friday 13 July 2007

David Beckham = moist pants

My God is that man just beautiful. I actually look at him and all the pain and horror of real life just melts away.
Everyone knows about his new photo-spread in W Magazine. The only problem is that some bitch called Victoria insists on being in the photo’s and RUINS half of them. I know the poor woman looks like an insane gerbil when she does smile, hence the pout, but please woman…EAT SOMETHING.
You look a bronzed POW with implants.
Anyway, just feast on the beauty that is David, and at the end him is speedo’s. He can fill ‘em out nicely.



Thursday 12 July 2007

Sleuth trailer.

File this under "Lets wait and see"

The Lovely Bones! Susie Salmon has been cast!

Very very exciting news that Saoirse Ronan has been cast in the role. You should all know her as the little girl from the "Atonement" trailer. This looks to be the year of young Saoirse (watch out Dakota) she will be seen later this year in "Death Defying Acts," alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones and Guy Pearce; "I Could Never Be Your Woman," starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd; and "Atonement ," with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. This summer she begins filming Walden's "City of Ember," being directed by Gil Kenan.

Physically she is the perfect choice, exactly how I imagined her in the book. We will soon see if she has the acting chops.

Wednesday 11 July 2007

Sh*t on the radio

I was thinking about the state of pop music. Why oh why is most of the stuff we are forced to listen to by radio a big ole stinking pile of turds. It got me thinking about how people say that the UK has worse music than the US, and visa versa.
I want to once and for all find out which country is better by looking at the top 10’s for each country and comparing them. I will give a mark to the merits of each song, then the melting pot of musical genre’s in each chart. I will be looking at the Billboard Hot 100 and the BBC radio Top 40.

First the Yanks.
10 – Amy Winehouse ‘Rehab”
Brilliant song mates…nice to see some Brit power showing up here even if it is like 6 months behind. 8/10 lost two for being so behind.
9 – Justin Timberlake ‘Summer Love’
Ouch…this hurts a little on the ole ears. Seems he is really running out of track on his album. Surprised to see that this piece of poo has actually been on the chart for so long 3/10
8 – Avril Lavigne ‘Girlfriend’
This was a cute poppy song, but not good enough to last 18 weeks on the chart and make it to number 1. 6/10
7 – Maroon 5 ‘Makes Me Wonder’
I do really like this and am happy to see it on the US charts for so long and making number 1 as well. Good on you 8/10
6 – Timbaland feat Keri Hilson ‘The Way I Are’
No wonder there is such a high illiteracy problem in schools these days. However I do like this, a nice little slice of safe r-n-b. 7/10
5 – T-Pain feat Yung Joc ‘Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’)
This makes me want to take an electric drill to my ear drums. Plus people, learn how to spell!!! No wonder our children cannot graduate school! 1/10
4 – Fergie ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’
Yawn! Why is this woman famous. She looks like syphilis on a stick, and that song of hers ‘Fergalicious’ just sounds like a really bad gynecological condition. I guess her purpose in life is to make Carmen Electra look classy. 3/10
3 – Plain White T’s ‘Hey There Delilah’
Ahhh bless. I guess someone needs to fill in the folksy roc ballad spot, and this could be a lot worse. Glad to see a break from all the r-n-b and hip hop though. 6/10
2 – Shop Boyz ‘Party Like A Rockstar’
Please stop this……Oh my god this is the most horrible thing yet….give me back T-Pain feat Yung Joc. Number 2 America…REALLY??? 0/10
1 – Rihanna feat Jay-Z ‘Umbrella’
I basically think everyone likes this one. Even I do, but it can grate after the radio plays it for the 8 time in a day. Still a great summer effort. 7/10

With 70% of your chart some form of R-n-B/Hip Hop and the rest Rock/Pop not very impressive. Over all 6/10 Giving you a grand total of 55/110!

Now the Brits
10 – Kelly Rowland Feat Eve ‘Like This’
See, we are not all about the Beyonce over here in the UK. We give her team mates props, even if the record is not really that good. I expected more from you Kelly 4/10
9 – Lee Mead ‘Any Dream Will Do’
He won some TV competition to be in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph. Enough said. 0/10
8 – Fergie ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’
I said it before 3/10
7 – Natasha Bedingfield ‘Soulmate’
I actually do like this, and the remix is getting equal play on the radio so it’s chart position is fr both the dance version and the ballad. A solid 7/10
6 - Timbaland feat Kari Hilson ‘The Way I Are’
Not again….Is the UK turning into America??? 7/10
5 – The Hoosiers ‘Worried About Ray’
This is a great pile of fun. I love this song with it’s Rock and pop beats. Sounds like the 60’s all over again. 8/10
4 – Enrique Iglesias ‘Do You Know’
Ok, since the man performed at GAY and bought a little screaming queen on stage to sing ‘Hero’ to my tolerance of this song has gone up. Even if he is straining his vocal chords to the limit. 7/10
3 – Avril Lavigne ‘When You’re Gone’
This is a cute song, but not great. See America…we are on the second single already (and it is already old) 6/10
2 – Kate Nash ‘Foundations’
Love Love Love this. 8/10
1 – Rihanna feat Jay-Z ‘Umbrella’
Umba. Rella. Ella. Ella. Eh. Eh. Eh 7/10

Ok 40% is R-n-B/Hip Hop, 40% Pop, 10% Rock and 10% Musical. We have the more embracing chart…. 7/10. With a grand total of 64/110 we beat y’all…but barely. Music that charts today is crap. At least in the UK we have Radio 1, which is national, plays everything and is the most popular station to listen to. Plus the charts over here are based almost entirely on CD single and download sales, which represents what people actually want and not so much radio airplay. And we all know record companies pay radio stations to play the records, so how is that a chart?

More trailers....sorry for being so boring.

First we have Paul ‘I steal Oscars’ Haggis with what looks like a big ole drip fest “In The Valley of Elah”. He has roped in a fantastic cast, but forgive me for saying that this looks like a big ole piece of manipulation. Everyone knows the war in Iraq is bogus and needs to end and that the US military is corrupt, but why make a soppy movie about it now? Would it have not been more timely two or three years ago when you were making you race relations drama (which should have been made in the 1980’s) Do you really need another Oscar?


Next up is Daniel Radcliffe’s first foray into non Harry Potter territory, and my word does this ever look cute, and he does an accent. This could be a nice little September crowd pleaser if the movie looks a fun and touching as the trailer. Bonus points is that it is directed by Rod Hardy who has directed some of the episodes of “Battlestar Galactica”. That is enough for me to be interested.

Tuesday 10 July 2007

Nikki Finn and the Blockbuster

So, I am still trying to figure out how to approach writing my review of Madonna’s performance as Nikki Finn in “Who’s That Girl”. It is tough going knowing that everyone out there thinks she is a terrible actress and the movie is HORRIBLE.
It will come soon, I promise!!!

Until then please read this article over at The Hollywood Reporter about how studios are looking for the next big franchise.

They mention how MGM is involved with “The Hobbit” without Peter Jackson. Studios are awful, awful things. They only think of the money. Sure “The Hobbit” will make money, but at what cost? If it is terrible then it tarnishes the legacy of the first three films. That is a huge risk to take for the sake of a few dollars.
They are even talking about a “Pirates” sequel as well as more “Spiderman” movies.
Will this insanity never end?

With this mad rush to make money, they are forgetting very important things like scripts and talent. Sure droves of idiots (myself included) will go and see the newest loudest blockbuster, but if it is terrible, we will not be shelling out money to see it’s sequel. I shelled out to see “Shrek 2” and hated it, so no, I will not see “Shrek the 3rd”

If the big blockbusters were any good, they wouldn’t have a 60+% drop in the second weekend like "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” did. That film has yet to make back it’s production budget in domestic grosses.

The fact that opening weekends are so important is another ridiculous marketing ploy, especially since they do not last a-top the box office come the following weekend, and in fact drop in money earned. Wouldn’t the studios rather have slow burners? Look at “ Little Miss Sunshine ”. Small indie family comedy made for $8 million, which took a worldwide gross of $99 million. That movie stuck around all summer long, opening in seven theaters, then six hundred and ninety one, then to over one thousand six hundred.

Films like “Waitress”, “Once”, “La Vie En Rose”, “Sicko”, “Away From Her” and “The Namesake” have all been released in this crazy blockbuster filled summer, and managed to turn a profit as well as garner immense critical praise. They have also managed stay in the top 20 for a while despite their limited release.
And which films will be remembered when it comes to the year ends round up of the best films? The ones with the Limited release. That leaves the blockbusters to enjoy being included on lists with titles such as “Most disappointing films” or even worst “Worst Films of the year”.

Studios…WAKE UP AND SMELL THE TALENT.

Spiderwick, and J.J. Abrams mystery trailer!!

So “The Spiderwick Chronicles” trailer has hit, and I am all like “YAWN!!”, but you can check it out here.

More interesting is this very strange and unusual J.J. Abrams trailer for an untitled movie no-one knows anything about, its debut was in front of “Transformers” so y'all know alot of people saw it. It is apparently about a monster running amok in New York. Brilliant trailer and great advertising gimmick. How savy!
View it here.

Monday 9 July 2007

"Get away from my Oscar you BITCH!"

Yes the results are here from my third poll. I asked who you felt deserved the Best Actress Oscar back in 1986.

So in descending order:

5) With 5% of the votes we have Marlee Matlin - Children of a Lesser God

4) With 9% of the votes we have Sissy Spacek - Crimes of the Heart

3) With 15% of the votes we have Jane Fonda - The Morning After

2) With 20% of the votes we have Kathleen Turner - Peggy Sue Got Married

1) With a whopping 50% we have Sigourney Weaver - Aliens.

So clearly Sigourney Weaver has won this round. I was actually expecting to see Kathleen Turner take this over Sigourney. How silly I am.
Ripley is not only one of the greatest action hero’s of our time, Ellen Ripley is in fact the very first female action stars who did not rely on sex and seduction to survive.
And survive she did.
What Sigourney did was breathe so much life and soul into her that her kick-ass-ery was just a pleasant addition. We saw her pain in the loss of her daughter, and the human softness with Jones and Newt, then the matriarchal toughness and concern when speaking and advising the military unit she ends up heading. It was a performance no other actress has ever accomplished in an action film (expect perhaps Uma Thurman in “Kill Bill”), for it was fully rounded and fiercely intelligent. No actress since has matched her feat of embodying an action hero with such cultural staying power.
So it is of little surprise that Sigourney, in retrospect, has one this one.
I am curious to see when the actress who wins the poll is the actress who one the award!

On to the next poll.
Who should have won Best Supporting Actress in 1986? Please choose from the following actresses.

Tess Harper - Crimes of the Heart
Piper Laurie - Children of a Lesser God
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio - The Color of Money
Maggie Smith - A Room with a View
Dianne Wiest - Hannah and Her Sisters

Sunday 8 July 2007

Countdown Special Comment:

Bush, Cheney Should Resign

I do not often get into politics as I find the whole affair far to dramatic and over the top, hence why I concentrate on Hollywood and the acting and movie making community. However I stumbled upon this MSNBC Special Comment by Keith Olbermann, and I was dumb struck. He deserves a big ole hero cookie.
What ever your stance is, you all know the 'W' is an embarrassing president. I feel so strongly for my American friends as they have to live with it. There is a reason the rest of the world ridicules America, and it resides in the White House. Watch the whole of this video...it is long, but worth it.

Something funny for Sunday

Expect an "I LOVE Margaret Cho" post soon.

Trailers Alert!

Firsty the directorial debut of Ben Affleck "Gone Baby Gone".

"Dorchester, one of the toughest neighborhoods in all of Boston, is no place for the weak or innocent. Its a territory defined by hard heads and even harder luck, its streets littered with broken families, hearts, dreams. When one of its own, a 4-year-old girl, goes missing, private investigators Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angela Gennaro (Michelle Monoghan) don't want the case. But after pleas from the child's aunt (Amy Madigan), they open an investigation that will ultimately risk everything -- their relationship, their sanity, and even their lives -- to find a little girl-lost.""

What is to note is this is an adaptation of the book written by "Mystic River" scribe Dennis Lehane. Also perhaps we should watch out for the supporting performances of Amy Madigan, Ed Harris, and Amy Ryan as the girls mother. Also never ever count out Morgan Freeman.


Secondly, word of mouth is not too shabby, and it is a very very important subject to not just me, but to everyone, even those who do not care (and there are surprisingly alot of them out there). Should this take off, look for it to compete with Michael Moore's "Sicko" in the documentary award.
On a personal note, this is something that upsets me greatly. Mankind is a plague to the planet but could so easily be its salvation if only we made an effort. Simple things like recycling, water conservation, buying fuel efficient transport should be law.

The 11th Hour

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Lastly we have "The Jane Austen Book Club". Looks so cheesy and touchy feely and I really want to see it. Not only does it have the yummy Hugh Dancy (sigh) but also Academy darlings Kathy Baker and Lynn Redgrave along side newer and fresher faces itching to be called to the Oscar inner circle such as Maria Bello and Emily Blunt. Would not be surprised at all to see one of the cast memebers break through ala Julia Roberts in "Steel Magnolias" (Me thinks it could be Emily)