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Katy Perry Performs “Roar” on SNL
Stumble It! Check Out the ‘Dear Mr. Watterson’ Trailer
I miss Calvin & Hobbes and it’s sad to think there are people out there who have no idea what I’m referring to. For those who need a refresher, Calvin & Hobbes was a popular comic strip created by Bill Watterson that existed way before Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, etc. The comic went away a decade after it first ran in newspapers when Watterson decided to retire the characters. And in the new documentary Dear Mr. Watterson, director Joel Allen Schroeder examines what the comic meant to its fans.
Dear Mr. Watterson opens in theaters on November 15, 2013.
The Plot:
Calvin & Hobbes took center stage immediately when it appeared in newspaper comics across the country in 1985. The funny pages were a big part of popular culture, and it was hard to find a comics reader who didn’t like Calvin & Hobbes.
A decade later, when Bill Watterson retired his strip, millions of readers felt the void left by the sudden departure of Calvin and his beloved tiger, and many fans would never find a satisfactory replacement. In his retirement, as he did during his career, Mr. Watterson has steadfastly declined to license his beloved Calvin and Hobbes characters for any wider commercial purposes, a principled decision that left perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars on the table.
It has now been 18 years since the end of the Calvin & Hobbes era. Bill Watterson has kept an extremely low profile during this time, living a very private life in Ohio. Despite his quiet lifestyle, he is remembered and appreciated daily by fans who still enjoy his amazing collection of work.
Dear Mr. Watterson is not a quest to find Bill Watterson, or to invade his privacy. It is an exploration to discover why his ‘simple’ comic strip has made such an impact on so many readers, and why it still means so much to us.
Movie Review: ‘Captain Phillips’
In 2009, the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama with Captain Phillips in charge is hijacked by a small crew of armed Somalia pirates looking to make a big score for their tribal leader back home. Phillips and his crew follow procedure and radio in for assistance as well as use their fire hoses to try to keep the pirates from being able to hook a ladder onto their ship and board the vessel. Realizing he’s fighting a losing battle and it’s only a matter of time before the pirates get on board, Phillips orders his crew to hide down below in the engine room of the ship and to stay hidden at all costs. The captain doesn’t want to give the pirates any chance of taking hostages.
Once on board, the hostile take-over of the ship turns into a battle of wits between Phillips – trying to keep his crew from being discovered as well as a way to get the pirates off his ship as quickly and peacefully as possible – and Muse, the pirate leader determined to find the crew and take as many hostages as he can with him back to Somalia.
Based on a true story and masterfully directed by Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum), Captain Phillips is an incredibly intense, riveting film with an unforgettable performance by Tom Hanks. The scenes on board the U.S. Maersk Alabama in which the pirates are confronting Phillips and begin a slow, careful search through the ship for its crew are both suspenseful and terrifying, and they’re sure to have audiences on the edge of their seats. Newcomers Barkhad Abdi and Barkhad Abdirahman are terrific as the pirate leader and his forceful henchman who constantly argue and disagree about what to do next and how to handle the captain who they nickname ‘Irish’ after he identifies himself as an Irish American.
Tom Hanks gives his best performance since Saving Private Ryan as Captain Richard Phillips, a wise, middle-aged professional seaman who bravely takes charge of dealing with the pirates and constantly puts himself in harm’s way to protect his crew and his ship. It’s a powerful performance and the last scene is perhaps the most moving and finest piece of acting he has ever delivered on screen.
Gripping, compelling, and suspenseful, Captain Phillips is without a doubt one of the best films of the year and is sure to be remembered and nominated during Oscar season. Don’t miss it!
GRADE: A
Captain Phillips is rated PG-13 for sustained intense sequences of menace, some violence with bloody images, and for substance use.
– By Kevin Finnerty
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‘Glee’ Cory Monteith Tribute – “Seasons of Love”
This performance of “Seasons of Love” by the cast of Glee gave me goosebumps. It’s a beautiful rendition of the song from the musical Rent, and it’s sung against a simple, black backdrop with a photo of Cory Monteith as Finn Hudson in his football jersey appearing at the end.
“The Quarterback” episode aired on Thursday, October 10, 2013, paying tribute to actor Cory Monteith while saying goodbye to his Glee character, Finn. Fox scored big ratings with the episode, but it would be way too cynical to believe ratings played any part in putting this episode together. This was a group of friends paying tribute to a young, troubled actor.
Starz Shows Off First Photos from ‘Da Vinci’s Demons’ Season 2
Confession: I’m a big fan of Starz’s Da Vinci’s Demons. Created by David S. Goyer (the Dark Knight trilogy), Da Vinci’s Demons dishes up a Leonardo da Vinci like we’ve never seen before in films or on TV. Tom Riley stars in the critically acclaimed series, delivering a sexier version of Leonardo than previously served up.
The show, which also features Laura Haddock, Blake Ritson, Elliot Cowan, and Lara Pulver, returns in 2014 and in support of the upcoming season two, Starz has just released four photos featuring Tom Riley and the cast.
The Plot:
Season two of Da Vinci’s Demons finds Florence thrown into chaos in the wake of the Pazzi conspiracy. Lorenzo is gravely ill and Leonardo da Vinci must push the limits of his mind and body to defend the city against the forces of Rome. While the Medicis go to unthinkable lengths to deal with new threats, da Vinci continues on his quest to find the fabled Book of Leaves and uncover the secret history of his mother.
He’ll come to realize that he has lethal competition in his quest — new enemies who may be even worse than the forces of Pope Sixtus. His search will take him to faraway lands and force him to reevaluate everything he knew about the world and his own history.
ABC Family Renews ‘The Fosters’
The drama series The Fosters will be returning for a second season on ABC Family. Season one’s still in production, however, the network’s so impressed with the show’s numbers that they’ve given the greenlit to season two.
“The Fosters has demonstrated its ability to build an audience, and the creative team’s compelling storytelling assures us that there will be more growth in upcoming season,” stated Kate Juergens, Chief Creative Officer and Executive Vice President, Programming, ABC Family. “The shows dynamic cast and groundbreaking storylines resonate with our core viewers and leave them wanting more.”
According to ABC Family, The Fosters was the #1 new cable series this summer among viewers 12 through 34 years old. The show is executive produced by Jennifer Lopez and was created by Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige. The cast includes Teri Polo, Sherri Saum, Jake T. Austin, Hayden Byerly, David Lambert, Maia Mitchell, Danny Nucci, and Cierra Ramirez.
The Plot: The Fosters is a one-hour drama about a multi-ethnic family mix of foster and biological kids being raised by two moms. Stef Foster, a dedicated police officer, and her partner Lena Adams Foster, a school Vice Principal, have built a close-knit, loving family with Stef’s biological son from a preview marriage, Brandon, and their adopted twins Mariana and Jesus. Their lives are disrupted in unexpected ways when Lena meets Callie, a guarded teen with an abusive past who has spent her life in and out of foster homes. Lena and Stef warily welcome Callie and her younger brother Jude in their home, hoping to provide them with the guidance and nurturing they so desperately need.
Over time, Callie and Jude open up about losing their parents and the hardships they suffered while in previous foster homes. Callie grows especially close to Brandon, but their mutual attraction causes jealousy and concern since foster children are not allowed to have intimate relationships in the same household. When Callie finally gives in to those feelings, she jeopardizes Stef and Lena’s offer to make her and Jude a permanent part of the family. Not wanting to ruin Jude’s chances of finally finding a stable, loving home, Callie runs away.
Lea Michele Sings “Make You Feel My Love” on ‘Glee’
How many tissues did you go through during Glee‘s tribute to Cory Monteith? I’m not sure how the cast made it through shooting the episode, and I can’t even imagine how Lea Michele managed to deliver “Make You Feel My Love.” It was heart-wrenching to watch her cry her way through the song.
Ylvis Performs “What Does the Fox Say” with Jimmy Fallon
Forget Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop,” Katy Perry’s “Roar,” Lady Gaga’s “Applause,” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” the most addictive song of the summer was Ylvis’ “What Does the Fox Say.” Ylvis made their late-night American television debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with a live performance of the song that went viral this summer. Even Jimmy Fallon and The Roots put on fox ears and joined in for the fun.
Katy Perry Plays Taboo with Jimmy Fallon
Remember Taboo? Katy Perry apparently plays the game every holiday with her family, however, her skills weren’t on display as she took on Jimmy Fallon in a game during the October 10, 2013 episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Teaming up with audience members, it was a battle of boys vs. girls for Taboo world dominance.
‘The Monuments Men’ Trailer #2 Starring George Clooney
Well, I’m still a little confused by the tone of The Monuments Men. The plot doesn’t sound like this should be a comedy, but the first trailer definitely played up the humor. Fortunately, this second trailer takes things a bit more seriously and also goes further in explaining the story.
Directed by and starring George Clooney, the cast includes Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, and Hugh Bonneville.
Columbia Pictures is releasing The Monuments Men on December 18, 2013.
The Plot: Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, The Monuments Men is an action drama focusing on an unlikely World War II platoon tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners. It would be an impossible mission: with the art trapped behind enemy lines and with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell, how could these guys – seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, all more familiar with Michelangelo than the M-1 – possibly hope to succeed?
But as the Monuments Men, as they were called, found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1000 years of culture, they would risk their lives to protect and defend mankind’s greatest achievements.
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