Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at the 2013 Woodie Awards - Photo by Scott Gries/Invision for MTVMacklemore & Ryan Lewis are confirmed to perform on the 2013 MTV Movie Awards hosted by Rebel Wilson. The awards show will air on April 14th at 9pm and, in addition to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, will feature performances by Selena Gomez (singing “Come & Get It”) and the stars of Pitch Perfect performing a brand new mash-up.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will be performing their new single “Can’t Hold Us.”
Joining host Rebel Wilson on stage for the 2013 MTV Movie Awards will be presenters Steve Carell, Melissa McCarthy, Zac Efron, Kerry Washington, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Amanda Seyfried, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto. Will Ferrell will be picking up the inaugural Comedic Genius Award and Emma Watson will be honored with the Trailblazer Award.
And for The Hunger Games fans, the awards show will premiere the official teaser trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire with Liam Hemsworth on hand to introduce the clip.
“Mia, what are you doing? Put down the gun!,” says David (Shiloh Fernandez) to his sister who should be passed out in her room after being given sedatives to help her sleep. “You’re all going to die tonight,” replies Mia (Jane Levy) in a disturbing voice because she has been possessed by an evil demon in the remake, re-tooling of the cult horror/comedy classic Evil Dead.
Determined to get his kid sister off drugs, David joins Mia, Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci), Olivia (Jessica Lucas), and Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) in his family’s old remote cabin in the woods to help when Mia goes cold turkey and goes through withdrawal. While dealing with Mia’s shouting and being sick, the group discovers a Book of the Dead in the basement of the cabin along with the remains of a black magic ritual from some earlier time. Eric, unlike the rest of the group, quickly becomes obsessed with the book and begins to decipher and read out loud parts of it – despite many handwritten bold writings in the book warning potential readers to “LEAVE THIS BOOK ALONE!”
Meanwhile, Mia, not being able to handle her severe withdrawal, escapes the cabin, runs outside, and drives quickly away. However, only minutes later she swerves when an evil-looking woman appears in the middle of the road, causing her to crash the car. Struggling to make her way back to the cabin, Mia is attacked by some trees which have been possessed by evil spirits and is taken over by the demonic women she saw on the road.
When David and the rest of the group find Mia, they take her back to the cabin and debate if they should take her back home or stick it out in the woods, believing she’s only suffering from withdrawal. But when Mia comes out of her room, points a shotgun at David, says in a demonic voice they’re all going to die, and shoots David in the shoulder, Eric is the first to begin to suspect his reading from the Book of the Dead has released evil forces upon Mia and the rest of them.
Evil Dead the remake is an over-the-top gorefest of a horror film which, while staying true to the original 1981 cult classic, does not improve on it or even match it.
The script is similar to the original but has much weaker dialogue, and the characters are mostly one-dimensional except for Mia, who suffers both from withdrawal and being possessed. Jane Levy is very effective as Mia, the troubled, moody, and at times terrified girl desperate to reconnect to her brother and later escape the horrors of the woods. Levy is also quite good as the possessed Mia, looking creepy, scary, and acting demonic. She’s the only one in the cast whose performance is worth seeing.
The special effects and make-up are solid but nothing any moviegoer hasn’t seen before and better in films such as The Ring, The Grudge and the original Evil Dead. The camera work and direction are almost identical to the original film, with once again zero improvement.
The two most important elements missing in this re-boot are the outrageous humor which was in the original film and added a brief sense of fun and relief from the gory, bloody scenes, and the character ‘Ash Williams’ played wonderfully by Bruce Campbell. Ash was a funny, smart-aleck character the audience closely connected to and rooted for to beat the demon in the 1981 version and that is sadly lacking here in the remake. Not one of the characters has any wit or a winning personality.
Evil Dead 2013 is an unneeded and unnecessary remake, especially with the original film and its two superior sequels available on DVD and soon, hopefully, on Blu-ray.
GRADE C-
Evil Dead opens in theaters on April 5, 2013 and is rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, some sexual content and language.
Much like with director/co-writer Derek Cianfrance’s last and much-lauded effort, Blue Valentine, my own estimation of the end result for his latest, The Place Beyond the Pines, is a mixed bag.
He’s once again teamed up with Ryan Gosling, but as the story is broken into an epic three-piece structure told over the course of 15 years, there’s also Bradley Cooper and Dane DeHaan who feature center stage. Like Blue Valentine, the theme of marital dysfunction features prominently, but it’s a one-sided examination with very little focus on the women of the film; instead, it’s the father-son relationship that Cianfrance explores over the course of 2 hours and 20 minutes that begin to weigh heavily halfway through the second act.
Gosling puts in an excellent performance, but it’s one we’ve seen from him before (a few times before at this point); blending his characters from Blue Valentine and Drive with a mid-to-late ’90s fashion sense. As he goes from stunt motorcycle rider at a carnival to a bank robber in an attempt to provide for a one-time fling (Eva Mendes) which produced a son he immediately wants to take care of, there are whole series of gaps in emotional and psychological progression that gets skipped over in favor of hitting the tensest moments (par for the course in this film). Pairing him with Ben Mendelsohn for the bank robberies is the highlight of the entire proceedings; it’s a shame this wasn’t the entire focus and that Cianfrance seemed so hell-bent on telling his epic.
Bradley Cooper suffers from being placed in the role of a lawyer-trained cop battling corruption and career aspirations in such a stock fashion that it feels like when the movie shifts to him, the movie changed channels to cable television. He’s surrounded by some good (though similarly stock) performances by Ray Liotta, Rose Byrne, and Bruce Greenwood but this entire section is pure setup for the final chapter and carries some tension but little weight.
DeHaan and Emory Cohen anchor the last section and it’s here that Cianfrance wants to pull everything together and prove the unnecessary length of the proceedings was worth the ride but the realizations and understandings that come through, in the end, were realized by the audience so much earlier that it makes everything anticlimactic. Cohen’s bravado and aptly in-film described Jersey Shore sensibilities make the interplay pop between him and the mousy, socially awkward DeHaan. Much like the first section, this could have been a movie unto itself but suffers from getting short shrift and ends up a collection of tense moments all jumbled together in fast-forward progression.
If you’ve put the theme of the movie together at this point, you’ve probably also figured out the theme of this review. The Place Beyond the Pines is a huge, multi-character arc that either needed to be told in three distinct films or one segment could have been expanded into feature-length and left at that. The middle section is an appropriate name as that’s the place where the film could have lost a lot of weight and gets lost in a traditional crime drama whereas the beginning and end are character studies more expected from the director. It’s as if Cianfrance and his co-writers wrote a huge novel, full of rich detail and character development – then they boiled it all down to the flashier moments. This turned what could have been a fascinating mini-series on HBO or Showtime into a bloated and self-indulgent movie aimed at people who think the length of film equates to its quality.
While I commend certain moments here and there, and the supporting characters were cast wonderfully, the sheer volume of runtime made me take time to chew on what I had watched, but after some reflection, I realized I was over-complicating a rather simple-premise; which is what the film does throughout. There’s also the use of Mike Patton’s score to overly punctuate the mood of scenes and how conveniently the character relations become intertwined in the last section, that distracts from the big picture but going off on those aspects would make this review as overly long as the movie.
The payoff isn’t worth the journey in this case and for those out there who were looking solely at the attractiveness of the cast in order to determine if you were headed to the theater, a few words of caution: Yes, you see Gosling’s finely sculpted abs but only once in the first few moments of the film. Yes, Eva Mendes shuns a bra in her first appearance, but by the time you get to her hilariously bad make-up job to age her 15 years, you’ll forget all about that. Yes, Bradley Cooper has dreamy blue eyes, but they’re not highlighted in this film, you’re better off with something like Limitless if that’s your thing.
Everyone hoping for another Blue Valentine is probably better off just rewatching it and hoping Cianfrance puts more stock in having someone help edit the screenplay prior to shooting; with so much story to tell, there wasn’t much the editors could do here without gutting the project entirely.
GRADE: C-
The Place Beyond the Pines is rated R for language throughout, some violence, teen drug and alcohol use, and a sexual reference.
David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel star in 'Bones'Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is currently running a contest for Bones fans in support of the show’s season 8’s upcoming release on DVD and Blu-ray. Tweet your Bones question using the #BonesFanEvent hashtag for a shot at having it answered on the season 8 Blu-ray and DVD.
The show’s producers will select their favorite questions from among all those submitted by fans to @BONESonFOX or https://www.facebook.com/Bones. And on April 8th, Bones fans can submit videos that, if chosen, will be included on the Bones season 8 Blu-ray and DVD
Per the official contest announcement:
Video options include:
– Explain why you are the No.1 Bones fan
– In 60 seconds or less, recap Bones from Season 1 to the present
Have you always wanted to be a part of a comic book? Marvel and Harley Davidson are offering an Iron Man 3 contest – “Man & Machine” – in which five fans will be included in a Marvel comic. The winners of the Man & Machine contest running now through May 31, 2013, will be drawn into the comic as Road Force team members.
“Iron Man, one of Marvel’s most iconic creations, truly embodies the rebellious attitude and power of Harley-Davidson,” stated Dino Bernacchi, Harley-Davidson Marketing Communication Director. “Collaborating with Marvel for Marvel’s Iron Man 3 continues our tradition of crowd-sourcing, fan-driven content. In 2012, Marvel fans proved their creativity with our first co-created Avengers comic book. Now, we’re raising the stakes by unveiling the winners on one of the world’s largest stages – San Diego Comic-Con.”
Per Harley-Davidson and Marvel:
– Five winners will be selected to become a part of a Marvel Avengers comic book where their likenesses will be drawn into the series with the motorcycles they selected and the characters they create.
– All winners will receive a VIP trip to Comic-Con International, where they’ll participate in an event where their Road Force characters will be unveiled and immortalized.
– One grand prize winner will also win the custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle they created (minus the armament, of course.)
In order to enter Marvel’s Iron Man 3 Man & Machine contest online at harley-davidson.com/ironman. Create a profile, write a character backstory, and select a Harley motorcycle.
The Plot of Marvel’s Iron Man 3:
Marvel’s Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?
Even though it’s after Easter and this performance was in celebration of that holiday, there’s never a bad time to watch Jimmy Fallon, Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation), and Blake Shelton dress up in big yellow chicken costumes and cluck their way through The Lumineers’ “Ho Hey” as The Chickeneers. The only way this could have possibly been any better is if one had actually been shown laying an egg onstage.
A giant among movie reviewers, the legendary critic Roger Ebert has passed away at the age of 70. Just this week he let it be known that his cancer had returned and that he would have to cut back on the number of movies he would review going forward, with health issues forcing him to step away from the Sun-Times where he had been employed as a critic since the mid-’60s.
The first critic to win a Pulitzer Prize, Ebert worked his way up from copy boy to movie critic at the Chicago paper, ultimately becoming one of the most-read and well-respected film critics of the past 50 years. Along with fellow Chicago critic Gene Siskel, Ebert trademarked the ‘two thumbs up’ phrase while entertaining and informing generations of movie fans with their thoughtful analysis of films on their At the Movies TV series.
It didn’t matter if you agreed with his conclusions or not, reading a review written by Ebert was always a joy because his love of film was evident in each critique. His unique voice will be greatly missed.
Warner Bros Pictures has unveiled the new trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby featuring some of the film’s soundtrack music by Beyonce, Lana Del Rey, and Florence + The Machine. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, The Great Gatsby (in 3D) stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Joel Edgerton, Carey Mulligan, and Tobey Maguire and will open in theaters on May 10, 2013.
The Plot:
The Great Gatsby follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway (Maguire) as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio), and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy (Mulligan), and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan (Edgerton).
It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super-rich, their illusions, loves, and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without of the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Esther Dean, Adam DeVine, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, Ben Platt, Brittany Snow, and Rebel Wilson – who is also hosting the MTV Movie Awards – are reuniting to perform live a “never-before-heard musical mash-up” on the April 14, 2013 awards show. The Pitch Perfect cast will be the opening act at the MTV Awards show broadcast live at 9pm on MTV.
According to MTV, the Pitch Perfect stars will be reprising their roles as members of The Barden Bellas and Treblemakers from the movie.
“I could not be more thrilled for the MTV Movie Awards to be the setting for the Pitch Perfect Bella & Treblemaker reunion,” said Pitch Perfect‘s director Jason Moore. “We have something exciting in store for the MTV audience, and I know the cast and the fans are going to really enjoy our first-ever live performance!”
Will Arnett and Jason Bateman in a scene from Netflix’s “Arrested Development.” Photo credit: Michael Yarish for NetflixNetflix will be debuting all 15 – yes, 15! – episodes of the much-anticipated fourth season of Arrested Development on May 26, 2013. All of the episodes will be available on that date, making it much easier for those of us who want immediate gratification and don’t want to wait months to view one season of a series.
Created by Mitchell Hurwitz, Arrested Development stars Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth, Michael Cera as Michael’s son George, Jeffrey Tambor as George Bluth Sr., and Jessica Walter as the family matriarch. The Bluth brothers are played by Will Arnett (‘George Oscar Bluth II’) and Tony Hale (‘Buster Bluth) with Portia de Rossi as their sister Lindsay Funke.
“Arrested Development is now widely viewed as one of the top TV comedies of all time and Mitch Hurwitz is bringing it to Netflix in a brand new way, crafted for the on-demand generation that has come to discover the show in the years since it last appeared on TV,” stated Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer for Netflix. “The highly anticipated return of this show is sure to make history all over again.”
“Ted said that? Wow. Well don’t print this obviously, but he’s going to be immensely disappointed. In truth we are doing something very ambitious that can only be done with Netflix as partners and on their platform. Finally my simple wish for the show is coming true: that it be broadcast every second around the clock to every television, computer or mobile device in existence,” joked series creator and executive producer Mitch Hurwitz.
A giant among movie reviewers, the legendary critic Roger Ebert has passed away at the age of 70. Just this week he let it be known that his cancer had returned and that he would have to cut back on the number of movies he would review going forward, with health issues forcing him to step away from the Sun-Times where he had been employed as a critic since the mid-’60s.
