True Blood found its sense of humor again with the fifth episode of season four. Sure, there was a great deal of dramatic plot-forwarding moments, but even Bill (Stephen Moyer) was allowed a few lighter moments.
So, what happened in this episode? Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and Sookie (Anna Paquin) grew closer (even sharing a bed!), Godric made a brief appearance in a dream sequence, Sam’s little brother took on his parents, Jason (Ryan Kwanten) had sexy dreams about his BFF’s gorgeous vampire girlfriend, Pam’s still out for revenge against the witch who melted her face, and Lafayette and Jesus headed off to Mexico to consult Jesus’ grandfather.
Paranormal Activity was made for somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000 and went on to bring in $183 million worldwide before exiting theaters. Paranormal Activity 2 had a larger budget of $3 million-ish and collected $174 million while in theaters. And, of course, with that kind of box office success going for it, greenlighting a Paranormal Activity 3 was a no-brainer.
Set to hit theaters in October, Paramount Pictures has just revealed the first trailer for the third film of the freaky horror movie franchise.
The Plot: In 1988 sisters Katie (Chloe Csengery) and Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown) seem to be enjoying a normal, happy childhood at home. But when strange things start going bump in the night, their father, a wedding videographer, decides to use his cameras to discover the source, especially since Kristi appears to have conversations with an imaginary friend. While the cameras do indeed reveal a flurry of supernatural occurrences, the family is unprepared for the terror that awaits.
Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures – Island Records
The incredibly talented but troubled singer Amy Winehouse passed away on Saturday, July 23, 2011 of as-yet-undetermined causes. The five-time Grammy Award-winning Winehouse was found dead in her North London home, and an autopsy is being performed today. The singer’s problems with drugs and alcohol abuse were public knowledge, and after she was discovered at home by a member of her security team, an overdose was immediately speculated to be the cause of Winehouse’s death.
Since the shocking but unfortunately not so-surprising news broke, fans have gathered in front of her home, leaving notes and signs, flowers, and other gifts of remembrance. Sales of songs from her album Back to Black have soared on iTunes.
Following her passing, her family issued the following statement:
“Our family has been left bereft by the loss of Amy, a wonderful daughter, sister, and niece,” said the statement. “She leaves a gaping hole in our lives. We are coming together to remember her and we would appreciate some privacy and space at this terrible time.”
Winehouse is not the only singer to die at the young age of 27. With her death on Saturday, Winehouse joins the ranks of the ’27 Club’ whose members include Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain.
It’s almost over. Entourage‘s eighth season is its last, with the final episode of the popular HBO series set to air in mid-September. We’ve been following the exploits of Vince (Adrian Grenier), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), Drama (Kevin Dillon), Eric (Kevin Connolly), and Ari (Jeremy Piven) since first being introduced to the gang on July 18, 2004, and saying farewell’s going to be tough.
Although the seasons have been real hit and miss, this final season has found its groove again just in time to say goodbye to Vince, his entourage, and his power-hungry agent. But it’s likely this won’t be the absolute last time we see the Entourage gang together as the powers-that-be behind the series (including Mark Wahlberg) insist there will be a feature film based on the show.
Entourage August 2011 Episodes:
Episode #91: “One Last Shot”
Debut: SUNDAY, AUG. 7 (10:30-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Other HBO playdates: Aug. 7 (midnight), 9 (11:00 p.m.), 11 (10:30 p.m.) and 18 (10:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Aug. 8 (8:00 p.m.), 12 (2:45 a.m.) and 13 (2:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m.)
Vince (Adrian Grenier) bumps into old foe Carl Ertz (Kim Coates), who expresses interest in producing the miner movie. Although “Johnny’s Bananas” has yet to air, Andrew Dice Clay convinces Drama (Kevin Dillon) that they should renegotiate their contracts. Lloyd (Rex Lee) sets Ari (Jeremy Piven) up on a date to cheer him up. Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) gets news about his stake in Avion, and about Alex.
Written by Wesley Nickerson III & Kenny Neibart; directed by Dan Attias.
Episode #92: “Whiz Kid”
Debut: SUNDAY, AUG. 14 (10:30-11:00 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: Aug. 14 (midnight), 16 (11:00 p.m.), 18 (10:30 p.m.) and 25 (10:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Aug. 15 (8:00 p.m.), 19 (4:00 a.m.) and 20 (3:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m.)
After Vince finds himself at a crime scene, the guys go to ingenious lengths to make sure he passes a drug test, while Shauna (Debi Mazar) manages damage control with the press. In the wake of a sour couples’ therapy session, Ari gets back at Mrs. Ari (Perrey Reeves) by taking an old flame to Bobby Flay’s restaurant.
Written by Doug Ellin & Jerry Ferrara; directed by Roger Kumble.
Episode #93: “Motherf*cker”
Debut: SUNDAY, AUG. 21 (10:30-11:00 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: Aug. 21 (midnight), 23 (11:00 p.m.) and 25 (10:30 p.m.), and Aug. 1 (10:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Aug. 22 (8:00 p.m.), 26 (4:05 a.m.) and 27 (4:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m.)
With things not panning out with his new co-star, Drama plots to get Dice back on the show. Eric meets up with Melinda Clarke, Sloan’s ex-stepmother, and the two end up commiserating over their exes. In an effort to repair his image, Vince agrees to a Vanity Fair interview, while Ari has an awkward business meeting with Dana Gordon (Constance Zimmer).
Written by Ally Musika; directed by David Nutter.
Episode #94: “The Big Bang”
Debut: SUNDAY, AUG. 28 (10:30-11:00 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: Aug. 28 (midnight) and 30 (11:00 p.m.), and Sept. 1 (10:30 p.m.) and 8 (10:05 p.m.)
HBO2 playdate: Aug. 29 (9:00 p.m.) and Sept. 2 (2:45 a.m.) and 3 (3:30 p.m., 9:00 p.m.)
After his interview, Vince tries to make things right with journalist Sophia Lear (Alice Eve). Ari gets a reality check from his lawyer about his divorce. Eric receives an over-the-top gift from Melinda Clarke, and some unsettling news from Johnny Galecki. Turtle meets with his East Coast partners on a new business venture. Drama shows his solidarity.
Written by Doug Ellin & Jerry Ferrara; directed by David Nutter.
This past weekend Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 broke box office records worldwide. The adventures of everyone’s favorite wizard and his loyal friends has come to an end, but before we say a final goodbye to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, let’s take one last look back at how the magic began.
November 16, 2001 – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone opens in theatres. The story of an 11-year-old orphan (Daniel Radcliffe) who discovers that he’s a wizard and enrolls in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There he begins to learn about the magical world where he truly belongs and meets for the very first time the two people who will become his closest friends: Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson).
While studying spell-casting, broom-flying, and potion-making, the three new best friends discover an evil plot to bring the Dark Lord [Voldemort], who killed Harry’s parents when he was just a baby and tried to kill Harry but failed, back to power.
Under Chris Columbus’ direction, this first installment in the boy wizard saga wonderfully introduced the movie-going audience to a fun, colorful, engaging, and at times dangerous world. The film also had an interesting mystery for the three young heroes to solve. Perhaps the best thing about the film, other than the eye-catching special effects (remember the moving staircases and Fluffy, the three-headed watchdog), was the casting.
Richard Harris originating the role of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was grandfatherly and subtle. Alan Rickman’s performance as Severus Snape was spot-on, keeping the audience guessing if he was behind a terrible evil plot. The key, of course, was getting the right children to portray the three main characters. It’s impossible now to imagine anyone other than Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint portraying Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Although not really acting in the first film, the three young children delivered their lines earnestly and with enough energy to convince us that Wizard Chess, flying ghosts, an invisibility cloak, and magical wands really do exist. Grade: B
November 15, 2002 – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets arrives in theaters. In their second year at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron and Hermione tackle the mystery of who is leaving messages in blood at the school, what a former student from years ago named Tom Riddle has to do with it, and what it is that’s threatening the students while hiding in the Chamber of Secrets.
The second film in the series is by far the least entertaining. With its running time of 2 hours and 46 minutes, the movie drags on with a fairly uninteresting mystery. When one of the three little heroes is knocked out of the action and doesn’t return until the last two scenes in the movie, the chemistry feels unbalanced and wrong. Finally, the special effects, which had been top-notch in the first film come up way short when the audience gets to see what has been hiding in the Chamber of Secrets looks like a reject from a 1960’s Godzilla film. The movie was truly a disappointing sequel for such a magical world. Grade: C-
June 4, 2004 – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban hits theatres. The third film in the boy wizard saga now has teen Harry, Hermione, and Ron hearing about an escaped wizard named Sirius Black, who is believed to be the traitor responsible for Harry’s parents’ death at the hands of Voldemort. Black is on the loose and, worse yet, may be headed to Hogwarts to try to kill Harry. In order to protect himself from such an attack, Harry’s new defense against the dark arts teacher Professor Lupin (David Thewlis) takes Harry under his wing and teaches him advanced magic, including the powerful patronus charm/p>
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is by far one of the best in the series of films. Darker, spookier, and at times downright chilling, this adventure for Harry and his two best friends brings real fear and an interesting backstory. The addition of Gary Oldman to the franchise as Sirius Black added a depth and emotion to the Potter films that hadn’t been there before.
Another plus is the fact that Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint start really acting in this film and begin to show some true promise as young actors, and the very beginning of a romance that wouldn’t fully develop until the last story. Grade: B+/p>
November 18, 2005 – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is released. Hogwarts hosts the Triwizard Tournament, a competition in which chosen wizards from different wizard schools compete for “eternal glory.” Due to some mysterious magic, Harry – who is underage – becomes a fourth competitor when his name is drawn from the goblet.
The fourth film in the series finally brings back the master of evil and enemy to any good wizard, Lord Voldemort. The appearance of the Dark Lord is extremely well done and wonderfully portrayed by Ralph Fiennes. The overall problem with the film is this is the first time Harry is almost on his own performing in the tournament. His pals Ron and Hermione have little to do but cheer and worry from the sidelines. The chemistry between the three actors that drives the stories and has become the heart and soul of the films is non-existent. Also, only getting to see the Dark Lord on screen for a total of nine minutes is way too short a time after all the build-up. Grade: C
July 11, 2007 – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix opens on the big screen. Paranoia is running wild in the magical world. The Minister of Magic is convinced that Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) is plotting to try to replace him in his role. The Minister sends one of his loyal officers, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), to Hogwarts to take over from Dumbledore and make sure the students do not learn any useful magic. Harry is trying to convince his classmates that Voldemort is back, which no one wants to believe except Ron and Hermione, who know Harry would never lie to them. It’s finally Hermione who insists that they must be able to protect themselves and urges Harry to start teaching under the radar of Umbridge to any students willing to learn and keep it a secret.
This is the first time in the film series that Harry takes a leadership role and is no longer a student but now a mentor to his classmates. The three young stars are becoming seasoned actors giving touching, meaningful performances as their characters start to deal with issues of first kisses, crushes, and dating. The amazing, thrilling wizard battle near the end of the film delivers a much-needed and desired action punch, with a heartfelt sadness with the loss of someone close to Harry. Grade: B
July 15, 2009 – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince arrives in theaters. Voldemort’s dark army is growing stronger and the Dark Lord has chosen Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) for a special and secret assignment inside Hogwarts itself. While Harry tries to keep an eye on Draco to learn what he is up to, he’s also trying to get close to Professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) at the request of Professor Dumbledore. It seems Slughorn holds crucial information that, if revealed, will help Harry in his battle with Voldemort.
Meanwhile, love is blooming and hurting at Hogwarts, with Harry falling for Ron’s little sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright). Ron, being more successful than ever in sports, gets a new stalker-ish girlfriend named Lavender Brown. This leaves poor Hermione filled with jealousy and heartbreak.
The magic in this installment is not in special wizard effects but in the performances from the young stars. Emma Watson captures and displays the pain and regret of losing your first true love beautifully. Daniel Radcliffe gives a strong performance as a young man just beginning to summon up the courage to deal with the dangers and weight of saving the wizarding world. He also shows the awkwardness of a young man trying to get close to the girl of his dreams. Grade: C+
November 19, 2010 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 arrives in theaters. Lord Voldemort takes control of the Ministry of Magic and searches for a very special, powerful wand to use to kill Harry. Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are on the run, avoiding Death Eaters and searching for the rest of the Horcruxes—objects in which Voldemort has hidden a part of his soul – to destroy them and make it possible to kill Voldemort.
The darkest and best acted of the Harry Potter series, Deathly Hallows Part 1 is different from the other films, with most of the action and drama taking place on the road and outside of Hogwarts. Emma Watson as Hermione steals the movie by becoming the emotional centerpiece of the story. She’s trying to stay true to the quest but also struggling to keep the three friends together. She deeply loves these two men who she’s grown up with and is horrified when Harry and Ron’s friendship begins to break.
Daniel Radcliffe is better than ever as the boy wizard now a young man desperate to save his world from the clutches of Voldemort, even if he means he must make the ultimate sacrifice. Grade: B+
Love, loyalty, sacrifice, selflessness, and friendship. This is the true magic of the Harry Potter films. Goodbye Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Thanks for the magical memories.
Liam McIntyre stars as Spartacus in Starz’s action drama Spartacus: Vengeance. Starz has set a January 27, 2012 premiere date for the one-hour historical drama.
Official Synopsis: Liam McIntyre takes over the role of the Thracian warrior sold into slavery in the Roman Republic city of Capua – where he rises to become the champion of the city – before leading the slave revolt that ended the first season. The part was played in the first season by acclaimed Andy Whitfield, who was forced to leave the show due to health issues.
Spartacus: Vengeance Cast and Characters
Liam McIntyre – ‘Spartacus’
Manu Bennett – ‘Crixus’
Dustin Clare – ‘Gannicus’
Katrina Law – ‘Mira’
Lucy Lawless – ‘Lucretia’
Peter Mensah – ‘ Doctore’
For months, anyone who’d seen the trailer for Friends with Benefits has made the joke that they’d seen it before when it was called No Strings Attached.
That film suffered from Ashton Kutcher’s bungled attempt to be charming enough to land Natalie Portman. Well, in No Strings Attached 2: Black Swan, Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis step into the lead roles, which should mean this is the version that audiences saw the first and only time they needed too.
First of all, both of them are far more likable and attractive (beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, sure, but that’s what I’m beholding). The supporting cast of Richard Jenkins, Woody Harrelson, Patricia Clarkson, and Jenna Elfman are great. There’s even a very funny recurring bit with the Flying Tomato himself: Shaun White.
But after all of the smoke had cleared and the credits had rolled, despite a screening audience that hooted and hollered throughout the proceedings, I was left scratching my head. The film starts with two people attempting a sexual relationship without all of the emotional baggage a real intimacy entails. Then once that has passed, we’re introduced to their parents who have created these emotional wrecks either through divorce and Alzheimer’s or living life like the ’70s never ended. Then our leads cross an emotional boundary and instantly freak out … which leads us to the inevitable grand gesture from the gentleman (so heavily hinted at in their initial meeting) that breaks the tension and allows our protagonists a chance to say that they’re both screwed up, but they’ll only be happy if they’re screwed up together.
It’s like three or four different romantic comedies thrown into a blender and spit out onto the screen. No matter how many nice moments there are or how many decent performances are delivered, the overall result feels like you’ve gorged yourself on an all-you-can-eat rom-com buffet and now have to roll yourself home.
There are also a number of dated references (Kris Kross, Capt. Sully) and an incessant need to break the fourth wall – even going so far as to create a fake rom-com movie starring Jason Segel and Rashida Jones. This leads to Kunis and Timberlake complaining about how the genre manipulates the audience right before the film does exactly what they’re talking about, over and over again. The added scene at the end of the credits is just more of the same, showing “outtakes” from the fake rom-com.
Really, boiling it all down, Friends with Benefits simply tries too hard to be so many things and fails to do any one of them exactly right, creating a dense film that makes each of the 109 minutes tick by a little bit too slowly. The cast may be charming but this is the kind of stuff you start watching on cable halfway through and leave on the TV while you update Facebook. Unless you’re just dying to see Timberlake and Kunis get PG-13 naked in an R-rated film, these are some friends you can do without.
GRADE: C-
Friends with Benefits hits theaters on July 22, 2011 and is rated R for sexual content and language.
For full disclosure, I’ve never been a huge fan of Captain America. He always seemed a little too hokey and as a teenager, the flashier superpowers of the X-Men simply were a better draw.
However, in their quest to create the backdrop for 2012’s upcoming Avengers movie, Marvel and the film studios behind their properties have been delivering spotlight films for the key characters over the last three years.
Iron Man got the ball rolling and The Incredible Hulk tried to make fans forget Hulk (not that it matters anyway because Norton got sacked in lieu of Mark Ruffalo moving forward). Then this year saw Thor re-energize the buzz surrounding next year’s franchise mash-up, and the pièce de résistance was supposed to be Chris Evans shedding his Human Torch skin to fill the tights of “Captain America: The First Avenger”. (Ancillary characters like the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) found themselves in cameo roles, but I doubt the outcry for individual movies on their behalf amounts to much.)
Got all that? Good.
Actually, neither Thor nor Captain America are characters popular enough to warrant films on their own, but the impending Avengers movie is really the key factor. And while Thor found a way to exceed relatively low expectations, the same can’t necessarily be said for the shield-throwing, flag-waving leader of the Avengers.
Now, it’s not Chris Evans’ fault, whose charisma and physicality work nicely for the role; and all of the other actors do a pretty good job as well. The sets and special effects were up to par, as were the costumes, which is made especially difficult because of the cheesiness of the character. Heck, the 3D is even decent (though not so much so that one wouldn’t enjoy things just as much in 2D).
However, while the movie didn’t necessarily drag and the 2-hour runtime wasn’t much of a bother, at no time did anything on-screen really do something exciting. It was a long, fairly consistent stretch of competent filmmaking, rife with action scenes that felt authentic to the period (aside from the technology on display in the ’40s) … but … well … none of it got the blood pumping.
Part of that may be due to a somewhat muted visual presentation as director Joe Johnston seemed to be trying to make the picture feel like it captured the era in which it’s primarily set. Part of it is that this is yet another origin tale for audiences to take in, all so future films can (hopefully) deliver more fun and excitement now that we’ve gotten familiar with the characters.
Actually, it’s somewhat hard to identify the specific problems that create such a ho-hum reaction to a big summer tent-pole film but what matters is that for all of the attention to detail, first and foremost, the movie should be entertaining. Nothing stands out and wows the senses. Trying to gather something to say about it afterward, the best I could say was “Meh, it was fine.”
There’s also a problem of where the film ends, as it’s actually a rather sad and melancholy note; hardly the type of tease that will make fanboys salivate over future installments (solo or Avengers-related). Speaking of which, as has been talked about from press screenings in other cities, the one I attended was missing the teaser scene that follows the credits. This happened with Iron Man as well, and it baffles me as to why the studio feels the need to deprive the press of this when we’re in a position to tell fans to stick around until the very end.
****SPOILER ALERT****
Well, if you’re interested in what happens, I’m sure those of you that are internet-savvy can find the clip online even while the studio does its best to enforce issues regarding piracy, but the basic SPOILER is that they show quick glimpses of each of the major players in the Avengers film. Ooh … great … grand … wonderful. I honestly don’t care because it’s footage they’ll officially release anyway over the next few months but it shows a lack of respect to leave this off of screening prints when leaks are far more likely to come from fan-only screenings thanks to a shaky handi-cam or via an insider who worked on the project.
****END OF SPOILER****
Getting back to the film itself, I’m not sure why anyone needs to see Captain America: The First Avenger, especially on the big screen. Nothing’s really wrong with it but saying that you’ll feel like those were $53 dollars well spent isn’t exactly honest either. Super fans will notice they take creative license here and there, but those who aren’t familiar with the comic books will find things easy to pick up and the film gets a passing grade. Here’s hoping next year’s much-anticipated gathering of the superheroes remembers that we’ve been introduced to the characters already so it’s best to keep the action coming and not to forget that a well-written script isn’t the place to cut corners.
GRADE: C
Captain America hits theaters on January 22, 2011 and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action.
Voltron fans rejoice, Relativity Media and Atlas Entertainment are preparing to bring Voltron to the big screen as a live-action feature film. Relativity will be adapting the 1984 animated series Voltron: Defender of the Universe, as announced by Relativity Media’s President of Worldwide Production Tucker Tooley.
The series, which was based on the Japanese anime properties Beast King GoLion and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV, aired for two years and has a huge fan base and spawned a new TV series on Nicktoon’s called Voltron Force, which set a new record for the network as the “highest-rated debut ever” when it premiered on June 16, 2011.
The Voltron film will be produced by Charles Roven and Jason Netter, and executive produced by Ted Koplar. Conan the Barbarian screenwriter Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Sahara) are working on the script.
Tooley stated, “For nearly three decades, Voltron has captured the minds of a nostalgically loyal and rabid fan base and has long been considered a hotly-pursued project. We are beyond excited World Event Productions and Atlas Entertainment have placed their trust and faith in Relativity to bring this coveted property to the big screen and usher in a new generation of devoted fans.”
Tooley added, “With Chuck and Richard’s experience producing tentpoles, they are the perfect producers to bring this potential franchise to theaters.”
The Plot: In Voltron, an elite battle force defends the fate of mankind in the spectacular action adventure. Five young warriors are responsible for the future of the galaxy when they become pilots of a battalion of ultra-high-tech Robot Lions, powerful vessels with the ability to join together to form a fearsome mega-weapon known as “Voltron”.
Lionsgate’s kicking the marketing campaign of The Hunger Games into high gear with this fiery poster for the first film of the series. Based on the first book of Suzanne Collins’s best-selling trilogy, The Hunger Games is set to hit theaters on March 23, 2012.
For those of you unfamiliar with the story, here’s a brief synopsis:
A dystopic Capitol requires its twelve subjugated districts to pay tribute in the form of a teenage boy and girl who are forced to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. When Katniss Everdeen’s little sister is chosen in the lottery, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to take her place. Although persevering through hardship is commonplace for Katniss, she must start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love in order to win the games and return home.
Voltron fans rejoice, Relativity Media and Atlas Entertainment are preparing to bring Voltron to the big screen as a live-action feature film. Relativity will be adapting the 1984 animated series Voltron: Defender of the Universe, as announced by Relativity Media’s President of Worldwide Production Tucker Tooley.
