Archive for the 'Movies' Category

Actress Jessica Chastain to Play Princess Diana

By: alex.chrum, November 8, 2011 in Celebrities, Movies and Politics. Closed Tags: , .

I was only eight years old when Princess Diana died, but the event is forever engrained in my memory. Unfortunate as it is, more than her remarkable life, I remember her tragic death. After a sleepover at a friend’s house, I came home early the next morning to crawl into bed with my mother and watch the coverage of her funeral. I remember the thousands and thousands of people, the procession through the streets of London, and Elton John singing “Candle in the Wind.” I remember feeling exceptionally sad, especially at my age, for a woman whom I never knew.

Chastain is slated to play Diana in "Caught in Flight"

Princess Diana was undoubtedly one of the most beloved royal figures in history. A new film, “Caught in Flight,” will bring the tale of her highly discreet two-year affair with Pakistani surgeon Dr. Hasnat Khan to the big screen. Actress Jessica Chastain, who recently starred in “The Help,” is reportedly slated to play Diana, a role that will undoubtedly change her career forever.

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Netflix is Losing Money, and I Could Be Losing Roseanne…

By: alex.chrum, October 25, 2011 in Movies, News, Technology and Television. Closed Tags: , , , .

Netflix (NFLX), the largest online DVD rental service, has been making waves in the news lately for a variety of reasons. Most notably, the company announced in July that it would be discontinuing its most popular plan and splitting its streaming and DVD rental services.

Netflix Shipping Center

Rather than paying $9.99 a month for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs, customers were forced to choose between unlimited streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month, unlimited DVDS (no streaming) for $7.99 a month, or both services for $15.98 a month. As an avid Netflix user, I was outraged, as many others were, by this absurd price increase. Many customers, myself included, predicted that this change foreshadowed Netflix’s eventual downfall and bankruptcy.

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“The Dark Knight Rises” Trailer FINALLY Hits Theaters and the Web

By: Zack Stovall, July 18, 2011 in Movies. 0 Comments Tags: , .

After years since the last Academy Award-winning chapter of the latest Batman franchise, the first teaser trailer for the third and final film, The Dark Knight Rises, has hit theaters and has been leaked in HD on the Internet.

Writer and Director Christopher Nolan has stated that this will be the final chapter in his popular take on the film, rounding out a trilogy that has been financially and critically successful. In this film, Batman must take on the uber-muscular villain Bane, played by Tom Hardy with whom Nolan worked on the smash hit Inception. The role of Bruce Wayne/Batman has been played to much acclaim by recent Oscar-winner Christian Bale, who won Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Fighter.

While the first film of the set, 2005′s Batman Begins, was very successful, its sequel, 2008′s The Dark Knight surpassed all expectations, becoming one of the most successful films of the year, one of the best sequels of all time, and landing the late Heath Ledger only the second posthumous Academy Award for his role as the psychotic and scarred Joker, one of the most infamous of all villains in any genre ever.

However, fans will have to wait to see the Caped Crusader’s film. The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled to be released in the Summer of 2012.

Shia LaBeouf, “Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon” and Other Things or People That Fight and Explode in Theaters This Weekend

By: Zack Stovall, June 28, 2011 in Celebrities and Movies. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

Got my costume for the premiere!

If you like sequels that provide little to no differences to the original, which was a lot of robots fighting and making things go “BOOM!”, then boy-oh-boy is this the weekend for you.

“Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon” crashes into theaters this weekend. The franchise is based off of the popular toys that turned everyday automobile toys into action figures. The toy begot the show, which in turn begot cult followings and years later, the multi-million dollar films. That’s a whole lot of begetting.

In this edition, Shia LaBeouf reprises his role as the perpetual sidekick to the Autobots (GOOD GUYS) against the evil Decepticons (BAD GUYS), this time without the help of the really-good-looking Megan Fox (who was fired from the film, citing disagreements with the director Michael Bay), but rather with the help of her replacement, played by some other really-good-looking actress whose name escapes me and I could Google, but don’t care to.

Michael Bay, the King of Crash, is the director, and it is rumored that a fourth installment is slated to be filmed. However, Shia LaBeouf has stated definitively that he will not be taking part in the fourth edition. Hopefully this will not derail the franchise, as I’ve clearly got an addiction to seeing robots fight each other that needs to be fulfilled every two years or so. BUT WHO WOULD REPLACE SHIA?

Marilyn Monroe’s 85th Birthday Today

By: Zack Stovall, June 1, 2011 in Celebrities and Movies. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Today would mark the 85th birthday of screen legend and sex symbol Marilyn Monroe were she alive today. Born in 1926 as Norma Jeane Mortenson, the starlet was born into a rough upbringing and pulled herself up to become one of the most iconic entertainers of the 20th century and of all time.

The original “Blonde Bombshell,” Monroe married one of baseball’s biggest names of all time, Joe DiMaggio, and was rumored to have canoodled (YES, CANOODLED!) with President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert. At her prime, there was no one in the world more famous than Marilyn Monroe. She was found dead in her home by her psychiatrist on the morning of August 5, 1962 of an acute barbiturate overdose, an indicator of suicide victims (although numerous conspiracy theories about JFK, the CIA and so on abound).

Monroe certainly left an indelible mark on American pop culture, and while her final years were met with numerous scandals and illnesses, it would have been interesting to see where her career could have taken her. Who knows? She could’ve been the next Betty White, hosting SNL at age 88.

Star Wars Day: “May the Fourth Be With You”

By: Zack Stovall, May 4, 2011 in Holidays and Movies. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Nerds you are. Unbelieveable it is that married will you be.

Nerds. You can’t keep them down. Try as you may to scrutinize their encyclopedic knowledge of fictional universes and made-up parliamentary procedures, they will always prevail so long as they have the anonymity of their internet avatars and the warm dwellings of their moms’ basements.

Which is why the fourth of May has become a national holiday of sorts for fans of the beloved space saga Star Wars. An oft-used salutation or valediction used between two favorable characters in the six films, and numerous other spun-off mediums, was “May the Force be with you.” The Force, for those of you who aren’t in the know because you were off hanging out at the mall with members of the opposite gender or excelling at sports, is a life-force throughout the Star Wars universe, which holds the universe together, and allows Jedi Knights their great powers.

If there’s anything nerds love more than science fiction escapades, it’s puns. Therefore, the phrase “May the Force” has been slightly altered to add a dash of lisp, making “May the Fourth” the slogan and date of Star Wars Day. So if you are walking about town and see a couple of Storm Troopers making their way through Wal-Mart, or a few oddly-dressed individuals with homemade haircuts swinging colorful sticks (they will call them “lightsabers“) at one another, do not bother to alert authorities. It is only Star Wars Day, and they are only Star Wars fans and couldn’t do harm to anybody if they wanted to.

How do I know this? I am a nerd. And I am a Star Wars fan.

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!

Catherine Zeta-Jones Becomes the Really, Ridiculously Good Looking Face of Bipolar Disorder

By: Zack Stovall, April 14, 2011 in Celebrities, Medicine and Movies. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Catherine Zeta-Jones, the Welsh actress who has garnered an Academy Award and even a Tony for her performances and whose stunning beauty has turned plenty of heads over the years, recently announced that she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental illness marked by sudden mood swings from elation to somber depression (her form, bipolar II, is characterized by longer stretches of depression).

Stress can be a trigger to the disease, which has been known to strike virtually anyone at anytime. Her husband, actor Michael Douglas, had recently been struggling with his own bout of medical illness, battling cancer last year, and the stress therein is believed to have been a possible trigger.

As news of this comes to light, Zeta-Jones looks to be a prime candidate for spokesperson against the disease, much in the same way Michael J. Fox has become the face for Parkinson’s Disease. While cures may be unavailable right now for these damaging afflictions, celebrities are often the most fit to spearhead fundraisers and raise awareness about their respective diseases.

And while the subject of bipolar disorder may be a more somber topic, I for one look forward to seeing Catherine Zeta-Jones raise awareness about the disease. Mainly because I look forward to seeing Catherine Zeta-Jones doing anything at all, but hey, it’s for a good cause now.

‘Scream 4′ Revamps Slasher Franchise With Hayden Panettiere, Yet Inexplicably Keeps Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox

By: Zack Stovall, April 13, 2011 in Celebrities and Movies. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Pretty sure "Don't Stab People Until They Are Dead" is always a rule, regardless of decade

The Scream Franchise of slasher-horror films was a staple of the mid-to-late nineties. It was an original twist on the familiar genre of gory, terrifying movies, but did so in an almost reverent way, with the catchphrase “Do you like scary movies?” reminding the audience of all of their favorite scary movies, while inserting itself into the pantheon of some of the all-time greats. The original Scream was released in 1996, with Scream 2 and Scream 3 coming out in 1997 and 2000.

Then all of the Scary Movie parody movies came out, and they were followed by some other terrible parody films, which has really just thrown a big, stupid black eye on the whole thing. I can’t tell you how awful most of those movies are.*

Now comes Scream 4, or Scre4m (see what they did there? It’s not an A; it’s a four! It just LOOKS like an A. MARKETING!), a 15-year reunion of sorts for the residents of a sleepy town that is renowned for its bloody past, and a chance for more mayhem to ensue. Much of the original cast is still intact, including Neve Campbell (what has she been up to since 2000? Nothing? Or a lot of nothing?) Courteney Cox (ixnay on the Arquette-nay, they’re divorced) and David Arquette (WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU TO IXNAY?!) returning to their familiar characters. Also, to help revamp the decade-long dormant franchise, is Hayden Panettiere of “Heroes”, I Love You Beth Cooper and Remember the Titans fame.

I’m all for revamping old, busted franchises and making them look new again with new chapters, characters and new good-looking women. Look at how successful Star Trek was. I’m just hoping it doesn’t spiral into a Final Destination nosedive, in which the tread on those old, bald tires is so worn that they can’t even put a number on the end of the sequel, they juts throw article adjectives in front of the name (like “The”).

*Awww, but I liked Date Movie!

Tina Fey Pregnant: This New Baby Had Better Not Ruin My ‘30 Rock’

By: Zack Stovall, April 7, 2011 in Celebrities, Movies and Television. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Actress/comedian/writer/brownie lover Tina Fey, who has garnered numerous accolades, including several Emmy’s, as well as the prestigious  Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, announced on (where else?) Oprah’s show yesterday that she is expecting, with the bundle of love due in August. She and husband Jeff Richmond already have a five-year-old daughter together.

I am all for babies. Really, they’re great. I’ve never met a baby from whom I’ve walked away, sadly shaking my head, complaining, “Man, that baby was a real jerk. Somebody needs to tell that baby to be polite, maybe take other people’s thoughts and feelings into consideration.” They’re good people.

But this is doing nothing to assuage the anxiety hanging over my head like a cartoon grand piano that one of my favorite shows, Fey’s much-ballyhooed “30 Rock“, could be coming to a screeching halt. Alec Baldwin, who plays the imitable stalwart employer Jack Donaghy,  is already on the record saying that he believes the show will end when both his and Fey’s contracts expire in 2012. HOW DID THE MAYANS KNOW?!

However, I don’t think the fate of the show is dependent on the new arrival. First, Fey’s been through the entertaining-while-expecting dance with her first child, when she was the head writer for “Saturday Night Live.” Ever heard of it? Secondly, the cast has already successfully dealt with absences from some of their stars, most notably actor Tracy Morgan, who plays the fictional character Tracy Jordan, who is essentially actual character Tracy Morgan. Morgan had to leave the show for a much-publicized kidney transplant, while Jordan simply went to Africa for half the season (allowing some great moments for Mrs. Jordan’s own reality show to take off).

So to Fey: Congratulations! And to the baby: Go easy on your mother; I need her to get back to making me laugh regularly.

Kirk Douglas Makes Academy Awards Appearance

By: Max Turnier, February 28, 2011 in Movies, News and Television. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

Kirk Douglas appears at 2011 Academy Awards

If you haven’t seen or heard about it yet, 94-year-old veteran actor Kirk Douglas made an appearance at the 2011 Academy Awards Sunday night. His performance prior to the announcement of best supporting actress is something to behold. Check out the video in today’s Washington Post Celebritology section.

Douglas is probably best known for his role in Spartacus, a 1960 film which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for best drama. Douglas’ career is speckled with various award nominations for best actor and he even won a Razzie Award for worst actor in the 1980 film Saturn 3.

The 90′s were not so easy on the aged actor. In 1991, he survived a helicopter crash in which two people died, and in 1996, he suffered a stroke which impaired his ability to speak. Tragedy struck again in 2004 with the death of his son, Eric Douglas, who died of a drug overdose.

Despite any reasonable explanation as to why a man of his age and life experience may decline an offer to appear at the Oscars, Douglas took the job anyway. His speech was clearly affected and made it awkward at first, but like any good showman, he pressed on and it was pretty funny.