Movies, TV shows and DVDs to watch or not. The good, the bad and the unwatchable, what's hot and what you should skip. The latest buzz on films, series, shows and celebrities.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is coming out in theaters only on July 15 th 2009. You can watch the trailer right here
Harry is in his 6th year at Hogwarts. Harry gets a new Potion book and a new teacher called Horace Slughorn. He also learns a thing or two from the "Half-Blood Prince" through the scribbles written in the margins of Harry's new book which belonged to the Half Blood Prince. Harry gets to work closer and in private with Dumbledore in an attempt to be better equiped to fight Voldemort.
The story is also made of teen age romance and jealousy. Ron gets a girlfriend and it's not Hermione. (Not) surprisingly Hermione is jealous and annoyed, in the mean time, Harry falls in love with Ron's sister who is already Dean Thomas'(a classmate of Harry's) girlfriend.
Malfoy is up to something and Harry is determined to know exactly what it might be because he's convinced he could only be working for his father.
It's also an action packed movie that fans of the previous Harry Potters will enjoy.
Below is a poster for the movie featuring Rupert Grint swine flu recovering actor, he plays the character Ron Weasley.
The latest installment in the X-Men franchise is coming to theaters on May 1st, 2009. Wolverine is back for a "prequel" of X-Men that tells us the story of Logan who will become known as Wolverine.
All the three previous X-Men films were extremely popular, each one more than the previous one. The Last Stand is my personal favorite.
The cast of Wolverine is not nearly as star-packed as the previous X-Men movies and yet it is undeniably one of the big blockbuster evens of this summer with lots of action and special effects that sci-fi lovers will enjoy.
Joining Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine are Liev Schreiber who plays Sabretooth aka Victor Creed you probably remember him from "The Manchurian Candidate" and "The Omen". He's sporting a look quite similar to that of Wolverine but with shorter hair.
In the beginning of the films we see the young Wolverine. The movie is about his past (before the first X-men movie). The violence and romance in his life is depicted. He participates in a program called Weapon X and his involved with Victor Creed. Many X-Men characters absent from the previous films make an appearance in this film, like Beak played by Dominic Monaghan.
While the movie will be widely release in theaters on Friday, May 1st, the world Premiere of X-Men Origins was held in Temple Arizona on April 28. All the stars were present, including Hugh Jackman himself who arrived on a Harley Davidson. It was a special screening of the movie for Hollywood stars, fans and critics alike. The Oscar winner director Gavin Hood was also present. Other stars of Wolverine who attended the premiere: Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Liev Schreiber (Sabertooth), Lynn Collins (Kayla Silverfox), will.i.am (John Wraith) and Taylor Kitsch (Gambit).
Earlier this year an unfinished version of the film was leaked on the internet. Many 'fans' who just couldn't wait for the movie to hit theaters got to see it before the world premiere. People who have seen that version will tell you that indeed many effects are not finished and it just doesn't give you the mind blowing sensation of real special effects, kind of like watching a making-of instead of the movie itself. In the mean time the movie has been downloaded over a hundred thousand times so far.
The theatrical release in Mexico has been delayed due because of the current swine flu pandemic. Indeed public gatherings altogether are discouraged if not banned in Mexico in an effort to stop the flux virus from spreading.
X-Men Origins:Wolverine is directed by the Australian Gavin Hood. Hugh Jackman is a co-producer with John Palermo, Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter. The movie runs 107 minutes in the US and is rated PG-13. It's a 20th Century Fox movie.
You can watch a clip from the movie where you can spot the following characters: Wolverine, Sabretooth, Gambit, Deadpool, John Wraith. Enjoy!
If you haven't seen it yet, watch one of the Wolverine Trailers below
Beyonce Knowles stars in the upcoming movie Obsessed. She plays to wife of a successful man who is being stalked by a temporary worker in his office played by Ali Larter. The husband, played by Idris Elba is an asset manager who received an important promotion and seems to be leading the perfectly happy life both in the office and at home with his wife and child. The character played by Ali Larter, Lisa Sheridan, wants everything the wife, Sharon Charles, has. She wants her husband, Derek, her son, her life, she wants to replace her. Being obsessed leads her to all sorts of extremes. I wonder who picked that wig for Beyoncé it really looks awful. The picture shown was taken on the set of "Obsessed".
Some guy had the bright idea to put a photo of the two women side by side for a cleavage comparison. Ali Larter is nearly flat-chested when you compare her to Beyoncé Knowles. But both look good in gold, who doesn't? My biggest problem with this movie is that I'm still not convinced that those two would actually fight over this guy, Idris Elba playing Derek Charles, really? It has to be the money.
Fast and Furious, the fourth movie from "The Fast and the Furious" serious premiered Yesterday. The storyline takes place between the second and the third movies. "2 Fast 2 Furious" and "Tokyo Drift". The original male and female lead characters are back. Dom, Mia etc..
So far critics have not given excellent reviews of the film but I'm sure that a fan of the first movie like enjoy this one.
If you're a die hard fan you should also consider getting the dvd which includes a short clip with Dom and Mia where we learn about what went on from when we last saw Dom in the first movie until when we see him in Fast and Furious in the Dominican Republic.
With the voices of stars like Reese Witherspoon, Kieffer Sutherland, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Colbert Monsters vs Alien is the latest 3D movie by Dreamworks.
The main character is Susan Murphy, voiced by Witherspoon. She is hit by a meteorite on her wedding day and after the accidents she grows, literally and becomes a giantess. No need to tell you that the wedding was called off.
After the incident she is taken to a secret government facility where other "monsters", Dr Cockroach,the Missing Link, Insectosaurus and B.O.B., are kept away from the public in order not to scare the general population. The U.S. government renamed Susan "Ginormica". I have to tell you Ginormica does look scary from certain angles. Of all the monsters B.O.B. is probably the funniest and most memorable character.
Susan and the others will work and fight together to save the earth from evil alien invaders.
Needless to say it's better to go watch this movie at iMax to fully enjoy the 3D thrills.
Clearly MVA is for kids, they might enjoy the action and the humor but adults might not find it quite as exciting as the story is not compelling.
Monsters vs. Aliens runs 94 minutes. You can watch the trailer below
The sequel title Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is coming to theaters early in the summer on June 24 starring Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf. The third installment is already scheduled for July 1, 2011 though a script has yet to be written for the third film. In fact Transformers 3 will only happen if the Transformers 2 movie is successful this summer otherwise Paramount and DreamWorks will probably not go forward with the project.
The first film came out in 2007 the second one is coming out two years later and the third one is scheduled four years after the first one in 2011 if everything goes as planned. I rewatched the first Transformers on Sunday. It's a great movie, they are very few things I don't like about it in fact. If you compare it to a movie like Pirates of the Caribbean: at World's End, that's one franchise that should have stopped at the second film.
MacGyver is coming back. The incredibly resourceful secret agent is coming back not on TV but in a feature film. The MacGyver movie is in the works. The script has yet to be written but the concept and the character are already there.
I doubt we will not be having though it would be great but I least they could bring him back in another role.
Richard Dean Anderson later starred in the series Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1. He also starred in the short lived series Legend on UPN.
Adam Lambert has just positioned himself as one of the judges favorites for this season of American Idol. Even though he does very theatrical performances it seems that he has found a way to tone it down a little and please the judges as well as the American public.
Nobody ever really questioned his vocal ability but many seemed to think that he would make a good contestant because he you mostly over perform his songs as he would in the musicals he used to play.
But Adam Lambert seems to be determined to go as far as possible in this competition. The judges have advised him to try and convey more feelings and understand that with television the audience is extremely close to the performer and not as far away as in as theater.
Adam has this gothic look with black nail polish and dark eye liner. He always seems to be fond of jewelry. Surely he is a show man and has the potential of making it far in this competition.
He probably is a singer who actually uses the advice he is given to improve and try to give the best performance possible, if he keeps getting better is will certainly be one to watch.
Adam Lambert on American Idol Last night we saw three more contestants joining the American Idol season 8 top 12. Among them there was Adam Lambert, one of the judges favorites for this season. Sure, maybe that were labeled contenders early on didn't make it but Lambert seemed to have lived up to the expectations the judges had.
The judges enjoyed his last performance and apparently so did America and he was put through in an episode where the only question was who would join Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert in the top 12. The answer to that question was none other than Kris Allen.
The top 12 of American Idol season 8 is starting to take shape. Three lucky contestants have reached the coveted stools(!). Last night, Alexis Grace, Danny Gokey and Michael Sarver, not in that order, claimed their spot on the top 12 of this season's American Idol. They will be joined by nine others who will be chosen in part by the viewers and in part by the judges. Many talented and promising singers failed when came the moment of truth. The Brenth Keiths, Ann Marie Boskovitches and other Anoop Desais and even the fierce and determined Tatiana del Toro were no match for the three who were America's favorite after the first night of live performances. The 24 people left should takes notes and really put on they best show or irresistible charms to go. Because this year you simply have to beat at least 9 other people after one single performance.
So many of the web's most popular contestants are already out of the competition. Michael Castro who was surrounded by a lot of buzz because he's Jason Castro's younger brother. I can't help but think that if he had waited a year and spend more time training his voice and musical skills he could actually have had a chance at making the top 12 but the kid just wishes he was in his brother's shoes.... Not that his brother has made an album or anything but he does have a whole lot of die hard fans out there...
Now we see so many people that the judges said were very talented simply fail when they finally faced America for the first time. Maybe America is looking for something else in its idols this year. I do think that the results show was unnecessarily long, and I don't appreciate at all the fact that the winners get to sing again and not the looser. Sure if they lost it means the performance was not all that good but it is their last chance to be in the spot light, the ones who made it to the top 12 will come back in a few weeks and we will get plenty of time to see them again.
Rick Santelly of CNBC slammed the Obama administration for its mortgage rescue plan. Yes, he did mention socialism and the Cuban revolution. You can read the transcript right now, if you're at work and want to pretend that you're reading some online business publication or you can scroll down to the video and watch it.
Rick Santelli CNBC :
Mr. Ross has nailed it. The government is promoting bad behavior. We certainly don’t want to put stimulus pork and give people a whopping $8 or $10 in their check and think that they ought to save it.
And in terms of modifications, I tell you what. I have an idea. The new administration is big on computers and technology. How about this, Mr. President and new administration. Why don’t you put up a website to have people vote on the internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers mortgages? Or would they like to at least buy buy cars, buy a house that is in foreclosure … give it to people who might have a chance to actually prosper down the road and reward people that can carry the water instead of drink the water?
This is America!
How many people want to pay for your neighbor’s mortgages that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills? Raise their hand!
President Obama, are you listening?
You know Cuba used to have mansions and a relatively decent economy. They moved from the individual to the collective. Now they’re driving ‘54 Chevys.
It’s time for another tea party. What we are doing in this country will make Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin<>
When a movie hits the big screen the general public knows about only because of the advertising surrounding it. Very few movies profit from the more traditional word of mouth like the faux-documentary Blair Witch Project. And even Blair Witch need some advertising to really break through. When you have a major movie with really big - read expensive - actors. You better put as much money as you can on the advertising budget to make sure that masses will flock to the theaters to see your movie.
The only way to cover the cost of producing movies with big stars is by having as many people possible to watch the movie in theaters. Sure there are DVD releases but if you can't thrive in the movies you shouldn't expect too much from the DVD releases.
Take the Curious Case of Benjamin Button movie, it's very long and some people think it's a Forrest Gump copy cat. Brad Pitt is one of the most expensive male actors in Hollywood. To cover to costs of that movie and make benefits, the producers need not only invest a whole lot of money to advertise the movie but also they better wish that critics and the public like it. Nowadays with the web everyone is a movie critic who reviews movies they've seen so their friends can read about it. Imagine how much free publicity such reviews generate. Hopefully for Benjamin Button the film was nominated for quite a few Oscars which will only generate more free publicity.
Now how about sales? Well it turns out that the most expensive stars do not provide the best ROI for movies. That's why a movie like Twilight is probably a bigger commercial success because the cast is not a bunch of super famous and extremely expensive Hollywood A-listers. Sales are important because if you put money on a movie you expect not only to break even but to make profit. After all the movies industry is a business and a big one at that. It seeks to make profit, that's why Hollywood stars can enjoy the lifestyle that they have.
But don't big stars sell more tickets than lesser known stars. Yes kind of, especially in the case of bad movies. An unknown cast won't convince people to go see a movie that critics think is bad but people will go see a movie labeled bad by critics if their favorite star is in it. The problem is we all have different favorite stars so the star effect is not enough to make a movie profitable especially when you consider the cost of the star and the fact that producers tend to spend more when big stars take part in a movie.
I would like to start this blog with a light note. A fun video title Mortal Kombat Cell Phone Annihilation. Yes it's about cells phones and mortal kombat... kind of. If you don't want to be spoiled at all, watch it then read the rest of my comments.
It's actually about how you can annihilate a cell phone mortak kombat style. The video was made by weirdgirlsarefunner. I'm warning you will not see Liu Kang in that video neither will you see Raiden. It's fun to watch those videos made by ordinary poeple just having fun with on their cams. Who knows this video might even become viral someday. If not you can still enjoy it and have a laugh or a smile at least. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's hilarious.
