The Oscars are like, two weeks away, so I cannot help but wonder what Hugh Jackman is wearing right now, I mean…planning to do as the host of Hollywood’s biggest night.This may give us a clue.
Hint: It involves skin, and lots of it.
Photo: EW.com.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Extraordinary People
The new sci-fi fantasy so-called thriller Push, starring the never-to-go-shirtless-again Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, and Djimon Honsou, opens today, and if you’re in the mood for a slightly better, longer episode of TV’s Heroes – and I say that because that show’s a mess these days – then you’re in luck.
Don’t get too excited just yet, though.
Evans plays Nick, a mover. This means he can, well…move objects or people telekinetically. Fanning – whom I really believed had gone into hiding since 2006’s Charlotte’s Web to avoid going through puberty in the spotlight but clearly had been shooting Push – is Cassie, a watcher (she can see the future). And Belle plays Kira, a pusher who can make her thoughts your own.
All three are hiding in Hong Kong from Division, a shadowy U.S. government agency that is hunting them down. In fact, Kira has escaped from their grasp, taking with her something they want back, and now Nick & Co. must work together to keep this safe, not to mention themselves, and maybe, just maybe bring down the agency.
Standing in their way, though, is Agent Carver (Honsou), a pusher who just won’t stop at nothing to keep them from achieving their goal.
So…OK – I’ve told you what you need to know about the plot of Push. Now let me talk about the execution.
Uhh…well, it’s a good-looking movie. Alright, read: If you’re going to do a movie like this then you need to make it really exciting. The concept is pretty cool and hip, that of calling these super-able people by names other than what we’d expect, and whatnot. Setting them in a far-off land works, too, since Hong Kong is such a great location. But you cannot make your action sooo derivative. It’s boring. You gotta make it edge-of-your-seat fun, not fidget-in-your-seat-because-you-know-what’s-coming by the book.
Evans makes a sympathetic lead, doing the most he can with a flatly written character, while Belle, whom I crush on from time to time, underwhelms with her limited range of facial and emotional expressions.
Fanning, though, is the reason to sit through this one.
She is a delight to watch – she is going to grow into a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. This is a smart way for her to bypass cutesy roles usually reserved for teen actresses – she says “s---” a couple of times in the movie! (and pulls it off). She remains the most effective of the whole bunch. (If this were an episode of Heroes, the petition for a spin-off would start here.)
The new sci-fi fantasy so-called thriller Push, starring the never-to-go-shirtless-again Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, and Djimon Honsou, opens today, and if you’re in the mood for a slightly better, longer episode of TV’s Heroes – and I say that because that show’s a mess these days – then you’re in luck.
Don’t get too excited just yet, though.Evans plays Nick, a mover. This means he can, well…move objects or people telekinetically. Fanning – whom I really believed had gone into hiding since 2006’s Charlotte’s Web to avoid going through puberty in the spotlight but clearly had been shooting Push – is Cassie, a watcher (she can see the future). And Belle plays Kira, a pusher who can make her thoughts your own.
All three are hiding in Hong Kong from Division, a shadowy U.S. government agency that is hunting them down. In fact, Kira has escaped from their grasp, taking with her something they want back, and now Nick & Co. must work together to keep this safe, not to mention themselves, and maybe, just maybe bring down the agency.
Standing in their way, though, is Agent Carver (Honsou), a pusher who just won’t stop at nothing to keep them from achieving their goal.
So…OK – I’ve told you what you need to know about the plot of Push. Now let me talk about the execution.
Uhh…well, it’s a good-looking movie. Alright, read: If you’re going to do a movie like this then you need to make it really exciting. The concept is pretty cool and hip, that of calling these super-able people by names other than what we’d expect, and whatnot. Setting them in a far-off land works, too, since Hong Kong is such a great location. But you cannot make your action sooo derivative. It’s boring. You gotta make it edge-of-your-seat fun, not fidget-in-your-seat-because-you-know-what’s-coming by the book.
Evans makes a sympathetic lead, doing the most he can with a flatly written character, while Belle, whom I crush on from time to time, underwhelms with her limited range of facial and emotional expressions.
Fanning, though, is the reason to sit through this one.
She is a delight to watch – she is going to grow into a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. This is a smart way for her to bypass cutesy roles usually reserved for teen actresses – she says “s---” a couple of times in the movie! (and pulls it off). She remains the most effective of the whole bunch. (If this were an episode of Heroes, the petition for a spin-off would start here.)
My Rating **1/2
Photo: Summit Entertainment.
The New Deal
Once upon a time, the episode of HBO’s Sex and the City titled “Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little” aired, and inspired the revolutionary self-help best-seller known as He’s Just Not That Into You.
Written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tucillo, a former executive story editor and writer on the show, the tome shone a light on the awful truths of dating, like if he’s not calling you…or marrying you…or sleeping with you, then – all together – he (or she) must not be that into you.
The movie by the same title is out today, and it’s a must-watch for two reasons.
First, the cast: When else are you going to watch such a good-looking ensemble, including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore (an executive producer on it), Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly (HBO’s Entourage), Bradley Cooper (TV’s Alias), Ginnifer Goodwin (HBO’s Big Love), Scarlett Johansson, and Barrymore’s ex, Justin Long, in one movie?
Not soon enough.
And second, it’s given Saturday Night Live a reason to tap Cooper to host tomorrow night. Now, that little added extra is worth the price of the ticket.
But I know. I digress.
He’s Just Not That Into You tells the Baltimore-set interconnected stories of a group of people facing the challenges of reading or misreading human behavior.
For instance, there’s Gigi (a radiant Goodwin), a wallflower-type who puts herself out there, but still can’t find a man to call her back. Is she trying too hard, or is she just plain ol’ unlucky in love?
Then there’s Beth (Aniston), a woman who has been in a relationship with Neil (Affleck) for seven years, but he’s still not proposing. Is he stalling, or is it never going to happen?
And there’s also Anna (Johansson), a femme fatale-type who’s stringing along Conor (Connolly), a good-boy realtor, and flirting with Ben (Cooper), an exec married to Janine (Connelly), a tightly wound co-worker of Gigi and Beth’s.
Look, He’s Just Not That Into You is a rom-com, and unfortunately, it’s a phenomenal one because the rom in it is so…calibrated, so…clean, so…precise, that it just falls short of something we can actually relate to. And the com in it, while insightful, is not ha ha! enough.
I still liked it, though.
But in a post-Rules, post-Sex and the City world, in which we (women and men) are supposed to be able to talk about feelings, I just did not think it really brought anything new to the table. Still, some of us need to watch this movie. Perhaps it can point us in the right direction, or perhaps it will make us smile. Often, that’s all you need.
My Rating **1/2
Once upon a time, the episode of HBO’s Sex and the City titled “Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little” aired, and inspired the revolutionary self-help best-seller known as He’s Just Not That Into You.
Written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tucillo, a former executive story editor and writer on the show, the tome shone a light on the awful truths of dating, like if he’s not calling you…or marrying you…or sleeping with you, then – all together – he (or she) must not be that into you.The movie by the same title is out today, and it’s a must-watch for two reasons.
First, the cast: When else are you going to watch such a good-looking ensemble, including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore (an executive producer on it), Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly (HBO’s Entourage), Bradley Cooper (TV’s Alias), Ginnifer Goodwin (HBO’s Big Love), Scarlett Johansson, and Barrymore’s ex, Justin Long, in one movie?
Not soon enough.
And second, it’s given Saturday Night Live a reason to tap Cooper to host tomorrow night. Now, that little added extra is worth the price of the ticket.
But I know. I digress.
He’s Just Not That Into You tells the Baltimore-set interconnected stories of a group of people facing the challenges of reading or misreading human behavior.
For instance, there’s Gigi (a radiant Goodwin), a wallflower-type who puts herself out there, but still can’t find a man to call her back. Is she trying too hard, or is she just plain ol’ unlucky in love?
Then there’s Beth (Aniston), a woman who has been in a relationship with Neil (Affleck) for seven years, but he’s still not proposing. Is he stalling, or is it never going to happen?
And there’s also Anna (Johansson), a femme fatale-type who’s stringing along Conor (Connolly), a good-boy realtor, and flirting with Ben (Cooper), an exec married to Janine (Connelly), a tightly wound co-worker of Gigi and Beth’s.
Look, He’s Just Not That Into You is a rom-com, and unfortunately, it’s a phenomenal one because the rom in it is so…calibrated, so…clean, so…precise, that it just falls short of something we can actually relate to. And the com in it, while insightful, is not ha ha! enough.
I still liked it, though.
But in a post-Rules, post-Sex and the City world, in which we (women and men) are supposed to be able to talk about feelings, I just did not think it really brought anything new to the table. Still, some of us need to watch this movie. Perhaps it can point us in the right direction, or perhaps it will make us smile. Often, that’s all you need.
My Rating **1/2
Photo: Warner Bros.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Pop It!
Here they strut again: The Sex and the City movie sequel is happening.
“I’m very excited to work with these amazing actresses again,” said returning director Michael Patrick King, “and would love to give everyone more information about the sequel...but I’m busy with my Sex life.”
All four SATC stars – Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon – are said to have finalized their deals on Wednesday.
King has yet to write a script, but shooting will reportedly begin this summer with a release date sometime in summer 2010.
Here they strut again: The Sex and the City movie sequel is happening.“I’m very excited to work with these amazing actresses again,” said returning director Michael Patrick King, “and would love to give everyone more information about the sequel...but I’m busy with my Sex life.”
All four SATC stars – Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon – are said to have finalized their deals on Wednesday.
King has yet to write a script, but shooting will reportedly begin this summer with a release date sometime in summer 2010.
Photo: E! Online.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
HTMJL
Who’s that boy dressed as a girl at right?
My, it’s Jude Law.
Hot Tranny Mess Jude Law!
The actor will look fabu as a transgender supermodel in Sally Potter’s film Rage, opening later this year. Law plays a character named Minx opposite Judi Dench, Steve Buscemi, Eddie Izzard, and John Leguizamo.
He makes a fetching tranny, does he not?
Who’s that boy dressed as a girl at right?My, it’s Jude Law.
Hot Tranny Mess Jude Law!
The actor will look fabu as a transgender supermodel in Sally Potter’s film Rage, opening later this year. Law plays a character named Minx opposite Judi Dench, Steve Buscemi, Eddie Izzard, and John Leguizamo.
He makes a fetching tranny, does he not?
Photo: EW.com.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Earning His Hyphens
At last month’s Sundance Film Festival, actor John Krasinski (TV’s The Office) turned.
He turned director, that is.
As a student at Brown in 2000, Krasinski did a staged adaptation of late author David Foster Wallace’s short story collection Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, a project that solidified his desire to act. He then spent the last eight years adapting the book into a movie, which premiered in competition the festival.
Starring Julianne Nicholson as a grad student studying the male psyche, and Christopher Meloni (TV’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, and SNL’s Will Forte, the project is described by EW.com as “a risky debut for any first-time filmmaker, but the always-charming Krasinski appears to be holding himself together quite admirably.”
That’s because dude’s a star.
At last month’s Sundance Film Festival, actor John Krasinski (TV’s The Office) turned.He turned director, that is.
As a student at Brown in 2000, Krasinski did a staged adaptation of late author David Foster Wallace’s short story collection Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, a project that solidified his desire to act. He then spent the last eight years adapting the book into a movie, which premiered in competition the festival.
Starring Julianne Nicholson as a grad student studying the male psyche, and Christopher Meloni (TV’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, and SNL’s Will Forte, the project is described by EW.com as “a risky debut for any first-time filmmaker, but the always-charming Krasinski appears to be holding himself together quite admirably.”
That’s because dude’s a star.
Photo: OfficeTally.com.
In Common
Gwyneth Paltrow and me…we’re not just humans and F.O.M.s – that’s Fans of Madonna – we also both heart Coldplay’s “Fix You” and “Swallowed in the Sea.”
The actress admits, though, that she cannot listen to the latter “without crying,” because it helped her cope with the loss of her father, Bruce Paltrow, whose October 2002 death crushed her.
“It’s so hard for me to listen to [them],” Paltrow told the U.K. edition of Elle. As for her husband, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, “I’m amazed he stuck with me [at the time], because I was a wreck. I can’t believe that he did.”
She also says she’s fully aware the media like to speculate on the condition of their marriage, and insists they simply don’t like being photographed together, out on red carpets arm in arm.
“It doesn’t behoove us to be a public couple,” she added. (Paltrow will be a presenter at the upcoming Grammy Awards. Coldplay are nominated and scheduled to perform.) “[Chris] certainly doesn’t want to be that. We’ve never ever walked down a red carpet together, [and] we never will. If people think that that means we’re not together, then – ha ha ha! – so be it.”
That’s another thing she and I have in common: I love going ha ha ha!
So suck it.
Gwyneth Paltrow and me…we’re not just humans and F.O.M.s – that’s Fans of Madonna – we also both heart Coldplay’s “Fix You” and “Swallowed in the Sea.”The actress admits, though, that she cannot listen to the latter “without crying,” because it helped her cope with the loss of her father, Bruce Paltrow, whose October 2002 death crushed her.
“It’s so hard for me to listen to [them],” Paltrow told the U.K. edition of Elle. As for her husband, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, “I’m amazed he stuck with me [at the time], because I was a wreck. I can’t believe that he did.”
She also says she’s fully aware the media like to speculate on the condition of their marriage, and insists they simply don’t like being photographed together, out on red carpets arm in arm.
“It doesn’t behoove us to be a public couple,” she added. (Paltrow will be a presenter at the upcoming Grammy Awards. Coldplay are nominated and scheduled to perform.) “[Chris] certainly doesn’t want to be that. We’ve never ever walked down a red carpet together, [and] we never will. If people think that that means we’re not together, then – ha ha ha! – so be it.”
That’s another thing she and I have in common: I love going ha ha ha!
So suck it.
I always knew Paltrow and I would hit it off. And we did.
Photo: People.com.
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