Archive: April 2009 (141-150 of 498)

Apr 22 2009 01:00 PM ET

'Paper Heart'? 'Taking Woodstock'? What will be this summer's indie sleeper hit?

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Categories: Do My Job For Me!, Movie Trailers, Movies

Every summer there seems to be at least one: a sleeper indie film released among the X-Mens, Transformers, and Harry Potters that manages to break out in a (relatively) big way. Think Little Miss Sunshine, or Once, or even last year’s The Visitor.Since it’s always fun to speculate, which movie do you think willfollow suit this year? After watching the just-released trailer forreal-life couple Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera’s pseudo-documentary Paper Heart,I think it has a shot. The film looks cute, it’s got a novel premise, and it charmed the pants offLisa Schwarzbaum at Sundance. While most have no doubt grown tired ofCera’s aww-shucks wimpy-kid routine, Yi’s goofball charm has putthat film on my radar…

Then again, maybe Paper Heart is too indie. That being the case, safer bets would be the dramedies Away We Go, (500) Days of Summer, and Taking Woodstock. All three feature faces we love (John Krasinski, Zooey Deschanel, and Demetri Martin), have already debuted fantastic trailers, and seem to be exactly the type of counter-programming people look for when they tire of superheroes, computer-animated critters, and ginormous CGI robots. Then again, Nia Vardalos, a.k.a. the brain behind one of the highest-grossing indie films of all time (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), is releasing another movie this summer. It’s called My Life in Ruins. She could be a factor, too.

What do you think will be the little-film-that-could this summer? Paper Heart? Taking Woodstock? Perhaps the new Woody Allen movie, Whatever Works? Something I egregiously have not even mentioned? Or could it be possible none of these films will catch on? This year hasn’t exactly been kind to indie movies (Adventureland, Two Lovers, and Sunshine Cleaning haven’t really broken out). I leave it to you, PopWatchers.

More on these films:
‘Away We Go’ trailer: You gotta love Allison Janney!
‘Taking Woodstock’ trailer: Peace, love, and lots of mud
Zooey Deschanel: Excited for her movies ‘Gigantic’ and ‘(500) Days of Summer’?

Apr 22 2009 12:00 PM ET

Clip du Jour: I want to ride my bicycle

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Categories: Clip du Jour

This is Danny MacAskill, and he and his bike tricks are going to blow your mind. I’m guessing he’ll be the star of a music video in, oh, the next six weeks, though I suppose some kind of commercial could be first — the meme-to-mainstream transition is getting shorter and shorter.

Any ideas, PopWatchers, for what band should tap MacAskill for the video treatment?

Apr 22 2009 10:38 AM ET

'American Idol': On the scene for Top 7.2 performance night

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Categories: American Idol

AdamLambert_l

Maybe I’m tired. Maybe it’s the L.A. heatwave. Maybe after a weekend at Coachella, I am unable to get excited about anything unless it involves Karen O and/or a fireworks display. But man was it dullsville in the Idoldome tonight, PopWatchers…and I blame the contestants. Performance after performance, they came out and delivered competent, enjoyable, and in some cases downright excellent renditions of some of the most obnoxious songs in history. On disco night. During which there was almost zero actual disco. Dude. What’s a girl gotta do to get a trainwreck up in here? Do we need to revisit the Beatles’ oeuvre? Sanjaya? Sanjaya, can you come back, please?

God bless that Craig Ferguson, though, for making me involuntarily snicker every time I remembered him referring to Britain’s Got Talent as So You Think You’ve Got A Pop Star On Your Hands last night. It’s just as funny in this context, so why not steal it the way that we’ve also stolen, you know, Britain’s Got Talent? After the jump, your full breakdown of all the action inside the So You Think You’ve Got A Pop Star On Your Hands-dome, where the most exciting thing that happened might be an appearance from Vince Neil. I swear to god, people, this evening’s show was, like, normal.

READ FULL STORY »

Apr 22 2009 10:00 AM ET

Quote of the Day: 'FernGully'/Earth Day edition

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Categories: PopWatch Quote of the Day

Ferngullykrysta_l"But trees give life. They make the clouds, the water, the air!" — Crysta (Samantha Mathis) in FernGully: The Last Rainforest

Happy Earth Day, PopWatchers! This was the most environmental movie I could think of. Can you top it?

Apr 22 2009 04:00 AM ET

'Lost': Untangling the mystery of viral video sensation 'What's in the Box?'

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Categories: Lost, Viral Video!!!

Do filmmakers really need hundreds of millions of dollars and the resources of a major movie studio to make a super-cool science fiction movie? The answer is…well, yes. But maybe not for long, judging from the quality of "What’s in the Box?," a viral video currently lighting up the web that many admirers suspect may have a connection to the TV series Lost. (It doesn’t — but more on that in a second.) The nine-minute short — created by a computer-savvy Dutch dude name Tim Smit for "150 Euros and a pizza" (at least according to this interview) — combines the video-camera perspective of Cloverfield with a conceit reminiscent of any number of videogames (example: Half Life) involving mad scientists tearing holes in the fabric of reality. The title refers to a mysterious cube that’s used to shoot an energy beam into a whirling anomaly in the sky. (I love writing sentences like that.) Smit hopes to turn the short into a feature and has already received inquiries from Hollywood, including Twentieth Century Fox. Is he worth their interest? Judge for yourself:

So why do Lost fans suspect there could be connection? For starters, Smit’s test film makes use of Michael Giacchino’s Lost score. Moreover, there are two affiliated websites that make clever use of the show’s mythology. One of the sites — which includes credit info and a mysterious copyright date of 2018 — asks you to enter a code to access more content. Bad guesses get you a standard response (“uh uh uh, you didn’t say the magic word”), but if you input Lost‘s famous numbers — 4 8 15 16 23 42 — you get a different message. Then, there’s another website named after the science lab from the video, The Babel Group, which includes a link to The Hanso Foundation, the mysterious philanthropic entity from Lost mythology that finances The Dharma Initiative. (Thanks to Doc Jensen reader “W Wyatt” for tipping me to all this.) (Also, I’ve just a found a guy as obsessed with all of this as I am, who’s cracked all the codes at both sites. Check out his work if you, too, become fixated.)

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Apr 22 2009 02:04 AM ET

'Gathering Storm' spoofs: Which celebrity gay-marriage parody rains more laughs?

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Categories: Current Affairs, Viral Video!!!

It’s the ad that just keeps giving! Of course, I’m referring to The National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) "Gathering Storm" video advertisement that, in a stroke of nearsighted literalism, actually placed actors in front of ominous storm clouds as they talked about the approaching "storm" of same-sex marriage. Since the ad’s debut earlier this month, people all around the entertainment universe have been taking a crack at it. On Tuesday, Funny or Die unveiled this parody video, which stars, among others, Alicia Silverstone, Lance Bass, Sophia Bush, George Takei, and Jane Lynch…

Verdict? The skit is funny, but takes too much time building up to its main punchline, that a "gay rain army" will fall, er, dance from the sky in a choreographed dance number. Couldn’t we have at least seen this dance number? Adam Shankman, where were you on this one? Now, Stephen Colbert’s parody ad that aired on The Colbert Report last Thursday (his fake ad starts 3:30 into the clip), that had a bit more bite in it…

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Colbert Coalition’s Anti-Gay Marriage Ad
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Gay Marriage Commercial

Which clip did you enjoy more, PopWatchers? Do you feel these parodies are appropriate responses from the entertainment industry? Or would it have been better to have let the original NOM ad, and its inherent ridiculousness, stand on its own?

Apr 22 2009 01:51 AM ET

'Superstars': Ready for some reheated '70s cheese?

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Categories: Camp Classics, Reality TV, Sports

Superstarspaigeterrell_lIn case you missed it, ABC has announced the celebrity lineup for its reboot of the ’70s TV extravaganza The Superstars. And one thing is immediately clear from that announcement: The word "superstar" ain’t what it used to be.

Before we get to those names, here’s a quick refresher course for anyone too young to remember the glorious slab of network cheese that ABC drizzled on Americans back in the Carter era. Each week, a strange group of professional athletes would show up at some beach resort in snug nylon shorty shorts and tank tops (this was before Richard Simmons’ heyday, mind you) and compete in an even stranger assortment of sporting competitions: paddling a rubber float the length of an Olympic swimming pool, the 100-yard dash, weightlifting, and, the coup de grace, the obstacle course — a Rube Goldbergy gauntlet that looked as ornate as the Obama girls’ new White House swing set.

The actual events were pretty uneventful. No, what made the show catnip to any kid watching at home was the eclectic group of guests gathered at this televised cocktail party: Lou Ferrigno, Mark Gastineau, O.J. Simpson. It was like the Olympics if the Olympics were run by Larry Flynt. Soon, there was even a celebrity pseudo-spin-off called Battle of the Network Stars, which was hosted by Howard Cosell and always seemed to involve Gabe Kaplan to a weirdly obsessive degree. The premise of that show was to pit the stars of the big three networks’ biggest prime-time shows against each other. An awesome premise, which is almost impossible to imagine today. I mean, can you even picture McSteamy throwing a javelin against Ben Linus from Lost? Their agents would keel over!

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Apr 22 2009 01:48 AM ET

'American Idol': Disco Night...not nearly as bad as anticipated!

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Categories: American Idol

Why the heck am I not getting busy signals for Kris and Allison? (Gulp.) (Did I just type that out loud?) (Yikes, I did!) Anyhow, while I spent the last week dreading tonight’s Disco Extravaganza on American Idol, in reality, the telecast was…pretty interesting. [SPOILERS ahead, West coast readers!] Five of the seven singers radically rearranged beloved dance-floor classics, and while their attempts met with varying degrees of success, at least I don’t feel like I spent the last hour trapped in a karaoke bar in the Seventh Circle of Hell. (No thanks to Lil and Danny, of course.) Not surprisingly, the judges’ praise of Kris’ fantastic "She Works Hard for the Money" was coated in a light layer of freezer burn, Paula’s upper lip quivered with emotion during Glambert’s rendition of "If I Can’t Have You," and Anoop sported a jaunty new haircut and stubble that was labeled "growth" by The Lady Abdul. Also: The judges were so tough on Lil, I kinda felt bad for her. Until, that is, she opened her trap and declared herself an artist of great originality and surprise. Or something like that. Anyhoo, I am off (and running!) to write my full TV Watch recap. Share your thoughts on Disco Night below, and don’t forget to sign up/make your picks in this week’s EW.com Idol Prediction Challenge. And if you feel wistful for season 7, there’s a Michael Johns interview and performance embedded below!

More on ‘American Idol’:
‘Idolatry’: Scott MacIntyre on his sense of humor and post-’Idol’ plan for radio domination
‘American Idol’ Power List: Pick your favorite from the Top 7 (part two)!
‘American Idol”s Kara DioGuardi: Once and for all — yea or nay on the new judge?
‘American Idol’: Season 8 contestants enter the Steel Cage!
‘Idol’ Cheat Sheet: The season so far…
‘American Idol’ recap: Better ‘save’ than sorry!
‘American Idol’ top 7 results: On the scene
Should American Idol let the over-30s in?
‘American Idol’: Simon’s 12 meanest critiques
EW.com’s American Idol HQ

READ FULL STORY »

Apr 22 2009 01:03 AM ET

Christian Bale joins Mark Wahlberg in 'The Fighter': Why we're not surprised

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Categories: Movie Casting, Movies, Reality TV, Sports

Christianbalewahlberg_lToday’s biggest and juiciest bit of Hollywood casting news was the announcement that the Dark Knight himself, Christian Bale, would be joining Mark Wahlberg in the ring for David O. Russell’s boxing flick, The Fighter. And while I’ll admit that I’d watch that trio of boldfaced talents tackle just about anything, the news didn’t really come as surprise to me. Why? Because I’m obsessed with HBO’s great documentary boxing series, Pacquiao/Hatton 24/7. The show, which airs on Saturday nights, is basically a promotional lead-up to the May 2 fight between Filipino fireplug Manny Pacquiao and Mancunian muscleman Ricky Hatton. But it’s also unexpectedly moving. Especially the bits that deal with Pacquiao’s trainer — a sweetheart of a guy who’s fighting a battle of his own, one that he suspects he won’t win, with Parkinson’s Disease. 

But back to Bale and Wahlberg. On last week’s episode, the two Hollywood stars were caught briefly by the camera standing ringside watching one of the fighter’s spar. But they weren’t just watching, they were staring, studying. It didn’t take a Ph.D. to do the math. Anyone who knew that Wahlberg was slated to star in The Fighter, and also knew that Brad Pitt and Matt Damon had fallen out of the project, could’ve put two and two together: Bale was now the guy. So now it’s confirmed.

I suspect that Bale will bring out the best in Wahlberg, an actor who can be great when he’s surrounded by actors better than himself and not so great when he’s not. That is, if the toxic combination of Bale and director Russell (two legendarily intense tantrum throwers) can be tamed.

In the meantime, I’m going to keep watching Pacquiao/Hatton 24/7 — not just because I’m looking for more cameos from Bale and Wahlberg, but also because it’s one of the best shows on cable right now.

Have you seen the show? What do you think? And what do you think of the Bale/Wahlberg teaming?

Apr 22 2009 12:49 AM ET

'For the Love of Ray J': Hey, VH1, do we really need a second season?

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Categories: Muppets, Reality TV, The 'Eh' List, To Care or Not to Care

Loverayjfinale_lJust a few nights after Rock of Love Bus made its official awesome bow on VH1, the network aired the finale of another trashtastic …Of Love series: the awkwardly titled For the Love of Ray J. The hip-hop/homemade porn star’s choice? He decided to go with Cocktail, the show’s fun, and face tattoo-less, contestant over Unique. (My guess as to what pushed him over to Cocktail’s side? Those oh-so-classy pre-dinner shots during her family visit. Only the best from VH1!)

But Ray J fans take solace: I’m guessing we’ll see plenty more of the title bachelor following the show’s reunion special, when we’ll likely witness the inevitable break-up between Ray J and his boozy chosen one. VH1 has been known to milk their …Of Love series in the past (hello, three seasons of Flavor of Love, three seasons of Rock of Love, and two seasons of I Love New York!), so why wouldn’t they grant For the Love of Ray J a second season, providing his relationship with Cocktail doesn’t work out (and it won’t)?

I, however, am going to make a plea against a second season: These …Of Love series simply don’t work unless the man, or woman, of the hour is charming (Bret Michaels), brash (New York), or sad/funny (Flavor Flav). Ray J, I’m sorry to say, is none of those. And the last thing we need are more unlikeable VH1 stars: The network is already going to make us sit through two Bachelorette-type series with two heinous Rock of Love alums, Muppet Janice Daisy De La Hoya and Megan Hauserman.

Agree with me, PopWatchers? Are you hoping VH1 will retire For the Love of Ray J? And who do you want to star in  an …Of Love series? My personal vote: Big John of Love!

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