Archive: August 2009 (101-110 of 386)

Aug 23 2009 01:43 PM ET

'Mad Men' preview -- with a side of Jon Hamm!

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Filed under: Mad Men and tagged:

Mad-Men-302_lThe third season of Mad Men is under way, with the second episode airing tonight on AMC. One of the genius aspects of last week’s quietly brilliant premiere was how much it satisfied without really resolving many of the lingering Season 2 “cliffhangers.” How’s Betty feeling about her unwanted pregnancy? How much confidence does she have in Don’s fidelity? Was adulterous Don’s aborted dalliance with a stewardess last week a repairable relapse—or did the epiphanies of last season’s spirit walk in the Southern California wilderness not stick? How are Peggy and Pete feeling about each other after their waiting for Armageddon-induced come-clean confessions? Why has Joan stuck with her rapist doc fiancée? How much control do Sterling and Cooper really have over their agency now that they’ve sold out to the Brits? And what the rhymes-with-puck happened to Duck?

Questions. About as many as Lost gives us in any given week—and I must say, I enjoy thinking through the heartbreaking realities of Mad Men’s mid-century America and denizens about as much as I like puzzling through Lost’s time-tossed castaways and cryptography. I don’t expect Mad Men to resolve its unanswered riddles in some straight-forward fashion, and I wouldn’t want it to; part of the show’s elliptical artfulness is how revelations leak out, as the characters live and breathe, lie and thrive through their times. The season three premiere worked for me as a table-setter; with the episodes to come, I look forward to feasting on deep dishes of character. As an appetizer for tonight’s episode, please enjoy some excerpts from my recent interview with Jon Hamm, whose spiritually woozy, despairingly duplicitous Don Draper/Dick Whitman is one of TV’s most compelling creations. And please, come back here tomorrow for another highlight of my week: Karen Valby’s always smart, always engrossing, always beautifully written recap/analysis. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 23 2009 05:58 AM ET

'Big Brother': The insanity is contagious!

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First, hurricane Chima swept though the house. Then Lydia officially went off her rocker. Now we’re the ones going cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs as we struggle to make sense of it all. On the latest episode of Must List Live!, Josh Wolk and I sift through the wreckage while tackling all the hot button Big Brother questions: Which contestant is playing the game the best? Who will go next? Are Jeff and Jordan America’s sweethearts, or simply the stupidest couple ever? And, most important of all, who was more annoying: Chima or Lydia? Along the way, sparks will fly as America grants Josh a secret power that can be used at the beginning of the show. Dare he bust it out and risk suffering my wrath? The answer awaits in the video below as we present what can only be described as the most explosive Must List Live! to date! Take a look, then tell us who you think has the best chance to win below.

More Big Brother from EW:
Big Brother recap: The crazy meltdowns continue
Julie Chen blogs Big Brother eviction 6
Big Brother: Lydia talks Jessie
Big Brother: Chima apologizes
Big Brother: Jessie talks Natalie, ''sports entertainment''

Aug 22 2009 04:59 PM ET

C. Thomas Howell can ride an ostrich AND blow up stuff with a tank! Did he get you 'All Jacked Up'?

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Filed under: Television and tagged: ,

I’m going to try to erase the fact that the Yankees have now won five straight against my Sox by focusing the sports quadrant of my brain on my new favorite pastime: Ostrich racing! Tipped off by my pal Mandi Bierly (she’s always up on cool things and/or anything happening on CMT),  I tuned in to C. Thomas Howell’s new CMT series All Jacked Up, which highlights all sorts of wild-n-crazy sports, inventions, and people across this freaky land of ours. What did I learn? C. Thomas Howell, a.k.a. ‘Tommy Howell,’ can do an okay Johnny Knoxville impression. Despite being a 40-1 longshot to win an ostrich derby—those birds are fast and unruly—he might have a career as an ostrich jockey. Also, when he gets excited, he busts out lines like, “That’s more fun than pulling your sister’s hair!” (Although I wasn’t cruising eBay for  Soul Man posters after watching his blah gig on 24 as Kim’s shrink-turned-boyfriend a few years back, he kinda re-won me over with his role as an unhinged cop on Southland. And he plays it fast and loose again here as host.)

While the ostrich race proved the most entertaining segment, I was amused watching a French dude nicknamed Rollerman introduce Howell to “Buggy Rollin”: Wearing many-wheeled roller suits, they careened down a treacherous canyon road in Malibu that Howell boasted had “more hairpins than Dolly Parton.” Alas, the subsequent bit in which he drove a few tanks, crushed cars, and blew up explosives went for testosterone at the expense of quirk. Bottom line: If Tommy stops restating the name of the show—Everything’s all jacked up! I get it!—I’ll probably tune in next week, when a brave soul attempts to set a world record by jamming a lot of rattlesnakes into his mouth. But what did you think of  All Jacked Up’s debut episode (which airs several more times today)?  More important, are you pro-Howell?

Photo Credit: Lauren Willems/CMT

Aug 22 2009 11:23 AM ET

'Avatar Day' reaction: Close, but no cigar

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Filed under: Movies and tagged: , , , ,

Avatar-Sam-Worthington_lSo Friday was “Avatar Day,” a worldwide (and free) sneak peek at James Cameron’s hotly anticipated 3-D epic on 102 screens in the U.S. and hundreds more overseas. The unprecedented event was Fox’s attempt to manufacture buzz for the approximately $200 million picture, and in light of the mixed response to the first Avatar trailer, the studio and Cameron really needed these 16-minute previews to knock it out of the park.

Did they? Eh, it was more of a solid triple, but I honestly can’t say for sure. I sat through the footage three times at The Bridge IMAX theater in Los Angeles, and my mind is still attempting to make sense of what I witnessed. The footage included six scenes plus a rapidly edited “action montage” consisting mostly of images already shown in the trailer. I’ll describe the six scenes in detail below, but first, some general impressions.

Avatar is, without a doubt, an audacious motion picture, and I tip my hat to Cameron for having the cojones to try to pull this off. Nevertheless, I predict moviegoers won’t be able to completely surrender themselves to this movie’s appearance. I think we’re all going to be watching Avatar from a distance, desperately trying to figure out why a film with such mesmerizing visuals still doesn’t feel quite right. It’s a trip to the uncanny valley, no doubt. And with that being the case, I wish Fox had structured the “Avatar Day” footage in a different manner. Instead of exhibiting six clips of varying lengths, it would have been advantageous to select one 15-minute scene and let it breathe. That way the audience could have grown accustomed to the initially jarring 3-D compositions and CGI environments. Instead, we were whisked from one setting to the next, unable to properly adjust to the film’s unique wavelength.

However, even though Avatar probably won’t be the revolution that many anticipated, the movie still has the potential to be one absolutely engrossing adventure. Friday’s footage confirmed that few directors can stage an action sequence as well as Cameron, and as long as moviegoers walk in not expecting a photo-realistic experience, but rather an ingeniously designed animated film, Avatar should be just fine.

I’ve been informed that what was shown Friday was a shorter version of the Comic-Con reel screened back in July (I wasn’t at Comic-Con, so I can’t compare). Regardless, I don’t think it’ll hurt to dive into the “Avatar Day” footage and offer a few observations. For those who don’t want anything spoiled for them, skip this section. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 21 2009 07:47 PM ET

'Big Brother 11's' Lydia: No, she didn't get drunk on Mimosas. Yes, she still thinks Jordan is a 'ho'

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Lydia Tavera – the special effects makeup artist from Torrance, CA – has no apologies to make. Yes, she admits to trashing Jordan, but she also concedes that she was “Jessie’s ‘ho,” too – that is, until she and Natalie got to swapping notes. Here, the 24-year-old talks about achieving (some) level of perestroika with her former aforementioned nemesis, what she plans to discuss with Jessie in the jury house, and whether she’s holding a grudge against that coup d’etat exercising Jeff.

Aug 21 2009 05:13 PM ET

Brad Pitt's best-reviewed movies: What, no 'Meet Joe Black'?

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Filed under: Movies and tagged:

Rotten Tomatoes runs down Brad Pitt’s top 10 best-reviewed movies using their special Tomatometer. The results will give dedicated fans a lot to chew on, but one question I’d like to throw out there for discussion: Why is it that some of Pitt’s best-reviewed movies aren’t the ones he’s starred in? The Tomatometer ranks 1993′s True Romance as No. 1, an odd winner in my mind, not because True Romance isn’t a great movie — it most certainly is — but because Pitt is barely in it at all. Yes, he’s got a sweet little cameo as honeybear-toking stoner Floyd, but the movie is chock full of splashy cameos. Among the other films on the list where Pitt is a strong, albeit supporting, player: Thelma and Louise, Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve Monkeys, and Burn After Reading. Even his masterpiece performance in A River Runs Through It (No.6  on the list) is arguably a supporting role. Is Pitt at his absolute best when he gets to play with a killer ensemble? Or is the Tomatometer totally off the mark?

Aug 21 2009 05:00 PM ET

The $ave: 'Flight of the Conchords' DVDs provide Emmy-nominated comedy for $40

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Times is tough, folks.  Where last summer we may have gone out for lobster dinner “because it’s, you know, the weekend,” now we’re debating relative cost on the McDonald’s value menu. That spendthrift attitude doesn’t end with food, of course, and you’re also likely making adjustments to your home entertainment budget.

Depressing, we know…but there’s hope: EW’s newest column, “The $ave,” which offers great tips for keeping said budget in check while still maintaining your entertainment integrity. Did you know, for instance, that you can buy seasons 1 and 2 of Flight of the Conchords — the latter season an Emmy nominee for Best Comedy — for just $20 a piece? For a little more than the cost of a Build-A-Bear, you can spend countless hours laughing along with the Kiwi folk singers. And keep laughing for years!

So that’s one great value. But we want to hear from  you, PopWatchers. We’re taking reader suggestions for our next column and need your savings tips for any and all entertainment products. Consider this the frugal Must List! Be sure to get those suggestions in, along with your name/e-mail, should we choose to include your selection in the magazine. Happy hunting!

Aug 21 2009 04:21 PM ET

Julie Chen blogs 'Big Brother': Season 11, elimination #6

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Filed under: About Last Night and tagged: , ,

big-brother-11_lSo, folks have many opinions and ideas about Chima’s expulsion from the show, but I, for one, was sad that we had to remove her from the game.  We all know Chima is opinionated, outspoken, and stubborn…but she was also fun to watch and brought a certain energy to the game, although we certainly don’t condone some of the comments she made to Russell while in the house.  You can actually read the apology she sent two websites that have employed her in the past (she’s a freelance journalist) by going to either www.hollyscoop.com or www.the360mag.com.  Unfortunately, destruction of property (throwing a $4,000 microphone in the hot tub) was an act of defiance that clearly broke the rules of the Big  Brother house and we were forced to send her home.

Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself.  As we saw, Michele won last Thursday’s Head-of-Household Competition (the self-proclaimed nerdy neuroscientist has been kickin’ butt in the competitions!) and was able to see pictures of her family and friends and enjoy the luxury of the HOH room…for all of 48 hours…but more on that in a sec… READ FULL STORY »

Aug 21 2009 03:28 PM ET

Slow claps and other 'supercut' gems

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Every f-bomb in Scarface. Every “McFly!” from Back to the Future. Every nickname Sawyer uses in the first three seasons of Lost. We’ve all seen these YouTube masterpieces, but Waxy’s Andy Baio has just updated his very comprehensive list of “supercuts,” and a few of these were new to me. (The list itself is a work of Internet beauty, too.) Here are some faves:

The Slow Clap

Ooooh, there’s plenty more… READ FULL STORY »

Aug 21 2009 01:41 PM ET

Lauren Bacall will show you young whippersnappers how to 'twitt'

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Lauren-Bacall-tweet_lCredit where credit is due: I didn’t know Lauren Bacall was on Twitter until I read yesterday’s Jezebel roundup of all things in celebrity tweets, wherein my favorite actress and personal attitude icon — or someone doing an excellent job of posing as her — was highlighted for the following two missives (all errors [sic], and tweets reordered for the sake of linear logic):

“I’m so sorry you guys didn’t like my Studio 54 image simply because I was smoking,belive me there was far more worse things going on there.. / …then smoking! I was not expecting such negative feedback, ugh all this stress has made me want to light up and relax with a cigarette.”

Why is Lauren Bacall on Twitter, assuming this is really her? That’s a different blog post. But — wait, what kind of sanctimonious yahoo criticizes Lauren Bacall for smoking??? In 1977???? Here is the offending photo. To my eyes, it is the epitome of late-’70s New York City: casual glam, blazers and feathered hair and sunglasses at night. Everyone smoked then. But beyond that, we’re talking about a woman who was married to Humphrey Bogart. She starred in The Big Sleep and To Have and Have Not, two of the sexiest cigarette movies of all time. She’s basically the female iteration of the Marlboro Man. Griping about her nicotine habit is like complaining that W.C. Fields had a pineapple juice problem. Of course he did.

You can check out all of Ms. Bacall’s tweetering here; as of last night, she was still fighting back: “For all of you that do not like my tweets,” she wrote, “you can always unfollow me, Mrs.Hilton is on Twitter maybe her ‘twitts’ are more to your liking.” Hee hee.

Have you guys found any other unexpected celebrities on the tweeter machine? And do you support Ms. Bacall’s ability to light up at the gorgeously elegant age of 84? If so, give a whistle. You do know how to whistle, don’t you, PopWatchers?

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