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Archive: June 2010 (141-150 of 584)

Jun 24 2010 11:11 AM ET

Helen Mirren shooting a machine gun and three other awesome things in new trailer for 'Red'

Categories: Movie Trailers, Movies, Things That Are Awesome!

Just when I thought the highlight of my morning was going to be finding a box of old-but-still-good noodles in the fridge for breakfast, along comes the trailer for Red, a movie that just jumped to the top of my Fall must-see list. The setup: A bunch of retired CIA agents get back into the game. Why? I don’t know. And I can’t say I care all too much, as long as those agents are played by a cast this amazing: Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Mary Louise Parker, and John Malkovich. Check it out below, along with our picks for the three aweseome-est moments. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 24 2010 09:00 AM ET

'Futurama' returns: Will it still be good?

by Darren Franich

Categories: Animation, I'm Just a Geek

Image Credit: Futurama TM and Twentieth Century Fox Film CorporaTonight, Futurama will return from the dead for the fifth or sixth time. This is a sacred event. Five years ago, when I was rediscovering the show on Adult Swim reruns, news of Futurama‘s return would have caused my brain to explode. In fact, my brain did explode back in 2007, when the show’s creators announced the production of four direct-to-DVD movies. Then I actually saw the movies…and haven’t felt so disappointed by a franchise I love since The Phantom Menace taught us all a valuable lesson about intergalactic trade routes. All of which has me wondering: When Futurama returns this week, will it still be as good?

I don’t want to sound like a hater. There was some fun stuff in every movie. The time travel plot of Bender’s Big Score was twisty fun. The Beast With a Billion Backs features easily the best war against heaven since Paradise Lost. The end of Into the Wild Green Yonder was very emotional. And, well, I lied, there was nothing fun about Bender’s Game.

READ FULL STORY »

Jun 24 2010 07:22 AM ET

'The Boondocks' (allegedly) take on Tyler Perry: Too far?

by Abby West

Categories: Television, The Boondocks

Image Credit: Adult SwimSouth Park‘s decade-plus of brilliantly skewering celebs has made that type of satire de rigueur for adult-oriented animation. But when The Boondocks‘ latest episode featured a sassy, gun-waiving, bump-and-grinding Madea-esque character that ruled stage, film, and TV — and the Jesus-praising male auteur who plays her — it still got folks talking. The “Pause” episode’s Ma Duke character was clearly Madea, and it stands to reason that the Winston Jerome character was Tyler Perry (neither Perry’s office nor Turner Networks would comment on the episode). Jerome’s works were portrayed as poorly written and almost buffoonish and set him up as a closeted, cultish leader, who created his Ma Duke empire as a way to solicit sex with men. In the episode, Huey and Riley’s grandpa gets cast in Jerome’s new play, “Ma Duke Gets a Man.” First he’s asked to kiss Ma Duke on stage, then Jerome asks him straight out for sex.

Even though shows like South Park have taught us that there are no sacred cows, did Boondocks go too far with “Pause”? A satirical take on the kind of work Perry does and the “prosperity Christianity” he seemingly espouses is one thing, but some folks are up in arms because the episode also calls into question his motivation and brings his sexuality into the mix. What do you think, PopWatchers? Is that all fair game? Did you see the episode? Funny, mean, both?

Jun 24 2010 02:40 AM ET

'Top Chef' recap: Cooking for the kids and Kass

by Archana Ram

Categories: Reality TV, Top Chef, TV Recap

There’s a place called Washington, D.C. where there are fat cats, along with bulls and bears, and people saying things like “senate majority” and “sexual relations.” In this land, things are blue and red, and there are a lot of white buildings, where famous stuff happened.

Oh? What’s that? You’ve heard of this place? It’s where who lives?

Well, I’m with you, but apparently the Bravo producers are not because they want you to know that their new home turf is all politics and bad puns like “bipartisandwich,” which elicited a collective groan in the Top Chef kitchen. But I’ll leave the filibusters to Padma. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 24 2010 12:01 AM ET

'Totally Lost': Finally...the finale, with special guest Michael Emerson!

by Dan Snierson

Categories: Lost, Television, Totally Lost

Image Credit: ABCOne month ago, Lost vanished into the light, signing off with an epic, 2 1/2-hour installment—the last of an adventure that spanned six seasons, transported us to fantastic/fantastical places, and provoked an unhealthy amount of analysis. Today, we here at Totally Lost finally return to the gravesite to lay our souls bare and our supersized finale down. First of all, our sincere apologies for the delay. Blame it on other work commitments, technical glitches, and our desire to give you a fitting end to the Lost journey. To that end, we don’t come to you empty-handed: Behold the gift of Ben! Michael Emerson, who graciously appeared on our Totally Lost panel at last year’s Comic-Con, returns to reveal his thoughts on everything from the finale to the transformation of his character to a scene he shot for the final episode that never aired. Turns out, the guy’s also not a half-bad actor. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 23 2010 07:00 PM ET

Late-Breaking News: Happy Birthday, Joss Whedon. Vote on his best work

by Sandra Gonzalez

Categories: Buffy, Celebrity Birthdays, Joss Whedon, Nostalgia, Sci-Fi, Television

Image Credit: Albert L. Ortega/PR PhotosAs a kid, did you ever have that dream where you woke up and found out you missed Christmas? My nightmare came true today when I looked at my self-made pop culture calendar in Google at 5 p.m. and realized Joss Whedon turned 46 today.

I know, at this point, the party is over. The birthday song has been sung, and all that remains of the celebration is the icing ring on a piece of cardboard where a cake once was. But below, you make take part in pretty much the greatest and most important poll ever to grace the pixels of EW.com.

You might notice that in my poll asking “What is Joss Whedon’s best work?” I have not included a cop out answer (like ”Everything he does is amazing”). I’m forcing you to choose. Yes, forcing you. And don’t count Buffy the winner too soon. I actually know someone who loves Joss Whedon and has never seen the series. I’ll bring her over here one day so we can pelt her with fruit. Meanwhile, vote away, Whedonites. And celebrate tonight with a marathon of your choosing.

Jun 23 2010 06:59 PM ET

Matt Damon in talks to star as Cameron Crowe's zookeeper

by Benjamin Svetkey

Categories: Matt Damon

Image Credit: Peter Bass/FilmMagic.com; Inset: Jason Merritt/Getty ImagesMatt Damon may soon be costarring with lions and tigers and bears, oh my! 20th Century Fox confirms a report today on Deadline that said the actor is in “very early talks” to star in Cameron Crowe’s next movie, We Bought a Zoo. Based on the 2008 memoirs of British journalist-turned-zookeeper Benjamin Mee, it tells the story of a guy who chucked it all and moved with his wife and kids into a barely functioning wildlife park in England. The film, the first from Crowe since 2005’s Elizabethtown (oof), is slated for late 2011.

Think this is a dream team, PopWatchers?

Jun 23 2010 06:51 PM ET

Troll doll movie: Are we hoping they're naked or clothed?

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Animation, Movies, Toys

DreamWorks Animation is set to bring the Good Luck Troll doll to the big screen after inking a deal with Denmark’s Dam Things, the company that produces the wild-haired toys. Per the announcement, “The Troll doll phenomenon was born in 1959 when Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam, too poor to afford a Christmas present for his young daughter Lajla, carved a doll for her based on the legendary Scandinavian troll. This modern-day Geppetto couldn’t have imagined that the Troll dolls would soon become one of the biggest toy crazes of the 1960s.” Dam Things had been planning to bring the Good Luck Troll toy line back into homes, and a feature film will definitely help. Do we, however, want to see the Trolls on screen longer than their cameo on the train in the opening action sequence of Pixar’s Toy Story 3? That’s the question. I think it comes down to whether “building on the mythology” of the Troll dolls, as DreamWorks says it will do, involves them being naked or clothed.* I find them more endearing naked. PopWatch poll!

* Shockingly, DreamWorks Animation did not respond to my request for comment on which way they were leaning.

Jun 23 2010 06:26 PM ET

Weird Al considers Lady Gaga parody. Let's suggest some titles!

by Kate Ward

Categories: Lady Gaga, Music, Music + Comedy = Good Thing?, Things That Are Awesome!

Image Credit: Lee Roth/PR Photos; Matt Kent/WireImage.comAccording to Billboard, Weird Al is considering parodying Lady Gaga on his next album. But…he’s not sure yet. Obviously, this needs to happen, so let’s help the guy out by suggesting some titles for his songs. I’ll go first: “Just Lance,” a tune about everyone’s favorite ‘NSYNC frosted-tip-topped singer: “It was just Lance/Who was in On the Line/Not a good film for Joey Fatone to align…with.” Okay, I’m not a lyricist like Mike Slezak. But I’ll also suggest “Rad Bromance,” a non-Sarah Silverman or Jimmy Kimmel-penned tune about Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Either way, I can’t wait to see how Weird Al looks in a pair of platform boots, which recently sent Gaga toppling over at Heathrow airport. File under new Fox series: When Fashion Attacks! (She’s fashion roadkill!) Your turn, PopWatchers: Suggest a Gaga song for Weird Al!

Jun 23 2010 05:59 PM ET

Nicole Richie: Remember when she was one of 'those' girls?

by Sandra Gonzalez

Categories: HeadScratcher, Made Us Think, Reality TV, Television, Who Else Remembers This?

Image Credit: Jason Mitchell/BuzzFoto/FilmMagic; VLUV/Splash NewsThe revamping of Nicole Richie’s image wasn’t something I’d been keenly aware of until today, when it was reported that her probation had been extended so she can complete the alcohol education classes she was ordered to attend after her 2006 arrest for drunk driving.

Honestly, it took me a while to recall the original incident. Mostly because the image of Richie’s rapidly thinning figure hopping around Hollywood nightclubs (as I had seen in tabloids) has been erased from my mind and replaced with one of her toting her two adorable children around. It’s been a slow and almost unnoticeable progression, much like the one we all make as we turn into adults. You don’t know quite when it happens, just that it does.

I remember hearing her talk a few times following the arrest, and her subsequent court appearance about how her wild days were over. You hear those kinds of things from celebrities all the time after a controversy, though, and consider them insincere. When the celebrity actually follows through, it’s refreshing. Robert Downey Jr. turned himself around several years ago and has become ten times more interesting (the mature way of saying he’s become even hotter) since.

Getting wrapped up in the awe of celebrity meltdown and failure is really easy these days. But every now and then it’s nice to stop and admire the revivals, those who come back from it all. If for nothing else, it’s a good reminder that it’s sometimes time to grow up. After a bit of reflection on some of the successes, you might find yourself hoping that some of your favorite celebrities aren’t far behind.

What about you, PopWatchers? Who are you ready to see get their act together? And which other celebs are you proud of for doing so?