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Archive: July 2011 (261-270 of 289)

Jul 5 2011 10:25 AM ET

Summer Movie Body Count: 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' proves that the PG-13 rating has failed

by Darren Franich

Categories: Summer Movie Body Count, Transformers

Image Credit: Jaimie Trueblood

Week 9 of EW’s 2011 Summer Movie Body Count continues with Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which features no bloodshed and yet somehow also some of the most gruesome deaths yet this summer. Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the movie that proves once and for all that the PG-13 rating is the single worst thing to ever happen to the American cinema. Imagine pulling aside your average John and Jane Q. Moviegoer back in the very early 1980s and describing the film’s plot to them: “Well, the vast majority of the population of Chicago is massacred. Dozens of fleeing citizens are simply disintegrated right in front of your eyes. Several characters get sliced or bodily torn apart. And at the climax of the movie, the film’s sociopathic protagonist rips off one villain’s face and shoots the other villain in the back of his head, execution-style.” READ FULL STORY »

Jul 5 2011 10:00 AM ET

Who is the coolest Rescue Ranger?

by Darren Franich

Categories: Animation, Who is the coolest...

The essence of noir is suspicion. The genre is built on a number of narrative and stylistic tropes — dark alleyways, dirty deeds, tough-talking dames, dudes who wear fedoras and drink too much and laugh while they’re frowning — but all the best noir stories are built on a simple, cynical, fundamentally anti-authoritarian foundation: The supposedly ordered nature of modern civilization is a lie, a cover for the swirling chaos that lurks in the shadows. The government cannot protect you. The police cannot protect you. There are bad men in the world who prey on the little people, and sometimes, some crimes go slipping through the cracks. Fortunately, these two gumshoes are picking up the slack. I’m talking about Chip and Dale. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 5 2011 09:30 AM ET

Tony Bennett still has it. Who else?

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Carrie Underwood, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Music, Things That Are Awesome!, Things That Are Classy, Waiting

Image Credit: John Barrett/Globe Photos/Zumapress.com

The casual music fan who watched this season’s American Idol finale and saw Tony Bennett, who turns 85 next month, dueting with Haley Reinhart knows Bennett is still going strong, but you can’t really appreciate how amazing he sounds until you see him live. I caught a show recently, and he’s the first singer to ever make me tear up twice in the same song (“Maybe This Time”). After 60 years in the business, his voice is still powerful and he’s made holding a mic into an art form — he knows precisely how the distance from his mouth will affect not only the volume but the mood. I love it when he drops the mic by his side and the sound is faint, intimate, and pure. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 5 2011 07:50 AM ET

Daniel Radcliffe reveals problem with alcohol

by Kate Ward

Categories: Harry Potter

Image Credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Looks like Harry Potter has faced more demons than just Voldemort. In an interview with U.K.’s GQ, Daniel Radcliffe revealed that he’s been sober since last summer after realizing he was too attached to alcohol. Said the How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Broadway star, “I became reliant on [alcohol] to enjoy stuff … There were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person’s lifestyle that really isn’t suited to me.” READ FULL STORY »

Jul 4 2011 02:30 PM ET

Wim Wenders pays tribute to the late Peter Falk

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: In Memoriam, Movies

Image Credit: Everett Collecton

Peter Falk died on June 23 at the age of 83, and while most fans know him best from his starring turn as Columbo or the kindly grandfather from The Princess Bride, Wim Wenders had the distinction of directing him twice, in Wings of Desire (1987) and Faraway, So Close (1993). The German director put his thoughts about the beloved actor on paper in a tribute for People, titled “About Peter Falk.” READ FULL STORY »

Jul 4 2011 12:40 PM ET

Chris Harrison previews the next 'Bachelorette' and his interview with Emily

by Chris Harrison

Categories: An EW Exclusive!, Chris Harrison, The Bachelorette, Things That Are Awesome!

I hope everybody is having a fantastic 4th of July holiday. Obviously because of the holiday we don’t have a new episode tonight, but we will return next week, July 11, with not only a brand new episode but also the much-anticipated interview with Emily. The interview in which I sit down with Emily and get her take on her relationship with Brad will air at the end of next week’s original Bachelorette episode. As you have no doubt heard already, Brad and Emily have unfortunately broken up. They attempted to remain quiet and private, but with so much attention being paid to them it just wasn’t possible. For that reason, Emily reluctantly came in and sat down with me to talk about her relationship, what went wrong, and how the circus surrounding them has affected their lives. This was an interview I definitely did not expect to do and did not enjoy in the least. Both Brad and Emily are friends of mine, and we all really thought the next time we saw them would be to plan their wedding. Many have asked why we only sat down with Emily and not Brad. I talked to Brad several times leading up to this interview and have talked to him since. While he gave his blessing for Emily to speak on their behalf, his emotions are still just too raw and he wasn’t ready to speak openly about it all yet. I respect that decision and told him I was extremely sorry we had to do this interview at all. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 4 2011 11:00 AM ET

Brian Unger names his 10 favorite TV and film patriots. Top of your list?

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Happy Holidays, Movies, Nostalgia, Television

Image Credit: Kyle Christy/History Channel

As we celebrate the Fourth of July, PopWatch asked Brian Unger, host of History’s How The States Got Their Shapes (Tuesdays, 10 p.m. ET), to list his 10 favorite TV and film patriots. Here they are, in no particular order. Check out his list, then tell us who tops yours:

• Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward & Bernstein, All the President’s Men: To the 18-to-24 year-old, unfamiliar demo — no, they were not a law firm. Armed only with a pen they saved the country from itself.

• Hal Holbrook in All the President’s Men: The Real Deep Throat and a national treasure.

• Martin Sheen as The West Wing‘s President Bartlet: You would never call this president a d–k. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 4 2011 10:39 AM ET

Happy Independence Day! Let 'John Adams' provide the ceremonial reading

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Happy Holidays, Television, Things That Are Awesome!, Things That Are Classy, This Would Never Fly In Sweden

To celebrate our nation’s independence, it’s a tradition for local leaders or family members to read aloud the Declaration of Independence, beginning with the famous words, “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

The words still have weight, though it’s sometimes difficult to appreciate the magnitude of their meaning when they’re being read at the family barbecue by your uncle who’s wearing a Kiss the Chef apron. Instead, I recommend re-watching the moment of independence from HBO’s 2008 miniseries, John Adams. As the representatives of the original colonies ponder separation from Great Britain, the political fire-breathing is over and the celebration is a long way’s off. As Adams (Paul Giamatti) tells Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane) in an earlier scene, “We’re about to take a leap in the dark.” READ FULL STORY »

Jul 3 2011 05:18 PM ET

Jonah Hill announces '21 Jump Street' wrap

by Brad Wete

Categories: Johnny Depp, Movies

Image Credit: Michael N. Todaro/FilmMagic.com

Production wrapped yesterday on 21 Jump Street, co-writer Jonah Hill’s comedic remake of the ’80s undercover cop show, starring Hill, Channing Tatum, and former Officer Tom Hanson himself, Johnny Depp. The Superbad star tweeted the news last night, writing, “21 Jump Street just officially wrapped. See you March 16, 2012.”

Straight-forward. Just the facts. At least Hill included a photo that captured some of the cast’s celebration. How excited are you for Jump Street to hit the big screen? Just excited or Jonah-Hill Excited?

Jul 2 2011 08:38 PM ET

'The X Factor' sneak-peak set for MLB All-Star game

by Brad Wete

Categories: Music, Reality TV, Simon Cowell, The X Factor

Now that American Idol’s on vacation, the lane’s wide open for music mogul Simon Cowell to pitch his new show to America. And what better time and place to do that than at the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Fox? His singing reality competition, The X Factor, is getting a “world premiere preview” on July 12 just before the game at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

The show that wooed onetime Island Def Jam chairman L.A. Reid from his post has been teasing the preview during ads for the game, though Fox reps have yet to confirm anything outside of what’s seen in the clips.

The X Factor doesn’t officially premiere until Sept. 21, so what are you expecting from Cowell’s sneak preview?