Every year, brilliant movies are utterly ignored by the Oscars. The Searchers, Groundhog Day, Persona, Breathless, Hoop Dreams, King Kong, Caddyshack — the Academy has a long history of overlooking comedies, action movies, horror flicks, artsy foreign films, and documentaries that aren’t about World War II. This year, we’ll be taking a closer look at films that were too small, too weird, or perhaps simply too awesome for the Academy Awards. These are the Non-Nominees.
The Film: Melancholia, the latest meditation on the absurdity of human existence from Danish provacateur Lars von Trier, starring Kirsten Dunst in a theoretical comeback performance as a manic-depressive woman struggling to get through her own wedding. Also, a runaway planet slams into Earth, destroying all life on our planet. Also, Kiefer Sutherland. READ FULL STORY »
Well, this is a kick in the pants. (And the face… and pretty much anywhere else Gina Carano could knock you on your butt clear into next week.) In addition to a less-than-impressive opening weekend at the box office, Steven Soderbergh’s well-reviewed action caper Haywire earned a dreadful, if not entirely baffling, D+ grade from CinemaScore.
The film, which has already earned plenty of comparisons to being a female version of the Bourne series, is complete with a knock-out leading lady who knocks out all of her leading men (see left: poor Ewan McGregor), Michael Fassbender (in a towel: A+!), Bill Paxton (with a mustache!), stunning action sequences (the hotel room, the snowy car chase), and a killer last line. So what gives? READ FULL STORY »
Are people, like Radcliffe suggested, simply letting their personal feelings about Del Rey’s rise to fame cloud their judgment of her appearance? Or were her performances of “Video Games” and “Blue Jeans” quite simply that bad? I happen to be in the latter group of those who were downright flabbergasted by Del Rey’s warble-y, emotionless numbers and were left with burning questions, like: Who was this girl? Where did she come from? And why… why?! Watch her performance below and see what all the noise has been about: READ FULL STORY »
The new action thriller Haywirewill be hitting theaters on Jan. 20, but it’s the film’s heroine, betrayed operative Mallory Kane, who will be doing most of the hitting ass-kicking. Despite this being her first leading role, mixed martial artist and American Gladiator Gina Carano, who plays Mallory, will be in some very familiar territory– her opponents in the movie (including Michael Fassbender and Channing Tatum) will wish they had never crossed her.
But there have been many who paved the way for female badassery in movies. There’s perhaps no more obvious choice than the original female rebel, Ellen Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) who not only faced down some terrifying extraterrestrials in the Alien saga, but uttered one of the most copycattedlines in movie history. Then again, Sarah Connor and her unbelievable arms (courtesy of Linda Hamilton) could have just as easily fought off those pesky space invaders. Just look at all damage she (and those biceps) did in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
And then there are the ladies who make revenge look so good: Uma Thurman in Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2, Noomi Rapace and Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in the two versions of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and Kate Beckinsale as vampire Selene in the Underworld series. Or how about Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity in The Matrix trilogy, Anne Parillaud in La Femme Nikita, or Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?
They may be bringing tough-as-nails video game heroines to life, like Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft and Mila Jovovich as Alice in the Resident Evil films. Or they could be leading the charge for a new generation of no-nonsense female warriors, like Chloe Grace Moretz as Hit Girl in Kick-Ass and Saorise Ronin as Hanna in Hanna. Clearly, there’s no shortage of awesome women showing the enemy where it hurts.
Now it’s up to you, EW readers, to decide: Who is your all-time favorite female film badass? Take our poll below and choose wisely, because the winner will be revealed in an upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly. (And the “losers” could very well kick your butt.) Happy voting!
What’s your most anticipated pop-culture event of 2012? Some options to get you thinking: November’s final Twilight movie (for both lovers and haters, it. will. end!); this spring’s long-awaited new episodes of Mad Men; Kiefer Sutherland’s midseason return to TV with Fox’s Touch;Game of Thrones‘ second season debuting in April; July’s arrival of The Dark Knight Rises; or the December delivery of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? Or maybe the iPad 3?
Give us your most impassioned pitches below. I’ll start: READ FULL STORY »
In a recent interview with IndieWire.com, actor/comedian David Cross described working on Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked– Ghost Protocol: A Game of Shadows — Sorry, but that title is ripe for parody! Ripe! — “the most unpleasant experience I’ve ever had in my professional life.” Meanwhile, EW’s own Adam Markovitz called the third installment in the series, “Nothing more than a cynical stab at grabbing kids’ attention—and, more importantly, their parents’ cash.” (In short, you actually couldn’t pay people enough to want to deal with Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. Not even some of the people in it.) READ FULL STORY »
While a large majority of Occupy Wall Street protesters don’t seem to take issue with celebrity support, visits, or participation in the movement, filming at their expense might be another thing entirely.
According to the New York Times, the filming of an episode of Law & Order: SVU was interrupted early Friday morning when more than 100 OWS protesters took over the downtown Manhattan Foley Square set, which was transformed to look like the camps in Zuccotti Park, the home base of the OWS movement, for an upcoming episode. (Can’t you just picture the scenario in which L&O: SVU gang stumbles upon the crime scene now? In my head the dialogue sounds a little something like this: “It looks like he’s occupying… the funeral home.”) READ FULL STORY »
In a controversial new campaign ad, the Texas governor, clad in a tan coat — which George Takei wonderfully pointed out on Twitter was almost the same one Heath Ledger wore in Brokeback Mountain (oops!) — complains that “there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.” The “not ashamed” Christian then promises that he’ll “end Obama’s war on religion.” READ FULL STORY »
During an interview with the UK edition of GQ, the famously private actor got onto the topic of the famously over-sharer Kardashian clan. “I think there’s a lot to be said for keeping your own counsel,” Craig said, “You can’t buy it back. You can’t buy your privacy back. Ooh, I want to be alone. F– you. We’ve been in your living room. We were at your birth. You filmed it for us and showed us the placenta, and now you want some privacy?” (Got that, Kourtney and Scott? No placenta footage. Not even for your terrible mom vlog. These are direct order from James freakin’ Bond.)
The 43-year-old continued about the reality television phenoms, “It is a career; I’m not being cynical. And why wouldn’t you? Look at the Kardashians, they’re worth millions… I don’t think they were that badly off to begin with, but now look at them. You see that and you think, ‘What, you mean all I have to do is behave like a f—ing idiot on television and then you’ll pay me millions?’ I’m not judging it.” He then added, “Well, I am, obviously.” Craig. Daniel Craig.
During her visit Tuesday to MSNBC’s Morning Joe, which already has a low tolerance for political name-calling, Coulter got the silent treatment from the show when she went on a tirade about Sen. John McCain, at one point apparently referring to the former presidential candidate as a “douche bag.” (“Just blur it all out,” host Joe Scarborough instructed.) Still, at least 10 seconds of Coulter’s verbal rampage were muted by the network, leaving viewers to ponder what else she could have possibly said. Probably something along the lines of this. Watch the moment, courtesy of Politco, here: READ FULL STORY »
