Harry Potter Trailer!!!!!!!!

Oh dear Lord, I think I just peed my pants a little...


Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Exclusive Trailer

The Cell Block Tango...Disney Style

So it's a slow day at work, so I have been perusing some of my favorite blogs. One of my absolute favorites is called the film experience (http://filmexperience.blogspot.com/), which any movie lover should check out. Anyway, I have previously discussed the concept of the fan made video on youtube, and the blog writer posted this gem of a video that I just HAD to share...

It's some of the Disney Villainesses "singing" the Cell Block Tango from Chicago. Brilliant!



a) This person masterfully timed the clips to the dialouge. WHO HAS TIME FOR THIS?!
b) I still think it is kinda sad I find these endlessly entertaining. I spent a good deal of Saturday watching fan made Mulder and Scully videos. HELLLLLP!!!!!

Damn You Nicholas Sparks...

The Title of this entry really should be "How I Spent My Saturday Evening"...

I didn't really feel like going out this evening (ME?! wha??). It's been a very busy past couple of weeks, and I am trying to conserve fundage that I know I will eventually spend on concerts. I went to the gym almost every day this week, running a total of 25 miles, so I went and rewarded myself by getting a scoop of peanut butter and chocolate ice cream from Baskin Robbins, then returned home and faced my DVD library and picked out a flick.

Tonight I settled on "A Walk to Remember". Don't roll your eyes at me. Yes, it is a sappy bordering on saccharine movie. But dammit if I don't love it. Nicholas Sparks gets a bad rap for being overly sentimental, but isn't that heightened sentiment why we choose to read or watch things like that in the first place? I know I do. Sometimes you just need a sappy movie, a box of tissues, and a good cry. "A Walk to Remember" will never be in the pantheon of great movies, or even very good ones. But man, it makes me want to find a love like that. It makes me want to believe that kind of love is possible...and that's why I watch. And oh did I cry...especially cause I hadn't watched this movie in awhile.

And because I am a masochist/emotional cutter, once that movie ended, guess what movie I put in next? If you guessed "The Notebook", then gold star for you. I heart this movie something fierce. It rides the border of almost too saccharine and cliche, but what kept it from doing so is the unbelievably real performances by Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. Wow did that casting director catch lightning in a bottle when he/she cast those two in those roles or what? I have quite a girl crush on Rachel McAdams, and I really wish she worked more, cause I freaking love her as an actress. And the story is right up there in the best movie love stories for me. I will say it again about Sparks...say what you want about him, but the man writes a damn good love story. I laughed. I cried. I felt my heart swell with love. It made me forget for a few hours the cynicism I have increasingly grown accustomed to in that area in my life and believe once again in soulmates. Really, what more can you ask for in a movie? Not too much, and that's why I keep coming back for more. It's funny, cause at the beginning of my evening, I wouldn't have told you that I was in the mood for a sappy romance night, but apparently I was. Always trust your first instincts when picking out a movie to watch :)

So that's how I spent my evening...crying my eyes out (they are gonna look lovely in the AM) and wishing I could be in love in the movies. Good times.

Maybe I'll continue the crying jaunt and pop in Titanic next... ;-)

One for the Ages...

Believe the hype about The Dark Knight. It IS that good.

I'm gonna keep this spoiler free out of respect for those of you who haven't seen it, cause I would never want to ruin for you what I experienced last night.

I love event movies. There is nothing like experiencing a movie like Indy 4 or TDK at midnight as soon as it becomes release day with a bunch of superfans just like you (many of whom are in costume) who view the movie with the utmost respect. These are the people who burst into applause at the right moments. The people who were so quiet once it started you could hear a pin drop in a massive theatre on 42nd Street (a rarity if you have ever seen a movie there). Not one cell phone went off during the movie. No one talked in inappropriate places. We were all at the church of movie going, and no one wanted to ruin the experience for any of their fellow congregants...

The Dark Knight is a movie that transcends all definitions of genre. It is just an excellent movie. My only minor quibble with it is that after the opening set piece, the exposition and set up takes a wee bit too long in my opinion. But really, it's a MINOR problem, cause said exposition was still enjoyable. The script, penned by director Christopher Nolan and his brother, is excellent. It's dark and twisty. It takes you to places you don't really expect it to. It shocks and it awes. The direction (with the exception of the very beginning) is taut and has you on the edge of your seat.

The cast is excellent as can be expected. Christian Bale once again turns in a fantastic (and understated) performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman. What makes him so good is that he is good at playing both Hero and alter Ego, whereas previous actors have been good at one or the other (like Michael Keaton was an excellent Batman, he wasn't as good as Bruce. The very opposite was true with George Clooney). Excellent support comes from Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman, perfectly cast in their roles. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a vast improvement over Katie Holmes, even though the role of Rachel Dawes is still a pretty thankless one. Aaron Eckhart was excellent as Harvey Dent...his golden boy looks and chiseled features perfectly embodying the potential white knight DA of Gotham. He was also a great foil for Bale looks wise, All American Blondie vs. Dark and Brooding. Well done.

But the movie belongs to the late Heath Ledger, who truly does give a performance for the ages. The performance has been hyped ever since his tragic passing, so it had alot to live up to...and it surpassed my expectations. I was prepared to be upset and think about his death when he showed up on screen, but Heath so fully embodied the character that you forgot about it. He was just so ALIVE in the Joker...a performance that oozed out of every pore of his being, one so fully and terrifyingly realized I couldn't get enough of it. He was both comic and evil, a ticking time bomb of a character that fills you with a visceral dread anytime he comes on screen. Only when the screen went dark, and the "In Memory of our friend Heath Ledger" screen came up, was I jolted back into the reality that he is no longer with us.

It breaks my heart that he is not here to see the reception and accolades this performance has been given (although it probably would have made him uncomfortable). It hurts me that we will never again see what else this immensely talented man had up his sleeve. Because I feel like he was only beginning to really come into himself as an actor. But what a swan song he gave us...

Rest in Peace, Heath. You are missed already.

Emmy Nominations!

I love the day nominations for awards shows come out. I admit, I am one of those losers who gets up early, turns on E! and watches the live announcement. I just love witnessing the atmosphere of this room in LA packed full with eager publicists and journalists (at 5 AM LA time no less) ready to hear the good or bad news for their clients and favorite shows. And today it was great cause my imaginary BFF Neil Patrick Harris and Broadway vet turned Pushing Daisies star Kristin Chenoweth announced the noms and there was great spontaneous banter between them as they read off the nominees. Good times.

Now, onto the nominees themselves...I will say, that with the announcements of the top ten semifinalists in each category, I was a bit more prepared for the fact that some of my shows (my beloved HIMYM) weren't going to make the cut. While painful, it was a bit easier just knowing I wouldn't hear them called. Sigh. But it doesn't mean that I am still not outraged on some of my shows' behalf. :-)

DRAMA SERIES:
"Boston Legal," ABC
"Damages," FX
"Dexter," Showtime
"House," Fox
"Lost," ABC
"Mad Men," AMC

Well, in my earlier post on the semi-finalists, I correctly guessed 4 out of these 6 (there must have been a tie for the 5th slot, hence the 6 nominees). I should learn after all these years, to never count out Boston Legal. The Emmy voters LOVE this show...or at least nominating it, as it has yet to win. Mad Men got 16 nominations in total. I just started watching this show (a blog on it is to come once I finish Season 1), and let me just say that it is excellent, and may be a favorite in this race.
-Note that Mad Men, Damages, and Dexter made history today in being the first non-HBO cable shows to be nominated in the series category. Also for the first time in a LONG time, HBO is not represented in the drama category.
-Once I found out that Grey's only screened part 1 of their finale, I am not surprised they didn't get in. Way to leave the judges hanging in the middle of a story, Shonda...
-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY Lost!!!! The episode they submitted was the instant classic "The Constant", so it may challenge Mad Men for that Statue.
-I am still bitter that Brothers and Sisters didn't even make the top ten. Clearly Emmy voters don't like Soapy dramas.

COMEDY SERIES:
"Curb Your Enthusiasm," HBO
"Entourage," HBO
"The Office," NBC
"30 Rock," NBC
"Two and a Half Men," CBS

Um, how unoriginal can you get? They must have blown their wads in the Drama category, cause these 5 were the same nominees as last year. YAWN. However, I called it, except I would have put in the wonderful Pushing Daisies over Curb Your Enthusiasm. Sadly, the Emmy Voters find that Two and a Half Men is one of the funniest shows on TV. Again, if anyone can explain this phenomenon to me, I would greatly appreciate it.
-30 Rock scored a record 17 nominations, so it has to be the current favorite. I really need to get into this show.

ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES:
Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie, "House"
James Spader, "Boston Legal"

Once again, we have six nominees. Fricking Hugh Laurie has yet to win the Emmy for his brilliant performance on House. The episode he submitted, called "House's Head" is a tour de force performance, and hopefully he will finally triumph this year. But never count out James Spader, who has won this many times before. The Emmy Voters have quite a hard-on for his performance as Alan Shore, and he always gets to submit big grandstanding courtroom speech episodes.
-However, don't count out Mad Men's Jon Hamm, who won the Golden Globe. He had a speech in an episode I just watched, where he was pitching a campaign for LIPSTICK that almost moved me to tears...it was that good.

ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES:
Glenn Close, "Damages"
Sally Field, "Brothers and Sisters"
Mariska Hargitay, "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit"
Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

YAWN. Same nominees as last year, save for Glenn Close subbing in for Patricia Arquette. Close looks to be the favorite here...although no one saw Sally Field's win coming, so who knows.

ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES:
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Lee Pace, "Pushing Daisies"
Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men"

This is also the list of usual suspects, save for newcomer Lee Pace for his delightful performance on Pushing Daisies. Remind me again HOW this show did not get a series nom? I would say that Alec Baldwin's name was already engraved on this, but they fricking LOVE Tony Shaloub. If Charlie Sheen wins, I may do something drastic...

ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES:
Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?"
America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "New Adventures of Old Christine"
Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds"

It's offical...Emmy voters are over the ladies of Desperate Housewives. I find it a bit surprising, as this season was a true return to first season glory for the show. I knew Christina Applegate would get in. She carries that entire show on her incredibly funny shoulders. She could be a dark horse to win, as Emmy can love a comeback story. Is this really the same girl who was Kelly Bundy on Married With Children? However, last year's winner Tina Fey has to be a favorite.

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES:
Jon Cryer, "Two and a Half Men"
Kevin Dillon, "Entourage"
Neil Patrick Harris, "How I Met Your Mother"
Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"
Rainn Wilson, "The Office"

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY for Neil! The episode he submitted, The Goat, is excellent, and gives him a really good chance at winning...if they don't go for two time champ Piven AGAIN. I was cool with it the first year, but really when someone wins multiple years in a row, I have a hard time believing that they really ARE the best in their field every single year. I more think that voters are just lazy and vote for the most recognizable name. Neil has been on an arudous publicity campaign for HIMYM (and himself), and he is incredibly likable, so hopefully that will pay off for him.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES:
Kristin Chenoweth, "Pushing Daisies"
Amy Poehler, "Saturday Night Live"
Jean Smart, "Samantha Who?
Holland Taylor, "Two and a Half Men"
Vanessa Williams, "Ugly Betty"

It's quite huge that Amy Poehler pulled off this nomination. Rumor is that the spin off to The Office is going to be built around her, so this could be a good send off for her days on SNL. This is a very strong category. I could see any of these ladies taking it.

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES:
Ted Danson, "Damages"
Michael Emerson, "Lost"
Zeljko Ivanek, "Damages"
William Shatner, "Boston Legal"
John Slattery, "Mad Men"

Michael Emerson MUST WIN this. That's all I am going to say about that. It's going to be a toughie though.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES:
Candice Bergen, "Boston Legal"
Rachel Griffiths, "Brothers and Sisters"
Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy"
Dianne Wiest, "In Treatment"
Chandra Wilson, "Grey's Anatomy"

History dictates that when Candice Bergen is nominated, she usually wins. I would love to see Chandra Wilson take this though. Her performance as Miranda Bailey is a consistent high point on Grey's, and she was given great material this year. The episode she submitted this year (the one where her son almost died in a freak accident) was an uber tearjerker, and she was fantastic in it.

REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM:
"The Amazing Race," CBS
"American Idol," FOX
"Dancing With The Stars," ABC
"Project Runway," Bravo
"Top Chef," Bravo

Will one of these shows finally break the stronghold that Amazing Race has in this category? It has never lost in all the years they have given out this award.

REALITY HOST:
Tom Bergeron, 'Dancing With The Stars'
Heidi Klum, 'Project Runway'
Howie Mandel, 'Deal Or No Deal'
Jeff Probst, 'Survivor'
Ryan Seacrest, 'American Idol'

This has to be Ryan Seacrest's award to lose. The man is one of the hardest workers in Hollywood, and it may finally be a way for the Emmys to reward TV's highest rated show.

So, all in all, there were no real OUTRAGES this morning...but that is mainly because I had worked through all of my rage already, and had moved into the phase of acceptance :-)

Sing Us a Song, You're the Piano Man...

I (like many women) have a weakness for men who play the piano. Seriously...it's hot. I also have a weakness for live music. Over the past year or so, I have become a bit of a concert junkie. I mean, really, there is NOTHING like live music, especially because some artists, while good in the studio, are absolutely UNBELIVABLE live. Such was the case with the concert I experienced last night.

But first a bit of preface...

I am a major fan of the iTunes discovery download of the week. While they can often be hit or miss, every once in awhile it can lead you to a true gem of an artist. It's how I found Sara Bareilles. And it's how I found Jon Mclaughlin. His song "Beautiful Disaster" was the single of the week last summer, and it immediately hit a chord in me, and after sampling the rest of his album, I bought it. I then saw him last fall with Sara Bareilles, and was blown away by both of them. Then Jon popped up singing the song "So Close" in Enchanted and got to perform it on the Oscars. I grinned the whole time he sang. I take such ownership in my fledgling artists, and get so proud when they get breaks like that. Yet, while Sara Bareilles has broken out big time, Jon hasn't quite yet broken through, which frustrates me...cause he is mad talented. But he's on the verge. I feel it. His current single, "Beating my Heart", which is being used in commercials promoting ABC's fall season, could be the one for him.

Anyway...I saw him for the second time at Bowery Ballroom last night...and damn, if he hasn't gotten better. He has a new album coming out late August, so we got to hear a good deal of new material. It's interesting, cause it's quite a bit different than the earnestness of his first album, Indiana (which makes me wonder how much influence the label had on his new stuff, becuase it seems they are trying to make him more marketable). Not that the new stuff isn't good, or isn't Jon...cause it is. It's just...slicker somehow, like it's got more money behind it. He's definitely trying new things and growing as an artist. It's very 80's rock tinged, which I LOVE so that is fine by me. And it still showcases his mad piano skills, which just continue to astonish me. I will be very interested to see how the new album sounds, cause Jon is definitely one of those performers you need to see live to appreciate how brilliant he is. Here are reasons you should check him out.

1) Not only can he play the piano, he is practically a savant at it. He plays so fast his hands are blurry, and it seems like he is just slapping the keys, yet somehow he always hits the right notes. I would dare to compare him to a young Billy Joel in that right, because I would imagine the intro to Angry Young Man would be cake for him. He's that good, I kid you not.
2) He plays the guitar too.
3) His voice is gorgeous, and he never hit a bum note last night.
4) He writes all his own songs.
5) In addition to all that, he is also heartbreakingly beautiful.

In other words, he is not quite of this world :-) I would like a clone of him to keep as my very own. It's still a bit early for any videos from last night to pop up on youtube, so I am embedding a performance of the song "Human" from earlier this year. Let it load all the way, so you can enjoy it fully. He REALLY starts jamming on the piano at about the 4 minute mark, so you can see a bit of what I am talking about. Unreal.



Check him out on myspace as well: www.myspace.com/jonmclaughlin
And again, his first album, Indiana, is available on iTunes, and the second album is dropping mid August. I can't wait.

All Style, No Substance

Yesterday, I doubled up on Wanted and Hancock. I found myself underwhelmed by both. Now, I know it's the summer, and the movies TEND to be mindless ventures chock full of explosions and car chases, but I found both of these movies to be so lacking in substance I was hungry afterwards.

Now Wanted at least was pretty to look at. This is what I took away from it: James McAvoy is hot. Angelina Jolie is breathtakingly hot (for real, there was a collective gasp in the theatre the first time she came on screen). And despite the fact that she weighs about 90 pounds soaking wet (seriously, Angie, don't lose all that baby weight, you look better with some meat on you), she can totally kick anyone's ass.

Now, I will admit that the action scenes looked really cool and were shot very well. But anyone who knows me, knows that I have a low tolerance for crazy ass action sequences where said characters fighting should have been dead from the very start (see why I was not a fan of the Pierce Brosnan Bond flicks). Well, that was a good bit of the action scenes in Wanted. While there is a SPECTACULAR sequence with a train crossing a bridge and going off the rails, I found myself going "REALLY?! Come on!!". But maybe that is just me. I also think I was unable to suspend my disbelief because I just didn't care too much about anyone in the movie. If there is substance to the story, then I am willing to go with them where ever the movie takes me (e.g. Iron Man). But with Wanted it was ALL style, and no substance, so I left the movie and forgot all about it 10 minutes later. Except for how hot Angie is. And congratulations to her, as her twins were born yesterday...AND she gave them normal names, Knox and Vivienne. Well done.

I had been hesitant to see Hancock from the beginning. The previews were never really to appealing to me and I was always like "What is this story here?". Well, my instincts turned out to be right on. Sadly, I also knew the major twist going into the movie (thanks alot EW!), so there was alos no "Aha!!" 'moment for me. However, the planting of the twist was so blatantly obvious, I would have guessed ten minutes in.

Let me set this straight. I like Will Smith. I find him very enjoyable as an Actor, and I tend to really enjoy all his films. He is one of the few universal movie stars left in this flash in a pan era of celebrity. And that is why I was disappointed in this movie, cause to me it seemed he was blatantly phoning this performance in, Maybe it was the script (which among other things, gave zero insight into why Hancock was such an "asshole"), maybe it was the direction, but I haven't seen such a one note performance from Smith in a long time. Jason Bateman delivered more of the same for him recently. I think he's great, and I am really glad he's made such a comeback, but I am leering on the side of wanting more from him, cause I know he is capable of it. We all saw it in Juno, so go there, Jason, go there! Again, I really think it was the combination of the script and directing. If it was the directing, I find it odd, cause the director was Peter Berg, creator of the wonderful Friday Night Lights television show...and that show has deeply layered characters. So I am blaming the script for this one. It was really bad. It had little to no driving force or conflict, and it was incredibly heavy handed and lacked subtlety.

I guess movies like Iron Man, and the upcoming Dark Knight (omg can't waaaaaaaait) have raised my expectations for summer popcorn flicks. Yes, they are fun, and don't expect you to put too much into them, but I find I like my blockbusters with a side of substance.