'Lost' is finally back

It has been more than six months since we saw the Season 3 finale of 'Lost'. The series is finally back. The 2-hour Season 4 premiere will kick off today in the US at 9pm ET/PT.

For those of you who have forgotten what happened previously, here's a video recap of the previous 3 seasons at YouTube.

For your info, due to the writers' strike, only 8 episodes have been completed so far out of the original 16 episodes planned.

'Forbidden Kingdom' posters

The following posters have just been released for the movie 'Forbidden Kingdom' starring Jet Li and Jackie Chan.






Shot on location in China, 'Forbidden Kingdom' marks the historic first-ever on-screen pairing of martial arts superstars Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and features the awe-inspiring action choreography of Yuen Wo Ping.

The story is about a modern-day American teenager, Jason (Michael Angarano - 'Sky High', 'Black Irish') who gets sent back in time to ancient China. There, Jason is charged with a monumental task: he must free the fabled warrior the Monkey King, who has been imprisoned by the evil Jade Warlord. Jason is joined in his quest by wise kung fu master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) and a band of misfit warriors including Silent Monk (Jet Li).

The movie will be released on April 18th, 2008.

'Hud' on location in Cloverfield

After a show at The Slipper Room in New York City's Lower East Side, comedian/actor TJ Miller (better known to everybody as 'Hud') steps outside and points out locations from the blockbuster monster movie, 'Cloverfield', to his friends.

'Hud' on location in Cloverfield

Will Smith is an alcoholic superhero

This summer, Will Smith is back to form in then new comedy 'Hancock'. In the movie, Smith plays an alcoholic superhero despised by everyone. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock’s well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough - as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve this guy.

One day that he saves the life of PR executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), and the sardonic superhero begins to realize that he may have a vulnerable side after all. Facing that will be Hancock’s greatest challenge yet - and a task that may prove impossible as Ray’s wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), insists that he’s a lost cause. The superhero eventually begins an affair with Mary.

'Hancock' is directed by Peter Berg (The Kingdom, Friday Night Lights). The movie rolls out in theaters on July 2.

You can watch the trailer here:
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/hancock/

Postnote:

For the editors of AMBP, here's the answer to your questions:
i) Will Smith plays the eponymous character in the movie Hancock.
ii) In a bid to save a whale, Hancock heaves it out to sea, only to see it smash a sailboat.

Bond 22

The 22nd installment in the Bond series has finally got a title - 'Quantum of Solace'. The title is based on one of Ian Fleming's short story in the For Your Eyes Only compendium. However, producers and writers have mentioned that the story will be original. Producer Barbara Broccoli says it accurately sums up Bond's inner turmoil with regards to Vesper, who betrayed him in 'Casino Royale'.

The movie picks up minutes after the close of 'Casino Royale' and will be a continuation of the story established in 'Casino Royale'. Here's the full synopsis:

Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, Bond (DANIEL CRAIG) fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (JUDI DENCH) interrogate Mr White (JESPER CHRISTENSEN) who reveals the organisation which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.

Forensic intelligence links an Mi6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille (OLGA KURYLENKO), a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene (MATHIEU AMALRIC), a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organisation.

On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world’s most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano (JOAQUIN COSIO). Using his associates in the organisation, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land.

In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene’s sinister plan and stop his organisation.

The movie will be directed by Marc Foster whose credits include 'Monster's Ball', 'Finding Neverland', 'Stranger Than Fiction' and the critically acclaimed 'The Kite Runner'.

'Quantum of Solace' is currently in production and is tentatively scheduled to be released on 7 November 2008.

Here are some pictures from the recent press conference of 'Quantum of Solace'.

Daniel Craig and the Bond girls - Olga Kurylenko (l) and Gemma Arterton (r)

Mathieu Amalric, Olga Kurylenko, Daniel Craig, Gemma Arterton

Michael G, Gemma Arterton, Mathieu Amalric, Olga Kurylenko, Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Marc Foster, Barbara Broccoli

JJ Abrams' next movie

After the tremendous success of 'Cloverfield', producer JJ Abrams has started working on his next project. The following article comes from MoviesOnline:

JJ Abrams' monster movie Cloverfield destroyed the box office over the weekend and JJ is no fool... he's already begun work on his next as of yet Untitled film. Once again he has tapped a relatively unknown director to helm the project while he sits as Executive Producer. Joshua Marston will direct the project which is being called a Supernatural Thriller.

Just like what happened previously for 'Cloverfield', details of this new movie are being kept under wraps. I hope he comes up with a superb marketing campaign for the movie. As of now, we just have to sit and wait patiently.

The movie is set to be released in 2009.

Secrets of CLOVERFIELD Revealed

I have been putting off writing a review for 'Cloverfield' since I saw the movie last week. I mean what else can I write about the movie that dozens of other reviewers have not written. Some critics have even gone as far as calling JJ Abrams a genius. As for me, I believe this is the most brilliant and imaginative movie I have ever seen in a long time.

The ingenuity of 'Cloverfield' is not only in the movie itself ... it's the whole viral marketing campaign surrounding it. If you go in the theaters expecting to see a Godzilla-like movie, you will be greatly disappointed. There are so many hidden messages and stories outside of the movie which gives a more in-depth explanation of the storyline. The downside is that the campaign gives the internet-savvy fans a much more entertaining experience than those who have not checked out the history or participated in the fun.

Based on research from various other websites, I have come up with a summary which will try to explain the 'Cloverfield' story in more detail.

(*Spoilers alert*)

Slusho is a fictional Japanese soft drink company which makes the Slusho! icee drink. The secret ingredient in Slusho is something called Seabed's Nectar. This ingredient was discovered on the deep ocean floor, under amazing pressure and in the most extreme cold.


Interestingly enough, this is the company that Rob is going to work for as Vice-President when he goes to Japan. You might not have noticed it, but during Rob's farewell party, Jason was actually wearing a Slusho t-shirt. (See picture above.)


Tagruato is a fictional Japanese oil drilling company. It is also the parent company of Slusho. A press release on Tagruato's website mentions that a debris have fallen off of the Japanese Government 'ChimpanzIII' satellite. Tagruato's scientists and engineers are assisting to track and recover the fragment. According to data, the satellite piece disappeared into the Atlantic Ocean.


This ties in to what was shown at the end of the movie. When the film cuts back to the footage of Rob and Beth in Coney Island at the end of the movie, the camera pans over towards the ocean. On the right hand side of the screen, it looks like something fell into the water and made a splash. That was the satellite debris! (See picture above.)

Apparently, the monster was buried in the mid-Atlantic ridge millions of years ago. While searching for the satellite, they woke up the monster.


Now going back to Slusho, the ingredient (ie. the nectar) which makes Slusho has signs of steroid drug-like effects, hence explaining how the monster came to be. And also recall how Marlena was bleeding profusely from the bites and she finally exploded.

T.I.D.O Wave is a environmental activist organization which is fighting against Tagruato because they claim Tagruato’s research and practices are destroying the oceans. One of the comments posted on the website mentions that Tagruato has found something during one of their deep-sea drilling experiments. "Something that nobody wants people to ever know about, and something that if people were to find out about it, they most definitely would NOT be happy."


Chuai station, which lies in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (very near to New York), is believed to 'harbor a dark secret' implying that Tagruato is already aware of the existence of the monster and that the station was built for some purpose related to it. When Chouai station was destroyed and sank, Tagruato suspected that it was sabotaged by Tidowave.

At the end of the credits of the movie, an audio cackles from the videocam which sounded like "Help us". But when played backwards, it says, "It's still alive!".

The following is the link to the MySpace pages of the movie characters. This is part of the marketing campaign and had been created to introduce each character:

Rob Hawkins
Jason Hawkins
Jamie Lascano
Lily Ford
Beth McIntyre
Marlena Diamond
Hudson 'Hud' Platt

I have found a very interesting in-depth look at the marketing of Cloverfield titled The Tale of Two Cloverfield Campaigns.

***UPDATES***
Jamie Lascano, one of Lily's friend, has been posting videos online for her boyfriend, Teddy at her website jamieandteddy.com. The password to the website is jllovesth. If you remember the movie, Jamie was the drunken, passed out girl on the couch at the party.


A few months ago, she fell in love with Teddy and started posting video messages online to him. There are 11 videos posted on the website. After the first few videos, Teddy stopped calling Jamie and hasn’t been answering her messages. We find out that Teddy has been investigating the Tagruato corporation and their drilling operations. In Video #5, we see Jamie opening a gift that Teddy has left her - a Slusho hat and a mysterious substance with the label "Primary Evidence - Jamie, don’t eat this". In a recording, Teddy tells Jamie that if she receives his message, that means that he’s been abducted by Tagruato. Unfortunately, Jamie, thinking it’s Teddy’s way of dumping her. She does not heed the warning and proceeds to eat the substance. The remaining videos show Jamie acting strangely, seemingly affected by what she ate. In the last video, Jamie gets ready to go to "this thing that Lily put together" - referring to Rob's farewell party.

***UPDATES***
Originally, 'Cloverfield' was just a codename for the untitled movie, derived from the name of a street that JJ Abrams has an office near. However the name stuck when everybody on the internet started referring to the movie as 'Cloverfield'.

***UPDATES***
A four-part prequel manga titled Cloverfield: Kishin was released by Japanese publisher Kadokawa Shoten between Jan and May 2008. The story centers around two teenagers, Kishin Aiba and Aiko Sasahara, trying to find out more about an incident in what may seem to be the events before the Chuai incident and the New York City attack.

More recently, director Matt Reeves explained in a USA Today article that - within the context of the story itself - 'Cloverfield' is the codename of the military operation dispatched to battle the monster.

Nominations for the 80th Annual Academy Awards

Here are some of the nominations for the 2008 Academy Awards. Winners to be announced on Sunday, February 24th.

BEST PICTURE
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Viggo Mortenson, Eastern Promises
Tommy Lee Jones, In The Valley of Elah

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone

BEST DIRECTOR
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, Juno
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Ratatouille (written by Brad Bird; story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird)
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Polley, Away from Her
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

BEST FOREIGN MOVIE
Fälscher, Die (Austria)
Beaufort (Israel)
Mongol (Kazakhstan)
Katyn (Poland)
12 (Russia)

BEST ANIMATED MOVIE
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Atonement, Dario Marianelli
The Kite Runner, Alberto Iglesias
Michael Clayton, James Newton Howard
Ratatouille, Michael Giacchino
3:10 to Yuma, Marco Beltrami

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
August Rush ("Raise It Up")
Enchanted ("Happy Working Song")
Enchanted ("So Close")
Enchanted ("That's How You Know")
Once ("Falling Slowly")

Heroes 3 spoilers

We all can't wait for the writers strike to be over and we can get our lives back to normal again...meaning watching (or downloading) our favourite series, Heroes every week.

For those of you who have been wondering what's in store for Season 3, here's a sneak peek (spoilers ahead):

• It has been reported that Niki will not be coming back. But that doesn't mean we've seen the last of Ali Larter. The plan was for Niki to be dead and an alter ego to take over. Not Jessica, not the whipped-cream chick from Varsity Blues, and that leaves... someone we've seen before.
• Adam, Hiro’s sworn nemesis will return.
• Jamie Hector (best known for his role in HBO's The Wire) will play Benjamin "Knox" Washington, one of the new villains for Season 3. Nothing has been confirmed on what his powers will be.

That's all for now.....

Cloverfield sequel?

SpookyDan from Bloody Disgusting was on the 'Cloverfield' red carpet for the premier of the film. While chatting with director Matt Reeves, the subject of a sequel came up. This is what he had to say:

"Only time will tell. While we were on set making the film we talked about the possibilities and directions of how a sequel can go. The fun of this movie was that it might not have been the only movie being made that night, there might be another movie! In today's day and age of people filming their lives on their iphones and handy cams, uploading it to youtube...That was kind of exciting thinking about that."

Cloverfield has raked in with $41 million on its opening weekend.

Headless Statue of Liberty

In conjunction with the release of 'Cloverfield', Paramount has gone all out to promote the movie. Below are some pictures of a decapitated Statue of Liberty in front of Paramount Studios where the premiere will be held. So far, critics who have watched early screenings of the movie has been raving madly about how good it is.

Social networking for movie buffs

Forget MySpace. Forget Facebook. Filmcrave is the new social networking website for all you movie buffs out there.

If you hate the movie reviews written by professional critics, then you can view the 'Quick Movie reviews' section written by the other members. You can even rate and share your thoughts with the other members. One interesting feature is creating 'Movie Lists' which lets you rate your top 10 favourite movies in different genres.

Like IMDB, the site also provides details of the movies like director, cast and synopsis.

Recently, FilmCrave has added movie trailers, so you can check out the promo for a film that is of interest to you.

First Look at Disney's The Princess and the Frog

Walt Disney Pictures has just revealed the first official image from the upcoming animated movie 'The Princess and the Frog'.

This will be the return of Disney's traditional 2D animated movie since their purchase of Pixar. This will also be the first time that Disney is featuring an African-American princess. The fairy tale will center on a young girl named Princess Tiana who lives in New Orleans' French Quarter during the Jazz Age.

The movie will be directed by Ron Clements and John Musker (the duo who brought us 'The Little Mermaid'), with music composed by Randy Newman. Anika Noni Rose ('Dreamgirls') will voice the lead character, Tiana. It is currently scheduled for release in 2009.

High School Musical 3 is coming

According to TV Guide, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman are all now officially confirmed to reprise their roles in High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

The script was originally slated to have a Haunted/Halloween plot. However according to the latest press release from Walt Disney Pictures, the script has been changed to a more serious theme. The story finds seniors Troy and Gabriella facing the prospect of being separated from one another as they head off in different directions to college. Joined by the rest of the Wildcats, they stage an elaborate spring musical reflecting their experiences, hopes and fears about their future.

Production begins spring 2008 and tentatively will be released on October 24, 2008.

And guess what? This time round, the movie will be shown on the big screen instead of TV.

For your info, the premiere of High School Musical 2 last year brought in a total of 17.2 million viewers in the United States alone - almost 10 million more than its predecessor - making it the highest rated basic cable broadcast in U.S. history. In Asia, the premiere brought in a total of 17.5 million viewers, making it the highest rated international cable broadcast in Asia.

What is Cloverfield?

What is Cloverfield?

This is the question on everyone's lips since the teaser of the movie debuted last year. The plot of the movie has been shrouded in mystery since its inception and is one of the most carefully guarded secrets in Hollywood right now.

Directed by J. J. Abrams of 'Lost' fame, 'Cloverfield' is one of the most anticipated movie right now. If you have seen the trailer, you would know that the movie is about a big monster on a rampage in Manhattan, shot with a hand-held videocam (similar to 'Blair Witch Project').

The movie opens this weekend.

Getting subtitles for your torrent movies

If you are like me and does not have a good sound system connected to your PC or TV, you are likely to turn on the English subtitles when watching a movie.

If you download your movies or TV series via bittorrent, you might want to get the subtitles to go with them. I have discovered this website called Opensubtitles.org, which claims to have the largest database of subtitles around. The website is only a couple of months old, but already one of the most popular subtitle resources. It also has subtitles for different languages.

To view the subtitles, first of all make sure that you have DirectVobSub installed in your PC. Then, all you have to do is to download the subtitle file (which normally has a SRT file extension) and put it in the same folder as the AVI movie file. Note that both the SRT and AVI file must have the same name (eg. movie.srt and movie.avi). When you play the AVI file through Windows Media Player or Media Player Classic, the subtitles will be displayed automatically.

The following are a couple of other sites which you can get your subtitles:
http://www.divxsubtitles.net/
http://www.mysubtitles.com/
http://www.kloofy.net/ (asian movies)

Hope this tip is useful. Enjoy.

Hidden Disney in 'Enchanted'

Disney's 'Enchanted' swept the box-office over last Thanksgiving weekend making it one of top earners for a Disney live action movie. As of January 2008, the movie has earned a domestic gross of over $121mil and over $258mil worldwide.

Did you know that numerous references to Disney's past and future works are included in the film? A lot of scenes, actions and dialogue were purposely included by the filmmakers to be specific references/tributes to classic Disney films.

Here's the list that I picked up from Empire Magazine Online:


Cartoon intro

* Like most Disney animations of yore (anything before about 1960), Enchanted starts with the opening of a storybook. The hall the book is in is inspired by Evind Eryle's artwork for Sleeping Beauty.

* The ogre captured by Prince Edward wears a loincloth made from scraps of the dresses of Disney princesses. It's made of the costumes of Snow White, Belle (Beauty And The Beast), Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. He also wears Ariel's (The Little Mermaid) shell bra as earrings.

* Edward dances with his sidekick Nathaniel in the same way that Prince Philip danced with his father in Sleeping Beauty.

* When the troll is catapulted into the next kingdom, his scream is Goofy's.

* The rose in a bell jar from Beauty and the Beast can be seen in Giselle's tree house.

* Giselle and Edward ride into the sunset in the same way as Snow White and Prince Charming at the end of Snow White And The Seven Dwarves.


The Queen

* The Queen disguises herself as an old hag to trick Giselle, just as the wicked Queen did in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

* The Queen attempts to kill Giselle with a poisoned apple, just as the Queen does in Snow White And The Seven Dwarves.

* During the film's climax The Queen turns into a purple dragon, just as Maleficent did in Sleeping Beauty.


The Lawyer

* The last name of the divorcing couple that Robert (Patrick Dempsey) is working for is Banks, in reference to the bickering husband and wife from Mary Poppins.

* Sam, Robert Philip's assistant, is played by Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in The Little Mermaid. She is also named Sam, after Prince Philip's trusty steed in Sleeping Beauty.

* A muzak version of the The Little Mermaid song 'Part of Your World' plays in the office while Giselle looks at the fish tank.

* Robert works for the law firm Churchill, Harline and Smith. These are the surnames of the songwriters of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline and Paul J. Smith.

* A pregnant mum in Robert's apartment building is played by Judy Kuhn, the voice of Pocahontas.


Giselle

* Giselle arrives for her wedding in a carriage reminiscent of the pumpkin carriage used by Cinderella.

* During Giselle's performance of Happy Working Song, which is written to directly mimic 'Whistle While You Work' from Snow White, the following references occur:

* Birds make Giselle's dress into an apron, as birds put on Cinderella's apron in Cinderella.

* Giselle's reflection appears in bubbles as Cinderella's do in Cinderella.

* Animals wash the dishes as they do in Snow White.

* The ending mimics the endings of 'Under The Sea' from The Little Mermaid and 'Be Our Guest' from Beauty and the Beast.

* Giselle makes a dress out of curtains, just as the mice help Cinderella make a dress out of household items in Cinderella.

New York

* In Times Square, a woman with a bag of seed can be seen in homage to the bird woman in Mary Poppins. She also appears later in the movie feeding birds in Central Park.

* The bus driver who confronts Edward has hair styled like Mickey Mouse ears.

* Billboards can be seen for the Broadway versions of Tarzan and Beauty and the Beast.

* The restaurant, The Bella Notte, is named after the song in Lady and the Tramp that is sung while the dogs eat at an Italian restaurant.


Central Park

* Rapunzel is being performed in the park when Giselle dances past. Rapunzel is an upcoming Disney animation. The square trees in the production are reminiscent of Eyvind Earle's designs for Beauty and the Beast.

* Giselle and Robert take a boat ride in a scene framed in a way reminiscent of Kiss The Girl from The Little Mermaid.

* A group of old men dance in the same kicky way as the chimney sweeps in Mary Poppins.

* Giselle runs up the hill in a shot that is almost identical to a shot of Belle running up a hill in Beauty and the Beast, which is itself a reference to The Sound of Music.

The TV

* Prince Nathaniel (James Marsden) refers to the TV as 'Magic Mirror' in direct reference to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

* The soap opera shown on the TV stars Paige O'Hara who voiced Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Her character is called Angela after Angela Lansbury who voiced Mrs Potts in the same movie. She's having an affair with Ogden, named for David Ogden Stiers who voiced Cogsworth. The male soap star is named Jerry after Jerry Orbach who voiced Lumiere. The soap is scored with music from Beauty and the Beast and is set up to look like the bandaging scene from the movie.

* The TV newswoman is called Mary Ilene Caselotti. This is a combination of Mary Costa, Ilene Woods and Adriana Caselotti, who voiced Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White respectively.


The Ball

* The song 'So Close' is based on the title song from Beauty and the Beast.

* Giselle and Robert's eyes lock in the same way as Cinderella and Charming's in Cinderella.

* During the dance sequence there is a sweeping overhead shot that directly copies one from the ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast.

* Robert and Giselle dance in the stars, which is a tribute to Snow White and Cinderella.

* The sequence where Giselle eats the poisoned apple directly mimics the editing of the same sequence in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

* Giselle can only be woken by true love's kiss, as in Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, and must happen before midnight, as in Cinderella.

The Climax

* Giselle pulls a sword from the floor, as in The Sword in the Stone.

* Giselle loses her glass slipper, as in Cinderella.

* The glass slipper fits Nancy (Idina Menzel) perfectly, just as it did Cinderella.

* The battle on the tower that takes place in a thunderstorm takes inspiration from Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.

* Giselle and Robert enjoy true love's kiss, as in every Disney animation ever.

2008 Golden Globe Award winners

The winners of the 2008 Golden Globe was announced this morning (6pm Sunday January 13 in Los Angeles) via a press conference. Here's the winners:

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Atonement

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Julie Christie for Away from Her

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There

Best Director - Motion Picture
Julian Schnabel for Scaphandre et le papillon, Le (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Into the Wild ("Guaranteed")

Best Animated Film
Ratatouille

Best Foreign Language Film
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Television Series - Drama
Mad Men

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Extras

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Longford

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Jim Broadbent for Longford

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Queen Latifah for Life Support

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
David Duchovny for Californication

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Jon Hamm for Mad Men

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Tina Fey for 30 Rock

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Glenn Close for Damages

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jeremy Piven for Entourage

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Samantha Morton for Longford

In search of sex offenders

I'm sad to see Richard Gere's career going down the drain. His last four movies ('Bee Season', 'The Hoax', 'The Hunting Party' and 'The Flock') have all bombed commercially at the box-office.

Gere's latest movie, 'The Flock' will not even be shown in the US theaters and will be going straight to DVD release. Directed by Hong Kong's Andrew Lau ('Infernal Affairs'), the movie is a psychological thriller that delves into the dark and shady world of sexual sadism. Gere plays a case worker assigned to keep an eye on 'registered' sex offenders. Clair Danes co-stars as his assistant. When a 17-year old girl gets abducted, Gere is convinced that one of his charges is responsible and goes looking for the sex offender responsible.

Although both Gere and Danes turn in great performances, the pace is pretty slow and takes a while before the suspense is built up. The 'fuzzy' editing, full of flashes and freeze-frames makes it all the more distracting to enjoy the movie. Overall, the film is just a run-of-the-mill thriller and lacks any indication that it’s been directed by a man as talented as Andrew Lau.

Golden Globe Awards cancelled

This year's much anticipated Golden Globes ceremony has been cancelled after actors vowed to boycott the event in support of striking Hollywood writers, the Los Angeles Times reported on its website today.

The Times, citing an email sent by broadcasters to studios today, reported that the traditional televised dinner and prize-giving had been scrapped in favour of a press conference and scaled back red carpet event.

Season's Greeting and Happy Holidays to everybody !!!

The Golden Compass vs The Holy Bible

Some food for thought.....

http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news1207/goldencompass.html?

Nominations for the 65th Golden Globe Awards

The following nominees for the 65th Golden Globe Awards was announced last night in US. The winners will be announced on 13 January 2008.

Best Motion Picture - Drama
American Gangster
Atonement
Eastern Promises
The Great Debaters
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Across the Universe
Charlie Wilson's War
Hairspray
Juno
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
George Clooney for Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood
James McAvoy for Atonement
Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises
Denzel Washington for American Gangster

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Ryan Gosling for Lars and the Real Girl
Tom Hanks for Charlie Wilson's War
Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Savages
John C. Reilly for Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie for Away from Her
Jodie Foster for The Brave One
Angelina Jolie for A Mighty Heart
Keira Knightley for Atonement

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams for Enchanted
Nikki Blonsky for Hairspray
Helena Bonham Carter for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Marion Cotillard for Môme, La
Ellen Page for Juno

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson's War
John Travolta for Hairspray
Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There
Julia Roberts for Charlie Wilson's War
Saoirse Ronan for Atonement
Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton

Best Director - Motion Picture
Tim Burton for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men
Julian Schnabel for Scaphandre et le papillon, Le
Ridley Scott for American Gangster
Joe Wright for Atonement

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Enchanted ("That's How You Know")
Grace Is Gone ("Grace Is Gone")
Into the Wild ("Guaranteed")
Love in the Time of Cholera ("Despedida" )
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story ("Walk Hard")

Best Animated Film
Bee Movie
Ratatouille
The Simpsons Movie

Best Television Series - Drama
Big Love
Damages
Grey's Anatomy
House M.D.
Mad Men
The Tudors

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Californication
Entourage
Extras
Pushing Daisies
30 Rock

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
The Company
Longford
The State Within
Five Days

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Adam Beach for Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Jim Broadbent for Longford
Ernest Borgnine for A Grandpa for Christmas
Jason Isaacs for The State Within
James Nesbitt for Jekyll

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Bryce Dallas Howard for As You Like It
Queen Latifah for Life Support
Debra Messing for The Starter Wife
Sissy Spacek for Pictures of Hollis Woods
Ruth Wilson for Jane Eyre

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock
Steve Carell for The Office
David Duchovny for Californication
Ricky Gervais for Extras
Lee Pace for Pushing Daisies

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Michael C. Hall for Dexter
Hugh Laurie for House M.D.
Bill Paxton for Big Love
Jon Hamm for Mad Men
Jonathan Rhys Meyers for The Tudors

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Christina Applegate for Samantha Who?
America Ferrera for Ugly Betty
Tina Fey for 30 Rock
Anna Friel for Pushing Daisies
Mary-Louise Parker for Weeds

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Patricia Arquette for Medium
Glenn Close for Damages
Minnie Driver for The Riches
Edie Falco for The Sopranos
Sally Field for Brothers & Sisters
Holly Hunter for Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick for The Closer

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Ted Danson for Damages
Kevin Dillon for Entourage
Jeremy Piven for Entourage
Andy Serkis for Longford
William Shatner for Boston Legal
Donald Sutherland for Dirty Sexy Money

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Rose Byrne for Damages
Katherine Heigl for Grey's Anatomy
Rachel Griffiths for Brothers & Sisters
Samantha Morton for Longford
Anna Paquin for Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Jaime Pressly for My Name Is Earl

The Origins of Alvin And The Chipmunks

The big screen live-action version of 'Alvin And The Chipmunks' is currently playing in theaters worldwide. Alvin, Theodore and Simon has been our favourite chipmunks for the last 50 years, but do you know how they came about?

In 1958, Ross Bagdasarian Sr. was down to his last $200. So he spent $190 to buy a tape recorder and experimented with children's songs and piano tracks slowed to half speed. He wrote and performed his first song 'The Witch Doctor' which he convinced his record company, Liberty Records, to release. The song quickly went to Number One, selling more than a million records.

A few months later, Ross wrote a Christmas song. He loved the voice of the Witch Doctor, but wanted to marry that voice with personalities. One day while he was driving, a tiny chipmunk dashed in front of his car, and Ross knew he had found his star.

His Christmas song became 'The Chipmunk Song'. He named the three chipmunks after the executives at Liberty - Al Bennet (Alvin), Si Waronker (Simon) and Ted Keep (Theodore). The trio is 'managed' by their human 'father' and confidant, David Seville, a stage name created by Ross.

The record was sold more than 4 million copies in seven weeks, and it launched the careers of the chipmunks. It spent four weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from December 27, 1958 to January 19, 1959. It also earned three Grammy Awards and a nomination for Record of the Year.

The rest, like they say, is history.

Matthew Gray Gubler as the voice of Simon

Justin Long as the voice of Alvin

Jesse McCartney as the voice of Theodore

Today, Ross' son, Ross Junior continues to run the Chipmunk empire with his wife.

In the new movie, Jason Lee ('My Name Is Earl') stars as David Seville, a struggling Los Angeles songwriter who discovers the singing chipmunks in his apartment. David adopts the chipmunks, taking care of them as father and manager of their famous rock band.

Angelina Jolie - Sexiest Movie Star

Empire Magazine recently released their list of 'Top 100 Sexiest Movie Stars'. Guess who tops the list? Angelina Jolie! They say her sexiest moment was 'beating the hell out of Brad Pitt in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and then banging the hell out of him by way of apology'.

Here's the Top 10 from the list:

1. Angelina Jolie
2. Natalie Portman
3. Daniel Craig
4. Jessica Alba
5. Johnny Depp
6. Eva Green
7. Brad Pitt
8. Scarlett Johansson
9. Keira Knightley
10. Gerard Butler

You can get the complete list here.

Movie Spoilers

What is a spoiler? It's when somebody reveals an important plot twist or ending of a movie which will ultimately spoil your enjoyment of the movie. Everybody hates it when some big-mouth tells you the ending of a movie before you watched it! For example, if someone had told me that Bruce Willis is a ghost in Sixth Sense before I saw the movie, I would have punched him in the face.

Anyway, I came across a company called Threadless which designed this interesting T-shirt which they called 'The Spoiler Shirt'. Check this out.....


Can you guess all the titles of the movies in the design above? Click here for the answers.

Looking for Osama Bin Laden

You might all remember Morgan Spurlock's last documentary 'Super Size Me' where he set out to prove the negative effects of fast food by subjecting himself to a diet of McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days!

Spurlock's latest project is by far, his riskiest yet. Spurlock has just finished his new movie 'Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?' in which he sets out to search for the most wanted man on the planet.

The following is an article from MSNBC News:

Rumors are flying that filmmaker Morgan Spurlock of "Super Size Me" fame may have done what the United States government has failed to do for the last six years — find Osama bin Laden.

The speculation first began at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, where Spurlock showed a select group of potential buyers 15 minutes of footage from his new documentary, "Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?" The film follows Spurlock through the Middle East in his search for the elusive leader of al-Qaida. According to Slashfilm.com, The Weinstein Co. quickly snapped up the picture after seeing the clips.

Adding to the belief, Daniel Marracino, the film's director of photography, is quoted in Variety, saying of the movie, "We've definitely got the Holy Grail."

The question on everybody's lips now is whether Spurlock has actually found Osama or this is just a clever publicity ploy. We'll just have to wait until next year when the movie comes out.

'The Dark Knight' teaser poster

Here's the new teaser poster for for next summer's highly-anticipated Batman sequel 'The Dark Knight'. Christian Bale will reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne.


The film will detail Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon, and District Attorney Harvey Dent rounding up the criminals that plague Gotham City. In particular, they will battle a mysterious criminal mastermind we all know as The Joker.

The movie will open in July 2008.

'One Missed Call' offical website

Warner Bros. Pictures have just launched the official website of the new horror movie 'One Missed Call', where you can navigate through the various room and see clips from the movie.

Click here to enter the site.


'One Missed Call' is a remake of the 2003 Japanese horror about several people who start receiving messages of themselves getting murdered in the near future. The remake stars Edward Burns and Shannyn Sossamon. The movie will hits theaters on January 4th, 2008.