Movie : Miracle at St. Anna

Movie Info :

Title : Miracle at St. Anna
Release Date : September 26th, 2008
MPAA Rating : R for strong war violence, language and some sexual content/nudity.
Starring : Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Matteo Sciabordi, Valentina Cervi, John Leguizamo, Joseph Gordon Levitt, John Turturro, Pierfrancesco Favino
Genres : Drama, Adaptation and War
Running Time : 2 hrs. 40 min.
Distributor : Touchstone Pictures, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Directed by : Spike Lee, Michael Pinckney
Produced by : Spike Lee, Jon Kilik, Marco Valerio Pugini, Roberto Cicutto, Luigi Musini
Written by : James McBride
Visit the movie's Official Site!



Synopsis

Directed by Spike Lee from a seenplay written by James McBride, the author of the acclaimed novel of the same name, the film chronicles the story of four black American soldiers who are members of the US Army as part of the all-black 92nd "Buffalo Soldier" Division stationed in Tuscany, Italy, during World War II. They experience the tragedy and triumph of the war as they find themselves trapped behind enemy lines and separated from their unit after one of them risks his life to save an Italian boy. MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA explores a deeply inspiring story that transcends national boundaries, race and class to touch the goodness within us all.



Movie Review :

by Katey Rich

In the first scene of Miracle at St. Anna, an elderly black man with a Purple Heart on his shelf watches a boilerplate John Wayne war movie, in which Wayne, the noble sergeant, commands his brave all-white troops not to quit until the war is won. The man, stone-faced on his couch, mutters to himself "We fought that war too."



That pretty well sums up Spike Lee's reason for making the movie, which dramatizes the experience of the "Buffalo Soldiers" division of the Army, an all-black regiment essentially used as cannon fodder by white superior officers. Following four soldiers who get separated from the rest of the unit in pastoral, rural Italy, Lee seemingly wants to give black soldiers their own heavy-handed Saving Private Ryan, their own unbendingly patriotic Sands of Iwo Jima, and even their own magical realist Life is Beautiful, all inside one jumbled, inconsistent movie. All at once cynical, hopeful, loving, brutal, truthful and sentimental, Miracle at St. Anna provides so much to be praised that it's possible to overlook the blatant misfires.



For one, there's the electric opening scene, in which our elderly war veteran shoots a man in the face from behind his window at the post office. When a cub reporter (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) discovers a priceless statue head in the man's closet, the story makes international news-- "Marble Head Murderer!" screams the Post headline. Before we find out the identity of the murderer, we head to a flashback, where it is 1944 and the Buffalo Soldiers are trying to push across an Italian river and into German territory.



The following scene, the only full-fledged battle we see, is also the film's most stunning. The German equivalent of Tokyo Rose (Alexandra Maria Lara) broadcasts propaganda to the soldiers, promising soul food and racial equality on the German side. As the Americans push forward the Germans hunker down in wait, while the white American commander abuses the black lieutenants under this command. When the bullets start to fly, the resulting battle sequence is as good as any ever filmed, equal parts harrowing and thrilling, with a peaceful river as its backdrop.



When the dust has settled, we finally meet our four main characters, the only soldiers to make it across the river thanks to a foul-up on the American side. There's Aubrey Stamps (Derek Luke), the ranking officer and the most level-headed of the bunch; Bishop Cummings (Michael Ealy), the sex-crazed hothead; Hector Negron (Laz Alonso), the Puerto Rican radioman without a dog in any fight; and Sam Train (Omar Benson Miller), a slight dunce with a heart that fits his giant stature. Before the four can even fully regroup, Sam finds and befriends an injured eight-year-old Italian boy (Matteo Sciabordi), who in his half-delusions refers to Sam as "The Chocolate Giant."



Trying to make their way back to the American base, the four soldiers find themselves holed up in a small Italian town, where a family led by the beautiful and feisty Renata (Valentina Cervi) takes them in. From there, well, there's a whole lot that happens, from that titular miracle at St. Anna to some adventures with the Partisans, the Italian resistance group. Perspective shifts constantly, from a meeting between two German officers on a nearby hillside to the American command center, from a flashback from the resistance leader The Great Butterfly (Pierfrancesco Favino) to another flashback to basic training in the deep South. Lee is clearly operating with the word "epic" in mind, and makes an effort to extend his revisionist history not only to the forgotten black soldiers, but the much-maligned Italian and German "enemy."



The result is undeniably striking, even when too many of the small pieces don't manage to add up to a whole. The tangle of supporting characters, from the racist Army commander to the Great Butterfly, don't have enough time to take shape, and the central mystery-- who is the old man, and who did he shoot?-- doesn't drive the narrative the way it should. The tone is all over the place, constantly aided by an overbearing score that highlights every moment; sometimes Miracle at St. Anna is a band-of-brothers celebration of war camaraderie, sometimes it's a bitter indictment of the racism that plagued black soldiers, and occasionally it's a light children's fantasy along the lines of Cinema Paradiso.

And yet, the film doesn't drag over its 160 minutes. And everything is lensed so beautifully by Matthew Libatique, from the yellow leaves of the hillside to the blood flowing past a dead soldier's head in a river. Performances down the line are excellent, even with characters that don't fully develop, and many, many individual sequences-- the "miracle" at St. Anna, the final battle scene, even a love scene-- are downright virtuosic. And in the end, war stories are fundamentally gripping, especially when they turn a rarely explored corner and somehow shine new light on a war that's been told over and over so many times in the last 60 years.



Miracle at St. Anna could have been better written and better edited, and someone should have raised a red flag on its weird, supernatural conclusion. But it's fascinating in its messiness, its willingness to follow tangents and rhetoric in order to tell a broader story, about a lot of people trapped in one place at one time near the end of an awful war. St. Anna is probably too strange and unwieldy to become the classic that Lee wants it to be, but it's a worthy stretch for the director, and a noble attempt to revisit forgotten history. It wouldn't be John Wayne's kind of movie, but then again, that's probably the point.

Taken From : http://www.cinemablend.com



Miracle at St. Anna (2008) Official Theatrical Trailer





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Natalie Cole hospitalized in Hepatitis C setback

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Grammy Award-winning singer Natalie Cole has been hospitalized in New York after suffering a setback in her battle against Hepatitis C, her spokeswoman said on Friday.

Cole, the 58-year-old daughter of legendary singer Nat King Cole, has canceled her tour dates for October but is expected to make a full recovery, the spokeswoman told Reuters. Cole's unexpected hospitalization was first reported by Entertainment Tonight.

"She has had a setback and is in the hospital in New York. We expect her to make a full recovery. She will be in the hospital a few more days and then will be sent home for bed rest," the spokeswoman, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

She said Cole had postponed all her concert dates and other appearances scheduled for October.

Cole's manager declined to discuss her condition.

Cole announced in July she had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C and that she probably contracted the liver disease from drug use more than 30 years ago.

Her doctors said at the time she was responding well to treatment, including chemotherapy, but was suffering "significant side effects," including fatigue, muscle aches and dehydration.

The singer, whose father died of lung cancer when she was 15, documented her addiction to cocaine, heroin and alcohol in her 2000 autobiography "Angel On My Shoulder." She overcame her addictions after a lengthy stay in rehab in the early 1980s.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease that is often without symptoms and can cause inflammation of the liver, and in extreme cases, liver cancer. It is usually contracted through transfusions of unscreened blood, or by injecting or inhaling drugs.

Natalie Cole has won eight Grammys in a 30-year career singing jazz, pop and R&B and releasing hit albums such as "Everlasting" and "Unforgettable ... With Love," which featured her singing a duet with her late father via electronic technology.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Dan Whitcomb and Todd Eastham)

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Pussycat Dolls' solo work on hold for "Domination"

By Mariel Concepcion

NEW YORK (Billboard) - With their 2005 debut album, the Pussycat Dolls showed they can deliver a successful album.

"PCD" (Interscope ) has sold 2.9 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and spawned such chart-topping hits as "Don't Cha" and "Buttons" featuring Snoop Dogg.

But when lead singer Nicole Scherzinger tried to go solo last fall, the response couldn't have been more different. Four singles fizzled on the charts and on radio, and her album, "Her Name Is Nicole," was shelved indefinitely.

So for now, the focus is back on the Pussycat Dolls, who return September 23 with "Doll Domination." Lead single "When I Grow Up" reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 just four weeks after entering the chart.

"I think we had an advantage with our first album being so successful. We knew songs like 'Don't Cha,' 'Buttons' and 'Stickwitu' helped to set the bar for us and steered us in the direction, because before that we didn't even know what the sound for the PCD was going to be," Scherzinger says.

In addition to the Missy Elliott-assisted "Whatcha Think About That," tracks include the Snoop-featuring "Bottle Pop," the R. Kelly duet "Out This Club," the Tina Turner-inspired "In Person" and "Happily Never After," on which Scherzinger narrates the story of a woman who walks out on a dead-end relationship.

With "Doll Domination" already off to a strong start, the question remains: Why did Scherzinger's solo bid meet with such resistance, even with contributions from stars like will.i.am and Timbaland?

According to Scherzinger, the problem was the similarities in PCD's sound and the one she was trying to make her own. "I put my solo album on hold because, one, I'm a ridiculous perfectionist; two, the timing wasn't right; and three, we have so much success with the Dolls, I've got to come with something completely different and unique for me as a solo artist," she says.

Geffen chairman and "Doll Domination" executive producer Ron Fair is confident that the right moment for Scherzinger will come soon. "It was an issue of timing, but we're coming back to it when the time is right and it's going to work. In the meantime, we're going to focus on PCD," he says.

To help ease fans into anticipated future solo moves from Dolls members Melody Thornton, Ashley Roberts, Kimberly Wyatt and Jessica Sutta, they all have her own songs on the European version of "Doll Domination." "When we perform live, we each get an opportunity to sing our own songs," Scherzinger says.

Scherzinger is confident that "Her Name Is Nicole" will be out early next year and has already collaborated with artists like Sting and Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody in hopes of authoritatively striking out on her own.

"I realized a lot of the songs sounded like PCD songs and that they shouldn't be on my album," she says. "But all that will come in time, full steam, next year. And when I do, there will be room for both of them to coexist because they'll be two completely separate entities."

Reuters/Billboard


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Recipe : Chicken Noodle Soup with Dill

Recipe Provided By: EatingWell.com

1. Ingredients

1. 10 cups chicken broth, homemade or reduced-sodium canned
2. 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3. 1 large stalk celery, diced
4. 3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
5. 6 cloves garlic, minced
6. 4 ounces dried egg noodles
7. 4 cups shredded cooked skinless chicken
8. 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
9. 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste

Nutrition Info

Per Serving

* Calories: 204 kcal
* Carbohydrates: 12 g
* Dietary Fiber: 1 g
* Fat: 7 g
* Protein: 21 g
* Sugars: 1 g

About: Nutrition Info

Powered by: ESHA Nutrient Database


2. Cooking Directions

1. Bring broth to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add carrots, celery, ginger and garlic; cook, uncovered, over medium heat until vegetables are just tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Add noodles and chicken; continue cooking until the noodles are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in dill and lemon juice.

Yield: 9 servings

Notes:

To Make Ahead

The soup will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Taken From : http://food.yahoo.com



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Recipe : Smothered Chicken

* Prep Time 15 min.
* Serves 4

Recipe Provided By: Martha Stewart

1. Ingredients :

1. 1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2. 2 teaspoons olive oil
3. 1 whole head garlic, unpeeled
4. 1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
5. 1 tablespoon tomato paste
6. 4 (6 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
7. 2 teaspoons paprika
8. Coarse salt and ground pepper
9. 3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
10. 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Nutrition Info

Per Serving

* Calories: 279 kcal
* Carbohydrates: 12 g
* Dietary Fiber: 1 g
* Fat: 10 g
* Protein: 35 g
* Sugars: 3 g

About: Nutrition Info

Powered by: ESHA Nutrient Database

2. Cooking Directions :

1. In a 2-quart microwave-safe dish, toss onion with oil. Place garlic in the center. Cover; microwave on high 5 minutes. Stir bell pepper and tomato paste into onion.
2. Rub chicken with paprika and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper; place on vegetables, with thickest part of breast facing edge of dish. Cover; cook on high until chicken is opaque throughout, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken.
3. Remove garlic; slice off top, and squeeze cloves into a small bowl. Add mayonnaise and lemon juice; mash with a spoon. Stir into vegetables; spoon onto plates, and serve chicken on top.

Yield: 4 servings

3. Still Hungry?

You can microwave everything in the same dish, including a whole head of garlic; once cooked, the cloves are soft enough to mash, and the taste is mild and sweet.

Taken From : http://food.yahoo.com


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Music : New Kids On The Block 'The Block'

Album Info :

Artist : New Kids On The Block
Album : The Block
Release Date: September 2, 2008
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Interscope Records
ASIN: B001D5F3VW
Genre : Dance Pop, Dance & DJ
Official site : http://www.nkotb.com/

Description :

You know 'em, You love 'em, you can't live without them. New Kids on The Block are back with their first new music in 14 years. This is the deluxe version of the Block CD. It comes with 4 extra songs, a fold out poster booklet. Their recent appearance on the Today Show's summer concert series drew one of the biggest crowds the network has seen for such a show.

Album Review :

By SOLVEJ SCHOU

New Kids on the BlockThey're far from new, no longer boys, but New Kids on the Block have definitely been around the block since making tween girls scream with joy in the late '80s and early '90s before breaking up in 1994.

Baby-faced Joey McIntyre gained fans on TV's "Dancing with the Stars" in 2005. Mark Wahlberg's older brother Donnie has sustained a successful acting career. Four out of the five guys, all pushing 40, have kids.

"The Block," the pop-R&B's group's reunion album, comes 20 years after 1988's "Hangin' Tough" went multiplatinum. The guys, including Danny Wood and brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, look handsomely rugged now, a sure draw for old-time female fans, now in their mid 20s to 30s.

Songs such as "2 In the Morning" and "Summertime" have an undeniable retro groove: "I think about you in the summertime, and all the good times we had, baby," the guys reminisce in unison on "Summertime," an upbeat, head-bopping tune. "2 In The Morning" makes a questionably cheesy reference to TV's "Grey's Anatomy," but is the kind of late-night R&B soul made for couples in need of some soothing.

The album's myriad producers and writers, including Bryan-Michael Cox, Emmanuel Kiriakou, RedOne, Fernando and Nazaree, layer on the sleekness. NKOTB are back, boys to men.

"Click Click Click," a breathy slow jam riding on handclaps and vocal trills, takes a page from the Justin Timberlake handbook. Timberlake's former boy band 'N Sync may have climbed the mountain NKOTB built, but the reunited quintet now looks to the anointed Timberlake for guidance.

There are throwaway songs (i.e. the lyrically cliche "Sexify My Love" and "Twisted"), and appearances by Ne-Yo and Akon don't necessarily boost NKOTB's cred. But "Full Service," while run through the synth ringer, effectively features NKOTB forefathers New Edition crooning along to a bouncy rhythm.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: "Grown Man," a melding of old-school and new featuring the Pussycat Dolls and producer/singer Teddy Riley, is a catchy, swaggering number, with the Dolls adding a musical twist on Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools." ''I'm gonna give you some grown man," the guys boast behind loose drum beats.

Taken From : http://www.starpulse.com



Track listing :

1. Click Click Click
2. Single (New Kids on the Block & Ne-Yo)
3. Big Girl Now (featuring Lady Gaga)
4. Summertime
5. 2 In The Morning
6. Grown Man (featuring Pussycat Dolls & Teddy Riley)
7. Dirty Dancing
8. Sexify My Love
9. Twisted
10. Full Service (featuring New Edition)
11. Lights, Camera, Action
12. Put It On My Tab (featuring Akon)
13. Stare At You
14. One Song
15. Don't Cry
16. Officially Over
17. Looking Like Danger

New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) - Big Girl Now (ft. Lady GaGa)



New Kids On The Block - Big Girl Now Lyrics :

I'm a big boy, you're a big girl now, now, ow
I'm a big girl, you're a big boy now, now, ow

Back in the day when you were young (it was fun)
Little girl, didn't think you were the one (Now here i come)
Your sexy walk, your sexy talk (Thats whats up)
Little girl, you're clearly not the same kid form the block

I ain't that little girl no more
Not more more, Thats for sure
Boy get your ass out on the floor
Let's explore, let's explore

You know I like the way you moving (Moving)
Girl you're all grown up and now your ready to let it go
Wanna be a big girl, got to prove it (Prove it)
With a body like that you got a grown man ready to go

I'm a big boy, you're a big girl now, now, ow
I'm a big girl, you're a big boy now, now, ow

Back in the day when i was young (Kinda dumb)
But i always knew i'd be the one (Girl here you come)
Gonna get you wet, gonna make you sweat (Girl i bet)
Gonna give you something you ain't ever gonna forget

You ain't no little girl no more (nope)
That's for sure (Yup), Booty like Oh
Wanna work it like a big girl let's explore
Drop it to the floor, lets get raw

You know I like the way you moving (Moving)
Girl you're all grown up and now your ready to let it go
Wanna be a big girl, got to prove it (Prove it)
With a body like that you got a grown man ready to go
[Big Girl Now lyrics on http://top10mp3download.blogspot.com ]

You know I like the way you moving (Moving)
Girl you're all grown up and now your ready to let it go (Let it go)
Wanna be a big girl, got to prove it (Prove it)
With a body like that you got a grown man ready to go

I'm a big boy, you're a big girl now, now, ow
I'm a big girl, you're a big boy now, now, ow
I'm a big boy, you're a big girl now, now, ow
I'm a big girl, you're a big boy now, now, ow

I've been waiting too long for you to get naughty
Big mistake but daddy come on, touch my body
Say that good things come to those who wait
Come and take it mamma before its too late

Oh, Baby, Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah, You know i like the way

You know I like the way you moving (Moving)
Girl you're all grown up and now your ready to let it go
Wanna be a big girl, got to prove it (Prove it)
With a body like that you got a grown man ready to go

You know I like the way you moving (Moving)
Girl you're all grown up and now your ready to let it go
Wanna be a big girl, got to prove it (Prove it)
With a body like that you got a grown man ready to go

Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey Yeah
Woo, Woo, Woo, Woo, Woo, Grown man ready to go
Woo, Woo, Woo, Woo, Woo




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Music : Chris Tomlin 'Hello Love'

Album Info :

Artist : Chris Tomlin
Album : Hello Love
Release Date: September 2, 2008
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Sixstepsrecords
ASIN: B001BR4Z48
Genre : Christian & Gospel, Pop

Description :

Following his 2006 RIAA Gold-certified record, See the Morning, Chris Tomlin's fifth studio release, Hello Love, communicates what he describes as the "need to introduce ourselves to love again." Produced by Ed Cash (Steven Curtis Chapman, Amy Grant, Bebo Norman), the record endeavors to give voice to the Church to worship their Creator.

Album Review :

By Kim Jones, About.com

Chris Tomlin's - 'Hello Love' - Honest Worship from an Open Heart
Kicking off with the upbeat, get you on your feet "Sing, Sing, Sing," Hello Love builds from there. While some of the tunes are upbeat and fun and others are slower and more worshipful, each one builds on the theme of love -- loving our Lord and Savior and being loved by Him.

Each song, regardless of its tempo, is full of tireless, impassioned and genuine words from a heart that loves the Lord but still sometimes finds itself questioning the whys of life from time to time. Sound familiar? It should because most of us have been there too.

Take "You Lifted Me Out" for example. Chris says that much of this song comes straight from Psalm 40. After hearing Louie Giglio talk about that particular Psalm, Chris really got to thinking about how God doesn't just frown down on us from Heaven when we mess up, He literally gets down in the mud and mire with us to lift us up. Oh yeah ... been there, done that.

God of This City, God of the Entire World
"God of This City" is one of those songs that truly gets down to the nitty-gritty of worshipping our Creator. Chris first heard the song while in Belfast, Ireland doing a concert. The band that wrote the song was performing it and he was immediately struck by how powerful it was. It turns out that the band (Bluetree) was asked to play in a bar/brothel in Padia, Thailand. In the middle of their set, this song came to life. Talk about a God moment!

We all know that Jesus beat death on the cross, but remembering that fact when we've lost a loved one can be difficult. "I Will Rise" is a wonderful, caring ballad that reminds us that the grave is overwhelmed by the love of Christ. Piano and strings give this song an almost haunting feel that helps turn those moments of sorrow into something bearable. Yes, our God, the God who created the entire world, rules over death as well.
"Praise the Father, Praise the Son" is another wonderful modern worship song with a truly catchy chorus that will fit in any modern church service.

My personal favorite song on the album, "My Deliverer," will speak so deeply to your heart that it will make the hairs on your arms stand up and the stirrings of your soul cry out in worship.

I will wait for You to move
For Your mighty hand to save
When the troubled waters rise
You are my hiding place

From Isaiah 60:18, this song is a stirring reminder that God is in control and nothing on earth is so big that His love for us can't overcome it.

Love -- the theme of the album, the root of our Salvation, the story of our lives. Thanks so much to Chris Tomlin for reminding us of that fact in this wonderful album.



Track Listing :

1. Sing, Sing, Sing
2. Jesus Messiah
3. You Lifted Me Out
4. God Of This City
5. I Will Rise
6. Love
7. Praise The Father, Praise The Son
8. God Almighty
9. My Deliverer
10. With Me
11. Exalted (Yahweh)
12. All The Way My Savior Leads Me

Chris Tomlin - God Of This City




Chris Tomlin 'God Of This City' lyrics

You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You Are

Bridge:
For there is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

Chorus 1:
Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here

Verse 2:
You're the Lord of Creation
The Creator of all things
You're the King above all Kings
You Are

You're the strength in our weakness
You're the love to the broken
You're the joy in the sadness
You Are

Chorus 2:
Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for you and love for you
In this city

Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here


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Bad cop vs. Kate Hudson at weekend box office

By Carl DiOrio

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Samuel L. Jackson will likely vie with Dane Cook and Kate Hudson for top honors at the weekend box office in North America, while two other films face a dismal reception.

Jackson plays a crooked cop in the Screen Gems thriller "Lakeview Terrace," while Cook and Hudson star in Lionsgate's romantic comedy "My Best Friend's Girl."

The Friday openers each look likely to gross in the double-digit millions for the weekend, and perhaps stray into the teen millions. Prerelease interest in both films seems to overlap only slightly, with "Girl" skewing significantly younger than "Lakeview." Hudson, with a little help from Matthew McConaughey, topped the charts in February when "Fool's Gold" opened to $21.6 million.

There is an outside chance that reigning champ "Burn After Reading" could repeat at No. 1 if the Coen brothers comedy suffers an unusually modest drop from its $19.1 million opening.

On the other hand, prospects appear decidedly iffy for two other new releases: "Igor," an animated family feature with a voice cast led by John Cusack; and "Ghost Town," a comic fantasy that stars Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear.

"Igor" will hit $10 million only if the recent absence of family-friendly titles causes a last-minute surge of interest in the 2-D animated feature. Perhaps tellingly, the Weinstein Co. initially held domestic rights to "Igor" until bailing on the mission and prompting producer Exodus Films to turn to MGM for distribution.

Meanwhile, "Ghost Town" is tracking so poorly that Paramount recently opted to slash the number of playdates for the DreamWorks production -- seldom a good sign. Whether the product of a tired premise, its well-regarded but less-than-stellar cast or mixed early reviews, it's hard to see how "Ghost Town" fetches more than single-digit millions during its first weekend.

With the prospect of a couple misfires in the batch of market entrants, the weekend will struggle to outperform the comparable frame of a year earlier unless "Lakeview" or "Girl" pops well beyond projections. The third weekend of 2007's fall box office produced $97 million in collective grosses during a frame topped by the $23.7 million bow of "Resident Evil: Extinction."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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Dolly Parton reworks "9 to 5" for first musical

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Almost 30 years after starring in the movie "9 to 5" and writing its hit theme song, country star Dolly Parton's first stage musical gets its world premiere in Los Angeles on Saturday before heading for Broadway.

Parton, 62, wrote 17 new songs for "9 to 5: The Musical" -- a comedy set in 1979 about three female office workers who turn the tables on their sexist, male boss.

Despite having 26 hit singles and writing the classic "I Will Always Love You", "9 to 5: The Musical" is Parton's first stab at writing lyrics and music for a full stage musical.

"I found it more enjoyable than I thought. You have more freedom than when you write a song ... usually it's a couple of verses and chorus and a bridge and you have to keep it down to about three minutes in order to get radio play," Parton told Reuters on Thursday.

"I just wrote until I said what I felt the character should say. I was very pleased it came out as good as it did because I wasn't sure if I could even do it," she said.

The musical is closely based on the hit movie that grossed $103 million at box offices and starred Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as scheming office workers.

The movie was written several years before the phrase "the glass ceiling" became widely used to reference career barriers facing women in the workplace, but Parton said she believed the story of revenge and female friendship remains appealing.

"I think people will always hate their boss and think of ways to get back at them. And still in the workplace, there are people trying to keep you down," she said.

Parton's role as a sexy but harassed secretary is played in the musical by Megan Hilty. Allison Janney, best known for the political TV drama "The West Wing", makes her musical theater debut taking the role played in the movie by Tomlin, and Stephanie J. Block assumes the Fonda role.

The show will head to Broadway in March 2009, which is considered a mark of success for any musical. Still, Parton confessed to a case of nerves before the Los Angeles debut.

"You never know what's going to make it. It's up to your audience. They are the ones who are going to say if they like it or not," she said.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Music : Donnie Klang "Just a Rolling Stone"

Album Info :

Artist : Donnie Klang
Album : Just a Rolling Stone
Release Date: August 26, 2008
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Bad Boy
ASIN: B0018CWWI2
Genre : Pop Rap, Rap & Hip-Hop, Dance & DJ

Description :

The Making the Band franchise rolls on with the introduction of Donnie
Klang. Following the hit-making paths of Danity Kane and Day26, who
enjoyed back-to-back #1 debuts on the Billboard 200, Donnie is poised to
be Making the Band' s next superstar. Donnie s journey began on the first
season of Making the Band 4 where Bad Boy CEO Sean P. Diddy Combs
awarded him a surprise solo contract based on incredible fan support
that named him the viewer favorite. Making the Band 4' s second season
chronicled the making of his debut album and growth as an artist.

Album Review :

Donnie Klang along with Day 26 won the fourth season of MTV's Making The Band. After winning the prize, Donnie was quickly signed a solo deal to Sean "Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy record label. Now Donnie is prepared to show the world his own world on his debut album Just A Rolling Stone. Will Donnie be able to keep up the success from Making The Band artists and label mates Danity Kane and Day 26?

The first single off of Just A Rolling Stone is Take You There featuring Diddy. The track is produced by The Souldiggaz. The song is vintage Diddy with his now notorious ad-libs throughout the track. On the single Donnie channels his inner Prince. The song does not show off Donnie's vocal ability all that well. Diddy adds a traditionally strong cameo appearance to the track.

On the title track Just A Rolling Stone Donnie is teamed with producer Channel 7 formerly known as 7 Aurelius. The song has a different vibe than the other collaborations between Donnie and 7 featured on the album. The track is a mid-tempo track that features a strong melody and is overall very solid.

Dr. Love is another collaboration with Channel 7. The song features a very club friendly beat and solid lyrics. The song definitely has single potential and is one of the strongest tracks on the album.

The-Dream writes Hurt That Body which is one of the more urban tracks on the album. The song is catchy and well produced and written. The song is one of the better tracks on the album.

Pick It Up is Donnie's big Usher-styled ballad on the album. The song sounds like in the same vein as Usher's last album Here I Stand. The song is a very well put together effort.

Not A Love Song is produced by Mario Winans. The song has a distinctively dance and 1980's feel to it. The song is not one of the best tracks on the album but it is fairly solid.

Which One is a very club influenced track. The song will fit in perfectly with the Jersey Shore club scene.

Pretty Girls Cry might be the standout track of the album. The track is another club song. The song uses the instruments from the techno and house genre with R&B melodies. The combination makes for an interesting mix.

Taken From : http://www.associatedcontent.com



Track Listing :

1. Intro 3:09
2. Take You There [featuring P. Diddy] 4:14
3. Dr. Love 3:23
4. Hurt That Body 3:09
5. Hollywood Girl [featuring Iyanna Dean] 4:07
6. Pick It Up 4:32
7. Pretty Girls Cry 4:10
8. Catch My Breath 4:25
9. Bedroom (Interlude) 1:12
10. Not A Love Song 3:54
11. Which One 3:29
12. Love In Stereo 3:14
13. Just A Rolling Stone (Interlude) 1:47
14. You're My Idol 3:44
15. The Pain (Interlude) 1:38
16. The Rain 4:04

P.Diddy & Donnie presents "Take You There" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)



Donnie Klang - Take You There Lyrics

(Diddy)
Close your eyes (echo)
Relax your mind (echo)
Fantasize (echo)
Come with me (echo)

(Donnie)
If you want to go far ..far
Let me take you to the stars....the stars
(I'm goin take you there)
We don't even need a car...a car
If you want to go to Mars...to Mars
(I'm goin take you there)
Have you ever seen the clouds up close?
Take a deep breath, baby lets go
(I'm goin take you there)
What's your desire
I'm your supplier
I'll get you higher
When you're ready to go
(Baby let me know cause girl I promise I can take you there)
(I'll take you there)
When you're ready to go
(Baby let me know cause girl I promise I can take you there)
(I'll take you there)
(I'm goin take you there )

Baby
You can play Lois Lane
When you need me I can be your Superman
(Be your superman)
Lazy lovers love will let you spread your wings
While you're sleepin you'll be calling out my name
(Donnie)

If you want to go far ..far
Let me take you to the stars....the stars
We don't even need a car...a car
If you want to go to Mars...to Mars

When you're ready to go?
(Baby let me know cause girl I promise I can take you there)
(I'll take you there)
When you're ready to go
(Baby let me know cause girl I promise I can take you there)
(I'll take you there)
When you're ready to go

I can picture you and me
Makin love above the breeze
We'll be lying on the clouds
We don't plan on coming down
It's the place where we were low
Even though the stars are gone
Let's go, lets go, lets go

(Diddy)
Excuse me lady, how you doin
How my baby?
I'm just screwin around and crazy
Baby girl I'm night and dayin
Appreciate you girl, don't stop you're lovin
Everytime you stop the frontin
I'll pop your oven
You should in fact stay
Could be that way
Good in that way
Hood in that way
I'll be your lover, your favorite color
We outerspacing, we breathe each other
Your inner tension
I got the answer
I'll push you back up, Its hard to stand up
I'm yours this song, yes baby girl you're f***ing with Sean
Ride wit a dawn, foreign languages, lets play Pong
Take off your outfit and lets be gone

(Donnie)
Girl I got you in the zone, in the zone
So far girl I swear your mind is blown, mind is blown
Did your heart just skip a beat, skip a beat
So high up I know it's hard to breath

When you're ready to go
(Baby let me know cause girl I promise I can take you there)
(I'll take you there)
Now when you're ready to go
(Baby let me know cause girl I promise I can take you there)
(I'll take you there)
When you're ready to go
(I'll take you there, don't you be scared, I'm goin take you there)
When you're ready to go
Just close your eyes, you're in for a ride
(I'm goin take you there, I'm goin take you there, b-a-b-y)



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Kate Hudson has choice words for new movie

By Syantani Chatterjee

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kate Hudson rose to movie stardom playing sweet All-American girls, but in her newest part in "My Best Friend's Girl," she relished doing two things she rarely does on film -- curse a lot and portray a sexually aggressive woman.

Since winning wide acclaim and an Oscar nomination as rock 'n' roll groupie Penny Lane in 2000's "Almost Famous," Hudson has worked in numerous romantic comedies including "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," "You, Me and Dupree" and "Fool's Gold."

But unlike the others that were aimed at audiences of most all ages, "My Best Friend's Girl," which debuts in theaters on Friday, features strong language and sexual content, which restricts the U.S. audience mostly to adults.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.photo.gif
"I finally got to swear and say and do certain things that most people say to each other in normal, everyday life," Hudson said.

"I got a little taste of what those 'Sex and the City' girls were up to for so long, which was fun," she added, noting May's adult-oriented, blockbuster comedy based on the lives and love affairs of four single women living in New York City.

In "Best Friend's Girl," Hudson stars opposite Dane Cook and Jason Biggs, playing a lawyer who is scared away from monogamous affairs by her ex-lover (Biggs), and wants to make the best of being single with perennial bachelor Tank (Cook).

Tank, who has mastered the art of seducing and offending women, meets his equal in Alexis when he is hired by his best friend to steer her back toward him.

Cook, a stand-up comedian, praised Hudson's comic timing, saying she has the ability to work straight from the dialogue in a script or improvise with equal prowess.

"This is one of the funniest people that I've met," Cook told reporters at a recent news conference. "She has the Terminator exoskeleton version of the funny bone - she is so good, tremendously gifted, comedic person.

But Hudson, 29, daughter of actress Goldie Hawn, hasn't always been smiling in recent years as her personal life has seen highs-and-lows stemming from a widely-publicized divorce with from Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson and troubled romance with actor Owen Wilson.

Hudson said she deals with negative news and the crush of media tabloids and paparazzi by retreating from the spotlight.

"I just go back to my life at home, my family, my son and my friends, and my experiences on set that I have with the people that I get to work with," Hudson said. "It makes everything okay and everything feel balanced."

(Reporting by Syantani Chatterjee; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)



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Don't mess with Brad Pitt in cyberspace

Brad Pitt is the most dangerous celebrity to search for on the internet, according to a new survey.[Agencies]

(China Daily) Dabble with Brad Pitt in cyberspace if you dare - the Hollywood hearthrob has overtaken Paris Hilton as the most dangerous celebrity to search for on the internet.

That's according to the second annual study by internet security company McAfee.

The company found web users searching for "Brad Pitt," "Brad Pitt downloads," and Brad Pitt wallpaper, screen savers and pictures had an 18 percent chance of having their computer infected with online threats, such as spyware, spam, phishing, adware, viruses and other malware.

A spokesman for McAfee said in a statement that cybercriminals were using A-list names and images, like Beyonce and Justin Timberlake, to lure people surfing for the latest gossip, screen savers and ringtones to "fake" websites.

Pitt and Justin Timberlake were found to be the most dangerous men to seek on the internet, while Beyonce and Heidi Montag from The Hills topped the list for women.

Paris Hilton, who topped 2007’s list of the most dangerous celebrity searches, was missing from this year’s list as was pop star Britney Spears who came fourth last year.

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Movie : The Lucky Ones

Movie Info :

Title : The Lucky Ones
Release Date: September 26th, 2008
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Pena, Molly Hagan, Mark L. Young, Howard Platt, Arden Myrin, Coburn Goss, Spencer Garrett
Written by Neil Burger, Dirk Whittenborn
Directed by: Neil Burger
Produced by: Bill Block, Paul Hanson, Adam Merims, Neil Burger, Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Rick Schwartz
Genres: Drama, Politics/Religion and War
MPAA Rating: R for language and some sexual content.
Distributors: Lionsgate

Synopsis :

After suffering an injury during a routine patrol, hardened sergeant TK Poole is granted a one-month leave to visit his fiancee. But when an unexpected blackout cancels all flights out of New York, TK agrees to share a ride to Pittsburgh with two similarly stranded servicemen: Cheaver, an older family man who longs to return to his wife in St. Louis, and Colee, a naive private who's pinned her hopes on connecting with a dead fellow soldier's family. What begins as a short trip unexpectedly evolves into a longer journey.

Forced to grapple with old relationships, broken hopes and a country divided over the war, TK, Cheaver and Colee discover that home is not quite what they remembered, and that the unlikely companionship they've found might be what matters the most.



Movie Review :

by Katey Rich

It was a popular meme last fall to talk about how no one wanted to see movies about Iraq, when big Hollywood productions like The Kingdom and Lions for Lambs tanked at the box office. A year later, the quiet indie The Lucky Ones is almost guaranteed to meet the same fate. Tackling similar themes as Kimberly Peirce's Stop Loss without nearly the same insight, The Lucky Ones gets far more mileage from its personable lead actors than its overused road trip premise.

Cheever (Tim Robbins), Colee (Rachel McAdams) and T.K. (Michael Pena) are all Iraq soldiers back home on leave, with Cheever preparing to hang up the uniform for good. Thanks to airport snafus the three end up in a van on their way to St. Louis, where Cheever will reunite with wife and child and Colee and T.K. will carry on to Vegas, where each has slightly secret business of their own.



But Cheever returns home to find that not only does his wife like things better without him, but his son needs tuition to go to Stanford; apparently never having heard of student loans, a near-suicidal Cheever decides to join Colee and T.K. in Vegas to win enough money for his son's tuition. The other two gradually reveal their goals as well. Colee hopes to find the family of a deceased war buddy and have them take her in, and T.K., with a fiancee waiting in Florida, seeks a prostitute to revive a particular organ injured in combat.

From the start the plot is packed with too many contrivances to bear. Why would Cheever's wife tell him she wants a divorce while Colee and T.K. are sitting in the next room? And why on earth would T.K. drive all the way across the country for a prostitute? A drama this simple doesn't need this much plot, and you can feel screenwriter Dirk Wittenborn straining to keep his unlikely trio together. Well-developed characters could have gone a long way toward making the movie feel more natural, but despite the fact that most of the movie consists of the main characters talking to each other, none of them really emerge as more than a series of ideas and quirks.

It's probably mere coincidence that two other recent movies about the homefront, Grace is Gone and Stop Loss, revolved around cross-country road trips. And it doesn't help The Lucky Ones that both of those films were better, despite their flaws. By telling a story about three strangers, Burger and Wittenborn leave little room to explore how these characters have changed in the eyes of the people who knew them before. In fact, aside from a few physical scars and a flashback or two, the characters don't seem all that changed by their service. Robbins, an actor more than capable of burrowing within a disturbed character, never makes Cheever's thoughts of suicide seem real, and McAdams never quite touches on the anger that lurks beneath Colee's bubbly surface. For the most part they could be any three people, set adrift by the circumstances of life.



Not particularly dark and with no political ax to grind-- none of the characters seem to regret having served-- The Lucky Ones wants to be a road movie that happens to be about Iraq veterans. By largely ignoring the central fact of its characters' lives, though, it becomes a road movie with no purpose, and a war drama with no bite. Some lovely moments of insight, like a church service in the vast Midwest and a tentative romance between Colee and T.K., hint at a smarter, simpler movie not burdened by the wartime issues the filmmakers seem unprepared to address.

Taken From : http://www.cinemablend.com



"The Lucky Ones" trailer (2008)




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Movie : Eagle Eye

Movie Info :

Title : Eagle Eye
Release Date : Sep 26, 2008
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Anthony Mackie, Billy Bob Thornton
Director: D.J. Caruso
Screenwriter: Dan McDermott, Travis Wright, John Glenn, Hillary Seitz
Story: Dan McDermott
Producer: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Patrick Crowley
Studio: Dreamworks SKG

Synopsis :



Eagle Eye is a race-against-time thriller starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton. Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) are two strangers thrown together by a mysterious phone call from a woman they have never met.

Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of increasingly dangerous situations – using the technology of everyday life to track and control their every move. As the situation escalates, these two ordinary people become the country's most wanted fugitives, who must work together to discover what is really happening – and more importantly, why.

Movie Review :

by Josh Tyler


Director D.J. Caruso takes the next step forward towards being Hollywood’s newest blockbuster thriller director in Eagle Eye. He re-teams with star Shia LaBeouf, whom he found success with in Disturbia by borrowing generously from Rear Window. But Caruso doesn’t want to be Hitchcock, far from it. With Eagle Eye he’s making his play to become the next Michael Bay.

The movie casts the always engaging Shia LaBeouf as Jerry Shaw, a hapless nobody caught up in the cogs of domestic intrigue. He has just returned home to New York after his brother’s funeral, and stops at an ATM where he discovers his normally empty bank account now contains $750,000. As anyone would, he withdraws as much as he can fit in his pockets and heads home, wondering what the hell is going on. He arrives at his dinky apartment to find it too is no longer empty. It is now full, with all the chemicals and weaponry one might need to commit a major act of terrorism. His phone rings. A mysterious voice on the other end warns him he has only seconds to leave his apartment before the FBI arrives to arrest him. Jerry ignores the warning and in shock, remains rooted to the floor until moments later when the FBI’s foot soldiers come crashing through his window and drag him off to jail.

Jerry doesn’t stay in jail long, and soon the mysterious voice on the phone is directing him on an unknown mission of unknown intent. The caller controls not only his cell connection, but seemingly every other piece of technology on the planet. The voice pairs him up with a mother named Rachel, who is forced to cooperate lest the voice murder her son. That Jerry and Rachel are being used and manipulated is never in question; what is, is whether they’re being used for good or for evil. The movie holds together as long as that question remains hanging heavily in mid-air, even after we find out who it is that’s controlling them, via a potentially ludicrous but surprisingly well handled plot twist. It’s only in the third act that Eagle Eye starts to fall apart, when the battle lines are drawn and we’re told just exactly who we’re supposed to root for. The little anarchist inside me had more fun rooting for the other guy.

Though there is a passing attempt in the movie’s script to pose questions about the state of American politics, Eagle Eye is first and foremost a big, dumb, action thriller. It belongs smack dab in the middle of summer, why they’ve dropped it in September is something of a puzzler. Caruso jam packs his movie with big car crashes and things blowing up. He does a perfect imitation of a Michael Bay action flick, complete with his annoying, usually pointless, shaky cam technique which more often than not, spoils the effect of something really cool blowing up. Better filmmakers like Paul Greengrass know how to use violent camera motion to suck the audience into the action, make them feel as if they’re a part of what’s going on. Caruso lacks either the instincts or the subtlety to pull that off, and simply shakes things around for no other reason than to disorient his audience. It’s a minor annoyance really, most of the movie, what you can see of it, looks fantastic. More importantly, the action is well paced and, especially for the first two-thirds of the movie, thrilling. Cheap thrills is the real reason to be here, and Eagle Eye delivers.

The film’s supporting cast exists primarily to complement charismatic presence of Shia LaBeouf. Billy Bob Thornton is a scene stealer as a no-nonsense FBI agent. Aside from LaBeouf he’s the most interesting thing in the story, and really should have had a bigger role in what’s going on. Rosario Dawson is another government investigator, and this is the movie she turned down Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno to do. Her choice seemed to make sense at the time, after all this is a big-budget, Spielberg produced movie. Getting involved with a Spielberg project is a good thing, isn’t it? Seeing her in the movie now though, you have to wonder what she was thinking. She turned down a starring role in an edgy, heavily buzzed comedy to play what amounts to little more than a throwaway, stiff, empty, government agent part which almost no one will remember. Michelle Monaghan is similarly forgettable in this film. But then she always is. There’s nothing wrong with her, it’s just a blank, standard “girl in Hollywood thriller” character.

I keep coming back to that last third of the movie though, when things turn flat out silly. A lot of reviewers are going to blame the twist, but I think the film survives it’s potentially silly twist admirably. The problem comes as the movie tries to deal with the consequences of that twist, and slowly begins to lose its way. It’s also not helped by the Eagle Eye’s ending, which suffers from a bad case of War of the Worlds syndrome. Maybe it’s because the movie is produced by Steven Spielberg. Those last five minutes definitely have his fingerprints all over them. Spielberg’s an amazing filmmaker, but if you’ve seen his War of the Worlds then you know what happens when he lets his soft and cuddly nature get the best of him.

Eagle Eye has its flaws, but you’re not going to care or notice them. It’s a big, loud, explosive summer thriller which has somehow been stranded in September’s cinematic gutter. It sets out to be fun, empty escapism and succeeds at it.

Taken From : http://www.cinemablend.com



Eagle Eye (2008) Trailer 2 *New HQ Extended Version*






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Hugh Hefner's sexy Scarlett

(China Daily) Hugh Hefner thinks Scarlett Johansson and Angelina Jolie are the sexiest women in the world.

The Playboy founder - who lives in Los Angeles with his three live-in girlfriends - admits he would love to see either of the Hollywood stars in the pages of his adult publication.

He said: "We don't go for glamour - what we are looking for is a very natural girl-next-door look. I think that's what set things at the very beginning - what set the Playmate centrefolds apart."



When Hugh was asked who the sexiest women in the world are, he replied: "Scarlett Johansson and Angelina Jolie." Hugh has previously expressed his desire to convince Angelina to pose in Playboy.

Before the birth of Angelina and Brad's daughter Shiloh in 2006, Hugh said: "I'm hoping to bump into Angelina Jolie to get her to do Playboy after she has had the baby."

Other celebrities to have bared all in the magazine include Pamela Anderson, Marilyn Monroe and Anna Nicole Smith.



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Brangelina donate $2m for kids in Ethiopia

(China Daily) Angelina Jolie and partner Brad Pitt have donated $2 million to create a centre, named after their adopted daughter Zahara, for Ethiopian children affected by Aids and tuberculosis.

The Global Health Committee said the donation from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation would establish a center in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to treat Aids orphans and develop a program to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis.

The Oscar-winning Jolie adopted a baby girl she called Zahara, now three years old, from Ethiopia in July 2005 and the new clinic will be named after her.

"It is our hope that when Zahara is older, she will take responsibility for the clinic and continue its mission," Pitt said in a statement.

Pitt and Jolie now have six children - twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline born in July, Shiloh, two, and adopted children Zahara, Pax from Vietnam and Maddox from Cambodia.

The Jolie-Pitt Foundation helped set up a similar clinic in 2006 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia that is named after Maddox.

"Our goal is to transfer the success we have had in Cambodia to Ethiopia where people are needlessly dying of tuberculosis, a curable disease, and HIV/Aids, a treatable disease," Jolie said.

Ethiopia has the seventh-highest rate of tuberculosis disease in the world and an estimated 1.7 million people in the country are infected with HIV, according to the World Health Organization.

Unicef estimates that more than 900,000 children have been orphaned by Aids in Ethiopia.



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"Kung Fu Panda," sequel hitting DVD together

By Thomas K. Arnold

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - In what is believed to be an industry first, Paramount Pictures is bundling its upcoming home video release of "Kung Fu Panda" with a direct-to-video companion film and will release the package on a Sunday -- November 9 -- instead of the traditional Tuesday.

Most of the major studios are actively producing direct-to-video sequels to major theatrical hits, but never before has one come out on home video the same day as the original. While studios occasionally have released titles on a Friday or Monday, this is the first time a new release will arrive in stores on a Sunday.

"Kung Fu Panda," a DreamWorks Animation hit that grossed $213.8 million North America this summer, is the big kid-vid release of the holiday season. It will be available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

The companion film, "Secrets of the Furious Five," is slugged, "The 'Kung Fu Panda' story continues." The film delves into the backstories of the "Kung Fu Panda" characters, with all-new animation and Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman reprising their respective voice roles as Po and Master Shifu.

What Paramount is calling the "Pandamonium Double Pack" will retail for less than $25. A single disc of "Kung Fu Panda" only also will be made available, priced below $20.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter



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"Star Trek" actor Takei marries boyfriend in L.A.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former "Star Trek" crew member George Takei married his longtime boyfriend on Sunday in a Los Angeles ceremony that paid homage to the actor's Japanese heritage.

Takei, 71, tied the knot with his business manager, Brad Altman, 54, as some of his "Star Trek" castmates looked on, including best man Walter Koenig ("Chekhov") and matron of honor Nichelle Nichols ("Uhura"). Takei played Mr. Sulu in the 1960s sci-fi series and in subsequent movies.

Nearly 200 people attended the Buddhist ceremony at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles. The couple wore matching tuxedos -- white jackets and shirts, with black trousers and bow ties.

The event came three months after California followed Massachusetts' lead and allowed same-sex weddings. Last month, comedian Ellen DeGeneres married Australian actress Portia de Rossi in Beverly Hills.

Takei, who was interned along with his family and 120,000 other Japanese-Americans during World War Two, is a longtime human rights activist. After the California Supreme Court struck down a ban on same-sex marriage in May, Takei and Altman were among the first gay couples to get a marriage license. They have been together more than 21 years.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Peter Cooney)



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Movie : Blindness

Movie Info :

Title : Blindness
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Writers: José Saramago (novel)
Screenwriter: Don McKellar
Release Date: 26 September 2008 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller
Starring: Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcia Bernal, Danny Glover, Alice Braga, Sandra Oh
Studio: Miramax Films
Rating: R (For violence including sexual assaults, language and sexuality/nudity.)
Producer: Andrea Barata Ribeiro, Niv Fichman, Sonoko Sakai
Composer: Marco Antonio Guimaraes, Uakti
Official Site: http://www.blindness-themovie.com

Synopsis:

When a sudden plague of blindness devastates a city, a small group of the afflicted band together to triumphantly overcome the horrific conditions of their imposed quarantine. BLINDNESS, starring Academy Award®-nominee Julianne Moore, Gael García Bernal, Mark Ruffalo, Sandra Oh and... When a sudden plague of blindness devastates a city, a small group of the afflicted band together to triumphantly overcome the horrific conditions of their imposed quarantine. BLINDNESS, starring Academy Award®-nominee Julianne Moore, Gael García Bernal, Mark Ruffalo, Sandra Oh and Danny Glover, is a psychological thriller about the fragility of mankind. Adapted from Nobel Laureate José Saramago’s masterwork, the film is directed by Academy Award®-nominee Fernando Meirelles (“City of God”) from a screenplay by Tony Award-winner Don McKellar (“The Drowsy Chaperone”). --© Miramax Films

Movie review :



by Kurt Halfyard
Regular reader Michael Sloan, known around these parts as simply ‘rot’ chimes in with an excellent take on City of God director Fernando Meirelles‘ latest film, Blindness. Now this screening (which I now strongly regret missing) was a rough cut of the Brazilian/Japanese/Canadian co-production, so things may be tweaked around before the August 2008 release date. Read on for Mike’s thoughts and summary of this fascinating science-fiction drama:

Last night I had the opportunity to catch a first glimpse of Fernando Meirelles‘ rough cut of Blindness, a film adapted from the best-selling novel of Nobel Prize-winning Portuguese author José Saramago, and starring such heavies as Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcia Bernal and Danny Glover. It is a film whose pedigree clearly precedes it, a perfect storm of talent that bodes perilously high expectations. Having not read the book, my interest was quelled by the high-concept premise: imagine a dystopic scenario where all of a sudden and quite inexplicably the people around you start going blind and, like a virus, this blindness spreads in every direction leaving a society crippled and in frantic want of quarantine; yet you keep your vision and bear witness to the theatre of the absurd that occurs in the absence of that so vital sense in others.



The premise is rich in philosophical implications: how much of our identity, moral code, and civil decency is dependent upon the reaffirmed belief that there is a visible world in which we all inhabit? When the familiar fabric of that world is denied the characters which populate Blindness, a reorientation takes place both individually and socially whereby the vestiges of the old world are undone and, as is poignantly noted in voice-over, people assume a kind of invisibility in their blindness, regressing to a supreme egoism and undaunted exhibitionism they would not have participated in otherwise. Julianne Moore plays a doctor’s wife, a stowaway to the quarantine where her husband has been sent, and the only person untouched by the disease. Through her eyes we watch the escalation of violence that manifests as the quarantined victims come to terms with what entirely is lost along with their sight.

Cinema is fond of stories about moral depravity in the face of exceptional situations where the everyday external checks of society no longer apply, from The Invisible Man, Lord of the Flies, to the recent, Das Experiment. A large segment of Blindness operates within this grand tradition as the newly blind come to recognize the absence of a ‘moral gaze’ in the quarantine, and bit by bit relinquish their inhibitions to the whims and fantasies of their minds. Meirelles, to his credit, does not shy away from the depths of human cruelty this story warrants. Prolonged sequences (yes plural) of rape had many women walking out of my theater. I am worried that these harsher aspects of the film will end up on the cutting room floor after the focus groups get their say, and while I felt there were some pacing issues throughout the film, the ugliness that Meirelles lingers on in this cut of the film feels entirely justified and makes the question of the innate worth of ‘dignity’ that much more profound. The moral ambiguity of the film, not merely of character actions, is pivotal for my recommendation of it. There is something sublime in the manner in which the story temporarily veers out of control removing from the equation, at least momentarily, the trite notions of good and evil. I contrast this sort of excess with a film familiar in concept, Das Experiment, where although both films deal with people regressing within confines that film never lets you forget who is the hero, and with Blindness, when it goes dark all bets are off and I applaud it for this lack of restraint.

Just as valuable is the manner in which the story claws back out of the inferno of its Dantesque journey to some beatific end point. The most poignant moments of the film occur in this last wayward struggle for healing among the survivors, and it constantly surprises me how well it achieves this. The subplot of Danny Glover’s character, a character who intermittently provides the voice-over throughout the film, and who has very little to do throughout the bulk of the quarantine scenes, becomes the real saving grace for me, and gets to the very heart of the spiritual aspects of the story that unfortunately are not as well conveyed through Julianne Moore’s story arc. I imagine Danny Glover’s character had a much more prominent role in the novel, and I was left wanting to have so much more time to follow his arc, at the expense of much of the arcs dealing with the child, Don McKellar’s thief, or the Asian couple which fell entirely flat. It is worth noting also that Blindness is a parable, a purpose culminating beautifully in the final minutes of the film (at least that’s my interpretation). As per the novel, the city and the characters remain nameless, and even the quarantine and those imposing it are largely overlooked in the storytelling; the point is always the struggle and what it alludes to.



Now my complaints. It is a film full of moments of greatness, and is a rather subdued effort considering it is from the director of City of God, yet not subdued enough to really soak up the existential subtleties bereft of the subject matter. Meirelles endlessly tries to convey cinematically the experience of blindness and while in several of these instances this pays off there is a tipping point where I felt the director was far too concerned with embodying the sensory experience and far less concerned with studying human frailty. The quarantine scenes were highly reminiscent both in subject matter and in setting of Michael Haneke’s Time of the Wolf, except Haneke’s restraint with the camera and his patient eye for benign-yet-telling observations of human behaviour were noticeably absent. The voice-overs, at times ponderous, at times obtrusive, always felt like the novel wedged inside the film to do the work of the spiritual theme that the story couldn’t be bothered to pursue.



But in the end I just do not care enough about these flaws, and as a subject for review, Blindness is hard to categorize. It is a film I at no one point could concede to genuinely enjoying yet as each moment led to the next and as the revelations of the final minutes seeped into me I came to reinterpret what had come before, discovering a story delightfully cleverer and more nuanced than I had originally given it credit for. It is a bonafide story which unfolds in a way that I had not anticipated and I was won over by the roundabout insight it afforded. The execution is sometimes clumsy and story threads occasionally fumble about but the sheer determination to go further with the premise, pushing beyond the barricades of mediocrity and aspire for at least some of the weightiness of the source material, that kind of relentlessness ultimately made it a success. Certain credit is perhaps owed the screenwriter Don McKellar for not surrendering entirely the heart of the story to the more obvious gimmicky genre tropes that could have been capitalized upon. While still a compromised work, Blindness puts the work in to make you feel. In the current cut it feels like a great film shone through the wrong lens, but until Haneke does a remake, this will suffice.

Taken From : http://www.rowthree.com



Blindness (2008) Trailer






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