The CBS series Supergirl has added another name to its cast. Deadline reports that actress Laura Benanti (Nashville, Take the Lead, Law & Order: SVU) will play Alura Zor-El, the Kryptonian Mother of Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist).

A strong noblewoman, Alura sends Kara to Earth to escape Krypton’s destruction. Her wisdom and guidance echoes across space and time, proving invaluable on Kara’s journey toward becoming Supergirl.

Sounds like a traditional Kryptonian parent-child relationship from what we've seen in the Superman universe so far. I don't know anything about Benanti because I haven't seen any of the shows or films she's been a part of, but she seems to come with some prestige because she's the winner of a Tony Award. I'm sure she'll bring the necessary gravitas that comes along with dressing in a funny costume and offering sage advice from beyond the grave, as Kryptonian parents often do.

Director Brad Bird's The Iron Giant is my favorite animated movie of all time. It's a shame that it didn't do well at the box office. That's Warner Bros.' fault though, because they didn't market the damn thing. Oh well, it didn't stop it from being a classic and gaining a large loyal audience over the years. 

I decided to dig into it for my next Fun Facts list and see if there was anything I didn't know about the movie. Turns out there was a lot! So here are 15 Fun Facts for The Iron Giant, that you may or may not already know about. 

• The Iron Giant only said a total of 53 words. That does not include the yelling and groans.
• There is a moving star in the scene where the Iron Giant looks over the hill at Rockwell on the right hand side. That is meant to be Sputnik.
• The two trainmen that Kent interviews after the train derail, "Frank" and "Ollie", are actually caricatures of Disney classic animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. They also lend their voices to these characters. According to Animation writer Earl Kress, “Frank and Ollie are also life-long train enthusiasts and have extensive scale model railroads in their backyards like Walt Disney used to have." They also appeared in The Incredibles.

• Peter Cullen, Sean Connery, Frank Welker, and James Earl Jones were considered for the voice of The Iron Giant, but it ultimately went to Vin Diesel.
• This was the first traditionally-animated feature film to have a major character that was fully computer-generated: the Giant. In order to better blend the computer-generated Giant into the traditionally-animated film, animation technicians developed a program that gave the Giant's lines a slight "wobble", so that it would match the natural line imperfections found in hand-drawn animation.
• When Hogarth first shows the Giant his Superman comics, the theme music from the 1941 Max Fleischer Superman cartoons is heard in the background.
• The movie was originally supposed to be a musical, and it was developed as a stage musical by Pete Townshend (The Who) and Des McAnuff. They used songs from Townshend's concept album "The Iron Man”. Thankfully they didn’t turn this into a musical; the movie is perfect the way it is and I can’t imagine it being a musical. Townshend was a producer on the film.
• When the Iron Giant's hand is standing in front of the TV seemingly watching it, there was a Maypo commercial. It was originally supposed to be the opening to Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, but the filmmakers couldn't secure the rights.

• The newspaper headline that Dean McCoppin is reading, "Disaster Seen as Catastrophe Looms" is similar to the headline that Jim Dear is reading in Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955) and also that Jiminy Cricket is reading in Fun & Fancy Free.
• As Hogarth arms himself to hunt down the "invaders from Mars," a Bugs Bunny figure can be seen inside his toy chest.
• In the scene where Kent is using the Hughes' phone, there is a funny-looking oven mitt hanging on the wall. That is said to be a stylized version of the "family dog" which was a animated short that Bird directed for Steven Spielberg's TV series Amazing Stories. Looks like a cow to me, but I’ll let you decide. 

• There's a dartboard in Dean's home that has the same colors and pattern as The Who's mod 'target' logo, a tribute to the band even though they didn't come together until seven years after the movie is set. 
• There’s a point in the movie when Hogarth goes to check the antenna on the roof of his house after the TV starts to have fuzzy issues. He finds that the antenna has been bitten off. This is apparently a deliberate reference to the "Metal-Munching Mice" in a Rocky and Bullwinkle story.
• Dean's newspaper in the diner scene had an ad for a "Battery Operated Moon Explorer," which was a replica of the tin toy robots box front of the era. There's a point where the film cuts away from that image, and when we come back to it the ad is mysteriously replaced by another ad for a lounge chair .
• Brad Bird personally animated the scene that featured Hogarth ranting to Dean about his problems in a super fast-paced manner after he drinks an espresso.

Here's the original trailer:

Thanks to IMDB for the info!

I'm very spoiler-averse by nature, so I struggled with putting this information in a headline, but ultimately I think it's a small enough element that it won't ruin too much for anyone who hasn't fully caught up with the series yet. After the late-season developments of the second season of Orange is the New Black involving the romance of Jason Biggs' Larry and a certain other character that will remain nameless, it seemed pretty obvious that the show wouldn't be checking back in with him for a while. That storyline seems to have run its course, and Biggs himself told The New York Daily News that he won't be coming back for the third season.

“They’re not focusing on Larry at the moment. Larry will not be in season three. But there’s always a possibility he can come back.”

I think this is a smart move for the show. The supporting cast of female characters is so strong that it makes sense for the series to concentrate more heavily on them (and Piper's journey as well). Biggs is just a casualty of the show evolving and building on its previous success, and having just caught up with every episode, I'm very much looking forward to seeing how season three plays out later this year. What do you think? Will you miss Larry in season three?

The team at JoBlo has put together a video tribute to the movies they feel were deserving of Oscar consideration, but were snubbed by The Academy for this weekend's event. There are some films that weren't nominated for anything, and then also movies that actually did receive some nominations, but that the outlet thought deserved more nominations in other categories (example: Foxcatcher for Best Picture).

Look, I love Guardians of the Galaxy as much as anyone, but for Best Picture? I don't think that's a snub because I don't think it ever stood a chance to be nominated in that category in the first place. Seems to me like snubs are things that most people thought would/should be nominated, but weren't; I don't think Guardians for Best Picture meets that requirement.

What do you think? Which snubbed subject do you most wish could win an Oscar this Sunday?

What do you get when The Hulk and Neytiri star in the same movie? A movie with one of the craziest out-of-context titles I can think of: Infinitely Polar Bear. Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana star in the directorial debut of filmmaker Maya Forbes (who also wrote the screenplay), which centers on a manic-depressive father who tries to win back his wife by taking full responsibility of their two young daughters.

Portraying mental illness on screen can be tricky, and I'm not convinced that this trailer comes down on the right side of it. Obviously we won't know the full context of everything until we see the actual movie, but as of now, I'm cautiously optimistic about it. Infinitely Polar Bear arrives in American theaters on June 19th, 2015.

Whiplash is a powder keg of raw human emotion exploding across the screen. The backdrop for this film is jazz, that uniquely American music genre loaded with raw emotion. When you take jazz, add in the brilliant writing and direction of Damien Chazelle, and the jaw-dropping performances of J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller, you’ve got a formula for hard edged breathtaking entertainment that “comes up trumps,” as they say in the U.K. It is easy to see why it is nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Simmons and Teller are in their element as they deliver scene after exhilarating scene with precision and perfection.

Whiplash gets its name from a jazz standard with the same title written by the late American jazz composer/saxophonist Hank Levy. Chazelle himself was a jazz drummer in high school who realized early on that his talents lay elsewhere, and he based his screenplay for Whiplash on his experiences with an overbearing music teacher.

Teller (Rabbit Hole, Fantastic Four) stars as Andrew Neiman, a first year jazz drummer attending a prestigious New York music school who has aspirations to become the next Buddy Rich or Gene Krupa. His father is Jim Neiman, played by Paul Reiser (Mad About You), a high school teacher, who frequently attends the movies with him. It is at the movie theater where he meets his soon-to-be girlfriend Nicole (Melissa Benoist), who works behind the concessions counter.

Neiman soon catches the attention of Terrance Fletcher, played by Simmons (Spider-Man, Oz, The Closer, Farmers Insurance spokesman). Simmons has garnered a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for this role. He won the SAG Award, and the Golden Globe for the same. My money is on him to take home the Oscar as well. Simmons, who certainly deserves the accolades he has received, is absolutely amazing as Fletcher, a venerate jazz musician, and member of Shaffer Conservatory faculty who conducts the prestigious in-school studio band, which performs at jazz competitions. Fletcher is possessed of a manic quest for perfection, resulting in his being wildly abusive to his students, seeming to relish in pitting them against each other. Fletcher’s bullying only serves to drive Neiman’s own mania to be the best: he practices the drums well into the night until his hands bleed, shuts people out of his life, attempts to perform with severe injuries and shock from an accident, and even physically attacks Fletcher on stage at a competition.

One of the genius elements of this movie is that the viewer gets occasional glimpses into the soft underbelly of Neiman and Fletcher’s humanity as Chazelle deftly peels back the layers of his carefully crafted characters, revealing they are more than one-dimensional.

Whiplash is a cinematic adrenaline rush well worth experiencing. Its five Oscar nominations including Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Adapted Screenplay, are justifiably warranted. Anyhow, that’s the way I see it.

Next week's episode of Gotham will introduce the Red Hood into their universe. In preparation for that, FOX has released a new featurette the explores the mystery behind the villain. The episode is appropriately titled “Red Hood,” and this is a description of that episode:

“Following several bank robberies, Gordon and Bullock investigate the Red Hood gang. Selina Kyle continues to bond with Barbara, and Fish Mooney tries to reclaim her position in the underworld.”

The Red Hood was introduced in DC Comics back in 1951 in a Detective Comics issue called “The Man Behind the Red Hood!” In that story, it was revealed that the villain was, in fact, the Joker. He used the identity of the Red Hood before he actually became the Joker.

Is it possible that the character we were introduced to last week wasn't the Joker after all? Could this be the direction Gotham is taking to bring Joker into the series?  Or are the people involved with developing the series just having fun with us? If so...nicely done.

The music and film industries have experienced a huge number of crossover performers throughout the years, from Bruce Willis (Bruno!) and Russell Crowe to Will Smith, Mark Wahlberg, and many, many more. The Avengers star Scarlett Johansson has gotten in on the action before, famously covering Tom Waits a few years back. But now she's at it again with a new band called the Singles, and their first song is here.

Rolling Stone has the story, which reveals that Johansson has teamed with Holly Miranda, Kendra Morris, and Julia Haltigan to form a "super-pop" group.

"The idea was to write super-pop dance music written and performed by girls," says Johansson, citing the influence of Grimes, the Bangles and the Go-Go's. "I wanted it to be like those bands: ultra-pop but also a little ironic, a little in on the joke."

You can listen to their first single, Candy, in the player below. What do you think?

The original Powerpuff Girls series was one of the few cartoon series that I enjoyed watching with my little girls. Now the adorable, bug-eyed, ass-kickers will be back for more action in a rebooted series being developed by Cartoon Network. 

The new info is that Nick Jennings, the producer of Adventure Time, is executive producing the series, so there's a good chance it will be a decent, enjoyable reboot. The original series premiered back in 1998, and had 78 episodes. There was also a CG special that aired last year. 

There’s no word on if the new series will change the look of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, but I sure hope not. That was one of the main things that made them so damn adorable. My kids will definitely be excited to hear that the Powerpuff Girls are making a comeback.

Below you’ll find the press release with all of the information on Cartoon Network's original programming:

New Original Programming:

We Bare Bears: We Bare Bears is a comedy about three bear siblings, named Grizzly, Panda and Ice Bear. Each episode follows their awkward attempts at assimilating into human society, whether they're looking for food, trying to make human friends, or scheming to become internet famous. Created by Annie Award-winner Daniel Chong (Toy Story of Terror!), We Bare Bears is produced by Cartoon Network Studios.

The Powerpuff Girls: Slated for a 2016 launch, The Powerpuff Girls reboot will include an all-new television series produced by Cartoon Network Studios and a full licensing program slated to roll out across all regions. One of the network's most enduring original series, The Powerpuff Girls, which debuted on Cartoon Network in 1998, earned two Emmy® Awards, five nominations and countless animation honors throughout its 78-episode run. The Powerpuff Girls centers on three sugar-coated superheroes — Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup — whose mission in life alternates between going to school, fighting crime, winning at hopscotch and saving the world before bedtime. Emmy® and BAFTA award winner Nick Jennings (Adventure Time) is on board as executive producer.

Mighty Magiswords: From Kyle Carrozza comes Cartoon Network Studios first original digital series about a brother and sister team of "Warriors for Hire," who go on hilarious adventures and crazy quests to collect magical swords.

New Original Crossovers, Movies and Specials:

Long Live the Royals Mini-Series: Come join the royal family as they celebrate the yearly Yule Hare Festival. Parties and feasts will be a plenty as they struggle to balance ruling a kingdom and life as a typical family. A new mini-series from Emmy® winner Sean Szeles (Regular Show).

Steven Universe/ Uncle Grandpa Crossover Special "Say Uncle:" Two of your favorite Cartoon Network series, Steven Universe and Uncle Grandpa, are joining forces for a special crossover episode! Watch as a long lost relative of Steven's comes to town to aid him in unlocking the power of his mother's gem!

Regular Show: The Movie: From the creators of the hit Cartoon Network series Regular Show, comes a time travelling long-form special. After accidentally creating a "Timenado," slacker groundskeepers Mordecai and Rigby go back in time and battle an evil volleyball coach in order to save the universe… and their friendship.

Adventure Time Special Mini-Series: In this multi-part series, Finn and Jake face a new threat to Ooo when Princess Bubblegum's experiment unleashes ghosts from Marceline's past.

New Acquired Programming:

Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race:In this action-filled, outrageous buddy comedy, 18 pairs of contestants are put to the mental, physical and emotional test in a frantic race around the world. They'll push themselves and their partners to the limit, but only one team will arrive at the mat first and become the winners of one million dollars!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise: Summoned by Optimus Prime to save Earth from a new Decepticon threat, Bumblebee puts his light-hearted mettle to the test after assembling a rouge team of young Autobot action heroes.

Supernoobs: From creator Scott Fellows (Johnny Test) and DHX Media, Supernoobs chronicles the misadventures of four nerdy friends, who are mistakenly tasked with saving the world from an evil space virus.

Returning Series

Adventure Time

The Amazing World of Gumball

Clarence

Regular Show

Teen Titans GO!

Uncle Grandpa

Steven Universe

Mixels

LEGO® NINJAGO: Masters of Spinjitzu

Pokémon the Series:XY

Sonic Boom

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is perhaps one of bleakest and most intriguing black comedies I have ever seen. It starts with Michael Keaton levitating in mid-air in his Broadway theater dressing room. It takes awhile to catch on that this ability to levitate is part of the psychosis going on in his head. Keaton, the star of Birdman, is most adept at playing psychotics. In fact, I met him a number of years ago on the set of Pacific Heights, a film in which he portrays a manically mental character who will stop at nothing - including murder - in order to steal real estate holdings. In person, Keaton is the nicest guy you could ever want to meet. In Birdman, Keaton plays Riggan Thomson, a schizophrenic Broadway actor who is at the mercy of a voice in his head, which is himself as “Birdman,, a superhero he once played on film.

I can see why Birdman has been nominated for all the big awards this season including the Best Picture Oscar. Keaton is up for Best Actor, Ed Norton as Best Supporting Actor, and, Emma Stone for Best Supporting Actress. Overall, Birdman, co-written, produced, and directed by Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, is a brilliantly directed and written cinematic effort filled with brilliant performances by the cast.

Birdman is not just an actor’s movie, though Broadway is the backdrop, as the universal theme seems to be the need of all humans to be loved and accepted, and the folly of fulfilling that need in the wrong places.

When I sat contemplating Birdman and what I wanted to say about it, my first thought was, "What is my favorite Michael Keaton role? When he comes to mind, what is the first thing I think of?" The obvious answer to me, and perhaps others: Batman! I am sure you know by now where I am going with this: Batman, Birdman...not a coincidental happening here! Keaton has had a long and successful acting career, but still, he will always be Batman. It’s like Clark Gable. He will always be Rhett Butler despite everything else he played. In fact, some have gone so far to suggest that Birdman is actually Michael Keaton’s Batman 3. It certainly could be, but I can’t say for sure. Keaton’s persona in this film is a washed-up actor driven to the point of madness by his obsession with his career, or lack of it. He is haunted and hounded by Birdman all though the picture. His conjuring of Birdman in his mind is also accompanied by hallucinated telekinetic powers, levitation, and flying. Riggan Thomson’s last-ditch effort to resurrect his all but dead acting career is a staged adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." Thomson wears three hats in this project in that he wrote the script, directs, and stars in it. Wearing more than one hat in an artistic endeavor can drive anyone to distraction.   

One of the truly amazing things about Birdman is the performance of Edward Norton as uber-obsessive “method” and popular Broadway actor, Mike Shiner. I can only imagine that he had an absolute ball doing this role. I like Norton’s work; he always seems to find and play the truth of his characters. I know that sounds like pretentious prattle, but I don’t really know how else to say it. In 1998, I met Edward Norton during the filming of Fight Club. I was hired as a body double for Meatloaf. Actually, I was Meatloaf’s butt crack of all things. I had to lean over and hug Norton for the shot, whilst a wardrobe person stepped behind me and pulled my trousers down ever so slightly. My interaction with Edward Norton was most pleasant and I found him most affable. This experience gave me very thin, if dubious, bragging rights of being able to say I worked with Edward Norton!

Another performance I loved in Birdman was that of Scottish actress Lindsay Duncan, who plays jaded and hateful New York Times theater critic, Tabitha Dickinson. Duncan’s performance is spot-on. In two scenes she is sitting at a bar writing when she is pounced upon once by Norton’s character, and in another scene by Keaton’s character wherein he asks her why she would “kill” his play without even the benefit of having seen it. In answer to his query, she says, “Because I hate you and everyone you represent. Entitled, selfish, spoiled children. Blissfully untrained, unversed, and unprepared to even attempt real art. Handing each other awards for cartoons and pornography…Well, this is the theater, and you don’t get to come in here and pretend you can write, direct, and act in your own propaganda piece without coming through me first. So break a leg!” Keaton’s character replies with, “What has to happen in a person’s life for them to become a critic anyway?” I don’t know an actor alive who wouldn’t kill for a delicious scene like that one!  

I must also make mention of the rock solid performances turned in by Emma Stone, who plays Sam Thomson, Riggan’s daughter and production assistant, and also Zach Galifianakis as Jake, Thomson’s close friend and manic lawyer who is the driving force keeping the production on track.

I liked Birdman, especially viewing it through actor’s eyes.  I have a hunch it will do very well at the Oscars. Anyhow, that’s the way I see it.

Star Wars is one of those movies that hardcore fans know almost everything about already. But Movie Blast took a shot at making a video that contains four weird facts about the series that they hope you haven’t heard about yet. I was familiar with three of the four bits of info. Check it out for yourself!

Recently two deleted scenes from Game of Thrones Season 4 found their way online for your viewing enjoyment. The last season of the show was wicked awesome, and I imagine as it continues things are going to get even better and better. While we wait for Season 5 to begin, I have a blooper reel and some really cool storyboard art for the series for you to check out. The art was created by Will Simpson, and there's a video that features the artist performing his craft, and then some scenes that he drew out to help bring the series to life.

Game Of Thrones Season 4 is available now to own on DVD and Blu-ray, with the fifth season set to debut on April 12th, 2015.

Via: io9

Psychotic, murderous female characters are nothing new in the cinematic world. Glenn Close as Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction comes to mind for one, and Single White Female with Jennifer Jason Leigh as Hendra Carlson is another. But Rosamund Pike, up for a Best Actress Oscar, is one of the most chilling I can recall. She plays Amy Dunne, a character you start out just adoring, and then when you find out who she really is, you want her dead because you hate her with every fiber of your being. Amy Dunne is a deeply disturbed sociopath and plotting psychotic who hopes, through her careful planning, ending in her eventual "suicide", to frame her husband Nick Dunne, played by Ben Affleck, for murder. Pike’s acting prowess is a marvel in Gone Girl. Her role is reminiscent of Jean Tierny who played obsessively jealous socialite Ellen Berent in the 1945 film noir classic, Leave Her to Heaven.  Berent cannot stand for her husband to have any fealty for anyone else but her. Her psychotic jealousy is so pronounced that she lets her crippled brother-in-law drown, and throws herself down a flight of stairs to end her pregnancy because she knows her husband will love the baby. Her last act on Earth is to take her own life and to stage the suicide so as to implicate her own sister for murder, and in the process sends her husband to prison. Likewise, Amy Dunne in Gone Girl will stop at nothing, not even murder, to destroy the lives of others.

I remember seeing all the ads for Gone Girl months ago when it first was released. I thought it looked intriguing, and I like Ben Affleck well enough. But now, after seeing it, I am somewhat disappointed and unsatisfied. I like good noir thrillers. But, this one left me wanting more, and not in a good way. The acting in this film was right on the money. My favorite characterizations in GG include Kim Dickens as Rhonda Boney, lead police detective; Carrie Coon as Margo Dunne, Nick’s rock and twin sister; Tyler Perry as Nick’s Johnny Cochran-esque attorney, Tanner Bolt; Missi Pyle, a cable news reporter who would rather broadcast gossip than actual fact; and Sela Ward, as national news anchor Sharon Shieber.

Gone Girl is a tad disturbing, with its bloody graphic violence, with sex sometimes included in the violence. It is adapted by author Gillian Flynn from her novel of the same name (this is a case of the book being much better than the movie), and centers around Affleck’s character, former New York writer Nick Dunne, who is accused of his wife’s disappearance and possible murder on their fifth wedding anniversary. Flynn takes you on an emotional roller-coaster ride with her story, and just when you have it all figured out, the roller-coaster takes you in a different direction. (For instance, at first you are with Nick Dunne, then you hate him, then you really hate him, then you feel sorry for him, then you kinda like him again, and then you just think he’s an idiot!) I suppose you can consider that simply good storytelling. At the end of the ride, though, you could be left shaking your head, wondering if it was really worth the price of the ticket. Anyhow, that’s the way I see it.

Victor Jardel has created quite an entertaining animated/live-action hybrid music video for your viewing enjoyment. It’s called Rain, and it’s set in Paris. Rain is coming, and “small black creatures are leaving the wood for the hood!” Not only is the video great, but I completely dig the music! The music comes from Senbeï, and it’s a very catchy tune. It’s just an upbeat video that made me happy. I hope you enjoy this!

Last month, news spread like wildfire that Disney wanted Chris Pratt to take on the role of Indiana Jones in a planned reboot they are looking to develop. Things just got a little more interesting with the project, as Deadline is now reporting that Steven Spielberg hopes to direct Pratt in the movie, "assuming a script comes in to his satisfaction."

First of all, if Spielberg was good to direct Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with that awful script, I'm sure that any script which is turned in will be to "his satisfaction."

It's too early in the process for anything to be locked in stone at this point, mostly because there's no script yet. It makes sense that though that Spielberg would want to work with Pratt on the movie. After all, the director and producer hand-picked the Guardians of the Galaxy actor to star of Jurassic World,

A lot of fans seem to be open to the idea of Pratt taking over the role of Indiana Jones. I think if anyone could do it successfully, it's him, which is really weird. Who would have thought that the out of shape, goofy guy from Parks and Rec would become one of Hollywoods biggest adventure stars?

I'm curious to see what Disney and Spielberg are looking to do with this film, especially now that George Lucas won't be involved.

I know Netflix's Richie Rich series is supposed to be a kids show, but there’s no excuse for this kind of absurdity. There’s no way I will let my kids watch something that looks so utterly awful. No joke, this looks like one of those shows that is so stupid, that it will make anyone who watches it dumber. I think this had potential to be a decent series, and I don’t understand why anyone would want to make such meaningless nonsense.

Richie Rich is just a normal kid, except that he has a trillion dollars! Following his overnight success, Richie moves his father, Cliff, and his sister, Harper, into his newly built mansion. He also shares his success with his two best friends, Darcy and Murray. Richie now lives the coolest life of anyone his age where his opportunities for fun and adventure are limitless. Whether its exploring Antarctica, making a movie with his friends, or meeting famous celebrities, there’s never a dull moment in Richie’s new life.

You’ve been prepared, now watch the trailer if you dare. I should warn you, just watching the trailer might knock your IQ down a couple points. 

I am often left wondering who the hell smoked their lunch when I see a lot of what gets nominated for the SAG Awards and the Oscars every year. It makes me wonder who in the world decides who and what get nominated. Boyhood won the Golden Globe for best drama, was nominated for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture for the SAG Awards, and is nominated for an Oscar in the Best Picture category. I suppose there is no accounting for taste. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette have also been nominated for ‘outstanding performance by a male actor/female actor in a supporting role’ for Boyhood. Arquette actually won both the SAG Award and the Golden Globe.  

The interesting thing about Boyhood is its novelty of being shot over a 12 year period with the same actors, making writer/director Richard Linklater perhaps the most patient filmmaker in Hollywood. I am all for innovation in the film industry. Ergo, I was prepared for this film to be wondrous. All in all for me, this movie came off as self-indulgent clap-trap. I lost interest right away and spent the entire film waiting for something - anything really - to happen. It never did as far as I am concerned. I have no fault with the acting. I love Arquette and Hawke. It was just the piece itself left me flat.

Boyhood centers around the coming-of-age years for Mason Evans, Jr., aptly played by Ellar Coltrane, and his older sister, Samantha, played by the director’s own daughter, Lorelei Linklater. The overarching theme in Boyhood seemed to be, life is pointless, and then you die! Many critics have touted this film as the greatest thing since sliced bread, and it has raked in some $43 million; that says something, I suppose. The descriptions I have seen range from “ground-breaking,” to”epic,” to “filmmaking at its best.” My adjectives for this include abysmally dreary, plodding, and snore fest.

In the script, Linklater took pot shots at Christianity. The Christians in his film were made to look like vapid, one dimensional, redneck Bible trumpeters. He also got in his licks at war veterans, and some ever popular Bush-bashing. I keep hoping Hollywood writers will find a new drum to beat, but they seem still content to bang loudly on the old one. It’s tiresome. You hate Bush. All Christians are pariahs. You hate guns. You hate the military. Yeah, got the message, thanks - next, please! Actually I could live with that diatribe if the movie actually had some kind of entertainment merit, but it was like reading the boring @$$ diary of a pouting adolescent who is continually brooding over the fact that the world does not revolve around him. Suffice it to say, I won’t be plunking down any pesos to add this particular DVD to my collection any time in the near future. If you like sitting and watching turnips grow, this film is for you. I hope the Academy members aren’t fool enough to give this film the Best Picture Oscar. If Ms. Arquette wins one for Best Supporting Actress, I have no quarrel with that, she’s a great actress. Anyhow, that’s the way I see it!

Bandai has unveiled their MonsterArts action figure for last year's Godzilla movie. They call this the "spit fire version," obviously because he spits out an awesome stream of blue nuclear fire from his mouth. It's so intense that it comes with a stand just for the fire breath!

The figure is fully articulated and loaded with all kinds of great detail. I especially like the blue that they included in Godzilla's spine fins. It gives the figure an overall badass look. Check out all the images below, one of which features Godzilla doing some kind of slapstick comedy routine. 

Via: ToyNews

Focus Features has released a new red-band trailer for David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars, which is set to be released next week. This is definitely the most insane trailer we’ve seen from the movie so far.

The strange Hollywood satire film stars Mia Wasikowska, Julianne Moore, Robert Pattinson, John Cusack, Olivia Williams, Evan Bird, and Sarah Gadon. I’m easily entertained by the movies that Cronenberg makes, and this definitely looks like it’s going to be another oddly fun viewing experience.

Meet the Weiss family, who are making their way in Hollywood rife with money, fame, envy, and relentless hauntings. Stafford Weiss (John Cusack) is a famed TV self-help therapist with an A-list celebrity clientele. Meanwhile, Cristina Weiss (Olivia Williams) has her work cut out managing the career of their disaffected child-star son, Benjie (Evan Bird), a fresh graduate of rehab at age 13.

Yet unbeknownst to them, another member of the Weiss family has arrived in town – mysteriously scarred and tormented Agatha (Mia Wasikowska), just released from a psych ward and ready to start again. She soon works her way into a friendship with a limo driver (Robert Pattinson) and becomes personal assistant to unraveling actress Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore), who is beset by the ghost of her legendary mother, Clarice (Sarah Gadon). But Agatha is on a quest for redemption – and even in this realm of the artificial, and the unearthly, she’s determined to find it, no matter what it takes.

Maps to the Stars opens on February 27th.

Into the Woods seems to have been virtually ignored by the Academy, as it was by the Golden Globes, and the SAG awards, save a nod to Meryl Streep for best supporting actress. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, it was directed by Rob Marshall, no stranger to successfully directing film versions of Broadway musicals with Annie, Chicago, and Nine under his belt. Having had a career in musical theater, I am not always a fan of stage musicals being translated into a movie musical, but this one worked brilliantly. It might be difficult for someone who has not also seen the stage production to get into the movie. It may seem disjointed and somewhat convoluted, and take a bit of patience on the part of the viewer. But that patience will most certainly be rewarded.

The Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine tour-de-force Into the Woods was originally produced in 1987 at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. It then made its way to Broadway and won several Tony Awards. I saw a marvelous production of it in Long Beach some years ago. The cast of that production included two of my favorite musical theater colleagues, the awesome Gordon Goodman as the Big Bad Wolf and uber-talented Patty Tiffany-Keller as one of Cinderella’s stepsisters. Gordon sang, “Hello, Little Girl” from the show to Andrea at our wedding reception concert at Centre Theatre. Johnny Depp took the cameo role of the Big Bad Wolf in the film, a case of perfect casting. There isn’t anything that guy can’t do, and he's always so fun to watch. Another of my favorite cameos in this movie is furnished by Broadway musical veteran Christine Baranski, playing the evil step mother. She never disappoints.

The storyline for Into the Woods is a collision of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Rapunzel,” etc., and the interaction of characters from those tales with a baker and his wife, played flawlessly by James Corden and Emily Blunt, who have been cursed by an evil witch and left them childless.

Anyone attending this movie expecting the usual Disney-esque pixie dusting will be disappointed. While there are great moments of humor, fabulous music, and touching pathos, the story is somewhat gritty, and most definitely does not end with happily-ever-after. In fact, the main thrust of the story is that life seldom provides the happily-ever-after scenario, and our plans don’t always fit reality. It also shows us that there are usually inescapable consequences for our actions.

One of my favorite things about the movie adaptation was the fact that the roles of Jack and Little Red were not played by adults, as is usual in stage productions. I think it was a stroke of genius. Jack was portrayed by Daniel Huttlestone, whom audiences will recognize as Gavroche from the film musical version of Les Miserables (2012). His rendition of the song, “Giants in the Sky” was superb. Lilla Crawford, who starred in the 2012 revival of Annie on Broadway, is Little Red Riding Hood. I very much enjoyed her singing of “I Know Things Now."

A big surprise for me in this was Meryl Streep’s singing. I was prepared for the worst after seeing her in Mamma Mia! All in all her vocal turns in this film were spot-on excellent. I like being pleasantly surprised when I have low expectations. Frankly, I don’t think they could have gotten anyone better for the Witch. She grabbed the role with both hands, and definitely made it her own. Her singing of the emotionally charged “Stay With Me” is one of the most drop dead fabulous moments of Into the Woods. That alone is worth the price of admission. (Ms. Streep got my vote for supporting actress, but lost to Patricia Arquette for Boyhood. I am holding out hope, but doubt the Oscar winners will differ much from the SAG Awards.)

British comedienne Tracey Ullman provides some delicious comic relief as Jack’s Mother, as she deals with her son’s penchant for having his head in the clouds. Another of my favorite comedic portions of the film are when the two princes played by Chris Pine and Billy Magnusson sing the duet, “Agony."

I cannot overlook the contributions of Anna Kendrick as Cinderella. The part is written so that Cinderella won’t just be thought of as a one-dimensional victim of circumstance waiting for a handsome prince to sweep her off her feet. I think Kendrick brought all those mutli-dimensional colors to the role, as evidenced in her singing of “On the Steps of the Palace."

Into the Woods would not be complete without a Giant. This is played by Frances de la Tour. If she looks familiar, she had the role of Madame Olympe Maxime from the Harry Potter movies; Madame Maxime was also a giantess by the way! I really don’t have too much more to say about this film adaptation of Into the Woods except to encourage you to go see it. Into the Woods is well worth your time and money. Anyhow, that’s the way I see it!