Stamos and Dino Projects Are Dead

If you're like me, then you have been looking forward to the long promised Jurassic Park IV, but according to sources the project has met it's end. Producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy have stated that they have no interest in continuing the franchise.
I can honestly say that I'm not to heart broken about this news, for the simple fact that I think the Jurassic Park franchise has ran its course. Let's be honest with one another, Jurassic Park: The Lost World and Jurassic Park III really didn't reach the excitement of the original and always left me thinking they could of did that better.
In other news that struck me as interesting, John Stamos had been trying to get a new Full House series off the ground, but his efforts proved to be futile. According to what I've read, the series would have brought back the Tanners. Everyone would have revived their old characters, but it was unclear if the Olsen twins would of made a reappearance.
I honestly don't know if this show would of been a hit, it might of been. I know that the CW is having great success with their new 90210 and because of its success the network is planning on resurrecting Melrose Place. So, it seems that bringing back retro TV shows is all the rage.
My opinion is the only way you can make Full House work is if you either remake it with an entirely new cast (which would most likely cause it to flop) or have it be a spin-off focusing on only a few characters from the original. Yet, we don't have to worry about it since that couldn't close the deal.

Golden Globe Nominations Announced

It's that day once again, the day where they announce the nominations for the upcoming Golden Globe Awards. There is a few things that I think these nominations were lacking, First, why is True Blood nominated for Best Drama Series? I admit I wasn't faithful to this series but for the episodes I saw they weren't really anything that special.
The other thing why isn't Christopher Nolan nominated for Best Director for The Dark Knight? It was one of the best directed movies I've seen this year and not even a mention of him. The nominations are listed below.

Best Motion Picture - Drama
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie – Changeling
Meryl Streep – Doubt
Kristin Scott Thomas – I've Loved You So Long
Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn – Milk
Brad Pitt – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Mamma Mia!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Rebecca Hall – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand – Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep – Mamma Mia!
Emma Thompson – Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Javier Bardem – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrell – In Bruges
James Franco – Pineapple Express
Brendan Gleeson – In Bruges
Dustin Hoffman – Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams – Doubt
Penélope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis – Doubt
Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler
Kate Winslet – The Reader

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Tom Cruise – Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder
Ralph Fiennes – The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Best Animated Feature Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
Everlasting Moments (Sweden, Denmark)
Gomorrah (Italy)
I've Loved You So Long (France)
Waltz With Bashir (Israel)

Best Director - Motion Picture
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry – The Reader
David Fincher – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes – Revolutionary Road

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Written by Eric Roth
Doubt
Written by John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon
Written by Peter Morgan
The Reader
Written by David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire
Written by Simon Beaufoy

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Composed by Alexandre Desplat
Changeling
Composed by Clint Eastwood
Defiance
Composed by James Newton Howard
Slumdog Millionaire
Composed by A. R. Rahman
Frost/Nixon
Composed by Hans Zimmer

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
"Down To Earth" – Wall-E
Music By: Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Lyrics By: Peter Gabriel
"Gran Torino" – Gran Torino
Music By: Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens, Clint Eastwood and Jamie Cullum
Lyrics By: Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
"I Thought I Lost You" – Bolt
Music & Lyrics By: Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele
"Once In A Lifetime" – Cadillac Records
Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarmon, Ian Dench, James Dring and Jody Street
"The Wrestler" – The Wrestler
Music & Lyrics By: Bruce Springsteen

Best Television Series - Drama
Dexter (SHOWTIME)
House (FOX)
In Treatment (HBO)
Mad Men (AMC)
True Blood (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama
Sally Field – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order
January Jones – Mad Men (AMC)
Anna Paquin – True Blood (HBO)
Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (TNT)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama
Gabriel Byrne – In Treatment (HBO)
Michael C. Hall – Dexter (SHOWTIME)
Jon Hamm – Mad Men (AMC)
Hugh Laurie – House (FOX)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers – The Tudors (SHOWTIME)

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
30 Rock (NBC)
Californication (SHOWTIME)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Christina Applegate – Samantha Who? (ABC)
America Ferrera – Ugly Betty (ABC)
Tina Fey – 30 Rock (NBC)
Debra Messing – The Starter Wife (USA)
Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)
Steve Carell – The Office (NBC)
Kevin Connolly – Entourage (HBO)
David Duchovny – Californication (SHOWTIME)
Tony Shalhoub – Monk (USA)

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television
A Raisin In The Sun (ABC)
Bernard And Doris (HBO)
Cranford (PBS)
John Adams (HBO)
Recount (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Judi Dench – Cranford (PBS)
Catherine Keener – An American Crime
Laura Linney – John Adams (HBO)
Shirley MacLaine – Coco Chanel
Susan Sarandon – Bernard And Doris (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Ralph Fiennes – Bernard And Doris (HBO)
Paul Giamatti – John Adams (HBO)
Kevin Spacey – Recount (HBO)
Kiefer Sutherland – 24 (FOX)
Tom Wilkinson – Recount (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Eileen Atkins – Cranford (PBS)
Laura Dern – Recount (HBO)
Melissa George – In Treatment (HBO)
Rachel Griffiths – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Dianne Wiest – In Treatment (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother
Denis Leary – Recount (HBO)
Jeremy Piven – Entourage (HBO)
Blair Underwood – In Treatment (HBO)
Tom Wilkinson – John Adams (HBO)

Ledger Receives Best Supporting Actor

The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association announces its winners of the year. The full list of awards is listed below.
Best Film: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Best Actress: Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Best Ensemble: Doubt
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Best Supporting Actress: Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
Best Breakthrough Performance: Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Original Screenplay: Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)
Best Animated Feature: Wall-e
Best Foreign Language Film: Let The Right One In
Best Documentary: Man On Wire
Best Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Welcome Back To Crystal Lake

A new poster (that is on your left) and trailer have been released for the new Friday the 13th movie and both look interesting. Also, a synopsis has hit the internet and it’s listed below.
Searching for his missing sister, Clay heads up to the eerie woods of legendary Crystal Lake, where he stumbles on the creaky remains of rotting old cabins that lie in wait behind moss-covered trees. And that's not the only thing hiding under the brush. Against the advice of police and cautions from the locals, Clay pursues what few leads he has, with the help of a young woman he meets among a group of college kids up for an all-thrills weekend. But they are about to find much more than they bargained for. Little do they know, they've entered the domain of one of the most terrifying specters in American film history-the infamous killer who haunts Crystal Lake, armed with a razor-sharp machete - Jason Voorhees.
I’ve seen the new trailer and the story looks very similar to older Friday the 13th films. First, you have a group of teenagers at a cabin; partying and doing all the stuff we look forward to see in horror movies. Second, we have Clay, who is the main character, looking for his sister, he kind of reminds me of Tommy Jarvis (a character from the older Friday the 13th films).
Is it going to be good? Well, I don’t expect an Oscar worthy movie; Yet, I do expect it to be enjoyable and fun as the originals.
At the bottom of this post, I've posted the link to the new trailer. I wanted to post the whole thing right onto my blog but it won't let me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Phn-Ux2XJ4

The Dark Knight Returns

The Dark Knight is going to be re-released in U.S. cinemas in January.
The best Batman film to date, starring Christian Bale as The Dark Knight and the late Heath Ledger as the menacing Joker, was originally released in July and has grossed more than $996 million worldwide.
The studio bosses have decided to release the film back to U.S. theaters on January 23, which would be the day after this year’s Oscar nominations have been announced.
With this re-release I will say that the movie will surpass the $1 billion mark and Bale has stated that the success of the movie should earn or guarantee them Academy Awards. We won’t know this until the day of the announcements.
He also stated that Heath Ledger is a major Oscar contender and also that Christopher Nolan, the director, would also be a contender and he also thinks the film will be nominated for Best Picture.

The National Board of Review Announces Winners

Below is a full list of the awards given by the National Board of Review:
• Best Film: Slumdog Millionaire
• Best Director: David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Best Actor: Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
• Best Actress: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
• Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, Milk
• Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Best Foreign Foreign Language Film: Mongol
• Best Documentary: Man on Wire
• Best Animated Feature: WALL-E
• Best Ensemble Cast: Doubt
• Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
• Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Viola Davis, Doubt
• Best Directorial Debut: Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
• Best Original Screenplay: Nick Schenk, Gran Torino
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire and Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Spotlight Award: Melissa Leo, Frozen River and Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
• The BVLGARI Award for NBR Freedom of Expression: Trumbo
• Top Ten Films: (In alphabetical order) BURN AFTER READING, CHANGELING, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, THE DARK KNIGHT, DEFIANCE, FROST/NIXON, GRAN TORINO, MILK, WALL-E, THE WRESTLER
• Top Five Foreign Language Films: (In alphabetical order) EDGE OF HEAVEN, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, ROMAN DE GUERRE, A SECRET, WALTZ WITH BASHIR
• Top Five Documentary Films (In alphabetical order) AMERICAN TEEN, THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON), DEAR ZACHARY, ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED
• William K. Everson Film History Award: Molly Haskell and Andrew Sarris

Role Models is Hilarious, Fun and Solid

Here is a movie that’s actually a funny comedy, as I write this review I’m actually still laughing.
When we begin the movie we meet Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Seann William Scott) who are energy drink salesmen, their product is called Minotaur, which is a parody of Red Bull. They travel school to school and sell it to kids as a way to stay off drugs.
Wheeler, the man who dresses as the Minotaur, loves his job. Danny, his partner, has just celebrated his 10 year anniversary with Minotaur and he hate’s his job and feels he has wasted away years of his life.
Danny’s girlfriend Beth (Elizabeth Banks), who is a lawyer, dumps him because he thinks their relationship is getting close to marriage and this scares her, because he has such a negative outlook on life and she doesn’t want to be a part of that.
This send’s Danny into his own personal hell and when they are making a presentation at a local high school, they’re informed that their truck is being towed. To keep this from happening they both jump into the truck and try to drive away, in hopes that the truck will break loose from the tow truck. Yet, they end up crashing into a statue in front of the school.
They are then arrested for destruction of school property, assault of an officer and a host of other things. They are now faced with a choice, they can go to prison for 30 days or spend 150 hours with Sturdy Wings, which is a big brother type program.
Of course, they choose to join Sturdy Wings, which is led by recovering cocaine addict Gayle Sweeney (Jane Lynch).
Wheeler gets paired with Ronnie Shields (Bobb’e J. Thompson), the funniest and meanest little kid you’ll ever meet. Danny is paired up with Augie Farks (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, aka McLovin) who is shy kid who is obsessed with the live-action medieval game LAIRE (watch the movie to learn more about that).
Once they get paired with their “littles” as Gayle calls them, that’s where the movie really takes off and I found myself laughing through out the majority of this film.
The thing the movie really does well is what Superbad did so well, they have all this raunchy humor right up front and as the movie goes on you’re hit with its heart of gold. See that’s why these sorts of comedies work, because they don’t only have joke after joke with no story, they have a story and it turns out to be a really sweet one.
There is so much good this movie offers that I can’t really get into every single thing, but I’ll mention a few. First, Jane Lynch was funny in “The 40-year Old Virgin”, but she’s hilarious in this movie. Yes, she use to do coke and she doesn’t let you ever forget that, she’s very open about it and extremely open about almost everything else.
Paul Rudd was the perfect person to play a guy who hates life and makes fun of everything. He really does a great job in this role, even though he might be doing the same kind of acting he did in “Knocked Up”. Yet, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
Now the other thing I really liked was Ronnie and Wheeler’s relationship, the scenes where it’s just them are priceless and I’m still laughing thinking about it. I can’t really say too much about it, due to some of the material they talk about, but trust me it’s hilarious.
Ok, so there are a few things that keep this movie from getting a perfect score. First, in some places the movie seems underwritten and it also has lack of original concepts, but that’s all made up by its characters and in the long run it's a solid product. So, if you can over look those minor flaws, then you'll really enjoy it.
All and all do yourself a favor and see this movie, it’s a comedy that’s funny, has likable characters and also has a heart of gold.

B+