Movie Star Blog

Today was the Day for The chronicles of the Riddick starring Vin Diesel and Val Helsing starring Kate Bekinsale (Drool) and Hugh Jackman …..

The 1993 Toyota Supra that "starred" in both Fast and Furious movies is up for bids at the almost-Ebay website called OnlineAuction.com. The car has been restored to 2 Fast 2 Furious condition by the original designer Eddie Paul and has both Paul's and stunt driver Kevin Jackson's signature on the spoiler. The Supra has as better on-screen persona than Vin Diesel, we guess that's why the bidding starts at $80,000.

For some reason I feel like I'd seen this movie before (I hadn't) because it was somewhat predictable and cliche. Despite that, the comedy was fabulous and the beautiful Salma Hayek was even more fabulous in her skimpy outfits. While I thought I had the ending all figured out, it did throw me for a loop.

From the people who brought you The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, etc., comes an adaptation of the comic V For Vendetta starring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman. Set in futuristic 1997, V For Vendetta was originally published in the anthology magazine 2000AD, which also brought us Judge Dredd. What I want to know is when are we going to get the movie version of 2000AD's D.R. & Quinch?

Finally, a promotional poster for Terry Gilliam’s upcoming The Brothers Grimm which stars Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as travelling con-artists who encounter a genuine fairy-tale curse which requires genuine courage instead of their usual bogus exorcisms.

I am giving this movie 6-1/2 bananas. When I seen the previews for the movie, I wasn’t too impressed with seeing it. It was a lot better then the previews suggested, but it could have been better. I felt that Jamie Foxx’s character was a little too weak and stuffed with fillers.

Halle Berry is still unconfirmed. Quote: “I don’t know… I wish I could tell you more… Sorry!”

However, before Paramount can move forward with the project, Harrison Ford needs to sign off the script. Unfortunately, he hasn’t read it yet.

After watching Revenge of the sith on opening night (or morning - 12 AM) we decided to watch the older episodes IV-VI. We started watching The Empire Strikes Back (episode V) on Saturday and finished watching it today. It is a good film, perhaps the best of all of them. Harrison Ford is definitely in his prime and Carrie Fisher plays princess Leia as only she could. The scenes in the icy planet (filmed in Norway) are awesome and we finally get introduced to Yoda. The odd thing about this is that Yoda is not as they’ve prtayed him in the...

This movie is crap. I definitely recommend that you take it off your queue, or make a note to never rent it. The only redeeming quality (and the only thing that saves it from being a "1", although I will do my best to never see it again) of the movie is that eventually Gwyneth Paltrow's character gets punched in the face to show her who's boss. Christ her character is annoying.

George Lucas's mythmaking is legendary and he does not disappoint with his latest adventure.He is more or less the godfather of special effects and modern digital filmmaking.His story constuction is sound,as is the soundtrack(John Williams can never go wrong),the Photography is breathtaking,the droid CG/Makeup amazing and the editing is top notch.The effects are par exellence,Ewan McGregor as usual delivers and Natalie Portman didnt have much to do.However,the undoubted star of the show is the Dark lord of the Sith - Darth Sidius who also doubles...

In “Chasing Amy”, protagonist Holden McNeil (played by Ben Affleck) hooks up with the incomparable Alyssa Jones (played by the dead sexy Joey Lauren Adams… that voice!), who happens to be a lesbian — or so Holden thinks. Holden’s buddy Banky (played by the hysterical Jason Lee) tells Holden, “She just needs the right guy…. all every woman really wants, be it mother, Senator, nun, is some serious deep dicking.” While I’m not about to subscribe to that theory, lest the lesbian community pillorizes me, it turns out that Holden IS the right guy for he

Could this, finally, be a return to form for Spielberg? As much as I've loved his recent movies - even AI! - they've each had a sweet, sugary, poisonous little core in them that ruined the stories (at least in my mind). However, WotW looks like it is near perfect; Tom Cruise looks absolutely solid, and the special effects had me at one point whispering 'Jesussss Chriiiist'.

Tom Cruise (42) showed up to talk about War of the Worlds which doesn't open until the end of June, but spent most of the time acting like a total lunatic jumping on the couch and kneeling on the floor and laughing and smiling and getting all googly-eyed over his girlfriend of one to two months, Dawson's Creek's Katie Holmes (26).

The million dollar question making round in Hollywood is who is going to be the female lead in Mission Impossible 3 being directed by JJ Abrams.

First it’s Lindsay Lohan and then it was the future Mrs. Tom Cruise, Katie Homes. Now it’s being reported that Michelle Monaghan is a done deal as the lead love interest in the project.

After having seen the disappointing Troy, I had low expectations of Kingdom of Heaven and was hoping that sitting through this nearly two and half hour epic would at least be bearable. Also, I was hoping for a stronger “manlier” performance by Orlando Bloom. It is basically a story of a religious war (namely the Crusades) and no doubt about it the blood and gore is sickening. Having said that, the story is fair and paints the two sides (Christians and Muslims) evenly with good and bad men on both sides.

-- Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher are teaming up for THE GUARDIAN, an action-drama. The story centers on a rebellious young man who enlists in the Coast Guard where he forms a mentor-friendship with a legendary rescue swimmer who lost his crew in a fatal crash. Andrew Davis (THE FUGITIVE) is directing. Actually, I can't improve on a comment left at AICN: "Is there a scene where Kutcher gets swarmed by over-eager fans, so Costner picks him up and carries him in his arms to safety?"

The ashes of legendary gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson are to be fired from a cannon housed in a giant fist-shaped monument paid for by movie star Johnny Depp.

I like Ashton Kutcher the more I see of him away from That 70's Show. He was very much at ease playing the quick-witted future groom to Zoe Saldana (make a note to watch for more from her in the future).

The adult industry is dealing with the recent announcement of revised 2257 regulations. '2257' is shorthand used for a set of rules instituted in the late eighties, as a direct result of the Traci Lords scandal and the Meese Commission. The current regulations were drafted without thought for the internet and announced changes are supposed to make them current.

After we returned in Vancouver I went to the cinema once again. I had already seen everything that played, except Crash. Without a clue as to what kind of movie this was, I decided to go anyway. And once again it turned out to be my lucky trip, because Crash is one of the best movies I've ever seen! It's about racism basically, and Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon and Sandra Bullock are only a few of the people who play in the movie, together with about 10 other main characters who all perform way beyond what you would normally expect in a movie....

In Sith, Lucas had a genuinely talented cast, and he almost entirely failed to use them properly. You can almost see the anguish in Natalie Portman's eyes as she forces herself to deliver her wooden, trite dialogue. Ewan McGregor is almost channeling the late, amazingly great Sir Alec Guinness, but the script never quite gives him what he needs to reach the spot where he could really, truly own the part (and we all know he could have). Samuel L. Jackson? Well, I can't even write about how badly Lucas flubbed the character arc on Mace Windu.

She strips off for a glossy new book, 4 Inches - a reference to the size of the models' stiletto heels - to raise money for Sir Elton John's Aids charity. Posh and other celebrities, including the Duchess of York, Kate Moss, Rachel Hunter and Geri Halliwell, agreed to be photographed nude - except for a pair of Jimmy Choos and Cartier jewellery.

Given the Flea's ongoing reportage of cutting edge keep fit trends and coverage of the latest in popular film it only seemed wise to link to these clips of Natalie Portman pole dancing in the film "Closer". I doubt I shall ever see the movie myself as it looks to be more an exercise in existential frustration than an exercise in keeping fit. Jude Law and Clive Owen also feature.

Of course when the heroic Sky Captain finishes fending off the fiendish foes, he flies to a giant hanger for repairs. Apparently the impressive facility was built for the sole purposes of storing and repairing the only airplane in existence. I mean it looks big enough to house at least several hundred similar planes, but if there were any other planes they surely would have flown out to help Jude Law fight the bad guys so he concentrate on trading witty banter with Gwyneth Paltrow.

And it was the dialog itself that was partly to blame for the failings of the first half. It seemed like it was almost a dispassionate narration of the events, delivered from the actors as if speed-reading their lines. Honestly, the writing, directing, and acting were really quite awful at first. Only Ewan McGregor’s performance as Obi-wan Kenobi was consistently good; I found myself watching scenes and wishing that he would make an appearance. Things picked up overall about halfway through the movie as the plot fleshed itself out, but...

The modern age of the cinematic epic began with Braveheart's mix of old-fashioned, widescreen, guts-and-glory filmmaking (well, the guts part, anyway) and modern morals and messages. Braveheart begat Gladiator, which added a light frosting of computer-generated effects to help the combination of bleeding-heart ideas and blood-spilling action go down. Now, Gladiator director Ridley Scott is back in modern epic territory with Kingdom of Heaven — yet another big, brawny film that somehow tries to reinvent the grisly, barbaric...

Basically another finding one’s self / romance movie. It is kinda strange, natalie portman plays a kinda plain looking but extremely charming love interest. It didn’t really follow much of the standard plot lines. Extremely well done. Note it was quite edgy so i’m not going to ‘recommend it’ per ce. Zach Braff (Scrubs guy) wrote it and starred in it, definately one of my new favorite actor guys. The title refers to New Jersey which is pretty lame. But maybe it has a deeper meaning and refers to the main character’s...

There were a few other redeeming moments. Ewan McGregor looks dazed and sounds flat in most of his line readings, mistakenly thinking a roguish twinkle in his eye will carry him through most of the technobabble, but his portrayal of Kenobi's sheer anguish on Mustafar after he cuts off Anakin's arm and legs is astonishingly good. And Ian McDiarmid's performance as Palpatine is subtle and excellent. After he bloats up from having his own Dark Force lightening turned back on him (and why does that turn him fat?), though, he hams it up in the worst...

We were planning to see Denzel Washington in Julius Caesar but we were scared off by the lukewarm reviews. If Broadway ticket prices were like London's West End's, not much more than the price of movie tickets, a lot more people would risk going to see shows the critics were iffy about. But we aren't going to spend a month's mortgage payment to see a play we've already seen done superbly and with one of the same actors playing the same role and doing with it what he did with it when we saw him. Did you follow that?

As if the very existence of the new CBS reality show “Rock Star: INXS” isn’t enough of an insult to the memory of Michael Hutchence, producer Mark Burnett and the surviving band members have provided another: Dave Navarro and Brooke Burke are hosting.

I know the speculation that it’s a publicity stunt, which I understand for the Ashton Kutchers and the Lindsay Lohans of the world, but Tom Cruise is most famous movie star on the planet. He and Steven Spielberg really need more publicity for a huge summer event movie? Tommy’s never done anything like this before, not for Mission Impossible or Minority Report, and those movies did just fine. He’s just too careful of his image to go off his rocker and blab about his personal life all over the place, it makes NO logical sense.

Wow, what an intense ride. If you have not seen this movie, go see it. Totally not what I expected out of a movie with Sandra Bullock and Brendan Fraser. What gets me though, is that these people are as caught up on racial issues as the characters in QaF are on queer issues. Maybe its cuz I live in a city that is probably 95% white and 95% hetero that I don't see these issues.

Speaking of which, I’d like to say that I think that hiring hot women to prance around E3 should be banned. Nobody but the Japanese businessmen gave half a damn about the half-naked girl wearing a thong that said, “MMO” on the front. Basically, these women are seen by most attendees as an obstacle in the way of getting to the games. Case in point - a lot of us were lured to a stage promising a demonstration of a free MMORPG. We stood there eagerly awaiting the unveiling of such a truly insidious product (if it’s any good, screw buying FFXI or WoW). Finally the countdown began.. 30 seconds… 20 seconds… 3, 2, 1… and suddenly there are eight dancing women on stage, gyrating to some song featuring the company’s name. The crowd quickly scattered (besides the aforementioned Japanese businessmen). I don’t think it’s because these people dislike staring at half-naked beautiful women. But it’s more because there are only so many hours in the day. And spending around forty-five minutes on average standing in line to play something and then actually playing it… there’s just no time to stare for twenty minutes at something you can see on the muddled version of Skin-a-Max. It’s worthless junk and you feel cheated. Give me my time back Conquer Online.

That said, Traci Lords was signing autographs… which made even my small group stop and stare.

Salma Hayek at Cannes. Does that sexy Mexican maid ever make a fashion faux pas?

If you have managed to escape the coverage, a good article to read was in last week's Times. In addition, The Guardian had a great feature on her life last week as well and if that is not enough, go rent Frida (2002) with Salma Hayek from your local DVD store.

The story is quite easy: Max (Pierce Brosnan) and Lola (Salma Hayek) are two retired high-profile jewel thiefs that settled down on the Bahamas. One day their FBI counterpart tracked them down thinking that they are after yet another diamond. Both parties (thiefs and law enforcement) are playing tricks on each other while doing their thing.

I like the Travel Channel’s “World Poker Tour,” but novices really can’t learn much from such advanced playing. Bravo’s “Celebrity Poker Showdown” is cooler because it shows people at my skill level — such as Sean Astin, Andy Richter and Shannon Elizabeth — and explains exactly why they suck in such a shameful way.

And what about the movie? It blew me away :) Even my friend thought it's a good movie. It was soo much better compared to the total crap of Episode I and II. Much better than I expected, or maybe I don't really have that much of expectation. The movie is action packed, full with fight scenes, a tad too much maybe. I remember being bored a bit watching yet another light saber fight. No corny lines from Anakin to Padme, no weird hairdo on Natalie Portman trying distract the movie goers from realising that the movie was crap (Episode I & II) and thank...

Finally, what is missing from these last three Star Wars is what was present in the first three of the series -- a joi de vie, most explicitly characterized in the romanic tango between Princess Leia and Han Solo. The woodenness of the characters stands in stark contrast to the characters in The Lord of the Rings. In that series of three films. the core of the film is on the relationships between members of the Fellowship. They care for each other, are willing to sacrifice for one another, and are a picture of genuine diversity. ...

The movie in a nutshell without giving anything away: Ewan McGregor was superb. Hayden Christensen was horrible. The movie could have done better without the cheesy love scene between Hayden Christensen (horrible) and Natalie Portman (horrible script-writing by George Lucas). Yoda was awesome. Hayden Christensen was horrible. Ewan McGregor was awesome, the epitome of Jedi.

Anthony (Ludacris) and Peter (Larenz Tate) converse casually about the unfair racial stereotypes applied to blacks, and then reinforce those very stereotypes by carjacking an SUV--District Attorney Rick (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Jean's (Sandra Bullock) SUV, as coincidence would have it. Jean's distress becomes wrath directed at her Hispanic housekeeper and a locksmith named Daniel (Michael Pena). Meanwhile, the stolen vehicle triggers bigoted Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon) and his green partner Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe) to pull over black TV director Cameron (Terrence Howard) and his mixed race wife Christine (Thandie Newton) who drive a similar looking vehicle. Using the pretext of the law to sexually molest Christine, Ryan patronizes Cameron who is unable to stand up against the humiliation.

There were a few scenes that I think played out really well - Brendan Fraser's DA thinking of race in strictly electoral terms and Tony Danza's producer telling black director to make sure one of the characters talks "black" because he's not supposed to be the "smart one" were both pretty realistic and at least could be argued from both sides. The hitchhiking scene is also pretty compelling stuff, although Ryan Phillippe was absolutely the wrong choice for this. I think he's pretty much the wrong choice for every movie except Cruel Intentions though. He's only got one note, and that note is smarmy. These are basically the only three scenes in the movie that aren't preachy or sanctimonious.

The Chronicles of Riddick is a sci-fi action flick that had a lot of potential. Sadly it focused more on the action and less on the sci-fi and so it fell a little short. I was impressed by the universe David Twohy (who also directs) creates. Pitch Black (the first movie with Riddick) was surprisingly good and the character of Riddick played by Vin Diesel was intriguing. In The Chronicles of Riddick of Riddick though, Riddick loses his edge a little and becomes the "super action hero". If Twohy had left some of the over-the-top action behind the...

Shakespeare’s first draft of “Romeo and Juliet” was actually titled “Vin Diesel Gets All the Honey He Wants.”

Dark-haired Mexican beauty and jury member, Salma Hayek, French screen icon Catherine Deneuve and Canadian actress Rachel Blanchard are amongst the many stars who are choosing rainbows of fancy coloured diamonds to set-off their designer evening gowns at the 12-day annual French Riviera film extravaganza that kicked off last Wednesday.

Godfrey’s son Baylin, exemplifies a theological integrity beyond the religious institutional figures of the film. Claiming to not hear God, in him, we see a man who has an intuitive grasp of many of the gospel truths. And yet, Baylin’s unchristian Christianity would not pass him in a Sunday School test (just as Jesus’ debating in the synagogues for hours on end as a boy was because he wasn’t passing the tests either!). It’s hard to not believe that Scott’s intention was to cast Orlando Bloom in an almost messianic light if at times he...

Nobody seems to like this production much and it earned not a single Tony nomination last week, not even for Oscar-laden movie star Denzel Washington, who is appearing on the Broadway stage for the first time since 1988, in the role of Brutus.

There are two possible reasons why our inbox was overflowing this weekend with news of Sophie Marceau's appearance at the premiere of "Where the Truth Lies" in Cannes on Friday: either she has a lot more English-speaking fans than we thought; or the rest of the world has been desperately awaiting another wardrobe malfunction of Tara Reid-like proportions as much as we have.

I'm sick of the useless marketing tripe. I'm especially nauseated by the EA's marketing extravaganza masquerading as an awards show. Brooke Burke as Best Performance by a Human Female? So, why weren't Jen Taylor of Halo 2 (Cortana) and Merle Dandridge of Half-life 2 (Alyx Vance) nominated? Oh, that's right, Halo 2 and Half-life 2 weren't published by EA. I forgot. These were character portrayals I actually connected with. Cortana and Alyx Vance represented deep characterization that was only possible because of the quality of their voice acting.

Also, a co-worker/ex-boyfriend of mine is Jennifer Garner's first cousin. He is not a Ben Affleck fan. We all love the Jen Ben hookup, if only that we get to tease him incessantly about his cousin gettin' knocked up by Gigli.

Vin Diesel felt “emotional” was too long of a word to describe a genre of music, so he assassinated the leader of the Word Control Association of America and appointed himself president. His first act was to create the term “emo”.

Vin Diesel designs and crafts every individual piece of Ikea furniture himself in a non-descript shack located somewhere in Izmir, Turkey.

In the unlikely event of his death Vin Diesel can perform his own autopsy.

Excellent movie. First mature character I’ve ever seen Johnny Depp play, and he did it superbly. A few places almost made me cry. You should watch it. The end.

Today was very good as well. I went to lunch with Josh, Eddie, and PJ. I was so glad that PJ got to come with us because he has been sick and has not felt like doing anything. I hope you get to feeing better PJ!! Then Eddie and I ran some errands together and sat down to write some graduation thank you cards. We went to supper with my family, and then watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. What a wonderful movie!! I realized for the first time that Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay for the movie (for those who don’t know, Dahl also...

Just the other night, Heat fans caught a glimpse of Jamie Foxx, Rick Fox and several other celebrities as the Heat fried New Jersey Nets without Crisco. Even with the Heat playing like the Lakers three short years ago, fans know that this isn’t As Good As It Gets. So don’t say you haven’t been warned of the coming of Sir Jack. He won’t be to hard to spot, just look for the mega star behind those mysterious shades.

We all know the familiar dark glasses, the side-to-side sway and euphoric smile as music pours from the piano, the raspy voice that should be part of the dictionary entry for “soulful”; Ray Charles has been such an icon for so long that it’s probable most of us born after 1970 or so don’t truly appreciate the man and his contributions to American music. Director Taylor Hackford’s Ray aims to correct that oversight and largely succeeds, thanks in large part to an amazing career-making performance by Jamie Foxx.

In a recent interview with GQ, Brad Pitt gives a glimpse into his divorce from Jennifer Aniston. His view on the divorce explains, in part, why the marriage didn't last.

Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank have signed on to star in the film, which is scheduled to premiere in 2006.

The only Star Wars character I ever liked was Han Solo. Harrison Ford did the most credible acting job in the whole series and created the only really compelling character in my view. Everyone else was reading off of queue cards compared to what he did, and, much unlike almost everyone else in the movie, he actually went on and had a career that was bigger than his Star Wars character afterward. All because of kick ass Han Solo.

Even in a world populated entirely by mechanical beings Rodney Copperbottom (McGregor) is considered a genius inventor. Rodney dreams of two things, making the world a better place and meeting his idol, the master inventor Bigweld (Brooks). On his journey he encounters Cappy (Halle Berry), a beautiful executive `bot with whom Rodney is instantly smitten, the nefarious corporate tyrant Ratchet (Kinnear) who locks horns with Rodney, and a group of misfit `bots known as the Rusties, led by Fender (Williams) and Piper Pinwheeler (Bynes).

Hilary Swank makes me nervous. She never convinces me of anything. She may have gotten an acting award but she still seems brittle and false to me. You never forget that she's acting or, in this case, channelling DiNero and John Garfield. In the concluding scenes I found her irritating as hell.

The Huffington Post has been live for two days and I still haven’t met Gwyneth Paltrow.

Arianna Huffington told me that if I participated in this “online conversation with all the smart people,” I would be introduced to Gwyneth Paltrow.

In spite of the setbacks, I still believe in this project. In fact, I made dinner reservations for me and Gwyneth Paltrow this Friday.

Robert De Niro directs this dramatic thriller that traces 40 years of CIA history. Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie and De Niro star; Francis Ford Coppola serves as executive producer. With a storyline steeped in spy mythology and the origins of America’s most secretive intelligence bureau, this film will appeal strongly to men 25-54.

An even bigger disappointment is Christina Ricci. She is brilliant in her roles, usually, but this one seemed somewhat half-assed - as though all the movie represented for her was another paycheck. Though she isn't the only one guilty of bad acting. There's Joshua Jackson, and Jesse Eisenberg. The ever important first-to-die roles are filled by Shannon Elizabeth and singer Mya.

Award-winning actor and director Denzel Washington has signed on to star in the time-travel thriller Deja Vu for director Tony Scott and producer Jerry Bruckeimer. The story centers around an FBI agent with the ability to travel back in time. Washington will play the agent, who falls in love with a woman destined to be murdered. No release date has been announced at this time.

Brad Pitt thinks he is ready to be a father but staying married to a wife for the rest of his life is unnatural. Sounds like a man whose only experience with children consists of junkets to Africa with Angelina Jolie and her child where Pitt can drop in and play - and then go his own way. All the upside fun, none of the downside hardships, and none of the long-term responsibility and commitment.

Ben Affleck, though, has always needed to disappear. My friend Stevie points out that Affleck isn’t charming or cool at all, and that he’s well aware of this. Stevie notes that the only director who’s ever understood Affleck’s uncoolness is Kevin Smith — which is why his first big role for Smith was as a jerk who liked to have sex with women “in a very uncomfortable place.” The first role I remember Affleck in was Dazed and Confused, where he played a high-school bully. As far as I know, only those two movies...

Demi Moore’s been left trying to dig herself out of a hole after supposedly slating boyfriend Ashton Kutcher bed skills. The Indecent Proposal star supposedly revealed he has a tendency of jumping the gun, shall we say, when it comes to love making. Demi reportedly made the indiscretions in a chat with designer Cynthia Rowley.

For those of us with the lowered expectations associated with an Ashton Kutcher project, The Butterfly Effect is a pleasant surprise. It's yet another experiment with the idea of "What if?" It's A Wonderful Life did it with class, Groundhog Day did it with humor, and now The Butterfly Effect does it with depression and horror.

Tara Reid is finally embracing her reputation as one of Hollywood's hardest-partying hotties. The buxom barfly is very close to signing a deal to become the next host of the E! channel's popular "Wild On!" travel show, following the bikini-clad likes of Cindy Taylor, Brooke Burke and Jules Asner.

The second thing is that Scott is a brave man to release a movie at this time about the wars between Christians and Muslims for control of Jerusalem. Few people will be capable of looking at "Kingdom of Heaven" objectively. I have been invited by both Muslims and Christians to view the movie with them so they can point out its shortcomings. When you've made both sides angry, you may have done something right. The Muslim scholar Hamid Dabashi, however, after being asked to consult on the movie, writes in the new issue of Sight & Sound: "It was neither...

20 minutes of "Brothers Grimm", the latest Terry Gilliam film starring Matt Damon, will be screened tomorrow at the Olympia Theatre. Harvey Weinstein will attend the screeening.

If you've been caught up in the poker craze that's swept significant parts of the nation in the past few years, you should watch this film. If you think a film starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton can't be all that bad, you're right. If you want a story with interesting characters and plot, well, this one's okay in those departments.

Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher are teaming up for Disney’s “The Guardian”, a drama to be helmed by Andrew Davis.

I took Ariel to see Kingdom of Heaven yesterday so she could get her Orlando Bloom fix. It was much better than I expected from the film. It sure has had me thinking about the Crusades. My longer review with possible spoilers is behind the cut.

Here’s a grand statement: Million Dollar Baby should have won “Best Picture” at the Oscars. Clint Eastwood, who churned out the prize-winning film in 37 days, should have won “Best Director.” Morgan Freeman, who has been snubbed despite mind-blowing performances in Driving Ms. Daisy and The Shawshank Redemption, deserved his “Best Supporting Actor” grab; and Hilary Swank, who has consistently risen above her The Next Karate Kid roots (only to sink below them in her acceptance speeches), was the only choice for “Best Actress.”

The website is one of the coolest I've ever seen ...very interactive and very informative. (I'll be talking more about it in another post) And, get this, Harrison Ford - yes, the actor Harrison Ford - is the honorary chairman.

Since last August when I got to do my first film related interview (Will Smith) it's been great. On average I meet about one film star a month - so far it's been Denzel Washington, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jim Carrey, Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta and Ricky Gervais... but GEORGE LUCAS whoa that's got me excited.

While in Britain, the former “Friends” star reportedly spent a lot of time with David Schwimmer, who is apparently helping ease her heartache from her recent divorce with Brad Pitt.

Whatever the case, Kingdom of Heaven is not alone. What about the other movies being shown right now? House of Wax starring rich socialite Paris Hilton? The Interpreter, another movie about espionage that doesn't reflect the real espionage of our times? A Lot Like Love, Ashton Kutcher's latest attempt at acting? The Amityville Horror, another cheesy horror remake that's based on a true story that isn't really true? Monster-in-Law, another J-Lo attempt to keep her star afloat?

Random facts about Vin Diesel: Again, this is pretty irrationally funny. Lines like “Vin Diesel patented the use of subtle hints” and “The Great Wall of China and Vin Diesel’s toolshed are the only man-made objects visible from space” just make my day. Refresh the page for new Vin Diesel facts!

The Baseball Collector’s Blog: The running online diary of a guy that has collected approximately 2500 baseballs at games over the past few years. Doesn’t sound interesting? Well, the unintentional comedy is absolutely off the charts here. This is a guy who brings two hats to games (one for each team) to weasel more balls from opposing teams. He uses high-pitched voices when calling to players to make them think he’s younger than he really is. And he actually wrote the following paragraph as if it were a crucial action scene...

The Return of the King opens where The Two Towers ended, with hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin), and the creature Gollum (Andy Serkis) approaching the dark land of Mordor. Meanwhile, the company of Gandalf the wizard (Ian McKellan), Aragorn the ranger (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas the elf (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli the dwarf (John Rhys-Davies), reunite with their hobbit friends Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) in the wake of the battle of Isengard. From there, the film follows two branches. The first tracks Frodo's progress...

First you'll need to do your research. We recommend you invest in a Las Vegas season one DVD for some insider knowledge on how the casinos works (or something like that). UK fans will need the R2 DVD. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas gives you Vegas and Johnny Depp, while Honeymoon in Vegas lets you see a pre-Carrie SJP in some dodgy outfits.

Johnny Depp has optioned the nonfiction book "The Bomb in My Garden," written by Iraq's top nuclear scientist Mahdi Obeidi and People magazine foreign correspondent Kurt Pitzer, to make into a film. "Bomb" is the story of how, after Saddam Hussein's capture, Obeidi tried to turn himself and his secrets over to the U.S., only to find the CIA and other government agencies didn't believe him. The journalist hatched a scheme to get Obeidi and his family out of the country before he was killed by insurgents who wanted to silence him. Obeidi gave over...

Where did the idea for Jabba the Hutt originate? Did you know the character of Chewbacca was inspired by film creator George Lucas' family dog? ANIMAL ICONS: STAR WARS CREATURES unveils how these fantasy creatures got their origin from actual animals found on Earth. Airing the eve of the premiere of the sixth and final film STAR WARS: EPISODE III Revenge of the Sith, the special features interviews with the films' actors, animators and creature designers, including George Lucas and stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher. The program...

“I’m a cross between Halle Berry and Whoopi Goldberg.”

So after he left I made some yummy Amy's Mushroom Soup and watched "The Secret Window" which was nothing that I expected. Oh, I liked the movie and all, I just didn't think it was one of these wierd twisty movies. But it's Johnny Depp, so I can't complain.

According to Star magazine, when Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt broke up, they agreed not to date other people for six months.

I've come to determine that the quality of your acting abilities should guide how long your movie can be. This little gem with Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet was 1 hour and 47 minutes long. These two actors do not warrant a movie that long. Come on his claim to fame is his girlfriend and she just likes to be naked. I swear that girl is all about which body parts she can show.

The Founding Fathers chose the bald eagle as America's symbol because of how it reminded them of Vin Diesel.

Oh, Cube (Ice), why can't you just stick to making the old music you used to put out and run away whenever someone hands you a movie script? Friday was great and all and you had some other great roles, but damn, filling in for Vin Diesel in a sequel? Do you need the money that bad?

Tom Cruise is back to being a gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) weirdo. On a side-note, I was immediately intrigued by Scientology's Narconon program. The program hinges on one person. After seeing his picture, I knew why the program was so successful.

We stare at our reflection in the mirror. We turn sideways … Hmm … A belly. Yikes. How did that happen? We turn on the TV. Gwen Stefani. How did she get those abs? And why don’t we have them? Good heavens, the girl is thin! We switch the channel. But the image is already embedded into our brain. And a nagging sense of discomfort now accompanies us.

New York Daily News: For all its scale, grandeur, historical context and political brass, “Kingdom” is no more compelling a period drama than last year’s Alexander - and “Kingdom’s” star, Orlando Bloom, would have trouble filling even Colin Farrell’s sandals.

As for the cast, you really can’t ask for better. Orlando Bloom is starting to grow on me as an actor. I really liked him in LOTR (but I am so in love with those movies its sick) and Pirates. He does a good job here. He doesn’t possess the presence of Jeremy Irons or Liam Neeson, but he tries. There are memorable characters throughout the film, but I think that Neeson steals it. Actually, let me take that back, Ghassan Massoud, the actor that plays Saladin really cements the story. You feel sympathy for his plight, and can read the struggle...

Went to Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven" tonight. Apart from the, and these are Ang's words, "dreamy Orlando Bloom". It's a bloody gore fest with a positive anti-religious (like that?) message -- so I enjoyed it, to an extent.

I agree with Laya that Gwen’s done better work…but her abs are still very impressive. I so wish I could do platinum. Hair or records, I don’t really care which. Though if I had one, the other would probably soon follow.

I have a mid year New Years Eve resolution that I thought I should share with you. It’s strange that I would have a mid year resolution, as I I’ve never had a New Year one. I have decided to live my life in the style of an Adam Gilchrist innings (for the ill informed Adam Gilchrist is a cricketer who play’s for Australia). Mr Gilchrist in real life a committed family man with tendencies for metrosexuality, he’s not quite a nerd but he’s not exactly Benicio Del Toro either. However one Mr Gilchrist’s enters the arena he is a different man, he is like Russell Crowe from gladiator, mixed with Johnny Depp from Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), I know that’s a lot of Hollywood references, buts its all I could come up with.

Next was Halle Berry in Gothika. It didn't get rave reviews at the theatre, but it actually was pretty good. In a "nutshell," Halle is a Psychiatrist who ends up in the loony bin for murdering her husband, and she doesn't remember killing him. It has some good twists throughout the movie. Worth the watch if you have the time.

These recent pics of Ben Affleck's newest lover should back up their claims.

Actress Angelina Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency, said that Pakistani plans to relocate refugee camps from Pakistan to Afghanistan would not help the Afghans living in them. “I don’t think it is a good idea,” Jolie told reporters at a press conference on Saturday when asked to comment on remarks made by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf about relocating the camps.

Leading up to the UK release of Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures “War of the Worlds” on July 1st, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, Paramount Pictures Interactive Marketing have created a human survival online game at Waroftheworlds.com.

I’m trying to make up my mind here about the best male actor alive today. I’ve had to eliminate quite a few, like Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater and Tom Cruise. Most just don’t make the grade in terms of longevity, versatility or ability. I’ve whittled down my top 5 choices to these guys though:

An even bigger disappointment is Christina Ricci. She is brilliant in her roles, usually, but this one seemed somewhat half-assed - as though all the movie represented for her was another paycheck. Though she isn’t the only one guilty of bad acting. There’s Joshua Jackson, and Jesse Eisenberg. The ever important first-to-die roles are filled by Shannon Elizabeth and singer Mya.

I saw the violinist Joshua Bell once, he’s pretty close to too cool for school. Scientific American had a profile of Physicist Fotini Markopoulou Kalamara. She is working on unifying theories between relativity and quantum theory to understand the nature of space and time. She is thirty- one and she is peering past the laws of time and space! That, my friends qualifies as too cool for school. For example, Stephen Hawking is too cool for school, Harrison Ford is not. Jimmy Carter could be too cool for school, Shaq is just a basketball player....

There have been conflicting reports on who is going to play the leading roles in “Daughter of the Queen of Sheba”. While some sites like comingsoon and killermovies report that Meryl Streep and Gwyneth Paltrow were once attached to portray the mother and daughter, other sites like movies.go.com cite Reese Witherspoon as part of the cast.

To be honest, historical epics are starting to bore us and we can do without seeing any more of Orlando Bloom brandishing oversized weapons while his hair gently shifts in the breeze...and it seems we're not alone.

I don’t think I have ever seen a film so melodramatic, soppy, stereotypical, predictable. In every single way, perhaps except for the camerawork, the film was made of elements seen before ad nauseam, only now jumbled together in an even larger group than usual. Especially the plot was horridly pulpish, and the symbolism unbearable. The ending, which I must say I don’t regret I missed, was even worse (as I have been told), at a time when one could not imagine the klichés to continue, the sobbing to go on, the melodrama to peak further....

This is based on a true story. It’s about a Russian submarine and all its people on board who just had strokes of bad luck, one after the other, resulting in numerous deaths, and not to nice ones at that. Liam Neeson is likable, Harrison Ford is not, and his accent is VERY bad. Bad enough to be amusing. Very dark and serious movie.

When Star Wars came out in 1977, I saw it so many times, I’ve lost count. I don’t remember which friends were with me, but I know my two sisters were there. My “baby” brother was still in diapers, I think. It doesn’t matter. All I remember is the movie and how much I wished I lived in that exciting universe. I had crushes on Mark Hamill (who is still married to the wife of his youth) and Harrison Ford, and when The Empire Strikes Back came out, my crush on Billy Dee Williams was renewed.

Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow were featured on The Early Show today. The actors talked about their experience on making Sky Captain, which is featured in a video clip in RealPlayer format on the CBS website. The clip also includes some snippets from some of the extra features on the DVD, including some stuff from on set and a portion of one of the deleted scenes.

Jonathan Demme's remake of The Manchurian Candidate was just fabulous, I thought. I have a bit of a softspot for the original, but this one just nails the idea, and comes at such a right-time, that I think the renovation has dethroned the blueprint. I've never particularly liked Denzel Washington, to boot, making it all the more apparent how much the film has going for it. Liev Schreiber [one of my favourites for a long time now, nice to see that he's found a spot for himself] and Meryl Streep are just terrifying, these godawfully dead-on mashups...

B-I-Z-A-R-R-E. Ok, you know the U.N. is in trouble when Angelina Jolie has to do their P.R. work for them. Siffy News:

'Tomb Raider' star Angelina Jolie met Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Islamabad to commend him for the role his country played in hosting Afghan refugees.

For more info on how to be an extra, check this site then call the Chicago Film Office's Extras Hotline at 312-427-FILM. There are several productions coming to town in the next couple of months like The Break Up with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston starting in June, the television movie Pleading Guilty based on the Scott Turow novel, and Drunk Boat with John Malkovich, a film written specifically for Chicago which may be why it's taken so long get off the ground. Plans to make the film have been afoot since at least 2003.

Sims 2 = Kick ass. Yep. Just wanted to share a few screen shots with you people. My sim, based off of me, is pretty happily married to Jayson. But Jayson needs therapy, and Kristin is cheating on him with Brad Pitt. (Yes, I really do have a Sim named Brad Pitt, and no, it wasn’t my intention to cheat on Jayson when I made him. He is also married, to Jennifer Aniston. I was in mourning.)

Ashton Kutcher isn’t a great actor. Let’s face it he isn’t going to win any acting awards anytime in the near future. However he is quite competent at playing variations of Kelso the character that made him famous on the hit FOX series That 70’s Show. Kelso is bumbling, inept and manages to posses an uncanny combination of insecurity and confidence. Kutcher’s film roles don’t stray much from that formula and his character Oliver in his new movie A Lot Like Love isn’t an exception to the rule. While being light-years ahead of Kelso...

Vin Diesel is kind of a threat. He looks tough, he’s got that deep voice that sounds like he begins every day gargling gravel. I could possibly be afraid of the guy. Ice Cube isn’t so much a threat as he is a menace.

I recently purchased the Core Secrets package (advertised in infomercials with Brooke Burke and Gunnar Petersen) and I absolutely love it! Not only has it been a fun workout, but its also a great deal if you are looking to buy a fitness ball.

Is she, isn't she? Engaged. Pregnant. Ms. Garner has been spotted with a slightly fuller belly of late, so naturally one must assume the normally fit Jennifer is pregnant with Ben Affleck's baby.

We're glad to see Kung-Fu Hustle is still in the mix, though it doesn't stop us from being disturbed that Ashton Kutcher has two movies in the top ten.

I was just reading “US Weekly” while at Target awaiting a prescription refill. I totally fail to understand the outpouring of support for Jennifer Aniston. I’d leave her for Angelina Jolie in a heartbeat, too. No-freaking-contest.

Another book-inspired film that I saw before being tempted by the book: The Mosquito Coast. Harrison Ford was great in that movie, which I recall seeing in the theatre as a kid. I have a copy of the book now, after Jessica and I recently discovered Paul Theroux through Rhythm Ship singer Maggie Woods.

Tom Cruise (1962) en Katie Holmes (1978)?! Are you kidding me?!

Is romance blooming for Tara Reid and Jesse Metcalfe, the hunky gardener of Desperate Housewives?

Steve Zahn is a barber whose wife just divorced him and he’s all depressed. One day a slimy customer, Jeff Goldblum, walks in. Overhearing Jeff’s conversation on his mobile phone, Steve realises he’s up to no good (he stole some rare coins). Jeff realises Steve overheard him, and tries to kill him, but instead gets killed by Steve in self-defence. Steve gets a buddy to help him clean up, and decides to go look for Jeff’s coins.

At a recent photo-shoot / press conference for upcoming movie Banditas, young Penelope - who claimed to be 'sick with the flu and a little delirious' - suddenly decided to clamp her immaculate little digits onto co-star Salma Hayek's (DVDs) backside.

'I grabbed Salma's ass to keep things moving,' was Penny's bizarre justification. She then couldn't help but notice that 'the energy changed' after her buttock-groping outburst, puzzling as to why there were 'magazine covers in Mexico describing us as lesbians because of that.'

So far, my best performer is all the stock that I bought in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe last year. I bought 10,589 shares for $30.02 a share. Now it's trading at $90.46, netting me a nice lil gain of $639,999.16. If only this was real money!!!! (if it was real money, i most likely wouldn't be wasting it on buying stock in Orlando Bloom, would I?)

Why must this guy get married? Hey, I’m married, and its great. But Ben is just dying to get married. Why? Dude–you’re a multi-millionaire. Stop it. If you that lonely, get a huge place with Matt Damon, or your brother Casey if Matt can’t move in with you, or if he thinks you’re too annoying to live with.

This is a Walt Disney movie. Brad Pitt does the voice of Sinbad, and Catherine Zeta-Jones his lover (in the end). I already forgot the names. Although 3D animation has improved vastly over the years, I think the qualityof Disney’s movies have gone down. The story was disappointing and everything just fell flat from the start. Too predictable. Disney lost its spark or maybe I just got old, because I can still remember how fascinated I was with Little Mermaid and all the happy and dark songs along with it….

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may continue to deny rumors of their alleged romance, but they can’t deny the fact that People magazine named them the Most Beautiful Man and Woman of 2005.