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It’s the slowest weekend at the box office so far - only one movie releasing tomorrow. But that one movie should bring in the crowds, because it’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”.

“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Capsian”

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The kids from the wardrobe are back, but things aren’t as rosy this time around. It’s been a year since Lucy, Edmond, Peter, and Susan were in Narnia, but for Narnia it’s been 1300 years and times have changed. In the time that has passed, Narnia was conquered by the Telmarines and King Miraz. Under Miraz’s rule, the rightful heir to the throne, Prince Caspian, has been forced into hiding to avoid assassination. It becomes the quest of the Pevensie children to restore Narnia to the great land that it once was.

The movie looks to be as entertaining both in storyline and in pictures, and a great follow-up to the first instant classic. (Come on. When you get an SNL Short rap about your movie, it’s an instant classic.) Although noticeably darker, the reviews have been strong. Chronicles has been called,

“A grand and visually stunning epic with thrilling battle scenes and powerful themes.”

and

“… an elaborately presented feast …”

Most are even calling it better then the first. No matter what, I know I’ll be singing “the chronic what cles of Narnia”.

See the trailer for “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” below.

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Angelina Jolie arrives at the Cannes Film Festival to promote her new animated movie “Kung Fu Panda.”

Angelina Jolie at Cannes Film Festival

Angelina and Jack Black were comparing bellies on the red carpet, but I think the Panda has both of them beat. Jolie’s co-stars have managed to let out all of her pregnancy secrets in the last couple of days. First, Jack confirmed to Natalie Morales at the Today Show that she and Brad Pitt were having twins. Then Dustin Hoffman announced the due date – August 19.

“It seems like everybody is bursting at the seams around her with her baby news.”

The next question to answer is where will the birth take place? France seems to be the front runner, but maybe they’re trying to throw off the paparazzi. I’m sure People magazine has already paid a small fortune for those pictures.

You can see more of Angelina Jolie on the red carpet at Cannes below.

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I absolutely loved “Fraggle Rock” when it was a television show in the 1980s. I would sing and dance along every time the show came on. So it must be my lucky day because I just found out they’re making a “Fraggle Rock” movie. Apparently sales of the first three seasons have done so well on DVD that The Weinstein Co. has commissioned Cory Edwards to write the screenplay.

Fraggle Rock Movie

In this musical movie, the main five Fraggle Rock characters return: Gobo, Wembley, Moko, Boober, and Red. And things get interesting when the fraggles finally travel outside the Rock and make contact with the human world. The fraggles, though, think we’re aliens.

The making of the “Fraggle Rock” movie is part of the attempt by Harvey Weinstein to expand his base in the family-friendly movie area. “Fraggle Rock” will be the company’s third movie of this variety.

See more photos of the Fraggle Rock characters and the song from the television show below.

Photos and Video

Meet Elizabeth Reaser, the actress currently stirring up trouble on “Grey’s Anatomy” and filming several movies while she’s at it. See her biography, photos and video here.

Elizabeth Reaser

On last week’s episode of “Grey’s Anatomy”, Elizabeth Reaser’s character Ava told Alex she was pregnant. However, Izzie was the one doing the blood work and it turns out Ava is in fact NOT with child. But Izzie can’t tell Alex because of doctor-patient confidentiality. Drama, drama, drama. Let’s see if Reaser can carry that skill over to the big screen.

As a biography, Elizabeth Reaser was born on June 15, 1975 in Bloomfield, Michigan, so her age is 32. In college, Elizabeth transferred to the Juilliard School of Drama where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1999. In October 2004, Elizabeth was named one of “14 to be”, a list of up-and-coming stars to be on the watch for.

Elizabeth has wanted to be an actress since she was little, and she finally got the chance with a role on “Guiding Light”. Since then, she has appeared in several television shows, such as the TNT hit “Saved”, and movies, including in “Sweet Land” which opened to fantastic critical acclaim. But it’s her role on “Grey’s Anatomy” that has brought the most attention. As the amnesia-suffering pregnant woman known as Rebecca and Ava, Reaser turned heads. But unfortunately her run is coming to an end. It looks like CBS has offered Elizabeth a starring role in a sitcom called “The Ex List”, the premise of which reads “psychic tells single girl she has one year to find her soul mate or she’ll be alone forever”.

Elizabeth’s latest movie is “Against The Current”. Also starring Joseph Fiennes, Mary Tyler Moore, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Andy from “Weeds” (real name Justin Kirk), the film is about a man who sets out to swim the Hudson River to mark the fifth anniversary of his wife’s death. After watching the trailer, it looks like a pretty good film - emotional and touching, the kind you’ll want to see with your mom.

With all of the movies she’s been in, it’s surprising we haven’t seen Elizabeth Reaser nude. There was even that bedroom scene in “Puccini for Beginners”. Perhaps we will get a movie with Elizabeth Reaser nude a little later - only time will tell.

See more photos of Elizabeth Reaser and the trailer for “Against the Current” below.

Photos and Video

Metallica is releasing a new album due in September, and now fans can be a “fly on the wall” to see the band behind the scenes. Their new site, Mission Metallica, gives fans a back stage pass to exclusive content, bits of new songs and video of the guys in action.

Mission Metallica

The only video footage available now is a three minute clip you can see below. Although, there is a teaser offering eventual “platinum status,” which will give fans much more access to their 9th studio album.

“For all you hard core Metallica nuts who are insatiable and need more, more, more and extra more! A copy of the new album physically delivered to your doorstep the day it comes out, additional fly on the wall video footage on a weekly basis, many more photos, cool contests to travel, and lots of other stuff.”

Looks like Metallica is trying to make a little money on their music before it hits the internet…and everyone downloads it for free. I guess you can do things like this when you’re one of the best selling bands of all time with 100 million albums sold, winners of 7 Grammys, and have catalog sales since 2000 second to only The Beatles.

See the video below for a taste of their new material and check these dates for Metallica’s tour to a city near you.

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‘Sex and the City: The Movie‘ is finally here and you can see the world premiere photos below. I’m especially digging Sarah Jessica Parker’s choice of head gear. No, I did not photoshop it, but I wish I had. Cynthia Nixon reportedly agrees:

“What was SJP wearing on her head?,” she was heard to say. “What was going on there?”

Sex and the City: The Movie World Premiere Photos

The girls, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Catrall, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis, stepped out in London, England on May 12th at the Odeon Leicester Square. They were all looking very couture and Nixon was one wind gust away from a nip slip. You can see her very revealing dress here. Coincidentally, Nixon is also the only one of the four girls who appears nude in the film.

Check out more photos of the world premiere below and a video of Cynthia talking about the film.

Photos and Video

Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio. These were the names I expected to see top the list of highest paid film salary of all time. Imagine my surprise when I was sobered with the reality that we live in a world where Keanu Reeves is the highest paid actor of all time for his performance in The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions. That’s $185 million after his $20 million salary plus 15% gross.

Seriously, if highly intelligent beings visited us from another planet what would they think of us as a species for rewarding Keanu’s “acting” more than any other thespian? Be afraid aliens, be very afraid.

After Keanu/Neo, Tom Cruise has four of the top 13 highest salaries for War of the Worlds, Mission Impossible I & II, and Vanilla Sky.

Oddly enough, one of the top two highest paid female actors of all time is Tom Cruise’s ex, Nicole Kidman. Kidman has 5 of the 25 highest salaries for female actors all time. To put this into perspective, Kidman received $17.5 million for Bewitched, while Tom received $100 million for War of the Worlds. Unfortunately, women are not anywhere close in salaries and have to be content with getting half after the divorce.

Buyer beware, highest salaries do not show the highest quality. Aside from Keanu, who actually was pretty good as Neo, Julia Roberts received $20 million for The Mexican, Sandra Bullock received $17.5 million for Miss Congeniality 2, and good ‘ol Adam Sandler received over $30 million for Little Nicky.

Compare that to the total budget of $40 million for There Will Be Blood in which Daniel Day-Lewis gave one of the greatest performances of all time. I guess in this case, Little Nicky is the one drinking the milkshake.

You be the judge: Click below to compare Sandler’s and Day-Lewis’ performances in Little Nicky and There Will Be Blood.

Videos

Several Hollywood names are angry with the war in Iraq, and while actors and actresses have long voiced their anger in the media, few have gone so far as to make a movie that directly satirizes the conflict. But that’s exactly what John Cusack aims to do in his new movie “War, Inc.”.

John Cusack In “War, Inc.”

“War, Inc.” premiered at Tribeca, and as Cusack surprisingly found, opened to pretty good reviews. He helped write the screenplay, which he also stars in alongside Hilary Duff, Marisa Tomei, and Sir Ben Kingsley.

In the film, Cusack plays a hit man who is hired by Tamerlane, a company occupying the country of Turaqistan which is run by a former U.S. vice president. Cusack is hired to assassinate a Middle Eastern oil minister because he plans to lay an oil pipeline through Turaqistan, which would foil Tamerlane’s plan for sole proprietorship of the country.

For her part, Duff plays a trashy central Asian pop singer who is set to wed a powerful local politician. She hopes that moviegoers will see the humor in the movie, as serious as the subject is.

“We’re trying to raise awareness with it. It is funny and it is bizarre and a little disturbing. But really at the end of the day it’s looking at what (our country is) doing, and it’s not right.”

I’m sold - watch the trailer and you will be to (although it’s nice to have a plot overview going into it because otherwise it’s a little confusing).

See more photos of “War, Inc.” and the trailer below.

Photos and Video

The weekend movie releases are getting better every Friday - you can tell we’re getting close to the summer blockbuster season. As the movies get bigger, the previews get more prevalent and constant. That’s how you know that the movies releasing tomorrow are “Speed Racer” and “What Happens In Vegas”.

Speed Racer Releases Tomorrow

Speed Racer

For as many big names are in this family-friendly action movie, including Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Christina Ricci, and Emile Hirsch, I just don’t see “Speed Racer” being the big box office hit the commercials are making it out to be. Then I saw a preview promoting the movie as the perfect Mother’s Day movie. No way! This is a kid’s birthday movie, romantic comedies (or anything but “Speed Racer”) are Mother’s Day movies.

I’m sure there’s a plot in there somewhere - young race car driver uncovers an evil plot and saves the day to save the family racing business. It’s really about the visual stimulation with this one. Have you seen those neon lights - you might need sunglasses.

What Happens In Vegas

Now, this movie looks great - funny and cute, the way a romantic comedy is supposed to be. Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher star in this film about two crazy kids who go to Vegas, get hammered, get married, win millions from a slot machine, and then fight over the money. The trick is that whoever bails on the marriage loses the money, so there’s a lot of antics. And yes, hilarity ensues. But, just as you’d expect, it appears that the plot is predictable and characters one-noted.

See the trailers for “Speed Racer” and “What Happens In Vegas” below.

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Remember the good old days of the 1980s, where Richard Dean Anderson could save the world with a Q-Tip and a Bic pen? The “MacGyver” television series ended in 1992, and since then we’ve been waiting for a down-to-earth hero who doesn’t need super powers to save the day, but rather just a brain and a couple everyday items. Well the time has come - the “MacGyver” movie is coming!

“MacGyver” Movie

The creator of the television show, Lee David Zlotoff, also has the rights to the movie, and he recently announced that he is in the planning stages for a big budget film revolving around the MacGyver character. So the big question is, in today’s world of gadgets and technology, will MacGyver stay true to form, or will he evolve with the rest of us? One can only hope that they at least bring back the mullet.

See more photos of the original MacGyver and a video clip of the television show below, to remind you why you loved it so much in the first place.

Photos and Video

The new Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull trailer is out for your viewing pleasure. If you were one of the many who saw “Iron Man” this weekend, you also saw the new trailer. If not, check it out below.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The fourth installment of Indiana Jones brings back Harrison Ford as Dr. Henry and this time he’s joined by Shia LeBeouf and Cate Blanchett. Jones is in a race with Soviet agents to find the “crystal skull.” There is a total of 13 skulls made of crystal quartz hidden around the world and the movie looks packed with action while the Jones crew is on the hunt. This latest film is sure to add to the $1.5 billion the movies have grossed worldwide so far.

As legend has it, at 5-years-old I jumped in the aisle and started clapping during “Raiders of the Lost Ark” so needless to say I can’t wait to see this one. Can’t believe that was 27 years ago. Steven Spielberg’s summer blockbuster opens May 22.

You can see photos from the movie and the new trailer below.

Photos and Video

Here is the trailer video teaser for the Twilight movie which has been long anticipated. This is the unedited official trailer.

Twilight Movie Trailer

Twilight is about a 17-year-old girl named Bella Swan, played by actress Kristen Stewart, who relocates to the rural town of Forks, Washington so that she live with her father. She soon develops a crish on Edward Cullen, played by actor Robert Pattinson. He tries to push her away for the most noble of reasons. You see, Edward Cullen and his entire family are vampires. That little secret does not phase our heroine who remains hot under the collar for her boy toy.

The video from MySpace TV is below.

Video

Just when you thought Tuesday was the worst day of the week, think again. It’s new DVD day, and you can’t go wrong there. So set your Netflix queue because we’ve got a few new DVDs releasing this week.

P.S. I Love You

P.S. I Love You

In one of the funniest and saddest romantic comedies in a long time, Hilary Swank stars in this movie about a woman who loses the love of her life, and gets his help from the great beyond to move on. Husband Jerry had time to prepare for his death, so he also prepared for his wife’s life after his death. He sends occasional packages with various tasks to Swank’s character in the hopes that she finds that she is strong enough to live life without him. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll miss your man immensely as soon as the movie is over. And then you’ll want the soundtrack. So grab your pint of Ben & Jerry’s and snuggle up.

I’m Not There

In this creative portrait of Bob Dylan, tons of actors star as the brilliant musician that embodied the spirit of the sixties. The movie selects six different stages of Dylan’s life, and portrays the artist in very distinct ways. Each of the stages has a different name (like Jude or John, for example), and follows Dylan on his path to becoming the legend he is today. An interesting bit of the movie: not once is Bob Dylan’s name mentioned. And it sounds like it’s worth seeing the movie for Cate Blanchett’s performance alone. Rolling Stone writes,

She burns through Haynes’ head-trip odyssey like an illuminating torch. Blanchett’s soon-to-be-legendary performance is not a stunt, it’s some kind of miracle. Playing the skinny, androgynous Dylan in his electric years — when his hair stood on end to match his fried nerves — Blanchett extends the possibilities of acting. You won’t see a better example of interpretive art this year by man or woman.

First Sunday

I have to admit, I have a very strong bias against Ice Cube, at least as an actor - if someone made a list of actors that will ruin a movie just by being cast in it, he’d be on it. Lucky for this movie Tracy Morgan and Katt Williams are here to save it. After Ice Cube’s ex tells him she’s moving his son to Atlanta because she can’t afford the rent at her beauty shop, he and Morgan come up with a not-so-brilliant yet comical plan … to rob a church. Unfortunately for these new criminals, someone beat them to the punch. To figure out where in the world the money is, the bumbling duo is forced to spend the night in the church. I’m not sold, but I’m willing to bet I’d laugh at least twice.

Over Her Dead Body

Wow, this movie went to DVD quickly! It appears Eva Longoria can’t carry the big screen crowds the way she does with “Desperate Housewives”. Quick synopsis: Eva Longoria dies on the day she’s supposed to marry Paul Rudd. The spirit talker falls for Rudd and tries to help him get over the loss, but Longoria’s ghost is there to haunt her every step of the way. There’s a reason I haven’t seen this movie yet - it was almost universally panned by critics. One reviewer so bluntly puts it,

Over Her Dead Body will find its best audience on airplane flights, where viewers will be unable to get up and leave without parachutes.

Ouch.

See the trailers for the movies below.

Videos

A couple years ago a friend of mine recommended that I watch episodes of Arrested Development. I was immediately hooked and Arrested Development became one of my favorite sitcoms in the past five years. For those who may be unfamiliar, the show included some extremely funny actors like Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, David Cross, and Jeffrey Tamboor, to name a few. However, since the show has ended, no one’s career has taken off more than Michael Cera’s, and deservedly so.

What’s ironic though is that Michael Cera never really stood out to me when watching the show. He played the awkward, timid, sexually confused adolescent extremely well, but his humor never jumped out at you. Since then, I have come to learn that Cera does not steal scenes with his brand of comedy, but rather he heightens his scenes with a subtle realism that makes you feel as if his character is perpetually trapped in awkward moments like ones you have squirmed through from time to time when you were growing up.

After Arrested Development, Cera’s career has flourished in movies like Superbad and Juno. However, a look at his filmography and you will notice that he has been acting since he was about 10 years old in the late 90’s.

With Juno and Super Bad both doing well with critics and in the box office, Cera has arrived and hopefully the best is yet to come. Cera is also known for making a lot of short skits distributed on the world wide web. So I scoured the internet to find some of Cera’s finer moments. Click below to watch some of these hilarious clips.

Videos

Just two movies coming out this weekend, but they’re both getting a lot of airtime as far as previews go. If you didn’t know that “Iron Man” and “Made of Honor” were the movies releasing tomorrow, I’m not sure what you were doing for the past few weeks. It’s like no matter where I look, there’s Robert Downey, Jr. and Patrick Dempsey, shilling their films.

“Iron Man” Releases Tomorrow

Iron Man

The latest in comic-book movies finds Robert Downey, Jr. creating a one-man army whose uniform gets better and better as the film goes on. By the third or fourth version he’s flying through the sky. The suit begins as a way to escape captivity, but evolves into a crime-fighting machine.

In “Iron Man”, Downey plays businessman Tony Stark who makes his money selling ideas to the military industry. Of creating the character, Stan Lee said, “I’m gonna make him the kind of guy that normally young people hate.” The comic book was set in the 1963, when America was at war with Vietnam and Communism, and Stark was the proud capitalist businessman who moonlighted as Iron Man. For a great political commentary of the whole idea of capitalist as hero, check out this Slate article. I never read the comic books, so it makes me want to see how bad Tony Stark really is.

Made of Honor

Romantic comedies follow one of three plotlines: (1) crazy love triangle, (2) boy and girl fall madly in love, but must be separated for one reason or another before finding each other again, and (3) friends become lovers. Typically, in the third variety, one friend realizes he loves the other just one minute too late, and the other friend has already moved on, giving up on her life-long dreams of romance with the first friend in the minute just before. And that’s what we seem to have here with “Made of Honor”. While I like the cast (Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan), the plot seems like a poor twist on the old friends become lovers story. And the critics agree. With a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems that movie was almost universally panned. But I’m sure Dempsey still makes for good eye candy for an hour and a half.

See the trailers for “Iron Man” and “Made of Honor” below.

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