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Glee: Season 3 Episode 12: The Spanish Teacher – TV Review

Laura Aguirre — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:47:30 +0000

Last night, “Glee” introduced us to Mr. Martinez a.k.a Ricky Martin. In honor of the Latin star, the whole episode sort of paid homage to Latin culture with songs by famous singers like Gloria Estefan and Enrique Iglesias. Let’s go over ‘The Spanish Teacher.’

The Players:

Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Writer: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Heather Morris, Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, Jenna Ushkowitz, Mark Salling, Matthew Morrison, Ashley Fink, Chord Overstreet, Harry Shum, Jr., Cheyenne, Darren Criss, Jayma Mays, Jane Lynch, and Mike O’Malley

Episode Title: “The Spanish Teacher”

Mr. Schue assigns the glee kids a Spanish singing assignment and enlists the help of his musically inclined night-school teacher (Ricky Martin). Meanwhile, Rachel tells Kurt and Mercedes about Finn’s proposal; and Mercedes has romantic complications of her own

The Good:

A New Rival For Sue Sylvester: Sue has met her match in swim coach Roz Washington. It was about time Sue gave up trying to sabotage the glee club (though we’re no sure she has) and Mr. Schue, and found herself a new rival. We expect a lot of deliciously wicked moments from these two outspoken ladies.
Kurt Gives Finn A Pep Talk: The writers have really created something very special between Kurt and Finn. Their bond is one of the best things on the show. These two have been through a lot, but it’s thanks to those hardships that they are now able to have such a strong and believable relationship.
Best Line (SPOILERS!): Sue tells Becky that she knew Becky outed her to Principal Figgins’, “ever since [she] tinker tailor soldier spied [her] way into Figgins’ cabinet.” Brilliant!

The So-So:

David Martinez (Ricky Martin): As charming and handsome as Ricky Martin may be, his character, David Martinez, feels like another Mr. Schue. Both are better looking than your average high school teacher, both can sing and dance, and both are extremely nice. But we’ll cut him some slack this time just because his performance of ‘Sexy and I Know It’ was pretty rad, and who knows, maybe he’ll have an interesting arc.
Mother Sue: So everyone is asking themselves the same question – Sue, a mom? What? The other characters are in as much disbelief of Sue wanting to be a mom as we are. Yeah, it’s great to see Sue grow as a person, but what is a baby suppose to prove?

The Bad:

Mercedes and Sam: In order for us to believe in this relationship, we need to know why Sam is so head-over-heels for Mercedes. We can’t support or get behind this relationship without understanding it. Show us what exactly happened that summer that made them crazy for each other, or something.
Nothing Memorable Happens: Aside from the introduction of Ricky Martin and an entertaining face-to-face argument between Sue and coach Washington (NeNe Leaks), this episode was just a plain old mess, a lot like ‘Pot O’ Gold.’ It was mainly used as a means to introduce a new character and not much else.

The Music:

“La Cucaracha” Various – Will entertains his English-speaking students with a little Spanish folk song.
“Sexy and I Know It,” LMFAO – Ricky Martin shows off his singing and dancing talents to the glee kids.
“Don’t Wanna Lose You,” Gloria Estefan – Mercedes expresses how she feels about Sam with a Gloria Estefan number.
“Bamboleo/Hero” Simon Diaz/Enrique Iglesias – Sam reciprocates, and dedicates a smash of ‘Bamboleo’ and ‘Hero’ to Mercedes.
“Las Isla Bonita,” Madonna – Santana recruits Mr. Martinez for her performance. Definitely the best of the night.
“A Little Less Conversation,” Elvis – Mr. Schue puts on a silly bullfighter costume and sings Spanish and English version of ‘A Little Less Conversation.’ Everyone loves it, except Santana… and us.

Overall:

Last night’s episode had very few entertaining moments. We got to meet Mr. Martinez, and that was pretty much it.

Rating: 5.5/10

“Glee” airs Tuesday nights at 8pm on FOX.

Photo Gallery:

What did you think of last night’s episode?

Gossip Girl: Season 5 Episode 14: The Backup Dan – TV Review

Laura Aguirre — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:30:06 +0000

Last night’s “Gossip Girl” picked up right where it left off, with a runaway bride dressed in Vera Wang. As we found out in last week’s episode, Blair’s emergency call was Dan, who drove her away from her horrible royal nightmare. More than anything, ‘The Backup Dan’ felt like a continuation to the wedding episode. Everyone’s still dressed in the same gowns and tuxes, and some are still celebrating the holy union (not knowing that a bride is on the loose). When the word is finally out that Blair is on the run, everyone is desperately searching for her – Serena, Chuck, Nate, the horrible Grimaldis – but she’s got a plan, a backup plan. Let’s go over the ups and downs of ‘The Backup Dan’.

The Players:

Director: David Warren
Writer: Matt Whitney
Cast: Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick

Episode Title: “The Backup Dan”

Blair struggles with a decision that could hurt those she loves the most; Serena tries to protect someone important to her; Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg) pursues a scandal.

The Good:

JFK (SPOILERS!): After finding out Louie’s real intentions, Blair and Dan headed straight to the airport. Blair’s plan is to book a quick flight to the Dominican Republic where she’ll be able to get a divorce (apparently Elizabeth Taylor did this) without the groom’s consent. The scenes at the airport are all about Dan and Blair. They are like fugitives, trying to escape the evil monarchs. One of the best moments is when Blair takes Dan’s credit card and purchases some casual jeans and an ‘I Love NY’ T-shirt (she’s been running around in her wedding dress). A T-Shirt? Blair? Is this a hint at Dair?
A Sincere Apology (SPOILERS!): Towards the end of the episode, Dan gets fed up with Blair’s bossy behavior and leaves her with her ‘true friends’ (Serena and Chuck). Later, Blair finds Dan and makes a genuine apology, telling Dan that she does care about him.
New Mystery: There’s a new mystery of who sent the video blast that ruined Blair’s wedding? There are several hints that point to Dan, but we won’t get ahead of ourselves.
Best Line: Serena to Chuck, “Maybe I’ve seen The Hangover too many times.”

The So-So:

Is Georgina Gossip Girl? (SPOILERS!): So Georgina isn’t the original Gossip Girl. Apparently, GG abandoned the site after Blair’s accident, and G took over. Although it makes a lot more sense that G isn’t Gossip Girl, we can’t help but wonder, what are her true intentions? And, who is the real GG?

The Bad:

The Dowry (SPOILERS!): In the end, after all the running and searching, Blair returns to Louie. What? Yes. Why? Because if she doesn’t, The Waldorfs will have to pay a huge dowry. Wait, what? It doesn’t make any sense! This is the 21st Century. Who pays a dowry? This is completely unbelievable. It seems like the writers are messing with us to see how much we’ll be able to let slide. But this new ‘plot twist’ is hurting one of the most important relationships on “GG.”
Chuck and Blair (SPOILERS!): How much humiliation can one guy take? Once again, Blair has rejected Chuck. Their relationship is losing its heat, its chemistry. At this point, it just seems like Blair is making up excuses not be with Chuck. We’re starting to think she doesn’t actually love him.

Overall:

It breaks our heart to see Chuck humiliated so many times. His life is on hold because Blair can’t make up her mind. But as their relationship is losing its heat, another is gaining it – Dair. After last night’s scene between Dan and Blair, it seems like these two may give it a shot. As for some of the other characters, well, Serena’s role in the series is just fading away. She’s such a secondary character at this point, which is unfortunate because she use to be quite interesting. Overall, ‘The Backup Dan’ didn’t really work. There should have been a plan C.

Rating: 5/10

“Gossip Girl” airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Gallery:

What did you think of last night’s episode?

Weekend Box Office: Chronicle and The Woman In Black Exceed Expectations

Laura Aguirre — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:22:32 +0000

Despite the Super Bowl, the box office enjoyed another successful weekend. Both Chronicle and The Woman In Black opened to more than $20 million each, far more than we predicted. 20th Century Fox’s Chronicle was expected to make $12.5 million, but instead the superhero flick shocked with $22 million, debuting at No. 1. Daniel Radcliffe‘s first major role in a film outside of the Harry Potter franchise, The Woman In Black, also got off to a good start and came in at No. 2 with an estimated $21 million. Last weekend’s winner The Grey dropped to third place and brought in $9.5 million. Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski‘s Big Miracle didn’t do as well as the other new releases, but still managed to exceed our expectations with $8.5 million. And finally, rounding off the top 5 was Underworld Awakening, which brought in an additional $5.6 million.

Check out the numbers…

Chronicle (2012) | NEW | Fox | Weekend Gross $22,000,000 | Average Per Theater $7,568 | Total Gross $22,000,000 | Film’s Budget – $12 | Week 1
The Woman in Black | NEW | CBS | Weekend Gross $21,000,000 | Average Per Theater $7,356 | Total Gross $21,000,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 1
The Grey | Last Week #1 | Open Road Films | Weekend Gross $9,500,000 | Average Per Theater $2,961 | Total Gross $34,756,000 | Film’s Budget – $25 | Week 2
Big Miracle | NEW | Universal | Weekend Gross $8,500,000 | Average Per Theater $3,992 | Total Gross $8,500,000 | Film’s Budget – $40 | Week 1
Underworld Awakening | Last Week #2 | Screen Gems | Weekend Gross $5,600,000 | Average Per Theater $2,124 | Total Gross $54,353,000 | Film’s Budget – $70 | Week 3
One For the Money | Last Week #3 | Lions Gate Films | Weekend Gross $5,250,000 | Average Per Theater $1,918 | Total Gross $19,668,000 | Film’s Budget – $40 | Week 2
Red Tails | Last Week #4 | Fox | Weekend Gross $5,000,000 | Average Per Theater $2,130 | Total Gross $41,323,000 | Film’s Budget – $58 | Week 3
The Descendants | Last Week #8 | Fox Searchlight | Weekend Gross $4,600,000 | Average Per Theater $2,257 | Total Gross $65,523,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 12
Man on a Ledge | Last Week #5 | Summit Entertainment | Weekend Gross $4,500,000 | Average Per Theater $1,501 | Total Gross $14,700,000 | Film’s Budget – $42 | Week 2
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | Last Week #6 | WB | Weekend Gross $3,925,000| Average Per Theater $1,567 | Total Gross $26,793,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 7

The Woman In Black‘s success answered one important question – it’s likely that many had asked themselves if Dan Rad would be a bankable actor outside the Harry Potter franchise, and it seems so. Not only is the film a surprise financial hit, but it’s also received positive reviews. Scar or not, Radcliffe’s still got it.

What did you watch this first weekend of 2012?

News Roundup: Katy Perry 3D, Kevin Smith Addresses Groupies, Gary Oldman Recaps ‘Jersey Shore’ and More

Laura Aguirre — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:34:36 +0000

This week Daniel Radcliffe came out and admitted to being drunk on the Harry Potter set. We knew he had trouble with alcohol, but really? Well, drunk or not, we’ll always remember him as Harry Potter. Comedian Chris Rock told the L.A. Times that he’s got some serious plans for himself and Bridesmaids star Melissa McCarthy. And, Gary Oldman went on Jimmy Kimmel to cover this week’s episode of “Jersey Shore“. Catch up below.

Mindy Kaling Lands TV Show: The awesome Mindy Kaling, Kelly from “The Office“, has landed a major gig with Fox. According to Deadline, the studio has given the green light to her single-camera comedy. The show will center around Kaling as a young “Bridget Jones-type” Ob/Gyn doctor balancing her personal and professional life. The only bad news is, if Fox picks up the series, Kaling will no longer be coming back to “The Office”. Oh well!
Katy Perry 3D: Katy Perry is following in Justin Bieber‘s footsteps. The pop sensation might be headed to the big screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Paramount has already started the dealmaking with Perry’s camp to create a documentary-style 3D film centered around the colorful singer.
Drunk Harry Potter: In recent years Daniel Radcliffe has been pretty vocal about his previous drinking problem. Well, this week he brought the subject up again during an interview with Heat Magazine, and told them that while he never drank on the Harry Potter set, he did go into work drunk. Next time we watch one of the Potter films, we’ll be trying to figure out if he’s hammered or not. Read the whole interview at Heat Magazine.
Now on VOD: This week a new film titled, After Fall, Winter hit VOD. The film is described a “dangerous, sexy, poignant, and at times [darkly] funny story” about two people looking for love. The film is written, produced and directed by Eric Schaeffer and stars him and Lizzie Brochere. Check out the trailer at the film’s official site.
Chris Rock To Mary Melissa McCarthy: Chris Rock told the L.A. Times this week that he’s writing a new script in which he and Academy Award nominee Melissa McCarthy play a “Jerry Springer couple.” We don’t know about you, but that something we’d love to see.

New Videos:

Kevin Smith Talks Groupies And More: Kevin Smith’s comedy “Burn In Hell” is about to be released (on EpixHD) on February 11. Below are some clips to get you excited.

Kevin Smith Addresses Groupies:

Kevin Smith Loves Austin:

Gary Oldman Recaps “Jersey Shore”: And lastly, we have Oscar nominee Gary Oldman reading a recap of this week’s “Jersey Shore” on Jimmy Kimmel. Watch it, it’s so worth it.

That’s the end of our round-up. Keep checking back at ScreenCrave for more entertainment news.

What are you excited for?

Big Miracle: Movie Review

Laura Aguirre — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:50:56 +0000

It’s unusual for one event to make the whole world blink at the same time, but in Ken Kwapis‘ latest that’s exactly what happens. Big Miracle, starring Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski, tells the fascinating true story of three grey whales who captured the world’s attention when it was discovered that they were trapped in ice near Point Barrow, Alaska. It’s hard to go wrong with a story about whales, just like it’s hard not to smile at a YouTube video of a kitten. But this story is about more than cute whales, it’s about real people and real lives. Let’s review Big Miracle, but beware, some of these stories will shock you.

The Players:

Director:Ken Kwapis
Writer: Jack Amiel & Michael Begler (screenplay), Thomas Rose (book “Freeing the Whales”)
Starring: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Ted Danson, Kristen Bell
Cinematography: John Bailey

The Plot:

Based on real life events, Big Miracle tells the story of a family of grey whales stuck underneath the ice in a small Alaskan town. News reporter Adam Carlson (John Krasinski) and Greenpeace advocate Rachel Kramer (Drew Barrymore) work with the Inupiat community and big time oil tycoon J.W. McGraw (Ted Danson) to rescue the whales, and in the process manage to get the whole world’s attention.

The Good:

The Performances: John Krasinski has got to be one of the most charming and likeable people in the biz, both onscreen and in real-life. Yes, he seems to only play one character (Jim from The Office), but he’s great at it. In Big Miracle, his character, Adam Carlson is a Jim-type – hardworking, honest and witty. Krasinski possesses this strange power where anything he’s in automatically feels right, and that’s the deal here. He’s also got awesome people around him, like Drew Barrymore who’s almost as charming as he is. She plays Rachel Kramer, an outspoken animal lover who will die fighting for what she believes in. Barrymore plays her character with passion and delivers a touching performance. Also worth noting is the awesome Ted Danson, who plays an oil tycoon. Danson couldn’t be more different than his character, but in the film you wouldn’t be able to tell. One could say he’s the “villain” of the story, but it’s hard to hate him because he’s just so damn hilarious.
A Strong Message With No Agenda: Big Miracle could have been a preachy film, telling us to save the earth and its wild life, but Kwapis chose to focus the attention on the people rather than their cause (hey, this isn’t a documentary). Plain and simple, this is a story about people coming together and doing what is right, despite their own personal agendas. The film shows that people can be good and selfless when it comes to something bigger than themselves. In this story, an oil tycoon, a Greenpeace advocate, Alaskan natives and even the Soviet Union come together to rescue three whales. Yes, they all have different point of views, but at the end of the day, they realize that saving these whales is what’s most important.
Real Footage: One of the most outrageous stories in the film is a love story between a Colonel and a government worker. The film shows how these two people came together because of the whales, meeting over the phones and later falling in love. As ridiculous as this story sounds, it’s 100% real. They actually met and married. At the end of the film, Kwapis chose to include actual footage of broadcasts that aired during the rescue in’89. He also included home videos of some of the real life characters that the actors portrayed, and there’s even a short clip of a young Sarah Palin! It was quite enjoyable.
Collective Experience: Big Miracle offers a collective experience. It’s not quite a comedy, not quite a love story, and not quite a drama, but it does offer a lot of laughs, a lot of cute moments and maybe, if you’re sensitive enough, a few sobbing moments. It’s a roller-coaster ride!

The Bad:

A Fictional Love Story (SPOILERS!): One story that wasn’t actually true was the love connection between Adam (Krasinski) and Rachel (Barrymore). The two shared a past and throughout the story we learn that Rachel still has feelings for Adam. In the end, the two rekindle their love and get back together. Their love story just didn’t feel right. There was other great material that it just felt unnecessary. Also, they share more of a brother/sister bond, so it was awkward to see them kiss.

Overall:

Big Miracle is a cute movie with great performances and a humble message. Definitely worth checking out.

Rating: 7.5/10

Big Miracle opens February 3, 2011.

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Will you watch Big Miracle?

Interview: Kristen Bell Relates To Her Character In Big Miracle

Laura Aguirre — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:18:59 +0000

Kristen Bell can relate to her character in the new Ken Kwapis film Big Miracle. In this true tale about ‘Operation Breakthrough,’ in which three gray whales were trapped and then freed from the ice in Alaska, Bell plays a young journalist in search of the story that will make her career. Bell, who rose to fame when she starred on the hit TV show “Veronica Mars,” knows competition. Sure, she’s starred in a bunch of movies, and was even able to get on another show with Don Cheadle (“House of Lies”), but she’s aware that there’s always someone out waiting to take her job. We recently spoke to the actress, and she shared all sort of things. Did you know her dad was a newscaster? She told us that’s the reason she speaks in soundbites. See what else Kristen Bell had to say about working on Big Miracle below.

What was it that originally drew you to the script?

Kristen Bell: Initially, the fact that it was about animals. I thought, in simple terms, “Oh, I like animals.” Then upon reading it, the complexity of the story, it seemed almost unbelievable to me. I was like, “Oh really, a hundred and eighty journalists from different countries flew in and two million dollars was spent on this, really, and people got married who met talking about the whales? Give me a break Kwapis.” And he said that the most outrageous portions of the movie are the truth. I just felt like it was as story that needed to be told. The inspiration factor behind it was the most important thing to me. There’s so few times in history when everybody wakes up at the same time or everybody works together. We are so into having enemies as humans. We are so interested in the us and them of it all that it’s phenomenally rare to have everybody check their baggage at the door and work together and it is so powerful, I think.

Did you study different newscasters to really get your character right?

Kristen: A little bit. My dad is a news director so I had kind of grown up with it. I tend to speak in sound bites, because I’m trained by him. The reality of it is I did hang out at his news station a lot and I was excited because I knew the local celebrities who were the anchors and I played around with the teleprompter. When journalists would submit their tapes and he had to hire a new producer or on-camera person, I would watch them with him and I would be able to say “It makes me uncomfortable that the weatherman is in a sweater. Number one, he is too comfortable, I want a professional delivering my news. Number two; it makes me feel like it’s going to be cold and it’s not good news.” I felt like my dad was really open to my feedback in creating a good station.

He’s essentially a casting director?

Kristen: Exactly. And an editor because he picks the stories that make it on the air. I had a fair amount behind-the-curtain information. There’s so much news coverage on this story that I was able to watch a lot and how it traveled and it blows my mind that in the 80s when there were no journalistic entities all over the internet, there was your local news. That was it. And then there was the nightly news that was international. Everyone in the world was covering this one story. It doesn’t even happen now and there’s so much more news out there. That was fascinating and there was a lot for me to research for the piece.

You really owned the ‘80s look.

Kristen: I tried. Thank you very much. That was also exciting because I grew up in the ‘80s but that wasn’t like my prime. My prime was definitely like 95-96, I’m sure you’ve heard. I had older sisters and I definitely looked up to the way my mom dressed. There’s something about the first time I realized, “Oh look at these beautiful, stylish women in my life.” It was around that this story happened so in playing this character, it was really fun working with the costume designer to create all these amazing shoulder pads and cool pastels. Her hair obviously had to be big, so we did hot rollers every day, which was really fun, and then teased the crap out of it and I wore press-on nails because everyone had long pink fingernails in the ‘80s.

Did you talk to your dad at all about this film?

Kristen: I didn’t. I’m so embarrassed. Can you believe I didn’t? What I should have done and what I regret not doing is sitting him down and asking him specifics about what he remembered about this story. I’m very regretful that I didn’t do that. I think I was overwhelmed with the amount of information out there and the amount of tape, so I felt like I had a good handle on it. I can understand the competition. I know what Jill wanted and there were plenty of reporters for me to draw upon that covered the story. But, no, I didn’t sit him down and get his perspective, which could have been very useful for me. Sorry, dad.

Do you think partially because there weren’t as many outlets and varieties of news sources that it was able to draw such a big focus? It would almost be impossible now because there’s always something else to draw the attention away.

Kristen: Yeah, I think that too much stimulus can make you feel crazy. Nowadays, it’s harder to tell what is important because there is so much news on the table. In a way that is really good because we all feel a little bit more connected. The interesting thing about this piece for me was not only did everyone in the world seem to connect with the emotion behind this story and wanting to save the whales, but everyone also came on board and decided to drop all their differences and collectively work for a common goal, which almost never happens. There are very brief times in history where you can pinpoint that happening, where the entire world blinks at the same time. The degree of differences of people involved in this, it’s a polarizing issue between the cultures because you have the Americans going to Inupiat land saying, “We love whales, save them,” and you have the Inupiat’s going, “We’ve lived here for thousands of years, and how do you think we feed our children.” From an anthropological point of view, it’s not really appropriate, as much as you like whales to tell another culture that they shouldn’t do what they have been doing for thousands of years. For them to have abandoned what they do, and join the use was a hard decision which I think was portrayed accurately in the movie, and respectfully. Truth be told, they were the fundamental reason that the whales survived. Our bodies, from the lower 48, are not built to be in that cold for a severe 24-hours at a time. The Inupiat’s could handle it. There were so many things that interested me about this story.

Do you have any memory of the story?

Kristen: I have a brief memory of knowing that it happened but nothing that I could really draw upon so it seemed all completely new to me.

Many of the characters in this film are based on real people but your character is really a representation of the many journalists who covered the story. Is that more freeing in the sense that you’re not playing a real person, you’re just playing a character?

Kristen: It’s better and it’s worse at the same time. You don’t have anyone specific to draw on so you’re not sure that you are doing it right. But at the same time, I can certainly identify with the idea of competition. My existence is in a business where there is always someone better than you right around the corner. The idea of that competition and that hunger and that aggressive dedication I could identify with because I have wanted jobs so badly. I feel that Jill Gerard was just a mish-mash of all these journalists that thought that this was the story that would make or break them and that they had to do a great job. Her storyline is interesting because she loses herself a little bit, or maybe she doesn’t. Maybe you see what her two priorities are. She’s a little bit more selfish. She’s not really in it for the whales.

She has a moment there where she contemplates giving it up and going into teaching. Have you ever had a moment where the competition was too high and you thought about doing something else?

Kristen: Yeah like legitimately every five minutes. It’s something I’ve learned to deal with over the last couple of years. I find my sanity because I evaluate my self-esteem based on the integrity of my actions versus the jobs I get. There was a huge portion of my life where whatever job I was getting was who I was. Whatever job I had was my entire existence. It was my validity. It was whether I was legitimate or not, and whether I actually even existed. I think that since I’ve grown up I’ve realized that I’m a human being that likes acting a lot, but I love being a human being. So it’s a really delicate balance to stay sane and not think that that one job that you might attain could make or break your life.

What was it like filming in Alaska? And it’s a very male dominated cast with the exception of you and Drew, what was that like?

Kristen: Truth be told, the boys are pretty much sissies on this film and Drew and I are way stronger so that is how it breaks down. No, this cast got along really well because everyone is kind of a goofball. Ken Kwapis is like the most genuine sort of goofy guy ever, but he’s so sincere and his heart was so into this picture. It was mandatory for him that we have animatronic, really life-like whales so that we weren’t acting with a tennis ball, and so that the whole group was looking at the same thing. And so that between action and cut, we were able to feel something for this animal. No one in the cast or crew had friends or family in Alaska that I knew of, and no one could really travel because there were icy winds all the time, so we visited a lot of pizza joints. We saw a lot of movies; we played a lot of poker in each other’s rooms.

Who was the best poker player?

Kristen: Ted’s a pretty good poker player. Krasinski is a pretty good poker player. I can’t remember who won the most though. I don’t even think we were playing for real money. We were just playing for respect.

Would you say the strategy of the animatronic whales worked?

Kristen: For me, yeah. I’m kind of an idiot but when I was looking at those whales. I’ve been whale watching a few times and been in Capetown where the Southern White Whales come from. It’s extraordinary. You look into their eyes and you just feel something magical. I hate to say it but I kind of felt the same thing when I was looking at these animals. It was sad, visually how small the hole was for them to come up and when you see the three of them surface together, just the story that the picture told, kind of devastated you. I did connect to these animatronic toys, and they’d yell,”Cut!” and you’d see the New Zealander who built it with dip in his mouth, doing the joystick. It wasn’t real. I feel like it worked. And it was really important to Ken, which I think was lucky for all of us because it made our job a lot easier.

Do you consider yourself a nature lover, an outdoors person to begin with?

Kristen: A wood nymph? Yes! Yes, I do like being outdoors a lot. I hike a lot, and I’m a huge animal lover. So Alaska was a really wonderful location for me because we really got a chance on the weekends to explore its majesty and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s kind of hard to articulate, because it is so untouched. Like, we hiked to the top of Mt Alyeska, I mean there was a tram involved. It wasn’t like we hiked for two days. You are actually above the clouds and you are able to take pictures when you are on this peak and you are looking 200 feet down and there are the clouds. It’s extraordinary.

You have a few scenes with John. I was wondering how it was like to work with him?

Kristen: One of the best we’ve got is an easy way to describe it. I was friends with John before we started this movie, so it was great going in knowing that I would be comfortable and not have to get to know someone new. John’s a really giving actor. He’s very present, and he’s eager to work on the scenes. John loves what he does and he’s not over it by any stretch of the imagination. He’s also a really good writer and he thinks on his feet well so it’s a very fun aspect to have in a partner when you are struggling with something. His ego is not involved at all. He really is a story teller by nature. It was awesome. I loved working with John.

What was it like for you watching the movie as an audience member?

Kristen: I think it was everything I hoped it would be. I don’t know enough to read a script and go, I know how Ken is going to shoot this. I’m not that cocky, I don’t have the education as a filmmaker. It was more magical than I thought. We shot in Alaska but the area where we shot was right under water and at times, in the early fall when there wasn’t the snow that we needed, we would manufacture it and some of the elements were manufactured by man. We weren’t out in the complete arctic, but then when you saw it, I didn’t smell at all. It looked completely legitimate. Some of the most touching scenes that I wasn’t present for were the scenes between Malik and the whales. It’s was beautiful. It was like a snippet from a frontline that they are doing on the Inupiat culture or something. It helped that everyone involved was interested in telling the most accurate story possible.

Q: Is it safe to say that you would go back to Alaska again?

Kristen: I would yeah, I really would. I didn’t get to see the Northern Lights or go up to Fairbanks when I was there and a lot of the cast did. I drove down to Seward and saw the aquarium where they rescue or rehabilitate otters, seals, or damaged wildlife. I would definitely go back to Alaska. There is a harmony up there that is non-existent in LA.

That’s out interview with Kristen Bell. Big Miracle hits theaters Friday.

What did you think?

Interview: Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski Save The Whales

Laura Aguirre — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:24:18 +0000

John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore are two of the most charming people in Hollywood, and to top it off, they star in a new film about whales. Who doesn’t love whales? In Ken Kwapis‘ Big Miracle, Krasinski plays Adam Carlson, a small town news reporter, and Barrymore plays Rachel Kramer, an outspoken Animal lover based on real life Greenpeace advocate Cindy Lowry. In the film, Adam and Rachel work together to help a family of gray whales trapped underneath the Alaskan ice.

Recently, we got the chance to talk to the two stars about this based on real events movie. John Krasinski told us that he was skeptical at first about the film’s authenticity, only to be reassured that the most outrageous things in the film had actually happened. He also let us in on a new project he’s been working on with director Gus van Sant. And Drew Barrymore, well, she had nothing but nice things to say about her co-star and director. Check out the complete interview.

Were you guys aware of the story the film is based on before the script came together? Was it news to you or do you remember hearing it?

John Krasinski: I remember hearing about it. I remember definitely knowing something about it, probably was too young to be at all involved in it and wasn’t necessarily the most current events guy at age whatever-I-was…uh nine, I guess? Ten? But no, I mean, when you read the script I remember I read the script and I thought it was really great, I thought it was really sweet. My concern was that it was like – I said to Ken [Kwapis], “Yeah, it’s really good, but we have to cut back a little bit of this stuff. Some of this stuff is a little unbelievable.” And he’s like, “Nah, it’s all true.” And I was like, “Alright, Ken. I don’t know how long you’ve been in Hollywood, but none of this is real.” And he was like, “No, these people got married and…

What part seemed the most unbelievable to you?

JK: I think that the press secretary and the national guard pilot falling in love and getting married after being so adversarial on the phone was insane. That was insane! And then when you see the picture at the end of the movie it’s so moving. I think it’s just a great, great movie, especially at this point in time to believe in the power of unity and getting together for a cause or really for anything, especially with social media. I think this is the time where not only can you have a voice, but your voice can be the catalyst for something massive.

Both of you have had previous experience working with Ken Kwapis, but this movie is obviously very different from anything you’ve done previously. From your perspective, how did his approach change for this project?

JK: He was, in a good way, very stressed, and I say in a good way because I think he understood the difference in the level he was trying to achieve in this movie versus the movie that I did with him and the movie you [Drew] did with him and certainly The Office. That’s a little more low-rent than this movie. So I think he wanted to make it really, really fantastic and I think he knew immediately that the visual spectacle would be an essential part of the movie. I think, he’s very aware that he, at this point, wasn’t necessarily known as the visual spectacle guy and he knew he could do it and he wanted to do it right. And I remember his shot selection and his preparation and going over the script, he was so dedicated and it was amazing to see him do it because the movie I had done and especially on The Office, he’s so performance-based, and he still was on this movie, but to see him be able to be performance-based and do these incredible crane shots, I was just so incredibly proud of him.

Ted Danson was saying that while you were shooting Shell was trying to drill, did you get at all involved with that? He went…

JK: Yeah, I remember that night when he went. He was nervous. He said, “Those guys are real.”

Drew Barrymore: I think it was great for him because he was playing J.W. who is this oil man, but no, that was really his cause.

The way he explained it was that night it almost seemed like your character, Drew, in the beginning of the movie. There’s like a correlation between the two.

DB: I just think that sort of seeing this story and living in it, you just appreciate that everybody kind of put their agendas aside for a second to work on the same thing and sort of peeling away the layers of maybe… I liked when I got to say to his character in the film, “You’re not as hard to hate as I thought.” I always just liked that moment and thought what it would actually be like if you were stuck and got to know the people that you thought you were so different from or really had fundamentally different morals and beliefs. And yeah, I think galvanizing or trying to fight for something that you believe in is always inspiring. So I’m glad it inspired him. He’s the best.

Did you work with or speak with people at Greenpeace at all?

DB: I did! I met with the head of Greenpeace and spent some time with him. They’re actually coming in DC to the screening. And I went and studied whales up in Seattle with Paul Watson, who did Whale Wars. And then I spent a lot of time with Cindy Lowry, who is the woman that I play in the film. And she’s just rad and a total badass and super cool and fun. We actually connected, which is the way you hope it will be, but maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But we were like two peas in a pod, it was great.

The two of you share a great scene when you, John, are recording her in the studio, and you’re like, “Stop being so formal and rigid.” Can you talk about filming that scene?

DB: I think it’s also making it very personal rather than just soapbox-y, which I think this film is, I hope it achieves or is as good at in that way. It’s amazing how it touches on so many things that could be different today if they were different back then, but it doesn’t do it in a preachy, in your face kind of way. So I think the more you do speak from the heart, rather than thumping the agenda, I just think that’s what people listen or relate or open themselves up to more. That’s one of the things I really loved about that scene.

JK: Yeah, and I think that you did such a great job in that scene too, because I think that agenda-based movements in any sort of way, though incredibly powerful and worthy, I think that sometimes you get lost in the white noise of people’s anger and being super adamant on one side or the other and what fails to happen is that you actually aren’t disseminating the information that you want to get across to these people, which is whether it be any sort of major issue, what you fail to do is tell them the basics and the details of how long these whales need to live and how this is scary and all that very human, emotional stuff that will connect with people rather than having them at home feeling like, “Oh, this is too big an issue, I can’t get involved, I don’t know how to get involved, there’s no way to get involved, someone else will take care of this…” And when you bring it to a small level and sort of make it easy to access, which you did, I think it’s the most powerful part of the movie.

Your character, John, stands in for the regular person because everybody still does have a lot of agendas going on throughout the movie, but you’re the kind of person that’s allowed to be…

JK: I get stepped on early on in the movie [laughs]. No, no I totally agree as far as the media thing. His whole thing is that he wanted the glamour of being in the national news spotlight and as soon as people came they sort of pushed him aside so he had to become, really, an assistant to get his voice back with these people. I also love the idea that, I’ve always loved those movies where somebody thinks they want something and then they realize that the thing they really want is right in front of them, and that glamorous life of what it is to be a news man or be in the lower 48 or in New York or whatever it is, I love that he discovers the real truth of life, which is as long as you’re doing what you love and you’re around people that you love you’re doing something right. So I think that was sort of the undertone of my character was kind of keeping that thing in check versus all of the other people who had a specific political agenda.

What did each of you appreciate about working with the other?

JK: I really appreciated – and she’s going to say “No” and blush and all that stuff – but I really appreciated how professional she was. I don’t think anybody really fully understands what it’s like to be at the level that she’s at and the amount of responsibility that it is, and I think that I’m one of the people that feels really, really lucky to be there, but I’ve only been doing it for a certain amount of time, she’s been doing it for longer and achieving so much more than any of us could even hope to do and to stay so incredibly positive and so incredibly normal. You’d be surprised how much the sway of the day really wants to go to the negative, whether it’s too cold or lunch wasn’t good or whatever it is, there’s always a reason to be grumpy, and the entire crew will go with whatever the vibe is. And they all look to one person and usually it’s the biggest head-honcho on set and that was usually her and she was always so positive and it set the tone for the whole rest of the shoot.

DB: Thank you, thank you. I was so excited because Ken told me that maybe this could happen, there was a schedule conflict with The Office, which was a little bit terrifying, it may or may not happen. He called me in the San Francisco airport and I started running up and down the halls I was so happy and so excited, because I really…

JK: She was like, “Steve Carell’s going to be in our movie!?” [laughs]

DB: I do love him, but I was so excited about you! I was! And I was like, “Oh good, I just think that Adam and Rachel…” I just hoped that they would be just these certain kinds of people while he was struggling with where he wanted to his life to and she was doing the things that she wanted to do, I just wanted them to be good people and exude a good energy. And so I was so excited about doing this with John because I love his acting and I just think that he’s a good person, and you believe in that. And it’s true. So I was like, “Oh please, this is ideal. This is how this film would be, that this story could get told.”

JK: I just have to get over that kicking puppies habit and I’d be…

DB: Oh no! [laughs] We both had our dogs up there too, and our dogs love each other, it’s so cute.

Drew, John mentioned your positivity on set, can you talk about not getting jaded with this whole Hollywood system?

JK: Yeah, how do you not do that? I’m already jaded [laughs].

DB: I mean, it’s just a choice, I suppose. I don’t know. I think that if you feel lucky all the time and you don’t take things for granted – and I’ve also experienced in life that it really can all go away, so that was a really wonderful thing to experience, because then you really do appreciate what you have and so I’ve experienced a bit of both, which is really such a blessing and it always confirms to you that you really are lucky to have what you have and you have to work to keep it going, but you really need to appreciate it as much as work for it. The two work hand in hand. So I feel really lucky, I genuinely do. It’s no B.S.

Did you bond with the young actor, Ahmaogak Sweeney, as well?

JK: He’s so good though, isn’t he? He’s so good. Mal is definitely one of the coolest kids. If they ever did like an MTV or something on him they would be like, “Oh my god, this is like the coolest kid ever.” He’s like this handsome, cool, fun, really funny kid. He brought a couple of his friends from school and they were blown away, more blown away that he got to miss school for this [laughs]. But it was really, really fun and he’s so good and it’s one of those things that it’s frustrating to see how natural it was to him. He wasn’t sitting in his trailer really figuring out the scene. He was like, “Yeah, I get it,” and he just understood the whole thing, it was pretty amazing.

Did the Walkman freak him out? Was he like, this is a weird iPod?

JK: “What’s that, grandpa?” [laughs] It was pretty wild, that whole thing with batteries, and he played that so well! Especially a kid who I think had a Wii and an Xbox and all that stuff. And he was like, “Wow, a Walkman!” And I was like, “That’s pretty good acting, because these things are ancient.”

Did you have to explain the bands to him or did he know Guns ‘N Roses and all of them?

JK: He did know Guns ‘N Roses and he really liked Guns ‘N Roses. I think when we got into Def Leppard and stuff he was like, “All right there.” He was really fantastic and a great energy to have on set. He was always really excited to be there and, you know, those scenes where I am alone with him are really amazing. I feel like one of the great relationships in the movie is mine and his relationship only because it bonds the Iñupiat tribe with the outside world and to be the only guy that understands his grandfather when even he is like, “My grandfather doesn’t understand anything that’s going on.” It was just really nice to be the character that sort of pulled everybody together and sort of really fun because I got to work with everybody, which was fun. I got to be in a scene with everybody.

John, can you talk about the project that you were working on with Matt Damon and now Gus Van Sant is going to direct it.

JK: Absolutely, as far as my brain has been able to process it. It’s a pretty incredibly exciting thing. Yeah, I had this idea for a script and I worked on it with David Eggers, who came up with the story and actually came up with a first draft of a script with me, and I brought it to Matt who wanted to direct immediately. The script sort of fell apart because of an issue that was happening at the time, which wasn’t sort of going to be a strong enough issue later on. So we had to rewrite the script and he’s been an incredible friend and collaborator on the whole thing, and then, just before Christmas, he realized that it’s very similar to doing three or four movies over five years and then having them all come out in the same year. Everyone believes that you shot them all last year, and it’s the same thing with booking movies. I would assume that I’ve never been that in demand, but with Matt Damon it’s like a lot of things that he had agreed to all of a sudden everybody was calling him and saying, “The only time we can do it is here and the only time we can do this…” and all of a sudden he looked at his schedule and there was just no way to do everything. And he’s a very, very talented guy and incredibly smart guy, and he didn’t want his first opportunity to direct, he takes it very seriously, and he didn’t want to be hindered in any way, shape or form, and so it really was purely scheduling. He’s doing Liberace in June so he would have had to shoot our movie, go shoot another movie, and then go back and edit, and that’s just not the way you want to do your first movie. And so I was incredibly bummed, to say the least. It was a very hard night, he called me around 7:30 and I remember at 1:30 the next day he called again and said, “So, Gus Van Sant’s doing your movie?” And I flipped out. I think that Gus is one of the most talented directors there is or ever has been. He’s an incredible storyteller and for our movie in particular he’s going to be unbelievable. So I’m thrilled. I’m really, really thrilled and to be able to, you know, it’s my first script – my first original script, I adapted a screenplay, which is very, very different because that was all David Foster Wallace – but this is the first script, so to have this experience, I should just call it quits after this.

How soon will that go?

JK: It’s going to go in April.

DB: I’m so happy for you! It’s exciting.

John, would you be interested in directing again?

JK: Yeah, at some point. I had the best time, but I was also surrounded by the most amazing people. John Bailey, who actually shot this movie, shot my movie. He did a couple tiny movies like Ordinary People and he won the Oscar for As Good As It Gets. So when you have a great team around you to make you look really, really good, if I could ever assemble that group of people and harness that sort of courage that would be fantastic, but it’s a little like walking down a street with landmines and then at the end of it people are like, “You know there are landmines all down that,” and you’re like “What?!” And now that I’ve seen it I’ll be looking out for them and that’s a lot more difficult than just blindly running down the street thinking that it’s really, really…not easy in any way, but it was really, really fun. I had a blast directing…

You might have scared off Damon.

JK: Yeah, exactly. I told him it was the worst decision of his career. Ha, no. But I want this one [points to Drew] to direct really soon. Whip It was amazing.

DB: Thank you!

JK: I hope she does it again soon.

That’s out interview. Big Miracle opens Friday.

Will you be watching Big Miracle this weekend?

Glee: Season 3 Episode 11: Michael – TV Review

Laura Aguirre — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:04:14 +0000

Last night, “Glee” hit us with a smooth Michael Jackson tribute episode. Previously the New Directions paid tribute to both Britney and Madonna in ways that didn’t resonate well with the series, mostly because there was too much show and not enough story. But “Michael” wasn’t just about honoring the King of Pop with song and dance, it was also about the ongoing storylines and characters. Rachel finally gives Finn an answer to his marriage proposal, and a few of the seniors find out where they’ll be next fall. Let’s see what set this tribute episode apart from the rest…

The Players:

Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Writer: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Heather Morris, Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, Jenna Ushkowitz, Mark Salling, Matthew Morrison, Ashley Fink, Chord Overstreet, Harry Shum, Jr., Cheyenne, Darren Criss, Jayma Mays, Jane Lynch, and Mike O’Malley

Episode Title: “Michael”

The New Directions-Warblers rivalry heats up (with Michael Jackson music on the soundtrack) as Regionals near; Kurt and Rachel hear about their applications to the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts; and things between Sam and Mercedes get hotter.

The Good:

There’s A New Villain In Town: Who would have expected the next villain to be dressed in a Warblers suit? Didn’t see that one coming. We got to give it to Sebastian, he’s one slick and handsome devil – definitely the best villain since Jesse St. James. Can’t wait to see more of him.
Dance off: The Warblers and the New Directions meet in a lonely parking lot and dance off to Michael Jackson’s “Bad.” It’s an overall good performance, but what made it really good was the grand finale. Sebastian, attempts to hurt Kurt by throwing a slushie with pop rocks on his face, only to miss and hit Blaine instead. All we see is Blaine covered in bright red chunks of ice, rolling on the floor because he’s in so much pain.
Kurt And Rachel Get Good News (SPOILERS!): After all Kurt has been through, it’s only right that he get into NYATA. Sure, his dad didn’t have to travel all the way to school to give Kurt the envelope, but we’ll let that slide. Sadly, at the time Kurt got his ‘finalist’ letter, Rachel still hadn’t gotten hers, so she couldn’t share the enthusiasm, but once she got her letter, it was all joyful tears. These are two kids that definitely deserve to get into the school of their dreams.
Rachel’s Answer (SPOILERS!): And her answer is, one shocking ‘yes.’ In Rachel’s defense, this was a desperate moment. It wasn’t so much a ‘yes’ more of an ‘okay, i guess.’ These kids are going through tough times. They don’t know what lies outside of McKinley and they are scared. Like the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures, and these seniors are desperate for answers.

The Bad:

Quinn Hears From Yale (SPOILERS!): As someone who knows someone who got into Yale, I say, Quinn doesn’t qualify! It takes a lot more than a high GPA. Yale is one of the top universities in the whole world, and Quinn just happened to get in? Nope. This doesn’t make sense.

The Music:

“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” Michael Jackson – Blaine takes on the King of Pop. By now, Blaine has replaced Finn as out favorite new male vocalist. Sure Finn can sing, but Blaine has the smooth moves.
“Bad,” Michael Jackson – The Warblers and New Directions take their competition to the streets in a dance-off.
“Scream,” Michael Jackson – Arty’s dream sequence in black and white. The one performance that doesn’t make any sense.
“Never Can Say Goodbye,” The Jackson 5 – Quinn sings about never being able to say goodbye.
“Human Nature,” Michael Jackson – Wait, here’s another number that doesn’t make much sense – Mercedes and Sam performing a duet that ends in a kiss…?
“Ben,” Michael Jackson – Rachel, Finn and Kurt bring Michael to a sick Blaine.
“Smooth Criminal,” Michael Jackson – Santana seeks revenge, and gets tangled in a messy sing-off with Sebastian.
“I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” Michael Jackson – Instead of telling Rachel how he feels, Finn sings to her, which is more adequate since this is a show based on singing.
“Black or White,” Michael Jackson – The New Directions take the high road and instead of getting even with The Warblers, they teach them a lesson a la Michael.

Overall:

“Michael” wasn’t just about paying tribute to another pop icon. The writers were able to do an episode where they paid tribute, yes, but also incorporated the MJ covers into the storylines, and that’s why this episode worked. There were a few misses, like Arty’s dream sequence where he gets up off his chair and starts dancing, but overall, all the covers coincided with the plot of the story.

Rating: 8.5/10

“Glee” airs Tuesday nights at 8pm on FOX.

Photo Gallery:

What did you think of last night’s episode?

Gossip Girl: Season 5 Episode 13: G.G. – TV Review

Laura Aguirre — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:48:08 +0000

It’s time for Blair’s royal wedding, Georgina’s reappearance, and the almighty revelation of Gossip Girl. The 100th episode of the series was sure to be a grand feast of tears, romance, scandals and twists – anything but dull. Chuck vowed not to intervene during Blair’s fairy tale nuptials, but did he keep his promise? Will Blair actually marry a man she doesn’t love? And, after all this time, who is gossip girl? So many questions, and yet, so little time. Let’s go over the highs and lows of “Gossip Girl‘s” 100th episode.

The Players:

Director: Mark Piznarski
Writer: Joshua Safran
Cast: Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick

Episode Title: “G.G.”

Chuck must face the fact that Blair is getting married to another man; Georgina’s return might turn the wedding into a complete disaster.

The Good:

Serena Dreams Of Marilyn: We’ve seen Blair’s dreams plenty of times, but in this week’s episode Serena does the dreaming. In her dream sequence, she channels Marilyn Monroe, while her bestie Blair appears as Audrey Hepburn (duh!). Serena’s Marilyn is sexy, flirty and spot on. Along with the boys, Serena pays homage to the blonde bombshell with her version of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”. But that isn’t the best part of her dream, or shall we say nightmare? Serena’s fears are brought to the forefront when Dan chooses Blair’s Audrey instead of her Marilyn.
Royal Wedding Fashion: Blair’s wedding was a total fashion show.
The Royal Wedding Twists and Shocks (SPOILERS!): As much as we hoped this day wouldn’t come, we knew that if it did, something would go horribly wrong. So, the expected does happen, but in the most unexpected of ways. Chuck shows up at the wedding to try and stop Blair from marrying Louise, but is interrupted by Gossip Girl’s comeback blast that shows a video of Blair proclaiming her love to Chuck just minutes before walking down the aisle. And then, Blair runs, not to Chuck’s arms, but because she’s so embarrassed. In the end, Blair goes on with the wedding, only to be shocked by Louie’s true agenda. It is the saddest moment when Blair realizes the huge mistake she’s made, but she’s not one to be bullied, and so she runs.
Nate Meets The Real Charlie Rhodes (SPOILERS!): Nate realizes what a jerk he is to women when he comes across a pretty looking catering girl, who just happens to be the real Charlie Rhodes. There’s a spark between the two, which makes us believe that there will be something there in the future.
A Cry For Help (SPOILERS!): One of the final twists of the night comes when the runaway bride makes an SOS call. We expect (and suspect) her to call her real prince charming, Chuck, but instead, she dials an unlikely toad – lonely boy. It’s nice misdirection, and it shows us, once again, how close Dan and Blair are.
Best Line: Blair to Cyrus, “Oh Cyrus, one escort is not enough.”

The So-So:

Serena Drops a Bomb (SPOILERS!): We all knew that Serena was rapidly falling for her ex, but none of us expected it to go this far. This week, Serena drops the massive ‘I love you. Always have. Always will’ bomb on Dan. It is completely unbelievable. Once there was great chemistry between the two. Now, there’s just friendship. We know that. They know that. The only people who don’t seem to know that are the writers. Still, we don’t mind seeing where this goes.
Gossip Girl Revealed (SPOILERS!): If it’s true, and Georgina has always been Gossip Girl, then we have a lot of unanswered questions. How on earth was Georgina able to pull off being Gossip Girl without anyone ever suspecting it was her? There’s a lot of explaining to do.

Overall:

It isn’t the perfect episode. There are definitely a handful of cheesy, eye-rolling moments (as there are in every episode), but it is those shocking moments, those completely unexpected plot twists that make this 100th episode worth it. Make no mistake about it, “Gossip Girl” can still leave us wanting more, and for the first time in a long time, it did.

Rating: 8.5/10

“Gossip Girl” returns January 16, 2012 at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Gallery:

What did you think of last night’s episode?

Weekend Box Office: Liam Neeson’s The Grey Exceeds Expectations

Laura Aguirre — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:38:31 +0000

Liam Neeson‘s action film The Grey easily walked away as the winner of this weekend’s box office, making $20 million. That’s a whole $5 million more than we expected. Open Road, the film’s distributor, took a risk in releasing The Grey; Unlike Man on A Ledge, which also hit theaters last Friday, The Grey is targeted towards men and is rated-R. Still, Mr. Neeson proved, once again, that he is a bankable action star. Underworld: Awakening slipped to No. 2, making $12.5 million. Coming in at No. 3 was the new Katherine Heigl‘s rom-com One For The Money, which exceeded Hollywood’s expectations by making $11.7 million. George Lucas‘ Red Tails, another hold-over from last week, came in at No. 4 with $10.4 million, bringing its total to $33.8 million. And lastly, at No. 5 was Man on a Ledge with $8.2 million.

Check out the numbers…

The Grey | NEW | Open Road | Weekend Gross $20,000,000 | Average Per Theater $6,279 | Total Gross $20,000,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 1
Underworld Awakening | Last Week #1 | Screen Gems | Weekend Gross $12,500,000 | Average Per Theater $4,061 | Total Gross $45,126,000 | Film’s Budget – $70 | Week 2
One For The Money | NEW | Lions Gate Films | Weekend Gross $11,750,000 | Average Per Theater $4,293 | Total Gross $11,750,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 1
Red Tails | Last Week #2 | Fox | Weekend Gross $10,400,000 | Average Per Theater $4,042 | Total Gross $33,780,000 | Film’s Budget – $58 | Week 2
Man on a Ledge | NEW | Summit Entertainment | Weekend Gross $8,300,000 | Average Per Theater $2,769 | Total Gross $8,300,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 1
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | Last Week #4 | WB | Weekend Gross $7,145,000 | Average Per Theater $2,717 | Total Gross $21,106,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 6
The Descendants | Last Week #16 | Fox Searchlight | Weekend Gross $6,550,000 | Average Per Theater $3,273 | Total Gross $58,848,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 11
Contraband | Last Week #3 | Universal | Weekend Gross $6,500,000 | Average Per Theater $2,453 | Total Gross $56,400,000 | Film’s Budget – $25 | Week 3
Beauty and the Beast | Last Week #5 | Buena Vista | Weekend Gross $5,345,000 | Average Per Theater $2,492 | Total Gross $41,147,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 3
Haywire | Last Week #6 | Relativity | Weekend Gross $4,000,000 | Average Per Theater $1,639 | Total Gross $15,279,000 | Film’s Budget – $23 | Week 2

George Clooney‘s The Descendants enjoyed a bump over the weekend. The award winning film went from No. 16 to No. 7, after expanding its release. The film took in $6.5 million, bringing its total to a notable $58.8 million. This Friday we’ve got Chronicle, Big Miracle and The Woman in Black all opening in wide-release. Which film, if any, will knock They Grey off the top? Any guesses?

What did you watch over the weekend?

News Roundup: Michael Fassbender’s Oscar Snub, Hulk Hogan Comes Clean and More

Laura Aguirre — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:30:12 +0000

This week Hulk Hogan finally came clean and admitted that Darren Aronofsky wanted him to play the lead role in the 2008 critical hit The Wrestler. The role that reignited Mickey Rourke‘s career was originally meant for Hogan, at least according to Hogan. Also this week were the Oscar nominations: while many great performances were acknowledged, many were snubbed by the Academy including Michael Fassbender, who was hailed for his performance in Shame. The Los Angeles Times took a closer look at why the actor might’ve been left out of the running. We also have a couple of movie previews. Catch up below.

Michael Fassbender’s Penis: Among the many who got snubbed by the Academy is actor Michael Fassbender, who, this year, portrayed a sex addict in Steve McQueen‘s NC-17 rated Shame. The Los Angeles Times wrote an article about the actor suggesting he was snubbed because showing his penis on film took away from his “super-brave” performance.
Hulk Hogan Fantasies: Hulk Hogan told Digital Spy recently that he was asked, not once, but several times, to play the role that reignited Mickey Rourke’s career. That’s right, after four years of silence, Hogan said that he turned down the lead role in The Wrestler because he felt he wasn’t right for the role. Could you imagine Hogan playing such a serious and dramatic role? Do you believe that Darren Aronofsky wanted him to play Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson?
Movies In An Alternate Universe: Artist Sean Hartter invented this cool concept where he took titles of current well-known movies, but remade them so that the movie’s poster suggested a different time or era. An example of one film is 2011′s Drive, where James Dean has taken Ryan Gosling‘s place. It’s actually pretty cool. Head over to Behance to see the cool posters.

New Photos:

Snow White Photo: Below is an up-close look at Kristen Stewart as Snow White from the upcoming film Snow White and the Hunstman. There’s not much detail, but if you’re excited about the movie, then enjoy.

New Videos:

Man On A Ledge Preview: The action thriller Man On A Ledge hit theaters today. Below is a special exclusive preview. Check it out.

Brake Trailer: Stephen Dorff stars in a new film called Brake, where the actor spends most of the time locked inside a coffin-like box. Beware, the footage below is not for the claustrophobic.

That’s the end of our round-up. Keep checking back at ScreenCrave for more entertainment news.

What are you excited for?

Gossip Girl: Season 5 Episode 12: Father Of The Bride – TV Review

Laura Aguirre — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:27:37 +0000

For the first time in “Gossip Girl” history, Blair gets drunk. We’ve seen Serena drunk and on drugs plenty of times, but Blair has always managed to stay sober, despite her crazy friends. Well, finally, after five seasons, we get a taste of drunk Blair, who celebrates her last few days as a single gal in a very non-Blair environment. Elsewhere, Serena spends her time with Dan, prepping for the launch of her new blog; Chuck spies on Blair (nothing new there); and Nate continues his secret relationship with Gossip Girl.

Let’s go over Monday’s episode of “Gossip Girl.”

The Players:

Director: Amy Heckerling
Writer: Peter Elkoff
Cast: Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick

Episode Title: “Father Of The Bride“

Blair has a bachelorette party; Nate teams up with someone unexpected to gain more info about Blair and Chuck’s car wreck; and Serena and Dan put on a charade of reigniting their relationship.

The Good:

Typical Serena: At this point it’s not a matter of if she will sabotage a situation, it’s a matter of when. Serena always manages to ruin everything by jumping to conclusions, but we’re okay with it because this is who she is.
More Inside: Dan preps for his next novel. His ideas sound good – one is set in the Wild Wild West; the other 100 years in the future. But the publishers have something else in mind – a sequel to Inside (sound familiar?)
Drunk Blair: Drunk Blair is even funnier than sober Blair. This is the first time we get to see our Queen Bee buzzed. Our little Blair gets drunk on tequila shots and makes a fool of herself, but it’s all good fun. Serena is a crazy drunk – she takes things too far when she’s under the influence of alcohol or drugs – but drunk Blair is the kind of girl anyone would want to be around.
Vows (SPOILERS!): During one of the final scenes in last night’s episode we found out that Dan wrote Louis vows, which is both awful and awesome. Blair now thinks that Louis wrote the vows and now has this idea in her head that he really knows her, and this convinces her that marrying him is the right choice. There’s also the up side that we know Dan wrote the vows. Let it to the writer to get it right.
Nate and Gossip Girl: Nate’s mission right now is to find the culprit who caused Chuck and Blair’s accident. He’s teamed up with Gossip Girl to figure out the truth, and while this is an unlikely alliance, we’re excited to find out the whole truth and what it will mean to him and his friends. Will it bring Charlie back? Will Chuck and Blair realize they are means to be together?
Best Like: Blair to her bridesmaids, “This game is kicking my ass.”

The Bad:

A Priest Gone Bad: Yes, even priests are bad. They steal money from the church and/or molest little kids, but even so, we’re not buying the whole evil priest act on “Gossip Girl.” Supposedly the guy/priest is trying to ruin Blair’s future because he wants to stay in the church? Well, here’s a solution: Be a good priests, not a conniving one.
Serena’s Hidden Feelings (SPOILER!): Serena is falling for Dan again, and all we can say is, oh no! Is it because she wants what she can’t have? Is she having a mid-20s crisis? Or are the writers just out of ideas? Ding, ding, ding! Serena’s one of the hottest girls in the upper east side, surely there are some better looking, better qualified guys out there for her. Serena and Dan were cute, but that ship has sailed.

Overall:

Although we’re not buying the priest’s hidden agenda, drunk Blair was a joy to watch and she made last night’s episode worth the while. We’re excited for next week’s 100th episode. Will Chuck and Blair finally make things work? Or will Blair tie the knot with Prince ~~boring~~ Louis?

Rating: 6.5/10

“Gossip Girl” returns January 16, 2012 at 8 p.m. on The CW.

ScreenCrave.com » Laura Aguirre

Glee: Season 3 Episode 12: The Spanish Teacher – TV Review

The Players:

Episode Title: “The Spanish Teacher”

The Good:

The So-So:

The Bad:

The Music:

Overall:

Rating: 5.5/10

Photo Gallery:

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Episode Title: “The Backup Dan”

The Good:

The So-So:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 5/10

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The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 7.5/10

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Trailer:

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The Players:

Episode Title: “Michael”

The Good:

The Bad:

The Music:

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Rating: 8.5/10

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Gossip Girl: Season 5 Episode 13: G.G. – TV Review

The Players:

Episode Title: “G.G.”

The Good:

The So-So:

Overall:

Rating: 8.5/10

Gallery:

What did you think of last night’s episode?

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Gossip Girl: Season 5 Episode 12: Father Of The Bride – TV Review

The Players:

Episode Title: “Father Of The Bride“

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 6.5/10

Gallery:

What did you think of last night’s episode?

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