CLICK HERE to watch the trailer for This Is the End.

In This is the End, Seth Rogan, James Franko, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride and a host of other celebrities play themselves in this Hollywood blockbuster wanna-be film complete with a science-fiction/religious end-of-the-world plot — coupled with true comedy and absolute horror and fright!

When the world starts going to heck during a party at James Franko’s house, a handful of celebrities hole up in Franko’s spectacular Hollywood home.  But dwindling supplies and giant egos are making things quite difficult for these actors.

The entire film is filled with fantastic cameos of real actors playing themselves and poking fun at what we think they do with their lives… all while this doomsday story is playing out.

This is a fantastically fresh concept, and I loved just about everything  about it.  What didn’t I Iove?  Much of the acting is weak, and, I believe, it’s done on purpose; so no harm, no foul (even though it can be distracting).  And also… well, it is extremely Rated R and at times it is wholly inappropriate.   But, it’s always hilarious.  If you are easily offended with very bad words or talk of graphic sexual situations, this is not the film for you.  But, if you loved Pineapple Express and believed that those characters must be “just like that in real life”, you are going to be very satisfied!  Because they are!! Who knew?!?  *Wink, Wink*

Seth Rogen and his Superbad writing partner, Evan Goldberg teamed up to do this script and its directed by the duo too… A directing debut for both that looks anything but!  They manage to maintain momentum, flip off the entertainment business while entertaining us and showing that even these actors can have a heart.  Really Shocking stuff!!

You believe that the dialogue coming out of their mouths is actually leaving their brains as original thought. The conversations are brilliant — It’s simply believe-able on every level.  I laughed until my sides hurt.  I was so bummed when I looked up and realized THIS IS THE END!?!?!  I didn’t want it to end.  In fact,  I can’t wait to see it again!

FOUR AND A HALF COOKIES

Rated R for crude and sexual content throughout, brief graphic nudity, pervasive language, drug use and some violence. 

CLICK HERE to watch the MAN OF STEELE trailer.

Man of Steel is now playing in 2D and 3D and iMax at various locations across Hampton Roads!

Man of Steel is not a re-telling of the story of superman, it’s a whole re-imagining of the story.  Changing things up and shaking up characters is the order of the day.

We get the back story of Kal El – son of Jor El (Russell Crowe) sent from an imploding Krypton to live on Earth and carry on the Krypton DNA (and help the people of Earth).  Of course, on Earth he’s taken in by the couple who finds him – the Kents (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane) where he is named Clarke (Henry Cavill is the grown version).  We see his childhood and coming of age told in fits and starts as flashbacks along Clarke’s journey to find himself. 

It’s not long before General Zod (Michael Shannon) from his home planet comes looking for him so he can get the DNA and take over earth.  Clarke now the Man of Steel will have none of that. And so begins a series of long, loud, and at times boring crash/bash/explosion scenes. 

Along the way Clarke meets Lois Lane (Amy Adams) a reporter for the Daily Planet.  I’m stopping short here because this storyline is one of my problems with the film.  As a lover of the superman stories of old – I loved the quirky secret love for Lois that Clarke had and her funny hard nose journalist sense that there was something more to this Clarke Kent guy.  That’s not in here!

Batman’s Christopher Nolan produced and helped Dark Knight writer David Goyer with the story – which I really did not enjoy.  For me – Director Zack Snyder managed to take both the humor and the heart out of Superman. 

And at 2hours 28minutes long it was too long!  If you go, skip shelling out the extra cash for 3D – noway is it worth it to me.  And if you are one of those people like me who waits through all the credits for a bonus scene (known as an Easter egg scene) — none here.  But do keep an eye out during the film… There are some Easter eggs teasing the next villain.  Watch for key logos on some buildings.  

Here’s what’s worse!  We only see Cavill shirtless once.  This film was disappointing on so many levels!  *wink*

Three out of Five cookies

For the past week and a half I have been helping floor direct THRS. It is so much fun and very fast paced. I am learning how to be quicker at the job the more I do it! The show has definitely taught me to always be at least three steps ahead and always know what is going on at that exact time. I have become extremely more comfortable with floor directing compared to my first day. I do not feel nearly as intimidated by doing it by myself anymore.

After floor directing THRS today I was able to learn yet another thing or two at WAVY…editing! Now, editing is something that I am pretty familiar with. At school I had to use FinalCut Pro to edit packages, vo’s, sot’s, and even a documentary. However, the editing software was slightly different and the looks of their products was so clean and unique. I sat in and watched Pat do some editing while he explained different things to me and I asked questions and tried to remember it all. His editing skills are phenomenal. He taught me so many tricks to editing that were so helpful. Not only did he talk to me about it all but he also let me try it on my own! Having the hands on experience really helped me to grasp everything we had been talking about. I felt very accomplished after helping start a package and I look forward to learning even more!

The past weekend working with THRS was so much fun! I was able to accompany Ariane on another shoot. We went to different museums all over the area! I got to see how the camera set up shots and watched Pat take different types of video. I also learned a lot just from watching how Ariane interacted with each of the clients and the way she interviewed them. I also enjoyed meeting all the different people and hearing what they had to say! It’s funny because people keep telling me that the job isn’t always that fun but boy I have not encountered anything I haven’t enjoyed, especially on shoots!

After doing that shoot I was able to go with Chris and Craig on their shoot the next day. It’s very interesting to see how their different personalities work with different people. I enjoyed watching Chris do interviews as well and observing how he helped to make the clients comfortable and the questions he asked. I was also able to talk to and meet many people this day as well which is always fun! I enjoyed seeing how the different groups worked with each other!

This same weekend I helped with Harborfest! It was my first time going and it was a very neat experience. Hearing people compliment the station and thanking everyone at WAVY for their work was amazing. It really showed me how much the news industry truly means to the people. The weekend was unbelievably fun. It truly did not feel like work because I enjoyed it so much!

Click here to watch the official trailer for The Internship.

The Internship is now playing at theaters across Hampton Roads.

 Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn play two 40–something best friends who suddenly find themselves out of a job that they were really good at – salesmen.  They could sell anything.

They soon set out to find new work (and prove themselves to the people who love them that they can and will get it together).

Billy (Vince Vaughn) stumbles across an internship opportunity with search engine giant Google.  Nick (Owen Wilson) is all in to try — after all if they can sell anything, why not sell themselves as interns.  So, despite the fact that neither of them has any idea how to use a computer and both still carry flip phones, the dynamic duo tries to work for Google.

Once on campus they must spend the summer proving themselves worthy of employment.  Interns are divided into teams and the team with the most points at the end of the summer will be offered jobs.  Billy and Nick find themselves on a team made up of outcasts – the interns who didn’t get picked for any other team.  

There are a series of scenes in the film that asks the audience to suspend belief.  Which typically would be fine since that’s what we do in movies anyway.  My mother’s in her 60s and she had a smart phone and uses Google all the time.  I think it’s crazy to ask the audience to believe that these young forty-something dudes have no idea where to look on a WebCam, how to pull up the computer, use a smart phone, understand what an app is, or know anything about pop culture and the apps that are talked about daily in the news, on TV, and in print media.

I am not saying that there aren’t people like this, and I am not judging or saying anything is wrong with not understanding computers. What I am saying is that I find it crazy to believe these characters in this situation.  It kind of felt like the gang from Wedding Crashers got back together and decided to try to get a job — except the thing, is they aren’t the same characters, and this is a different movie.

The Internship is a buddy comedy, and it does have a heart.  It has moments where it succeeds, and if you are a comedy fan – I would say just mild laughs here.  The story is based on the idea of salesmen trying to sell themselves as interns.  I, for one, am not sold on the idea.

TWO OUT OF FIVE COOKIES

 

After soaking in everything for the past two days, today I truly learned what Stephanie meant when she said the phrase “baptism by fire.” It was my third day helping with The Hampton Roads Show and I am starting to feel more comfortable with everything. It can still be a little intimidating but I always have to remember to stay a few steps ahead(something I really learned today). While I was helping direct on the floor I realized that Stephanie was gone! She had left and I was to keep on floor directing. I was quite nervous but I also got quite excited. The pressure was on and I really didn’t want to mess up. I had to make sure to tell everyone times, keep the audience excited, move set pieces, and even get a dog on set. Thankfully, everything did get into place and once the show ended I was very happy. While I may not have been the absolute best.. I got through the whole show! Getting through the show without any major mistakes made me very relieved and proud. After today I definitely feel more comfortable with the job. It was definitely a very exciting day and I can’t wait to see what else I can learn!

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer for Now You See Me.

Now playing in theaters across Hampton Roads.

Talk about an all star cast!  I couldn’t wait to see this film for no other reason than the cast list… Here goes: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Dave Franko, Michael Caine, Mark Ruffalo, and Morgan Freeman.  With this cast, it has to be great, right???  That’s what I was thinking.

The plot goes a little something like this:  four different magicians/illusionists are brought together by some unknown person to form “The Four Horsemen”.  They are an eclectic group whose mission, it seems, is to – like Robin Hood – steal from the rich and give to their audiences.  But they do this in extremely larger-than-life ways.

Beginning in the big room at the MGM Grand, they seemingly pull off a heist of epic proportions – robbing a bank in Paris, then showering the audience with the bills.  This sets everything in motion and brings in an FBI detective (Mark Ruffalo) to solve the crime. Two more illusions/heists baffle and bewilder the FBI (and us in the audience) before the giant finale and explanations for everything begin to unfold.

Now You See Me is filled with of twists, magic explanations and very little acting.  I don’t know the names of The Four Horsemen, and I didn’t care.  For so many good actors to be pulled into one film, you would think that the script would have developed the characters and let them actually act.  But it doesn’t.  The screenplay is smart, but maybe too smart for its own good.  It seems to be overly involved in the whodunit explanations of how the writers think they have baffled the audience. 

Instead the audience feels dragged along through a maze of facts and plot twists (maybe a couple too many) that leave us feeling unsatisfied, largely because we are never really connected to the characters.  They are easily forgettable characters given the lack of storyline they each get to play with.  The one exception is Morgan Freeman.  He plays a magic debunker who keeps explaining the tricks to us.  He gets to act.  I’m not sure we get much out of it other than one more plot twist, but at least he got to act!

Now You See Me dragged a bit in places, but the large scale production value sometimes made up for it.  A Little more than slight of hand going on here – but remember all movies are magic.  I just felt tricked. 

THREE COOKIES out of five.

I was so excited to start my internship at WAVY this week! For the past two days I have been working with The Hampton Roads Show. The experience in just the past two days has been unbelievable. While I will admit that it has been quite intimidating, everyone has been amazing at answering any of my questions. My first day working with the show I saw how floor directing was done. I really took the time to just absorb everything that was going on because it is so busy! I also went on my first shoot for the show and it was so fun! Watching how Ariane interacted with people during her interviews was very entertaining and informative! I truly enjoyed going on the shoot even though it was a very long day! I already feel like I’m learning and experiencing so much and I can not wait to get even more comfortable with everything. I am now even more excited for the rest of this week and summer!

 

It had high expectations but After Earth starring Will Smith and his son, Jaden may have turned into a Father and Son Power of NONE.

The sci-fi thriller cost $130 million dollars to make but only brought in about $27 million this weekend, well below expectations.

After Earth did have quite some competition this weekend including, Now You See Me which pulled in 28 million over the weekend. Then, there was FF6 (Fast and Furious 6) which made $10 million in its second week at the box office after raking in $35 million in its first week.

After Earth got a lot of bad reviews by many critics and has them asking has Will power gone sour?

Do you think Will Smith has become poWILLess on the silver screen?

 

Alright — I’ve thought and thought, analyzed and meditated.  Here are the list of 2013 Academy Awards nominations — with my predictions for winners in BOLD RED.  Comment below and let me know how you feel!  Join the conversation during the Oscars this Sunday night on @HR_Show on twitter (with the hash tag #hrsoscars), or find us on facebook!

BEST PICTURE

 

Argo — It’s a rising tide!  I think the best thing that happened to Ben Affleck was being snubbed by the Academy in the Directing category.  The film has gone on to win so many awards.  I picked it to be in the thick of it by now when I first saw it, and I’m standing by it.  Best Picture Oscar for Affleck and Clooney.

 

 

Amour

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Misérables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Actor in a Leading Role

 

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln — Since the moment they released promotional photos of his portrayal of Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis has been the talk of Hollywood.  After seeing the performance, there was little doubt left that he would go home with the statuette.  Day-Lewis wins Oscar’s Best Actor award.

 

 

 

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Denzel Washington, Flight

Actor in a Supporting Role

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln — Three major movies in 2012 featured Tommy Lee Jones.  We saw his blockbuster side as Agent K in Men in Black 3, the frustrated and confused husband opposite Meryl Streep in Hope Springs, and as the historic Congressman Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln.  Academy voters love to see an actor show his range and Jones certainly did that in 2012.  He will go home with Oscar!

Alan Arkin, Argo

Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Actress in a Leading Role

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook — Jennifer Lawrence was also on the big screen multiple times this year, most notably for the launch of The Hunger Games franchise followed by her critical turn in Silver linings Playbook.  Second year in a role nominated for Best Actress (2011 for Winter’s Bone) and this year she will win!

 

 

 

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Actress in a Supporting Role

Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables — I can’t imagine there’s any way on Earth Anne Hathaway doesn’t win.  It’s the biggest safe bet since… ever.  In the event she doesn’t I’d hope for Helen Hunt to take it.

 

 

 

 

Amy Adams, The Master

Sally Field, Lincoln

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Animated Feature Film

Frankenweenie — I loved this film and it’s homage to fun Hollywood horror films of old.  Even though Brave has won Best Animated Film from the BAFTA Awards and the Golden Globes, and despite the fact that many critics and prognosticators are calling Wreck-It Ralph the winner, I’m going Frankenweenie for the win!

 

 

 

Brave

ParaNorman

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Wreck-It Ralph

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Skyfall, Roger Deakins

Anna Karenina, Seamus McGarvey

Django Unchained, Robert Richardson

Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda

Lincoln, Janusz Kaminski

COSTUME DESIGN

Lincoln, Joanna Johnston

Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran

Les Misérables, Paco Delgado

Mirror Mirror, Eiko Ishioka

Snow White and the Huntsman, Colleen Atwood

DIRECTING

 

Life of Pi, Ang Lee — There is an argument for almost everyone in this category.  It really was a stellar year for directing… despite the fact that Ben Affleck isn’t nominated.  Many feel it will go to Spielberg.  I have a special place in my heart for Amour’s Haneke — beautifully directed.  And how in the world did Zeitlin pull that big performance out of a four-year-old girl!?  And Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook just did practically everything right.  But I have to go with Ang Lee.  When you stop and think about the directing and how much of it was directing actors to play off of NOTHING.  So much of this film is CG and yet, the heart of the film remains.  Bravo to Ang Lee.

 

Amour, Michael Haneke

Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin

Lincoln, Steven Spielberg

Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

5 Broken Cameras, Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi

The Gatekeepers, Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky and Estelle Fialon

How to Survive a Plague, David France and Howard Gertler

The Invisible War, Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering

Searching for Sugar Man, Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn

Documentary Short Subject

Open Heart, Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern

Inocente, Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

Kings Point, Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider

Mondays at Racine, Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan

Redemption, Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill

FILM EDITING

Zero Dark Thirty, Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg

Argo, William Goldenberg

Life of Pi, Tim Squyres

Lincoln, Michael Kahn

Silver Linings Playbook, Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers

Foreign Language Film

Amour, Austria — I loved this film.  It has won Best Foreign Film at the BAFTAs, Critics’ Choice, the Golden Globes, and the NY Film Critics Circle plus the Palme d’Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.  So deserved.  If it doesn’t win Best Picture (second for me only to Argo) it must win Foreign Language Film.

 

 

 

Kon-Tiki, Norway

No, Chile

A Royal Affair, Denmark

War Witch, Canada

MAKEUP and hairstyling

Les Misérables, Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell — The attention to detail was exceptional.

Hitchcock, Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane

Music (Original Score)

Lincoln, John Williams

Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli

Argo, Alexandre Desplat

Life of Pi, Mychael Danna

Skyfall, Thomas Newman

Music (Original Song)

Skyfall, Skyfall, Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth

Before My Time, Chasing Ice, Music and Lyric by J. Ralph

Everybody Needs A Best Friend, Ted, Music by Walter Murphy, Lyric by Seth MacFarlane

Pi’s Lullaby, Life of Pi, Music by Mychael Danna, Lyric by Bombay Jayashri

Suddenly, Les Misérables, Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Production Design

Lincoln, Production Design: Rick Carter, Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Anna Karenina, Production Design: Sarah Greenwood, Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Production Design: Dan Hennah, Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright

Les Misérables, Production Design: Eve Stewart, Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson

Life of Pi, Production Design: David Gropman, Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

Short Film (Animated)

Paperman, John Kahrs

Adam and Dog, Minkyu Lee

Fresh Guacamole, PES

Head over Heels, Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly

Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”, David Silverman

Short Film (Live Action)

Curfew, Shawn Christensen

Asad, Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura

Buzkashi Boys, Sam French and Ariel Nasr

Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw), Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele

Henry, Yan England

SOUND EDITING

Zero Dark Thirty, Paul N.J. Ottosson

Argo, Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn

Django Unchained, Wylie Stateman

Life of Pi, Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton

Skyfall, Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers

SOUND MIXING

Les Misérables, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes

Argo, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia

Life of Pi, Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin

Lincoln, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins

Skyfall, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson

VISUAL EFFECTS

Life of Pi, Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White

Marvel’s The Avengers, Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick

Prometheus, Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill

Snow White and the Huntsman, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Lincoln, Screenplay by Tony Kushner — Another hard category to call, with each of them having their own merits!  I honestly would be happy for any of these to win.  But I have to pick one and that one will be Lincoln.  With a screenplay adapted from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s biography “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” Lincoln brought the battle of equal rights to life and the dialogue was the freshest and most natural I’ve seen on film from that period.

Argo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio

Beasts of the Southern Wild, Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin

Life of Pi, Screenplay by David Magee

Silver Linings Playbook, Screenplay by David O. Russell

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Django Unchained, Written by Quentin Tarantino — This screenplay is just brilliant and thought-provoking. 

 

 

 

 

Amour, Written by Michael Haneke

Flight, Written by John Gatins

Moonrise Kingdom, Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola

Zero Dark Thirty, Written by Mark Boal

=======================================================

I love watching people win, and give speeches that move me to think that dreams come true for those who pursue them.  And frankly, every film that moves you is a winner in my book.  Good luck to all the nominees.

Follow the Oscars along with me on twitter and facebook! Find The Hampton Roads Show on facebook and @HR_Show on twitter with the hash tag #hrsoscars.  I will be commenting along the way and would love to have you join the conversation!