Vicky Cristina Barcelona . . . and Penélope too

SOOO hot. She really does look more and more like a Sophia Loren-ish sex bomb everyday.

Today's Fun Fact of the Day

Curb Stomping only has one listed entry as a keyword on IMDB. Tony Kaye, you crafty devil.

Long Live the Funny Ladies

Whether or not Baby Mama is a runaway success this weekend, there's no denying that Tina Fey is fast becoming the modern day queen of comedy. She's the current Entertainment Weekly cover girl, writer and star of the most consistenly witty and intelligent television show on right now (30 Rock), and her screenplay for the surprise cultural phenomenon Mean Girls (which some argue is a more succesfully rendered teenage comedy than Juno) is the main reason for the film's lasting popularity.

Fey owes a lot to the female comediennes who preceded her. Actresses like Madeline Kahn, Joan Cusack, Lesley Ann Warren, and Teri Garr spent the high points of their respective careers proving that women could hold their own against flatulence and adorable, foul-mouthed sprats. Many of them were even nominated for it.

If you look more closely at the films starring those comediennes, however, many featured them as side characters, roles that might have been forgettable had those actresses not added a little something special to their performance. Would anyone remember the characters played by Joan Cusack in Working Girl, School of Rock or Broadcast News if she hadn't brought her own brand of frantic energy to the roles? Would Teri Garr's largely thankless role in Tootsie be as hailed as it is in the hands of a less skilled performer? And Madeline Kahn . . . no one could do more with a small role than she. Sure, the name above the title may have been Barba Streisand, but Kahn was the reason to go to the theater.

More recently, it's become easier for women to be seen as viable comedic stars, albeit in the realm of television. The popularity of comediennes like Tracey Ullman, French and Saunders, and Australian super duo Kath & Kim have paved the way for more women to find laughs on the small screen.


Tracey Ullman does Andy Rooney on her new show State of the Union


Dawn French does Catherine Zeta Jones


Part 1 of an episode of Kath & Kim

So will Baby Mama stand the test of time? Rotten Tomatoes currently has it listed at a score of 67% Cream of the Crop, which is enough for a fresh score if not a particularly enthusiastic one. Most of the good reviews fall in line with Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com in finding it funny enough due to the skills of Fey, Amy Poehler, and supporting turns by Steve Martin and Sigourney Weaver. In my opinion, as irrelevant as it is having not seen it, Baby Mama is probably an entertaining enough comedy that some people will like, some people won't see, and most people won't feel passionately about one way or another. I will see it, but I'm not sure what to expect.

Regardless, I hope the Tina Fey train keeps moving forward. Entertainment Weekly pegged her The Accidental Movie Star, but I don't think that's true. She's put in her time and proven that she can hold her own. It's time to let her do it.

Hamlet 2 Trailer

And reintroducing Elisabeth Shue as . . . Elisabeth Shue

Awesome. It's been too long.

James McAvoy Has His 'American Beauty' Moment (Warning: NSFW)

These pictures come to us from Shameless, the BBC series James starred on in 2004. He met his wife, actress Ann-Marie Duff, playing her love interest.

Note to self: Netflix . . .


I realize I'm one missplaced petal away from turning this blog into straight(?) up porn, but how could I resist? I had heard tales that this scene existed, but I never thought I'd come across pictures of it (And believe me, I've looked before).


God bless you James-McAvoy.org.

No.

No.

A Very Special Message from Maria Bello

Hello lovies!

I know. It's been too long . . .

. . . Since I treated you all to a shot of my lady business.

I know many of you have been wondering, "When will that Maria Bello make another movie? It's been almost a year since I've seen her naked and shouting at someone." Well, I have a message for all of you.

Fear not! 2008 gives you not one, not two, but THREE chances to see your favorite queen of histrionics in action (4 if that prude Rob Cohen allows The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor to be as genius as I know it can be). I scream, I suffer, I have akward and decidedly unerotic sex . . . all the things you've come to desire, nay, EXPECT from a Maria Bello performance.

I know some of you were disappointed with my performance in Flicka. It's understandable. All I can say is that I tried my best, but Michael Mayer didn't think a movie about a girl's relationship with her horse needed a money shot. Crazy, right?

I hope you enjoy all 2008 has to offer. See you at the theatre!

Behold: the Next Great Summer Blockbuster!

Wow.

I think this video clearly demonstrates the concept of finding humor in reality. There's nothing obviously funny about anything in it. They play it about as straight as they can, actually. What's funny is that, if Hollywood decided to churn out a movie based on Tetris, it's pretty easy to imagine it could look something like this.

Side bar: Am I allowed to say that certain shots reminded me of Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire without sounding too pompous? Because, they really did. In fact, signing a reputable filmmaker like Wim Wenders to direct a mindless summer film is just the kind of surprising head smacker that Hollywood likes to pull sometimes. Think Ang Lee directing 'The Hulk'.

So, dear readers, who would you cast in the lead roles if they ever expanded this trailer to feature length? My money's on some indie actress seeking main stream appeal for the female lead and an up an coming actor looking for that ONE BIG ROLE as our hero. I'm thinking maybe something like Olivia Thirlby plus copious amounts of peroxide and Charlie Hunnam plus 15 pounds of muscle. You?



I feel like we need a good actor for the villain, too. Preferably someone who has played the villain a million times OR someone who never has. They have to have won an Oscar, though. Who should it be?

So . . . Alan Tudyk and I Are Getting Married

I'm registered at Target.

I just saw Death at a Funeral. Cute movie. Alan Tudyk was terrific, and I'm not just saying that because he got naked for us.

So . . . I Finally Saw 'The Wicker Man' (2006)

Alice's Sense of Shame Doesn't Live Here Anymore

I could give this movie a proper review, but, really, what's the point?

Sure, I could discuss the plot. But really all that happens is Nicolas Cage goes to an island populated entirely be Shrewish Lesbian Honey Witches™, throws on a bear suit, punches some women, and dies. That's it. Sure, Ellen Burstyn gets to dance around like Puck from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with her face painted like Mel Gibson's in 'Braveheart', but, that's not necessarily interesting or campy enough to make the movie worth your while. You'd probably just be better off watching this YouTube video of all the best bits spliced together:


Most of this stuff happens in the last 20 minutes, and there's a lot of Nicolas Cage grimaces and 'IT'S A DREAM-no, it's not-BUT IT IS' moments that you have to get through before getting to the Leelee Sobieski throat kick.

Oh . . . and P.S. Aaron Eckhart, I saw you! Don't even think you can get away with being in this. Because you can't.

Prom Night May Looks Like Shit . . .

But its marketing is ace

Best Chemistry of the Decade So Far?

Could be.

Holy F#ck!

That's all I can say.

Friday the 13th Has a New Lead

Cinematical is reporting that Amanda Righetti has been cast as the female lead in the Friday the 13th remake and that . . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sorry, I'm boring myself. Does anyone really care? No. Good.

I Really Want to See this Movie All of the Sudden

Has anyone seen it? Thoughts?