The most surprising thing about 127 Hours -- which is as good (and gross) as advertised -- is that the film features a veritable cavalcade of recognizable actresses. Not that they have all that much to do -- this is a one-man (and arm) show, after all! In an effort to sort out their respective impacts on the film, here's another edition of Movieline's patented Screen Time Check. Be forewarned: Spoilers ahead.
Somehow, I have never seen a Harry Potter movie before, well, right now. Over the next two days, though, I will be watching all six films leading up to Tuesday night's New York preview screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. And I will liveblog the entire experience right here because, well, why not? I'll be checking the comments if you have any words of explanation or encouragement. OK, let's start this thing with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
The most awesome rumor on the Internet over the weekend was obviously not true -- like one step removed from The Onion's gossip pages, if The Onion had gossip pages -- but that didn't stop the world from disseminating the shocking news that Robert Pattinson had gotten into a fight to defend the honor of Kristen Stewart. This wasn't just any fight, though: It was a bar fight. With Jason Freaking Statham.
Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: Is Sarah Palin's Alaska dangerous?... Alexander Payne and George Clooney's Descendants get a sneak preview... And ego clash costs TNT a director... "America is like a dog"... and more...
While many were re-reading the Harry Potter novels, or in some cases making plans to see the films for the first time while live-blogging, a Quidditch World Cup in New York pitted 46 teams from all over the U.S. against each other this weekend in a real-life version of the sport from J.K. Rowling's series. The rules are apparently more or less the same as those laid out in the books and films...except without the flying. Right. Let's go to the videos!
The Hangover 2 cameos don't stop! Now, TMZ has reported that Former President Bill Clinton will appear in a small part for the film, playing himself. This information comes after news that Liam Neeson, Mike Tyson and Paul Giamatti will all have bit parts in the film. Since it seems like this sequel just can't have enough cameos, here are five more familiar faces that I'd like to see the crew run into during their Bangkok excursion. Just don't tell us about them before the movie comes out.
Hope everyone's having a good weekend! If not, perhaps this might brighten it: Starting tomorrow morning at Movieline, our intrepid endurance journalist Mike Ryan will be undertaking the Great Harry Potter Liveblog Experiement of 2010, which is exactly what it sounds like: Our franchise neophyte will play catch-up the hard way with six films in two days, liveblogging all the way before finally seeing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 on Tuesday night. The fun begins here at 10 a.m. ET; your support, encouragement, inquiries and/or sympathies are more than welcome along the way. See you then! UPDATE: It's live -- enjoy!
Director Darren Aronofsky revealed the title for his Wolverine sequel yesterday beginning the first part of Nerd Apoplexy. Simply called The Wolverine, it will be set in Japan as Logan must battle a family of samurai-sword wielding ninjas to wed his true love. Aronofsky claimed that it will be a "one-off" standalone project and not a direct sequel to the terrible, terrible, terrible X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While that's awesome news that we're all going to ignore the first movie, I feel like that title just isn't punchy enough. Join me below as I try to brainstorm some alternate titles for Wolvie's return
It seems like just yesterday that a whole bevy of talented, comely young ladies were on the shortlist to play Daisy opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby movie. And now it appears that the mercurial Australian director has narrowed his sights to Carey Mulligan. But could it be that she's not his first choice?
Unstoppable proved to be anything but, as Megamind took first place for the second weekend in a row (though the surcharge for 3D probably helped push it over the edge). The Denzel Washington / Chris Pine / Speeding Chrysler Building action flick had to settle for the second spot. Meanwhile, neither aliens nor grumpy Harrison Ford could find purchase with audiences this weekend, coming in at numbers four and five, respectively (let's hope more people will like grumpy Harrison Ford AND aliens by the time Cowboys and Aliens rolls around). Your weekend receipts are here.
Shades of 2009! As the recession-themed, extremely poor-rated Apprentice wraps up, NBC is left with a gaping hole in its once-venerable Thursday night line-up. So what's a poor, fourth-place network to do? Why, return to one of the worst idea in television history and put comedy on at 10 P.M., that's what they'll do.
As the New Yorker pointed out, on the internet, nobody knows you're a dog. So it's with some trepidation that I report that erstwhile hobbit Elijah Wood has started a Twitter account. He's a pretty plugged-in, hipstery dude, so I can totally buy that he's decided to tweet away, but just keep in mind, it could be some 47 year-old Korean business man with a Tom Bombadil action figure who wrote this typo-filled first tweet: "Hello, Twiiter. I've finally succumbed to your wiles." UPDATE: It seems like it's the real deal, having been vouched for by Aaron Morgan, the director of The Home, which was co-produced by Wood. So there you have it. Ball's in your court, Peregrin Took![@woodelijah]
Joe Biden's own personal horror movie, Unstoppable, came in at narrowly-won number one position, edging out last weekend's champ, Megamind, which slid to number two. And it seemed like audience just simply weren't in the mood for either aliens sucking the brains out of Los Angelenos or Rachel McAdams, as Skyline and Morning Glory opened weakly at numbers 4 and 5 respectively (perhaps a movie with Rachel McAdams sucking the brains out of Los Angelenos might've worked?). Your Friday box office is here.
Friday brings a bittersweet end to the week at Movieline -- bitter for the friends and legends we lost, sweet because, well, it's Friday. With that, have a browse through all the ups and downs in Movieline's Week in Review, and please do drop by Saturday and Sunday for the smooth editorial stylings of Dixon Gaines. Have a great weekend!
· Somehow this animated sequence detailing Mel Gibson's descent into un-Christlike misfortune is even better because it's not in English. My favorite part? His Sims-esque hissyfit by the roadside. [NMA]
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