The Daily Pop

What's your secret TV confession?

I found out recently that a good friend of mine won't miss an episode of "Teen Mom."

Me = perplexed. I don't know the demographics of the "Teen Mom" audience, but I doubt a highly intelligent 27-year-old with a penchant for political history and JFK memorabilila is the "Teen Mom" target audience.

But then I think about all the drivel I've consumed in the past ten years, and I understand.

Besides the shows I believe still stand the test of time ("Buffy," "My So Called Life," "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman") I've watched some really, really bad TV.

Currently, there's "Jersey Shore." So many of my friends watch this show, so I'm ALMOST unashamed.

But would they judge me if they knew my love for "America's Next Top Model?" What about "Toddlers and Tiaras?"

Does anyone remember "The Starlet," from 2005? The prize was a "career-launching" role on "One Tree Hill." How about "The Wade Robson Project" on MTV in 2003?

I watched both of those shows obsessively.

My biggest confession:

I've seen every episode of "One Tree Hill." I KNOW.  This is the show they clip on "The Soup" because at one point last season, villain Dan looks on as a dog EATS the donor heart for which he's been waiting months.

Seriously. Here's the clip:

Oscar night recap: Some good, some not-so-good

Thoughts on Oscar night:

  THE ANNE AND JAMES SHOW: Anne Hathaway and James Franco didn’t work as co-hosts. Hathaway was fresh and seemed to be having a good time, but Franco looked ill at ease the whole time. Is it just me, or did he seem to be squinting constantly, as though he had trouble seeing the teleprompter?

  Every time the producers try to shake things up and aim for younger viewers, they feel it necessary to write self-referential material for the hosts. During last night’s opening monologue, Franco referred to Hathaway as “hip,” and she told him, “You look very appealing to a younger demographic as well.” This kind of stuff gets old fast.

 In general, comedians work best as the hosts. They have a better sense of timing, are quicker on their feet with ad-libs, and they know how to work a room.

  KIRK DOUGLAS: He was great, and it was wonderful to see him. I’m guessing there will be people, maybe a lot of them, who will say they were uncomfortable with his appearance. But you know what? That’s their problem. We have a hard time dealing with illness and aging in our culture. The man is 94 years old and he’s had a major stroke, but so what? He is still mentally sharp, and he looked like he was enjoying the hell out of his gig presenting Best Supporting Actress.

  And he was funny. Ask yourself this: How tricky is it  to re-develop comic timing in order to accommodate your stroke-affected speech patterns? He used his cane as a comic prop, and he got big laughs every time he was about to name the winner, only to launch into another tangent by saying, “You know … ” (Everyone thought it was funny but the five nominees, who were probably holding their breath.)

  MELISSA LEO: She dropped the F-bomb! Caught up in the moment of winning Best Supporting Actress, she looked out at the adoring crowd and mused that when you watch other actors accept awards, they make it look “so (bleeping) easy.” The seven-second delay worked, and only the lip-readers in the TV audience were offended.

  While we’re at it, how cool was it that Kirk Douglas – so wonderful as a prize-fighter in “Champion” (1949) – gave an award to an actress in another boxing movie?

  THE RED CARPET: I don’t mind watching the red carpet portion of the show, because it is sort of fun to watch the stars show up, but sheesh, the E! Network really needs to find a way to liven things up. The Oscars constantly talk about trying to appeal to a younger demographic, but the pre-show goes deeper each year into self-parody.

  Do we really need three hours of Julianna Hough and Kelly Osbourne gushing over the gowns? Look, I’m not a fashionista. I don’t have any suggestions off the top of my head as far as how to make this portion of Oscar night more appealing. But, great gosh a-mighty, they need to do something. Because the bland, vapid commentary is dreadful.

 I didn’t watch any of the coverage at TV Guide Network, but I must say I’m glad that Joan Rivers has retired from the red carpet (and taken her coattail-riding daughter with her). Rivers at her best is a talented comedian, but her work on the red carpet – when she didn’t bother to do her homework and often had to ask stars on camera if they were nominated for anything – was embarrassing.

  THE AWARDS THEMSELVES: No major surprises. The speeches were generally nice to watch but pretty quickly forgettable. Randy Newman is always amusing. I liked it when Best Director winner Tom Hooper recalled the night that his mother went to see a stageplay called “The King’s Speech” and then called him to say “I think I just found your next movie.”

 QUICK THOUGHT: If they care so much about skewing younger, why did they drag Celine Dion out to sing “Smile” during the annual memorial tribute?

 OVERALL: If I’m giving letter grades, it was a C+ effort. Nicely paced, never seemed to drag, but there was nothing tremendously memorable about it either, and the hosts (and the material provided for them) didn't work.

 Mike Holtzclaw, a senior reporter at the Daily Press, stayed up to watch the full Academy Awards telecast even though he had to get up at 4 a.m. You can reach him at mholtzclaw@dailypress.com.

Oscar nominations: No to Nolan?

 No Christopher Nolan? Really?

That was my immediate reaction to this morning’s announcement of the Academy Award nominations. In general, I try to sit out the instantaneous listing of “snubs,” but in this instance, I found myself truly stunned to see the Best Director category bypassing Nolan’s work on “Inception.”

 He was nominated for the Directors’ Guild awards, and that is generally a good predictor of the Oscar nominations. This year, four of the five DGA nominees – Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”), David Fincher (“The Social Network”), Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan”) and David O. Russell (“The Fighter”) – were also nominate for Oscars. But Nolan was bumped in favor of the Coen Brothers for “True Grit.”

 I have no problem with the Coens getting a nomination. “True Grit” was a terrific film, and the Coens did a great job of evoking a distinct time and place. I would have put them ahead of David O. Russell in this category, as I thought “The Fighter” had some good performances but was overall an uneven film.

  Nolan’s work on “Inception” was, I thought, remarkable. It rivals “The King’s Speech” for my favorite film of 2010. “Inception” is a work of such vivid imagination, both visual and emotional. Nolan did a great job of (a.) integrating specatacular visual effects without letting them overwhelm the characters or the story, and (b.) telling an extraordinarily complex story in a comprehensible way. The plot, which involves technology that goes inside the subconscious minds of its subjects, was able to create multiple layers of dreams within dreams, but always in a way that seemed clear and understandable. This is a film that could have easily fallen into the mind-numbing mush of the “Matrix” sequels, for example, but Nolan was able to keep it straight and clear.

  OK, that’s my two cents.

  Other than that, a few quick thoughts …

 It’s obviously silly to place Hailee Steinfeld (“True Grit”) in the supporting actress category, since realistically she was the film’s lead character – the narrator, the protagonist and the person who sets all of the dramatic action in motion. But surely we saw it coming (it was one of the predictions that I got right), as the Academy frequently pushes young actors into supporting categories rather than making them go up against the heavy hitters in the lead category. (If an actor receives votes in both categories, he or she gets placed in the category where he or she received the most votes.) I’m glad she got nominated, regardless of the category.

 Happy to see Mark Ruffalo, who grew up in Virginia Beach, get nominated for “The Kids Are Alright.” It’s his first Oscar nomination after several previous performances that were certainly worthy of consideration. He most likely won’t win the supporting actor category – look for either Christian Bale or Geoffrey Rush – but it’s a deserving nomination.

  Immediate predictions in the major categories: “The King’s Speech,” David Fincher (Best Picture/Best Director split), Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush (upset over Christian Bale), and Hailee Stenfeld (though supporting actress is a toss-up). In the screenwriting categories – which I consider to be majors, since it all begins with a good story – look for “The King’s Speech” and “The Social Network” (I’m tempted to pick “Winter’s Bone” as an upset, but that’s probably my heart and not my head).

 “The King’s Speech” led all films with 12 nominations, followed by “True Grit” with 10, and “The Social Network,” “Inception” and "The Fighter" with eight apiece.

 Oscar night is Feb. 27. James Franco and Anne Hathaway are hosts.

Can’t wait.

Mike Holtzclaw, a senior reporter at the Daily Press, correctly predicted 27 of 35 nominations in the six "major categories." Decide for yourself if that's a good showing. He can be reached at mholtzclaw@dailypress.com.

 

Oscar buzz: 'King's Speech' gets a boost leading up to nominations

  The Academy Award nominations come out on Tuesday morning, and they come on the heels of a surprising turn of events over the weekend that throws a wrinkle into this year’s developing “Oscar Buzz.”

 “The King’s Speech” earned the top honor at the Producers’ Guild of America (PGA) Awards on Saturday, which may move that film ahead of the presumed frontrunner “The Social Network” in this year’s Best Picture race. The PGA awards don’t always predict Best Picture with the same degree of accuracy as the Directors’ Guild with Best Director and the Screen Actors’ Guild with the acting awards – but the victory by “The King’s Speech” at least slows some of the momentum that “The Social Network” had coming out of the Golden Globes.

  The Academy Award nominations will be announced at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

  In addition to “The King’s Speech” and “The Social Network,” the Best Picture crowd will almost certainly include “Inception,” “Black Swan” and probably “The Fighter.” After that, as the Academy continues the practice established last year of nominating 10 fims instead of the traditional five, look for the Coen Brothers’ “True Grit” Pixar’s “Toy Story 3,” as well as a couple of highly respected dramas such as “Winter’s Bone” and “The Kids are Alright.”

 Colin Firth is the clear favorite in the lead actor race for his performance as King George VI in “The King’s Speech,” and Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”) and James Franco (“127 Hours”) are pretty much locks to get nominations. Jeff Bridges, last year’s winner for “Crazy Heart,” is a good bet to get nominated again as the ever gritty Rooster Cogburn. The fifth spot is up in the air, but it could well go to Mark Wahlberg’s showy turn in “The Fighter.”

 The lead actress race at this point appears to be between Natalie Portman’s troubled ballerina in “Black Swan” and Annette Bening’s lesbian mom in “The Kids Are Alright.” Nicole Kidman will likely get a nomination for her grieving mother in “Rabbit Hole,” and Jennifer Lawrence will almost certainly get nominated for her work in “Winter’s Bone.” The fifth spot depends on whether “True Grit’s” teen protagonist Hailee Steinfeld lands in the lead category (where she certainly belongs) or the supporting category (where the studio is promoting her). If Steinfeld goes to the supporting category, look for Bening’s co-star Julianne Moore to join the lead actress race.

 All of the other awards ceremonies – the Globes, the critics, the various guilds – are just a buildup to the Oscars, and the Academy Award fun starts in earnest on Tuesday morning.

 Mike Holtzclaw, a senior reporter at the Daily Press, loves the Academy Awards so much that he's one of the few people who doesn't complain that the ceremony is too long. You can reach him at mholtzclaw@dailypress.com.

 

An observation on movie preview trailers

A quick thought on movie preview trailers …

On Sunday, I went to the Naro Expanded Cinema to see “The King’s Speech.” If you haven’t seen it yet, what are you waiting for? It’s a lovely film with some outstanding performances – Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham-Carter … Really, you should see it.

But here’s something else that struck me.

The first “coming attractions” trailer before the movie was for “Rabbit Hole,” starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as parents grieving the loss of a child. The second was for “Somewhere,” the new film from Sofia Coppola about an irresponsible jet-setter whose 11-year-old daughter comes to live with him. The final one was for “Made in Dagenham,” a British film about a 1960s revolt calling for equal pay for female factory workers.

In those three trailers, there was not one explosion. Not one car chase or multi-vehicle pile-up. No gunshots, no throbbing bass chords on the soundtrack. Just characters in conversation.

It was quite refreshing.

More and more I’ve noticed, when I go to see films at the local multiplexes, the preview trailers all look and sound the same. They are filled with explosions and gun fights and fistfights and car crashes. The people who appear on screen are inevitably shouting, either because they are in angry confrontations or because they are trying to be heard above the din surrounding them. The music is composed of loud power chords and bass notes that hit with the force of a punch to the ribcage. After three or four of these trailers, I’m exhausted and need to catch my breath before the actual movie starts.

By the time I’ve watched the feature film and driven home, I generally can’t remember any of the preview trailers because they all looked the same.

When I came home from the Naro on Sunday, I remembered all three, because they were distinct from each other and suggested that the movies themselves would be distinct.

It was a nice change of pace.

New 'Grit': A tale of two Roosters

Don’t ask me which one was “better.” I won’t play that game. Suffice it to say that both versions of “True Grit” – the one with John Wayne in 1969, and the new one by the Coen brothers – are very fine, lively films, and anyone who loves the cinema should make it a point to see both.

Any time Hollywood  produces a re-make or a new adaptation of a beloved classic, the discussion revolves around that damnable question: Is the new one better than the old one? Was Jeff Bridges “better” than John Wayne? I won’t play that game, and I urge you not to play it either. When you go to see the new version of “True Grit,” judge it on its own merits, not against the standard set in 1969. (And vice-versa, if this new film is your introduction to the story of Mattie Ross and Rooster Cogburn.) The question should always be "Is it a good film," not "Is it a better film." It's not always easy to think in those terms, but it's worth the effort.

There are some elements of the new version that are clear improvements. The Coens trimmed 18 minutes from the running time of Henry Hathaway’s 1969 film, and the pace is undeniably quicker. Both films have solid supporting casts, but in the role of LaBoeuf, it should go without saying that Matt Damon is a better actor than The Rhinestone Cowboy. In the crucial role of Mattie, the plucky young girl who narrates the story, both Hailee Steinfeld (now) and Kim Darby (then) give excellent and offbeat performances, but the Coens made the important decision to tell the story almost entirely through her eyes, which gives it a more consistent tone.

The role of Cogburn – the one-eyed, drunken, cantankerous U.S. Marshal – could easily slip into hammy self-parody in the wrong hands. Wayne, of course, won the Academy Award for his this role. It wasn’t the best performance of his career. It probably wasn’t one of the five or six best performances of his career. But it was a good performance, and there was no shame in The Duke winning a “career Oscar” for this role.

Jeff Bridges, coming off his own Oscar win last year for “Crazy Heart,” seems to be just hitting his stride in his early 60s. He did some great work early in his career, but watching him now – like Tommy Lee Jones – it almost seems as though everything else was just a set-up to this stage of his career. He makes for a tougher Cogburn, but simultaneously brings more humor to the role than Wayne did. (Bridges does not get all the credit for that – action scenes are allowed to be tougher today than they were four decades ago, and much of the new version’s cleverness comes from the Coens’ screenplay and their sense of timing.)

 Faced with the task of recreating a legendary and iconic scene – when Cogburn puts the reins between his teeth, takes a gun in each hand and charges at four outlaws – the Coens tackle it head on, not changing a word of the dialogue. Cogburn still shouts his famous challenge to Lucky Ned Pepper (“Fill your hand, you son-of-a-bitch!”). It was a spine-tingling moment when Wayne delivered that line, and if it’s less so with Bridges, it’s only because we’ve heard it before and we’re anticipating it.

 The Coens are also outstanding at evoking a sense of place. Their “True Grit,” filmed in Santa Fe and Austin, has a wonderful look to it, and their favorite composer, Carter Burwell, provides a lovely musical score.

The John Wayne version was on cable last month, so I DVRed it and re-acquainted myself with it in anticipation of seeing the new film. When I emerged from the theater this weekend after seeing the new version, I ran into a friend who was at the same screening. The first thing he asked me was, “So which version do you think is better?”

 I just smiled and said, “They’re both awfully good.”

 Let’s leave it at that.

 Mike Holtzclaw, a senior reporter at the Daily Press, has loved the Coen brothers' work dating all the way back to "Blood Simple." He can be reached at mholtzclaw@dailypress.com.

This week: 'How I Met Your Mother,' 'Skating With the Stars' & a 'Buffy' reboot

(File Photo)  Dear 'Buffy,' I need you to stay just as you are. 

 

Since most of our blogging staff is busy with holiday preparations, I figured I would post just a few TV tidbits to keep the conversation going:

Monday, "How I Met Your Mother:"

My roommate and I watched Monday's episode of "How I Met Your Mother," and I have a big problem: NO mention of Slapsgiving? For shame.

I caught the tail end of "Skating with the Stars," and I have to say: Bethany Frenkel is kind of charming on this show. I don't watch any of the "Real Housewives" shows so I know absolutely nothing about her. Thoughts?

 

It was announced yesterday that there is a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" reboot in the works. Rumor is that neither Joss Whedon nor any of the previous cast will be involved.

OVER MY DEAD BODY, Y'ALL.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1" hits Hampton Roads

 

I'll be attending a screening of "Harry Potter" this evening at AMC 24 in Hampton. Is anyone else attending a midnight showing? Do you plan to see the film this weekend?

If so, post your photos from the premiere here.

Tell us what you think, too. You can leave a comment at this link to add your review. 

Check out the Daily Press "Harry Potter" page. 

Buy tickets here. 

 

-- Amber Nettles is the mobile and social media manager at the Daily Press. She is a big movie and tv geek.  She also likes Settlers of Catan. Follow her on Twitter at @amberleighn.

Your Highness: Dung Delicious

In the past fifteen years, I have watched thirty movies.  I read, listen to, and watch movie reviews obsessively, but since the line “the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: ‘We will not go quietly into the night!’” I haven’t been able to stomach the silver screen.  Perhaps if it was just corny and trite, I would have been able to soldier on until the release of The Fast and the Furious five years later.  But the producers of Independence Day sullied Dylan Thomas, the coolest poet ever, and that is a transgression I couldn’t condone by shelling out ten dollars to see The Piano with a sorority girl.  Not that Campion’s masterful tale of love and lust in the nineteenth century should be compared to either of the aforementioned rotting bags of rhino dung, but since Independence Day all movies come glossed with prosaic goo.  No matter how sublime the acting, all motion pictures look like another installment of Scary Movie. 

That is why I rejoiced when one of my homeslices at AltDaily.com posted the trailer for Danny McBride’s (Kenny Powers) new epic fantasy farce Your Highness.  Even the trailer is NSFW (read: deliciously bawdy), so please hide your kids and your conservative peoples before viewing.

MOVIES: Free tickets for advance preview of "Faster," which opens Nov. 24

 

 

If there's one thing us movie buffs like, it's free tickets to advance screenings. 

 

Our first offer on The Daily Pop is "Faster," which opens Nov. 24. Here's a synopsis:

"FASTER"

After 10 years in prison, Driver (Dwayne Johnson) has a singular focus - to avenge the murder of his brother during the botched bank robbery that led to his imprisonment.  Now a free man with a deadly to-do list in hand, he’s finally on his mission…but with two men on his trail – a veteran cop (Billy Bob Thornton) just days from retirement, and a young egocentric hitman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) with a flair for the art of killing and a newfound worthy opponent.  The hunter is also the hunted. It’s a do or die race to the list’s finish as the mystery surrounding his brother’s murder deepens, and new details emerge along the way hinting that Driver’s list may be incomplete.

www.fasterthemovie.com

 

For your complimentary tickets to a special advance screening of FASTER in Norfolk on Monday, November 22 log onto www.gofobo.com/rsvp and input the following code: DPCOM2TS2 to download your tickets.

 

 

 

 

 

*Each person will be allowed to download two tickets to the screening.  Screening tickets do not guarantee admittance.  Seating is first come, first served.