Best Actress Oscar = Divorce?

With the recent breaking news about Sandra Bullock’s possible marital problems — See Sandra Bullock Marital Problems post here – it makes one wonder what in the world is going on in Hollywood. While we’re accustomed to what can be a merry-go-marriage-system in Hollywood, reports of Bullock’s problems come on the heals of her Best Actress Oscar win.

That’s making some wonder if there’s a
Best Actress Oscar Winners Curse.

Could there be something to this curse? After winning her Best Actress Oscar, Kate Winslet’s marriage with Sam Mendes came crashing down too!

But, are they the only two effected by this?

Best Actress Oscar Winner Divorce List

• 2002 – Hilary Swank wins award for the previous year’s Boys Don’t Cry, and forgot to thank husband Chad Lowe in her acceptance speech. Though she corrected the mistake when her 2005 Million Dollar Baby win gave her a second Oscar, Lowe and Swank divorced the following year.
• 2001 – Julia Roberts won Best Actress Oscar for Erin Brockovich. She thanked her boyfriend, Benjamin Bratt, in her speech and the camera even zoomed in on him. Three months later, they were no longer a couple.
• 2002 – Halle Berry had an even harder time after she won the Oscar! Husband Eric Benet checked himself into a sex addiction rehab program to cope with his cheating after her win. They divorced the following year.
• 2004 – Charlize Theron promised that she and actor boyfriend Stuart Townsend would never marry until gay marriage was legal during her acceptance speech. The couple quickly broke up in what seemed just days later.
• 2006 – Ryan Philippe and Reese Witherspon were together when she won her Oscar. But, they divorced eight months later when Philippe decided to hook up with Abbie Cornish.

So, what do you think? Is there really a Best Actress Oscar curse?

Yours in things that make you go…hmmmmmm..
Dr. Rus

Bullock Cancels London Appearance

News is out that Sandra Bullock skipped an appearance at the London premiere of The Blind Side due to rumors that her husband cheated on her. The decision to cancel her appearance at the premiere was followed quickly by a statement saying…

“Due to unforeseen personal reasons, a trip abroad to support The Blind Side has been deemed impossible at this time. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and thank you for your continued support of the film.”

She’s Out Of My League

Rated R for language and sexual content.
Running Time: 1 hour 44 minutes

Stuck in a dead-end job as an airport security agent, Kirk, played by Jay Baruchel, somehow earns the affections of a successful drop-dead gorgeous Molly. Even Kirk has no idea what Molly sees in him, but he is willing to do whatever it takes to make the relationship work. Of course along the way, his friends and family watch in disbelief.

Through it all, he also has to admit that…
She’s Out of My League.

It’s Every Geeks Dream Date!

We know it’s not really true, but every generation has long believed there’s some kind of rating system when it comes to looks. It’s always a ranking of 1 to 10. But, along the way the rating can go up or down depending on what you do. For example, if you’re just a 5, you could move up to a 6.5 if you’re in a rock band. However, if you don’t know how to sing, that could quickly fall by half a point. Then of course we also know when you find a 10, that person just could be out of your league if you’re only a 5 with a few bonus points.

But, whatever the case may be, if say a 5, can land a date with a 10, it really becomes every geeks dream!

Kirk, who’s played by Ottawa, Ontario Canada native Jay Baruchel, comes in around a 5 or 6 on the scale. As a result, his friends tell him Molly, who’s got to be a 10, is simply out of his league. But, for some reason she’s interested in him and keeps asking him out on dates. Not able to figure out what’s really going on, Kirk stumbles his way through a relationship that he finds simply too good to be true.

A mildly raunchy movie…

Knowing Baruchel’s past performances in Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder, and knowing She’s Out Of My League carries an R rating, we knew this would not be family-friendly. However, the previews made it look interesting with some great laugh points. But, would the laugh points hold throughout the entire movie – or – Did the filmmakers put all the laugh moments in the trailers? We’re happy to report that this is a funny movie. Again, while we stress this is by no means a family-friendly movie, nor is it even considered a soft R, She’s Out Of My League is not as raunchy as we thought it was going to be. As a matter of fact, it’s not even as raunchy as it could have been.

As a result, we must applaud those involved in this movie for not going totally over to the trashy side. Too often movies such as this grab an R rating simply because those involved with the movie figure it’s so bad, they might as well go overboard when it comes to shock factor. Such is not the case with She’s Out Of My League. While we will quickly admit the language is not a drawing point for us as we usually do not enjoy a string of f-bombs, we did laugh out loud at various scenes in the movie.

A Movie Teaching Self-Confidence

So, if we don’t appreciate the language – and we knew She’s Out Of My League would not fall into the family-friendly arena – What did we enjoy about this movie?

The lessons gleaned from the flick.

When you push away the language and look beyond some of the raunchiness, there are a few redeeming factors to be found in She’s Out Of My League. In the midst of the laughs and silliness a few great life lessons are present. For example, many times we can talk ourselves out of high self-esteem and spiral quickly downward into a place of low self-esteem pity. Secondly, no one is perfect and even those we think are perfect, often deal with self-esteem issues themselves. Third, what we might think is a huge downfall in our lives or appearance, is probably rather small when you compare it to what others perceive are big drawbacks in their lives.

All in all, She’s Out of My League is a funny movie. While there are times when it goes over the top, for the most part, this is simply a fun look at love, with great lessons along the way.

The bottom line message…

Don’t sell yourself short when you find true love.

But, is She’s Out Of My League strong enough to grab up your hard earned money in a movie theater? Probably not. This falls into the mediocre movie category and best watched at home later.

Wait for the DVD!
Dr. Rus

Mission Impossible Star

Peter Graves – Dead at 83

Peter Graves, who’s probably best known for his roles in TV’s Mission Impossible and the movie Airplane! died Sunday at his home in Pacific Palisades, California. Graves would have celebrated his 84th birthday this Thursday, March 18.

According to his publicist, Sandy Brokaw, Graves returned home yesterday from a birthday brunch with his family, including his grandchildren. His family arrived at the house shortly after he did and they found him unconscious in the driveway. One of his daughters tried to revive him, but was unsuccessful. According to Brokaw, Graves’ Doctor said the actor died of a heart attack. A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department reports that Graves died of “apparent natural causes”.

An Extraordinary Man

Lynda Benskey, Graves’ manager, issued a statement saying the death was “very unexpected. He was not only a wonderful actor, but an extraordinary sweet man”. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times last year Graves said he initially turned down the role of Captain Oveur in Airplane! because he thought the script was in poor taste. But, he changed his mind when he discovered fellow veteran actors Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen and Lloyd Bridges were involved in the movie.

Of course before Tom Cruise decided to ruin the Mission Impossible franchise, it was a long-running TV series hit. In the TV series Peter Graves played Jim Phelps, the head of the secret government agency known as the Impossible Mission Force. He appeared on the show from 1966 to 1973, succeeding Steven Hill, who appeared in the show’s first season. Graves then returned to Mission Impossible when it was revived as a series from 1988 to 1990. His most recent big screen appearance was in the 2002 Men in Black II where he played himself.

Rest in peace,
Dr. Rus

Wonderland Stays at Box Office Top Spot

Burton & Depp Duo Continue To Wow Audiences

Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter grabbed the number one spot for the weekend box office once again as Alice in Wonderland earned an estimated $62 million. The Tim Burton, Johnny Depp 3D flick also became the first movie released this year to reach the $200 million mark at the domestic box office. But, the record book for this movie doesn’t end there. Alice in Wonderland has pulled in a total of $208.6 million to date, making it Burton and Depp’s highest grossing collaboration. This is their seventh movie together.

Meanwhile, Matt Damon’s new flick, Green Zone, debuted in the number two spot in the weekend box office rankings. She’s Out Of My League grabbed the number three slot while Robert Pattinson’s Remember Me premiered in fourth. Last but not least, the fourth new movie for the weekend, Our Family Wedding slid in at number six on the list.

Top Ten Box Office With Estimates

1. Alice in Wonderland – $62 million
2. Green Zone – $14.5 million
3. She’s Out of My League – $9.6 million
4. Remember Me – $8.3 million
5. Shutter Island – $8.1 million
6. Our Family Wedding – $7.6 million
7. Avatar – $6.6 million
8. Brooklyn’s Finest – $4.3 million
9. Cop Out – $4.2 million
10. The Crazies – $3.7 million

Enjoy the show!
Dr. Rus

Hotels Made Famous On The Big Screen

Escaping Through Movies

It’s a known fact that many people love movies for the sheer entertainment value and the fact that they provide an outlet to escape what might be going on in the world around us. That’s right, when things are going rough, many people like to escape into the fantasy world of Hollywood for a couple hours of reprieve from the worlds problems.

One place movies can sweep us away to are hotels! Did you know that a number of those movie hotels are actually real? If you’re looking for a trip where you can also get a taste of Hollywood, Trip Advisor actually put together a list of the Top Ten Famous Movie Hotels you might want to visit!

Top 10 Movie Hotels!

1. The Fairmont San Francisco, San Francisco, California – Vertigo, The Towering Inferno, Las Vegas, Junior, The Rock
2. Bellagio Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada – Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Thirteen
3. The Plaza, New York City, New York – North By Northwest, The Way We Were, Home Alone 2, Bride Wars
4. Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California – Mission Impossible 3, The Bodyguard, Spider-Man, Wedding Crashers, Dreamgirls, Pretty In Pink
5. Beverly Wilshire Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills, California – Pretty Woman, Beverly Hills Cop series, Bulworth
6. Renaissance St. Louis Hotel Airport, St. Louis, Missouri – Up in the Air
7. The Roosevelt Hotel, New York City, New York – Maid in Manhattan, Wall Street
8. Fountainebleau Miami Beach, Miami Beach, Florida – The Bodyguard, Goldfinger, Scarface
9. Timberline Lodge, Timberline Lodge, Oregon – The Shining
10. Mountain Lake Hotel, Pembroke, Virginia – Dirty Dancing

Yours in some fun entertainment news!
Dr. Rus

Four New Flicks To Choose From!

Hello Friday and hello the start of a new weekend!

With the arrival of a new weekend that means it’s also time for some new movies to hit the big screen. Now that we have finally wrapped up the award show season, it’s time for Hollywood to start dumping a number of new movies onto the market.

This weekend there are four new movies to choose from. Two R rated flicks and a pair of PG-13’s. But, when it comes to the PG-13 movies, you may have to search for those ones a little harder. They may be listed as opening this weekend, but they’re opening on fewer than 2,000 screens.

New Movies On The Big Screen

Green Zone – Rated R on 3,003 screens
Matt Damon reunites with his Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass for another action film. Damon plays a rogue Army officer searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in the days following the U.S. invasion. Brendan Gleeson, Greg Kinnear and Amy Ryan also star.

She’s Out Of My League – Rated R on 2,956 screens
Tropic Thunder actor Jay Baruchel is an average-looking airport security agent who somehow manages to successfully woo a really attractive woman.

Remember Me – PG-13 on 2,112 screens
Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson stars as a brooding college student coping with the loss of a brother when he meets a new love, played by Emilie DeRavin. Pierce Bronson and Chris Cooper also star.

Our Family Wedding – PG-13 on 1,605 screens
America Ferrera and Lance Gross are a couple dealing with their meddlesome families as they plan their wedding. Forest Whitaker, Carlos Mencia and Regina King also star.

Enjoy the show!
Dr. Rus

Alice in Wonderland

PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations
and for a smoking caterpillar.
Running Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes

Walt Disney Pictures tapped director Tim Burton for this re-imagining of the 3D fantasy adventure Alice in Wonderland. This time around it’s a magical and imaginative twist on one of the most beloved stories of all time. Johnny Depp stars as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska stars as 19 year old Alice who returns to the world she first encountered as a young girl. Of course along the way she’s reunited with her childhood friends – the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, Caterpillar, The Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter.

With the duo of Burton and Depp together once again, it’s obvious this will be one colorful ride into Wonderland.

Why Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk?

This is not the Alice in Wonderland you grew up with as a kid. It’s 13 years later and this time around Alice embarks on a journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen’s reign of terror in Wonderland. Along the way she tries to connect fantasy, dream and even reality as she interacts with a number of interesting characters. Linda Woolverton wrote the screenplay for this updated twist on the old story. She does a wonderful job of recapturing and recasting the wonder of Lewis Carroll’s 1865 book Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

I went into the movie with an open mind. I like the duo of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. But I must also admit, sometimes Burton’s flicks are too predictable. It’s not quite like the old saying of – if you’ve seen one Burton movie you’ve seen them all – but it is close. The techniques are the same and the twists and turns are as similar as your daily drive to and from work.

However, when all is said and done, I have to admit I really enjoyed Alice in Wonderland.

This is not the same old same old when it comes to the eclectic style of Burton and Depp. If anything Burton has tapped into an incredible balance of brilliant colors and drab grays. As for Johnny Depp, he seemed somewhat invigorated in his portrayal of the Mad Hatter. He makes the character his own, while at the same time enables it to jump off the screen with creativity, fun, adventure and life. As for others involved in Alice in Wonderland, it truly is an all-star cast. Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Crispin Glover all add a sense of zest and excitement truly making this an adventure to remember.

An Attention To Detail

I love Tim Burton’s attention to detail in all he does. Not only do the scenes come to life, but he leaves no dangling thoughts along the way either…

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Even that somewhat odd and out of place phrase is connected by the end of the movie. When it comes to special effects and computer generated graphics, I believe Tim Burton does it better than James Cameron. The effects in Avatar seem flat compared to the 3D feel of Alice in Wonderland even on a normal screen.

The story and plot lines of Alice in Wonderland could have been very complicated. Not only does it include the new twist to an old story, but it also connects the old story with the new. This is where Burton’s attention to detail really shines. Everything is woven together quite well. Alice in Wonderland reveals the storytelling brilliance of not only Burton as a director, but also of Johnny Depp as a character.

Disney Misses Rating ‘Again’!

The only downside of Alice in Wonderland is the rating. Once again Disney misses the mark when it comes to age appropriate.

With a PG rating we have to say Alice in Wonderland is not family-friendly. As a matter of fact, when I screened the movie, parents were taking some of their younger children out of the theater. Perhaps the filmmakers should have taken a cue from inside their own movie. Alice is suffering from nightmares as a result of her first trip to Wonderland when she was just 7 years old. The movie starts with her screaming as she awakes from her nightmare. Then, even when she’s older, she’s still have bad flashbacks about her first trip to Wonderland. This is a very accurate depiction of how the mind of a young child works.

Psychologically children usually do not start distinguishing between fantasy and reality until about the age of 11 or 12. As a result, a PG-13 rating would have been better for Alice in Wonderland. While this is in no way a totally over the top violent movie, the content is still too much for the really young. So, if you plan to take your kids to this movie, keep in mind that a more appropriate rating would have been PG-13.

This is far from the family-friendly Alice in Wonderland
original movie.

Overall, I really enjoyed Alice in Wonderland and believe it even tops the Burton/Depp combination in the 2005 hit Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I have to admit I would see this movie for a second time and might actually visit a 3D IMAX theater to do just that.

Enjoy the show!
Dr. Rus

And The Oscar Goes To…

Surprise, surprise, surprise – and the Oscar goes to – NOT Avatar!

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards are now history. Many Hollywood insiders were sure Avatar would be the big winner of the night. But, when the dust settled, James Cameron was upstaged by his ex-wife and her flick The Hurt Locker.

Aside from the red carpet, winner announcements and acceptance speeches, there was also a tribute to the late John Hughes. The king of teen films who brought us such memorable titles as 16 Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Home Alone and Pretty In Pink passed away last year in New York City. For those who grew up with the Hughes movies it was a moving scene as some of the most notable stars from those flicks gathered on stage!

Major Oscar Category Winners

• Best Picture – The Hurt Locker
• Best Actor – Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
• Best Actress – Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
• Best Supporting Actor – Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
• Best Supporting Actress – Mo’Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
• Best Director – Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
• Best Animated Feature Film – Up

Yours in award show news!
Dr. Rus

And The Razzie Goes To…

Most nominees usually avoid the Razzies like the plague.

But such is not the case for Sandra Bullock. As a matter of fact, less than 24 hours before winning the Best Actress Oscar for her role in The Blind Side, Bullock was named the Worst Actress of 2009 for her role in All About Steve. True to her word, Sandra Bullock made an appearance at Saturday’s Razzie Awards ceremony in Hollywood which “honored” the worst movies and performances of the past year.

Bullock showed up at the gala event pulling a red wagon filled with DVD copies of All About Steve. Before accepting the Worst Actress award for the romantic comedy Bullock said…

“I didn’t realize that, in Hollywood, all you had to do was say you’d show up, and then you’d get the award. If I’d known that, I would have said I was appearing at the Oscars a long time ago.”

Sandra Bullock and her co-star in All About Steve, Bradley Cooper, also claimed the Razzie for Worst Screen Couple. With the wins, Bullock became the first person to win an Oscar and a Razzie during the same weekend.

30th Annual Razzie Award ‘Winners’

The 30th Annual Razzies – formally known as the Golden Raspberry Awards – not only honored 2009 movies, but also celebrated its milestone anniversary by recognizing the worst movies and actors of the past decade. John Travolta’s sci-fi film Battlefield Earth was named Worst Picture. Eddie Murphy and Paris Hilton were awarded worst actor and actress of the decade.

The Razzie Winners For 2010

• Worst Picture – Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• Worst Actor of 2009 – All three Jonas Brothers, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
• Worst Actress of 2009 – Sandra Bullock, All About Steve
• Worst Supporting Actor of 2009 – Billy Ray Cyrus, Hannah Montana: The Movie
• Worst Supporting Actress of 2009 – Sienna Miller, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
• Worst Screen Couple of 2009 – Sandra Bullock & Bradley Cooper, All About Steve
• Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel – Land of the Lost
• Worst Director of 2009 – Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• Worst Screenplay of 2009 – Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• Worst Picture of the Decade – Battlefield Earth, 2000
• Worst Actor of the Decade – Eddie Murphy
• Worst Actress of the Decade – Paris Hilton

Obviously, if you’re a Transformers fan you will not be happy with the Razzie honors for that over-blown over-done flick.

Yours in award show news!
Dr. Rus