First Listen~ Christina Aguilera “Your Body”

Thanks to the good folks at the American Idol blog, mjsbigblog, I found a link to multiple Grammy winner Christina Aguilera‘s brand new song “Your Body”. After one listen, I’m hooked. This dance pop track is perfectly radio ready and should take her back to the top of the charts. It’s a great indication of how good her 6th album could be. After her the train wreck of her 4th album, Bionic, she rebounded a bit with the certified gold soundtrack to Burlesque, and now she continues that upward trajectory. The new record will be released this fall and Xtina will be back on The Voice in September. Head to the link below for your first taste of “Your Body”. Enjoy.

Christina Aguilera “Your Body”

http://helltoyeah.tumblr.com/post/30035634955/christina-aguilera-your-body

 

 

Do You “Believe” Cher’s Life is going to be a Musical?!

“Do You Believe in Life After Love”? That sentiment sounds like the title of a big ballad from a big Broadway musical doesn’t it? And now it just might be… Those lyrics from Cher’s massive #1 comeback smash from 1999 “Believe” would likely be a highlight in an all new musical about Cher’s life that she is planning. The show would include all of her big hits from “I Got You Babe” to “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “Strong Enough” and has an interesting concept. According to Broadway.com, Cher would play herself in the current day looking back on her life and career while two younger actresses would portray her early years with Sonny Bono, etc and the years of her incredible solo career and acting triumphs. Cher, who has won 3/4 of the EGOT, i.e.: the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, could finally get that last piece (Broadway’s Tony Award) with the show. I think it’s a fantastic idea. How about you? For more on the show and Cher, head to Broadway.com here.

And here’s a countdown of my favorite Cher songs. Yes, I’m big on latter-day Cher…
20. “Half Breed” 1973
19. “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” 1966
18. “Gypsies Tramps and Thieves” 1971
17. “All or Nothing” 1999
16. “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss)”- from Mermaids 1990
15. “Take Me Home”  1979
14. “Save Up All Your Tears” 1991
13. “Love and Understanding” 1991
12. “One by One” 1996
11. “Heart of Stone” 1990
10. “Strong Enough” 1999
9. “We All Sleep Alone” 1988
8. “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” (from Burlesque) 2010
7. “A Different Kind of Love Song” 2002
6. “Just Like Jessie James” 1990
5. “A Song for the Lonely” 2002

4. “I Found Someone” 1987

3. “Believe” 1999

2. “If I Could Turn Back Time” 1989

1. “After All” duet with Peter Cetera (from Chances Are) 1989

Little Boy Burlesque shows Christina how it’s done

Check out this awesome little boy doing the number “Express” from Christina Aguilera’s Burlesque movie. I love how he’s so committed to it and kudos to his supportive family for letting this gem shine…. Little boy to Xtina: you got served!

My Quick Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations

This morning the Academy Award nominations were announced and it was pretty much as we expected with The King’s Speech ruling the roost with 12 nods and garnering more momentum after its Producers Guild Awards win this weekend. (Watch for it to take home the SAG Ensemble and Best Actor award for Colin Firth this weekend too). We also had big nods for The Social Network, The Fighter and Inception. But there were some surprises, snubs and upsets. So, let’s take a quick look at some of my thoughts about this morning’s announcements.

The Good:

~ All the noms for The King’s Speech. It’s my favorite film of the year and I think the one to beat. It has all the momentum now and is a fresher choice for many voters as opposed to The Social Network (which had been on a roll up until last week). I’m currently predicting it will take Picture, Actor (Firth) and Original Screenplay to name a few.

The surprise nomination for Javier Bardem in Best Actor for his brilliant and tortured work in Biutiful… He better thank his good friend and Eat Pray Love costar Julia Roberts for getting him some much needed publicity before voting.

~ The Fighter acting nominations. Melissa Leo, Amy Adams and Christian Bale were on fire in this very entertaining film. Oh, and don’t feel bad for Marky Mark Wahlberg. He got a nomination to as a Producer of the film.

~ Michelle Williams makes it into Best Actress for Blue Valentine. She gave the second best lead female performance of the year (after Annette Bening in The Kids are Alright), so I’m thrilled she defied many prognosticators and is in the race.

~All the love for 127 Hours: for a film that many found hard to watch, it sure did get a lot of nominations and it’s worthy of every one of them!

~John Hawkes and Jackie Weaver: The veteran actor and Australian star both grabbed surprise noms for their fantastic and disturbing work in Winter’s Bone and Animal Kingdom respectively.

~ The noms for The Kids are Alright: I’m thrilled this little indie comedy that could has maintained its deserving place among those honored this year. And Annette (on her fourth try) better beat Ms. Portman. I’m just sayin’!

The Snubs:
Big bad snubs were all around for Mila Kunis (Black Swan), Julianne Moore (The Kids are Alright), Sam Rockwell (Conviction), Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), Robert Duvall (Get Low), Christopher Nolan (director of Inception), Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), plus no Tangled in Best Animated Feature, no The Town in Best Picture and no Waiting for Superman in Documentary.

The Bad:

~Jeff Bridges in Best Actor: Um, he gives a copy cat performance of his Crazy Heart character in True Grit. While it’s decent, he certainly didn’t deserve a nod over the brilliant Gosling or Duvall or Paul Giamatti (Barney’s Version) or Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception)

~Where the heck is “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” (Burlesque) in Best Original Song? The Golden Globe winning ballad by Diane Warren and sung by Cher should’ve grabbed a nom and a win if you ask me.

The Best Director Race: Um, please throw out Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) and The Coen Brothers (True Grit) and kindly replace them with Danny Boyle (127 Hours) and the egregiously snubbed (yet again) Christopher Nolan (Inception)

~Speaking of Inception, how the hell did it not get a Best Editing nomination?

~Waiting for Superman: not only was the best and one of the most important documentaries of the year (and any year) snubbed in Best Documentary, it’s universally wonderful theme song “Shine” by John Legend was left out of the Best song race… Instead we got another dumb Randy Newman ditty from Toy Story 3. (that’s nothing against that amazing movie though by the way)

~Original Screenplay: They included the atrociously boring Another Year over Blue Valentine? Just heartbreaking… at least Black Swan didn’t make the cut here.

~Um, did I mention Ryan Gosling was robbed????

Ok, that’s enough kvetching… Despite some of those misguided choices, it’s a pretty great list of nominees and we have some real strong races in the Picture (Social Network v. Kings Speech), Actress (Bening v. Portman), Sup. Actor (Rush v. Bale), Sup Actress (Adams v. Leo) and no front-runner for Original Song (I’m currently betting on “I See the Light” from Tangled)…. Also, it’s interesting to note that Black Swan only grabbed 5 mentions which bodes poorly for the film that had been doing so well so far in the race. Perhaps, it’s not as popular with all the voters as one might think. I’m sure Mila Kunis is wondering about that…

Well, now I’d like to hear from you. What are you most happy about and what nods infuriated you the most. Sound off below and get ready for the Oscars on ABC Sunday 2/27 hosted by the nominated James Franco and a previous nominee Anne Hathaway.

My Top 20 Movies of 2010!

So, you saw all my reviews and posts about the movies I saw in 2010 and now, it’s finally here… Yes, it’s my list of the Top 20 best films of the past year. There’s some crowd pleasers (Toy Story 3, Harry Potter, Inception), some tiny indies (Rabbit Hole, Blue Valentine) and even a couple of documentaries (Waiting for Superman, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work). Take a look at my list of the best and 5 of the worst below and let me know what your favorites of the past year were too.

MY TOP 20 MOVIES 2010:
1. The King’s Speech
2. The Social Network
3. Inception
4. The Kids are Alright
5. Toy Story 3
6. 127 Hours
7. Rabbit Hole
8. How to Train Your Dragon
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
10. The Fighter
11. Winter’s Bone
12. Blue Valentine
13. Waiting for Superman
14. The Town
15. I Love You Phillip Morris
16. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
17. Tangled
18. Conviction
19. Made in Dagenham
20. Easy A

Honorable Mention: Get Low

Favorite Guilty Pleasure: Burlesque

Most Overrated Movie of the Year: Black Swan

Worst 5 Movies I saw in 2011:
1. TIE:  Hereafter/ MacGruber
2. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
3. Wolfman
4. Alice in Wonderland
5. The Other Guys

The Good, the Bad and the Really? at today’s Golden Globe Noms

This morning several of the expected contenders names were called at the Golden Globe Nomination announcement. We heard titles like The King’s Speech, The Social Network, Glee, Modern Family, Black Swan, James Franco, Annette Bening and Jane Lynch. However, who could’ve guessed that Jennifer Love Hewitt and The Tourist would grab nods? Those were just two of several surprises, some infuriating, some delightful. So, take a look at my reaction to this morning’s nominations below and for the full list of nods, click here.

The Good

~Congrats to the deserving noms for The Social Network and The King’s Speech, the best two films of the year.
~Yay for The Kids are Alright and its wonderful stars Julianne Moore and Annette Bening’s nominations (and likely the film and Bening’s upcoming wins here).
~How great was it to see Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams’ nominated for their brilliant performances in the little film Blue Valentine? (I think Williams could even be an Oscar spoiler if Natalie Portman and Bening split the vote… but that’s getting ahead of myself)
~Happy to see all the Glee love especially for Chris Colfer and Jane Lynch who both received their first Glob noms this year.
~Thrilled for the Dexter noms for the show, Michael C. Hall and Julia Stiles. I just wish Jennifer Carpenter had been recognized too.
~And what a treat to see Emma Stone land a nod for her incredibly funny and charming performance in Easy A

Best Surprise

~Mila Kunis: the girl from That 70′s Show makes good with a nod for supporting actress for her great work in Black Swan. (thank goodness they didn’t give Barbara Hershey’s disastrous turn a nom too!)

Worst Snubs:

Jim Carrey: He should’ve been nomm’d (and won) for Lead Actor Comedy/Musical for his hilarious and heartfelt work in I Love You Phililp Morris
~Mark Ruffalo: His charming turn in The Kids are Alright was ignored for some unknown reason. At least he should bounce back with a SAG nom on Thursday and the film got 4 noms total.
~Sam Rockwell & Juliette Lewis: apparently the HFPA didn’t see Conviction because if they did, they would’ve noticed the utterly fantastic work done by this dynamic duo.
~Lisa Cholodenko & Debra Granik: Um, does the HFPA have a thing against women directors? I didn’t think so after deservedly awarding Kathryn Bigelow Best Director last year for The Hurt Locker. But both of these ladies were denied noms for their work on Kids and Winter’s Bone respectively.
~Where’s Waiting for Superman in the documentary category and its brilliant theme song by John Legend “Shine”?
~Other unsettling snubs: Diane Weist & Aaron Eckhart (Rabbit Hole), Sally Hawkins (Made in Dagenham), and Leonardo DiCaprio & Marion Cottillard from Inception

The BAD!

~The Tourist noms: um really? 3 noms for this universally maligned thriller? Apparently, the Globes really wanted Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp to attend…
~ The Alice in Wonderland noms: this movie just sucked. I’m sorry and Johnny Depp, I love ya, but you were an incoherent disaster in this one…
~Halle Berry: Ok, I love you and I appreciate your ambitious attempt in Frankie & Alice, but the film was atrocious and you took a spot from far more deserving contenders like Hawkins, Lesley Manville, Hilary Swank and Tilda Swinton.
~Michael Douglas: Um, can you say pity nomination? His work in Wall Street 2 was fine, but no way in heck should he have grabbed a nod over Rockwell, Ruffalo, and John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone).
~Jennifer Love Hewitt: she got a nom for playing a hooker in the Lifetime TV Movie The Client List… Oh brother!
Piper Perabo: she’s very likable on Covert Affairs, but that is not award worthy material. She gets in over Glenn Close, Connie Britton and Sally Field? What?
Chris Noth: sure, you’re good on The Good Wife, but you’re nowhere as good as Alan Cumming on it. And in this catch-all supporting category, the work of Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson from Lost should’ve landed one of the dramatic spots here instead…. And where the heck are the Lost noms for its wonderful final season while I’m at it?
Scott Caan: you got a nod for Hawaii 5-0. Yes, you’re the best thing on the show, but no, you should not be awarded for it…

My Guilty Pleasure Favorite Nominations:
The 3 nominations for Burlesque. Yes, it certainly deserved the song noms (for Christina Aguilera’s “Bound to You”- I told you she’d get a nom, and Cher‘s “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me”), but the nom for Best Picture Musical/Comedy was certainly a shocker. Still, it kinda makes me really happy.

My Secret Favorite Category?

~BEST ORIGINAL SONG~ Because it’s a diva smack down… You have songs performed by Cher, Aguilera, Carrie Underwood, Mandy Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow all nominated! And both Underwood and Aguilera co-wrote their tracks and are eligible to win… Which lady will prevail? … I’m actually thinking it’s Paltrow’s song from Country Strong or Cher’s record from Burlesque.

Ok, that’s my quick two cents on today’s nominations. I’m sure I could keep babbling on and on, but I need to get my SAG nomination predictions ready. Watch for them tomorrow and enjoy the Golden Globes on NBC on January 16th.

All hail the King’s Speech and Glee at the Golden Globe nominations!

This morning it was all about a king with a speech impediment and some kids who burst into song as The King’s Speech and Glee led the nominations for the Golden Globe Awards. Speech picked up 7 nods including Picture (Drama), Director, Screenplay, Score, Actor (Colin Firth), Sup Actor (Geoffrey Rush) and Sup Actress (Helena Bonham Carter) while Glee grabbed 5 on the TV side including Best Series (Musical/Comedy), Actor (Matthew Morrison), Actress (Lea Michelle), Sup Actor (Chris Colfer), and Sup Actress (Jane Lynch). Other big nominees included The Social Network and The Fighter with 6 apiece and Black Swan, Inception and The Kids Are Alright garnered 4 each. And yes, Burlesque got 3 nominations (2 for best song and a surprise nod for Best Picture~ Musical/Comedy)…. On the TV side, Mad Men, Dexter, 30 Rock, Modern Family, Temple Grandin, Boardwalk Empire were all honored in 3 categories. Take a look at the full list of nominees below and head to the Hollywood Foreign Press website for more information. The 68th Annual Golden Globes show will air on NBC on January 16, 2011.

MOTION PICTURES

Best Picture — Drama
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network

Best Picture — Musical or Comedy
Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist

Best Actor — Drama
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter

Best Actress — Drama
Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Best Actor — Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland
Johnny Depp, The Tourist
Paul Giamatti, Barney’s Version
Jake Gyllenhaal, Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey, Casino Jack

Best Actress — Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie, The Tourist
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone, Easy A

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Michael Douglas, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David O. Russell, The Fighter

Best Screenplay
127 Hours, Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle
Inception, Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right, Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg
The King’s Speech, David Seidler
The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin

Best Original Song
“Bound to You,” Burlesque (performed by Christina Aguilera; written by Samuel Dixon, Christina Aguilera and Sia Furler)
“Coming Home,” Country Strong (performed by Gwyneth Paltrow; written by Bob PiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges)
“I See the Light,” Tangled (performed by Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi; written by Alan Menken & Glenn Slater)
“There’s a Place For Us,” The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (performed by Carrie Underwood; written by Carrie Underwood, David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey)
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me Yet,” Burlesque (performed by Cher; written by Diane Warren)

Best Original Score
127 Hours, A.R. Rahman
Alice in Wonderland, Danny Elfman
Inception, Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech, Alexandre Desplat
The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Best Foreign Language Film
Biutiful
The Concert
The Edge
I Am Love
In a Better World

Best Animated Feature
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3

TELEVISION

Best TV Series — Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
The Good Wife
Mad Men
The Walking Dead

Best TV Series — Musical or Comedy
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
The Big C
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie

Best Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie
Carlos
The Pacific
The Pillars of the Earth
Temple Grandin
You Don’t Know Jack

Best Actor — Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House M.D.

Best Actress — Drama
Elizabeth Moss, Mad Men
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Piper Perabo, Covert Affairs
Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Best Actor — Musical or Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matthew Morrison, Glee
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Actress — Musical or Comedy
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Lea Michele, Glee

Best Actor — Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie
Idris Elba, Luther
Ian McShane, Pillars of the Earth
Al Pacino, You Don’t Know Jack
Dennis Quaid, The Special Relationship
Edgar Ramirez, Carlos

Best Actress — Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie
Hayley Atwell, Pillars of the Earth
Claire Danes, Temple Grandin
Judi Dench, Return to Cranford
Romola Garai, Emma
Jennifer Love Hewitt, The Client List

Best Supporting Actor in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie
Scott Caan, Hawaii Five-0
Chris Colfer, Glee
Chris Noth, The Good Wife
David Strathairn, Temple Grandin
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best Supporting Actress in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie
Hope Davis, The Special Relationship
Jane Lynch, Glee
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Julia Stiles, Dexter
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

My Latest Movie Review Quick Takes~ Black Swan, Burlesque, The King’s Speech and 5 more!

Here’s my latest round of quick take reviews for movies currently in theatres and coming out in the next few weeks…

Movie Review Quick Takes:

Black Swan: This psychological thriller from arty auteur Darren Aronofsky features a brilliant performance from Natalie Portman as a ballerina descending into madness. Unfortunately, it’s also a bit of a mess that has all the subtlety of a Saturday Night Live sketch. The metaphors and imagery are pounded into your head and it’s a bleak incredibly weird film. Despite some strong technical aspects (sound, cinematography, editing) and the strength of Portman, not to mention a surprisingly strong turn by Mila Kunis (as a rival ballerina), the film left me cold and wondering “so what.” Add to that a weak performance from Barbara Hershey and a dreadful turn by Winona Ryder and you get an ambitious and interesting film that is also a big disappointment. Grade: B-

Burlesque: Christina Aguilera is a small town girl with big dreams of stardom who lands in Cher’s Burlesque show singing and dancing up a storm. This film, written and directed by Steve Antin, is a big fun entertaining musical that will keep you smiling for days. Sure, the script is weak and Christina is certainly a better singer than actor, but the film owns its cheesiness and never attempts to be anything more than a great time at the theatre. And yes, it owes a lot to Chicago, Cabaret and Coyote Ugly, but the music is great and Cher and Stanley Tucci are wonderful. You also have a very charismatic turn by Cam Gigandet and some bitchtastic fun from Kristen Bell. Grade: B/B+

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1: In the penultimate film of the wonderful wizard series, Harry and his friends must find the horcruxes to stop Voldermort from thrusting the world into impending doom. With such high stakes, this film is the most dramatic and emotional of the franchise. It’s also incredibly beautiful, heartbreaking, and resonant. The visual effects are fantastic, the performances are top-notch, and it leaves you wanting more… literally. We have to wait til July for Part II. Nonetheless, it’s a great film. Grade: A

The King’s Speech: Fighting with The Social Network for the title of the BEST film of the year, Speech is simply astonishingly good. Colin Firth is a shoo-in to win best actor for his amazing performance as King George of England who fights a speech impediment and leads his country as it enters World War II. Firth’s performance is one for the ages and he’s nearly matched by the hilarious, moving and wonderful work of Geoffrey Rush (as his speech therapist) and Helena Bonham Carter (as his wife). The film is inspiring, beautiful, important, intelligent and beautifully done on every level. Look for it to grab Oscar nods for Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Score, Art Direction, Cinematography and Costume Design to say the least. Grade: A+

Unstoppable: in this fast past efficiently made thriller Denzel Washington (as ahem, Denzel Washington, master train operator) and Chris Pine (as his conductor with family problems) race to stop an unmanned train carrying deadly hazardous materials as it charges towards a Pennsylvania town. The film is simple but very well done and surprisingly suspenseful and entertaining. Credit the great crisp direction from frequent Washington collaborator Tony Scott for turning what could’ve been a route action thriller into a strong film that far surpasses the audiences expectations. Grade: B+

Tangled: the latest magical Disney princess to get the cartoon musical treatment is Rapunzel who sings her heart out as she goes on her first adventure out of her tower. With great voice leads by Mandy Moore (as Rapunzel) and Chuck’s Zachary Levi (as the thief who goes from her antagonist to her leading man), the film harkens back to the classic and wonderful late 80’s/early 90’s toons like The Little Mermaid that are so missed today. It has a great score, comedy and action and a wonderful devious turn by Tony winner Donna Murphy as the villain. The only downside is that there’s no need to see it in 3D. Floating butterflies and candles don’t quite cut it. But for fun family entertainment, lovely songs and a good time, see it. Grade: A-

Two upcoming films~

Frankie & Alice: Poor Halle Berry. She gives her all to no avail in this trumped-up Lifetime TV movie masquerading as a wannabe Oscar contender. As a woman dealing with a curious case of multiple personality disorder in the 70’s, Berry gives an admirable performance at times, but is let down by atrociously bad direction and a very weak script. The editing is so off and slow, and the shots are such copied clichés of every film you’ve ever seen that you wish you could have cut it yourself. Stellan Saarsgard is also sorely miscast as her psychiatrist. At least there’s some nice supporting work from Phylicia Rashad as Berry’s mother. Grade: C-

Blue Valentine: in this searing drama, Oscar nominees Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling portray a couple going through the dissolution of their marriage. It’s an amazingly well performed piece that is so real, it’s hard to watch at times. Both Williams and Gosling should certainly be in the running for the Oscars again this year. Williams is especially heartbreaking while Gosling oozes pain and frustration in later parts of the marriage and exudes charm to no end in the scenes of the beginning of their relationship. It’s a film that grew on me the more I thought about it. I just wish it had been edited a little better and slightly higher production values~ we get the point pretty quick. Regardless, if you want to see virtuoso acting, this is your film. Grade: B+

Kanye West leads Nicki Minaj in a big sales week on the Album Charts

Controversial Grammy winning rapper Kanye West returned to the charts in a big way grabbing his 4th # 1 album as his latest, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, debuted on top with 496,000 units sold. That was more than his last album started with and a nice rebound considering all of his drama from the past year (it: Taylor Swift, Bush scandals, etc). Regardless of his big mouth and arrogance, West is super talented and his fans showed up for him this week, just as Nicki Minaj’s did. Debuting in second with a big 375,000 copies sold, the female rapper’s Pink Friday had the biggest hip hop sales for a female artist since Lauryn Hill in 1998. There were three other artists making strong debuts in the top ten as well with Justin Bieber at #7, My Chemical Romance at #8 and Ne Yo at #9. With such a big post Thanksgiving sales week for holdovers like Susan Boyle, Taylor Swift and Glee, two other notable debuts had to make do landing near the bottom of the top 20 with Ke$ha’s Cannibal at #17 and the Burlesque soundtrack selling stronger than expected at #18. (I, for one, hope the Burlesque soundtrack continues to sell well because it’s fantastic and a huge improvement on Christina Aguilera’s last album)…. for more on the Billboard Top 200 Album charts, click here.

Billboard Top Ten Albums this week:
1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (debut)
2. Nicki Minaj- Pink Friday (debut)
3. Susan Boyle- The Gift (last week~ 1)
4. Taylor Swift- Speak Now (lw~ 9)
5. Jackie Evancho- O Holy Night (lw~2)
6. Rihanna- Loud (lw~3)
7. Justin Bieber- My Worlds Acoustic (debut)
8. My Chemical Romance- Danger Days: the True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (debut)
9. Ne Yo- Libra Scale (debut)
10. Glee Christmas Album (lw~8)

Can T.I. take Christina back to the Top?

It’s been a rollercoaster year for Grammy winning pop diva Christina Aguilera. Despite two # 1 dance singles (“You Lost Me”, “Not Myself Tonight”), her last album Bionic bombed selling less than 300,000 copies. She also announced her impending divorce and has been a target in the media for her weight fluxuations and supposed “diva” behavior. Regardless of all of that, she has persevered and just released a fantastic new album in her soundtrack to her film debut Burlesque. The album is selling briskly and despite negative reviews, the movie opened decently to $17 million at the box office. Audiences polled have also been pretty favorable to the fun and very entertaining film. (I found it to be a really good time film with fantastic musical numbers and gave it a “B” grade overall). Currently on iTunes, Christina has several songs charting from the soundtrack with “Show Me How You Burlesque” in the top 30 and “Express” in the top 50. So, things could be on an upswing for Ms. Aguilera.
One thing that may cement her trek back to the top of the charts is a brand new collaboration with Grammy winning rap superstar (and criminal!) T.I entitled “Castle Walls”. It is from his new album, No Mercy, which drops on Nov. 7th and it sounds like a smash. It’s right in the same vein as recent # 1′s “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna and “Airplanes” by B.o.B with Hayley Williams, so I’m expecting it to race up the charts. Check out “Castle Walls” below and let me know if you think it will put Christina back on top. Then watch her Dancing with the Stars performance of  ”Show Me How You Burlesque” from Burlesque below as well. It’s hot!

“Castle Walls” -T.I. with Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera “Show Me How You Burlesque” (from her Dancing with the Stars performance)