First Listen~ Mariah Carey “Almost Home”

Fresh from her new gig as an American Idol judge, Grammy winner Mariah Carey doesn’t want fans to forget her primary job~ that of an iconic pop star. To wit, this week she release a brand new single, “Almost Home”, that also serves as the anthem to the big new Disney adventure Oz the Great and Powerful. The single is hopeful and contemporary and showcases more of her lovely middle register without all of her crazy high octaves. Don’t worry, you won’t miss them as this is arguably her best song in several years. “Home” is available now at digital outlets now while Oz the Great and Powerful starring Oscar nominees James Franco and Michelle Williams, Golden Globe nominee Mila Kunis and Oscar winner Rachel Weisz hits theaters on March 8…. Check out Mariah’s latest below and let me know if you love it and how you think she’s doing on Idol. (By the by, I’m enjoying her quite a bit in her full divalicious mode.)

Mariah Carey “Almost Home”

Get Ready to Return to “Oz”

As you all know, The Wizard of Oz is an iconic and incredibly beloved film. It’s been a touchstone in filmmaking for the ages and has inspired tons of books, works of art and a Tony Award winning musical, Wicked…. Now, Hollywood is ready to take us back to Oz with a new spin on the classic tale. This one is called Oz: The Great and Powerful and stars Oscar nominee James Franco, Oscar winner Rachel Weisz, three time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams and Golden Globe nominee Mila Kunis. Spider-man director Sam Raimi directs this adventure which could be considered a prequel to the original film as it follows a magician (Franco) who is flown away to the fantastical world of Oz during a tornado, and there he meets the three witches played by Weisz, Williams and Kunis. The first trailer for Oz just hit the web and it looks pretty fantastic. Check it out below and watch for the film to hit theaters next March.

Oz: The Great and Powerful

Captain America knocks down Harry Potter

After breaking all kinds of box office records last week, it only took an American icon to end Harry Potter’s spell over the box office as the latest comic book movie of the summer Captain America: The First Avenger starring Chris Evans opened to a big $65 million. That was on par with Thor’s opening from earlier this summer, and the fact that the film is actually quite good (I gave massively entertaining film a “A-” grade) should help it have legs in the weeks ahead. It also towered over the opening for X Men: First Class which has been a modest hit this summer and The Green Lantern which tanked…. Now, back to Harry. Despite falling into second, the last Potter film still took in a strong $47 million for a huge $273 million easily on its way to being the highest grossing film of the series…. The other news at the movies this weekend was the opening of the Justin Timberlake/Mila Kunis comedy Friends with Benefits which took in a decent $18.6 million, just a hair behind the $19 mil that the similarly themed (and much less funny) No Strings Attached grossed in January when it opened. We’ll see how Friends holds up as the smart and hilarious romantic comedy Crazy Stupid Love hits theatres this weekend… For all your box office news, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Captain America: The First Avenger Par. $65,058,524 – 3,715 – $17,512 $65,058,524 $140 1
2 1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 WB $47,422,212 -72.0% 4,375 – $10,839 $273,539,281 – 2
3 N Friends with Benefits SGem $18,622,150 – 2,926 – $6,364 $18,622,150 $35 1
4 2 Transformers: Dark of the Moon P/DW $12,051,735 -43.5% 3,375 -542 $3,571 $325,841,185 $195 4
5 3 Horrible Bosses WB (NL) $11,884,319 -33.1% 3,104 -30 $3,829 $82,566,703 $35 3
6 4 Zookeeper Sony $8,702,055 -29.4% 3,215 -267 $2,707 $59,206,255 $80 3
7 5 Cars 2 BV $5,655,857 -32.7% 2,668 -581 $2,120 $176,375,295 $200 5
8 6 Winnie the Pooh BV $5,162,046 -34.3% 2,405 – $2,146 $17,594,297 $30 2
9 7 Bad Teacher Sony $2,610,925 -49.3% 2,034 -625 $1,284 $94,365,688 $20 5
10 10 Midnight in Paris SPC $1,804,662 -3.8% 621 -85 $2,906 $44,783,206 $30 10

Two Times the Timberlake

Grammy winning pop star turned A-List actor Justin Timberlake (The Social Network) is about to take over your summer. The Emmy winning performer (Saturday Night Live) has 2 big summer comedies headed your way and both have the makings of big hits. First hitting theatres is Bad Teacher which features Cameron Diaz as the titular character in what looks like her funniest performance in ages. Timberlake shows up as a new teacher who sparks her interest and possibly helps her turn around her bad behavior. I’m betting this wacky comedy could be the big surprise hit of the summer when it hits theatres on June 24th… A month later Justin returns to the silver screen in his first romantic comedy opposite recent Golden Globe nominee Mila Kunis (Black Swan) in Friends with Benefits. Ok, sure, the film looks and sounds a whole lot like the recent Natalie Portman/Ashton Kucther movie No Strings Attached. But, I say there’s one big difference. This one actually looks funny. Plus, it gives us JT’s first big sex scene so swoon away people. You can check that one out on July 22nd…. Now, I wanna hear which one you’re more excited about. Watch trailers for both films below and enjoy two times the Timberlake!

Bad Teacher trailer

Friends With Benefits trailer

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.

Could Natalie Portman dance her way to another Oscar nod?

Natalie Portman grabbed an Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe for her brilliant performance in the drama Closer back in 2004. Since then, she hasn’t been back in the awards race due to some underwhelming pics like Brothers and The Other Boleyn Girl. However, that all could change with her new role as a prima ballerina in the psychological drama Black Swan from acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler). In this dark film, Portman takes over the lead dancer role in a prestigious company replacing Oscar nominee Winona Ryder (The Age of Innocence) while competing with an upcoming mysterious rival played by Mila Kunis (The Book of Eli, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), contending with a demanding artistic director (Vincent Cassell) and an overbearing mother who was also a dancer played by Oscar nominee Barbara Hershey (Beaches, The Portrait of a Lady). All of these factors test her mentally and physically and bring her to the edge of sanity. The film which opens December 1st will be playing at festivals in the fall hoping to build up its Oscar pedigree. Take a look at Natalie Portman in Black Swan below and let me know if you think she’s got an award worthy pony on her hands.

Black Swan trailer