day 3.80

the oscars

hollywood's biggest night has come and gone. last night, hollywood celebrated the 83rd annual academy awards. unfortunately, the awards were all around unexceptional. with no surprises on the awards front, awkward comedy bits and lackluster performances, the oscars didn't live up to the buzz surrounding them. the show opened with a billy crystal-style montage, with hosts anne hathaway and james franco taking an inception-style journey through the year's best picture noms.

but that montage was the best part of james franco's hosting. franco appeared stoned on stage, uninterested in what was happening on stage. he was more interested in pulling out his phone and live-tweeting his experience. anne hathaway wound up carrying the show. the academy chose hathaway and franco in an attempt to appeal to younger viewers, which the hosts referenced multiple times in their opening monologue. (my favorite part of the monologue? appearances by anne's mom and james' grandma). but it doesn't look like that risk totally paid off - ratings for the show were down from last year, but still above the 2008 and 2009 shows. i've always thought award shows should be hosted by comedians. it's just awkward to have oscar caliber actors poke fun at their peers. though, after sandra bullock presented the best actor award, i fully support her hosting the show next year. i'd also welcome the return of ellen degeneres. but, now, for the night's highlights.

the first major award handed out was best supporting actress, which (not surprisingly) went to the fighter's melissa leo. kirk douglas presented leo with the award in what i can only describe as the most drawn-out, painful and uncomfortable way possible. at least he's still with it at 94. i don't know if i can say the same for leo, whose speech - which included an f-bomb - did nothing to dispel those "crazy rumors.

leo's the fighter co-star christian bale continued his winning streak this season, taking home the best supporting actor trophy. bale kicked off a string of self-depricating, yet great, acceptance speeches.

the night felt bogged down (some bloggers said it felt 127 hours long...ha ha) with technical awards. producers did their best to keep the show moving, including a bizarre auto-tune bit (above).

natalie portman (again, no surprise) took home the best actress nod for black swan. i always get a little bit nervous when portman gives a speech - she always seems so awkward and uncomfortable during interviews. it's like she can't stand showing her real self. thankfully, her speech was actually pretty good.

colin firth - the night's best actor winner - gave my favorite acceptance speech of the night - it was funny, irreverent, short and sweet. too bad he'll probably have to make bridget jones 3 after this. or fortunately. depends on how you look at it.

i can't find good videos of the performances online, but randy newman, mandy moore and zachary levi, florence welch (of ...and the machine) and ar rahman and gwyneth paltrow all took the stage to perform the night's nominated original songs. none of the performances were great, but my favorite was definitely mandy and zachary performing "i see the light" from tangled. gwyneth paltrow, who i really, really like, seemed so nervous on stage. i blame it on the fact that she sang "coming home," rather than "country strong," which we've seen on just about every awards show this season.

the king's speech took home the biggest award of the night, best picture. while many predicted the social network, the academy usually awards more traditional movies, not ones that push envelopes and boundaries. the king's speech was the safe choice for the award, but also a deserving recipient.

the finale of last night's show was by far the best part - and not just because the show was over. new york's p.s. 22 choir came on stage to sing "over the rainbow," which was great in and of itself. but the real show stopper? all of the night's winners came back on stage at the end of the song for a final curtain call. how great of an idea was that? props to the producer who pitched that idea. they deserve a major promotion.

now for my best and worst dressed:

worst - helena bonham carter in...oh, who cares. she looks crazy.

best - jennifer lawrence in calvin klein. damn.

to see a full list of the night's winners, click here. it's going to be a long year until the next awards season, but - until then - i can't wait to see what hollywood brings to the big screen.

and for more of my take on the oscars, check out my uncensored live-tweets @bricesander.

day 3.79

review: hall pass

they're back. the farrelly brothers - they guys behind dumb and dumber and there's something about mary - bring edgy comedy back to the big screen with hall pass. the flick follows rick and fred (owen wilson and jason sudeikis), two suburban guys who've come to a roadblock in their marriages: they're bored. and their wives (played by jenna fisher and christina applegate) are annoyed. so how do the couples solve their problems? the wives grant their husbands a "hall pass" - one week freed from the responsibilities and restrictions of marriage. that's when things get out of hand. hall pass is part wedding crashers, part the hangover - but it's missing the element most important to those movies: good writing. while hall pass is laugh-out-loud funny, it's relies mostly on sight-gags and gross-out humor. what helps balance out the weak script is a great cast - each role seems tailor made to its actor, with the exception of a joy behar cameo more suited for bette midler. i would've liked to have seen amanda bynes in the movie, too. she was originally slated to play the hyper-sexual babysitter paige, but backed out at the last minute - around the same time she announced via twitter that she was "retiring" (she has since "un-retired" from the business). hall pass is much more suited for a male audience - it seemed like every girl in the theater couldn't hold back their "gross!" and "oh my god!" commentary. if you're a fan of past farrelly flicks, then definitely check it out (you'll enjoy it). but if you've never experienced the farrelly bro's brand of comedy, maybe check out one of their other flicks first.

don't forget to tune into the oscars tonight on abc, 8:30/7:30c. i'll be live-tweeting my thoughts and comments @bricesander.

day 3.78

glee goes original

last week on glee, rachel berry made reference to the group's need to write original songs. well it looks like they're actually going to write those songs. check out the two original songs - fast-paced "loser like me" and the ballad "get it right" - above. the songs will debut with the group at regionals near the end of the season. next up on glee? the return of gwyneth paltrow! paltrow returns as substitute teacher holly holiday and, natch, she gets to sing again. below is one of the tunes she'll be belting out (and a personal fave), "landslide." glee returns in two weeks, after american idol gets down to the top 12.

day 3.77

mandy moore returns to the big screen

while her voice popped up on the big screen last year in tangled, we haven't seen mandy moore in a movie in more than three years. thankfully, she's back - and doing what she does best, romantic comedies. moore stars in love wedding marriage, about a recently married marriage counselor who works to keep her parent's failing marriage together. from the trailer (above) the movie looks similar in tone to mandy's past efforts, like because i said so or license to wed. the flick co-stars kellan lutz, jane seymour and james brolin. hopefully as the funny clips (including one scene featuring an alyson hannigan cameo) aren't just in the trailer.

day 3.76

this is what i wrote today

since i already wrote something today, i figured i'd just post it instead of finding another topic. enjoy.

day 3.75

back tomorrow.

day 3.74

glee gets drunk

after weeks of schtick after schtick, glee finally returns to some quality, not-so-wholesome entertainment. check out the latest episode, in which the cast tackles the touchy subject of getting schwasted, with a little help from the creative genius that is ke$ha and jamie foxx.

day 3.73

youtube's latest stars

youtube continues its pattern of being the place to cultivate new musical talent - of the younger variety. as the launching pad for justin bieber and grayson chance, it's no surprise aspiring kid singers would try to recreate others' success. the three ladies above are the latest to blow up the net. first, there's maria aragon, who recorded herself singing lady gaga's "born this way." gaga caught wind of the cover and surprised maria on a radio show with the chance to come see the singer in concert - and join her on-stage to duet on "born this way." second is marnee, who perez hilton picked up after she posted a video of her covering jewel's "who will save your soul." jewel saw perez's post and tweeted "wow! she's talented! must a learned this off a live version!" after hearing the young singer's spot-on acoustic cover. and the last video is from heather russell may have gotten the best gig from youtube - simon cowell signed the singer after just watching her videos online. check out all three girls above - they might become your new favorite singer.

day 3.72

newsy news

this past month, i've gotten the opportunity to start writing for newsy, a web-based multi-platform news analysis service. you can watch stories that analyze news coverage across outlets on your ipad, iphone and android, learning everything you need to know about a story in a three minutes or less. i though i'd share some of the stories i've written over the past couple of weeks since there's not much too talk about today.

Multisource political news, world news, and

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

to see my latest newsy stories, be sure to follow me on twitter @bricesander.

day 3.72

review: unknown

lian neeson hits the box office once again in a kick-ass, high concept thriller. unknown follows liam neeson as he tries to figure out just what happened to him after a car accident in germany. when he wakes up from a post-accident coma, his world is turned upside down. he claims to be dr. martin harris, but when he tracks down his wife at their hotel, she has no idea who he is - and there's another man there claiming to be martin harris. what follows is neeson's high speed chase to track down just what happened to him, all the while out-smarting a group of mysterious men trying to kill him. the movie's plot kept me guessing the whole time, but the ending was more than disappointing. the resolution is surprising, but leaves a lot of questions unanswered. the upside is you get to see neeson kick some ass (though not as much, and not as well, as in taken), and there are multiple edge-of-your-seat car chases to keep your attention. the worst part of the flick? january jones' acting. as neeson's secret-keeping wife, her expression and delivery are always the same. it's like she doesn't care whether or not she's being entertaining. definitely check out unknown if you're looking for an action/thriller, but don't expect too much.

day 3.71

review: just go with it

don't you wish someone would make a movie about a guy lusting after the wrong woman, while the right woman was there the whole time? well here you have it. yes, the adam sandler/jennifer aniston romcom is predictable, but it's entertaining. the flick follows dr. danny maccabee (adam sandler) in his quest for love ... which involves him tricking girls into sleeping with him based on the fact that he's in a loveless marriage. and by loveless marriage, i mean no marriage at all. that is until he meets palmer - played by brooklyn decker - without his fake wedding ring. but when she discovers the fake ring, dr. maccabee has to think quick - which, naturally, leads to a lot of stupidity. long story short, danny's assistant, katherine (jennifer aniston), is roped into playing his pretend soon-to-be ex-wife ... and they all wind up in hawaii. the plot's a little over-thought, but is packed with plenty of laughs ... and a heidi montag cameo (?). there's even a whole b-story line featuring nicole kidman as katherine's college nemesis. at just under two hours, just go with it passed my watch test and kept me from checking the time. definitely add it to your list of movies to see, even if it's just to watch brooklyn decker make the same expression for half the movie.

day 3.70

it has arrived

Britney Spears - New Music - More Music Videos

day 3.69

kanye and katy...together!?

day 3.68

rihanna's been a busy (only) girl

day 3.67

the grammys

sunday night was the night to be in music. well, unless your name is justin bieber. even though the biebs took the weekend box office by storm, he didn't take home any awards at the grammys. here's a break down of the big category winners, and some of my favorite moments from the show.

the grammys were really a night of upsets. arcade fire took home album of the year over gaga, eminem and katy perry. the grammys went the opposite of this year's award show trend - they weren't political at all. unexpected artists (like esperanza spalding - who?) took home top honors, while more established acts, well, didn't.

album of the year: the suburbs, arcade fire
record of the year: "need you now," lady antebellum
rap album: recovery, eminem
new artist: esperanza spalding
song of the year: "need you now," lady antebellum

the pop category is the biggest category of the night, and it belonged to lady gaga. and train. and bruno mars.

pop vocal album: the fame monster, lady gaga
pop performance (duo or group): "hey soul sister," train
female pop vocal performance: lady gaga, "bad romance"
male pop vocal performance: bruno mars, "just the way you are"

for a full list of winners, click here.

now for the performances. the night opened with an aretha franklin tribute, led by christina aguilera, martina mcbride, jennifer hudson, florence (minus the machine) and yolanda adams. it was a really well done medley, but you could tell christina did not enjoy being anyone's back-up singer.

as christina exited the stage, though, she took a little tumble...

rihanna took the stage twice during the show, which was unexpected. but much appreciated. joining her on stage were some of the biggest acts in the rap game - eminem, dr. dre and drake.

lady gaga was literally born on stage. gaga showed up to the award show dressed...well, more so shielded, by an egg.

and i guess we finally know the answer to what came first - the chicken or the egg? after gaga, cee-lo green (dressed as the nbc peacock) took the stage alongside gwyneth paltrow and the muppets? to sing "forget you."

and katy perry revealed why she never sold her wedding album to a tabloid - she was saving it for herself...and millions of people watching the grammys.

day 3.66

the grammys

they're on right now - tune in on cbs and follow my live-tweets @bricesander.

day 3.65

review: never say never

never would i have thought that i would see a justin bieber concert film. well, i guess that's why you should never say never. the film follows bieber as he prepares for his first concert at the make-it-or-break-it venue madison square garden. i went in with very low expectations - i was expecting something along the lines of the miley cyrus/hannah montana: best of both worlds or jonas brothers 3d movies - and came out happily surprised. the film chronicles justin's rise to success, mixing home videos, interviews with his support system and fans and, of course, footage from the sold-out madison square garden show. the one thing the flick is missing? an interview with justin himself. while his mom, grandparents, friends, usher, manager and even special guests miley cyrus and jaden smith all give sit-down interviews, you never actually get to hear from justin. i understand that this is probably intentional - better to hear the story from multiple perspectives - but the biebs never gets to give his take on things. it's all people putting words into his mouth. i guess that means potential sequel, right? you'll definitely have more respect for the pop prodigy after seeing never say never - his talent far exceeds what we get to hear on the radio. as justin's manager, scooter braun, says in the film, it's best to stay the underdog as long as possible. justin will still have to prove himself, but i think never say never will help show people that the kid's talent is closer to that of a justin timberlake than the jobros. at an hour and 45 minutes, never say never gives you the chance to embrace the screaming tweenager inside all of us without being too much of a headache. if you're a fan - or just happen to know one or two songs - definitely check it out, especially in 3d.

day 3.64

it has arrived!

lady gaga's much anticipated single "born this way" hit the internets and airwaves today. while it's basically a ripoff of madonna's "express yourself," it's still catchy and sure to get a ton of radio play. it's a bit of a departure from the sound of gaga's last album, the fame - it's faster paced than any song on her freshman effort. if this is any indication of what gaga's full album (out later this year) has to offer, it's bound to do big business - probably even bigger than the fame. gaga's already breaking records with "born this way" - the song climbed to the number 1 spot faster than any other song in itunes history. have you downloaded it yet?

day 3.63

russel brand is arthur

most of the time i find remakes, well, horrible. but this one looks like it might be better than the original.

day 3.62

i'm dying

day 3.61

i got nothin'

back tomorrow.

day 3.60

it returns!

and we get another new episode tomorrow night!

day 3.59

the church lady returns

former snl funny man dana carvey made a triumphant return to the small screen last night, hosting the show that launched his career. while i'm not quite sure why carvey was invited to host (he doesn't have a project coming out from what i can tell), i am glad he was able to take the stage and show the currently less-than-stellar cast how to make an audience actually laugh. carvey was joined on stage by former cast members mike myers and jon lovitz (and justin bieber?), and delivered some of this season's highlights. but the real star of last night's show was definitely abby elliot, who is quickly becoming strong competition for kristen wiig. check out the clips below.

day 3.58

review: the roommate

thrillers targeted at teens tend to be either really scary or really stupid. the roommate strikes a balance between the two extremes. while it's predictable, there are some genuine scares and enough unintentional laughs to make it worth watching. the movie follows sara, played by former friday night lights star minka kelly, as she navigates her freshman year at university of los angeles (the "we don't have to pay anyone anything" stand-in for ucla). everything seems great for sara - she's made some good friends (one of whom is former disney star aly michalka), she's moved on from her hometown boyfriend (with twilight and burlesque's cam gigandet) and she has a nice, if overprotective, roommate, rebecca. turns out that roommate, played by gossip girl star leighton meester, has a bit of the crazy in her. ok, a lot of the crazy in her. rebecca is literally off her meds and takes it upon herself to make sure no one does anything to ruin the bond she's forming with sara. naturally, she goes around ripping out some people's belly rings, creeping sara's friends out...oh, and she tries to kill a few people. just your normal college stuff, right? at just an hour and a half, it's the perfect length for a movie that requires little to no thought. while high schoolers will probably want to run screaming away from college after seeing the roommate, those of us who have experienced college life can relate to a lot of the movie. and be thankful that, though we sometimes might think our roommates are bitches, they aren't psychotic ones.

day 3.57

the death of reality tv as we know it?

the (reality) tv gods just keep playing with me. taunting me, to be more precise. you might remember that mtv announced late last year that lauren conrad - the girl who kept the network afloat after they abandoned the whole "music television concept" - would be returning to the net's airwaves with a brand new show about her life in the fashion industry. well guess what? that show will never see the light of day. conrad and co. filmed a pilot ep, but the footage reportedly didn't fit with the mtv "brand." it's too "high brow," which translates to "she didn't get drunk or punch anyone, so we don't think people will watch it." trust me, i completely get the appeal of jersey shore. and, sure, i indulge in the occasional snooki-centric marathon. but a person can only take watching so many drunken nights at the club fist pumping before they need something that doesn't actually kill braincells. while i highly doubt l.c.'s return to the small screen would have been emmy-worthy, i at least think the fans deserved to see it. the hills became such a caricature of the stars' everyday lives, and this would have been the chance to see what we were missing all that time. i know it seems like forever ago, but it was just a little over a year ago that conrad brought in close to 4 million viewers for the net. there's a slight chance that the pilot lauren filmed may be turned into a special for mtv, but don't get your hopes up. it might be hard to fit some real documentary-style reality tv in-between non-stop repeats of jersey shore, teen mom 2 and skins. i mean, they brought back my life as liz but passed on lauren conrad? enough said.

another show we won't be seeing anytime soon? the new season of the real housewives of new york. the bravo series won't premiere until late spring, even though the net said we could watch what happens starting in just a couple of weeks. the nyc ladies have been pushed aside to make room for some latin flavor. bravo plans to premiere the real housewives of miami in the new york cast's place. while i'm excited to follow the florida drama (check out the trailer above), i'm impatient. i need jill zarin's nasal whining, ramona's bug-eyes, countess luann's freak voice and kelly killoren bensimon's nonsense ramblings back in my life, asap.

in other real housewives news, it looks like we might get some new faces on the yet-to-be-annouced, but sure-to-happen, second season of the real housewives of beverly hills. the runaway hit of the franchise might lose not one, but two original cast members (both camille and kim are rumored to be considering exits, but i'm doubtful), so producers are reportedly scrambling to find replacements. brandi glanville - eddie cibrian's ex/the woman whose house leann rimes wrecked - is reportedly in talks to join the cast, which would bring back former lisa vanderpump flunky cedric. apparently since cedric left vanderpump manor he's been spending a lot of time at brandi's house - they're pictured together above. maybe he can be credited as "brandi's permanent houseguest" next season? also on the list of possible additions are sylvester stallone's wife jennifer flavin (could we see another hollywood marriage blow up in our faces?) and jeannie buss, an exec for the los angeles lakers (current housewife adrienne maloof owns the sacramento kings - rivalry, anyone?).

day 3.56

sunday is all about glee!

super bowl what? sunday marks the return of glee to finish off its sophomore season. here's a sneak peek ok the music you'll be singing all week long. the "thriller"/"heads will roll" mix is my favorite. and "bills bills bills" screams destiny's child episode...stat.

day 3.55

naughty, naught rihanna

day 3.54

kristen wiig is a bridesmaid

check out the latest trailer for kristen wiig's big movie breakout, bridesmaids. hopefully all of the laughs aren't in the trailer.