day 2.46

i give nine a 1

if you're interested in seeing nine, i don't advise it (unless you're trying to knock out entertainment weekly's 25 movies to see before the oscars list). a movie adaptation of the broadway musical of the same name, somehow gets lost in translation - in more ways than one. the musical itself was adapted from the italian film 8 1/2. in an attempt to recreate what is presumably the feel of the italian film, director rob marshall (who succeeded in bringing chicago to the big screen) get too bogged down in the intricacies of the film work that the movie itself lacks plot or character development. focused around 1960s italian director guido contini, played by daniel day lewis, the film is almost two hours of mess. lewis - along with costars judi dench, nicole kidman and penelope cruz - seems to be too focused on creating a character that has no depth than actually playing the part. the same four actors also have issues picking accents. dench's character, supposedly a parisian costumer, starts out with an italian accent, then a french one and ends the film with her normal british accent. in movies where fantasy is an integral part of the film itself, i don't understand why actors are forced (or choose) to try on a heavy accent on top of the one they already possess. just speak normally and we'll play along like you're all italian. ironically, sophia loren - the only real italian in the movie - speaks english the best out of those amongst her fellow actors doing an affectation of an accent. the acting in the film, aside from this picky bit, is exceptional. it's the lack of story or character development that leave you scratching your head and asking, "did i just see an art film?" the best moment in the film - kate hudson's performance of "cinema italiana," previewed in the trailer above - is the shortest musical performance and was written exclusively for the film. knowing "cinema italiana" doesn't appear in the original stage musical makes me even more weary of seeing it should it appear at a theater near me anytime soon. aside from the other show-stopping number - fergie as a hooker singing "be italian" - the music is relatively bland and does nothing to move the film along. mostly, the songs are extensions of random lines of dialogue that you wouldn't expect to have importance. dench's number is all about a certain costume that may or may not be used in guido's latest movie. marion cotillard, as guido's jaded wife, does the best acting job but gets saddled with two of the most head-ache inducing songs. penelope cruz's (guido's mistress) "a call from the vatican" is pretty much a burlesque performance. the one thing i found amazing was that cruz had virtually no accent while singing. i'd say someone puts on her spanish accent a little thick if she can sing in perfect english. kidman's song - which i can barely recall - is fine, but her part is so small. you'd expect the main character's muse to have a big role, but kidman doesn't speak a word of dialogue until the film's last 45 minutes. it's amazing she even got paid for the role as it was little more than a glorified extra position. all in all, skip nine and just listen to the soundtrack if you want a feel for the flick - it's (sadly) the best part.

day 54

the last girl next door moves out

bridget marquardt, one third of hugh hefner's former girlfriends (holly madison and kendra wilkinson make up the other 2), has moved out of the mansion.  bridget was the last of the three girls to move out - holly has relocated to vegas to be with new "illusionist" (that's just a fancy word for magician) boyfriend chris angel and kendra is currently shacking up with her football playing fiance hank baskett.  bridg is off to travel the world for her new travel channel series bridget's beaches, in which she'll be visiting some of the world's most luxurious and travel friendly beaches.  however, bridget may be returning to the mansion sooner than we know it.  when production on the first season of her show ends in april, bridget may be headed back to her old stomping grounds.  she has an open invitation from the man who has made a career out of glamour modeling (that's what they call showing your goodies over seas) to return whenever she likes.  bridget said she and hef still have a "special relationship" and she'll be happy to come back.  the thing about all this girls next door reshuffling that confuses me is that the show is still in production, with the original cast.  how is this possible? i guess we'll be seeing in the next couple of months?

jenny humprey, pop star?

the youngest (and only "teen") castmember of dvr cw hit gossip girl, taylor momsen, is looking at launching a music career. the slender star says she's working with "her band" is working on  an album, which will include some momsen originals.  click here to listen to what appears to be a relatively old recording of the star.  if you remember, momsen sang in her role of cindy lou who in dr seuss's how the grinch stole christmas opposite jim carrey.  her singing voice sounds a little nasaly, but that could just be how young she was when the recording was made.  it just seems that when an young actress decides to sing, her career starts to take a down turn: lindsay lohan, jamie lynn sigler, jennifer love hewitt...the list goes on and on of failed actress-singers who took a career nosedive when they decided to do music.  hopefully this does well (or never happens), or else little j can kiss success goodbye.  when actresses sing, they seems to spread themselves to thin and aren't focused; the only ones who seem to be able to do it are the disney starlets because they're part of the superstar-making-machine of the mouse house.

kidman admits defeat. will hollywood listen?

as the actress who continuously lands on the top of the "most overpaid actresses" list in hollywoood, you would think someone would stop casting kidman in films. while some polls indicate that she's a star that women want to see at the movies, those women never really show up.  kidman's latest bomb, australia, has lead the actress to comment on her abilities.  she said that she "can't look at [that] movie and be proud of what [she's] done."  kidman also notes that she basically fled her home in the continent that lends its name to the film's title in fear of being shamed by her fellow country people.  it seems like she's just doing this to cover her ass, as she promoted the film quite heavily and was seen everywhere before its release.  if she really wasn't pround, she would have skipped out on publicity.  with this new development, maybe hollywood will perk up and give other deserving actresses the roles and films kidman just can't seem to carry.  australia comes in as number 6 on a long line of box office failures, including bewitched and the golden compass.  while she may not be the entire reason for lack of interest in these films, she does seem to be the common thread. 

anne hathaway - headed for a pay raise

anne hathaway took home the lead actress critic's choice award for her work in the film rachel getting married.  hathaway tied with her the devil wears prada costar meryl streep, who won for her role in doubt.  click here to check out her acceptance speech.  anne seems genuinely happy and shocked to have own the trophy.  the critic's choice awards are usually pretty good precursors to who is going to take home the "big trophies" of the golden globes and oscars.  and, since anne most likely already won the golden globe after the little technical glitch on the award shows website (though we'll find out for sure tomorrow night), she is sure to be nominated for an academy award. once anne takes home that little gold man, she'll be able to get any part in any movie she wants.  hopefully, though, she won't completely move away from the comedies that made her famous and continue to make her viable at the box office.  her portrayal of emma in bride wars is really the only thing that makes the film watchable (other than kristin johnston's too small part of emma's annoying coworker) and she's meant to be a comedic actress.  actresses like renee zellweger, who win the award for dramatic work, then glom onto being a dramatic actress and basically torpedo their career.  zellweger is making her way back, though, to the types of movie that gave her a career with this year's romcom new in town.  

clarkson clip

click here to check out a sample of kelly clarkson's new song "my life would suck without you."  clarkson seems to be everywhere now that her song is being released in a little over a week.  the song is definitely pop-py and a return to her breakaway roots.  only time will tell if the song (and album) will be a success.  

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