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.