Month: October 2006 (Page 2 of 21)

Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe are splitting up after seven years of marriage, TMZ reports:

The couple’s rep released a statement to TMZ Monday morning that says “We are saddened to announce that Reese & Ryan have decided to formally separate. They remain committed to their family and we ask that you please respect their privacy and the safety of their children at this time.”

Sources indicated that the couple’s impending divorce was not caused by a single event, but rather a “cumulative” series of events. Experts suggest that, aside from the couple’s obvious imbalance in the areas of talent, intelligence, and overall attractiveness, two key factors in the breakup were a) Reese’s realization that she is Reese Witherspoon and he is Ryan Phillippe; and b) Ryan’s refusal to “shave that shit off his face.”

Actors, Actresses, Gossip, News

Sunset for “Studio 60”?

October 30, 2006 / Deb Medsker

Fox News reports that the Aaron Sorkin dramedy “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” may be hovering near death. Although NBC ordered three additional episodes as recently as this past Friday, cast members are reportedly telling their friends that the show is as good as cancelled.

Aside from the inherent news value of the impending cancellation, two points in this story are worth noting:

A) Fox News “reporter” Roger Friedman appears barely capable of restraining his glee at the idea of watching the guillotine fall on another earnest, chatty, liberal Sorkin drama; and

B) If NBC does indeed cancel the program — as part of its recent schedule overhaul emphasizing inexpensive reality programming over quality dramas and sitcoms — the recent “Studio 60” episode dealing with fictitious parent network NBS’s efforts to eschew cheap reality stunts in favor of more expensive highbrow programming will be an ironic footnote indeed.

Since bastion of conservatism Fox News appears to be the first to report such a dire fate for “Studio 60” (and, given the show’s primarily left-leaning content, Fox’s motives in breaking this story are decidedly suspect) there may still be hope for the show…but it needs to find a larger audience very quickly, and tonight’s bump from the sweeps schedule in favor of “Friday Night Lights” does not bode well for Matt, Danny and the gang.

TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Rapid Fire Rejects – Halloween Edition

October 30, 2006 / Jason Zingale

“Rest Stop”
By far the best of the bunch, “Rest Stop” is like a low-budget version of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” meets “Joyride.” The cast is kept to a bare minimum (which means there isn’t a very high body count), and all the characters maintain the usual level of stupidity that we’ve all come to expect from horror movies.

“Let’s Scare Jessica to Death”
Typical of most ‘70s horror flicks, “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death” seriously questions the competency of Hollywood casting directors. Incredibly grainy and filled with enough extreme close-ups to confirm just how terrible the acting really is, watching this film will make you feel sick. And no, that’s not a compliment.

“The Roost”
After a cheesy opening introduces “The Roost” as the Movie of the Week on a late-night cable access show, it becomes quite clear just how bad this film is really going to be. The acting is horrendous, the dialogue isn’t much better, and the story concept suffers from a lack of originality. Killer bats? Is that seriously the best you can do? Sigh…

“The Curse of El Charro”
A note to horror producers all around the world: we know it’s easy to write characters based on outrageous stereotypes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a good idea to group a whole bunch of them into one film. When have you ever seen a circle of friends consisting of a ghetto diva, a goth girl, and a preppy chick? Exactly, never. And that’s not even the worst of it. Please accept the following quote as my official warning:

“James, you two-timing son-of-a-bitch. After all I fucking did for you! I fucking stopped chewing, I learned all of those stupid little strip dancing lessons… I even went down on you inside of a movie theater… and I swallowed for Christ’s sakes!”

Yes, it’s that bad.

External Movie DVDs, Movie DVDs