Month: January 2009 (Page 4 of 27)

The Lucky Ones

January 28, 2009 /

Neil Burger’s “The Illusionist” was one of the most underrated films of 2006, so it’s a bit disheartening to see his latest movie, the post-9/11 war drama “The Lucky Ones,” suffer a similar fate. Though it’s not nearly as good as his previous effort, the film is still better than a majority of the movies just like it, mostly thanks to its talented cast. Tim Robbins, Michael Peña and Rachel McAdams star as three U.S. Army soldiers who have just returned to the country after their latest tour in Iraq. When a blackout grounds all the flights out of New York, however, the trio decides to rent a car and make the cross-country trip back home together, despite having just met hours before. What follows is a journey of self-discovery, as they must all come to terms with the way the war has changed their lives. Unfortunately, the average moviegoer got so burned out with post-9/11 fatigue that “The Lucky Ones” never got a proper theatrical release. It only seems fitting, because “Grace Is Gone,” the movie it’s most like, received the exact same treatment. Still, if pro-solider embarrassments like “Home of the Brave” and “Stop-Loss” can find an audience, then surely “The Lucky Ones” deserves one too.

Click to buy “The Lucky Ones”

Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies

Bethenny Frankel wants to make your Super Bowl snacks healthy. (Don’t worry, rice cakes are not on the menu.)

January 28, 2009 /

With the biggest junk food day of the year only a few days away, Bullz-Eye participated in a unique interview experience where resident foodie Shelly Perry talked to Bethenny Frankel, a trained Chef and star of the Bravo show “The Real housewives of New York City,” and she had her answers to our questions videotaped so we could share her responses with you, gentle viewer. Bethenny mentions how it’s much easier to eat healthy than one would think, and comes up with a couple hummus suggestions that we’re thinking about trying come Sunday. And truth be told, this new interview method has kind of spoiled us. After all, would you rather talk to an attractive woman over the phone, or watch a video of the attractive woman talking to you? Exactly.

Interviews, TV, TV Reality

The Biggest Loser: Producers love games

January 28, 2009 /

On NBC’s “The Biggest Loser: Couples,” gameplay reared its ugly head again last week as the black team voted off Damien after saying they wouldn’t. The show began last night with the blue team members pissed off about that, and feeling like they could not trust the black team, and also that the game was now “on.” Yeah, just what I don’t want to see in a weight loss show. But I guess we have to get used to it, because this is what the show is about, and what the producers want us to see. However, I also have to say that while everyone kept Joelle in the competition another week, she finally is showing signs of wanting to succeed and wanting to work hard to get there.

With five days until the teammates who were sent home in Week 1 can return, everyone is getting anxious and looking forward to getting back to the “Couples” theme. Being that it is Super Bowl week in real time, Curtis Stone from “Take Home Chef” was brought in for the initial challenge, which was to guess the calories in typical Super Bowl fare. The winner would get a 2-pound pass for their partner at that weigh in, and Stone would fly to wherever the partner was for a healthly cooking lesson. Big Dan won the challenge, and Stone surprised his partner Dave back in North Carolina. Dave has been eating somewhat unhealthy at home, stuff like fried chicken and hot dogs Continue reading »

External TV, Reality TV, The Biggest Loser, TV

American Idol: Welcome to Randy Jacksonville

January 28, 2009 /

So last night in part five of eight of FOX’s “American Idol” audition rounds, the scene shifted to Jacksonville, Florida. And the producers of the show decided to have a little fun and give judge Randy Jackson some love due to the name of the city (that’s really a stretch, isn’t it?). They showed Jackson in his days performing with the rock band Journey, and basically paid tribute to him a bit. That’s okay, but still a stretch. Anyway, this city did not seem to have the talent level of other audition rounds, and it was obvious right from the start of the show last night. Here are the highlights and lowlights:

THE BAD

Dana Moreno was shouting a Chaka Khan song, and I do mean shouting. Next! 16 year old Kaneswa had been told her entire life by her mom what a great vocalist she was, but that is always the recipe for failure, isn’t it? Kaneswa sang Anita Baker’s “Caught Up in the Rapture,” complete with some of Anita’s vocal acrobatics. However, for Kaneswa, they were not acrobatics, but more like nasal inflections….Darren Darnell was the life of the party among contestants waiting to audition, so much so that I was thinking he could be the next Ryan Seacrest. But then when his buddy didn’t get a golden ticket, a switch went off and this guy looked depressed and started crying, right up through his own audition, which bombed anyway….A girl named Naomi sang Minnie Ripperton’s “Lovin’ You” and while she may have hit the high falsetto note at the end, it was the only note that was on key. Naomi brought along her friend who was semi-obsessed with Randy Jackson, and the friend got to sit on Randy’s lap. Anyway, Naomi was awful….George Ramirez, an 18 year old who sort of looked like a young Abe Lincoln, was a physics student who just happened to want to give singing a try, but it was more like a low rumble of off-key mess Continue reading »

American Idol, External TV, Reality TV, TV

ABC greenlights “V” pilot

January 27, 2009 /

When I was a kid, one of my favorite miniseries was “V,” the story about an alien invasion of Earth. I remember thinking that it was the coolest thing I had seen since “Star Wars.” I watched it again a few years ago and thought it was brutal. Ah, the innocence of childhood!

Anyhoo, according to Variety, ABC has given the go-ahead to a pilot that will re-imagine the ’80s miniseries.

New adaptation of the franchise was written by “The 4400” co-creator/exec producer Scott Peters. Peters is aboard to exec produce along with HDFilms principal Jason Hall. Warner Bros. TV, which was behind the original longform, is producing.

The new “V” centers on Erica Evans, a Homeland Security agent with an aimless son. When the aliens arrive, her son gloms on to them — causing tension within the family.

Like the original, show centers on visitors who say they’ve come to help the Earth — but their motives are nefarious.

“Battlestar Galactica” has set the bar for re-imagined series and I have a feeling that the new version of “V” will be a disappointment. I could never get into “The 4400” — and I love sci-fi — so Scott Peters’ involvement doesn’t fill me with warm, fuzzy feelings. Also, ABC has already bailed on a good alien invasion story — “Invasion” — that had a great cast, so I don’t have confidence that the network knows how to make this kind of story work.

But then again, they gave us “Lost,” so you never know.

Battlestar Galactica, External Entertainment, External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Premium Hollywood

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑