HAPPY sexy NEW YEAR!!

Let's all ring in the New Year the proper way... Here's hoping everyone in The Lounge has a prosperous, healthy and productive New Year.

Read More

PENGUIN PICS LEAKED: SEYMOUR HOFFMAN SHOWS UP AS BAT VILLAIN

Altho this pic is probably a fake, here is some concept makeup art that popped up all over the interwebs that have Philip Seymour Hoffman as Batman villain The Penguin.

Even though there have been scores of denials about Hoffman's involvement on the next Bat project, this pic won't stop people from photo shopping his HUGE noggin into a penguin-esque shape.

But is it real?

Cinema Blend claims a source contacted them saying this picture was in fact an authentic studio make up test (just to see if the look fits). Pretty much everyone has denied its authenticity.

Looks pretty cool, tho ...

Read More

BATMAN DOES VOICEOVERS

About a week or so ago, I ranted about how "The Dark Knight" may not be the end-all, be-all of comic book movies. Damn great flick, but certainly flawed. I also vented about how stupidly ridiculous Christian Bale's Batvoice was. Apparently, I'm not the only one.

Check out this hilarious video.

Read More

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Here's hoping your 'HOs' are plentiful.

Read More

KIDDIE CHRISTMAS: XBOX360 or CLOTHES???

I'll admit it. I got coal in my stocking when I was a child. That said ladies and gents, I give you the modern equivalent.

Be warned: It's a tearjerker... Part funny, part cruel...

Read More

DON'T WISH THE DARK KNIGHT HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Dayummm!, We all knew that Bats was brooding and all but he didn't have to take it out on his ward...

Read More

STEVE WYNN OPENS HIS 'ENCORE'

Today is the most important day of 2008 for Las Vegas. Bar none.

Amidst our country's hardest financial crisis in years, Casino mogul Steve Wynn opens his new property called Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. Everyone on the ground seems very optimistic about the billion-dollar property. Wynn Resorts is the only company with a casino on the Strip that has not taken a brutal stock drubbing, layoffs or other savage economic reality lesson this year.

Two of the best Vegas sites (VegasTripping.com and RateVegas.com) have combined efforts with a site for today on EncoreOpening.com.

To read more about Encore, click HERE.

Read More

BIG WILLIE WEEKEND: WILL SMITH KING OF THE MOVIES

The always-awesome Slashfilm has a great collection of stats today. And being that this weekend brings us new flicks by Jim Carrey and Will Smith, there's no better time to share.

Below are the most successful movie stars in history (box-office wise). Keep your eye on Big Willie Smith who opens this weekend with "Seven Pounds." Why keep your eye on Smith? Only Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise and Eddie Murphy have more $100 million hits on their resume than Smith, who clocks in at 12. Carrey, who has "Yes Man" opening this weekend is only one behind at 11 blockbusters.

Here's the list of the most $100M+ in film history. It includes animated films and excludes cameos

1. Tom Hanks – 15
2. Tom Cruise - 14
3. Eddie Murphy - 13
4. Will Smith – 12
5. Harrison Ford – 12
6. Jim Carrey – 11
7. Robin Williams - 11
8. Mel Gibson – 10
9. Matt Damon - 9
10. Bruce Willis – 8
11. Jack Nicholson – 8

Here's the deal, though, Will Smith, has done something a bit unprecedented and achieved a feat never done by the Toms - Hanks and Cruise. Hancock was WILL SMITH'S eighth consecutive $100M+ grossing blockbuster. Hanks and Cruise both had career-best streaks of 7 films topping $100M.

2002 – Men in Black II - $52.1M opening - $190.4M cume
2003 – Bad Boys II - $46.5M opening - $138.6M cume
2004 – I, Robot - $52.1M opening - $144.8M cume
2004 – Shark Tale - $47.6M opening - $160.8M cume
2005 – Hitch - $43.1M opening - $179.4M cume
2006 – The Pursuit of Happyness - $26.5M opening - $163.5M cume
2007 – I Am Legend - $77.2M opening - $256.4M cume
2008 – Hancock - $62.6M opening - $227.9M cume

Read More

SNOW ON THE STRIP!!

When I got hitched in Vegas on 777, it was something ridiculous like 125 degrees. There I was... In a suit... In the sun... Sweating bullets... All I could think of were blizzards back east to keep from keeling over from heatstroke.

Imagine, today when I saw there was a bonafide snowstorm on the Vegas Strip.

To read more about it, click HERE.

Read More

DID 'THE DARK KNIGHT' SUCK?

Well, I don't think so... But it might not be the End-All Be-All of superhero movies as most people think.

I posted an item yesterday about The Guardian calling "The Dark Knight" one of the most ridiculous plots of the year. I wanted to take another stab at the flick after writing the post and came to the (probably blasphemous) conclusion that there are indeed more-than-a-few flaws with the lauded superhero flick. Here's what I think:

* It's WAY too long. There I said it. It goes on for at least a half hour longer than it should have. Imagine how effective it would have been in those final scenes of Bats zipping along on his Batpod vigilante-style had it clocked in at a lean and mean 120 minutes.

* It was way too dense. Kudos to the Brothers Nolan and scribe David S. Goyer on their multi-layered approach to make Gotham as realistic, relevant and current as possible, but geez, if there was ever a flick to watch with the captions on, it's "The Dark Knight." Every bit of dialogue, character nuance and glance means scores to the plot. My copy didn't have subtitles and I'm afraid that I may have missed a few things (even after a couple times in).

* It simply wasn't fun. I'm very well aware that Batman is the brooding James Dean superhero in the DC Universe, but man, talk about your downers. Even without the stunning and Gothic art direction of the Tim Burton Batman films, "The Dark Knight" is one bleak piece of moviemaking. And yes, before everyone goes all nuts on me, I'm well aware that this is "The Empire Strikes Back" of comic book films. The Godfather Part II" if you will... 'Empire' ended on a downer and I'm all for a downtrodden ending but there was zero, zilch, zip fun in the entire film.

While the action scenes were deft, precise and explosive, there wasn't that element of razzle-dazzle fun. The only iota of fun came when the Caped Crusader is chasing the Joker on his Batpod and literally scales a wall and turns around at 90 mph in a second or two. THAT was fun. We needed more of that. And for those who tell me the film was an allegory for what's happening in the world today, please... Get over yourselves. I don't want a comic book movie to do that. Entertain me. I have the news for all else.

* Is Clint Eastwood in this film? For the love of all that's holy, why in the world did Christian Bale sneer, whisper and growl his way through his Batman scenes? Honestly, most of the time I couldn't understand what he was saying. My call? Hands down, I'd say that Michael Keaton put on the best Bat voice in terms of menace. Bale was doing God knows what. Let's all pray he drops it or at least takes it down a few notches. Totally dopey.

* Never thought I'd be saying this but take a cue from Marvel. The once film-fledgling Marvel is going to great lengths to instill a sense of continuity in their films. Example? It builds excitement when Sam Jackson shows up as Nick Fury in "Iron Man" or when Robert Downey, Jr. shows up as Tony Stark in "Hulk." It's geeky yet cool. Would it kill WB and DC to do a little more of that? It's awesome that Christopher Nolan is going to great lengths to incorporate a massive sense of realism but take it one step further and mention Metropolis... Throw in a Lois Lane appearance... I dunno ... Something. Build their universe and the continuity. It'll work wonders.

* Again, as with most Batman films, there are simply too many characters, namely villains. Between Heath Ledger's awesome Joker, the duality of Aaron Eckhart's Two-face, Eric Roberts' stereotypical gangster, the Asian corporate invader/thief, and all the hoodlums and henchman and you've got a jambalaya of dare I say stock criminals (with the exception of the first two). Why does this always happen? The Bat cannon is full of great villains. Let's not use them all at once. Which leads me to...

* Nolan wrote himself into a pickle. What I mean by that is that his Nolanverse is so authentically realistic, writing in such A-List Bat villains as Catwoman, The Riddler and The Penguin (especially) will be near impossible. Take his Joker, there was no origin ala the Tim Burton film or from the famous comic book lore. I mean, it sorta worked in this instance -- a wacko shows up in clown paint and is a lunatic. But I don't think that ambiguity will work so much for the others. Hmmm, is that why he's yet to sign on for a third film? Has his Nolanverse run its course?

Read More

'WOLVERINE' TRAILER LEAKED

The new trailer for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" has debuted online. Starring Hugh Jackman as the Canadian mutant, the movie promises loads of Weapon X guest stars as the early days of Wolverine are explored. Gambit looks pretty cool... The movie is slated to open in theaters on May 1st

Read More

THE ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC THESE DAYS IS A KILLER

Find out what killed an 80-plus year-old woman as she watched "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

Read More

THE YEAR'S MOST RIDICULOUS PLOT

The Guardian gives us the year's most ridiculous plots and guess what landed on top of the list?? An itty-bitty comic book movie called "The Dark Knight."

"Wait, so the Joker really orchestrated that big truck chase just so that he could get caught and go to prison, then he could kidnap that guard and grab his phone to make the call to set off the bomb he'd previously sewn inside the henchman in the next cell? That would kill the guy who stole the mobsters' money, thus enabling him to … er, what? Heath Ledger's Joker may have been a psychopath, but he had a nerdish capacity for forward planning."

To read the entire list, click HERE.

Read More

A BUFF SHERLOCK: WB's 'SHERLOCK HOLMES' PICS

We last saw Robert Downey, Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes in paparazzi set pics from the upcoming Guy Ritchie film. Now, however, Warner Bros has released the first two official photos from the film. The photo above features a bloodied, shirtless Holmes in some king of fighting arena. Looks like a cockfight, "Fight Club" kind of element. But who knew Holmes would be so buff?? Looks like Downey has been hitting the gym. Kudos...

The photo below features Holmes’ trusted colleague Dr. Watson, played by Jude Law. Screen scribe Anthony Peckham’s script is based upon a mixture of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tales and the Lionel Wigram comic book adaptation which presents a more active version of the famous detective.

And for Warner Bros to choose this photo as one of the first photos to release is making a statement - this ain't our grandpappies' famous dick.

Read More

R.I.P. BETTIE PAGE DEAD AT 85

Bettie Page, the 1950s secretary-turned-model whose controversial photographs in skimpy attire or none at all helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution, died Thursday. She was 85.

Page was placed on life support last week after suffering a heart attack in Los Angeles and never regained consciousness, said her agent, Mark Roesler. He said he and Page’s family agreed to remove life support. Before the heart attack, Page had been hospitalized for three weeks with pneumonia.

“She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality,” Roesler said. “She is the embodiment of beauty.”

Page, who was also known as Betty, attracted national attention with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure in bikinis and see-through lingerie that were quickly tacked up on walls in military barracks, garages and elsewhere, where they remained for years.

Her photos included a centerfold in the January 1955 issue of then-fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasochistic poses.

Read More

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS

The nominees for the Golden Globe Awards announced Thursday in Beverly Hills, Calif. and are as follows:

MOTION PICTURES:

PICTURE, DRAMA: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "The Reader," "Revolutionary Road," "Slumdog Millionaire," "The Visitor."

PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY: "Burn After Reading," "Happy-Go-Lucky," "In Bruges," "Mamma Mia!," "Vicky Christina Barcelona."

FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE: "Baader Meinhof Complex," "Everlasting Moments," "Gomorrah," "I've Loved You So Long," "Waltz With Bashir."

DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"; Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"; David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"; Sam Mendes, "Revolutionary Road."

DRAMATIC ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Revolutionary Road"; Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"; Sean Penn, "Milk"; Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler."

DRAMATIC ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"; Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"; Meryl Streep, "Doubt"; Kristin Scott Thomas, "I've Loved You So Long"; Kate Winslet, "Revolutionary Road."

ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL: Javier Bardem, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"; Colin Farrell, "In Bruges"; James Franco, "Pineapple Express"; Brendan Gleeson, "In Bruges"; Dustin Hoffman, "Last Chance Harvey."

ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL: Rebecca Hall, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"; Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky"; Frances McDormand, "Burn After Reading"; Meryl Streep, "Mamma Mia!"; Emma Thompson, "Last Chance Harvey."

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Tom Cruise, "Tropic Thunder"; Robert Downey, Jr., "Tropic Thunder"; Ralph Fiennes, "The Duchess"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"; Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight."

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amy Adams, "Doubt"; Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"; Viola Davis, "Doubt"; Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"; Kate Winslet, "The Reader."

ANIMATED FILM: "Bolt," "Kung Fu Panda," "Wall-E."

SCREENPLAY: Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"; David Hare, "The Reader"; Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"; Eric Roth, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt."

ORIGINAL SCORE: Alexandre Desplat, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Clint Eastwood, "Changeling"; James Newton Howard, "Defiance"; Hans Zimmer, "Frost/Nixon"; A.R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire."

SONG: "Down to Earth" (performed by Peter Gabriel, written by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman), "Wall-E"; "Gran Torino" (performed by Clint Eastwood), "Gran Torino"; "I Thought I Lost You" (performed Miley Cyrus and John Travolta, written by Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele), "Bolt"; "Once in a Lifetime," (performed by Beyonce), "Cadillac Records"; "The Wrestler" (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen), "The Wrestler."

TELEVISION:

DRAMATIC TV SERIES: "Dexter," "House M.D.," "In Treatment," "Mad Men," "True Blood."

ACTOR, TV DRAMA: Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment"; Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"; Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"; Hugh Laurie, "House M.D."; Jonathan Rhys Meyers, "The Tudors."

ACTRESS, TV DRAMA: Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters"; Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU"; January Jones, "Mad Men"; Anna Paquin, "True Blood"; Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer."

TV SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY: "Californication," "Entourage," "The Office," "30 Rock," "Weeds."

ACTOR, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"; Steve Carell, "The Office"; Kevin Connolly, "Entourage"; David Duchovny, "Californication"; Tony Shalhoub, "Monk."

ACTRESS, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY: Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?"; America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty"; Tina Fey, "30 Rock"; Debra Messing, "The Starter Wife"; Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds."

MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION: "Cranford," "Bernard and Doris," "John Adams," "A Raisin in the Sun," "Recount."

ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION: Judi Dench, "Cranford"; Laura Linney, "John Adams"; Catherine Keener, "An American Crime"; Shirley MacLaine, "Coco Chanel"; Susan Sarandon, "Bernard and Doris."

ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION: Ralph Fiennes, "Bernard and Doris"; Paul Giammatti, "John Adams"; Kevin Spacey, "Recount"; Keifer Sutherland, "24: Redemption"; Tom Wilkinson, "Recount."

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION: Eileen Atkins, "Cranford"; Laura Dern, "Recount"; Melissa George, "In Treatment"; Rachel Griffiths, "Brothers & Sisters"; Dianne Wiest, "In Treatment."

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION: Neil Patrick Harris, "How I Met Your Mother"; Denis Leary, "Recount"; Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"; Blair Underwood, "In Treatment"; Tom Wilkinson, "John Adams."

CECIL B. DEMILLE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Steven Spielberg.

Read More

JENNIFER ANISTON ON THE COVER OF GQ

Seriously... How do you NOT love this???

Read More

JIM MORRISON WOULD HAVE BEEN 65 YESTERDAY

Dunno how this one got by us. Scientists have revealed what late Doors frontman Jim Morrison would look like if he were still alive.

Had he lived the rocker would have been celebrating his 65th birthday. He died prematurely of a heart attack in Paris on 3 July 1971, aged 27.

St Andrews University researchers used special computer software to produce an aging likeness of the rock star.The singer and poet would be the same age as rock contemporary Mick Jagger if he had lived.

Read More

ROGER EBERT'S TOP 20 FILMS of 2008

Check out the bare-bones list below, or head on over to RogerEbert.com to read his full column.

1. Ballast
2. The Band’s Visit
3. Che
4. Chop Shop
5. The Dark Knight
6. Doubt
7. The Fall
8. Frost/Nixon
9. Frozen Friver
10. Happy-Go-Lucky
11. Iron Man
12. Milk
14. Rachel Getting Married
15. The Reader
16. Revolutionary Road
17. Shotgun Stories
18. Slumdog Millionaire
19. Synecdoche, New York
20. W.
Wall-E

Read More

TIME MAGAZINE'S TOP 10 FLICKS

Time Magazine has released their Top 10 listing of the Best Movies of 2008. The barebones list below (check out No. 9!!!), check out the full thing on Time.com.

1. WALL-E
2. Synecdoche, New York
3. My Winnipeg
4. 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
5. Milk
6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
7. Slumdog Millionaire
8. Iron Man
9. Speed Racer
10. Encounters at the End of the World.

Read More