The Real Devil Wears Prada?

It's a documentary that will probably make a lot of people angry. I'm there.

Will it carry some kind of mature message on beauty? Or will it be a Devil Woman one-trick pony?

Trailer Faceoff: The Better Tease?

Two pretty significant sci-fi teaser trailers were released this past week, and boy do they tease good.

In this week's "Trailer Faceoff" Leonardo DiCaprio teams up with The Dark Knight's Christopher Nolan against the man that made him famous -- Titanic's James Cameron.

Christopher Nolan vs. James Cameron

The men behind the two most successful movies ever.

Up first, weighing in at nearly 885 million dollars in domestic box office earnings and enlisting the help of young Oscar talent like Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page, it's Christopher Nolan with Inception:

What's it about? Based on this trailer, no clue. But it sure does grab you. From its seeming tagline ("your mind is the scene of the crime") to the thumping drumbeat, to the anxious crescendo and the trippy Matrix-like action -- this one's a perfect tease.

The plot details released so far for Inception are just as skimpy as the trailer: it's been revealed that DiCaprio plays a "CEO-type" caught in some kind of "blackmailing scandal", while all Warner Bros. will disclose is that the film is "set within the architecture of the mind", whatever that means. No matter, this one's a must-see come Summer 2010.

In the opposite corner, weighing in at over 1.1 billion dollars in domestic box office gross, with heavyweight veteran Sigourney Weaver at his side, James Cameron returns to the ring after a twelve-year hiatus (who wouldn't take a break after Titanic?) with the much-anticipated Avatar:

What's it about? Based on the teaser, again, no clue. But more is known about Cameron's film than Nolan's. Apparently, it is about a paralysed human soldier who gets the chance to walk again as the "driver" of a body called an "Avatar". Then the Avatars invade a planet called Pandora full of aliens. Likely, some ethical, imperialistic issues ensue.

It's not that the plot sounds bad, it's just this teaser is too massive. It leaves one a little cold.

This is however, the weakness of trailers -- they don't always work for certain movies, especially huge, complicated, 3D sci-fi epics. Or maybe it's just the weird CGI aliens. As a teaser trailer, Avatar is not a success. But based on its credentials, there is no doubting its must-see worthiness.

Champ: Inception, Christopher Nolan

Another Great Britain Talent

Yet again a British talent show churns out another incredible talent that upstages any recently discovered American talent from any American television show. This time The X-Factor showcases s a 27-year-old teacher named Danyl Johnson.

Hot on the heels of Susan Boyle, Johnson looks to be the next big thing across the globe, but can he reach the same level of celebrity as Boyle did back in June this year?

What Johnson's story lacks is the inspiring, heartbreaking and moving tale that encompassed all that was so good about Susan Boyle. Her story was one that showed millions that childhood dreams don't have to die after we're through our twenties. Her story was about the insignificance of physical beauty, and overcoming Hollywood tabloid expectations. It wasn't just her voice that got us.

Johnson is just a really great singer. But so what if his story isn't as significant as Boyle's? That's not what The X-Factor is about anyway. And if this "x-factor" means having talent, charisma and the ability to control the stage, then Danyl Johnson is definitely it.

Here's his rocking, soulful performance of The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends":

(if LittleMissSoccer bothers you: watch here)

X FACTOR 2009 WEEK 1 - DANYL JOHNSON
Uploaded by littlemisssoccer. - Check out other Film & TV videos.

Do you agree with Simon? Is it the "best first audition" you've ever seen?

When Will Michael Cera Stop?

Notice anything familiar?

That's right. Michael Cera is at it again. He's playing an awkward, geeky, lovable teen!

For a brief moment, let's take a look at a snippet of Cera's recent acting arsenal:

• Arrested Devlopment (awkward teen)
• Superbad (awkward teen)
• Juno (awkward teen)
• Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (awkward teen)
• Year One (awkward prehistoric teen)
• Paper Heart (awkward teen)

It's probably something you've noticed. Maybe it's not necessarily something that bothers you. Maybe Cera is some kind of geeky teen "auteur" in your opinion. But to this bored blogger it's a tired act.

It does seem, however, that this newest addition to Cera's filmogrophy, Youth in Revolt, is spiced up with a "supplementary persona" by the name of Francois. Let's hope this is Cera's way of slowly moving towards a different character type, because, really, how many times can you change the environment (or millennium) of essentially the same character before everyone notices?

I will still see Youth and Revolt. Aside from the fact that Cera looks to be doing mostly the same awkward things as he's been doing for years, the movie's got the based-on-a-best-selling-book thing going for it. And that's something... right?

Stop Using this song in Trailers. Now.

Alright, I like M.I.A. as much as the next person (though I'm not quite sure how much that person likes her), but her smash single "Paper Planes" has now officially become the most overused song in movies and their trailers. Pineapple Express and Slumdog Millionaire to name a couple. And now, Michael Moore's upcoming doc "Capitalism: A Love Story"

Yes, the song is cathcy. Yes, it's even a good song (that works well in movie trailers, admittedly). But we noticed that already. Over a year ago.

On the other hand, looks like Moore's got another America-hating hit coming. Yay!

send in them clowns

welcome to 'send in the clowns'
this blog will focus on all things entertainment, most specifically movies and TV shows.

the title is taken from the age old idiom originally used when circus performances went wrong. they would send in the clowns to entertain the audience while everything got in order.

so, 'send in the clowns' becomes like a metaphor here -- all things entertainment (the movies we rent, the tv shows we watch, the music we play) are the clowns being sent in while we get our lives in order.