NASA has released a new photo from its Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, showing where the robot spent the four-month Martian winter in panoramic splendor. No aliens were spotted, just spectacular views of the red planet. If you thought your winter was bad … imagine being 50,000,000 miles further away from the Sun than we are on Earth. Hope the Opportunity brought a jacket. The full-scale photo, which is actually a combination of 817 pics shot by the panoramic camera (Pancam) can be seen on NASA’s website . Here’s a preview:
Most critics think the comedy about cancer proves anything can be funny. By Eric Ditzian Anna Kendrick and Joseph Gordon Levitt in “50/50” Photo: Summit Entertainment When Will Reiser first found out he had cancer, he and his comedy-writer buddies (including Seth Rogen and “Pineapple Express” scribe Evan Goldberg) would jokingly wonder if Reiser’s disease would bring them all a Make-a-Wish opportunity to hang with Led Zeppelin. That rock-and-roll dream never came true, but Reiser’s battle with, and eventual remission from, cancer did gift them all with one thing: “50/50,” a comedy (out now) that is drawing rave reviews from critics and is being discussed as a possible contender come awards season. Though not all reviewers have found it easy to find yuks in a deadly serious topic, far more point to the film as an example that nothing is out of bounds when it comes to art and comedy; handled deftly, anything can lead to laughter and learning. The Story “Adam Lerner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a nice guy with a great job at a Seattle NPR station, a promising relationship with up-and-coming artist Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard), a best-friend-since-high-school named Kyle (Seth Rogen) to hang with — and, as he learns to his horror in a doctor’s office, cancer. … Also woven deftly into the mixture is Anna Kendrick as a young (very young) therapist assigned to work with Adam; [Anjelica] Huston as the kind of mother who explains ‘I want you to know that I smothered him because I love him’ to anyone who will listen. … It’s not a perfect movie, but it doesn’t matter. ’50/50′ takes on a bold subject and makes us laugh and cry. I thought I didn’t want to see a cancer comedy; I was wrong.” — Moira McDonald, The Seattle Times The Laughs “Scenes where the pals trash a piece of once-important memorabilia in a backyard rampage and the after-effects of pot-laden cookies scored at the chemotherapy clinic show loopily grinning Gordon-Levitt at his best. Kudos to [director Jonathan] Levine for not letting Rogen’s very funny comedic bits overshadow the proceedings. The actor dials it down ever so slightly and isn’t afraid to be the butt of jokes — watch for Gordon-Levitt’s spot-on Rogen impersonation. The suggestion a bald head and a cancer diagnosis could be the ultimate pickup leverage leads Adam and Kyle into funny territory. But the hilarity turns with the exploration of deeper relationships as Adam finds new friends among the genial stoners of all ages at the chemo clinic.” — Linda Barnard, Toronto Star The Writing “[Reiser] draws on his personal battle with a rare form of that disease. His success rate in the delicate balance between comedy and the profound devastation of such an illness is much greater than 50/50, but the film is not without its tonal lapses. … Reiser has written his characters with an indelible sweetness and vulnerability, which allows the cast to deliver performances with some depth. So a situation such as Kyle insisting that Adam and he should cruise girls at a bar looking for sympathy lays — Cruisin’ with the Big C as it were — comes off as quite funny as does Adam’s first chemo session where he ingests weed-laced sweets created by a fellow patient’s wife and floats out of the hospital afterwards.” — Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter The Dissenters “In the pantheon of tastelessness designed to make you laugh at diarrhea, menstruation, masturbation, yeast infections, fellatio and worse, you can now add a stupid horror called ’50/50.’ Artificial, irresponsible, filthy and forgettable, it knocks itself cross-eyed trying to make you roar with laughter at chemotherapy, with the nauseating Seth Rogen milking most of the yuks. But a stoner comedy about cancer? I don’t think so.” — Rex Reed, The New York Observer The Final Word “The reason ’50/50′ works is it’s not trying to force us into any particular emotion. It fits in the emerging category of sad-man comedies such as ‘Up in the Air’ and ‘Crazy, Stupid Love,’ telling its downbeat tale with tenderness, sincerity and warmth. ’50/50′ isn’t a cancer buddy comedy or a male weepie but a message movie. The message is that you can tackle pretty much any subject matter and tell a story any way you want to onscreen as long as it’s absorbing.” — Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune Check out everything we’ve got on “50/50.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
What a day! The platform war between Facebook and Google + officially launched with a press conference at Facebook announcing the new “awesome” features including one click skype/Facebook integration for video chat. I watched live stream on Facebook and the real time snarky reactions coming across Google +. The snark comes as no surprise given Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Beth’s Blog Discovery Date : 07/07/2011 09:07 Number of articles : 2
‘I have been cast opposite a lot of really handsome, charming young men,’ she laughs to MTV News. By Kara Warner Uma Thurman in “Ceremony” Photo: Magnolia Pictures Despite the age-old stereotype in Hollywood (pun intended) of casting much younger actresses opposite older actors, Uma Thurman is one of the few lucky leading ladies to have broken that mold — several times over, in fact. In her new movie “Ceremony,” Thurman plays the beautiful and seemingly unattainable Zoe, a playful, curious woman who is easily distracted by new things. When she gets herself involved in a brief romantic fling with the much younger Sam (played by Michael Angarano), despite the fact that she’s engaged, everything comes to a head during her wedding weekend when Sam shows up unannounced to profess his love for her. When MTV News caught up with Thurman, we asked for her thoughts on playing the older woman. “I have been cast opposite a lot of really handsome, charming young men,” laughed Thurman, who also stars opposite Robert Pattinson in the upcoming “Bel Ami.” “It’s nice work when you can get it. I’ve also worked with some of the world’s most wonderful esteemed older men throughout my career, who were wonderful people to learn from and be with.” Thurman said she likes the idea of exploring outside stereotypical or popular opinion. “I think the exploration of people relating in different generations is something that is really current,” she said. “And it’s fun. It’s wonderful to have. I can’t just speak about it romantically, but it’s wonderful to know people at all different stages of life,” she said, citing the fact that she’s made three or four films in which her romantic interest is a younger man. “My [12-year-old] daughter said, ‘Mommy, why are you being cast with all these young men?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m not doing it in life,’ ” she recalled with a laugh. “Anyway, I don’t know. I think it’s cool.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Ceremony.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
For the radar: The Saudi Gazette reports King Abdullah has announced that the nation has stopped oil exploration on new fields to protect the petroleum supply for future generations…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
Singer speaks with Angie Martinez on New York’s Hot 97. By Jayson Rodriguez Chris Brown Photo: Elsa/ Getty Images Chris Brown sported a bow tie for his appearance with Angie Martinez on New York’s Hot 97 on Wednesday (October 21) just like he did during his interview with Larry King last month, but the singer wasn’t nearly as choked up. The Martinez interview was only his second media appearance since he pleaded guilty in June to assaulting Rihanna.
