I am a young adult with anxiety, but I am also a full-time college student, a writer, a dreamer, a nonprofit owner, a hard worker, and many other things.
Troubled hip-hopper Lil Scrappy says he is addicted to marijuana, and having failed a urine test, will be checking into rehab to deal with that. Scraps appeared in a Georgia courtroom Wednesday, where officials revealed a urine test that he took last week – and came back positive for marijuana. His lawyer, Mawuli Mel Davis, says his client acknowledges that he’s still using pot and will check into a rehab facility before his next hearing in June. The rapper was arrested for violating his probation back in March … after a dispute over a different urine test. We are sensing a bit of a pattern here. Officials say that Scrappy tried to turn in a urine sample that was cold – a sign of possible tampering – then refused to make another “submission” on the spot. Maybe he was just dehydrated?
Yesterday, Jonathan Rhys Meyers was linked with a role in Star Wars Episode VII . Today, we get to see him in a poster for a movie he’s definitely in, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones . Check out his poster below, then click the link to see all the new The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones character posters . Meyers plays Valentine Morgenstern in the adaptation of the first book in the Young Adult series by Cassandra Clare. Lily Collins, Lena Headey, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao, and Aidan Turner also star. Harold Zwart directs the film, which premieres August 21.
We’d already caught a glimpse of Snow White and the Huntsman ‘s Crayola-dappled Middle Earth before director Rupert Sanders let on about his darker vision for the fairy tale. But now, with a latest trailer making the rounds, it can be confirmed: SWATH ! Pretty dark! Not a whole lot to add, really, except that despite all appearances, I’d still take Charlize Theron’s character in Young Adult over her heart-hungry Queen in an Evil-Off, 10 times out of 10. [via Xfinity TV ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
The WGA nominations have hit the wires, giving awards watchers more fodder for speculation. Does Bridesmaids ‘ inclusion mean the mainstream hit has more traction in the Oscar race? Will Win Win ‘s nomination mean the Fox Searchlight hopeful has a shot at the big leagues? Should Diablo Cody break out the leopard print couture? Check out the full list of nominations and debate away. Adapted Screenplay The Descendants The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo The Help Hugo Moneyball Original Screenplay 50/50 Bridesmaids Midnight in Paris Win Win Young Adult Documentary Screenplay Better This World If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front Nostalgia for the Light Pina Position Among the Stars Senna For more current Oscar insights, check out S.T. VanAirsdale’s latest Oscar Index . [ Writers Guild of America ]
There’ve been updates about The Paperboy ‘s casting for awhile, but only now do I realize the gravity of what’s occurring. Um, wow: Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron are sharing a screen! And John Cusack! And Matthew McConaughey, for the hell of it! And — what now? — Lee Daniels is directing! They should call this quaint tale Extra Precious: Based on the Cutie ‘Zac’ by Efron . Synopsis and impressive poster after the jump. Downright old-fashioned and sharp. Reminds me of Young Adult ‘s evocative cover in coloring and detail. From a distance, Mr. Efron’s cheeks look a tad more pregnant than they usually do. I know what you’re thinking, and let me assure you: I’m the father. The Paperboy concerns a reporter who returns to his hometown to save a man on death row, though he’s derailed by the romance he strikes up with the inmate’s lady friend. I have the feeling we won’t get a juicy character study worthy of Nicole Kidman’s involvement in this movie, and that sucks because I’m still reeling from Rabbit Hole . Still, I’m in for Zac Efron’s sacred facial architecture. He’s like a cathedral of tawny hotness. Paperboy Poster [GossipCop]
Truth be told, I don’t enjoy ranking films — especially at the end of a year that disappointingly lacked a single title that moved me to tears, gut-busting laughter or some kind of profound existential realization. (However there were quite a few films that inspired hopelessness for the future of cinema. See Just Go With It and Bucky Larson: Born To Be a Star . Actually, don’t see them.) But there were some titles I’d recommend and even some I wouldn’t immediately regift if they found their way under my Christmas tree/menorah this season. Behold, my fave films of 2011. As always, let me know how much you disagree with this list in the space below. 10. The Muppets In a year that lacked decent romantic comedies, The Muppets filled the feel-good movie void for me. Jim Henson’s fuzzy characters — who made their long-awaited return to the multiplex in this Jason Segel/Nick Stoller-scripted picture — have the uncanny ability to make audiences forget their cynicism — even after paying the $12 ticket price. That special power is priceless, especially when combined with the overpowering nostalgia that Kermit, Miss Piggy and the entire Henson gang induce. 9. African Cats For the record, I would watch any nature documentary narrated by Samuel L. Jackson because this Oscar nominated-actor’s intense delivery could make any non-event seem suspenseful. But this Disneynature release exceeded my expectations. Chronicling the lives of a pride of lions (led by Fang, their grizzly, fearless, snaggle-toothed superior — the equivalent to The Lion King ‘s Mufasa) and a rival family of cheetahs led by a single mother Sita, this story was at once informative and breathtakingly beautiful. The real-life footage depicted a majestic African savannah so gorgeous that it was hard to believe it was not computer-generated and a tale of death, reunion and fiercely protective paternal impulses so moving that it was difficult to comprehend that it was not scripted. Furthermore, the story of Sita’s single motherhood in the majestic African savannah is the most compelling story of single parenthood I’ve seen all year. 8. Contagion Steven Soderbergh’s cautionary virus film is my favorite horror flick of the year, mainly because it continued to inspire fear and nightmares long after my first screening. Any film that can weave together another award-worthy Kate Winslet performance and Matt Damon as an overly protective dad who stages a home prom for his quarantined daughter complete with U2 dance mix is a film friend of mine. In addition to being all of these things (and the best-paced film of the year, in my opinion), Contagion established itself as one of the best-worst cautionary tales for adulturers ever. 7. Crazy, Stupid, Love Ryan Gosling in a well-tailored suit. Emma Stone playing a head-smart female who can miraculously bait emotionally closed-off men into mature romantic relationships. Steve Carell as a dejected divorc é. Josh Grobin. A brilliant, if totally impractical and unrealistic, scene involving the Dirty Dancing lift. What I could have done without — in this Dan Fogelman-scripted film — is every other peripheral storyline including Julianne Moore’s romance with a work colleague played by Kevin Bacon, a babysitter crushing hard for Carell and makeshift miniature golf courses. Regardless, this is one of the smartest films to fall under the romantic-comedy umbrella this year. 6. Warrior Full disclosure: I am partial to any film set in Pittsburgh because I am a Steel City native. That being said, Gavin O’Connor’s sports drama was not just a welcome dose of nostalgia but a tale of repressed familial feelings and resentment told against the gritty ‘burgh backdrop. Although the whole Moby Dick audiobook situation may have been a little heavy-handed for my taste, Nick Nolte’s performance as a recovering alcoholic and sinner was crushing. Also, I prefer Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton’s portrayal of tragically competitive brothers over Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale’s any day of the week. 5. 50/50 I was hesitant to see a film branded a “cancer comedy” — even if it starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anna Kendrick and Anjelica Huston. But when I finally did get to the theater, I discovered one of the sweetest films of the year. One that was able to tackle cancer with a heaping dose of comedy that never felt inappropriate, thanks in part to Will Reiser’s touching script and each supporting cast member who seemed responsible for bringing one major component to the movie each: Angelica Huston (sympathy), Seth Rogen (laughs), Bryce Dallas Howard (bitchiness) and Anna Kendrick (hope). Do not be afraid of 50/50 — it is one of the few films this year that really earned its uplifting ending. 4. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Because of the number of tabloid pages dedicated to him, I always end up discounting Tom Cruise as an actor…until I get into a movie theater and realize again, just why he is and deserves to be a movie star. Tom Cruise has a unique screen presence that demands your attention and ticket money — and when paired with Brad Bird’s impeccable direction and the stomach-churning action sequences in this fourth Mission: Impossible installment, was a sight to behold, and one that I hope I can experience very soon again. 3. Young Adult In addition to boasting one of the smartest, hilarious and most devilishly complex protagonists of the year, Young Adult introduced the wonderful Patton Oswalt as the kind of unoriginal male lead that thinking movie audiences deserve. Thank you to Juno filmmakers Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for giving us a fresh female character who can be manipulative, bitchy and yet completely relatable — in that she understands how dulcet the nasal-y narration of Kourtney Kardashian can be when you are stained sweatpants-level depressed. 2. Melancholia So Lars von Trier’s epic end-of-the-world endeavor may not be the kind of film I’d rush back to see again anytime in the next few days — but that is because I am still digesting the dichotomy of the wildly beautiful images and disturbing apocalyptic tale of one depressed bride (Kirsten Dunst) and her improbably tolerant sister (Charlotte Gainsbourg) who see a planet approaching their own. This is the most nightmarish cinematic screensaver ever — and I mean that in the best way possible. Also, Kiefer Sutherland’s comedic relief contributions are something to be admired. (On an unrelated note, can someone please give me a final bath count for this movie? I’ve never seen depressives take to the bathtub more eagerly than the bed.) 1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo After reading Stieg Larsson’s Millenium series, and then sincerely enjoying the original Swedish Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — directed by Niels Arden Oplev — I did not know how David Fincher would improve upon such a solid film released so recently (2009). I should have known better than to doubt Fincher and his new muse Rooney Mara though, who transformed into the film’s dark, damaged, kick-ass heroine under the filmmaker’s expert care. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is easily the most electrifying and interesting thriller of the year. Follow Julie Miller on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Traditionally a “guilty pleasure” is something you’d be embarrassed for the world to know you secretly enjoyed or for your Facebook friends to see you clicked on, but you know what? Around here we embrace the bad-to-godawful movies we love, and besides; what the heck does it even mean to like something ironically, you insufferable hipster? Toss away your pretentious hat, sit down in the circle of trust, take a deep breath, and join Movieline in unabashedly celebrating the inane, misguided, off-the-mark, and downright B-A-D but nevertheless shamelessly entertaining movies of the year – the Top 9 Not-So-Guilty Pleasures of 2011 . Because we all love some terrible things, don’t we? 9. Nick Nolte in Zookeeper Maybe I just cribbed from everyone’s Worst Movies of 2011 list. Maybe Nick Nolte’s work as a TGI Friday’s-loving gorilla named Bernie in Zookeeper eclipses his shattering work in Warrior on the basis of its cringe-worthiness alone. And maybe I feel so bad that poor Nolte had to sing Florida’s “Low” in character as a gorilla opposite Kevin James that it’s endeared me to his scenes. Also: Primates instantly make any movie better. Everybody knows that. 8. The year in Armond White-isms Call for his head all you want, I’ll staunchly defend notorious film critic Armond White (The man who once coined the phrase “abortionhorny” and thought Lady Gaga would make for better Lisbeth Salander casting!) to the end, purely because his reviews are so goddamn entertaining. Add to that the iconoclast take on movies, supported by left-field arguments that are sometimes so crazy they make complete sense, and you’ve got an essential voice in contemporary movie writing. Even if he raved over Adam Sandler in drag; let that be an exception. 7. The Footloose soundtrack I have no fondness for Blake Shelton’s feeble country mimicry of a Kenny Loggins cover, but Movieline’s Louis Virtel was won over by the Footloose remake’s contempo-pop soundtrack of redos. They can’t all be Karen O-Led Zeppelin covers, I suppose. Let’s hear it for the art of pop homage done toe-tappingly well enough? 6. Gerard Depardieu PeeGate At first, it seemed like French acting legend Gerard Depardieu, to quote 2011′s viral sensation the Honey Badger, simply did not give a shit. But unlike the year’s other infamous celebrity incidents (Lars and the Nazi Joke Heard ‘Round the Word, Madonna’s HydrangeaGate), this one boiled down to one man’s humble humanity (and prostate issues). So ridiculous was the tale that Anderson Cooper broke his dashing resolve to giggle through his on-air report, but think of Gerard and embrace his moment of weakness; there’s no shame in acknowledging our fragile human vulnerabilities from time to time. 5. Season of the Witch / Drive Angry / Trespass (AKA A Good Year for Nic Cage) I wouldn’t call it a banner year for Nicolas Cage himself, but it was a great year to be a Nic Cage watcher. He started out 2011 with the medieval gift of silliness that was Season of the Witch , guzzled beer from his enemy’s skull in the genre pic Drive Angry , and (with the other Nic – Nicole Kidman) bequeathed us with Joel Schumacher’s Trespass , a film Movieline’s S.T. VanAirsdale loved, and laughed through, unapologetically. All one big set-up to watch him pee fire! 4. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family My personal conversion to the church of Tyler Perry happened earlier this year when I found myself rolling in the aisles during Madea’s Big Happy Family . Is Perry’s Madea a cartoonish, hulking hurricane of a woman? Does she reinforce unfortunate cultural stereotypes even as she doles out totally reasonable life advice? All I know is Perry – the performer, the director, the check-cashing media tycoon (and sensitive man of the world) – is some kind of genius to have made an empire out of a wig, a muumuu, and an attitude, one that further allows him a pedestal from which he geniunely consoles and encourages his fans. Hallelujer, indeed. 3. Lonely Island’s “Jack Sparrow” All you need to know, if you don’t already, is that Jorma Taccone, Andy Samberg, and Akiva Shaffer – AKA Lonely Island – wrote an inspired ditty and snared icon of yesteryear Michael Bolton to sing the hook. Only ginormous film fan Michael Bolton turned it into a song about Pirates of the Caribbean , Forrest Gump , and all of his favorite movies — an ode to the cheesy, cliched movies we all love. Instant karaoke classic. 2. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Love it or hate it, the Twilight Saga is what it is. And when Robert Pattinson started chowing down on Kristen Stewart’s pregnant belly in the kooky denouement of Bill Condon’s vampire sequel, shit started getting so, so real. AND THEN THE WOLF GUY FELL FOR THE BABY AND OH MY GOD YES. 1. Abduction Speaking of Twilight , the universe that Stephenie Meyer created inadvertently led, in turn, to my number one most enjoyable film experience of the year: Sitting through the entirety of Abduction . Terrible line readings, second unit typos, Taylor Lautner’s posturing ’80s action-inspired swagger – it was all there, and it was all insanely terrible and great at the same time. Does this border on liking Abduction ironically? Maybe, but I couldn’t help it. Just know this: Every second of feeble-handed acting, directing, and writing held my attention rapt and engaged my senses; I came alive imagining the winding thicket of talent, dollars, and choices that could’ve churned out such a product. Was any of it intentional – was John Singleton just fucking with us all? Probably not, but still; this holiday season give yourself the gift of watching Abduction and soak in the glory of the ultimate Bad Movie We Love of 2011. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
I realize I may have given away some of these choices with my utterly correct listing of the year’s ten best performances , but no matter! 2011′s finest cinema, specifically the top three choices on my list, gifted us with bleak, but comprehensive glimpses into personal isolation. I love when a movie is resolutely grim — reminds me of home. Here are my top ten films of 2011. 10. Win Win Director Thomas McCarthy’s understated, thoughtful look at a suburban wrestling coach’s (Paul Giamatti) dubious business dealings dredges up your pity and empathy at different moments, but it mostly acquaints you with one of the best teenage performances of the past few years in newcomer and real-life wrestling prodigy Alex Shaffer. It helps that his character is well-written too. As McCarthy explained to us about the emotional lives of teenagers, “They’re struggling with all kinds of things — who they are, what they are, what they want to be. That, for many of those kids, is a very private and scary struggle. A lot of times how that manifests itself is a very deadpan approach to the world: ‘I’m not going to let you see what I’m feeling until I’m ready to really show that.’” When Shaffer is ready to show, it’s a poignant sight. 9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I knew I was in for a treat the minute I heard Trent Reznor and Karen O’s cover of “Immigrant Song,” but David Fincher’s Dragon Tattoo so improves upon the original Swedish film trilogy thanks to two fantastic assets: blisteringly chilly cinematography and the commanding work of Rooney Mara as well-pierced heroine Lisbeth Salander. It may drag in parts, but Mara’s conviction merits a 160-minute runtime. 8. Weekend Tom Cullen and Chris New play the most insightful lovers of the year in Andrew Haigh’s low-key story of one lonely gay man’s short affair with a candid, self-possessed artist. The movie is especially incisive in its depiction of two men who relate both romantically and — in an empathetic way — fraternally. There’s not a pretentious or cloying moment in this wholly believable story. 7. Midnight in Paris Whimsy: I’m usually not a fan! But Midnight in Paris ‘s droll journey back to the heyday of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Salvador Dali makes a wonderful protagonist out of Owen Wilson, a gorgeous backdrop for Marion Cotillard’s all-consuming charisma, and a weirdly perfect scene for the film’s moral. You either go with this movie’s kooky historical lark or you don’t, but every actor in that post-midnight time portal is just so fun. My favorite: Kathy Bates as a staunchly supportive Gertrude Stein. 6. Young Adult Forget the hype about “unlikable” heroine Mavis Gary, the grizzled authoress Charlize Theron plays in the new Jason Reitman/Diablo Cody joint Young Adult — She’s an imperturbable, amazingly deluded woman-child whose self-assured mania is more engrossing and “likable” than most characters you’ll encounter this year. I’d like to offer a new tagline for this cranky, suburban comedy: Assholes are Awesome .
In this weekend’s Young Adult , Charlize Theron plays a bitter teen lit author who returns to her hometown to reclaim her high school sweetheart. (A high school sweetheart who also happens to be a perfectly happy husband and new father.) So how did the South Africa-raised Theron transform herself from a delicate ballet dancer to a Oscar-winning onscreen homewrecker?
Breaking Sports Video
