Daniel Radcliffe is set to make his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live January 14, NBC has announced. Lana Del Rey will serve as musical guest that week. With the conclusion of the epic Harry Potter franchise, Radcliffe cemented his status as one of the most talented and original performers of his generation. He’s looking forward to more weighty projects in the future, however (see The Woman in Black trailer ) and we have no doubt he’ll continue to thrive. Charles Barkley will host SNL January 7. Are you excited to see Daniel Radcliffe host SNL? [Photo: WENN.com]
Critics weren’t wowed by director Guy Ritchie’s 2009 original, and this time around is no different. By Kevin P. Sullivan Robert Downey Jr. in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” Robert Downey Jr. ‘s steampunk take on the classic literary detective returns for a new mystery in “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” The first film from 2009 didn’t exactly wow the critics, and the sequel is no exception. The mixed response ranges from “better than the first” to “one of the worst of the year,” but the chemistry between Downey and Jude Law earned the critics’ highest complements. We’ve rounded up some of the best reviews to give you a sense what the critics are saying: The Story “As the film opens, Watson is paying a visit to his occasional partner in solving crimes. His wedding to Mary (Kelly Reilly) is fast approaching and Holmes is to be his best man. The intrigues begin in earnest with the bachelor party Holmes throws at an eccentric gentleman’s club, in which none of Dr. Watson’s pals show up but two new characters do — a very wry Stephen Fry as Holmes’ brother, Mycroft, and a Gypsy fortuneteller Madam Simza Heron, played by Noomi Rapace. Holmes has had a chance encounter (or was it) with the lovely Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) who seemed clearly over her head in something that involves Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris, the age-old nemesis, but newly arrived to the films and as dapper as he is in ‘Mad Men’).” — Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times Robert Downey Jr. “Really, if [director Guy] Ritchie were on the case, even a little bit, how could he not notice Robert Downey Jr. giving the worst performance of his career? This is a director of some stature. He could talk to his star and help him. Here is an actor capable of dazzling audiences with his virtuosity, and yet there he is, slack and flat, phoning it in with a blithe delivery and his accent going in and out. Downey knows — of course he knows — that he could sleepwalk through the movie, and it will still be a hit.” — Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle The Direction “Ritchie has done it again. In an act of criminal negligence, he’s wasted Robert Downey Jr. — an actor with the perfect verbal dexterity to play Sherlock Holmes — in a sequel that eliminates smarts in favor of relentless headbanging. 2009’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ was lousy, but it was also a big hit. So the sequel, ‘A Game of Shadows,’ is more of the stupid same. It wouldn’t matter so much if Downey and Jude Law, as the bromantic Dr. Watson, didn’t look so ready to turn on the cerebral dazzle. Instead, Ritchie treats them like action goons out of his ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ basement.” — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone As a Sequel “After Guy Ritchie’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ (2009) with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law grossed something like half a billion dollars, this was no time to rethink the approach. What they have done, however, is add a degree of refinement and invention, and I enjoyed this one more than the earlier film.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times The Final Word “It’s elementary. If you enjoyed the first ‘Sherlock Holmes’ directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson, then you’ll likely leave the sequel feeling satiated.” — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune Check out everything we’ve got on “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
From Muppets to magic, MTV counts down the top films of the year. By MTV News staff Shailene Woodley, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence Photo: Fox/ Columbia In 2011, Daniel Radcliffe brought the “Harry Potter” franchise to a firecracker of an ending after a decade bewitching the multiplex. Ryan Gosling played kissy-face with Carey Mulligan in an elevator, then turned around and smashed a dude’s skull in. Kristen Wiig made us laugh, Martin Scorsese made us gasp, and Kermit the Frog made us want to sing along. Memorable moments, all. But what makes a great film — what makes it one of the best of the year — is not just a buzzworthy few seconds here and there, but a moviegoing experience packed with them. How, then, do we pick the Best Movies of 2011? How do we weigh Joe Cornish’s genre-busting directorial debut against Matthew Vaughn’s rescue job of our favorite comic book mutants ? Do we favor George Clooney’s ability to elicit laughs in the most tragic of circumstances , or do we bow down to the staggeringly raw performance by Rooney Mara? Those are questions no one person could answer. So we gathered a roundtable of the savviest minds at MTV to discuss, debate, argue and occasionally curse about everything that went down at the multiplex this year: Eric Ditzian, Josh Horowitz and Amy Wilkinson of MTV Movies and Kevin Polowy and Brooke Tarnoff of NextMovie. In the end, we came up with our 10 picks: 10. “Attack the Block” In a year filled with alien-invasion movies from the likes of Michael Bay and J.J. Abrams, it says a lot that Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish’s little indie that could, “Attack the Block,” was the best of the bunch. Taking science fiction for a ride through the gang-ridden streets of South London results in a wildly inventive and hilarious twist on the genre, complete with what has to be the absolute best creature design seen in any movie all year. Believe, bruvs: This suspenseful, action-packed and endlessly charming movie was the sci-fi flick of 2011. Allow it. — Josh Wigler 9. “The Descendants” “The Descendants” meant a change of pace for its star George Clooney. His character, Matt King, couldn’t use Clooney’s trademark charm to fix his broken family after a boating accident takes away his wife and the mother of his two teenage daughters. The Clooney we saw was not the suave movie star, but a confused schlub, figuring things out as he goes. The result is a complex and emotionally honest film that would be sad if it weren’t so hilarious. — Kevin Sullivan 8. “50/50” Harrowing, heartbreaking and at times hilarious, “50/50” is perhaps the most honest onscreen portrayal of cancer ever. And it’s one you’ll actually want to watch. The film follows 27-year-old Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he’s diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, battling the disease with the help of friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) and therapist-in-training Katherine (Anna Kendrick). Based on the real-life experience of Rogen’s friend Will Reiser (who penned the screenplay), “50/50” doesn’t apologize for finding the funny in a bad situation. And that’s why we like it. — Amy Wilkinson 7. “The Muppets” It’s “The Muppets” for the new millennium: Kermit and friends return to theaters after a painful 12-year absence, updated for a new generation by writer/co-star/”it” schlump Jason Segel and songs from “Flight of the Conchords” star Bret McKenzie. If the story starts off a little depressing — the Muppets have gone their separate ways and their studio is falling apart — that’s nothing a little choreographed dancing, Amy Adams and a chicken chorus can’t fix. — Brooke Tarnoff 6. “X-Men: First Class” Matthew Vaughn’s prequel had a lot of things working against it, namely Bryan Singer’s two “X-Men” films and the talented actors in those films who are already associated with the classic Marvel mutants. Vaughn smartly found a way to use that to his advantage, giving fans nods to Singer’s films through well-placed cameos while laying the foundation for an entirely new franchise based on the characters’ backstories, anchored by the very talented and bromantic James McAvoy as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr/Magneto.” — Kara Warner 5. “Hugo” With so many different ways to see a movie, the magic of going to a theater and sitting in the dark seems like an outdated idea. Martin Scorsese attempted to recapture the feeling that made the movies such a special thing in the first place with “Hugo.” Through the story of an orphan boy living in a Paris train station, “Hugo” dives into the creation of movies and reminds us all of why the movies are a place to see dreams come true. — K.S. 4. “Bridesmaids” “Bridesmaids” is one of those rare comedic gems in which everything worked: The crazy talented cast, led by Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy in a killer breakout performance; the one-liners, many of which were ad-libbed; that unpleasant-but-hilarious scene at the bridal store; Jon Hamm playing a d-bag — it was all so good and so funny. And not just funny for women, funny for everyone, to the tune of a $169 million box-office gross. — K.W. 3. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” All good things must come to an end. When it came time for the “Harry Potter” series to fulfill that old adage with this summer’s “Deathly Hallows, Part 2,” it wasn’t just a good thing. It was — if you’ll forgive our sappiness — a magical thing. Watching Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint grow into their heroic owns over the past decade has been a thrilling ride filled with tragedy and hope, despair and triumph, death and life. It wasn’t just the best “Potter” movie of all time; it was one of the best movies of the year. — J.W. 2. “Drive” In a movie year that could easily have been renamed the Year of Gosling, the flasher of abs, breaker-up of street fights and all around great Canadian guy’s finest performance was as a nameless driver (regardless of what the Artists , Songs , Live Performances and EDM Artists of the year. For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos Best Movies Of 2011 Debate
Fantastic news, west coast Potter fans! You can stop saving up for that pricey trip to Orlando because Universal is planning on opening a second Wizarding World of Harry Potter location at Universal Studios Hollywood. The question is: How long will you have to wait to sip your first novelty cup of butterbeer?
Ah, Thanksgiving . A time for gathering with the fam, eating turkey, and violently disagreeing with Aunt Sue about the validity of Justin Bieber’s paternity suit and a cornucopia of other assorted pop culture-related topics while passing around the cranberry sauce. We’re here to help make sure those awkward lulls in conversation don’t devolve into interrogations into your actual personal life with 15 movie-related topics to keep the relatives squawking, bickering, and debating… at least ’til the pumpkin pie.
We’ve seen a couple trailers for The Woman in Black, the first film to feature Daniel Radcliffe in the post-Harry Potter stage of his career. But this new trailer, which clocks in at a very economical sixty seconds, is the best yet. It is just that economy that makes it work, as we’re given just enough plot setup and hints of thrills and ghostly horror to let the film start to get its hooks in. Check… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : /Film Discovery Date : 22/11/2011 03:33 Number of articles : 2
This weekend, most of the Harry Potter cast and filmmakers flew down to Universal Orlando’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter to fête the home release of Deathly Hallows — Part 2 , the final installment in the film series based on J.K. Rowling’s beloved books. At a Potter-themed party in Hogsmeade Village Saturday night — complete with a performance by the frog choir, endless rounds of butter beer served by wizards and fireworks — franchise star Rupert Grint took a moment to play a round of ‘My Favorite Scene’ with Movieline.
‘Midway through, I started thinking I might polish one of them off,’ J.K. Rowling says in DVD special feature. By Eric Ditzian Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley Photo: Murray Close/ Warner Bros. It’s no secret that a great many fans in the “Harry Potter” community — a whopping 89 percent, according to a wildly popular poll over at MTV Movies Blog — would have preferred that Hermione Granger end up with the boy wizard rather than with good ol’ Ron Weasley. Perhaps the same sentiment occurred to author J.K. Rowling, who recently admitted that she almost sent Ron to an early grave. “Funnily enough, I planned from the start that none of them would die,” Rowling told Daniel Radcliffe in a special feature on the “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” Blu-ray and DVD, according to the U.K.’s Guardian. “Then midway through, which I think is a reflection of the fact that I wasn’t in a very happy place, I started thinking I might polish one of them off. Out of sheer spite. ‘There, now you definitely can’t have him anymore.’ But I think in my absolute heart of heart of hearts, although I did seriously consider killing Ron, [I wouldn’t have done it].” Rowling kept this franchise-altering potential story line a secret not only through completion of her “Potter” novels in 2007 but the end of the film series this summer. Now the author says she feels a sense of creative liberation that she can share news of the discarded plot point. “It’s a real relief to be able to talk about it all,” she said. The full Rowling-Radcliffe chat will be available on November 11, when the Blu-ray and DVD releases hit shelves. In September, MTV News debuted an exclusive clip from the chat in which Radcliffe compared “Harry Potter” to “Star Wars” and touted the way in which Rowling’s characters “exist in the collective consciousness of a generation.” That’s hardly an exaggeration, and it’s difficult to imagine Weasley, played by Rupert Grint in the films, not living on in the imaginations of fans. After all, Weasley finished in second place in our Harry Potter World Cup this summer, a fan-driven effort that attracted over seven million votes and was ultimately won by Alan Rickman’s Severus Snape. For Rowling, Weasley and “Potter” fans, then, any other fate for Ron would be unimaginable. “I’m going to miss the screaming. You don’t get that everywhere, and I’m going to miss that definitely,” Grint told MTV News at the final film’s red-carpet premiere. “I’m really going to miss playing [Ron] in these films.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos Celebrate ‘Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2’ On Blu-Ray Related Photos ‘Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2’
Thanks again to all of the guest critics who turned out yesterday to review Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides . We had some great 10-word write-ups that were sharp, insightful and humorous. Alas, we could only choose two winners. Click ahead to see who is getting a combo pack of the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean installment!
We may not have another Harry Potter film to look forward to (at least until the remakes), but there is some original Potter -related footage to anticipate still: A 48-minute documentary about the filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2 that goes behind-the-scenes of the franchise’s final leg with Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson & Co. Click ahead for a teaser of the documentary, When Harry Left Hogwarts , which features the stars as they prep for their final scenes, dodge a set fire and worriedly speculate about their post-Hogwarts careers .
