Sandra at the Top

Yesterday Forbes published their annual list of the top-grossing actresses of the year. They figure in gross earnings and endorsement deals and everything. The list is as follows: 10. Kristen Stewart 9. Natalie Portman 8. Amy Adams 7. Scarlett Johansson 6. Cameron Diaz 5. Angelina Jolie 4. Gwyneth Paltrow 3. Jennifer Aniston 2. Jennifer Lawrence 1. Sandra Bullock. So here's Matthew Eng chasing our very tiny recent Sandra fest with this climactic love letter. - Nathaniel

Sandra at the Spike Awards this summer with two of her most important co-stars Hugh Grant and Keanu Reeves

I don’t particularly get people who don’t like Sandra Bullock.

Yes, the 82^nd Best Actress statuette deserves to be sitting comfortably somewhere on Gabourey Sidibe’s mantelpiece and yes, The Blind Side is a pretty foul piece of limo-liberal fabling. Yes, she is a performer of some obvious limitations that are strikingly evident in even her strongest comedic performances. And yes, she has given us All About Steve and The Proposal and the Miss Congenialitys and Two Weeks Notice and all those other “duds” we love to roll our eyes at in public almost as much as we love to sheepishly watch them in private whenever they pop up on FX or Lifetime or HBO.

I’m more than happy to make couch potato time for Two Weeks Notice, a funny/frisky valentine to New York that’s patently flawed but genuinely sentimental, and even The Proposal, a ridiculous container of rom-com contrivances that would make Kate Hudson cringe, but which has plenty of good moments to spare. No, I haven’t yet laid an eye on All About Steve, which is likely for the better, but I do own While You Were Sleeping and Miss Congeniality, and I’ve sat through the latter’s sequel, um, three, maybe four times.

Why am I glued to these movies when I still have so many unseen Bergmans? [more...]

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The Normal Heart of True Blood Seasons

Sarah or "Noomi"?Here's Adam continuing the march to True Blood's "true death" in just a few weeks...

Alright, so first thing first, does anybody remember last week’s episode? I was racking my brain trying to remember just what the hell happened, and all I can come up with is Sarah Newlin is the new Jesus and Bill went all Red Eye and stabbed a lawyer through in the throat when he didn’t get his way. So…there’s last week’s recap.

Now, on to this weekend's episode "May Be The Last Time"

True Blood was doing soooo well for a few episodes. Plot lines were moving forward, and when they weren’t, characters were growing and deepening, a real rarity in the True Blood universe. Even if this weeks episode wasn’t terrible lets just say that while watching the episode I became increasingly more entranced by the homemade ice cream I made (just two frozen bananas & almond milk blended in a Magic Bullet! Who knew?) than by what was actually happening on the screen.

In between mouthfuls of my glorified frozen banana puree, these thoughts pop in my head...

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Curio: Kino Kicks

Alexa here with your weekly film craftiness.  During my search for Powerpuff-Girl-related paraphernalia for my daughter's birthday I've been running into loads of hand painted shoes. And I mean LOADS.  I am not one to wear one-of-a-kind art on my feet; the weather here in Chicago is not kind to footwear so it seems a waste of cash. But I have to admire the artistry of some of these selections. So if you are a lover of Vans, TOMS or Converse, and are perhaps already planning your fashion for next year's Comic-Con, these are for you. And as an added bonus, most of these sellers create any custom pair you'd like; maybe I could be tempted by a pair of Werner Herzog tribute Vans?

The Notebook Vans, Star Wars Converse, and LOTR Vans, all from this etsy shop.

More after the jump, including Casablanca, Disney villains and Jaws...

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Linkbusters

HitFix Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) may well remake Ghostbusters with a female cast. I'm normally against do-overs unless you significantly reinvent so best wishes to all
Roger Ebert the Jacques Demy collectio. WANT
MNPP Lee Pace & Matt Bomer went to high school together. Awwww
MNPP which is hotter, Dick (1999) anniversary!
Guardian Christina Hendricks interviewed about Mad Men and more. Her original agency dropped her when she took the Joan Harris part. D'oh!
Gothamist funny Julie Klausner on Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense
Shortpacked! a webcomic for everyone like me who feels totally alone in not liking Guardians of the Galaxy very much 
Coming Soon a boring onset shot of Daredevil's altar ego Matt Murdock in his lawyer drag from the new Netflix series
AV Club talks to Brendan Gleeson abouv Calvary, Harry Potter and more
Cinema Blend they're making Richard Linklater's School of Rock into a TV series
Nick's Flick Picks Nick and Joe have completed their choices for the "best of" the year's first half with leading performances and Best Picture. Good smart read with lots of love for Blue Ruin, Only Lovers Left Alive, Edge of Tomorrow
Coming Soon James Gunn teases work on Guardians of the Galaxy sequel. Whew, already?
Comics Alliance Comparing Guardians to The Last Starfighter, an 80s sci-fi flick
Boy Culture reviews Oscar winner Lee Grant's autobiography "I'd Still Say Yes" 
Slant Magazine reviews a biography on Joss Whedon 

Cast This! It appears that there's going to be a movie called Russ & Roger Go Beyond about the making of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970). Who should play that infamous movie's celebrated writer Roger Ebert?

Finally...
Why did no one tell me about Vance Joy's "Riptide" which is now as far as I can tell like a year old. Love the emphatic fantasy of this lyric, duh!

I just gotta, I just gotta know
I can't have it, I can't have it any other way
I swear she's destined for the screen
Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh