Robin Hood's Rhubarb Scoop

Sienna Miller is out, Cate Blanchett is in!

You may already know that they are making a robin hood remake entitled, Nottingham. Russell Crowe is feverishly shedding the pounds to tackle the lead role. Personally, I think Gerard Butler would make a much sexier Robin Hood but I guess if Crowe can get down to his Gladiator body, he'll be fine! Time for P90X Russell!!!!

BUUUUUUT, who will play the lovely, yet feisty Maid Marian?

Originally, Sienna Miller was slated to play Crowe's love interest. She dropped out of the flick when filming was put on hold after Crowe failed to drop the weight. Word on the street is that Cate Blanchett is set to take over. Good job in the re-cast!!

This adventure film will begin production in early April. This remake will be more of an "origin- type" story about Robin of Loxley. Abandoned as a child, Crowe's character finds community with the common people of Nottingham. His abandonment and trust issues hamper his ability to fall in love until he meets his match in the strong-willed Marian.

Filming will be shot in the UK and directed by the acclaimed Ridley Scott, with a decent budget of 130 million!

The truth is, i'm not sure how i feel about a robin hood remake. I loved prince of thieves back in '92!

PLUS, robin hood is not robin hood without a little bryan adams. i am a total sap-a-holic, who will sing at the top of my lungs: "everything i do, i do it for youuuuuu"

what song do you want to hear in the background when robin hood and maid marian end the movie with a big fat smoochie?

Marvel's Marmalade Scoop

since my good friend devin, has officially deemed me as a comic book geek, i officially bring you this scoop.

MARVEL IS DOING BIG THINGS over the next few years. They just posted a massive Q4 growth for the 2008 financial year. Capitalizing on this success, they are going to continue to release 5 major films....geeks worldwide, get ready:

1. WOLVERINE
Release: May 1st 2009
this currently holds the #1 spot on my 2009 most anticipated. i can't wait! i LOVE xmen. Now, if only they do a film about jean grey/phoneix. that would be bad ass!

2. THOR
Release: July 16th 2010

If you were a child of the 80s, you know all about thor. am i excited? hell yeah. although, they better cast thor accurately or i'll be disappointed. Although i'm not so sure about choosing kenneth branagh to direct?

3. CAPTAIN AMERICA
Release: May 16th 2011

Will be interesting. I'm curious how they will adapt this into a screen play.

4. THE AVENGERS
Release: July 15th 2011

Same feeling as Captain America.

and this is just in...

according to Hollywood Reporter, Samuel L. Jackson has become Marvel "It" man! He just inked a deal with Marvel to appear in 9 upcoming movies, including Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers. He is definately going to be one busy bee. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Marvel is overdosing on Jackson or are you excited? discussion please!

Slumdog's Strawberry Scoop

Slumdog Millionaire is easily one of my favourite films of 2008.

...and yes, i've seen it twice...

I think of this as "the little film that could" - the small gem that sparkled and stood out in a sea of diamonds. simply put, this film deserves to win every single oscar it has been nominated for.

Directed by Danny Boyle and starring Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto, Slumdog Millionaire is the story about a slum dweller who relies on his life experiences to win a fortune on the Indian version of the famous television gameshow, Who Wants To be a Millionaire.

There's a great line in the film where jamal tells an american couple, "you wanted the real india, well here it is." this film captures the true essence of poverty. around the world, thousands of people - including children - live in the slums, struggling to survive in a corrupt world, finding happiness in life's smallest pleasures and dreaming with raging hope of bettter days to come.

The soundtrack is amazing. the script is captivating. the cinematography is breathtaking. the director is brilliant. the actors are all very believable. overall, this film is raw with pure love and realism.

This movie will throw the viewer into a loop of different emotions. your eyes will start to tear as you witness some heartwrenching scenes. you'll laugh at the film's crafty humour. you'll be swept away by the determination, persistance and motivation of the characters but torn at the pervasive sense of hoplessness of their situations. and most importantly, you'll smile at the beautiful, sweet love story between latika and jamal.

I was disappointed to hear all the controversy surrounding this film. as with anything with artistic merit, it is open to public opinion. success often breeds criticism. if i could deliver one message to those haters, i'd say: let it go. the children were not neglected or cheated. the title, "slumdog millionaire" is way more powerful compared to the original, "questions and answers", and if you ask me, accurately portrays the storyline.

And so my chaiwalahs, that concludes my commentary on Slumdog Millionaire. If you haven't seen it, GO WATCH IT ASAP. it will move you, no doubt!

Rocky Revolutionary Road Scoop

"if you dont try anthing, you can't fail."

I can see why this film is up for a few oscars - although, Leonardo DiCaprio was definately snubbed in the best actor category. I have to admit, when Titanic came out, I was shocked at how much I loved the chemistry between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. In this screenplay, there was no exception.

Revolutionary Road, based on the 1961 novel by Richard Yates, is about a young couple, Frank and April Wheeler, struggling to live through the “american dream.” To the outside world, they remain united as the perfect couple. However, inside the home, a storm is brewing as we see an emotional battle between husband and wife.

The real reason why I love this movie is for its realness. While we see fierce passion between the main characters, there is no happy ending. Instead, DiCaprio shows the heartwrenching redemption of Frank Miller, his forever scarred character. Winslet’s character states, “No one forgets the truth, they just get better at lying.” The real truth is that the so-called American dream does not exist. Marriage is an adventurous path in which there are many celebrated moments and challenging roadblocks. Frank is struggling between ambition and reality. April, Winslet’s character, has her own set of aspirations and is desperately seeking to break free from the mundane life she leads. She loses her purpose for life and the love she feels for her husband is masked by loneliness and despair.

By the end of this movie, you really don’t know who to feel sorry for. You can empathize with both characters. The performances from DiCaprio and Winslet are astounding. Furthermore, the direction from Sam Mendes is truly wonderful. The movie demonstrates that very few couples flawlessly get it right. Marriage is a world where only the strong individuals survive.

Tantalizing Twilight Tiramasu scoop

twi-hard fans were in for a treat this weekend as summit entertainment made a few announcements regarding it's lucrative franchise. on to the scoop...

it all began with this:

there you have it - the official movie title and artwork for the second film in the Twilight franchise.

but wait, there's more...

Still basking in the success of Twilight, Summit Entertainment announced it has official greenlit Stephanie Meyer's third book, Eclipse, set to be released on June 30, 2010. If you are a fan of the novels and movies, you'll already know that pre-production has already begun for the sequel, New Moon, which is slated to be released this Novemeber. Given the spacing between New Moon and Eclipse, Chris Weitz will not be directing the third film. No director has been named as of yet.

Interestingly, these announcements are strategically released during Hollywood's biggest weekend. From a PR perspective, it's perfect timing, seeing as Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are presenters at the Oscars.

i digress -- so does anyone else feel like they are releasing the sequels too soon? twilight fans were more than forgiving with the first film. i watched it repeatedly to give it a chance and found myself only liking it because i adore the relationship between bella and edward. plus, i had to remind myself that they were working on a low budget so i couldn't expect anything too magical. HOWEVER, now that twilight has pulled close to 400 million dollars, I will not be so forgiving with new moon. Summit can afford to spend the time and money on adapting the rest of the books into good films. the potential is certainly there. while i understand their reasoning for pushing out these films so quickly, i'm extremely hesitant that they'll be able to deliver great adaptations in the timeframes they've set out. i loved eclipse and so, i'm really crossing my fingers that they don't screw it up.

what do you guys think of this news?

Sweet Shopaholic Skor Scoop

Confessions of a Shopaholic

I admit, I've been binging on chick flicks, but being a former shopaholic, I felt compelled to see this film. Plus, I read the book, so seeing the movie was a must!

Thinking that this would follow in the footsteps of Sex and the City and He's Just Not That Into You, I really wanted to love this movie. It was good but not great.

Confessions of A Shopaholic tells the tale of Rebecca Bloomwood, an aspiring fashion journalist, who is forced to battle her shopping addiction after losing her job and avoiding debt collectors. To help pay off the debt and reach her dream job, she embellishes her resume and lands a job as a financial reporter for an affiliated magazine. Of course, this is where she meets the man of her dreams, who *gasp* is disguisingly filthy rich and understands Prada. Sounds pretty typical huh?

The chemistry between Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy is magnetic. Sissy Spacek and John Goodman always make me laugh. The script, however, was another story. I can always tell whether I'm going to enjoy a movie by watching the first few minutes. The first few minutes of this film were boring me to tears. It did redeem itself toward the middle only to become ridiculously predictable by the end.

If America can survive being thousands of dollars in debt, so can you! This made me chuckle. What a great capitalistic line -- how very corporate america of them!!

Shopping is a guilty pleasure of mine. As cliche as it sounds, retail therepy is still one of the best forms of therepy. Whether you're nursing a broken heart or just trying to recoup from a bad day, there's nothing better than finding the perfect outfit to help you look and feel fabulous again. Ok, ok, there are exceptions to that rule…but meh..i'm a girl who has a thing for shoes and clothes.

If you can wait, save this movie for a girl's night in - it'd be the perfect end to a dinner and games night with your dearest girl pals!

boo boo banana batman scoop

Attention all batman fans, our favourite dark night won't be 'off to the batmobile' anytime soon.

According to Variety, producer/director Christopher Nolan will not be working on a sequel to The Dark Night until december 2011 or summer 2012. Warner Bros is currently in the process of inking a deal with Nolan to create a summer blockbuster out of his sci-fi script entitled Inception. Production will begin this year and the film will be released in the summer of 2010.

After seeing the dark night a handful of times*, i've been engrossed in numerous conversations with fellow comic book geeks about possible villains in the sequels.

Despite this disappointing news, i would rather wait for christopher nolan. he turned the whole franchise around and gave the batman movies a new life. in fact, the dark night has easily replaced the original batman movie as my all time favourite comic book movie. besides, there were about 3 or 4 years between batman begins and the dark knight, so i suppose that i can wait for another amazing film!! but what if terminator takes off and they want to release a sequel, which will most likely happen, they better produce another batman before they do another terminator or i will be one unhappy camper!!!

*SIDE NOTE: seeing a movie multiple times rarely happens. Usually, when i've seen a movie more than once, it's because i absolutely love it.

he's-just-not-that-into-you heavenly hash scoop

when watching sex and the city last summer, i just about squealed when i saw this preview. in fact, i cringed in disappointment to find that i had to wait until february of this year to see it. naturally, it made my 2009 most anticpated films list. did it deliver? oh hell yes!

he's just not that into you.

*sigh*

we've all been in that situation at least once in our lifetime. to make matter worse, it almost seems like a natural tendency of the female species to overanalyze things.

is he's just not that into you about empowering women to take control of their relationships? or, does it teach us not to listen to our overly optimistic girlfriends when we share our guy problems?

you see while i'm the optimistic type, i'm one of those honest friends that don't sugarcoat to spare feelings. i'm not one of those girls to listen to her bestfriends and say, "everything is alright sweetie, you two are meant to be together." it's not that i'm being mean, it's just that i'd like to think i'm a pretty good judge of character and when i know a relationship is headed south, i'll call it out. frankly, it saves me the grief of being a breakup buddy. (although, depending on the situation, sometimes this role can be fun)

of course when it comes to letting go of a non-existant relationship or finally making the decision to leave an unhappy one, everything is much easier said than done. your girlfriends can scream at the top of their lungs that "he's just not that into you" BUT if you don't discover this yourself, you'll never let go.

so maybe the movie and the book lean toward the art of self realization. afterall, life is a discovery. it's about making mistakes and learning from them.

and while the book and movie teach you -- there's an exception to every rule -- tread carefully, my little fish!! love can be both blinding and/or encompassing. i've learned from past relationships that love will send you through a spiral of different emotions. if you don't observe for warning signs or ignore your intuition, you could end up being eaten by the sharks.

that being said, grab your girlfriends, go see the movie, dish about boys over dinner and then go dancing -- it's the true essence of a girl's night out.

ps. this turned out to be more of a commentary than a film review. but what else can i say - the actors fit their roles to a T and the script is both moving and funny but when it comes down to it, this movie will get you talking about relationships...and, that's entertainment folks!

Bumbling Blueberry Scoop

and the grammy award for Worst Dressed goes to...

*cue music* no one on the corner has swagga like us.

thank the lord we don't!

yes friends, the very pregnant MIA waddled down the red carpet in oompa loompa getup. i just don't understand this. if celebrities have all this money to select pretty much any piece of clothing they want, why is it that some are drawn to the most hideous pieces i've ever seen in life? they aren't making a statement. they just look foolish. is this atrocity supposed to be an attention grabber? because really, all it causes me to do is cringe. yowza!

Cookies and Coraline scoop

...and that's not to be confused with caroline.

i first saw the preview for this movie last december while watching Ratatoulie and immediately put it on MY 2009 most anticipated film list. stop smirking - i can admit: yes, i'm a movie junkie and yes, i happen to love 3D computer animation films.

back to Coraline...this movie gets my official ah-may-zing.

Where do i start? Coraline is the modern day version of Hansel and Gretal. It is the film adaptation of British author, Neil Gaiman's fantasy-horror novella, that tells the tale of a clever, curious, young girl, named Coraline Jones, who discovers a secret door in her new home that leads to a fantasy dream world. In this alternate world, she discovers that her wishes have consequences and nothing is ever perfect without a price. There is so much depth in this storyline, you could spend hours analyzing it. Additionally, Dakota Fanning and Terri Hatcher lend their voices to make up the perfect mother-daughter combo!

before seeing this film, i read that this is the first and longest stop-animation film shot in 3D. The characters were shot as puppets; Coraline alone, had over 300 different types of hands!

word on the street is that they released a graphic novel last year, so i'm on a mission to find it.

anyway, i'm trying to keep this short and sweet, so i won't bore you with all the details. just go see it...you won't be disappointed!

in other news, tim burton is one of my fave directors/producers...he's creating this 3D animated film called 9. the preview is pretty dope! needless to say, i was excited!!and yes, it's on my list! check out the preview:

tim burton is epic!!

grey's goodie gumdrop scoop

i've had this post in word since thursday night, so bear with me y'all, i'm playing post catchup, ketchup! don't ask, just roll with it.

and now this...

can i just say, last thursday's Grey's Anatomy brought out the inner cheesy in me. before i mention how, i would like to share a few thoughts.

1)That the whole stare down between christina and dr owen hunt to the sound of romantic classical piano music was outright lame-o.
2)Mcdreamy's almost-proposal in the room full of candles, red roses and chocolates was a bit too overboard for my tastes. although, if i'm to give him credit -- the gesture was sweet and some girls really do dig extravagance.
3)Could little Grey be the one to convert McSteamy from the darkside? ba da da da da, i'm lovin it! i am aching to see mcsteamy's love potential.
4)Low and behold, there's a new lesbian in town for Callie. it reminds me of a younger version of dr hahn. hmm..i smell some casting politics. all thoughts aside, why are the writers doing this? can't they just bring in another mcsteamy/dreamy?

so my friends, let's discuss: what are your thoughts?

ps. and now the moment you've all been waiting for - the moment i tell you how grey's anatomy brought out mcCHEESY in me:

I told my boo that a hugging machine slows down the heart and since he’s always making my heart flutter he should give me a big hug. So he rolls his eyes to acknowledge my dorky ways, flashes his cute little kid smile and pulls me in his arms for a big, huge 30 second bear hug. *swoons* ca-hute!