The two things you need to make sure and watch this weekend
This weekend you will have holiday specials and football and all the usual things you can find on weekend television in December, but there are two things you should make sure to watch.
The first thing you need to make sure to check out this weekend is Ryan Gosling host "Saturday Night Live" for the first time ever!! Now of course we all love Ryan because ummm look at him and to top it off he is a great actor, but can he do comedy? When I think of Ryan I think darker more serious roles and a more dry sense of humor so the thought of him doing sketch comedy is interesting to me. I am so curious to see if he can pull it off and do a great job hosting. Even if he completely bombs though I think we will all still really enjoy watching him host. "SNL" airs on NBC at 11:30.
The next thing you need to watch is the Sinatra 100 tribute concert which will air on CBS at 9pm on Sunday. To honor the legend this year, the year he would have turned 100, a mega list of superstars got together to pay tribute. The list of performers is crazy including Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Adam Levine and so many others. The show was already taped and those that went are saying great things. So if you love the music of Frank Sinatra (which everyone should) then you need to make sure to tune in on Sunday to watch what looks to be an amazing show.
Are you tired of all the usual holiday movies? Well this year Netflix is releasing a new holiday special titled "A Very Murray Christmas" staring Bill Murray. In this special, directed by Sophia Coppola, you have a crazy amount of celebrity guests including Miley Cyrus, Amy Poehler and George Clooney. Like all classic holiday specials we are to expect funny antics, musical numbers and a lot of celeb cameos. From the trailer it looks like it will be a funny special that will put you in the holiday spirit. You can find "A Very Murray Christmas" on Netflix starting on Friday December 4th. Here is a look at the trailer.
As holiday season approaches we always hear about the many dramatic films that are being released for Oscar contention. I have even written a couple blogs about the multiple dramatic films you should see before award season gets in full swing, but if you are more into comedies there are a couple of great comedies you should check out as well.
The first movie you should check out is the holiday comedy "The Night Before" staring Anthony Mackie, Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. This movie takes place the night before Christmas where the three guys are having one last Christmas blow out before Seth Rogen's character has a baby and essentially they have to grow up. This movie is made by the same guys that made "This is the End", "Neighbors" and "The Interview" which means that it will be hilarious, raunchy and leave you with some pretty great quotes ("They hate us cause they ain't us"). This movie comes out this weekend (November 20) so be sure to check it out. Or if you want to wait until Thanksgiving weekend when the family becomes just a little to much for you, go check out this film and just laugh it off.
The second movie we have is the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy "Sisters". In this movie the girls play sisters who come home after many years to find out their parents have sold their childhood home. While cleaning out their old rooms they decide to have one last crazy party in the home like Tina's character used to do back in her high school days. The trailer looks hilarious and it looks like we should expect many SNL cameos in it. These two have done a couple of movies in the past most notably "Baby Mama" which had kind of a more serious storyline so it wasn't very good (to be honest) but since this one looks like it is just straight up comedy I think this film will be better. You can catch "Sisters" in theaters on December 18th.
The final comedy I am going to talk about is "Daddy's Home" which stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. In this movie Will Ferrell plays a step-dad who has to deal with his kids real dad, played by Mark Wahlberg when he comes into town. There is immediate competition between the two as one would expect. Will and Mark have such a great comedic bond with each other as most of us saw in the movie "The Other Guys" and it definitely shows again in this movie. For such an odd couple these two are so funny together and watching them go back and forth with each other is comedy gold. This movie comes out on Christmas Day, December 25th, so be sure to check it out.
Last week One Direction put out it's latest album "Made in the A.M." which is also the first album the group has released since ex-member Zayn Malik left earlier this year. From this album they have already released two singles "Drag Me Down" and "Perfect" which I am obsessed with. The band just wrapped up their tour and have said that for the next year (or two) they will be on a hiatus where they can just relax and take some time for themselves, possibly including doing their own music. Now where have I heard this one before?? Oh yeah that's right 2002 when N'SYNC announced that they were just going to take a little break and do their own things and then they would come back and be better than ever. That was the end of N'SYNC. Lance tried to go to space, Joey did some theater and made "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", Chris didn't do much, JC tried to make it as a solo act and we all know what happened to Justin. One Direction is similar to N'SYNC I say and here's how.
Harry is clearly the Justin of the group and I have been saying that since I first saw them back in 2012. He just has that "it" thing that you need to be a solo act. Do I think he will be as big as Justin, heck no but I think he will have the most success out of the guys on his own that's for sure. He is a character as well which (like Justin) could lead him to do things like movies and succeeding at things like hosting SNL. I am excited to see what is next for Mr. Harry Styles.
Liam I feel is the JC. I think he has great singing ability and could possibly do well on his own, but I don't know how well. I could see Liam doing really well at hosting something or maybe acting. I see after a few years Liam is likely to just settle down and start a family and be a normal guy.
Speaking of settling down and starting a family little Louis here is expecting his first child with stylist Briana Jungswirth. The two I'm pretty sure aren't a couple and have never really been, but they have decided to have their child and raise it together which is pretty cool but I could see this making Liam pick a job in LA doing something small and just being a domesticated dad. Maybe he will be a full-time judge on the "X-Factor" with the founder of One Direction Simon Cowell. I feel like all of these things make Louis the Joey of the group.
Niall is the Lance of the group. I could see him creating his own thing and brand and doing something like that, but I don't see him having a solo career. Lance has a radio show and tons of other little projects and I think this is most likely what Niall's future looks like. Or I see him going back to Ireland and just golfing and living the good life. We will see if any of my predictions come true about these boys. Even though they have announced their hiatus they have a slightly busy schedule right now and through the end of the year with the promotions for this latest album and a few concert appearances at events like "Jingle Ball" and the "American Music Awards" which airs this Sunday on ABC. I am actually on a wait list to see the guys perform on Jimmy Kimmel this week, but don't know if I will get tickets. I just have a feeling this might be one of the last times we will see the boys of One Direction perform together. Though I could be wrong they could be less N'SYNC and more BSB and go on forever because those guys are still making music and touring. We shall see!!
Last night I took the family out to check out "The Peanuts Movie" and it was great. Being someone who has grown up loving Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the whole peanuts gang it was nice to watch a children's movie that not only my kids wanted to see by myself and my own mother wanted to see as well. The story line is of course set around Charlie Brown and when he first meets his long time crush "the little red-headed girl". The whole movie you are rooting for Charlie Brown and he tries (and usually fails) to get the attention of the little red-headed girl. The movie had many cute scenes, but it also had some scenes that made you feel so bad for little Charlie Brown. I don't want to give the ending away, but I will say you will leave with a smile on your face. What I really loved about the movie was that even though it is made with all the new technology and animation techniques we have today it still felt like the 1960s cartoon we have all grown up watching. With a good opening weekend where they are looking to make around 45 million I wouldn't be surprised if a second peanuts movie will be in the works, and frankly I don't mind that. I suggest, especially if you have kids, to have a family night and head out to see this film. Here is a look at the trailer for "The Peanuts Movie".
Superbowl 50 is only a couple of months away and even though we have no idea who is going to make it to the big game, there is already some chatter on who we will be seeing perform in the halftime show.
The one band that has been mentioned to be in talks about performing for the halftime show if Maroon 5. After multiple years of having older acts like The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Paul McCartney (not saying these guys aren't great they are legends) they started bringing more current people to perform like Bruno Mars and Katy Perry which has boosted ratings substantially. This is why I see why they would want to go with someone like Maroon 5, especially with how big of a name Adam Levine is, but is it the right choice?? I am going to say we can do better. This isn't just any Super Bowl, this is Super Bowl 50!! I think with it being such a big year they should do something BIG.
When I look back on what I feel was the best Super Bowl performance of all time I always go back to the year 2001 when they had Aerosmith and N'SYNC sing a couple of their own songs and then a duet of walk this way where than Mary J. Blige, Nelly, and Britney Spears came out. I mean that was crazy and amazing. They need to pull out all of the stops where they don't just bring the legends, but they bring the biggest and brightest of today out there. Could you imagine having The Rolling Stones sing with One Direction and Paul McCartney with Nick Jonas and Cher with Taylor Swift, etc. I mean I just feel they could make half time crazy and epic if they wanted to instead of just bringing in Maroon 5.
Speaking of Taylor Swift why is no one reaching out to that chick?? She just put on one of the biggest concert tours everand every night she did multiple duets with the biggest names in music. Even if they don't want her to perform someone should be asking her what she would put on if she was in charge because I am sure she can call up a few of her friends and make it happen. I know, I know people are a little over the T. Swift 1989 train, but why not let her end things with a bang and then she can just go back to one of her homes and snuggle with her cats while baking and making cute crafts to share with us on instagram.
I guess in the next couple months we will find out who is in fact performing for the Super Bowl 50th halftime show and whoever they do pick I just ask they put on one hell of a show. I will leave you with my favorite Super Bowl performance of all time though, enjoy!!
It's been a little over a week now since Adele came back into all of our lives with her newest single "Hello" from her upcoming album "25". She basically broke the internet on October 23rd when she released the new single with everyone and their mom taking to social media to share how they were so in love with "Hello".
Celebrities like Katy Perry and Kate Hudson even posted photos of them crying saying it was due to listening to the new haunting Adele track. The new album from Adele titled "25" will be coming out on November 20th. If you didn't realize it yet she likes to title her albums after her current age, though the singer says this will be the last age title for an album. So that's only 18 more days and then basically Adele takes over the world with her music and kicks Taylor Swift off her queen thrown. In the 24 hours after Adele released the video for "Hello" she had 27.7 million views which crushed the previous 24 hour record held by Taylor herself for her video for "Bad Blood" which had 20.1 million views. On November 17th the singer will take the stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City to perform for the first time in the US since 2011. The concert will be filmed for a one hour concert special that will air on NBC on December 14th at 10pm (mark your calendars). I am sure "25" will yeild many hit singles and I think she picked a great song to start with. I will leave you with "Hello".
Which upcoming movies are getting that Oscar buzz??
As the year comes to an end and the holidays start another amazing thing happens.... the best movies of the year hit theaters in hopes of being nominated for best picture at the Oscars. This year after the Toronto Film Festival there was a lot of buzz around a couple of films and I am making my predictions on which ones you will be seeing nominated on Oscar night.
First up "The Martian" staring Matt Damon as an astronaut who while on a mission on Mars gets left behind by his crew and is forced to survive on the planet until help can arrive. This movie has been in theaters since early October and still almost a month after debuting is still number one at the box office which shows you how good this movie is. I got to see it on opening weekend and was very pleased with the film. Matt is alone for a lot of his role in the movie and does an amazing job and making you laugh and cry with him. The movie also left me thinking about how crazy and awesome science is and was really inspiring. Because of the way people are reacting to this film I could see it possibly being nominated for best film at the Oscars, but sadly I thought the same thing about "Gone Girl" (which came out at the same time as this film last year) and it was snubbed. I think sometimes early October releases are just to early for Oscar. I still think everyone should see this movie and should do so in 3D. I am sure Matt will be recognized for his work in the film though.
Trumbo is based on the true story of 1940's screenwriter Dalton Trumbo who was blacklisted for his political beliefs and then shows everyone how crazy the blacklist is while also winning two Academy Awards. When I first heard about this movie I read an article that said the academy loves movies about Hollywood ("Argo", "The Artist", etc) and I believe it. Personally I think everyone also loves Bryan Cranston which will make people want to come out and see this movie. The movie doesn't come out until November 6th but I am sure we will hear more about it when it does.
I recently brought up the movie "The Danish Girl" and how I think it could take home the award for best picture along with best actor for the performance by Eddie Redmayne and I still agree with this. "The Danish Girl" is based of a true story of Lili Elbe who was the first male to ever have female sex reassignment surgery. Redmayne plays the role of Einar Wegener who after posing as a female for his painter wife decides he would like to live his life as a female instead of a male. The movie looks like such a powerful story I am sure it will be recognized by many as a front runner at the Oscars. This film comes out November 27th which is the day after Thanksgiving so after things settle down for black Friday head over to the movies and catch this film.
As with the last two films this last one called "The Big Short" is also based off of a true story. This movie also has a ton of star power behind it with Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, and Ryan Gosling staring in it and to top it off the guy who wrote the books that inspired "Moneyball" and "The Blind Side" wrote the book that inspired this film (and we know what happened to those films.... they were nominated for best picture). This movie focuses on the financial crisis that hit the US really hard during the years of 2007 to 2010. I think since this movie is about something so fresh in our minds many will be able to watch it and relate to the premise of the film. This film will come out in theaters on December 11.
Today while appearing on "Good Morning America" Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato announced that next year the pair will be going on tour together on what they are calling the "Future Now" tour. The two of them have been friends for a very long time now from their days on Disney Channel ("Camp Rock") and have recorded with each other in the past so there is no surprise that the two would choose to do a tour together. The two also announced that they are starting their own record label called "Safe House" for up and coming artist to use. I am sure the tour will focus on the music from Nick's latest self titled album and Demi's new album "Confident".These two are both so hot right now and just keep putting out hit after hit that I am sure this will be one of the hottest tours in 2016.
Speaking of tours and Nick Jonas, he is currently out on tour and I was lucky enough to catch his show this past Friday at The Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Nick put on a great show and was very entertaining. Being a big fan of his latest album it was fun to see it preformed live. I will say my only complaint about the show was that it was over so quickly but that could have been from the amazing time I was having. Nick did mention that he is currently recording for his new album so keep an eye out for that sometime next year.
My seats were quite high but this was my view of Nick. I'll say it wasn't a bad way to spend a Friday night. Hopefully I can make it out to the "Future Now" tour and catch him and Demi on the road next year too. I'll leave you for now with their biggest hits right now "Levels' and 'Confident".
Will this year be the year Leo walks away with the Oscar?
First things first let me just say after taking almost 2 years off from blogging I am coming back and I am also starting up a podcast as well so look out for that. My dream job is to be able to talk about my love of all things pop culture so I am out to make that a reality. Thanks for reading and your support.
Now on to two topics I love to talk about Leonardo DiCaprio and the Oscars. As the years go by we see such amazing work come from Leo ("The Wolf of Wall Street" "The Aviator") but still he has never won an Oscar for best actor. In 2014 many thought he had a good shot at winning with his great performance as Jordan Belfort in the wild movie " The Wolf of Wall Street" but he lost to the incredible performance from Matthew McConaughey in his film "The Dallas Buyer's Club". Well this year I see the same thing happening even though it sounds like Leo did a lot of crazy and scary things for his role in his latest movie "The Revenant". In his new movie Leo plays a fur trapper gets mauled by a bear and left for dead by the crew of men that were with him. The men that leave him also kill his son which is the driving force behind him tracking these men down and seeking revenge. From the trailer the movie looks very intense and I am sure it will receive it's own Oscar buzz. Leo recently did an interview talking about the crazy things he did for the movie such as swimming in freezing water, sleeping inside dead animals and eating raw bison liver. I feel like him telling everyone he did these things is almost like him saying "hey look at the crazy things I did, don't you think I should get an Oscar?". Though I am sure that beyond the things he did for the role he probably does an amazing job at playing this character. Due to this I am sure he will land an Oscar nomination for best actor, but will he win??
I personally, just from hearing the little amount of Oscar buzz that is already happening and from the multiple previews I have seen I think I already know who will take home the Oscar for best actor..... Eddie Redmayne for his role in "The Danish Girl". The world is just starting to open it's eyes to the transgender community and to see someone play this role in such a powerful way I think Eddie will be the first actor since Tom Hanks to win back to back best actor Oscars, Hanks won in 1993 and 1994 for his roles in "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump". I have a strong feeling the film "The Danish Girl" will also win for best picture. "The Danish Girl" will be in theaters on November 27 and "The Revenant" will come a little later on January 8.
