Jonah Hex -- Review

Recently has been a frenzy over adaptations and this summer is one full of a wide variety ranging from comic, graphic novel, video game and children/young adult lit adaptations.  This weekend Jonah Hex opens and I have to say, what should have been a wild ride through the old west came across like a knock-off designer bag you'd buy from a street merchant on the streets of NY.  There were elements that reminded me of the late 90s film Wild Wild West, which was fun but left many feeling disappointed.  I'm not sure if the translation from comic to film was lost in story or just poor casting choices, but I felt this DC comic is one that should have been left on the shelf.  With a running time of only 80 minutes, one would normally wonder why such a short film since most movies these days have running times of at least 100 minutes.  Thankfully Jonah Hex was on the short side because I don't know what I would have done had it been any longer. 

With a handful of interesting visual concepts and several comic elements added into the film there are scenes that give you the impression that things are about to turn around, but seconds later that hope is taken away.  From laughable dialogue to poor acting from the only female star of the film Jonah Hex is a summer blockbuster flop.  The scenes that were manageable to sit through was primarily due to the films only saving grace Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) with his insane make-up and the costume design team giving you just what's needed to make you feel like you are back in the 1800s.  If you can get past Megan Fox's (Transformers and Jeniffer's Body) lack of acting skills and John Malkovich's (Of Mice and Men and Burn After Reading) laughable make-up, I guess it's an ok movie.  The concept is interesting and I'm now curious enough to pickup a comic, but I will admit that if a sequel is ever planned I will passing. 

Jonah Hex is an 1800s mix that brings a little wild west flavor to some other worldly juju.  If you like Josh Brolin, who plays Hex, I would say wait until this film comes out on DVD.  With Megan Fox as Lilah I wish the role had gone to someone else just so it would have been a little less painful to watch.  John Malkovitch, who plays Quentin Turnbull, is a laughable villain and the only thing that makes Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) as Burke cool is his tattoo.  I give Jonah Hex a 2 out of 5 and say stay away if you are a fan of the comic. 

2010 Movie Awards -- The Main Event

So after a full week of 12+ hour days and a wild show day it is just about over as I sit at LAX waiting to catch my flight back home to the Big Apple.  It has been one hell of an adventure being on the back-lot at Universal Studios, making runs around the lot as MTV took over the Gibson Amphitheater for the show, and then working the pre-show followed by a much needed drink with the crew at the after party.

I am a little sad that in all of the craziness I completely missed the main show and have been catching up on various performances and clips as I sit here waiting for my flight to board.  In the spirit of the show I wanted to share with you a few of my favorites, just in case you missed the show last night or if you wanted to catch them again.


Les Grossman's Special Presentation

Watch the 2010 MTV Movie Awards at MTV.com!

Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg -- California Girl

Watch the 2010 MTV Movie Awards at MTV.com! 

More videos, pictures and stories to come so check back tomorrow.

Movie Awards Red Carpet Build

So it is now day 4 on the Universal Studios backlot and we are in full swing.  At the moment I cannot go into all of the craziness that will be happening but I am looking forward to sharing some behind-the-scenes stories with you shortly.  But for now I wanted to give you a little of the craziness that is happening out here in Hollywood.  Check out our red carpet build.  The video below is a live stream from outside the Gibson Ampitheater and it will be running for 24 hours a day for the next 2.5 days (as today, Friday, is half over).  We have been feeding the world wide web for the last 24 hours and the build is coming along.  But watch the change over the next 24 hours as we near the start of show and then on sunday you can watch the Red Carpet as it happens.

Just a reminder: East Coasters remember the Red Carpet/Pre-Show starts at 8pm ET and the West Coast will have to check in at 5pm PT as the live feed WILL NOT be re-streaming over the web when the show airs for you at 8pm PT.  You might even catch a sneak peek of the Jersey Shore Blow Out as the Jersey Shore cast will be hosting the Pre-Show.

MTV Shows

Warren the Ape at the Movie Awards... and a Sex Tape...?

Yesterday I happened to be doing a quick walk-thru of the Gibson Theater where the Movie Awards Main Show will be taking place and just happened to catch the end of the Warren the Ape shoot that was taking place. I have to admit it is pretty cool to see these guys at work Warren is not only an adorable, yet trouble-making little ape, but he is absolutely hilarious. Check out the MTV News HIT that was shot while he was in the house on Thursday afternoon. But even better, check out the latest clip teaser posted in preparation for the series premiere of Warren the Ape on MTV on Monday, June 14 at 10:30pm ET/PT.

Warren the Ape gives a preview of the seat cards and where celebrities will be sitting on Sunday's show.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Warren the Ape: "Sex Tape"

Warren the Ape: Sex Tape from Wired Set on Vimeo.

2010 MTV Movie Awards -- Who do you think will win the Popcorn?

So in preparation for the big event, I recently went through the nominees for this years MTV Movie Awards.  I have to admit, I feel a little surprised by a few of the nominees, and even feel as those some great roles have been forgotten.  However I do not know what the cut off date is set at for while films can be included for the 2010 awards, and which will be included in the 2011 Movie Awards.  After going through the list of nominees is looks like the cut off is April, but if a film was included from the April 2 release weekend, I wonder if next year's Movie Awards will include any  other April 2010 releases, or if Kick-Ass has been left in the dust (which I feel would be one of their greatest mistakes).

Well, aside from my own prejudice towards my hopes of Kick-Ass being a part of the nominee list, here are the lists which you can go a vote for your favorites at the MTV Movie Awards website.

BEST KISS
K-Stew and Dakota Fanning -- The Runaways
K-Stew and Rob Pattinson -- Twilight Saga: New Moon
Sandra Bullock and Ryan  Reynolds -- The Proposal
Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner -- Valentine's Day
Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington -- Avatar

BEST FIGHT
Beyonce vs Ali Larter -- Obsessed
Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber vs Ryan Reynolds -- X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Logan Lerman vs Jake Able -- Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief
Robert Downey Jr vs Mark Strong -- Sherlock Holmes
Sam Worthington vs Stephen Lang -- Avatar

BEST VILLAIN
Christopher Waltz -- Inglorious Basterds
Helena Bonham Carter -- Alice in Wonderland
Ken Jeong -- The Hangover
Stephen Lang -- Avatar
Tom Felton -- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

BEST WTF MOMENT
Betty White -- The Proposal (feeling up Sandra Bullock)
Bill Murray -- Zombieland
Isabel Lucas -- Transformers 2 (robotic tongue)
Ken Jeong -- The Hangover (jumped out of trunk naked into Bradley Cooper's face)
Megan Fox -- Jeniffer's Body (projectile vomit)

BIGGEST BADASS STAR
Angelina Jolie -- Wanted
Channing Tatum -- G.I. Joe
Chris Pine -- Star Trek
Rain -- Ninja Assassin
Sam Worthington -- Clash of the Titans

BEST SCARED-AS-S**T PERFORMANCE
Alison Loman -- Drag me to Hell
Amanda Seyfried -- Jennifer's Body
Jesse  Eisenberg -- Zombieland
Katie Featerston -- Paranormal Activity
Sharlto Copley -- District 9

BEST BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE
Anna Kendrick -- Up in the Air
Chris Pine -- Star Trek
Gabourey Sidibe -- Precious
Logan Lermon -- Percey Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief
Quinton Aaron -- The Blind Side
Zach Galifianakis -- The Hangover

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE 
Amanda Seyfried -- Dear John
Emma Watson -- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Kristen Stewart -- Twilight Saga: New Moon
Sandra Bullock -- The Blind Side
Zoe Saldana -- Avatar

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
Channing Tatum -- Dear John
Daniel Radcliffe -- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Robert Pattinson -- Twilight Saga: New Moon
Taylor Lautner -- Twilight Saga: New Moon
Zac Efron -- 17 Again

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE
Ben Stiller -- Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian
Bradley Cooper -- The Hangover
Ryan Reynolds -- The Proposal
Sandra Bullock -- The Proposal
Zac Galifianakis -- The Hangover

GLOBAL SUPERSTAR
Daniel Radcliffe
Johnny Depp
Kristen Stewart
Robert Pattinson
Taylor Lautner

BEST MOVIE
Alice in Wonderland
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hangover
Twilight Saga: New Moon

Right now it is thought that the main competition is between Twilight and Avatar, but who do you think will take home the Popcorn?  Is there a star you are looking forward to seeing either on the red carpet or during the show?  With all of the MTV talent and other HOT celebrity talent the will be making their way to the Universal Studios backlot this Sunday I have to admit, I'm looking forward to see Shaun White, Adam Sandler, Anna Kendrick and Chris Rock.  As far as winners go, I'm hoping that Twilight shares the wealth a little with some of the other nominees but if they do sweep the show lets just hope Kristen Stewart can hold on to her award this year. 


We only have 3 days before the big event, so tune in to MTV Sunday night at 8pm ET/PT to watch find out who will take home the most Popcorn.And if you have not done so already, go to the Movie Awards home page and Vote for who you'd like to see win.  Voting ends Saturday, June 5 so hurry and click the link below to cast your votes.

http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2010/categories.jhtml

RIP Rue McClanahan

The television world has lost yet another of its stars early this morning.  Rue McClanahan died at the age of 76.  Best known for her role as Blanche Devereaux, Rue McClanahan had a widely successful career in television that spanned 50 years.  Rue McClanahan will be greatly missed by her fans.