New Trailer: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are Sisters!

It's only natural that Amy Poehler and Tina Fey play siblings in the first trailer for Universal's Sisters out this Christmas. The former SNL cast mates, bestselling authors and all-round funny women reunite as sisters Maura (Poehler) and Jane (Fey) visiting their childhood home to clear out their stuff before it's sold and have one last party to end all parties as closure. Bonus: Maya Rudolph makes an appearance as a former friend and uninvited guest. Raise your hand if your invite to the party was lost in the mail! Sisters, directed by Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect) lands in theatres December 18, 2015.  

Movie Review: Inside Out (2015)

 

After a self-imposed hiatus, Pixar is back with its 15th feature film with a high-concept story that has managed to touch both adults and children. Director Peter Docter, the mastermind behind Monsters Inc. and Up, brings us another emotional tale with Inside Out.

The majority of the film is set inside the mind of an eleven-year-old Riley (voice of Kaitlyn Dias) a regular young girl who life is uprooted when her family moves from Minnesota to the big city San Francisco. A avid ice-hockey player, moving to the warmer California and being away from her friends and all she know is initially worrisome for Riley but she puts on a brave face for her parents. How do we know this? That's because we have insider access to the inner voices in her head - namely Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith), Anger (voice of Lewis Black), Disgust (voice of Mindy Kaling) and Fear (voice of Bill Hader).

It turns out Riley's mind is the control room (aka headquarters) where these five differing emotions reside taking decisions that impact her daily life. They are deeply concerned for the well-being of Riley and hilariously help her out of little jams dealing with the fact her new bedroom has no furniture as the moving truck is delayed. Joy is the leader in making sure Riley is always happy and has to constantly manage the rest of the emotions especially Sadness from taking over.

One such day, when Riley is introducing herself at school, Sadness touches a core memory making it turn yellow (joyful) to blue (sadness). It causes Riley to break down in tears and the resulting madness to make the memory happy again causes Joy and Sadness to be sucked down into the long term memory archives. From there on, Riley's core memories as well her personality islands (family, friends, hockey, goofball, etc) are on in danger as Anger, Disgust and Fear are in charge at headquarters and Joy and Sadness have to figure a way back.

Their journey is what makes up the core of Inside Out and they come across Riley's former imaginary friend Bing Bong (voice of Richard Kind) and some hilarious escapades as they try to catch the train of thought back to headquarters. Joy and Sadness both have differing views on how to approach any situation and by spending more time with each other, they both get to understand each other's worth.

Pixar is the king of story in animation and Inside Out is no exception. With the tears (an unexceptionally touching moment with Bing Bong could touch the coldest of hearts) comes loads of laughs and self-awareness as well. The end credits has a particularly fun look inside the minds of several characters we've run into during the film. They've even managed to sneak a Chinatown reference in the film as Sadness and Joy make their way back home.

Kudos to Pixar on the casting of the voice talents. Each actor absolutely shines in their roles. But I've got to admit a little fondness for Sadness. Joy is easily the emotion to like instantly, how could you not? But Sadness slowly grew on me throughout the film as she came into her own personality and became more confident.

The morale of the story Pixar is trying to tell is deeply moving. While we might lose a little joy now and then as we get older, it's quite alright to embrace a little sadness. Is it okay to be sad sometimes? Yes, and that's going to be a profound lesson for youngsters to learn. This will definitely lead to some interesting conversations at the dinner table for parents and children alike. Welcome back, Pixar! We've really missed you.

Directed by Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen; Screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley; Editing by Kevin Nolting; Music by Michael Giacchino

Running Time: 94 minutes

Rating:

 

The 2015 Golden Globes Winners Announced!

The 72nd annual Golden Globes were held last night and while no one film dominated throughout, several managed to get their presence felt. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were back for the third and final time to host the wildest party in Hollywood, except they were gone for most of the evening. We needed more of the duo the last time around. The Cecil B. DeMille award honoree this year was George Clooney who bounced back nicely after Monuments Men tanked.  He was introduced by two longtime friends, Julianna Margulies and Don Cheadle, who argued amongst each other on who was the better friend.  Clooney gave a great speech, talking about everything from actors lost in the past year (Laura Bacall and Robin Williams) to free speech in Paris.

Boyhood, with three big wins for Best Film - Drama,  Director, and Supporting Actress, put its foot forward as the Oscar frontrunner. Other awards worthy films like Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game didn't win a single award and others like Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel showed that they're competitors again.  As for the actors, Julianne Moore, for Still Alice, looks to be on course I hope for her first ever Oscar. She's long overdue. Michael Keaton, for Birdman, and Eddie Redmayne, for The Theory of Everything, are also serious contenders for Best Actor now. But then I think so was Leonardo DiCaprio last year with The Wolf of Wall Street. He wasn't able to replicate his Golden Globes success.

Two big surprises of the night came in the animated feature and foreign film categories. How To Train Your Dragon 2, to my pleasant surprise, won the big honor right on the heels of its BAFTAs snub. The LEGO Movie has some competition. So does Ida as Russia's Leviathan won best foreign film.  The stage has been set for the rest of the awards, SAG, Critics Awards, BAFTAs to show what they've got and of course, let's not forget the grand daddy of them all, the Oscars announces its own nominations this Thursday. Get ready!

Here's the full list of winners in film below:

Best director

Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava Duvernay, Selma
Alejandro González Iñárritu
David Fincher, Gone Girl

Best motion picture drama

Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything

Best motion picture – comedy or musical

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Birdman
Into the Woods
Pride
St Vincent

Best actress in a motion picture drama

Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Best actor in a motion picture drama

Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
David Oyelowo, Selma

Best actor in a motion picture comedy or musical

Michael Keaton, Birdman
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Bill Murray, St. Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes

Best supporting actress in a motion picture

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Best screenplay

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, and Armando Bo, Birdman
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

Best animated feature film

How to Train Your Dragon 2
Big Hero Six
The Book of Life
Boxtrolls
The Lego Movie

Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical

Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Emily Blunt, Into the Woods
Helen Mirren, The Hundred-Foot Journey
Julianne Moore, Map to the Stars
Quvenzhané Wallis, Annie

Best original song

Glory, John Legend and Common (Selma)
Big Eyes, Lana del Rey (Big Eyes)
Mercy Is, Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye (Noah)
Opportunity, Greg Kurstin, Sia Furler, and Will Gluck (Annie)
Yellow Flicker Beat, Lorde (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1)

Best original score

Jóhann Jóhannsson, The Theory of Everything
Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Gone Girl
Antonio Sanchez, Birdman
Hans Zimmer, Interstellar

Best supporting actor in a Motion Picture

JK Simmons, Whiplash
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher

Best foreign language film

Force Majeure Turist (Sweden)
Gett: The Trial of Viviane (Israel)
Ida (Poland/Denmark)
Leviathan (Russia)
Tangerines Madanriinid (Estonia)

New Character Posters and Videos from Pixar's Inside Out

It's time to meet the five emotions that take centre stage in next June's Inside Out, the first original outing for Pixar since 2012's Brave. Have a look at Disgust, Anger, Fear, Sadness and Joy, the little voices who reside in young Riley's head.

Meet Disgust (voiced by Mindy Kaling)

                     Meet Anger (voiced by Lewis Black)

               Meet Fear (voiced by Bill Hader)

            Meet Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith)

          And finally, meet Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler)

2014 Golden Globe Award Winners

The 71st Golden Globe awards were held this past Sunday and as usual it did not disappoint.  The show was hosted for the second time in a row by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who in their inimitable style "crushed it", with their jokes (Gravity is "the story of how George Clooney would rather float away in space and die than spend any more time with a woman his own age.") or hijacking the stage as teenager "Randy" and his mom.

The presenters were just as lively with Robert Downey Jr. promising us that no matter what happened that night, he was leaving home a winner or my favorite Emma Thompson who appeared on stage with a martini in one hand and a pair of Louboutins in another.  The red on the shoes, she told us, was her blood.  And she chose the martini over the shoes when it came to presenting the award!

(Photo: Getty Images)

Emma Stone (who's currently working with Woody Allen on the upcoming Magic in the Moonlight) and Diane Keaton (who worked with Allen from Annie Hall to Interiors) presented the Cecil B. DeMille award to an absent Woody Allen, who usually never attends awards functions. 

(Photos: Just Jared/The Hollywood Reporter)

Now, onto the awards, American Hustle won the most with 3 including best comedy/musical, 12 Years a Slave won for best drama, Gravity had the best director and Her had the best screenplay.  The acting awards went out to Dallas Buyers Club, Blue Jasmine, The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle, while Frozen won the best animated feature.

(Photos: E! Online/Getty Images)

Here's the full list of the feature film winners:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
“12 Years a Slave”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“American Hustle”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Frozen”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“The Great Beauty” (Italy)


BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Spike Jonze, “Her”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Amy Adams, “American Hustle”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“Ordinary Love,” “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Music by: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Jr., Brian Burton
Lyrics by: Bono

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Alex Ebert, “All Is Lost”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Jennifer Lawrence “American Hustle”

71st Golden Globe nominations announced!

We're deep in awards season now with critics awards being announced left and right and the major awards nominations lining up one after the other.  After the Screen Actors Guild nominations, it's the turn of the 71st Golden Globe nominations which were announced this past Thursday. And as usual there are some big surprises and snubs in the nominations.  American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, Captain Phillips have made a strong showing here and films like Philomena, Gravity and Inside Llewyn Davis have picked up the expected nominations.  The surprises, for me, had to be Martin Scorsese losing out one of the best director nomination, Hayao Miyazaki's final feature The Wind Rises winning a best foreign film slot (that's a great surprise, by the way) and Pixar being shut out of the Best Animated Feature.  It will be DreamWorks, Disney and Universal battling it out for the big prize. 

Once again, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be hosting the awards show for the second time in a row which will be held on January 12th, 2014.

 
Best motion picture, drama
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
Rush

Best motion picture, musical or comedy 
American Hustle
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actress in a motion picture, drama
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks
Kate Winslet - Labor Day

Best Actor in a motion picture, drama
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Idris Elba - Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford - All Is Lost

Best Actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Amy Adams - American Hustle
Julie Delpy - Before Midnight
Greta Gerwig - Frances Ha
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Enough Said
Meryl Streep - August: Osage County

Best Actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf Of Wall Street
Oscar Isaac - Inside Llewyn Davis
Joaquin Phoenix - Her

Best supporting Actress in a motion picture
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
June Squibb - Nebraska

Best supporting Actor in a motion picture
Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Daniel Brühl - Rush
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Director – motion picture
Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity
Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne - Nebraska
David O. Russell - American Hustle

Best Screenplay – motion picture
Spike Jonze - Her
Bob Nelson - Nebraska
Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan - Philomena
John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave
Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell - American Hustle

Best Foreign Language Film 
Blue is the Warmest Color
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Past
The Wind Rises

Best Animated Feature film
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Frozen

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
"Atlas" - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
"Let It Go" - Frozen
"Ordinary Love" - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
"Please Mr. Kennedy" - Inside Llewyn Davis
"Sweeter Than Fiction" - One Chance

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Alex Ebert - All is Lost
Alex Heffes - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Steven Price - Gravity
John Williams - The Book Thief
Hans Zimmer - 12 Years a Slave

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Return as Hosts for the Golden Globes

(Photo: Just Jared)

The 'anything-goes' awards aka the Golden Globes (with dinner and drinks) just got more street cred. How come? This year's super hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have signed on more hosting duties for the next two years! That's Golden Globes 3, everyone else 0. 

70th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Video

Two of the funniest women in showbiz, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, show us a sneak peek of the Golden Globes if they both spoke in classical Hollywood voices.  They've totally nailed the accents! 

Both of them are up against each other in the Best Actress category in a television comedy and I can't wait to see how that turns out, will it be like the Emmys when all them turned it into their own version of a pageant?  The Golden Globes will air on January 13, 2013. 

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to host the Golden Globes!

(Photo: Jezebel)

Two of the funniest women on television and in showbiz, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be hosting the upcoming Golden Globes.  Take that Oscars! You stole their thunder by announcing the nominations before them and they've retaliated by having better hosts (Sorry Seth MacFarlane!).  Fey and Poehler are easily the best part of an awards show if they are presenting and having them host is the cherry on a very large cake.  I can't wait to see them host, it will be so worth it to wake up so early in morning for them.   The Golden Globes will air on January 13th, 2013.