Real Steel

A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future, where the sport of boxing has gone hi-tech, “Real Steel” stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

“Real Steel” is directed by Shawn Levy (“Night at the Museum” franchise and “Date Night”).

Opens Friday, October 7th.

Official Site
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Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Inspired by the bestselling novel by Lisa See, SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN is a timeless portrait of female friendship.

In 19th-century China, seven year old girls Snow Flower and Lily are matched as laotong – or “old sames” – bound together for eternity. Isolated by their families, they furtively communicate by taking turns writing in a secret language, Nu Shu, between the folds of a white silk fan.

In a parallel story in present day Shanghai, the laotong’s descendants, Nina and Sophia, struggle to maintain the intimacy of their own childhood friendship. Drawing on the lessons of the past, the two modern women must understand the story of their ancestral connection, hidden from them in the folds of the antique white silk fan, or risk losing one another forever.

Opens in limited release July 15th.

Official site
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Fox Home Entertainment @ Comic Con 2009

Non-Stop Action, Thrills, Laughs And Excitement Are Coming To Comic-Con From Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Eliza Dushku, Joss Whedon, Danny DeVito, Matt Groening And
Many More On Hand In San Diego To Showcase An Awesome
Line-Up Of Blu-ray And DVD Releases

Get A First Look At The Hottest New Titles Including “Dollhouse” Season One,
“It’s A Very Sunny Christmas,” “Futurama” The Complete Collection And More

Unveiling of “Wolverine” Wax Figure By Madame Tussauds Hollywood

WHO: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment brings the thrills, the action, the mystery and the laughs to San Diego Comic-Con International as they showcase an assortment of some of the most highly anticipated Blu-ray and DVD titles of 2009.

The line-up includes:
· Eliza Dushku and Joss Whedon, star and creator of the thrilling fantasy drama “Dollhouse”
· Stars of the hilarious FX comedy series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and the upcoming DVD premiere “It’s A Very Sunny Christmas” – Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito
· Voice actors from the resurrected animated series “Futurama” including Katey Sagal, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche and Executive Producer Matt Groening
· WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase Jr. from the upcoming action-packed feature The Marine 2
· Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead director Declan O’Brien and star Janet Montgomery
· “Wolverine”-the amazing, life size wax figure of one of the world’s most popular anti heroes, “Wolverine,” as portrayed by superstar Hugh Jackman in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” will be unveiled by Madame Tussauds Hollywood (which opens Aug.1); free photo ops during Comic.Con

WHAT: Fans will have the opportunity to purchase limited edition Comic-Con exclusive releases of “Dollhouse” Season One and get a first look at “Futurama” The Complete Collection at the Fox Booth.

Additionally, TCFHE will preview two of their hottest DVD premieres of the year – the pulse-pounding action-thriller The Marine 2 starring WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase Jr. and the terrifying cannibalistic bloodbath Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead.

Also, the ladies of Miss March will be parading the Comic-Con floor allowing fans to take a picture of their “assets” with their cell phone to access exclusive clips from the film premiering on Blu-ray and DVD July 28.

WHERE: Booth #4129 – Twentieth Century Fox

Comic-Con International
San Diego Convention Center
111 W. Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92101

WHEN: Autograph / Meet-and-Greet Sessions Are As Follows:

Wednesday, July 22nd
6:00pm – Unveiling of Madame Tussauds Hollywood wax figure, “Wolverine,” as portrayed by superstar Hugh Jackman in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (Comic-con attendees may pose with the figure during regular convention hours)

Thursday, July 23rd
12:30pm – 1:30pm – WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase Jr. (The Marine 2)
2:00pm – 3:00pm – Declan O’Brien and Janet Montgomery (Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead)

Friday, July 24th
6:15pm – 7:00pm – Eliza Dushku and Joss Whedon (“Dollhouse”)

Saturday, July 25th
11:45am – 12:30pm – Katey Sagal, Billy West, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche and Matt Groening (“Futurama”)
3:00pm – 3:45pm – Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”)

Sunday, July 26th
11:00am – 11:45am – Katey Sagal (“Sons of Anarchy”)
12:45pm – 1:30pm – Wendy Schaal, Dee Bradley Baker, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman (“American Dad”)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Hugh Jackman may be the sexiest man alive, but he has got some major competition in this film.  It’s a virtual meat market for tastes of all kinds and for those who aren’t that picky and appreciate the male species.

After the disappointment that was the last two X-Men movies, I didn’t go into this with any more expectation than just being entertained.

Despite a few slow spots here and there, and a bit too long history of wars sequence in the beginning, I have to say I enjoyed this.  It’s not hard to look at Hugh Jackman for an hour and a half.   Heck, I would have paid $20 to watch naked Hugh for the seconds we got of him jumping and running in the buff.  Who wouldn’t?  The hair and sideburns were even an improvement for his previous stint at Wolverine!

Then we get to his cast mates.  Liev Schreiber (enough said in my book, there is not much you can say about his perfection), Ryan Reynolds (looking VERY buff and not an ounce of nerd to be seen), Will i Am (bringing cool to the X-Men), Daniel Henney (model perfect and deadly good looks) and, finally, the cherry on top, Taylor Kitsch (yum, yum, yum).  I could seriously watch an entire film with Taylor reading the phone book and not get bored.

Yes, my shallow, middle aged self was there for the hotties.  I won’t lie.  As a bonus, we did get a decent story that had you connecting this beginning to the X-Men films that have already hit the big screen.  My 13 year old was quite engaged and there were a lot of lightbulbs going off above her head as she connected Sabertooth, Scott Summers and the rescuer of the island children to X-Men 1.

All in all, thanks Hugh, for being you and bringing some of your sexy friends along for the ride.  It was a hellavu show!

Confessions of a Grown Up Fan Girl

I am sure many of you are wondering what exactly the purpose of this website/blog is supposed to be. Who needs yet another entertainment website right? Well, it was conceived quite a few years ago as a playground for a group of friends to share our latest obsessions in actors, movies, television and music. We thought maybe we would get a few interviews with those we like along the way (which we did). That was, almost 8 years ago, and throughout that time, the site went dormant during various periods of real life interference. We were much younger then.  Life was bright and we were having fun. What more of an excuse did we need?

Now, life is different.  Some of us have faced some real life changes (unemployment, divorce, new babies), but through all of that, our obsessions remained, we just never had the time to share them. The intense attraction to our pop culture world where the “beautiful people” still make us dream, laugh and cry through the characters they create and the talent they possess.  Maybe now, more than ever, we need that distraction to forget the struggles we all face and it was time to bring the site back to life.  What we watch on TV and in the theaters and what we listen to is an escape and our likes and dislikes can reflect or deflect our current moods and life situations.

As I considered what to write in this week’s blog, I thought back to Comic-Con 2008. I remembered the reaction of fans to movies and television shows I knew nothing about and enjoyed the panels on those and the projects I actually had an interest in. I remembered the giddy excitement of a good friend as she met someone she had admired for a long time and her rush to tell her husband with the biggest of smiles on her face. I realized that we all have a little fan girl in us (even though I really, really wish there was another term we could use other than “fan”) and that’s OK.  It is fun and exciting to escape the mundane for even just a few days, along with the chance to down margaritas with some really great people.

So, as I grow older, I have come to realize these things:

1. That I will always be fascinated by the talent actors, writers, directors and others have in creating the films we get excited about and anticipate to see. That their experience in making the films, for the most part, is as personal as our experience in watching a story that touches us whether it is in sorrow, laughter, awe or reflection.
2. That every artist can get overwhelmed by fan enthusiasm and I am capable of seeing them as human beings and not just idols in the midst of the chaos.  That I will always  be interested in hearing what they have to say about their work  and can appreciate the impossible situations they sometimes face.
3. That Gerard Butler will continue to amaze me with his talent, tolerance and ability to rise to meet every challenge with determination and passion.  I will always be in his corner.
4. That, when I am channel surfing the 700 channels on television, I am incapable of surfing past Ocean’s 11, Ocean’s 13 (let’s just forget Ocean’s 12 was ever made shall we?), Transformers, Music & Lyrics, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Love Actually and a variety of other films I somehow can’t scroll through, no matter how mediocre they may be.
5. That my husband has major crushes on both Will Smith and Megan Fox and I am OK with that.  He also really liked Dracula 2000, for which I forgive him. 
6. That Hugh Jackman will always make me jump from my seat and momentarily “lose it” when I’m in his presence, much to my adult embarrassment.
7. That Luke Goss, despite having already endured one career with an unsettling fanatical following, can embrace another with the message in every note to his fans to “Be Kind” delivered with a smile and a gentle aura of genuine appreciation. I don’t think I have ever met a more gentle soul, apart from Gerry Butler.
8. That I will forever have a weakness for actor/musicians, no matter their age, probably because they possess twice the talent I wish I had.
9. That I am doomed to exposure to my teen daughter’s current obsessions, resulting in my actually LIKING some of them for vastly different reasons than she does much to her dismay.  Yet, that’s the joy of being a parent right?  Torturing those that torture you?
10. That my taste in music will forever be a reflection of my own personal soundtrack in my mind, depending on my mood, along with my constant desire to drive REALLY fast and the restraint required to not be that stupid.  It may not be hip or terribly exciting, but it’s all mine!

So, this site is for anyone who wants to gush, be giddy, get excited and share their current entertainment passions with the world without embarrassment.  Send us your recommendations.  If you are lucky to attend a premiere, awards shows or fan convention,  share your pictures.  Post your comments about the music, actors and films we profile. Vote in the polls.

We want everyone to enjoy this blog with just one thing in mind…be kind and have fun.