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PopWireNews, Reviews and Commentary from the World of Popular Culture Tuesday, February 9 2010The once and future SimsOne hundred million copies sold, 36 magazine covers and 100 game critic awards: The Sims franchise continues to thrive 10 years after its launch, basking in the uncommon... Leno's prime-time send-off to be departure from traditionLOS ANGELES — The last time Jay Leno said good-bye to America, it was in gala fashion, marked by high emotion, a cheering studio audience and tears. In ending his... Larry Holmes and Joe Frazier recall when they were 'Facing Ali'PASADENA, Calif. — Though he was heavyweight champion of the world three times, Muhammad Ali's opponents were no wimps. At last 10 bruisers who fought Ali tell their...  'The Phantom,' 'A Serious Man' top list of latest Blu-ray releasesAn exciting adaptation of a classic comic strip, "The Phantom" (Lionsgate, 1996, $19.99), and a comedy-drama, "A Serious Man" (Universal, 2009, $36.98), lead this week's new... Saints' Super Bowl win nips 'MASH' finale for most-watched show everMove over Hawkeye Pierce, looks like Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints just took your ratings crown along with the Super Bowl title. A record 106.5 million people...  Sony's two-volume 'Bad Girls of Film Noir' sets bring them out of the shadowsWhen girls are good they are very good, but when they are bad they are even better. And during the height of the film noir genre in the 1940s and '50s, some of the juiciest... Monday, February 8 2010The ultimate 'Survivor' test: obscurityLOS ANGELES — A true "Survivor" party should be held in a barren, barricaded room, the heat cranked to 110 degrees, and buffet tables covered with nothing but brown grass and sand. But this is Hollywood, the land where self-congratulation is an art form, so last month's bash to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the venerable reality series featured champagne, roast beef and more than 200... 20 years of worst best-picture nomineesWerewolves are a hair different in 'The Wolfman'Blue whales singing in a lower key'Heart-stopping': Nik Wallenda walks the high wire'The View' gets political , and viewers love it (so does D.C.)Over 50 years, Walk of Fame turned Hollywood into destinationFranken criticizes planned Comcast-NBC Universal mergerSaturday, February 6 2010Claire Danes did homework to play autistic scientist in 'Temple Grandin'NEW YORK — To capture the unique inflections of Temple Grandin, an autistic pioneer whose life is the subject of a new HBO film, Claire Danes spent weeks listening to recordings of Grandin on her iPod, practicing her gruff abruptness. She became so immersed in "Temple-speak," as she put it, that when she saw Grandin recently in Los Angeles to promote the film, "I slipped immediately back in... Super Bowl weekend should be another win for 'Avatar'Diane Sawyer, gilt-edged newswomanNicholas Sparks is a master of romance, and Hollywood knows itStirring 'Robin Hood' series leads new DVD sets from BBCFriday, February 5 2010Rascal Flatts' hit singles, high-energy concerts keep fans coming backIt was one of the overlooked musical revolutions of the decade just passed: the migration of rock and pop fans into the world of country music. It wasn't a phenomenon Rascal Flatts necessarily set out to ignite — and indeed, the embers had already been well stoked by acts such as Garth Brooks and Shania Twain. But there's no denying the colorful country trio became one of the leading... 'Prom Night in Mississippi' crosses the racial lineMel Brooks on his work: 'Time always wins'With a little help from his friends, the Soloist cuts his first CD'Wolf Man' reflected writer's wartime Jewish experienceThursday, February 4 2010Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner won over his hometown a long time agoMODESTO, Calif. — Jeremy Renner has gone from a student on the small stage in the Modesto Junior College auditorium to a star on the movie industry's biggest stage — the Oscars. Tuesday, the 39-year-old actor became the first Modesto native to earn an Academy Award nomination for acting. Renner is among the five best-actor nominees for the 82nd annual Oscars for his starring role in... 'Soul Train' redefined cool in the '70s3-D is helping brighten the picture for once-troubled ImaxSo many questions raised in 'Lost' premiere'Dear John' might threaten 'Avatar's' perch at box officeStewart trades jabs, discusses policy with O'ReillyWednesday, February 3 2010Newbery winner 'When You Reach Me' is lovely homage to 'A Wrinkle in Time'SEATTLE — If you read a lot of books as a child, chances are good that "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle blew your mind. It did mine — a story of a girl who travels through time and space and who faces down absolute evil, it was unlike anything I had ever read. Rebecca Stead read L'Engle's book when she was 12 — "a wonderful book and a very brave book and a rich book,"... Garrison Keillor is bringing his radio show to movie theaters across the countryBarack Obama needs to be a president, not a TV starOne-man band scores one for jazz guitarist Pat MethenyFrenzy over 'Lost' is building to a finaleScarlett Johansson finds herself on a new stage , BroadwayAre the Grammys out of tune?Oscars can learn a few things from the GrammysTuesday, February 2 2010Frontmen of Son Volt, Death Cab for Cutie channel Jack Kerouac on fast album (and tour)MINNEAPOLIS — They met for the first time the night before the sessions began. Even after they started, Jay Farrar remembered, "We didn't really know what we'd wind up with." To top it off, the Son Volt frontman said, "Our working relationship was forged by the almost absurd circumstance of having cameras rolling on us by Day 2." It was against quite a few odds, then, that Farrar and... Jonathan Rhys Meyers met his iconic costar Travolta cold on the set of 'From Paris With Love'TV on DVD: Shout Factory exclusivesOscar nominations: Big morning for 'Avatar,' 'The Blind Side,' 'The Hurt Locker'New Star Trek Online game counting on iconic detailsMonday, February 1 2010'Darkness,' Gibson get off to lukewarm startLOS ANGELES — Mel Gibson still has his fans, but after a long and controversial absence from the big screen, his overall appeal seems to have faded. The thriller "Edge of Darkness," which marked Gibson's first lead role since 2002's "Signs," opened to a fine but not fantastic $17.1 million from Friday through Sunday in the U.S. and Canada, according to an estimate from distributor Warner... Dear Amanda: love letters from SeyfriedDocumentaries, always a festival strength, were better than ever and played off each otherGrown-ups are in the ascendancy on TV, in movies and in lifeJason Castro: From 'Idol' to lunchroom troubadourReaders attack Hollywood cliches'Lost' fans find home in HawaiiOscar predictions: Who will the nominees be?Grammys 2010: Dullest telecast in years?Friday, January 29 2010'When in Rome,' Kristen Bell tries her hand at romantic comedyLOS ANGELES — Directors of romantic comedies have to be part alchemist in order to find the right mix of actors to create film gold. Mark Steven Johnson used a pinch of Kristen Bell and a dash of Josh Duhamel to create the chemistry for his "When in Rome." Bell plays Beth, a workaholic who decides there's no such thing as true love. When she takes five coins from a magic fountain in Rome,... The origin of Darwin's inner strugglesThe ladies lead at this year's Grammy AwardsKristen Stewart is belle of the fest with two decidedly un-'Twilight' filmsConan 'destructive' to 'Tonight Show' and media 'unfair,' Leno tells OprahRuPaul gives drag queens the royal treatmentJ.D. Salinger: A gift of words and silenceThursday, January 28 2010It's hardly 'magical,' but iPad may change your lifeOnly Steve Jobs could make anticlimax seem so fascinating. After the Apple CEO unveiled his company's most fervently anticipated new product at an invitation-only media event Wednesday, most of the anticipation was left in the bottle. Despite months of hype heralding an entirely novel kind of electronic device, the reality was underwhelming. The iPad resembles a scaled-up iPhone — without... 'WWII in HD,' 'Michael Jackson: This Is It' tops Blu-ray releasesGaming: the fifth networkBob Dylan to play White HouseWednesday, January 27 2010It's a four-horse race in Oscars' 10-film fieldHere's the dirty little secret about the motion picture academy's controversial scheme to expand this year's best picture nominees from five to 10 movies. It isn't going to make the slightest bit of difference in the Oscar race. Coming on the heels of some surprise picks over the weekend — including a win for "The Hurt Locker" from the Producers Guild of America and a win for "Inglourious... Apple's tablet and the future of literatureUgly truth: TLC show is an abominationYoung directors Nicole Holofcener and David Michod have a bond down deepNeil Gaiman's year of trials and triumphs'Howl' is arty and difficult, and exactly right for the Sundance Film FestivalHere's how to get divorced by 30Ringo Starr relishes new challenges, but he's forever a BeatleTuesday, January 26 2010Rothbury festival called off this year; organizers hope it can return in '11DETROIT — Organizers have pulled the plug on this year's Rothbury festival, the much-touted rock and environmental fest that drew thousands of camping concertgoers to western Michigan the past two summers. But they say they are moving toward the event's return in 2011. Event producers Madison House Presents and AEG Live said a factor was difficulty in assembling an artist lineup. "We are... Merger moves forward, but music fans are left behindWith Grammy nomination, Silversun Pickups shift into overdriveDecades after his death, guitarist Django Reinhardt is a starUnderground artist's film is hot ticket at SundanceMonday, January 25 2010Writer turns story of his paralyzing accident into 'Sympathy for Delicious'HOLLYWOOD — There is faith, the showy display of religiosity that is the trick-of-the-trade of faith healers, and then there is faith, a kind of belief in a transcendent reality. In a plain Hollywood church, both were on display last February, as actor-turned-director Mark Ruffalo finished filming on his directorial debut "Sympathy for Delicious," an unusual story about a jaded, homeless,... Hollywood clichés that should be retired'12th and Delaware': At the crossroads of the abortion debatePaul Wesley of 'The Vampire Diaries' is a proud non-conformistYou probably won't find these at your local video storeOnce thought of as the future of music, the Birotron attempts to make a returnJackie Earle Haley says his return to the Hollywood scene is 'mind-boggling'After a long break, bruised but unbroken Mel Gibson tests himself and the publicThe young at art: Grammy nominations sidestep older performersFriday, January 22 2010'Spartacus: Blood and Sand'LOS ANGELES — In titling its new series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," the Starz Network cannot be accused of false advertising. There is blood, and lots of it — buckets of it, waves of it, seas of digitally enhanced candy-apple-red comic-book gore, spilling, spurting, hurtling across and toward the screen as bodies are stabbed, slashed, sledgehammered and variously dismembered. There... Director John Wells questions priorities in 'The Company Men'Stars to turn out for Haiti telethon FridayFord takes 'Extraordinary Measures' to move beyond Indiana JonesAlas, poor Conan, NBC didn't do right by you |
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