Taraji P. Henson
It's a homecoming of sorts for Academy Award—nominated actress Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Tonight at 9/8c, the actress returns to Lifetime, where she got her start as a police inspector on The Division, to star in Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story, a TV-movie based on the true story of a mother who sets out to rescue her 6-year-old son after he's abducted by his dad...
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Blu-ray)
While the multiple Oscar-nominated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button might have been overhyped during award season, it deserved every single technical accolade it received. It's those technical achievements — namely the amazing visuals that made Brad Pitt both an 80-year-old baby and a teenaged grandpa — that make this Blu-ray release really shine.
This wacky tale of a man who ages in reverse — based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story — doesn't seem all that wacky in the hands of accomplished director David Fincher. In fact, the bits about Benjamin Button's fantastical life are the movie's high points, thanks to stellar performances, particularly Taraji P. Henson as Ben's adopted mother. However, "real-life" drama of the impending landfall of Hurricane Katrina in the framing device is laughable. It's in those hospital deathbed sequences that the movie gets way off track and you start checking your watch. Plus, the real meat of the story is so interesting you don't need all that extra doom and gloom (especially since it really doesn't add much to the whole in the end.)
As is true with most of Fincher's releases, the bonus features are where it's at...
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Sean Penn, Frank Langella
Jason slashed his way to a box office record this weekend, but those cerebral and emotionally rich films vying for Oscars look as limp as one of his victims.
This year's best picture nominees have grossed $273.2 million at the domestic box office, down significantly from the $316.6 million raked in by last year's class, Variety reports.
What's worse, if you remove runaway hit Slumdog Millionaire's $88 million and the $122.5 million brought in by The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the remaining films are among the lowest-grossing nominees in years. So far...
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Danny Boyle
Notch another one for Slumdog Millionaire.
The runaway hit cemented its status as Oscar frontrunner with another key precursor win, this time for helmer Danny Boyle at the Directors Guild of America Awards. Boyle was singled out for outstanding directorial achievement in a feature film, besting David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon), Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) and Gus Van Sant (Milk).
He'll go toe-to-toe with all of them except for Nolan at the Academy Awards again (The Reader's Stephen Daldry is the other Oscar nominee). Boyle's win bodes well for Oscar glory as the DGAs have only mismatched with Oscar winners six times in 60 years. The last time was six years ago when The Pianist's Roman Polanski won the Oscar over the DGAs' choice of Rob Marshall (Chicago).
On the TV side ...
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Kevin James, Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Kevin James is not just the King of Queens, but the king of the box office as well.
For the second weekend in a row, James' Paul Blart: Mall Cop topped the list, this time earning $21.5 million to bring its cumulative gross to $64.8 million.
The comedy edged Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which debuted to ...
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Josh Brolin and Emile Hirsch
Actors from each of the five features up for outstanding cast at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards will present a clip package showcasing their work in their respective films.
Milk boys Josh Brolin, James Franco and Emile Hirsch will do the honors for ...
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Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
On the one-year anniversary of his death, Heath Ledger earned a supporting actor Academy Award nomination for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight.
Ledger's nod was among the most anticipated of Thursday's Oscar announcements. The best-picture nominees include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which led with 13 total nominations, Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Reader. (Check out the list of nominees here.)
Ledger, a previous lead-actor nominee for Brokeback Mountain, picked up the biggest nomination for The Dark Knight, which was shut out of the picture and director race despite momentum in recent weeks, including nominations from the three Guilds (Producers, Writers and Directors).
Competing against Ledger are
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The Dark Knight
Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards will be announced Thursday, which means time's ticking to finalize predictions. Here are some things you can keep a few things in mind for the big reveal.
For almost a year, we've heard talk about The Dark Knight being a factor in the Oscar race. Their safest bet, of course, is a supporting actor nod for Heath Ledger. (Thursday, by the way, is also the one-year anniversary of his death.) Beyond that for the film, nothing's as certain, but thanks to a hat trick of precursor nominations from the three of the Guilds (Producers, Writers and Directors), The Dark Knight is looking good to land on the best picture list.
Frontrunner Slumdog Millionaire, along with Milk, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and ...
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Kate Winslet
Four days after nabbing two Golden Globe awards, Kate Winslet picked up a pair of nominations from the British Academy Film Awards — except this time she's up against herself.
The BAFTAs — the British equivalent of the Oscars — nominated Winslet twice in lead actress for her work in Revolutionary Road and The Reader. At the Globes, she won in lead for Road and supporting for The Reader. Facing off against a double dose of Winslet are ...
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Tina Fey, 30 Rock; Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Who will emerge victorious at the Golden Globes? We don't know yet, but we can have fun predicting — and so can you. So sharpen your pencils, check out the nominees here, make your picks and compare them to ours below while we count down to Sunday's ceremony (NBC at 8 pm/ET).
Television
Drama Series
Will win: ...
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