“Bullock will attend MTV Movie Awards - News-Leader.com” plus 3 more

Bullock will attend MTV Movie Awards - News-Leader.com
50 Cent Shed 54lbs For Movie 'Things Fall Apart' - Post Chronicle
Mariah Carey Pulls Out of New Movie Due to Doctor's Order - AceShowbiz
Movie Review: 'Letters to Juliet' - Examiner

Bullock will attend MTV Movie Awards - News-Leader.com

Posted: 29 May 2010 01:00 AM PDT

Sandra Bullock is coming to the MTV Movie Awards. The network says the 45-year-old actress will attend the June 6 ceremony to accept the MTV Generation Award, its highest honor.

The Oscar winner, who has kept a low profile since her public split from husband Jesse James, is the first woman to receive the award. Past recipients include Tom Cruise, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers and Jim Carrey.

MTV General Manager Stephen Friedman says Bullock is "adored by our audience as both an actress and a role model."

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50 Cent Shed 54lbs For Movie 'Things Fall Apart' - Post Chronicle

Posted: 28 May 2010 06:30 AM PDT

Gary Coleman Acting Career; Dies at 42 (Photo)

Garth Brooks Dragged Into Couple's Divorce Battle - Named As The 'Other Man'

Crystal Bowersox, Boyfriend Split (LISTEN)

(PHOTO) Woman Sues After She's Left Sleeping on Plane

Keanu Reeves & Charlize Theron Kiss (PHOTO, VIDEO)

(VIDEO, PHOTO) Smoking Toddler Addicted

(PHOTOS) Paris Hilton, USO and the Troops

(PHOTOS) Oldest Medal of Honor Recipient Dies

Census Takers Attacked: REPORT

The Amityville Horror House For Sale

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Mariah Carey Pulls Out of New Movie Due to Doctor's Order - AceShowbiz

Posted: 27 May 2010 09:55 PM PDT

The singer has sparked pregnancy rumor after mysteriously dropping out of Tyler Perry's next movie and her rep says, 'She is not doing the movie because her doctor advised her not to.'

Mariah Carey's spokesperson has sparked further speculation she's pregnant, after confirming the star pulled out of a new film on doctor's orders. The singer surprised fans after mysteriously dropping out of Tyler Perry's next movie, but now her rep reveals the decision was based on medical reasons.

"She is not doing the movie because her doctor advised her not to," her publicist tells UsMagazine. "More than that I cannot comment further."

Filming on Perry's "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf" was due to begin in June. Carey, 41, and her husband Nick Cannon have been repeatedly dogged by new baby rumors this year. A new round of reports began on May 11 after Carey was spotted leaving a fertility clinic in Los Angeles.

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Movie Review: 'Letters to Juliet' - Examiner

Posted: 29 May 2010 02:26 AM PDT

2 comments

"Letters to Juliet" is sappy. It's formulaic and predictable. It's unrealistic. It even stumbles badly in its last act! But for all its obvious flaws, this is a genuinely charming, romantic and entertaining film. With sumptuously shot vistas of the Tuscan countryside, wonderful performances by a multi-national cast and a cute premise, "Letters to Juliet" may not be a great film, but it's by far, the best wide-release romance released in 2010.

Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is a young writer who works as a fact-checker for the New Yorker. On a trip to Verona with her comic self-absorbed fiancé Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal), a budding restaurant owner, she comes across an interesting tourist attraction – the supposed house of Juliet – the heroine of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Below the house stands a wall where every day, hundreds of women, young and old, leave letters addressed to Juliet, seeking advice about love. Being the budding journalist, Sophie happens upon a group of women who are tasked with answering these hundreds of letters daily.

Being a writer and a romantic, Sophie decides to join in on the fun, considering Victor has more or less abandoned her in favor of wine auctions and secret recipes across the country. As her first assignment, she answers a 50-year-old letter written by a then 15-year-old named Claire who is confused between returning to London and professing her love for a local boy named Lorenzo. Inspired by Sophie's encouraging words, a 60-something Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) returns to Italy accompanied by her dashing, cynical grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan – a dead-ringer for Heath Ledger and Ryan Philippe) in search of her Lorenzo. On a whim, Sophie decides to join the duo on their trip across Tuscany hoping that a happy ending could inspire her to write a perfect story. What transpires is typical romantic comedy fluff and... well, you know the deal!

Barring horror, no other genre of film suffers from as much over-reliance on formula and clichés than the romantic comedy. "Letters to Juliet" certainly falls within that bracket. But what makes it work better than recent dreck like "The Bounty Hunter," "Leap Year," "The Last Song," "When in Rome" and "The Back-Up Plan" is that the performances and characters are fleshed out enough to make us care about them.

While Seyfried has seen better days as an actress, she's quite good as the lovely Sophie – exhibiting a wide range of emotions with her remarkably expressive eyes and being a much more believable protagonist than say, Jennifer Lopez or Jennifer Aniston. Redgrave is also very good as the elderly Claire, looking for her long lost love of her life Lorenzo (played by Redgrave's real life love Franco Nero). Even though Egan and Bernal are fine in their roles, neither is given the opportunity to do anything with them– even if both provide some of the film's best laughs. The star of the picture though, has to be the eye-catching scenery of Tuscany. It's typical to set romantic comedies in foreign locations but this film takes the cake. It's like a motion-postcard for Tuscany.

My problems with "Letters to Juliet" are the ones I touched upon earlier – the over-reliance on romance clichés. For the most part, the film is very predictable and by-the-numbers. We could see where it's going half-an-hour away. It doesn't help that the film's trailer ruins the entire film. Additionally, this definitely isn't a movie for the cynics – It's far too sappy and drenched with corny one-liners. Finally, this is a technical gripe but after all the gorgeous shots of Italy, couldn't cinematographer Marco Pontecorvo have found a better way to play out the finale instead of utilizing jarring Dutch angles?

BOTTOM LINE: "Letters to Juliet" is a charming dose of summer confection that'll undoubtedly please its target demographic of teens, young women and fans of sappy romances. It's got beautiful visuals, capable performances, and an appealing story. For the first time this year, it's a mainstream romance film that's actually romantic.

GRADE: B