MusicMonday: Free Downloads, More on that Emmys Song

Emmys In Memoriam Song

On last night's 62nd Annual Emmy Awards, Jewel performed "The Shape of You" -- a song she wrote for a friend who recently passed away from cancer -- as we remembered those in the television industry who died over the past year.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I like to pay respect to the lives and careers of entertainment figures. Not surprisingly then, of the dozens included in the memoriam, I only missed tweeting about one individual -- producer Joanne Dillon. RIP, all.

For only 99 cents, Jewel's song can be downloaded at Amazon.com here. And thanks to NBC, you can view last night's performance and tribute below.





Free Downloads

Here is this week's round-up of freebies:

• A compilation of 10 live Phish songs is available for free; "Live Bait Vol. 01" was compiled by Phish archivist Kevin Shapiro and can be downloaded here.
• Singer-songwriter Pete Yorn is about to release his third album in 14 months. The self-titled effort (out Sepember 28) is produced by Pixies frontman Frank Black. Compliments of SPIN magazine, download the track "Velcro Shoes" here.
• Compliments of VEVO and Shick is "Love Me Chase Me"by Carney; click here for the free download.

Want more free downloads? Well, don't forget to continually check the following sources -- new songs covering all genres are added frequently. Just click on the links below and enjoy some new tunes.

• AbsolutePunk
• Amazon singles
  
• Amazon albums
• The BoomBox
• eMusic
• Fuse.tv
• KickKickSnare
• MTV
  
• Spinner
• Stereogum
• VolumeVote
• YNot Radio
  
• Walmart

Top 10 at the Weekend Box Office

Notes:

• With only $300,000 separating them, the fright flick The Last Exorcism and the heist thriller Takers were in a photo finish for the top spot at the weekend box office -- with both ending the two-week reign of Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables.
• Lionsgate's The Last Exorcism had a thin lead with a $21.3 million debut, closely followed by Sony's Takers with a $21 million opening. The two new releases were close enough that rankings could change after final numbers are released Monday. August 30 update: The movies DID switch places once final weekend numbers were released on Monday. Takers debuted with $20.5 million to grab a narrow win over The Last Exorcism, which opened in second place with $20.4 million.
  
• The re-release of Avatar, the biggest movie in box office history, brought in $4 million from a limited run in 862 3D theaters -- good enough for 12th place. The total domestic box office for the 20th Century Fox sci-fi extravaganza, now boasting an additional 8 1/2 minutes minutes of footage, is $753.8 million.
  
• Meanwhile in worldwide box office, Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 3 crossed the $1 billion mark last Friday. Disney is now the first company to field two $1 billion blockbusters in the same year. Earlier this year, Disney's Alice in Wonderland, also crossed that line and currently stands in fifth place in the all-time worldwide rankings with $1.024 billion. Toy Story 3 ranks in seventh place.
  
• Overall box office revenues came in at $115 million, down 8 percent compared with the same weekend last year.
• Reviews of Eat Pray Love, The Other Guys, Inception, The Switch and other movies not in the top 10, can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures are released on Monday.
• Sources: Nielsen EDI, Hollywood.com, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
  

Top 10 at the Weekend Box Office

Notes:

• None of the week's five new films could topple Lionsgate's The Expendables, which retained the #1 spot for a second straight weekend -- earning $16.5 million.
• Vampires Suck took in $12.2 million, good enough for the #2 spot. The 20th Century Fox Twilight spoof now has an overall total of $18.6 million since opening Wednesday.
• Bringing up the rear among new wide releases at #8 was Jennifer Aniston's single-mom comedy The Switch, which debuted poorly with only $8.1 million.
• The overall box office was down only slightly -- 1.7% -- compared with the same weekend last year.
• Reviews of Eat Pray Love, The Other Guys, Inception, The Switch and other movies not in the top 10, can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures are released on Monday.
• Sources: Nielsen EDI, Hollywood.com, Hollywood Reporter, AP
  

Movie Review: Will Anyone Ever Make a GOOD Rom-Com?

The Switch

Jennifer Aniston, the recent queen of romantic comedies, is back in The Switch playing Kassie -- a successful, but single 40-ish New Yorker looking to have a baby. As with 99% of films in the genre, you know the final outcome here before the movie even starts. I'm not even sure how it's possible, but this movie even finds a way to remove any glimmer of suspense. If you've seen the trailers, you've already seen the movie.

Despite the objections of her neurotic buddy Wally (Jason Bateman), Kassie decides to go ahead with plans for a sperm donor once she finds the perfect candidate in Roland (Patrick Wilson). Wally has always had feelings for Kassie -- but they long-ago decided just to be friends. At Kassie's ridiculously absurd "insemination party," a depressed and drunken Wally accidentally spills Roland's sample and has to switch it with his. Once pregnant, Kassie leaves town for seven years only to return with a young son who is mini-me version of Wally. Now we just have to painfully sit through the film until Kassie finds out the truth.

The film's only redeeming quality is a strong performance by Jason Bateman -- who continues to build upon recent successes in Juno, Extract and Up in the Air. Sadly the same cannot be said of Aniston. Despite great turns in early film roles in Object of My Affection and The Good Girl, she is now stuck in a rut of bad roles, giving the same performance over and over again. Also wasted here are the talents of Juliette Lewis and Jeff Goldblum as the obligatory co-workers/wacky friends. Neither are able to rise above the weak material. Not even a cute performance by the kid -- Thomas Robinson in his film debut -- can save this mess.

Co-directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon (Blades of Glory), the film is written by Allan Loeb (Things We Lost in the Fire, 21) -- all of whom fail to inject life into the story. It's neither romantic nor funny -- I barely even chuckled. And you'll fail to convince me that it's really a dramedy -- because there is no drama here either. The geniuses behind the film even found a way to ignore the great setting. I cannot remember the last time a movie was set in New York City and didn't at least minimally capitalize on the wonderment of the city. It might as well been set in a small remote town. So save yourself the money on this one. If you're a fan of Bateman or Aniston, hold out and wait for the DVD release instead. [Rated PG-13; opens today]


Grade: C+


Note:

• Click on the Film Reviews icon at left to read other recent reviews -- including Eat Pray Love, The Other Guys, Dinner for Schmucks, Countdown to Zero, Inception, Despicable Me, Cyrus, Grown Ups and Toy Story 3.

MusicMonday: In Memoriam, Free Downloads

Remembering Elvis -- and Others

Today was a tough day for EntertainmentBlogger -- as he attended the funeral of a friend/former boss -- only to arrive home to news of the passing of another special person. At the funeral today, a singer performed an excellent rendition of "Amazing Grace"-- so I thought it fitting to include Elvis Presley's version here. Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the King's death. May they all rest in peace.





Free Downloads

Here is this week's round-up of freebies:

• eMusic has a daily free download; click here for today's offering -- Jukebox the Ghost's "Empire"
• Click here for three downloads from country star John Rich
• Compliments of People magazine and iTunes comes nine free country songs; click here for the download
  

Want more free downloads? Well, don't forget to continually check the following sources -- new songs covering all genres are added frequently. Just click on the links below and enjoy some new tunes.

• AbsolutePunk
• Amazon singles
  
• Amazon albums
• The BoomBox
  
• Fuse.tv
• KickKickSnare
• MTV
  
• Spinner
• Stereogum
• VolumeVote
• YNot Radio
  
• Walmart

Top 10 at the Weekend Box Office

Notes:

• Lionsgate's star-studded The Expendables easily topped the weekend box office with an estimated $35 million. The testosterone-spiked action flick co-stars Sylvester Stallone -- who also directed and co-wrote the screenplay. The film, featuring marquee tough guys Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren and Mickey Rourke, captured the mostly male and under 25 crowds.
  
• In second place is Sony's female-targeted Julia Roberts starrer Eat Pray Love -- which earned an impressive $23.7 million despite mostly mediocre reviews.
• Despite mostly favorable reviews, Universal's geek-seeking Scott Pilgrim vs. the World debuted with a dismal $10.5 million in fifth place. The Michael Cera-starrer finished behind holdovers The Other Guys and Inception.
  
• Collectively, the weekend's top 10 films rung up $119 million, or 8% more than top performers in the comparable frame last year.
• And although it has now fallen out of the top 10, Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3 passed the rare $400 million mark in domestic box office on Saturday. The film earned another $2,165,000 throughout this weekend -- and now the 3-D animated juggernaut has earned $400,767,000. This is Disney's second film in the elusive (11-film) $400 million club, as it joins the studio's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest with its $423.3 million gross.
• Toy Story 3 also became the highest-grossest animated film of all time by crossing the $920 million worldwide box office mark late last week -- thus moving ahead of Shrek 2 and its previous record $919.8 million global tally.
• Reviews of Eat Pray Love, The Other Guys, Inception, Dinner for Schmucks, Despicable Me, Toy Story 3 and other movies can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures are released on Monday.
• Sources: Nielsen EDI, Hollywood.com, Hollywood Reporter
  

Movie Review: Is Julia Roberts and Nice Scenery Enough?

Eat Pray Love

Based on the best-selling memoir of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love explores the life of a writer who leaves her unhappy marriage -- and temporarily her country -- to rediscover herself again while abroad. Julia Roberts is excellent in her first lead role since 2009's Duplicity. Too bad the story is not as riveting.

Starting on a wrong note, we never really learn why the writer's marriage was so terrible. So, it's a bit tough to cheer her on as she takes on her overseas personal journey. Her jaunt is split into three overly drawn-out stops in Rome (where she eats a lot), India (where she prays and meditates a lot) and Bali (where she unexpectedly finds love again). Along the way, she is inspired by the varied cultures and unique people she comes across. And I guess we're supposed to be equally inspired by her insights. But the main problem is -- how many of us can just drop everything after a life-changing moment and spend a year abroad? Consequently, it's hard to relate. Maybe the female viewers can at least relate to the introspection angle more than this guy blogger? I don't know.

There's a great supportive cast here that include Billy Crudup (Watchmen), James Franco (Milk), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) and the tragically-underused Viola Davis (Doubt). But their performances are not enough to overcome the "so what" feeling you're likely to be left with after sitting through this flat adaptation. I base my minimal recommendation on a winning performance by Roberts, some visually-stunning scenery and a strong soundtrack which includes Eddie Vedder's new song, "Better Days." Directed by Ryan Murphy (Running with Scissors), who also co-wrote the screenplay with Gilbert and Jennifer Salt. [Rated PG-13; opens today]


Grade: B-


Note:

• Click on the Film Reviews icon at left to read other recent reviews -- including The Other Guys, Dinner for Schmucks, Countdown to Zero, Inception, Despicable Me, Cyrus, Grown Ups and Toy Story 3.

Top 10 at the Weekend Box Office

Notes:

• With $35.6 million, Sony's Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg buddy-cop action comedy The Other Guys ended the 3-week reign of Warner Bros.' thriller Inception to capture the #1 spot.
• Inception fell to second place with its $18.6 million weekend pushing its cumulative take to $227.7 million.
• Disney's threequel dance musical Step Up 3D bowed below expectations with a disappointing $15.5 million in third place. Only 1,826 of a total 2,435 theaters playing the film offered the pic in 3D, due to an insufficient number of 3D screens in the marketplace. So the light 3D screen count would seem partly to blame for the movie's disappointing debut.
• Overall revenues fell for the first time in six weeks. Collectively, the weekend top 10 rung up $118 million, or 7% less than top performers in last year's comparable frame.
• Reviews of The Other Guys, Inception, Dinner for Schmucks, Despicable Me, Toy Story 3 and other movies not in the top ten can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures are released on Monday.
• Sources: Nielsen EDI, Hollywood.com, Hollywood Reporter
  

Movie Review: Another Silly Summer Comedy

The Other Guys

It's definitely a summer full of silly comedies. On the heels of the dumb Grown Ups and Dinner for Schmucks, comes the latest -- The Other Guys. The film marks the fourth collaboration between star Will Ferrell and director/co-writer Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Step Brothers). This time, Ferrell is teamed up with Mark Wahlberg (The Lovely Bones) as bumbling NYC detectives out to solve a financial crime -- and to prove to their precinct captain and fellow cops that they have what it takes to be heroes.

Full of cartoon-like violence and ridiculous lines, there are laughs here -- although the low-brow humor definitely wears thin after a while. Ferrell is at the top of his goofy game -- and Wahlberg, after dipping his feet in comic roles with Date Night, shows he has the range to garner laughs. Surprisingly, the two do have good chemistry. But a better script could have made this buddy cop film a huge adult comedy success. Instead, it's just a silly, simple movie that seems best targeted to teenage boys.

Ultimately, the film is funnier than the other summer comedies out there, but not by much. At least it doesn't try to be anything but silly -- unlike its predecessors that try to be serious, too. I say save your money now and wait for the DVD. Like most Will Ferrell comedies, it will make for a somewhat enjoyable rental. Also stars Micheal Keaton, Eva Mendes (The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans), Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson -- and in a funny cameo, Yankees captain Derek Jeter. [Rated PG-13; opens today]


Grade: B-


Notes:

• Continuing a trend of interesting closing credits, stick around for a litany of statistics and facts about the current state of our economy. Better suited for a financial documentary, they somehow find a home here. Most of my audience left unaware or uninterested -- which just helps to explain why things are the way they are!
  
• Click on the Film Reviews icon at left to read other recent reviews -- including Dinner for Schmucks, Countdown to Zero, Inception, Despicable Me, Cyrus, Grown Ups and Toy Story 3.

DVD Review: Roman Polanski's Latest

The Ghost Writer

Director Roman Polanski knows first-hand about getting away with a crime -- and he carries the theme over to his latest film, the political thriller The Ghost Writer. No matter what you feel about his personal life, Polanski is an excellent director who has created movie magic with such films as Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist.

In another strong achievement for Polanski, Pierce Brosnan plays fictional former British Prime Minister Adam Lang -- who is living on Martha's Vineyard while completing his memoirs (of course, production was actually completed in Germany due to Polanski's inability to step foot in the United States). Lang's long-term aide and ghost writer has died in an accident -- and a successor (Ewan McGregor) is hired to take over the project. Soon, the new ghost writer learns that his predecessor's death may not have been an accident -- and that his employer is mixed up in a world of mess that involves accusations of war crimes and CIA cover-ups.

McGregor (Angels & Demons) is terrific in the lead -- his impressive performance actually helps the film overcome the occasional absurd bump in script logic. Equally great is Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City fame) as Lang's assistant. I was amazed she pulled off the British accent so well -- until I learned that the actress is actually from the United Kingdom -- it was news to me! There are also very good turns by Brosnan (Oceans), Olivia Williams, Tom Wilkinson and veteran Eli Wallach.

The film is an adaptation of the Robert Harris novel, The Ghost. Harris and Polanski co-wrote the screenplay. If you cannot forgive Polanski for his person indiscretions, that's understandable. But you'll be missing one of the better thrillers to come along in a while. [Rated PG-13; released on DVD today]


Grade: B+


Note:

• An alphabetical archive of other film reviews -- for recent releases and those already on DVD -- can be found by clicking on the icon in the left menu.

MusicMonday: Early August Freebies

Happy new month! Here are this week's free downloads:

• The Newport Folk Festival -- which began in 1959 -- had its 2010 edition this past weekend. Click on the image at right for 13 downloads from participating artists -- compliments of Spinner.
• Thanks to Amazon, here is a 10-track NAT GEO sampler.
  
• Per an earlier MusicMonday post (here), ynotradio.net is a great spot to hear alternative music. And now they offer up free downloads. Click here for the latest freebies -- including "Precious Stone" from Pete Yorn.
  

Want more free downloads? Well, don't forget to continually check the following sources -- new songs covering all genres are added frequently. Just click on the links below and enjoy some new tunes.

• AbsolutePunk
• Amazon singles
  
• Amazon albums
• The BoomBox
  
• Fuse.tv
• KickKickSnare
• MTV
  
• Spinner
• Stereogum
• VolumeVote
  
• Walmart

Top 10 at the Weekend Box Office

Notes:

• Warner Bros.' Inception held on to the top spot for the third straight weekend, as the fantasy thriller took in an estimated $27.5 million, bringing its total to $193.3 million
• As for new releases, Dinner for Schmucks, the Paramount comedy starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, followed closely behind Inception with $23.3 million. The Warner Bros. 3-D sequel Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore fetched $12.5 million in the #5 spot. And Charlie St. Cloud, the Universal Pictures drama starring Zac Efron, debuted weakly at #6 with $12.1 million.
• Overall revenues rose for the fifth-straight weekend as Hollywood continued to recover from a lackluster box office earlier in the summer. Receipts totaled $145 million, up over 15 percent from the same weekend last year, when receipts totaled $125.7 million and the Judd Apatow film Funny People debuted in the #1 spot with $22.6 million.
• Reviews of Inception, Dinner for Schmucks, Despicable Me, Toy Story 3, Grown Ups and other movies not in the top ten can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures are released on Monday.
• Sources: Nielsen EDI, Hollywood.com, AP