News

Look! Up there on the stage! Is it a bird? Is it an aging Bichon Frise? Is it a soccer mom off her face on pesto? Sort of—it’s comedian Chris Fleming, the manic brain behind the hit YouTube series Gayle and Drew Carey of the millennial set.

Harnessing the manic energy of Robin Williams, chameleon-like power of Peter Sellers, rubber-limbed choreography of Dick Van Dyke and sex appeal of illustrated children’s lit character Strega Nona, Fleming is one of the most unique and creatively vibrant performers in comedy today. Best known for his portrayal of suburban alpha-mom Gayle Waters-Waters,...

MaryAnn’s quick take… One of the most beloved British films ever is now even more lush, more gorgeous, more humanist in a glorious new restored edition. I’m “biast” (pro): loved the movie before it was restored

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

A Matter of Life and Death, from the legendary writing and directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is one of the most beloved British films ever made. And it’s easy to see why: It’s a deliciously preposterous romance between two gorgeous people whom you cannot help but root for as their love is threatened. It’s a profoundly humanist fantasy about our place in the universe and the importance of living a full life. And it’s a dazzling visual spectacle that is deeply viscerally satisfying even as it deals with big ideas and big emotions.

The sinister cloud of the Great War hangs everywhere over See You Up There (Au revoir la-haut), a visually death-defying adaptation of Pierre Lemaitre's Goncourt-winning novel that follows three surviving soldiers who scheme their way to oblivion.

Written, directed by and co-starring Albert Dupontel in his most ambitious project yet, the film features a handful of jaw-dropping moments — such as an excruciating battle across no man's land — held together by a strong cast, including Bpm (Beats Per Minute) star Nahuel Perez Biscayart as a disfigured artist hidden behind an array of exquisitely ornamental masks. But condensing nearly 600...

Classical cinema makes a return to the big screen in the engrossing adventure-drama See You Up There, a period yarn based on the novel of the same name by ace mystery thriller writer Pierre Lemaitre. Combining imagination, humor and heart to intoxicating effect, director and star Albert Dupontel has crafted one of the fall festival circuit's most winning offerings. See You Up There begins in the trenches in World War I as French soldiers hunker down a dead man's land away from their German opponents. Though the armistice is declared a bloodthirsty sergeant tricks the Germans into a final conflict anyway, sending hundreds of men to their doom. Among them are Albert Maillard, a middle-aged accountant, and Edouard Péricourt, a young would-be painter. When the...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Festival adds three special screenings.

The San Sebastian Film Festival has added three special screenings, among them Arnold Schwarzenegger-narrated and produced nature documentary Wonders Of The Sea 3D, which is due to get its world premiere at the event.

The film, shot underwater over three years in locations from Fiji to the Bahamas, is directed by Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, together with Jean-Jacques Mantello.

Also added are Albert Dupontel’s See You Up There and Japanese animation Fireworks, Should We See It From The Side Or The Bottom?, both of which get their international premieres.

These three films make up the Official Selection special screenings section together with the already-announced Morir by Fernando Franco.

The festival has announced 18 of the Official Selection titles with more films still to be revealed.

Special screenings (synopses provided by San Sebastian):

Au Revoir LÀ-haut / See You Up Therealbert Dupontel (France)

November 1919. Two survivors of the trenches set up...

Festival adds three special screenings.

The San Sebastian Film Festival has added three special screenings, among them Arnold Schwarzenegger-narrated and produced nature documentary Wonders Of The Sea 3D.

The film, shot underwater over three years in locations from Fiji to the Bahamas, is directed by Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, together with Jean-Jacques Mantello.

Also added are Albert Dupontel’s See You Up There and Japanese animation Fireworks, Should We See It From The Side Or The Bottom?.

These three films make up the Official Selection special screenings section together with the already-announced Morir by Fernando Franco.

The festival has announced 18 of the Official Selection titles with more films still to be revealed.

Special screenings (synopses provided by San Sebastian):

Au Revoir LÀ-haut / See You Up Therealbert Dupontel (France)

November 1919. Two survivors of the trenches set up a scam based on war memorials. One is a brilliant illustrator, the other an...

In the wake of Erin Moran’s passing, Scott Baio took to social media on Sunday to pay tribute to his late Joanie Loves Chachi co-star, who died Saturday of cancer at the age of 56.

“May people remember Erin for her contagious smile, warm heart, and animal-loving soul,” he wrote on Twitter. “I always hoped she could find peace in her life. God has you know, Erin.”

My sincere condolences. #ErinMoran #HappyDaysFamily pic.twitter.com/5b0AbioZEc

— Scott Baio (@ScottBaio) April 23, 2017

Moran and Baio first worked together on Happy Days, where they originated the roles of Joanie Cunningham and Chachi...

Screen investigates which films from around the world could launch on the Croisette, including on opening night.

With just over a month to go before the line-up for this year’s Cannes Film Festival is unveiled in Paris, Croisette predictions and wish lists are hitting the web thick and fast.

Screen’s network of correspondents and contributors around the world have been putting out feelers to get a sense of what might or might not make it to the Palais du Cinéma or one of the parallel sections.

Just like the Oscars, this year’s festival is likely to unfold amid a politically-charged atmosphere. Beyond Trump and the rise of populism across the globe, France will be digesting the result of its own presidential election on May 7. Against this background, the festival will be feting its 70th edition.

Below, Screen reveals which titles might - and might not - be in the running for a place at the...

Up there, high, high in the lovely apartment in midtown Manhattan, lives the mysterious Paul Kandel. Who is this creature What is he How did he come to be there Hush Rob and Kevin will tell you as they sit down with the wonderful Mr. Kandel, best known for his role as Uncle Ernie inTHE Who's TOMMYand as the voice of Clopin in Disney'sTHE Hunchback Of Notre Dame.

Katy Perry has lots to say in her new music video for "Chained to the Rhythm."

The 32-year-old pop star debuted the music video for her catchy new single on Tuesday, which features a colorful, escapist -- and later, terrifying -- experience at a theme park. Set in a futuristic time, Perry critiques the crowd blindly going along with everything, though sinister elements lie underneath.

For example, Perry stops to smell the roses at one point, and in a not-so-subtle metaphor, pricks her finger on a thorn and draws blood. Later, she experiences a revelation amongst the robotic crowd, when Skip Marley pops out of the television screen as a '50s-style film plays about a "nuclear family."

Watch: Katy Perry Shades Britney Spears With a Head-Shaving Joke at GRAMMYs, Gets Slammed By Fans

"Welcome To Oblivia Where Everything Is Always Rosy," Perry tweeted about the video, which was shot at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia...

After hinting at it for several days, Katy Perry has given fans some new music, and a surreal lyric video to go along with it.

The catchy, sonically up-beat synth-pop single "Chained to the Rhythm," featuring Bob Marley's grandson, Skip Marley, was released late Thursday evening and came with a lyric video that plays off the viral trend of people cooking tiny meals in miniature homes.

And also, there’s a rodent.

Watch: Katy Perry Teases New Music With a Cryptic Instagram Video

A majority of the video shows a pair of hands preparing several tiny, tasty-looking dishes on a real, working miniature stove. From a gourmet hamburger to a classic spaghetti and meatballs dinner, the hands slave over these micro-meals in an immaculate doll-house kitchen.

Then, in an adjacent room, there's the rodent, sitting on a tiny arm chair watching a 1" TV. Eventually (spoilers), the tiny meals are fed to the animal, who sort of...

Exclusive: Binoche-starrer tops comedy driven slate.

Gaumont has taken on world sales of Noémie Saglio’s comedy Baby Bump(s) starring Juliette Binoche as a devil-may-care, forty-something mother who falls pregnant at the same time as her daughter.

Camille Cottin plays the long-suffering daughter who is horrified when she discovers her mother, who had a hang-up about being a grandmother, is also expecting.

It is the third feature of rising comedy director Saglio after Parisian Bitch and I Kissed A Girl.

The film — produced by Pan-Européene and Flamme Films — is currently in post-production for a March 2017 release by Gaumont in France.

Gaumont is putting the accent on comedy at this year’s Afm.

Other titles on its slate include box office hit Brice From Nice, starring Oscar-winning Jean Dujardin as the hapless Mediterranean surfer dude Brice, who swaps his native Nice for Hawaii in his latest adventure.

The picture drew more than one million spectators in its...

It looks like the whole solo thing is working out pretty well for Niall Horan. Just weeks after debuting his solo single, “This Town,” the ex-One Directioner is hitting radio stations hard to promote the new venture. The track is currently sitting at number 21 on the Mainstream Top 40 and doesn’t show signs of slowing down. And, with his recent performance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, there’s no reason why it should.

Horan performed “This Town” live on Ellen to make his U.S. television debut, and the pop crooner nailed it in every regard. Though the song in studio form lacked a bit of excitement and originality, his live performances of the track just seem to give it what it was originally missing. Up there by his lonesome, Horan proves that he doesn’t even need a backing band or the accompanying piano to make his voice heard.

Jimmy Fallon might not be the champion of the world, but he’s certainly the champion of late night.

VideoStephen Colbert Revives Colbert Report Persona With Help From Jon Stewart

The Tonight Show host came out as Donald Trump toward the top of Tuesday’s program, parodying the presidential nominee’s entrance to Queen’s “We Are the Champions” from Night 1 of the Republican National Convention, while airing allegedly unseen footage from Night 2.

Attempting to jazz things up, Fallon’s interpretation included a quick Michael Jackson-esque dance number and an old-fashioned top hat which he quickly discarded before taking to the podium.

There’s nothing “presumptive” about it anymore; Donald Trump on Tuesday officially became the Republican party’s nominee for President of the United States.

PhotosRepublican National Convention 2016: Melania Trump Offers Her First-Lady Vision, The Donald Co-Opts Queen

The announcement was made live by Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, who added that it was his “distinct honor and great pleasure” to nominate the former Celebrity Apprentice host.

“We have gotten off course, and the American people know it,” Sessions said. “Our political system is not working. … But this time, it’s different. One man, Donald Trump, was not intimidated. He would not be silenced.

“Are you cheering because we’re ugly?” laughed Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson, kicking off primetime coverage of the 2016 Republican National Convention.

RelatedAsk Ausiello: Spoilers on Bones, Homeland, The 100, Once, Tvd, Younger, The Mindy Project and More

The conservative reality staple was joking about his looks — and the face of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — in relation to their spouses, “intelligent wives who are much better looking than we are.” In addition to that parallel, Robertson noted he and Trump are both successful businessmen who’ve toplined hit reality programs, “though I flew commercial here,” he added.

Robertson also zinged...

I’m done.

I’m So done trying to help anyone do anything.

I’m done with the Black Panel, the Bad Boy Studio mentor program, and Dream City my free management company.

Don’t know any of my work? Here.

My disdain started when a rumor damn near became fact. The rumor spreading like a Donald Trump lie was that Milestone stole their business plan from Brotherman. It damn near broke my heart.

But then, the show of support for Milestone was overwhelming!

I could hardly contain my tears of joy so much was the love I felt from the thousands of fans who stood by us. So with all the love shown us why was this the beginning of the end for me?

Because there was no love, the above paragraph was an invention just like the rumor.

Instead of love many, some thought to be friends, jumped...

facebook

twitter

google+

Treat yourself to some science fiction reading, with a bunch of recommend reads from the 1970s...

So many types of science fiction exist, and British Sf writing in the 1970s was often in the business of inventing new types or manipulating the old ones into interesting directions. Astonishing visions were created that reflected back on a changing world where the growth of superpowers jostled with the economic hardships at home. Were we heading in the right direction, as a species? What did it mean to be human, anyway, caught in an explosion of scientific and technological advances?

Some writers gave us space-travelling escapism, and some gave us nightmare thrillers at home. Some gave us alien intelligences and some gave us human stupidities. From the foreseeable future to the end of the universe, here’s a look at eleven incredible British science fiction novels of the 1970s:

Dg...

★★★★★ Up there with It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Frank Capra's It Happened One Night is one of the preeminent director's most beloved and finest works. It's also anomalous - the film is romantic of course, but there's little of the director's famous sentimentality and certainly none of the soapbox speechifying that typifies so many of his other films. Instead, It Happened One Night is a snappy, warm and consistently funny romantic screwball comedy that still feels as fresh as it did in 1934.

Exclusive: Soldiers-turned-swindlers drama with $22.5m budget to shoot in March.

Gaumont has boarded Albert Dupontel’s ambitious $22.5m (€20m) post-First World War drama See You Up There, about two soldiers-turned-con artists who devise a scheme to swindle the whole of France.

The feature is an adaptation of French crime writer Pierre Lemaitre Goncourt Prize-winning novel The Great Swindle (Au Revoir La-Haut).

Dupontel has been developing the screenplay in collaboration with Lemaitre since 2013.

Opening in November 1918, a few days before the armistice, the story revolves around wealthy, artistic Edouard Péricourt and Albert Maillard, an unprepossessing bank clerk, who are united in their hatred of their former commanding lieutenant Henri Pradelle.

The latter needlessly sent Edouard, Albert and their comrades on a futile and deadly final assault just as peace was breaking out. The experience left both scarred physically and psychologically in the aftermath of the war.

Laurent Lafitte is set to play the malevolent Henri Pradelle opposite...

Tonight's episode of The Apprentice might have seen Lord Sugar congratulating the boys on the best advertising campaign ever on the show, but that didn't mean it was all plain sailing. In fact, in true Apprentice style, there were 16 moments so cringeworthy that we think we might have pulled a muscle:

1. Lord Sugar making a cactus pun.

"It's fair to say I'm the prickly customer." Oh dear.

2. Mergim's contribution during the boys' brainstorm.

"My idea is sexiness."

3. And also Joseph's contribution during the boys' brainstorm.

"Quite deserty... something dry. Something wet." Thanks for that, Joseph.

4. "What about Manly Moist?"

We're with Sam: "Ugh."

5. The boys getting their digital billboard model wet.

Where to start? "He's going to wet his trousers, isn't he?" "Do you mind being in your pants?" "Get him dry, it's baltic!" "Stay away from the package."

6. David giving his models direction.

"The sun is shining - take me to heaven!

Donna Hosie's The Devil's Intern builds a world that Kaci wants to return to, in this month's fiction book club choice...

I'm of two minds when it comes to this book. On the one hand, it has some captivating world building and most of the characters are interesting and likeable. On the other, I feel like it focuses on the wrong plot, if that makes sense. By that I mean that stories about not changing the past have been told over and over again, so the idea of not changing their deaths, however unfair, isn't exactly new ground. The plot to deal with Hell's overcrowding and get back at Up There, on the other hand...now that is something I am interested in reading about.

As far as the rest of it, I feel like there are too many plot holes for me to really get on board with the story.

SAG Foundation has released a public service announcement highlighting its many (free) benefits for SAG-aftra actors and their families, including access to recording studios, panels, and discussions, their children’s literacy program BookPALS, which brings actors into public school classrooms to read to the students, and more. “Up there on the screen, we can all fly, but down here on earth we need to be each other’s wings,” says Oscar winner and Backstage cover star Eddie Redmayne. The video stars Redmayne and his “The Theory of Everything” co-star Felicity Jones; “Orange Is the New Black” ladies Taylor Schilling, Backstage cover stars Uzo Aduba and Danielle Brooks, and Laverne Cox; Andy Serkis (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “Lord of the Rings”) doing his famous Gollum voice; Zach Braff (“Wish I Was Here”); the cast of “Black-ish”; Jenny Slate (“Obvious Child”); and others. “This year, the SAG Foundation celebrates...

Film scores are pretty ephemeral to a large chunk of the movie-going populace, where music isn’t noticeable unless a triumphant fanfare or sweeping ballad draws enough attention to itself. So if scoring is already the film industry’s unappreciated middle child, how silly is a list about ones that haven’t been released yet? Very silly. Oftentimes, composers don’t even sign with a project until well into production, so speculating on the best film music of 2015, like any year, forces one to work with what’s known. Sound on Sight will offer more in-depth analysis on the most buzzed about music as the year rolls on but for now, here are the ten movie scores I’m most excited to hear in 2015.

10. The Walk — Alan Silvestri

Alan Silvestri’s last great score was for a TV show, and his last great film score was for one of the more forgettable Marvel entries.

TheWrap exclusively interviews the long running CBS competition’s new crew and weighs in on their chances

Five couples on a blind date, one New Kid, and two Olympians are among the newest crop of teams racing around the world for a $1 million dollar prize.

There are no parent-child teams, no siblings, no friends, and not even any married couples. The new “The Amazing Race” is all dating couples.

For the blind daters, if they get along well, they will go from strangers to co-habitating, globe-trotting couples in a matter of hours. These five will have to figure out their ultimate goal: romance,...

Various Star Wars movies, games and TV shows have been canned over the years. The Force was not strong with these...

The Star Wars universe is a dangerous place. For example, ‘man walks into a bar’ gags in Mos Eisley tend to end with unwarranted threats, droid racism, limbs being chopped off, impromptu deaths or – worst of all – rigorous re-editing.

Until the recent Disney buy-out, the world created by George Lucas was just as treacherous for seemingly-exciting projects. Lucasfilm/LucasArts, for a time, became notorious for the number of cancellations under its belt, with films, TV shows and game ideas constantly being chucked out at various stages of their development.

But when did the term ‘countless’ ever stop us trying to count things? Never, that’s when. So we donned a pointy-hooded robe and scoured the desert wilderness of the internet to bring you what we hope is a complete...

Owen Humphreys/Pa Wire

Remember when the North East was a football hotbed? Remember when all you had to do to summon potential first team players was to go to the alleyways and playing fields of Walker and Byker and watch ten minutes of football? Okay, so it was never that romanticised, but that was the stereotype of the region that once produced talents as impressive as Beardsley, Gascoigne, Shearer and Waddle (yes, Wearside had its moments too) and it is massively removed from the perception of the region now.

Youth players from the North East tend to be the most roundly cheered – they are seen as a point of pride more than anyone signed from other clubs or who was born abroad, simply because their development says something about us as a region. We want Geordies to play and to succeed because of that forgotten dream in every Newcastle...

Welcome to show business. Well…the very first stages of it. Your first lesson was playing a tree, which you had nailed and even your performance tutor said it was the very best tree impression he had ever seen. You’ve had your training in vocals, choreography and every acting technique you can think of. You have been accumulating stage time since you were a kid and they might as well start shining you a star on Hollywood Boulevard now because you just know that you were always destined to be a big star.

On your journey to fame, life will not always be easy. You have to watch your image, pick only the best parts to play (or whatever is offered to you to be honest), travelling long distances to auditions and keeping up-to-date with who’s on the one’s-to-watch list because you should always be aware of who the current competition is.

We've been celebrating 100 years of director Robert Wise all week by looking at some of his lesser known efforts. Previously: Tim on "Curse of the Cat People", Nathaniel on "Somebody Up There...", David on "I Want To Live!", and Manuel on "Star!" -- now here's Jason wrapping it up with "Audrey Rose"

It says a lot about the breadth of Robert Wise's filmography that the team of writers that tackled his Centennial this week here at The Film Experience have had such a gigantic stage to play upon. I mean here I am an avowed musical-agnostic taking on the director of two of the biggest movie musicals of all time, and even with the tossing aside The Sound of Music and West Side Story (although strangely I did write that movie up at Tfe back in the day) I had multiple films which I could've tackled with glee. His...

We're celebrating the centennial of director Robert Wise this week. Previously: Tim on "Curse of the Cat People" (1944) and Nathaniel on "Somebody Up There...". Now, David on Susan Hayward's Oscar vehicle, with an exclamation point!

 

Though the internet seems to increasingly denigrate the importance of punctuation, once upon a time it was vital to our sense of understanding language. Would I Want To Live! have any of the same feverish impact without that exclamation mark at the end of its title? Perhaps. But it signifies the bold stance of this cry for social justice in a millisecond. I mean, just look at this poster! Only Britain's notorious newspaper The Daily Mail has taglines that long these days.

That boldness is a quality more of the film's frenzied marketing than of the film itself; director Robert Wise, whose centennial we're marking this week, excised the closing rhetoric that producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz was insisting upon,...

Listen! Up there in the airwaves! Director Zack Snyder called into Detroit sports talk radio station this morning to defend DC superhero Aquaman. His rep confirms that the filmmaker called after hearing on-air chatter on 97.1 The Ticket badmouthing the character while en route to the Detroit set of Batman V. Superman. “I don’t want to give anything away about the movie, but Aquaman has some cool abilities,” he said. “People are like: ‘Oh, what? Does he talk to animals? Cause that seems like what he does. Or fish?’ The cool thing with Aquaman is he’s Triton, so you have to realize that could cut the flesh of Superman if they came in contact.”

Snyder is still playing coy about Aquaman appearing in his 2016 WB superhero faceoff. Jason Momoa is on the docket to play the watery character, but between Entourage‘s running Aquaman joke and the character’s fishy origins,...

Listen! Up there in the airwaves! Director Zack Snyder called into Detroit sports talk radio station this morning to defend DC superhero Aquaman. His rep confirms that the filmmaker called after hearing on-air chatter on 97.1 The Ticket badmouthing the character while en route to the Detroit set of Batman V. Superman. “I don’t want to give anything away about the movie, but Aquaman has some cool abilities,” he said. “People are like: ‘Oh, what? Does he talk to animals? Cause that seems like what he does. Or fish?’ The cool thing with Aquaman is he’s Triton, so you have […]...

Twitter

Niall Quinn has sensationally revealed that he tried to appoint new Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal when he was Chairman at Sunderland Afc, as well as revealing in a new book called Up There by North East reporter Michael Walker, that he tried to secure Roberto Mancini after discussions with the owner Ellis Short.

Quinn said: “We’d always had Steve Bruce on the list. Maybe some would say we’d delusions of grandeur but we had good feedback from Louis van Gaal.

The former striking legend and well-liked chairman also confirmed that he had an unlikely ally in his pursuit of Van Gaal – who would have been the kind of manager to turn Sunderland back into a major power in England if he had been snared:

“I spoke to him personally a couple of times on the phone at home. One time his wife answered and told me: ‘Keep working on him,...

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Hitting newspapers tomorrow will be snaps of the Cybermen marching through London in the St Paul’s area, in scenes evoking 1968′s Unit spectacular The Invasion – and we’ve been sent a few photos to share with you, dear readers! Up there, we’ve opted for the Cyberman image publicised by the BBC’s own Twitter account, just

The post Cybermen In Doctor Who Series 8 Invasion Redux [Possible Spoilers] appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Kids say the darnedest things! Isn't that what Bill Cosby taught us back in the 1990s? Well, the legendary comedian was right, obviously, especially when it comes to memorable movie quotes. We wanted to take a look back through the decades at some of the most hilarious, touching, unforgettable lines said by kid characters (most are live-action, but there are a few animated characters too). We even asked some of our friends and readers what their favorites were and came up with this list of 25, but it just as easily could have been 50.

And if you notice we paid extra attention to the '80s and '90s, let's just say that's when many of us were growing up; we're sure younger (and older) readers could come up with an entirely different lineup of quotes. Feel free to share them in the comments!

"So never kick a dog / Because he's...

June 30 marks the 15th anniversary of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut—the movie adaptation of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s iconic irreverent TV series—and co-songwriter Marc Shaiman is quick to award quite the superlative to his work on the now beloved animated film.

“It’s just about the most important movie or creative experience that I’ve ever had,” said Shaiman, a respected voice in the theater and film worlds for his musical/lyrical contributions to Broadway hits like Hairspray, TV shows like Smash, and movie scores ranging the scope from Sister Act to Sleepless in Seattle.

The trailers for "Edge of Tomorrow" look cool as heck, but let's just admit it: We're all a little bit skeptical about a new Tom Cruise action movie, especially one that's been bouncing around since 2010 or so.

But not so fast! The embargo has been lifted on "Edge of Tomorrow," and so far the reviews have been really positive. It was a smart move on the studio's part to let journalists start sharing their opinions with readers well in advance of the movie's June 6th premiere. That's the same weekend that "22 Jump Street" comes out, and it looks like "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and "Godzilla" will still be strong competitors at the box office. If the Internet could have damaged Cruise's career, maybe it can bring him back, right?

Here are just a few tidbits from tried and true sources.

Meredith Woerner at io9 enthused, "See This Movie. Go And See This Movie Immediately.

We really have so much in common with Emma Stone. Up there with her love for The Spice Girls, The Amazing Spider-Man actress admires fellow thesp and funnygal Jennifer Lawrence (and it goes without saying that we're obsessed with J.Law. It's almost unhealthy). "I just think she's so great isn't she? She is so inspiring to me and I am so grateful that she exists in the world, as someone who is authentic and who has not bent to fit any idea of what a woman should be in that kind of position. And she is so talented," the 25-year-old said of The Hunger Games star during an interview with The Stylist. "I am just so happy she is around for women everywhere. It's just...

Up there in the pantheon of Movies Terry Gilliam Almost Made, riding right near the top (beneath "Harry Potter") is an adaptation of Alan Moore's "Watchmen." In case you weren't aware, before Zack Snyder got his slow-motion, "Hallejuah"-scored-sex-scene hands on the comic, the project was set up over at 20th Century Fox where Joel Silver and Gilliam were working on it. Obviously, it never came to pass, with Gilliam saying the material was "unfilmable," but today Silver sheds a light on just how different their version would have been. The producer recently stopped by ComicSoon to talk this weekend's "Non-Stop," and the conversation turned to many other topics, but it's "Watchmen" where Silver doesn't hold back stating plainly that Gilliam's version would've been, "a Much much better movie." So what was the problem with Snyder's take? Read on: I mean, Zack came at it the right way but...

Downton Abbey is back, and the premiere episode should have been called "Downton in the Dumps."

The show returned Sunday with a two-hour premiere that picked up six months after the events of the Downton Abbey Christmas Special (spoiler alert!) that left Lady Mary a widow with a young son to raise. (For the full Downton primer, read our precap here.) Come Season 4, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) is still a shadow of her former self.

Plus, it turns out that Matthew Crawley died without a will, leaving the bulk of his substantial estate to his infant son George. This kicks...

From new voices like NoViolet Bulawayo to rediscovered old voices like James Salter, from Dave Eggers's satire to David Thomson's history of film, writers, Observer critics and others pick their favourite reads of 2013. And they tell us what they hope to find under the tree …

Curtis Sittenfeld

Novelist

My favourite books of 2013 are Drama High (Riverhead) by Michael Sokolove, Sea Creatures (Turnaround) by Susanna Daniel, and & Sons (Harper Collins) by David Gilbert. Drama High is incredibly smart, moving non-fiction about an American drama teacher who for four decades coaxed sophisticated and nuanced theatrical performances out of teenage students who weren't privileged or otherwise remarkable and in so doing, changed their conceptions of what they could do with their lives. Sea Creatures is a gripping, beautifully written novel about the mother of a selectively mute three-year-old boy; when she takes a job ferrying supplies to a hermit off the coast of Florida,...

Previously on Teen Wolf, Stiles and Lydia (see our paper dolls!) stood in the sunlight with their perfect faces and were perfect. Also, they discovered that a quote “Dark Druid” is doing some triplicate murders around town for some kind of cultish Ocd reason. The Alpha Twins got into a prank-off with Allison and Scott and Isaac — just LOLs and GTFOs and OMGs — that would have ended in a hallway bloodbath if Duke (“The Demon Wooolllf!”) hadn’t shown up and slashed the twins on the cheeks with the tiny knife he keeps hidden in the tip of his blind stick. Derek kicked Isaac out of their lair to keep him safe because he spent the afternoon impaled on a metal pipe (not a euphemism) and had an epiphany about how when he loves someone, it is the kiss of death for them forever. So Isaac, soaked to the bone...

She is officially capitalism's most polarising figure

Congratulations/death to Gwyneth Paltrow, who is now officially late-stage capitalism's most polarising figure. Last week she was named the world's Most Hated Celebrity; this week she was crowned that same world's Most Beautiful Woman. Gwyneth's journey from actor to towering cultural idea is officially complete, and I hope you will join Lost in Showbiz in literally worshipping her/threatening casual violence against her in internet comments that end "Her Kids Look Miserable Just Sayin".

What her dual triumph means, of course, is that Gwyneth has made it out of the little leagues. She is going all the way to state! In fact, she is going international. Thanks to a couple of cookbooks, an exercise regime and a biennial supporting role in a superhero franchise, she is now eligible to compete against other loved/loathed list champs such as Aung San Suu Kyi and Joseph Kony.

Pucker up: it's Valentine's Day on Thursday and we'd like your nominations for the best onscreen smooches

This week's Clip joint is by Guardian reader Hannah Farr, who you can follow on Twitter here. If you've got an idea for a future Clip joint, drop an email to adam.boult@guardian.co.uk

The kiss; it's captivated cinemagoers since 1896 when Edison captured the first kiss on film. While you might divert your eyes from such a clinch in public, watching an onscreen kiss remains a shameless voyeuristic pleasure. So for Valentine's Day, here's five of the best onscreen kisses.

It's a Wonderful Life

I could have filled my entire top five with Jimmy Stewart's various lip-locks (The Philadelphia Story, Vertigo, Come Live with Me, Rear Window.) He was said to be nervous about filming this particular kiss, his first since returning to Hollywood after the war. The resulting embrace...

Up there with why people actually like the Transformers movies is something that really confuses me: Why people keep speculating that Benedict Cumberbatch's villain in Star Trek Into Darkness is actually Kahn. Cumberbatch's character neither looks nor sounds anything like Kahn.  It would be like seeing Liam Neeson in the Batman Begins trailer and saying "Hey, that Might be the Joker"!  Even after the character was given an official name (John Harrison), the rumors wouldn't die down.  Well, now we even more confirmation of who the villain isn't.

Of all the scenes you'd never expect to see, having Gibbs play the part of a street person would be near the top of the list.

The opening of Canary" was well played, with Gibbs scavenging through trash and Ziva doing a valley girl routine on her phone while walking down the alley in stilettos, all in an effort to nab Ajay Khan, the second most sought-after cyber-terrorist in the world. (The mysterious "Mc" - who we've yet to meet - was number one).

Khan was identified as a key player in Mc's organization who, as it turns out, was charged with getting an Ebola infestation in place. 

After grabbing him - and more importantly, his laptop - Abby and McGee were able to get an address to a warehouse off of the hard drive prior to it going up in smoke.  The warehouse contained another employee of Mc who...

Several photos from The Place Beyond the Pines, a photo of Rebecca Hall in Iron Man 3, another shot from The World's End, and a shot from the set of Thor: The Dark World.

Posters for Leviathan, Somebody Up There, Beyond the Hills, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Side Effects, Olympus Has Fallen, Drift, Jack the Giant Slayer, and The Lords of Salem.

"Paul W.S. Anderson is set to film the big-budget 3D German-Canadian co-production 'Pompeii' at Toronto's Cinespace Film Studios…" (full details)

"Relativity Media is set to finance and distribute the Jared Hess-directed and Jim Carrey-led true story action-comedy 'Loomis Fargo' which begins shooting in April in North Carolina. The story follows four dim-witted Southerners who stole $17 million from an armored truck…" (full details)

"James Horner is set to do the film score for the Gavin Hood-directed adaptation of Orson Scott Card's 'Ender's Game'…...

Matt Bellamy has to 'wear a mask' in everyday life. The Muse frontman believes he can truly be himself when he's performing on stage, and it is only when he is doing ordinary, everyday, things he has to keep himself restrained. He said: 'If anything, you're more honest on stage. Up there, the true self comes out. The socialisation levels we use to modify our behaviour for everyday life can peel away. 'Onstage you get to see someone's craziness a little. 'I like to think that when I go to see other artists I'm seeing what's going on deep down inside of them. You get a sense of freedom to express yourself any way you want...

Matt Bellamy has to ''wear a mask'' in everyday life. The Muse frontman believes he can truly be himself when he's performing on stage, and it is only when he is doing ordinary, everyday, things he has to keep himself restrained. He said: ''If anything, you're more honest on stage. Up there, the true self comes out. The socialisation levels we use to modify our behaviour for everyday life can peel away. ''Onstage you get to see someone's craziness a little. ''I like to think that when I go to see other artists I'm seeing what's going on deep down...

The final Twilight movie debuted with a whopping £15.85m, but the latest James Bond is still on course for a UK record

The winner #1

It was always going to take a big movie to knock Skyfall off the UK box-office summit, and they don't come much bigger than The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. The series finale debuted with a whopping £15.85m from three days, the biggest of the franchise. Breaking Dawn – Part 1 previously held the franchise record, with £13.91m. Each successive Twilight film has improved on the opening of the previous instalment. The original movie debuted in December 2008 with £2.51m; New Moon followed 11 months later with an £11.68m opening; and Eclipse in July 2010 with £13.76m, although this figure included significant previews.

Twilight movies do traditionally experience rapid burnout, such is the enthusiasm of the franchise's fans to see the film on opening weekend. Assuming a rate of decline similar...