Let’s Cut Debra Messing Some Slack

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Working for some of the biggest companies in the entertainment industry has taught me a few, key things. First, celebrities cannot be trusted with their own PR. They’ve lived far too long in the crazy house to have any real-world perspective, and without a strict system of checks and balances, blunders are bound to happen. Ironically, that’s ever-the-more an issue with the rise of social media, because when someone messes up, the world is watching. So when Debra Messing was asked to post a “selfie” to promote Katie Couric’s controversial new documentary, ‘Under The Gun,’ she naturally assumed the horrific UCLA shootings provided the perfect opportunity to shine a light on the disaster. I need not explain that it’s inappropriate to use the word “selfie” while discussing a murder-suicide, and I also need not explain that any personal picture posted of oneself “watching news coverage” reeks of ridiculous narcissism. So why should we go easy on Debra? Because she simply got it wrong, and that’s okay.

Tamar Braxton Cries Over ‘The Real’ Firing

The_Real_Promo_posterAfter watching the clip below, a few things have come to mind. First, many people all over America have been fired from jobs without making a scene and bad-mouthing their co-workers. It’s unprofessional and childish, and perhaps no one told Tamar Braxton that it’s bad to burn a bridge. Second, this looks canned. I highly doubt this was the first moment her sister heard the news, so that might explain her less-than-stunned reaction. Third, people don’t just get fired out of nowhere. More often than not, there’s a reason. If your co-hosts don’t like you and production felt you were difficult, then where there’s smoke . . . She would have been far better off letting ‘The Real’ release their political statement and keeping her mouth shut for her next job. She could chalk it up to a learning experience and behave better the next time around.

Did Michael Bay Insult Kate Beckinsale’s Looks?

pearl harbor“I don’t think I fit the type of actress Michael Bay had met before. When we were promoting [Pearl Harbor], Michael was asked why he had chosen Ben [Affleck] and Josh [Hartnett], and he said, ‘I have worked with Ben before and I love him, and Josh is so manly and a wonderful actor. Then when he was asked about me, he’d say, ‘Kate wasn’t so attractive that she would alienate the female audience.’”

–The astoundingly beautiful Kate Beckinsale proving that Michael Bay has bad taste in movies AND women.

Tabloid Gossip: Your Week of Links

Mark Salling was indicted for child porn. Hollywood Reporter

Amber Heard alleged domestic violence against Johnny Depp. TMZ

Nick Jonas is proud of his ex-girlfriend, Miley Cyrus. EW

Khloe Kardashian is divorcing Lamar Odom again. Hollywood Life

Chris Brown and his baby mamma are brawling on Instagram. E! Online

Does Josh Wahler blame ‘The Hills‘ for his addiction? RTW

Donald Trump won’t debate Bernie Sanders. The Week

Jennifer Aniston’s mother passed away. Us Weekly

Bristol Palin is peacefully co-parenting. Daily Mail

Lindsay Lohan and her fiance are going strong. Just Jared

Kylie Jenner has a new boo. Jezebel

X-Men: Apocalypse — A Full Review

 

Written by Guest Contributor: C. Dillon

The latest X-Men film, “X-Men: Apocalypse,” isn’t the best X-men movie, but neither is it the worst. It does many things right, but somehow the whole seems less than the sum of its parts, and leaves the viewer feeling as though they’ve been entertained, but not fully satisfied.

X-Men_Apocalypse_International_PosterDirector Bryan Singer introduced the world to the cinematic versions of Marvel’s mutant heroes back in 2000, with the critically and financially successful “X-Men.” He returned to direct the sequel “X2” in 2003, and again for “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” As these films are widely regarded as the best in the franchise, it was with great anticipation that fans awaited the appearance of the titular villain in Singer’s directorial hands. Unfortunately, the film – while visually striking and immense in scope – doesn’t fully deliver.

It doesn’t help that this is the third comic based movie this year to feature “good guys” fighting against one another – we’ve seen it in “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Captain America: Civil War” (will we ever see a comic movie without a colon in it again?), and we see it again here. In this case, characters who have been X-men in the comics (and even in earlier movies) fight against characters who are or will be X-men, in an “all X-men X-travaganza.” While this isn’t necessarily bad, it is become a tired trope already.

Which leads us to another problem – the film spends a great deal of time showing us how En Sabah Nur recruits his Horsemen (Storm, Angel, Psylocke, and Magneto), but then gives them all (save Magneto) very little to do. Aside from bit parts in the final fight, the three non-Magneto Horsemen do nothing besides stand behind Apocalypse and try to look menacing. It is a waste of time in the film, and a waste of opportunity in having these characters actively contribute to the plot.

This can be understood, to some extent, however, because there are simply so many characters. With the X-men franchise seeming to change timelines with each new outing, new characters are introduced, old characters are reintroduced, new versions of old characters are re-reintroduced, and so on. It is confusing for someone who grew up with the comics and has seen all the films – I can only imagine what a casual viewer must be thinking. While the impulse to include every fans favorite character is understandable, it reaches a point where it detracts from the film as a whole. Olivia Munn’s Psylocke in particular is criminally underused, considering how big a part she has played in the marketing of the film to date.

This is not to say that “X-men: Apocalypse” is a bad film. It isn’t. The effects are well done, the characters are generally well cast, the acting is as good as can be expected in a comic book blockbuster. There are some stand-out moments as well – Quicksilver’s main scene, Kodi Smit-McPhee’s portrayal of young Nightcrawler, and many of the inside jokes and Marvel references are all very well done.

Apocalypse himself checks all the right boxes as the “big bad” of the movie – vague plans for destroying humanity, undefined but seemingly overwhelming power, crazy costume and blue skin – but he seemed a bit generic for such a major player in the comics. I do not agree with the common complaint that he was “too easy” to defeat (to describe why would be too much of a spoiler), but I would have liked to have seen more character development than the “humans are bad, and I’m going to kill them all so I can rule the world” routine that we have seen from so many uber-villains before. It is a major pitfall of these types of franchises that each instalment must raise the stakes over the previous one, and it sometimes (as here) fails to make the appropriate impact. Marvel has proven that “smaller” superhero movies can succeed (see: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” for a prime example), and it would be interesting to see the X-Men go in a similar direction, rather than seeing them face global annihilation over and over again.

In the end, I left the theater feeling that I had seen a good superhero movie, complete with massive action sequences, cool costumes, some good one-liners, and a few interesting characters that I would like to see again. I hope that Mr. Singer and the rest of the crew running the X-Men franchise stop and step back for a moment, reduce the amount of characters, and focus on telling a great story rather than a great spectacle.

Diana Ebe’s “Elusive Pleasure” — Listen Now

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Just who is Diana Ebe, and how did she achieve her hypnotic sound? The Stockholm native got an early start in the music industry with piano lessons at age four and classical training with the esteemed Swedish musical theater performer and producer, Andreas Eldeen. Her fittingly titled, “Elusive Pleasure” video takes you through startling lyrics about love against the backdrop of haunting images and alluring landscapes. According to Ebe, her works is about expressing the “lonely and longing feeling of love and life.” Watch the video below.

TLC Follows Jamie Lynn Spears in New Documentary

With the Britney Spears machine easily within reach, it always baffled me that Jamie Lynn Spears did not have a bigger career. I assumed she turned down Hollywood in favor of a more peaceful life when she got pregnant at sixteen. Her new documentary on TLC will likely answer those questions, and perhaps give her the country career she’s now ready to pursue. Watch a preview below.

Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard: Mudslinging Starts

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As a general rule for celebrities everywhere, do not publicly declare your love for your new wife when you have children with another person. That’s especially true when the mother of your children was a longtime love, thus deserving extra respect. That goes for Johnny Depp, who trotted Amber Heard around the red carpet very shortly after his relationship ended with Vanessa Paradis, and though I have no idea if he was unfaithful, I certainly smell a rat in their timeline. As a second rule, if someone was good enough to marry, then perhaps refrain from leaking information to the press about how your family hated your wife. That says more about your personal judgment than it does about your partner. If you can’t properly pick em’, that’s on you, Johnny.

Did Blake Shelton Kill Gwen Stefani’s Style?

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While watching back performances from the Billboard Music Awards I could not help but wonder if Gavin Rossdale was the secret style muse of Gwen Stefani. Because of all the women in this industry to wear the “naked dress,” I never thought Gwen Stefani would be one of them. I’m all for happy couples, but this duo simply seems odd. Her incessant staring and elegant hairstyle also left me wondering if she turned into a trite country star. Someone has to say the obvious. They have zero chemistry, on stage or off. But I like them both separately, and wish them luck.

King Trivia Hosts ‘Friends’ Night in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is flooded with fun things to do, and King Trivia’s ‘Friends’ ‘themed trivia night at Busby’s East was no exception. Some 50 teams came out to test their knowledge of the hugely popular sitcom, packing the venue with avid fans looking to win a substantial cash prize.
 
Friends_WebsiteSquare_300x300King Trivia is well known throughout the Los Angeles area, hosting dozens of pub trivia nights each week. Though their events usually welcome trivia players of all abilities, this time was a tad different. The fanatical ‘Friends’ players tested their knowledge of character names, obscure love interests, the occupations of Paul Rudd’s parents, and the species of Ross’ pet monkey.
 
The quizmasters were well prepared, having “runners” placed throughout the venue to facilitate answer sheets, tabulating results, and checking to ensure all players were registered. And, as mentioned, the questions proved its organizers did their homework.
 
While the trivia was challenging but fun, the venue itself was simply challenged. Busby’s was overwhelmed with the number of players, and unable to handle the volume of orders that hit them more or less all at once. This is understandable – it isn’t every day that 300+ customers come in at the same time and order tables full of food and drinks – but it was frustrating to wait more than an hour for food. The wait staff did their best, and maintained good attitudes during the deluge, but Busby’s would do well to better prepare for the next event.
 
All in all, this was a very entertaining evening. Be sure to check out King Trivia’s regular trivia nights – they’re sure to host one near you if you live anywhere in the LA area!