19-Year-Old teen sensation Selena Gomez opened her “We Own the Night” concert tour last Thursday – and it was a huge success.
Gomez and her band “The Scene” started their tour at the Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton Florida and her boyfriend Justin Bieber was in the audience to cheer her on.
"Boca really came out tonight. . . I love you all"
And our favorite sidekick and all-around good guy videographer Alfredo Flores was there to capture all the back stage action on film.
Over the weekend Flores edited up his footage so we could see how everything went down and have a chance to see Selena with her band, crew, singers, and dancers before hitting the stage for her opening night.
Watch Backstage Footage at Selena’s Opening Night
Alfredo was an instrumental player with Justin Bieber’s “My World” tour, and has worked on several of the singer’s videos as well as his 3D movie “Never Say Never”.
And after the show, Selena's boyfriend Justin Bieber hit up the town with his best bud Sean Kingston in what would turn out to be a wild night of being chased by fans, coning in a $400,000 Rolls Royce, getting pulled over by police in front of a T.G.I.F. restaurant, and getting caught by the paparazzi on his hotel balcony - shirtless and wearing only a pair of grey boxer short underwear.
Gomez will be touring through September but will take a break to perform at the “Kids Choice Awards” August 7th with OneRepublic.
The tour will cruise through Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Pennsylvania, Toronto, Boston, St. Louis, Dallas, Kansas City, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
She can also be seen in the recently released movie “Monte Carlo” starring with Cory Monteith, Leighton Meester, and Katie Cassidy - a comedy about three young women vacationing in Paris who find themselves whisked away to Monte Carlo after one of the girls is mistaken for a British heiress.
Later this year Selena can be seen in the Disney family comedy “The Muppets” working with an all-star cast that includes Mila Kunis, Emily Blunt, Amy Adams, and Jason Segel with appearances by Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry, Jack Black, and Ricky Gervais.
Watch “The Muppets” Official Movie Trailer
“The Muppets” will be released November 23rd and tells the story of how the rag-tag group must reunite, with the help of their fans, in order to save their old studio from a greedy oil tycoon.
Congrats to Selena and her crew for a great opening night and best wishes for a fantastic tour.
Its hard to know how I should feel about Pixar's latest, "Cars 2"... is it weird that an animated film can leave me so conflicted?
Here's the plot... "Cars 2" picks up where "Cars" left off... Lightning McQueen is off racing, winning multiple Piston Cups, and returns to Radiator Springs to his girlfriend Sally and his best buddy Mater, along with the rest of the gang from the first film, like Ramone, Flo, Red, Sarge, Fillmore and the others... wisely, Pixar chose not to replace Paul Newman as the voice of Doc Hudson, instead just giving the Hudson Hornet a glance and homage.
Finn and Mater... I've read the thoughts that Mater might be Pixar's version of Jar Jar Binks... a much maligned characters that has somewhat sullied a great movie series--or in Pixar's case, their movies in general
Through a wacky set of circumstances, McQueen ends up entered into the inaugural World Grand Prix, and brings along his "team", which includes Mater, and through an even wackier set of circumstances, Mater gets confused for an American spy by the good guys like Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) and the bad guys, like Professor Z (Thomas Kretschmann).
So over the next 90 minutes, we are treated to a visually colorful and dazzling adventure full of explosions and big ships and crazy cars and fast racing and cool gadgets and funny sight gags and foreign lands and all that kind of stuff.
What we aren't treated to is a great movie. Its a fun movie, its a pleasant, amusing movie, but not a great movie. This will, in my mind, go down as Pixar's worst film, and though the general consensus is that Pixar can do no wrong, this one is hard to defend. If anything, Pixar's record is 11-1, or at best, 11-0-1... which, in of itself is still a stellar mark.
Don't get me wrong... I liked this movie. Its got that Pixar flair with the jokes flying fast and free, and sight gags everywhere--watch the drive-in movie sign in Radiator Springs not long after McQueen makes his return... and its fun watching the change of cultures from a car's perspective when they tour Japan (the Japanese game show is a hoot) and other countries.
And cars "die" in this movie! I mean, I hope I'm not spoiling anything for you, but seriously, there are at least four or five car deaths in this film, which is a bit... well, I say violent, but we're talking about cars being blown up, so judge that how you will.
Its the story, the kind that Pixar usually excels at telling, that is the weakest part of the film. I found myself wondering if a six year old kid could follow all that was happening, and even if those kids would understand why the bad guys--Gremlins, Pacers and other "lemons"--were the bad guys... I mean, what kid under 15 knows what a "lemon" is? I also found myself ready for the movie to be over towards the end, something I'm not sure I've ever felt in a Pixar film.
Here's my conflict... what am I supposed to expect out of Pixar? I have been taught to expect masterful story telling like "Wall*E"... I have been taught to expect movies for children that are still made for adults, like "Monsters Inc"... I now expect to have toys make me tear up, like in "Toy Story 3"... but do I expect that because Pixar told me "We are going to make the best animated films you have ever seen in your whole life!"
John Turturro voices Francesco Bernoulli, McQueen's main rival. Having worked at The Happiest Place in the Mall for a time, all I could think was "Wow, are they going to release a billion new Cars toys for this"
No, I expect such things from Pixar because that's just what they do. But this time around, it seems like they are just having a good time... they aren't trying to win the Oscar for Best Animated Film (at least I hope not, because it won't happen this time), it seems like they are just having a good time. And out of any studio out there, Pixar deserves to have a good time, at least once, and do a movie that is just full of goofiness and silliness and fun.
A few years back, when the rumor that "Cars 2" was being made, The Disney Channel released a number of "shorts" starring Mater, called "Mater's Tall Tales". They all centered around Mater telling his friends stories, or tales, about his misadventures, the "tall" part coming in because he's exaggerating... Mater told of his adventures as a stunt daredevil, and as a fire truck, and as a matador (Materdor!)... after "Cars 2" ended, I looked over at The Lovely Steph Leann and said, "This was like a very long episode of Mater's Tall Tales".
I know, I know, I seem so up and down about it... I guess I'll say this about "Cars 2". Don't expect "Toy Story 3", or "The Incredibles" or even "Finding Nemo"... expect a fun movie, one that is kind of forgettable. Expect your sons to love the crap out of it, expect your daughters to... well, did she like this first one? She will probably like this one. Did you like the first one? Yeah, you'll probably enjoy this one as well.
Oh, finally, if you don't like Larry the Cable Guy, you will have a hard time with this one, because Larry is all up in this film, pretty much from start to finish.
2D or 3D? Go 2D. The only reason to see this in 3D is to see the Pixar trailer for the 2012 movie "Brave", which you can find online, and the 3D trailer for the upcoming "The Lion King in 3D" release. I still say go see it in 2D, save your money.
Formerly known as "The Bear & the Bow", Pixar introduces its first fairy tale, "Brave". And it looks amazing.
Worth the price of admission, in 2D or 3D, is the Toy Story short, "Hawaiian Vacation", coming on before "Cars 2"... when Barbie & Ken miss their trip to the Hawaiian islands, Buzz, Woody and the gang step in to give them the de facto vacation of a lifetime... and if you liked this one, then you'll be happy to know that there will be another Toy Story short in front of "The Muppets", coming this Thanksgiving.
And, you heard it here first... Tom Hanks says "Toy Story 4" is in the works. Not sure how I feel about that, but until "Cars 2", Pixar has never given me a reason to worry. Truthfully, I'm not worried.
The rest of the posters (along with an explanation of the one above) after the cut... Green with Envy ties in to the teaser for The Muppets, in case you were wondering Thoughts?
We continue our countdown of the Coolest Things of 2009... and looking at the next ten, this might be the "Guilty Pleasurest" block of ten in the five year history of The Coolest List. Not all of them, but some. Several. And if you are on Facebook, flip on over to The Clouds and see the blog in its better glory.
80... Kate Winslet Gets an Oscar Beyond The Goddess, beyond Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with, a founding member of my own Colin Firth Club that The Lovely Steph Leann keeps tucked away is none other than British actress Kate Winslet. She'd been nominated six times for an Academy Award, but on Sunday, February 22nd, she finally got hers... in my running diary, I posted this:
1032p... KATE!!! KATE!!! KATE!!! KATE!!! KATE!!! KATE!!! KATE!!! KATE!!! KATE!!! KATE HAS AN OSCAR!!! KATE HAS AN OSCAR!!! KATE HAS AN OSCAR!!!!!! KATE WINSLET WINS AN OSCAR!!!! KATE!!! KATE!!! KATE!!!
1035p... We knew Kate Winslet would win this, but that doesn't make it any less freakin' awesome. KATE KATE KATE!!!
Needless to say, I was excited. Still am.
79... Pickler's New Album For anyone who has read this blog longer than a few days, you'll realize a few things. First, Mama Gilmore is much more attractive than Daughter Gilmore. Secondly, Hootie & the Blowfish rocks. Third, I love stupid movies. Fourth, I eat lots of food. Fifth, I believe the Dixie Chicks only deserved a small part of what they got. Sixth, He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected is a one-term president. Seventh, if back massages were on Facebook, I'd hit the "dislike" button. Eighth, I will only watch "A Christmas Story" on Christmas Eve, and refuse to buy it. Ninth, Erin the Marine Wife is to be commended. Finally, I think Pickles is awesome.
Her first CD, "Small Town Girl", was pretty good for a post-Idol debut, better than even Kat McPhee's decently good CD. So, when Pickles second album came rollin' out, I went to Best Buy and I bought it. Yeah, I might be the only person you know that owns a Pickles CD, but hey, I dig it. Favorite track? The great, soarin' vocals of "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You". I would post a pic of Pickles here, but 1) I'm running out of good pictures to post for Idol blog references, and 2) not enough room for the above picture of Kate and the below picture of...
78.. Jon Thompson
One of the four guys I took with me to Walt Disney World(that trip to be ranked later), this dude cracked me up the entire time. Example... with five guys in a single room with two beds, I had to sleep next to someone. One of the guys slept on the floor. And Jon had to sleep with one of them. The one that Jon had to sleep with decided he would just sleep naked. Naturally, Jon had a real problem with this... so much so that he leapt out of bed, and started yelling things like, " Why would you do this? Why! Why can't you keep your shorts on? What the crap, dude?"
And, being guys, we all turned it around on him--telling him things like, "Settle down, go to bed" and "Seriously, its not a big deal." Personally, I totally agreed with Jon--who wants to sleep next to a naked guy? The Lovely Steph Leann doesn't even want that, and I'm her hubby!
He ended up sleeping next to his "bed-mate" who agreed to wear shorts. Later, I discovered that said bed-mate actually de-shorted during the night and re-shorted before Jon woke up. I think I laughed for quite a while as all this was going on.
He kept the riot going on the way back, marveling at the luck and blessed life of one Tyler Campbell, the bro-in-law, who won a randomly won a car and gave swimming lessons for like, $70 an hour. Jon? He worked at a screen printing shop that, after three years, "I'm somehow making less money than when I started! While I'm on the other side of the tracks, Tyler is over there living in the bourgeois!'. Course, bourgeois actually means "social middle class". Who knew. Jon rocks.
Out of all the movies I saw in 2009, I would rank this one somewhere in the middle. It was good, but it wasn't great. It had its moments, but like my original review, "...with this movie, you know what you are going to get... lots of historical figures making pop culture references, lots of funny action and Ben Stiller doing what he does best."
This movie itself doesn't make our list, but one of the two standout performances does--first, Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with. Secondly, and more importantly (for this movie, anyway), its Hank Azaria's absolutely hysterical performances. He "not only plays Kahmunrah to the hilt, leaving you convinced that he had a blast playing this part, but he also does the voice of the Brooklyn-accented Thinker sculpture and of Abe Lincoln, fresh out of the Lincoln Memorial." His Kahmunrah voice is especially great, slightly feminine and non-threatening, and he makes for the best part of the movie that doesn't include a redhead.
76... The Muppets Do Queen Kermit, Miss Piggy, Beaker, Dr. Bunson Honeydew and the gang are making a comeback...
\
...and its awesome
75... "Hey" by Mitchell Musso Uh... a fun song.. makes me kinda bouncy and... uh... its... um...
74... "High School Musical" Um... I saw the movie off and on... we, uh, at The Happiest Place in the Mall we played... and... I really like the them song and... well... uh...
73... "The Hoedown Throwdown" by Miley Cyrus Uh... its... the movie was terrible but this... I like this song and uh...
Boom clap, boom de clap de clap, boom boom clap, boom de clap de clap, come on y'all, boom clap boom...
Everybody! Boom de clap de clap...
Boom boom clap?
Anyone?
(silence)
(crickets)
Let's move on, shall we?
72... ESPN's "30 for 30" The concept is brilliant, really. To celebrate ESPN's 30th Anniversary, they brought in 30 different directors and/or directing teams from all walks of life, all lifestyles, all film styles, to direct 30 different sports documentaries on subjects near and dear to their own hearts.
The results thus far have been golden. First up was "King's Ransom", a mildly entertaining film about Gretsky's trade from the Oilers to the Kings, which I never knew was such a monumental, watershed moment for both Gretsky and the NHL... Peter Berg directed.
What followed was "Muhammed and Larry", chronicling the fourth bout between Ali and Homes, directed by Albert Maysles... "The Legend of Jimmy the Greek", about the slow rise and quick fall of a commentator legend, directed by Fritz Mitchell... "The Band That Wouldn't Die", an awesome look at the Baltimore Colts marching band that kept playing for over a dozen years after the Colts fled for Indy, directed by famed director Barry Levinson("Diner", "Good Morning Vietnam", "Rain Man").
The only one I really didn't like as much was "The U", directed by Billy Corben, scanning the Miami Hurricanes teams of the 80s... it showed the teams, the successes, but didn't really spend too much time into the real issues of the team's problems. Personally, I wished it would have talked about the crash of the program, not just the rise, but alas, I didn't direct it.
The two I loved, though? "Without Bias", directed by Kirk Fraser, about the incredible impact that the death of Len Bias had on the Boston Celtics. Two days after the NBA Draft, Bias dropped dead of a cocaine overdose, he not only altered our perception of casual drug use and became the tipping point of America's drug crisis in the mid-80s, but he practically ruined an already floundering franchise right as it was about to find a guy who they could build around.
Secondly, "Small Potatoes: Who Really Killed the USFL?", directed by Mike Tollin which showed the success of the USFL, attempting spring football, leaving the NFL in the fall--and they were doing pretty good with it... but it took a dive, due to over-expansion, bad management, and one Donald Trump who bought into the league, and wanted to immediately move it to the fall, taking on the NFL head-to-head. After a monoply & anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL, the verdict came back in favor of the USFL... in the form of a check for $3.76. The USFL went belly up. The documentary is made even better by the interview with Donald Trump, who ends up walking out on Mike Tollin.
Ahead are films on the legend of Steve Bartman... speedskater Johan Olav Koss... NASCAR driver Tim Richmond and the little disease that killed his career... and even one featuring Michael Jordan's suspension from the NBA for gambl... um, I mean, his retirement for two years to try out baseball. Oh, and Ice Cube puts his touch on a film about the Raiders. Good times.
71... Read the Rules, Shankapotomus The Lovely Steph Leann prefers the one where the buddy "flexes the golden pipes", but personally, this is my favorite commercial of the year...
Coming up... An Idol goes Kanye... The Best Greek Film of the Year... and later, noddin' my head like yeah, movin' my hips like yeah...
