TRAILER: "St. Vincent"

Bill Murray stars in a flat out comedy here, which is something he hasn't done in a long time (maybe since Rushmore?), while Melissa McCarthy plays down her usual persona (probably a good idea, seeing as Tammy just got slaughtered by critics). But, I don't know, I 'm not sold. How many times have we seen the curmudgeonly old guy brought out of his shell by a sweet kid? The most sentiment I can handle in this area goes back to About a Boy. This one looks pretty sappy. It's coming out October 24th.

Paul Mazursky 1930-2014

Oscar-nominated writer-director Paul Mazursky died today at age 84. He was responsible for an acclaimed filmography of 1970's and 80's films that garnered him the label of a "West Coast Woody Allen." His most notable movies were Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), Harry and Tonto (1974), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), An Unmarried Woman (1978, nominated for Best Picture), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) and Enemies, A Love Story (1989, my favorite). His four Oscar nominations for writing were for Bob & Carol, Harry and Tonto, An Unmarried Woman and Enemies. From 2011 until his death he served as a film critic for Vanity Fair.

Jill Clayburgh was nominated for Best Actress for An Unmarried Woman in 1978, one of the movies that heralded the women's movement of the 70's and 80s. Here's the original trailer:

And here's the one for Harry and Tonto, a sweet road movie that won The Honeymooners' Art Carney a Best Actor Oscar in 1974:

Adam Levine Sings "Lost Stars"

The video for the big song from Begin Again came out yesterday and I'm already kind of in love with it. Written by former New Radicals (remember them?) frontman Gregg Alexander and performed by Keira Knightley in the movie, but this is the studio produced, official release version, and I have to say I think it's definitely the best one. In fact, I'd be willing to bet money right now that this is our Best Song winner at next year's Oscars.

TRAILER: "Dracula Untold"

A very silly looking new Dracula is set to come out October 17th. Supposedly this is the story about the guy who would become the Dracula myth, but it looks kind of like a bland ancient warfare kind of movie to me. That Luke Evans guy doesn't look very good either. They've got to get somebody charismatic and charming for Dracula, not someone who looks like he was rejected from Game of Thrones.

Jennifer Lawrence, Angelina Jolie among Forbes' Most Powerful Actresses

Forbes has released its list of the ten most powerful actresses in Hollywood, according to earnings and fame over the last year:

  1. Jennifer Lawrence
  2. Sandra Bullock
  3. Angelina Jolie
  4. Scarlett Johansson
  5. Jennifer Aniston
  6. Amy Adams
  7. Gwyneth Paltrow
  8. Meryl Streep
  9. Cameron Diaz
  10. Natalie Portman

Pretty unsurprising bunch, except for Natalie Portman. Really, why is she on this list? Because of the last Thor movie? Everyone else makes sense though. Jennifer Lawrence also ranked 12th overall on Forbes' 100 Most Powerful Celebrities list, making her the highest ranked actress. Not bad for a 23 year old, huh?

TRAILER: "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby"

James McAvoy puts on an American accent for this relationship drama with Jessica Chastain, which was shown at Toronto last year, then at Cannes this year, and is now finally coming out September 26th. It's from first time writer-director Ned Benson, but the two performances were highly praised out of both film festivals, and it's even started some slight Oscar buzz for Chastain, who's set to have another prolific year with at least three films coming out this fall. You know, this movie actually looks a little bit like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to me, but without the sci-fi angle. What do you think?

FEATURETTE: "Guardians of the Galaxy"

This behind the scenes look at Marvel's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie shows us all the different characters in the ensemble (and hey, you get to see Zoe Saldana's Gamora actually talk in this!). With the movie coming out August 1st, it's uncertain whether this lesser known property of Marvel's can really make a big splash, but since it's directed by James Gunn, the guy who made Super, the odd, faux superhero film from 2010, it might have a shot at standing out from Marvel's other movies (then again, they all have to fit in the same universe, so I wouldn't bet on too much creativity being allowed).