Here we have the “official main trailer” for the next movie in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug. It builds upon the teaser that was released in June quite well, with more action, more of Evangeline Lilly’s elf warrior Tauriel, and most importantly our anticipated introduction to the voice behind the mighty dragon Smaug played by the one and only Benedict Cumberbatch.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens December 13.
At the end of August soul singer-songwriter John Legend dropped his fourth studio album Love in the Future and here’s a music video for the third single off that record. In “All of Me” Legend sings to his new wife, model Chrissy Teigen; they were married in Italy last month. The beautiful, subtle direction by Nabil complements the piano heavy tune; Legend sings, “Cuz all of me loves all of you; love your curves and all your edges, all your perfect imperfections.” The GOOD Music artist is a pure talent; watch his latest in the black-and-white clip embedded above.
After the break, Britney’s back. Continue reading Music videos: John Legend serenades his wife in piano ballad “All of Me”; Britney Spears is back in EDM-inspired “Work Bitch”
This week Miley Cyrus served as host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live. A rundown of my favorite sketches follows after the break. Continue reading ‘SNL’ sketch round-up: October 5, 2013
And just like that, arguably the greatest show to air on television has come to an end. Breaking Bad went out on its highest note, both creatively and in the ratings. The finale–or should I say “Felina”–drew 10.3 million viewers, a series high spanning all five seasons. Among the coveted group aged 18-49, 6.7 million people watched the final episode live. Thanks to streaming outlets like Netflix and iTunes, the show was able to break out not only as a critical darling but also as a pop culture phenomenon.
In an informative interview with EW, mastermind creator/producer/writer/director Vince Gilligan shared his feelings about ending on top. “Every story has its running time, and it’s just hard in television to know what that running length should amount to, and I feel very happy and satisfied by the fact that we’re wrapping up now. I can’t even believe that the ratings have increased with each episode — I just think it’s wonderful — and people have asked me, ‘Does it make you want to go on and do a bunch more episodes now?’ Just the opposite. It makes me think, through quite a bit of good luck being involved, we really did pick the right moment to exit the stage, and I feel even more confident of that now than I did before.”
In a statement AMC president Charlie Collier expressed his gratitude to the successful series. “Breaking Bad is simply unique. It all starts with Vince Gilligan who really only ever asked for one thing – the opportunity to end the show on his own terms. That is exactly what Vince did last night and, as always, brilliantly so. Congratulations to Vince and to every single person involved in this remarkable journey. We’re proud that AMC will forever be known as the birthplace and home of this iconic show and, at the same time, we tip our Heisenberg hat to the fans who made this a truly shared experience.”
The final episode proved to be the perfect ending to the perfect series. In fine Gilligan fashion, all loose ends were neatly tied up; it was supremely satisfying. In a TV landscape where many shows these days like to leave things up to the viewer’s imagination, it felt so refreshing to watch a story close with all the i’s dotted and all the T’s crossed. It concluded unapologetically and peacefully and right. Rock out to Badfinger’s “Baby Blue,” the best song to come along since “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” and remember it was all in the chemistry. Bitch.
Late Night host Jimmy Fallon has another viral hit on his hands. In what always proves to be a perfect comedic pairing, Fallon invites Justin Timberlake to a conversation filled with Twitter’s most prolific symbol, the hashtag. So now when you see people walking the street tapping their fingers and saying hashtag you’ll know where it all came from: this bit of genius.
Just for hits and even more giggles, jump after the break to watch Fallon face off against Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Stephen Merchant in one epic “lip sync battle.” Continue reading #LOL: Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake engage in a real-life Twitter conversation
Brody is on the run and Carrie and Saul are left to deal with the aftermath of the cataclysmic CIA bombing in the season 3 premiere of Homeland. Pledge allegiance to the poster hanging above and tune in at 9PM on Showtime.
Following the return of Homeland is the series premiere of Masters of Sex at 10PM, a risqué dramedy starring Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as the real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality, William Masters and Virginia Johnson. Watch the stimulating trailer after the break. Continue reading TV reminder: ‘Homeland’ & ‘Masters of Sex’ premiere Sunday on Showtime
The Kevin Bacon/James Purefoy serial killer thriller The Following doesn’t return to FOX until January but until then you can theorize what’s to come in season 2 with two brand new teasers (the other’s after the break). The famous Edgar Allen Poe mask melts; should fans expect a new big bad to enter the scene or does Joe Carroll emerge from the ashes with a new obsession in mind? Sound off. Continue reading ‘The Following’ season 2 teasers tease “a new face of evil”
Dumb and Dumber To, the Dumb and Dumber sequel with original stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly, is happening and here is incontrovertible proof.
[Via Twitter]
It looks like Walt Disney Animation Studios has another winner on its hands. The followup to Wreck-It Ralph is Frozen and ironically enough it’s going to be warm-hearted tale of adventure and lots of laughter. Like the teaser before it, this full-length trailer is brimming with laugh-out-loud jokes and much charm.
Here’s a refresher: Frozen is described as “a stunning big-screen comedy adventure. Fearless optimist Anna (voice of Kristen Bell) sets off on an epic journey—teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his loyal reindeer Sven—to find her sister Elsa (Idina Menzel), whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom.”
Frozen hits theatres in 3D this November 27.
Jump after the break for a first-look at Dreamworks’ Need For Speed. Continue reading Movie trailer roundup: Disney’s ‘Frozen’ & Aaron Paul in ‘Need For Speed’
Justin Timberlake is about to drop the second half of his 20/20 Experience so here’s what you got to know. First of all, The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 contains 11 tracks total and you can stream it all today over at iTunes. It’s up for preorder at iTunes today as is The 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience which contains the 21 tracks that span the two albums. Target will once again sell an exclusive deluxe edition that contains two bonus tracks not found in the “complete” edition, oddly enough; the “complete” version also does not contain the two bonus tracks featured on the first 20/20 album.
Jump after the break to hear the second single off 2 of 2 titled “TKO;” it follows the Michael Jackson inspired “Take Back The Night.” Also below is a behind-the-scenes clip with JT and his producer/collaborator Timbaland; a 20/20 making-of documentary is teased. The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 releases September 30. Continue reading Justin Timberlake’s next ’20/20 Experience’ drops Monday
Microsoft is updating its Surface tablets that showcase their redesigned operating system Windows 8. The Surface 2 is the successor to Surface for Windows RT; its 10.6-inch ClearType Full HD display now renders 1080p, it’s powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor, and its battery life promises 10 hours for video playback. Its full-size USB port has been upgraded to USB 3.0 and its front and back-facing cameras have been upped to 3.5-megapixel and 5-megapixel, respectively; both can capture 1080p video and feature improved low-light performance. Preloaded with Office Home & Student 2013 RT and Outlook 2013 RT, the Surface 2 starts at $449 and will come in 32GB and 64GB configurations when it goes on sale October 22. Customers can choose from a black or white coat this time.
The Surface Pro 2 is the successor to Surface for Windows Pro; it packs the same 10.6-inch ClearType Full 1080p HD display as the Surface 2 but it’s faster as it’s powered by Intel’s fourth-generation 1.6GHz Core i5 processor. MSFT hypes a 75 percent longer battery life than Surface Pro thanks to the new processor and other internal enhancements. The device houses three USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0, a mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, and audio in/out. A two-stage kickstand, also featured on the Surface 2, gives users another angle to position their tablet. The Surface Pro 2 starts at $899 and will come in 64GB and 128GB configurations with 4GB of RAM and 256GB and 512GB configurations with 8GB of RAM when it, too, hits the market October 22.
New Surface owners will get one year of free international calling and Skype hotspot access, along with 200GB of SkyDrive storage that is free for two years.
The new tablets will sell alongside some new accessories. The Touch ($119.99) and Type ($129.99) Covers are getting updated with thinner and light-weight designs. A new Power Cover ($199.99, coming in early 2014), which features a Type Cover experience, will extend your Surface’s battery life by up to 50 percent. A Docking Station for Surface Pro ($199.99, also coming early next year) will allow owners to easily connect desktop peripherals to their tablets, “taking you from laptop to desktop in an instant.” A Music Cover gives amateur DJs a new way to dive into the art of music making and remixing; release date and price is still TBA on this one.
Check out the gallery below for a closer look at the new Surface tablets and accessories.
[Via Microsoft]
Apple released the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on September 20 and just three days later it sold a record-breaking nine million of these new handsets. Also, more than 200 million iOS devices are now running Apple’s newly redesigned mobile operating system iOS 7, making it the fastest software upgrade in history.
“This is our best iPhone launch yet―more than nine million new iPhones sold―a new record for first weekend sales,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement. “The demand for the new iPhones has been incredible, and while we’ve sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5s, stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments regularly. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough new iPhones for everyone.”
Elsewhere, Apple has updated its iMac lineup with fourth generation Intel “Haswell” quad-core processors, new graphics, next generation WiFi, and faster PCIe flash storage options. The entry-level 21.5-inch iMac features a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor and new Iris Pro graphics for improved integrated graphics performance. The high-end 21.5-inch model and both 27-inch models feature quad-core Intel Core i5 processors up to 3.4 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce 700 series graphics with twice the video memory and up to 40 percent faster performance than the previous generation. Customers can also upgrade to quad-core Intel Core i7 processors up to 3.5 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M series graphics with up to 4GB of video memory. Also, the iMacs now support 802.11ac WiFi that promises performance that is up to three times faster than the previous generation. The iMacs also support speedier PCIe-based flash storage that makes Fusion Drive and all-flash storage options up to 50 percent faster than before.
“iMac continues to be the example that proves how beautiful, fast and fun a desktop computer can be,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior VP of Worldwide Marketing. “Inside its ultra-thin aluminum enclosure, the new iMac has the latest Intel processors, faster graphics, next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage.”