Michael Sheen Landed A Job Just By Visiting Rachel McAdams On Set

Actor Michael Sheen thought he’d drop by the set of Rachel McAdams’ new film for a quick visit with his ladylove.  While he was hanging out, director Terrence Malick put him to work.  No slackin’ on this set! Michael shared: … Continue reading

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'We Bought A Zoo': The Reviews Are In!

'It's actually surprisingly charming and more emotionally understated than the material would suggest,' writes AP critic Christy Lemire.
By Kara Warner


Scarlett Johansson and Matt Damon in "We Bought A Zoo"
Photo: 20th Century Fox

After a seven-year hiatus post-"Elizabethtown," writer/director Cameron Crowe is back in action with his new film "We Bought a Zoo." Based on a true story and the book of the same name, Matt Damon stars as Benjamin Mee, a widower who buys a failing zoo in an attempt to reconnect his family after the death of their mother.

The critical masses always seem eager to offer up opinions on any new Crowe feature, and this time around, the likes have edged out the dislikes, earning the film a "Fresh" rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. Without further ado, let's wander through the "We Bought a Zoo" reviews!

The Story and Its Schmaltz Factor
"Sometimes, reacting to a movie is all about the expectations you bring with you walking into it. 'We Bought a Zoo' is about a family that buys a zoo. It's as high-concept as you can get, outside of maybe 'Attack of the Killer Tomatoes' or 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,' and it's equally straightforward in wearing its heart on its sleeve. We know to expect this ahead of time because 'We Bought a Zoo' comes from Cameron Crowe, the writer-director of 'Say Anything ...,' 'Jerry Maguire,' 'Almost Famous' and, more recently, the 2005 flop 'Elizabethtown.' We know there will be some poignantly phrased life lessons in store for this family as they struggle to reconnect after the mother's death. The whole exercise could have been agonizingly mawkish, and/or filled with cheap, lazy animal-poop jokes. And yet, it's not. It's actually surprisingly charming and more emotionally understated than the material would suggest. — Christy Lemire, The Associated Press

The Writing and Direction
"Crowe takes a lot of heat for his portrayal of adorable kids, and already there's been a lot of online grousing about the Rosie character [Benjamin's daughter] being a female variant on the aggressively lovable Jonathan Lipnicki in Crowe's 'Jerry Maguire.' What Crowe doesn't get enough credit for is his continuing insight into and empathy with teen characters, and one of the really engaging things about 'Zoo' is how conscious it is in showing the thread between characters who shared an adolescence together (Damon's foil, a frequently sympathetic one, is an older brother played by Thomas Haden Church) and how that contributes to the hard-earned wisdom of characters trying to bridge generational misunderstanding. Which is to say that the scenes between Damon and Ford [Benjamin's teenage son Dylan] are among the best-written (Crowe collaborated on the screenplay with Aline Brosh McKenna) and best-played scenes in the film." — Glenn Kenny, MSN

The Performances
"The ups and downs of survival while hanging on by their fingernails are too linear for spontaneity and the happy ending is nothing short of contrived, but the performances are sincere and Mr. Damon actually seems to be having a ball, giving one of the best and most mature performances of his career. The relationship between Ben, still hiding from the pain of loss, and Kelly [Scarlett Johansson], a 28-year-old animal lover with no personal life, wisely avoids the Hollywood clichés that too often furnish easy solutions for loneliness, while Dylan sees fate in a restorative way when he discovers romance with Kelly's cousin (Elle Fanning, who, like her sister Dakota, is growing from child actor to leading lady with sex appeal faster than a flying bullet). The roles are mere outlines for meatier characters, but Mr. Damon brings a depth of humanity to the zealous but underwritten zoo owner that is guaranteed to inspire confidence." — Rex Reed, The New York Observer

The Final Word, Pro-Con-Pro Style
"Don't confuse the film's modest goals with a lack of gravity. Damon's father-son confrontation with Ford potently disproves that. As Benjamin says, 'all it takes is 20 seconds of insane courage to change your life.' There's a lot of fun waiting at 'We Bought a Zoo,' but it's the feelings that run through every scene that'll make you glad you came." — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"Does 'We Bought a Zoo' jerk tears and warm hearts effectively? Sure, dead moms and fuzzy critters will do that, especially when choreographed by a proud manipulator like Crowe. Perhaps it's churlish to complain about a filmmaker who pours so much — his taste, his tunes, his worldview, his good humor — into each movie. But watching the overlong, overfeeling, overdirected 'We Bought a Zoo' made me glad to return from Cameron Crowe's world to the real world, where things aren't quite so simple." — Dan Kois, Slate.com

"If you see it and you reject the sweetness or you can't hang with the open-hearted nature of the thing, I'm not going to argue with you. But I've seen what naked manipulation looks like, and that's not 'We Bought a Zoo.' It's just a film that wears its emotions right out front, and somehow, Crowe is able to brush aside any thoughts of what people will or won't think and just focus on building those moments that he does so well, those heartbreaking little moments of magic that have been the main currency of his career. Cameron Crowe remains, as always, uncool. And wonderful for it. 'We Bought a Zoo' is lovely, delicate, and absolutely worth seeing with your family this holiday season." — Drew McWeeny, HitFix.com

Check out everything we've got on "We Bought a Zoo."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Lady Gaga 'So Happy' About Oscar Recognition1676332

Pop star's duet with Elton John, 'Hello Hello,' is on short list for Best Original Song.
By Jocelyn Vena


Lady Gaga performs at the EMAs
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

How does Lady Gaga feel about making the short list for the Best Original Song race at the Oscars? Well, she's pretty excited.

"Just heard my duet 'Hello, Hello' with Elton [John] is up for nomination at the Oscars! 'Gnomeo & Juliet' is such a beautiful film," she wrote on Twitter. "I'm so happy!!" On Monday, it was announced that the Gaga/Elton duet is one of the 39 tracks vying for a nomination. will.i.am's "Rio" track, "Hot Wings," Mary J. Blige's "The Living Proof" from "The Help," and Zooey Deschanel's "Winnie the Pooh" track, "So Long," along with multiple tracks from "The Muppets," are also in the running. The final nominations will be announced January 24, and the awards show is slated to take place February 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Gaga is celebrating her latest achievement in Japan, where she will spend the holidays. "Well, I'll be in Japan right up until Christmas Day," she recently told MTV News. "So I'll be eating with all my Japanese Little Monsters. I like shabu shabu [a type of Japanese hotpot]." Since touching down, Mother Monster has been keeping her fans up-to-date on what she's been up to on Twitter. "Sipping tea in Japan with Haus. Feeling so grateful," she wrote. "We sold about 1 million albums a month worldwide since the release of BORN THIS WAY." The busy holiday season caps off an even busier year for Lady Gaga, who happened to be MTV News' Top Newsmaker of 2011. She tirelessly released singles, videos, personas and a chart-topping album (Born This Way) and scooped up awards at seemingly every show from the Grammys to the VMAs. She was also #5 on our list of Best Artists of 2011, and her disco empowerment track "Born This Way" snagged the #5 spot on the Best Songs of 2011 list as well.

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Next Up For Justin Bieber: Acting?

He has proven to be an epic force in the world of entertainment. From beating out Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” with his concert movie, to selling out arenas around the world, there is no doubt that this kid has got “it.” It was only a matter of time before JB took the next step to the big screen. Many young music stars have done it in the past. Justin Timberlake is one good example. He started as a teeny-bopper pop star, then graduated into real pop music before starring in Alpha Dog and even The Social Network. Another pretty good example is Mark Wahlberg, who has apparently taken on JB’s acting aspirations as a sort of mentor. I have a feeling that he may be the right guy to make sure that this doesn’t turn out to be a flop. Wahlberg is actually a good actor. One of the most chilling roles he took on was in Fear, which is one of my favs to this day. Here’s what he had to say about the Beibs: “Intuition. I’m pretty intuitive… I see the guy and spent time with him, and you see what he does and how he does [...]

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Los Angeles

I'm here! I'm here! And I saw my first gang-banger get arrested yesterday so I feel like a total Angeleno.

I'm getting ready to go to the gym (again, like a total Angeleno!) so I will update later about my run-ins with Alexander Skarsgard, Pauly Shore, and Jeremy or Jason London (I'm not sure which one it was and seeing if I could force him to do drugs to find out seemed unfair. Besides, as it turned out, he was telling the truth?)

Anyhoo, I've got a lot to tell you about gardening! (Did you know if you get dirt wet it turns into mud? Yuck.)

And bumpers! (They don't bump off anything... they go, "Scraaaaaaaatch!")

And there's probably more but, again, I have to go because I have to get to the gym!

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