New Trailer: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

If you were a fan of the X-Men comic books or the popular animated Fox series, you'll get a kick out of the trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a prequel to the uber-successful X-Men movies. You'll spot not only Wolverine and Sabertooth but also Gambit and what appears to be a young Storm, among others. The movie hits theaters in May 2009.
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

TV guilty pleasures return in January '09

Big Love, Jan. 18, HBO

As if juggling three wives weren't tricky enough, Season Two of Emmy®- and Golden Globe®-nominated 'Big Love' finds modern polygamist Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) tackling problems outside his three-house suburban home. As a failed expansion and a suspicious employee entangle his work at Henrickson Home Plus, Bill races to find the person responsible for outing his wife Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) as a polygamist at Utah's Mother of the Year ceremony. Meanwhile, back at the fundamentalist Juniper Hill compound, prophet Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) sets his sights on Bill's brother Joey (Shawn Doyle) as leverage to regain a share of the family business. Throw a pregnant Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) and an overcompensating Nicki (Chloe Sevigny) into the mix, and Bill won't be getting much sleep at any of his houses. Bold, funny and wholly original, Big Love continues to explore the evolving institution of marriage through this typically atypical family. The executive producers of BIG LOVE are Playtone's Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman and series creators Mark V. Olsen & Will Scheffer (writer of HBO's "In the Gloaming"), who produced the independent feature film "Easter."

Damages, Jan. 7, F/X

The series follows the turbulent lives of Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), the nation's most revered and reviled high-stakes litigator and her bright, ambitious young protégé Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). After her unprecedented victory over billionaire Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson), Patty Hewes has the legal world at her feet. Just as she's pondering her next move, Daniel Purcell (William Hurt), a man from Patty's mysterious past, storms back into her life, catapulting Patty into a new legal challenge. What starts as a domestic murder case, escalates into the highest reaches of government as Patty unearths a vast conspiracy. At the same time, Ellen is on a mission to take down Patty. She's agreed to act as an informant for the FBI, assisting them in their criminal investigation of Patty and the firm. As Patty unravels the mystery surrounding Daniel Purcell, she must also negotiate the perilous minefield both inside and outside her office.

Nip/Tuck, Jan. 6, F/X

Earlier this season, Sean and Christian departed Miami for Los Angeles seeking a fresh start for McNamara/Troy in a new city. Convinced that celebrity status can bring them more new patients than their medical reputations, the surgeons became medical consultants for a television drama. Sean was met with early success under the Hollywood spotlight, only to become the victim of a deranged fan. Despite his own attempts to gain notoriety, Christian found himself living in Sean's shadow for the first time in his career. As season five continues, McNamara/Troy faces an unexpected, serious medical crisis. Christian decides to settle down with one woman and Sean discovers a new love in a moment of extreme vulnerability.

With Golden Globe nods announced, Oscar season officially begins

It's been a quiet film-going year. Think about it: No powerhouses like No Country for Old Men, Crash, American Beauty, Return of the King.

With the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations this week, we at least know the direction in which the wind is blowing.

First, some old familiars will battle for the big prizes: Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymore Hoffman, Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn will all receive Oscar nods for their work this year.

Penn, who portrayed 1970s gay rights activist Harvey Milk, will most certainly walk away with his second Academy Award for what is being universally hailed as a "soulful [and] highly ingratiating performance." That is, if come-back story of the year, Mickey Rourke, doesn't pull an upset for The Wrestler.

Winslet is probably the most deserving in the leading lady category. The critics say her work in Revolutionary Road and The Reader is phenomenal. Industry insiders say this will finally be her year.

And the best picture of the year, The Dark Knight, will probably get snubbed in the top category, best film. That prize will probably go to indie sensation Slumdog Millionaire, screen adaptation Revolutionary Road, the epic Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the biopic Milk or the political drama Frost/Nixon.

LA Times film blogger Scott Feinberg warns about not reading too much into the Golden Globe nods. The Globes aren't an Oscar precursor, per se, as the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association "are primarily made up of film journalists, as opposed to filmmakers, who make up the vast majority of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences."

Once the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild of America announce their nominations, we'll be a bit more certain. Still, we know enough now to publish our early predictions.

Here are the top categories.

BEST PICTURE
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Revolutionary Road"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"Doubt"
"Milk"

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire")
David Fincher ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button")
Ron Howard ("Frost/Nixon")
Sam Mendes ("Revolutionary Road")
Christopher Nolan ("The Dark Knight")
Gus Van Sant ("Milk")

BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio ("Revolutionary Road")
Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon")
Sean Penn ("Milk")
Brad Pitt ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button")
Mickey Rourke ("The Wrestler")

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway ("Rachel Getting Married")
Angelina Jolie ("Changeling")
Meryl Streep ("Doubt")
Kristin Scott Thomas ("I've Loved You So Long")
Kate Winslet ("Revolutionary Road")

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ralph Fiennes ("The Duchess")
Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Doubt")
Heath Ledger ("The Dark Knight")
Josh Brolin ("Milk")
Michael Shannon ("Revolutionary Road")

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams ("Doubt")
Viola Davis ("Doubt")
Marisa Tomei ("The Wrestler")
Kate Winslet ("The Reader")
Taraji P. Henson ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button")

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black ("Milk")
Jenny Lumet ("Rachel Getting Married")
Nick Schenck ("Gran Torino")

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
"Gomorra" (Italy)
"I've Loved You So Long" (France)

UpComing: Cadillac Records

I saw the trailer today for the Dec. 5 release Cadillac Records about rock and roll in 1950s Chicago. The movie, which most famously stars R&B/pop diva Beyoncé Knowles, also features a cadre of serious actors: Adrian Brody, who scored an Oscar for the Pianist; Jeffrey Wright, Emmy winner for Angels in America; Mos Def, Emmy nominated for Something the Lord Made; and Gabrielle Union, whose diverse credits include everything from Deliver Us From Eva and Daddy's Little Girls to Something the Lord Made and Ugly Betty.

Cadillac Records is not getting the kind of buzz that brought box office success (and Oscar gold for Jennifer Hudson) in 2006s Dreamgirls; but based on a viewing of the trailer and a read of a recent Los Angeles Times piece on Beyoncé's dramatic aspirations, the film may prove a more textured and satisfying experience.

Obama: 'Change has come to America.'

As U.S. rejoices, so does the world

The Huffington Post has published pictures from around the world at the announcement that Barack Obama was elected the next president of the U.S.

Indonesia - at Obama's former school in Jakarta

The Philippines

Kenya - Obama's step-grandmother, Sarah Obama, at center.

Greece

Israel

Barack H. Obama elected 44th president of the United States of America

I can't fully describe the emotion.

America has elected Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th president of the United States of America.

Four-hundred years after black Africans arrived on the shores of North America confined to the chains of slavery, Obama, the biracial son of a Kenyan father and white American mother, and his wife, the great-granddaughter of slaves, will enter the White House as America's first family.

America has been my homes since I arrived here from the Bahamas when I was a year old. My parents, both Haitian immigrants from meager backgrounds, taught me that almost everything in this country was attainable. I could be a doctor, a lawyer. I could write books if I chose. But be president? "They won't ever let that happen," is how my parents explained it.

Tonight, my mother cheered in jubilation.

My sister cried, completely overcome.

For me, the words are difficult to come by, trapped somewhere between disbelief that this has happened and utter elation.

My hands are still a bit unsteady, my skin prickled all over.

I think Eugene Robinson explained it best today in his column in the Washington Post: Obama's success on the national scale gives me a "new kind of pride" in my adopted country.