Sound

By now, you’ve already heard what fans and a domestic-abuse expert had to say about Rihanna and Chris Brown’s controversial collaborations on new remixes of “Birthday Cake” and “Turn Up the Music.” Chances are, you’ve probably formed your own opinion too.

But as the initial shock of the pair’s reunion subsides, and both remixes begin to diffuse into the collective conscience, we’re left with one rather important question: Beyond all the (very public) handwringing the songs have created, are they actually any good? Early opinions from critics have been lukewarm at best (and downright hostile at worst), mostly because it seems they have a difficult time separating their feelings about Brown ? and his 2009 assault of Rihanna ? from their feelings about the songs themselves. And really, you can’t blame them. In a lot of ways, it’s impossible not to view the “Cake” and “Music” remixes through the prism of the past three years.

Still, with opinions still being formed (and feelings still fresh), we reached out to some of our favorite music journos to get their take on the songs and Rihanna and Brown’s unlikely collaboration. Here’s what they had to say:

” ‘Birthday Cake’ was pretty much destined to be a smash when Talk That Talk was released with only a snippet of it. … The 78-second bit of The-Dream-produced track inspired hosannas from members of the Rihanna Navy who couldn’t wait for the full thing to be released. … Putting Chris Brown on the [remix] (and having him sing ‘I wanna f— you right now,’ which Rihanna sang on the fade-out of the TTT version, as his opening gambit) seems almost like overplaying her hand. Like, this song was going to be a big deal to her fans no matter what, so why add the controversy to it? Then again, the past three years of her career have, it seems, been about her taking control of her public image in a big way ? from enacting revenge fantasies in ‘Man Down’ to singing about sex a lot ? and adding Brown to a song about fetishistic sex is a way for her to do just that, to implicitly flip off people who she sees as paternalistic or overbearing while engaging in what she calls ‘chiefin’.’ Every gossip item about the two of them getting back together or hanging out, every angry/sad/exulting blog post, every public tweet they direct to one another when presumably they could just DM back and forth, keeps them ? and the songs ? in the news. Meanwhile, Brown’s song and Rihanna’s contribution to it are both pretty bland, a ‘Party Rock Anthem’ with no shuffling and even less whimsy. At one point, Rihanna does the phrase ‘I love you,’ which will no doubt get tongues wagging. I am pretty much grossed out by the whole thing, to be honest.” ? Maura Johnston, Village Voice

“The remixes aren’t terrible, and that’s as much as I’ll say at risk of saying something positive about Chris Brown. … The most important thing to remember is that if you have a problem with these two teaming up: Don’t blame Rihanna. Blame the ravenous, unscrupulous, money-starved record industry for being complacent through this entire event. The whole machine is falling apart, so everyone ? artists like Ludacris and Justin Bieber, their labels and managers, magazines like Vibe who put Chris Brown on the cover, awards shows like the Grammys, TV networks who play Chris Brown videos ? they’re all too afraid to potentially put forth an opinion that would prevent them from being where money is. The fact that everyone except Jay-Z and Miranda Lambert is too chickensh– to speak out against woman-beating is pathetic beyond pathetic. Everyone is too scared to compromise their chance to catch the last remaining dollars during the music industry’s death rattle.” ? Christopher R. Weingarten, SPIN

“Rihanna’s ‘Birthday Cake’ was a standout track from Talk That Talk, even in its original form (as an interlude) ? and more importantly, without Chris Brown. On the remix, all Brown’s aggressive, salacious verses do … is add fuel to rumors circling of their reunion behind closed doors. [And] Rihanna comes back on the song, calling checkmate on Breezy with her suggestive lyrics ? “Remember how you did it?/ Remember how you fit it?/ If you still want to kiss it, come, come and get it” ? making it hard to not be teased into again reading between the lines. ‘Turn Up the Music’ feels like a collaboration that would have fit both artists’ discography during their days coupled up. Although RiRi’s airy vocals blend well with the Underdogs’ dance soundscapes, adding Rihanna to the track doesn’t leave a lasting impression nor elevate the song to higher grounds. Ultimately, it’s not the content of the songs that matter; it’s the statement both singers are trying to make by simply releasing them. The collaborations appear to be a step toward reconciliation between both ? seeing the tracks climb the chart is a bonus. Rihanna wants us to know that she no longer wears the shoes of the victim and Breezy wants to prove that he’s become a better man. This isn’t a personal or professional move; it’s both. Both singers have woven their personal life, a haunting moment in their lives, into a professional move. Though it’s stirred much controversy, I believe it was bound to happen.” ? Erika Ramirez, Billboard.com’s “The Juice”

What do you think of the collaborations? Let us know in the comments.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1679709/chris-brown-rihanna-remix-critics.jhtml

Ashley Scott Ashley Tappin Ashley Tisdale Asia Argento Aubrey ODay Audrina Patridge Autumn Reeser

What’s the point of getting all dolled up for the Grammy Awards if no one notices your outfit? Since not everyone can earn a nomination or score a performance slot, sometimes you have to make your own news by crashing the red carpet with an eye-popping outfit that is sure to get tongues wagging.

It’s anyone’s guess what this year’s attendees will be wearing on Sunday night at the 54th annual awards show, but MTV News will be camped out on the carpet for a full three hours before the festivities kick off and we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for all the outrageous looks and fashions.

Click for photos of our most-shocking Grammy red carpet moments!

In the meantime, we thought it was worth a look back at some of the legendary entrances from Grammys past:

Lady Gaga egg: Sure, Justin Bieber toted his pet snake to last year’s show, but it was, of course, Lady Gaga who turned the most heads by getting carried down the carpet in a giant, see-through egg that she incubated in before emerging later in the night for her performance of “Born This Way.”

Britney gets bodied: Britney Spears has long prided herself on wearing what she wants, when she wants. But someone should have pulled her aside in 2010 before she exited the car in an oddball Dolce & Gabbana bodysuit overlaid with a lace dress that turned heads for all the wrong reasons.

M.I.A.’s pregnancy chic: With her middle finger firmly tucked into place, the rapper/singer made her way into the 2009 show while nine-months pregnant in a cartoony, ruffled blue maternity dress and matching sneakers.

Coldplay play dress up: It was kind of cool when Coldplay stuck with their bold Sgt. Pepper’s-style suits for the whole Viva La Vida tour. But when they wore them to the 2009 show, it just felt … silly.

OK Go … back to the drawing board: Viral icons OK Go are experts at drawing attention to their music with trippy, how-did-they-do-that videos. They drew mostly sniggers, though, when they donned matching brocade curtain-looking red-and-gold suits to the 2007 show. Their smartest move may have been to cover their faces with red cloth.

R. Kelly, man of mystery: Kels has made a career out of being inscrutable , but his bold sartorial choice at the 2004 Grammys was, well, weird. From the neck down he wore an elegant three-button black suit and tie, but the matching Robin mask? Who knows?

Alicia Keys gets funky: Nobody really knows what Keys was thinking in 2002 when she walked the carpet wearing embroidered jeans, sandals, a white tank and a sheer green sari-like shift with a built in, bedazzled headdress.

Toni Braxton lets it all hang out: Sometimes it’s what you don’t wear that gets attention. In 2001, singer Braxton sported a barely-there white “dress” that hardly covered her assets with strips of material that dangled in the front and back.

Jennifer Lopez’s plunging neckline: Way before she was an “American Idol” judge, Lopez sent hearts racing in 2000 with her instantly infamous plunging neckline Versace gown.

Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don’t miss our Grammy red-carpet live stream this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn’t end Sunday: MTV News has you covered for all the Grammy red-carpet fashion, Grammy winners and Grammy news until the hangover wears off!

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678995/grammy-2012-live-red-carpet-entrances.jhtml

Carrie Underwood Cat Power Catherine Bell Chandra West Charisma Carpenter Charli Baltimore Charlies Angels

by Joel Hanek

With the Oscars coming up just around the corner, it?s time that we pay tribute to some of the most versatile and overlooked actors: professional wrestlers. They are masters of the live performance, can pull out surprisingly funny and heart-felt performances on screen, and have convinced me to eat more processed meat than any other acting demographic on the planet. (Rest in peace, Macho Man!)

While these giant men in tights make cameos as the unidentified goon in every other action movie (I?m looking at you, Kevin Nash), here are my picks for the top five starring roles for pro-wrestlers in film.

5. “Walking Tall” (2004)
Way before Dwayne Johnson starred in PG-rated family friendly flicks and even way before he became the franchise savior, the man formerly known as The Rock was destined to be the new Arnold of the action world. In this remake of the 1973 film by the same name, Johnson takes vigilante action against a corrupt town with his fists and a badass weapon: a chunk of wood. Much like after I watch any Batman movie, this film instills the desire to want to patrol the streets and take justice into my own hands ? but instead, playing “Arkham City” seems more reasonable.

» HONORABLE MENTION: “The Rundown” (2003). Swap one ’90s icon for another (Sean William Scott instead of Johnny Knoxville) as a sidekick, add in an ?I?ve been over it since ‘Pulp Fiction’” Christopher Walken as the villain, and voila… “The Rundown”!

4. “No Holds Barred” (1989)
In the 1980s, during pro-wrestling?s first reign, Hulk Hogan ran wild all over pop-culture. In his first starring role, Hogan put his acting chops to the test by playing an extremely popular pro-wrestler named Rip who, much like you and I, was tormented by The Man and resolved his problems with body slams.

» HONORABLE MENTION: “Suburban Commando” (1991). In this scenario, Hulk Hogan?s impossible body mass is explained by him being a space alien and not being a ?roided out ’80s pro-wrestler. Playing off Christopher Lloyd as the straight man, this movie has a surprising amount of cheesy charm.

3. “Predator” (1987)
Who knew that two of the stars of this movie were destined to be future United States governors? Apparently, the Predator did, because he was a jerk and promoted interstellar anarchy. Although he doesn?t survive, the original friendly neighborhood libertarian Jesse ?The Body? Ventura provides great support to Schwarzenegger & co. by chewing lots of tobacco, being a “sexual tyrannosaurus” and having literally no time to bleed.

2. “They Live” (1988)
In my opinion, John Carpenter?s 1988 movie ?They Live? is one of the best science-fiction movies of all time. Like all great sci-fi, there?s a powerful underlying message wrapped in a fantastical metaphor — in this case, the motive for this outlandish allegory comes from Carpenter?s anti-conservatism stance and his distrust of Reagan-era politics. If that last sentence bored you, it?s a movie where Roddy ?Rowdy? Piper goes around beating up people who are secretly space aliens. The movie also gave us one of the greatest lines of all time (?I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass. And I’m all out of bubble gum!?), not to mention the best fight scene of all time. It’s six minutes long. It’s the best.

1. “The Princess Bride” (1987)
If you have not seen this movie yet ? please stop what you?re doing, leave your work/school/wherever you are and immediately watch it. For children of the ’80s, Rob Reiner?s tribute to fairy tales became an instant definition of the genre as the homage became fortified into a classic itself. I?ll restrain myself and will try not to rattle off quotes from Vizzini or The Dread Pirate Roberts and instead focus on the lovable big man himself, Andre Rousimoff, otherwise known as Andre the Giant. In one of his only starring roles, Andre plays Fezzik, the big-hearted protector of Westley and Inigo ? and while Andre isn?t the best actor on this list, he adds a level of charm that no one else can. Enough said: just play us out, Andre.

Tell us your favorite wrestler-starring movies in the comments section and on Twitter!

Tags dwayne johnson, No Holds Barred, predator, The Princess Bride, they live, Walking Tall

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/02/22/top-five-wrestler-movies/

Emma Stone Emma Watson Emmanuelle Chriqui Emmanuelle Vaugier Emmy Rossum Erica Leerhsen Erika Christensen

Fans of cult comedy “Community” are rejoicing at the news that the show is set to return to NBC’s schedule after a three-month hiatus. It will rejoin the Thursday night lineup at 8 p.m. on March 15 to complete its third season, though no decision has been announced as to whether the low-rated, critically acclaimed comedy will get a fourth season.

The show’s return will bump “30 Rock,” which has been pulling down series-low numbers in the 8 p.m. time slot since retuning on January 12, to 8:30 and “Parks and Recreation” will go on a five-week hiatus until “Up All Night” completes its season in April. “The Office” will hold on to its 9 p.m. slot.

NBC has had a difficult time attracting viewers to what is easily the best comedy block on network TV, but it’s certainly not the first net to have that problem (Fox couldn’t keep “Arrested Development” on the air). This latest decision, however, seems unlikely to help for a few reasons. It was a mistake to pull “Community” in the first place; the show is so full of callbacks and self-referential asides that removing it for any length of time was bound to hemorrhage casual fans who are not as familiar with the storyline as die-hards. And sacrificing the much more welcoming “Parks,” which itself has struggled in the ratings despite widespread acclaim, to bring “Community” back is not going to pull in more eyes. Instead, it’s only going to weaken the already low-rated lineup. Here’s why.

“Community” is not a welcoming show for new viewers. I am an avid TV watcher and a big fan of NBC’s smart Thursday comedies, but I’ve never been able to get into “Community” because I missed the boat early on. I’m not questioning its quality ? by all accounts it’s a witty and wonderfully weird show ? but it is loaded with callbacks and winks to a now three-season-long narrative arc, and if you haven’t been onboard since the beginning, you’re shut out. I’ve tried and failed to get into the show, even though it should be on my must-see list.

Consequently, I suspect it is going to perform even worse in its old 8 p.m. time slot than when it left it in December. If it flops at 8, the results will be disastrous for “30 Rock,” which, without a strong lead-in, seems likely to lose even more viewers at 8:30. “Parks and Rec” currently outperforms its “Rock” lead-in; it has its own devout fanbase, many of whom seem to skip “Rock” and tune in specifically for “Parks.”

“30 Rock” is arguably past its prime (though last week’s episode was admittedly the best in recent memory) and it is an expensive show to produce. Some expect that NBC may even announce that next season will be its last and that it will be a truncated 13-episode run at that. Matching “Community” with “30 Rock” from 8 to 9 is going to create an hour-long ratings void for NBC that is likely to negatively impact “The Office,” which already has been losing viewers since Steve Carell’s departure, though it remains NBC’s top Thursday comedy.

As for “Up All Night,” it’s been managing numbers comparable to “Parks” at 9:30. Though, that means the well-reviewed family comedy is losing 30 percent of it’s lead-in.

It’s a foolhardy move to temporarily shelve the only show that is really building on its lead-in (that’d be “Parks”) ? I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say that “The Office” ratings function pretty independently of “Parks’” ? especially when it’s being done for a show that seems unlikely to rope in new viewers.

The reason for the shake-up, I suspect, is rooted in the network’s knowledge that the ends of “30 Rock” and “The Office” are near. They really want “Community” to work, and they trust enough that the brief absence of “Parks” from the schedule is unlikely to alienate viewers enough that they’ll abandon the show. (And they’re right. As upset as I am that “Parks” will be gone for five weeks, there’s no way I won’t be there when Leslie, Anne, Tom and Ron Swanson return on April 19.)

A smarter choice would have been to move “Up All Night” to 8 p.m., where its star power (Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph) and subject matter ? a onetime party couple adjusting to parenthood ? might attract viewers who normally may look to CBS for Thursday night entertainment. Keep the often-heartwarming “Parks and Rec” at 8:30. “Parks” is, like “Rock” and “Community,” a little weird, but it’s the most accessible of the three and thus the most likely to keep the “Up All Night” audience and maybe build on it.

“Community” is simply going to be an awkward fit anywhere on the schedule and is unlikely to ever be strong enough in the ratings to be a top-of-the-hour lead-in. If the net insists on keeping it ? though it might want to consider a deal similar to the one reached to keep “Friday Night Lights,” another little-watched but much-loved show with a fervent fanbase, alive ? it should consider moving it to 9:30, where it would benefit at first from “The Office.” NBC would be wise to greenlight a 13-episode season for “The Office” to let it wrap up story lines and depart the airwaves on its own terms before it is forced off by flagging ratings. It’s already had a great eight-season run; let it go out with grace. Conclude “The Office” big at Christmastime (the show has always shined with its holiday specials) and bring “30 Rock” back to conclude its own run with a 13-episode season in the spring of 2013.

And for goodness’ sake, stop shifting everything around so often. Shuffling your best shows like this makes it difficult for current fans ? and especially people who do not follow the ins and outs of entertainment industry news ? to find the shows they already like.

Do you agree with NBC’s decision to put “Parks and Rec” on a five-week hiatus for “Community”? Leave your comment below.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1679681/community-parks-rec.jhtml

Christina Milian Christina Ricci Chyler Leigh Ciara Cindy Crawford Cindy Taylor Cinthia Moura