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Exclusive Interview: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES star Candice Accola is the show’s sweet Caroline

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 01/31/2012

Candice Accola at the Bing presents THE CW PREMIERE PARTY | ©2011 Sue Schneider

On THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, now in its third season on the CW Thursdays at 8 PM, there is a great deal of brooding among the vampires, the werewolves, the hybrids, the humans and even the ghosts. Standing apart from the angsty crowd is Candice Accola’s character Caroline Forbes. True, Caroline got turned into a vampire while in high school at the start of second season, and various people have tried to kill her again thereafter, but she has managed to maintain a sense of humor and a sunny (at least metaphorically) outlook most of the time, although her recent birthday […]Read On »

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TV Review: ALCATRAZ – Season 1 – “Cal Sweeney”

By PETER BROWN

Sarah Jones and Jorge Garcia in ALCATRAZ - Season 1 - "Cal Sweeney" | ©2012 Fox/Liane Hentscher

Cast: Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia, Sam Neill, Parminder Nagra, Jonny Coyne Writer: Elizabeth Sarnof Director: Brad Anderson Network: Fox, Airs Mondays @ 9 p.m. Original Telecast: January 30, 2012 The biggest question coming out of the “Cal Sweeney” episode of ALCATRAZ is: What’s behind door No. 1? While the episode itself was another inmate of the week returning to modern day in order to cause havoc on San Francisco, kill a whole bunch of people and steal loot. It turns out that Sweeney (the inmate in question) wasn’t just wooing lonely tellers in order to get swag but instead a […]Read On »

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TV News: Could TRUE BLOOD actress Lara Pulver be on DOCTOR WHO?

By SEAN ELLIOTT 01/30/2012

Lara Pulver in SHERLOCK - Series 2 | ©2012 BBC/PBS

Lara Pulver has just had the pleasure of working with writer and producer Steven Moffat for his new series of SHERLOCK, which will be airing in the U.S. in May. As so often happens, Mr. Moffat tends to use actors that he likes in other projects that he works on, so the question came to mind that maybe, just maybe, Ms. Pulver would find herself involved with a certain BBC long-running science fiction show called DOCTOR WHO. Here’s what the actress had to say to ASSIGNMENT X … “He may be calling me right now,” she jokes about Moffat calling […]Read On »

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TV Review: ONCE UPON A TIME – Season 1 – “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree”

By ANNE LOUISE BANNON

Richard Schiff and Ginnifer Goodwin in ONCE UPON A TIME - Season 1 - "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" | ©2012 ABC/Jack Rowand

Stars: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle, Lana Parrilla, Jared Gilmore, Josh Dallas, Raphael Sbarge Writer: Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss Director: Bryan Spicer Network: ABC, Sunday nights, 8 p.m. Original Telecast: January 29, 2012 I get that with a character named “The Evil Queen” evil is kind of the point. Nonetheless, in this episode of ONCE UPON A TIME, “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,” Regina (Lana Parilla) is getting more than simply scary. It all starts in the modern world, when a storm breaks down young Henry’s (Jared Gilmore) wooden castle play yard by the ocean. Not only does Regina get all over Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) for […]Read On »

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Exclusive Photos from the MAN ON A LEDGE Los Angeles Premiere

By SUE SCHNEIDER

Sam Worthington at the Los Angeles Premiere of MAN ON A LEDGE | ©2012 Sue Schneider

Summit Entertainment held the Los Angeles Premiere of MAN ON A LEDGE recently at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. MAN ON A LEDGE stars Sam Worthington as ex-cop Nick Cassidy. After escaping from prison he stands on the ledge of a New York Hotel to prove his innocent, but is he innocent or does he have a hidden agenda? Seen walking the carpet were the stars of the film, which included: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Ed Burns, Titus Welliver, Genesis Rodriguez, Ed Harris, Director Asger Leth, Writer Pablo F. Fenjves and Composer Henry Jackman. Joining them were guests, which […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: ALCATRAZ star Parminder Nagra gets a piece of the Rock

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN

Parminder Nagra in ALCATRAZ - Season 1 | ©2012 Fox/Kharen Hill

Ask Parminder Nagre a question about Fox’s new series ALCATRAZ, which airs Mondays at 9 PM, and the actress will burst out laughing. It’s not that she thinks the series is funny, but the idea of being interviewed about it is, since there is almost nothing she’s allowed to say about either the storyline or her character, Lucy Banerjee. ALCATRAZ, executive produced by J.J. Abrams, has an enigmatic island at its center (a plot element Abrams has worked with before), but this time, it’s the site of the infamous maximum security Alcatraz Prison, which closed in 1963. Historically, the prisoners […]Read On »

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CD Review: TOWER HEIST soundtrack

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER

TOWER HEIST soundtrack | ©2011 Varese Sarabande R

Brett Ratner might not have the best tastes in p.c.-friendly sound bytes, but he certainly can make fun movies like three RUSH HOUR pictures, let alone have the geek love to get a legit movie jazz master like Lalo Schifrin to score those Chan / Tucker buddy cop pairings. For whatever reason, Schifrin’s not among the crew of TOWER HEIST picture that stands at the height of Ratner’s multiplex-pleasing skills. But if you can’t get the old pro, then a relatively Young Turk like Christophe Beck will do nicely. Beyond being the king of Hollywood’s party down, rock-funk sound with […]Read On »

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CD Review: SHAOLIN soundtrack

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER 01/29/2012

SHAOLIN soundtrack | ©2011 Movie Score Media

Composer Nicholas Errera (SLEEPLESS NIGHT) might hail from modern Paris as opposed to feudal China, but you’d think he was musically trained by Master Po himself, given the gentle sweep of SHAOLIN. Where many Hong Kong period action films rely on fancy percussive footwork, Errara delivers both the requisite drum hits and an unexpectedly gentle Zen spirit that’s got more than fancy rhythmic footwork on its mind. Credit that to a story centered on personal transformation instead of gaining mad fighting skills, as SHAOLIN’s warlord undergoes a spiritual conversion in the company of the famed martial arts monks, As he […]Read On »

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CD Review: CHILLERAMA PRESENTS ZOM-B MOVIE soundtrack

By DANIEL SCHWEIGER

ZOM-B MOVIE soundtrack | ©2011 Buysoundtrax

Though he’s done a crazed job on the hellbilly scores of the REST STOP films and WRONG TURN 2, Bear McCreary’s zanier supernatural tastes have been held in check to the point of brain dead-ness by the muted tone of the inexplicably popular WALKING DEAD series (a show whose initial promise has admittedly kept me in slave-like thrall). Thankfully, the composer’s creative horror-scoring shackles were finally ripped off of this year for ZOM-B MOVIE music that makes for the wrap-around segments, and climactic gore-a-thon of the drive-in horror spoof CHILLERAMA (check it out on Netflix instant). It’s a musical mash […]Read On »

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TV Review: CHUCK – Season 5 – “Vs. The Goodbye” – Series Finale

By ANNE LOUISE BANNON 01/28/2012

Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski in CHUCK - Season 5 | ©2012 NBC

[Editor’s Note: Since the two-hour season finale of CHUCK is essentially two separate episodes strung together, AX decided it was best to review them individually] Stars: Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Adam Baldwin, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Ryan McPartlin, Sarah Lancaster Writer: Chris Fedak Director: Robert Duncan McNeill Network: NBC, Friday nights, 8 p.m. Original Telecast: January 27, 2012 SPOILER ALERTS … of course. You’ve Been Warned! As the series finale of CHUCK picks up, it’s now two weeks later…. after Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) has ditched Chuck (Zachary Levi) because she’s not feeling it, she somehow ends up in the baggage compartment of […]Read On »

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