You probably saw The Back-Up Plan trailer during the Superbowl and it looks like Jennifer Lopez might be on the comeback trail for the big screen.  After flicks that were somewhat critically successfully but not commercially successful, like An Unfinished Life and El cantante (a movie I loved and thought she deserved an Oscar nod), J-Lo is back in what she does best — romantic comedies.  Here is the synopsis:

The Back-up Plan is a comedy that explores dating, love, marriage and family “in reverse.”

After years of dating, Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) has decided waiting for the right one is taking too long. Determined to become a mother, she commits to a plan, makes an appointment and decides to go it alone. That same day, Zoe meets Stan (Alex O’Loughlin) – a man with real possibilities.

Trying to nurture a budding relationship and hide the early signs of pregnancy becomes a comedy of errors for Zoe and creates confusing signals for Stan. When Zoe nervously reveals the reason for her unpredictable behavior, Stan commits fully and says he’s in. Never before has love seen a courtship where a wild night of sex involves three in a bed – Stan, Zoe and the ever-present massive pregnancy pillow. Or, where “date night” consists of being the “focal point” at a near-stranger’s water birth which does for kiddie pools what “Jaws” did for swimming in the ocean. The real pregnancy test comes when both of them realize they really don’t know each other outside of hormonal chaos and birth preparations. With the nine month clock ticking, both begin to experience cold feet. Anyone can fall in love, get married and have a baby but doing it backwards in hyper-drive could be proof positive that they were made for each other.

Check out the trailer below and if you want to play your own version of The Back-Up Plan, click here!

V-Day is this weekend and there is a movie that fits the bill — Gary Marshall’s Valentine’s Day. The cast is endless with names that include Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Julia Roberts, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift and George Lopez.

There are so many people packed into the movie it will be interesting to see how the flick works.  Check out the trailer below!

An animated Lee Daniels talked to BET’s Sharon Carpenter about his history-making film Precious. Daniels said he wasn’t expecting six nominations and that he carries on the legacy of the greats before him like John Singleton and Spike Lee.  He also talks the importance of sexuality in the film,  risk-taking and the critic.

Check out the interview below!  Can also click here to read my interview with Lee Daniels and Gabourey Sidibe.

Gabourey Sidibe has been all over the news after her Oscar nod for lead actress in Precious, she is only eighth Black woman to be nominated in this category. Gabby is probably battling off the boys now on who she will take to the Oscars, but she has Justin Timberlake in mind — or maybe Anthony Mackie. According to MSNBC.com:

“I want to make Justin Timberlake and (“The Hurt Locker” actor) Anthony Mackie fight it out for the honor of being my date,” Sidibe told the Canadian entertainment TV show “eTalk” this week. “I’m just going to throw them in the ring and make them do it!”

But if Sidibe had to narrow it down to one guy, her heart is set on Timberlake. At one point during the interview, Sidibe turns toward the camera and makes her direct appeal. “Justin,” she says, “if you’re not doing anything on that night, maybe you could be my date or something. It’s fine. No pressure!”

Gabby should be careful with Justin — the last time JT hung out with a sistah in public her bosom popped out and she was thrown under the sexist bus!  Gabby might want to go for Anthony Mackie — I’m just sayin’!

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In one of the most diverse and history making years for people of color in film – Vanity Fair somehow missed the rainbow colored memo.  All over the web from urban to pop sites, folks are giving Vanity Fair the side-eye for their March issue that declares “New Hollywood.”  Sadly, new Hollywood to Vanity Fair seems a lil’ Jim Crow-ish.  The cover includes up and coming starlets like Abbie Cornish, Mia Wasikowska, Amanda Seyfried, Rebecca Hall and Evan Rachel Wood. What’s missing?  Well, despite the black letters on the cover — color is missing!

It wouldn’t have been a stretch to pull some diverse names into the mix like 2009 Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson, recent Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe, Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose from The Princess and the Frog, or one of the hottest actress in the world right now (regardless of race), star of Avatar and Star Trek, Zoe Saldana.  Leaving all of these successful names out would be like doing a story on the “new face of politics” and not including President Barack Obama!

African-American films are making more money than ever and Black stars have proven to be bankable — especially more bankable than any of the women on the cover of this Vanity Fair issue (with the exception of the girl from Twilight – Kristen Stewart).  A writer from Vanity Fair described the girls with “Ivory-soap-girl features” — wow!  That sounds like something from a 19th century slave narrative!

Did Vanity Fair miss the mark or just following the lily White tradition of their magazine?

No surprise — Mo’Nique received an Oscar nomination for her now-legendary performance as Mary Jones in Precious!  The BET talk show host has already won a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and countless other awards since the Lee Daniels film debuted at Sundance last year. Unless the Academy Awards pulls one of its legendary upsets, this Oscar is all Mo’Nique’s, which would make her the fifth Black woman to win an Oscar for acting in 82 years (wow!).  She is now the 16th Black woman to receive an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Other nominations include Morgan Freeman for best actor in Invictus and Gabourey Sidibe received a best actress nod for Precious.  Sidibe is only the eighth Black actress to receive a nod for lead actress.  Freeman has been nominated twice before for lead actor, once in 1989 for Driving Miss Daisy and another in 1994 for The Shawshank Redemption.  The Princess and the Frog received three nominations, one for best animated feature and two for best original song.

Precious racked up four more nominations (totaling six) and history was made.  Lee Daniels was nominated for best director, the first time since John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood in 1991 that an African American received a nod in this category.  In addition, Precious earned a nomination for best adapted screenplay, which was honored to Geoffry Fletcher — only the third time an African American received a nod in this category, which hasn’t happened in over 25 years.  Precious was also nominated for best picture with nine other films — this is the first time that a film with a predominately Black cast and Black director was nominated in this category.  The film also received a best editing nod.

Expect the usual suspects Oscar night — Avatar for best film, Sandra Bullock for best actress and Mariah in a busty, tight dress.

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will air March 7th, hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.  Click here for a full list of nominees.

Check out the clip below of Halle Berry winning the Oscar for best actress in a leading role at the 74th Annual Academy Awards.

We got the teaser trailer a few months back, but now the official trailer is released for Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too? This time around the crew is having their annual couples retreat at the beach and drama ensues. According to the trailer, one couple will not make it.

The sequel includes the original cast and extras like Cicely Tyson and Oscar winner Louis Gossett, Jr. The 2007 version gave Perry some of the best reviews of his career, racked in over $55 million at the box office and earned Janet Jackson an NAACP Image Award.  Why Did I Get Married Too? opens April 2nd.  Check out the trailer!

Halle Berry is playing Doris Payne, legendary international jewel thief, in the upcoming movie Who Is Doris Payne.  But, it looks like Doris ain’t do stealing just yet– she was arrested last Friday. According to the New York Daily News:

Doris Payne was arrested Friday for removing tags from a $1,300 Burberry trench coat and walking out of Saks Fifth Avenue in Costa Mesa, Calif. without stopping at the cash register, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A native of Slab Fork, a West Virginia coal-mining town, Payne once told the paper she had no idea how many jewels she’s lifted over the decades, but that she had stolen from stores in New York and Las Vegas as well as Paris, Monte Carlo and Tokyo. After one arrest she listed her occupation simply as “jewel thief.”

Looks like Halle will have a lot to work with in this character!

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While Wesley Snipes had some straight to DVD releases in the past few years, his last major film was 2004’s Blade: Trinity. Now, Snipes returns in Brooklyn’s Finest, aa urban cop drama, which also stars Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke and Don Cheadle.  Also, the film is directed by Antoine Fuqua, who was behind Training Day.

Check out the trailer!

Movies like Avatar and Twilight bring in the big bucks, but according to the American people — their heart is still with serious and respected actors.

Every year the Harris Poll conducts a survey of America’s favorite movie stars and this year the people said actors like Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood were their favs.  Denzel, who held the number one spot since 2006, clocked in at number three. The Book of Eli star also rocked number one with Democrats.  Morgan Freeman hit number 9, beating out Julia Roberts.  Nope, there is no Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, or Robert Pattinson on the list.  Here is the complete list below:

1. Clint Eastwood
2. Johnny Depp
3. Denzel Washington
4. Sandra Bullock
5. Tom Hanks
6. George Clooney
7. John Wayne (tie)
7. Meryl Streep (tie)
9. Morgan Freeman
10. Julia Roberts

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