"The Time Traveler's Wife" Opens In Theaters

Fall in love again? The gifted Rachel McAdams melted our hearts in "The Notebook" and "Wedding Crashers" returns for this summer's biggest remantic movie, and tries to keep Eric Bana’s heart in "The Time Traveler’s Wife," which coming out today in local theaters near you.
"The Time Traveler’s Wife," a romantic drama with Sci-Fi twist, is directed by Robert Schwentke of "Flightplan" and adapted by Bruce Joel Rubin of "Ghost", based on the 2003 best-seller novel by Audrey Niffenegger, about a Chicago librarian Henry (Bana) who has a genetic disorder that causes him unable to control his abiliy to vault through time, and the impact that has on his marriage with a young heiress Claire (McAdams), a long-suffering woman who can't stay away from him. Basically this is a glad-to-be-sad romance of two people who can’t bring themselves to part but can never really be together.
It's never easy to compare movies from different times and genres. All time travel stories have one thing in common, they require a total suspension of disbelief. If you start thinking about the lapses in logic, everything falls apart. Time travel serves as a metaphor for love, absence, aging and death, but once you see it on screen, it becomes real. This adaptation of the 2003 bestseller is meant to be supremely romantic, but why does this love go so bad? Only time will tell. Timing is everything, especially when it comes to love. "The Time Traveler's Wife" takes this expression quite literally. The film is a tale of highly-praised reality-bending romance, but early reviews of the film show an uphill battle since it doesn't fulfill its destiny. One thing for sure is it seems no question that tears will flow and hankies will suffer terribly. This dramatic fantasy film has held up well, and is honest assessment of how difficult and magical a true and lasting love can be.

India.Arie ft.Gramps Morgan | "Therapy" (Video)

The Grammy Award winning soul R&B artist India.Arie (born October 3, 1975 in Colorado) is back, and giving us a new, beautifully music video for her song "Therapy," the 2nd single off India.Arie's 4th studio album "Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics," which was released on February 10, 2009. It debuted at No.3 on the Billboard 200, and No.2 on the R&B chart.
It's a bright and sunny love song. I'm glad this song finally got a video. The famed photographer David LaChapelle directed video depicts Arie living it up, and singing from the mountain tops in Hawaii. The clip sure does it justice, and a lots of vibrancy here with the backdrop colors and Arie’s outfits with her personality, and featuring roots reggae artist Roy "Gramps" Morgan. On it, Arie says that love is the best medicine: "You're takin' good care of me, boy I can't bear to leave, 'cause I need your therapy," she sings.
I love this great video, the song is beautiful and Arie definitely looks amazing and sparkling in this one. Also her lyrics and voice are a gem for the music industry, especially today. Stunning! I hope she will have a big hit with it! Enjoy the clip below.

J-pop Star Noriko Sakai Faces Drug Charge

The Japanese popular icon, Noriko Sakai, the singer and actress with a girl-next-door image has turned herself in to authorities in Tokyo Saturday evening and admitted to taking stimulant drugs since last summer encouraged by her husband, despite her urine test coming back clean. The prosecutor may dismiss the charge.

Noriko Sakai (酒井法子, born February 14, 1971 in Fukuoka) debuted on a video at the age of 15 in 1986, but rose to fame at 16 through acting in TV dramas and singing in the 1990s with nickname NORI-P (のりピー). She is popular all over Asia, an unusual achievement for a Japanese actress, and recently revived her career by appealing to older female fans. Her best-selling single to date is "Aoi Usagi" (碧いうさぎ, "Blue Rabbit"). This song was released on May 10, 1995, and used for the opening theme of the Japanese TV drama series Hoshi no Kinka (星の金貨), which she also starred in, and I watched whole series. It's currently Sakai's biggest-selling single of her career.
Entertainment world drug arrests have been making the headlines for the past week in Japan, and have shocked fans in Japan and elsewhere who believed in her "pure and straight" image. I suspend all belief of all allegations when it comes to Japanese news. There are so many possibilities, and things are rarely 'proven'. I lived and worked in Japan over decade. They have very strict drug laws. The drug use is widespread in the entertainment world. She is probably the most popular Japanese celebrity outside of her home country. Because of that, she may have suffered from tremendous stress that we can never imagine, and she will undoubtedly be banned from the industry.
She should get back to the normal life as before. I hope she gets things sorted out, and manages to move on and keep her career on track. The good news is that Sakai's 1995 hit single "Aoi Usagi" was the #1 downloaded song Tuesday on the iTunes music site following her arrest over the weekend. Please enjoy the song with me.

"I Love You, Man" Leads Today's DVD Releases

One of the funniest movies of the decade, and the hilarious and unforgettable bro-mantic comedy hit “I Love You, Man” is finally making an appearance on DVD starting today!
“I Love You, Man” is a comedy from director John Hamburg and starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel as two completely different guys who form an unlikely friendship in this start-to-finish laugh marathon about a lovable, yet awkward, groom to-be Peter Klaven(Rudd) goes on a series of man-dates to find a best man for his wedding. But when his insta-bond with his new man, Sydney Fife (Segal) puts a strain on his relationship with his fiancée, can the trio learn to live happily ever after? Are you man enough to say it?
Sometimes, a comedy doesn't have to be laugh-out-loud hysterical to be a good comedy. Not necessarily great for anything but the jokes, which in most cases are enough. "I Love You, Man" is a bromance in its truest form, filled with outrageous humor, and surprisingly enough. The film is an hugely enjoyable comical and heartwarming story in that it paints an entertaining and humorous portrait of friendship and capitalizes on the strengths of a talented cast. The movie works because everything hinges on the camaraderie and undeniable chemistry between Rudd and Segel, who give a startlingly funny and original performance. Paul Rudd is one of those guys who could stand there and read a phone book, and we would laugh. Without question, "I Love You, Man" is one of the funniest (and oddest) things in the comedy this year.

Jessie James Releases Self-titled Debut Album

21 year-old newcomer Jessie James is releasing her self titled debut album, "Jessie James," and it's available at AmazonMP3 for only $1.99 today. The album, a mix of country-inspired pop, with 12 tracks and is led by the radio hit, "Wanted" hits stores Tomorrow, but Amazon is offering it a day early at least $6 less in most stores.
Jessie was born April 12, 1988 on a military base in Italy, and moving around the country for most of her childhood and adolescent years, Jessie took harbor in music, and its paid off. She never knew there was supposed to be a difference; her boots-and-beats debut is equal parts Carrie Underwood and Christina Aguilera. Jessie falters on a handful of snoozy power ballads but plays one heck of a small-town sex kitten on up-tempo numbers like 'Blue Jeans,' where she claims her tight pants get her into the club for free, and 'My Cowboy,' a sly country-rap jam.
James says she wanted to make music that was empowering to women. "I remember growing up and listening to other artists like Christina Aguilera and Shania Twain were I just felt empowered, and I felt great about myself. I wanted to make music just like that." But with looks like that, she certainly won't be limiting her fan base to the female gender. Destined to steal her way into the heart of pop and create her own legend, Jessie was lucky enough to get signed quickly to Mercury Records. This petite powerhouse with amazing vocal power and range will soon release "Wanted", the leading single from Jessie's debut album.
"I only want to be wanted by you," belts out newly minted pop diva on “Wanted," and it’s love at 1st listen. The music video of "Wanted" was shot on March 28, directed by Travis Kopach in LA. Actor Erik Von Detten cameo on video as a cop agent that pursuit Jessie, and he kisses her in the end. Jessie's songs are well done and her voice is just fine and dandy. For Jessie, music is her life, her passion, her lover. She won’t even date, with her focus saved strictly for her career. She has no other choice. And now, she is fully prepared to see all those childhood dreams finally come true. Jessie’s self-titled bow proves she’s more than ready to seize her moment.

"G.I. Joe" Wins Global Box Office With $100M

First "Star Trek," then "Transformers 2," and now the team of Paramount and game maker Hasbro action figure toy line proved again that toys are serious business at the box office. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" went on to dominate the world by topping out over $100 million around the globe on its opening weekend for one of the best August debuts ever, albeit the smallest one.
The film not only exceeded expectations, overcame bad buzz and scathing reviews, and has also blown away the competition and stands tall to win the opening weekend with earning $56.2 million in the States, and grabbing another $44 million for a worldwide total of over $100 million in three days! According to THR, the film is still scheduled to debut in about 28 more foreign territories, including key markets, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia.
"G.I. Joe" stars Channing Tatum and Marlon Wayans as two young soldiers recruited by the international G.I. Joe military force to help save the world. It was directed by Stephen Sommers of "The Mummy" fame. Given the wide awareness of the brand, fans were underwhelmed by a trailer that premiered in February during the Super Bowl football championship, the most-watched television event of the year in the US.
“This is a very strong opening,” critics who went to see "G.I. Joe" after it opened gave it mixed reviews at best, with many branding it mindless action but some finding it fun and entertaining. Looks like Steven Sommers will get his sequel after all. Be sure to check back next week to see if G.I. Joe can hold off the invasion of "District 9."

Barlowgirl | "Beautiful Ending" (Video)

Million-selling and ten-time Dove nominated BarlowGirl is an American Christian rock–CCM band composed of three Barlow sisters from Illinois. The band became the best selling new Christian artist of 2004 with the longest running #1 song "Never Alone". "Beautiful Ending" is expected to be the lead single for their next 4th album, "Love & War," is slated for release on September 8, 2009. The music video for “Beautiful Ending” premieres exclusively at Yahoo! Music Wednesday and fans can download the single at iTunes.
BarlowGirl will host their official CD release party for "Love & War" at Rock The Universe in Orlando, Florida on September 13th. BarlowGirl is also gearing up for their headlining tour this fall in support of "Love & War", which will also feature Superchick and VOTA. For more information about their upcoming tour dates please visit BarlowGirl or Fervent Records.