While students were on Winter Break, the Hollywood box office and scandalous celebrities were hard at work. For all the students who went into hibernation for the past three weeks and missed out on all the hot gossip, here are the highlights:
Frozen
Fierce and feisty female leads are hitting the screens. No more damsels in distress or lost glass slippers. Sorry, Cinderella. You’re out; Anna is in.
In “Frozen,” Anna is the bold and fearless sister of Elsa, whose secret powers have trapped their kingdom in an eternal winter. In order to save the town, Anna teams up with Kristoff, a hunky mountain man, and his reindeer, Sven, to free the kingdom from her sister’s icy reign accompanied by a quirky snowman named Olaf.
The film, unlike its Disney princess movie predecessors, focuses more on comedy and sisterly love than romance. This is different than Disney’s usual thematic motifs, which historically focus on finding true love and being rescued by your “knight in shining armor.” All the same, there is still that same Disney magic that makes you wish you could live in a world with adorable talking creatures and where your hair is always princess quality.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Hobbits, dwarves and elves returned for their second film in The Hobbit Trilogy. Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves continue on their journey to save the Dwarf Kingdom from the dragon, Smaug.
Meanwhile, Bilbo grows fonder of the precious ring and a mysterious evil lurks in the shadows.
The film got a bad rap for not following the book. For example, Tauriel does not exist in the book nor does the love triangle. However, the stunts, the acting and the beautiful set design make up for the differences. Peter Jackson, the director, made us wince in every battle scene, laugh out loud at the comedic misfortunes of the dwarves and pulled at our heartstrings at all the right moments.
From the elves’ elegant fortress to the detail in each scale on Smaug’s body, the film is a work of art. Not to mention Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace, Cate Blanchett (always flawless) and the delicious voice of Benedict Cumberbatch. Was I the only one seduced by that dragon? I don’t think so.
Beyonce
Queen B has done it again. And right under our noses! Her fifth album, “Beyonce,” was released Dec. 13.
The work is considered a visual album because each song is followed by a short video. Guest artists on the album include Drake, Frank Ocean, Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce’s husband, Jay-Z. She even features her daughter, Blue Ivy, on the song, “Blue.” She’s come a long way from “Crazy in Love,” now singing songs with themes including feminism, gender and, of course, sweet passionate love.
Let’s be honest, if Beyonce were singing about eating broccoli at an accounting seminar, it would still somehow blow all of our minds. Queen B, you can do no wrong.
Golden Globes
The Golden Globe Awards were held Sunday and hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler killed it.
Here are the highlights: “12 Years a Slave” won Best Motion Picture Drama. Cate Blanchett won for “Blue Jasmine.” Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical went to “American Hustle.”
Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical was Leonardo DiCaprio for “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical went to Amy Adams in “American Hustle.”
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture was awarded to Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle.” Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture was given to Jared Leto for “Dallas Buyer’s Club.” Lastly, Emma Thompson threw her shoes and handed off her martini before presenting the award for Best Screenplay. It was the best thing ever.
Miley’s “Adore You” music video
Sweet niblets! Our precious Miley is now officially making soft-core porn and calling it a music video. Either she’s going through some sort of quarter-life crisis, or her publicists are geniuses. Either way, she couldn’t stay out of the tabloids if she tried.
Remember when everyone was shocked by the “Wrecking Ball” video? Then we all watched the video for “Adore You” and our jaws dropped again. You’d think by now we wouldn’t be surprised by anything she does, but she continues to wow us with her … charisma, for lack of a better word. The video was on YouTube the day after Christmas and now has more than 41,000,000 views. As much as I want to scold her and slap her scandalous little wrist, I have to commend her for the fact that America is now obsessed with her. It’s like watching a train wreck. As much as you want to look away, you just can’t.
Story by Madison Wepfer, Contributing writer
