James loves movies. He loves watching them, acting in them, directing them, and even writing them. And now, he’s going to take some of his favorite movie scenes from the most famous films of all time, and re-imagine them in ways that only he can. (AOL)

Oscar nominee James Franco is making a grand return to General Hospital at the end of September. Unlike most actors that get their start in soaps, Franco decided to go for a run on the long running daytime drama in 2009, well after he found success in both television and film. I love Franco and his Hospital serial killer character of the same name and I can’t wait to see what they do with him on this go around. It is said to be a “long-term” arc. With One Life to Live and All My Children canceled off of ABC, General Hospital is going to have to pull out all of the stops to prove that the show still belongs in the lineup and this is a good step towards that.

More goodies from the Wonder Woman pilot that will never see the light of day have surfaced, includes two clips from the proposed series and a bunch of pretty cool storyboards. The storyboards are by concept artist Cesar Lemus and show shots from the released clips (like the above one) along with glimpses of WW’s origin on Paradise Island. Was her origin originally going to be in the pilot but got cut out or were they saving it for later? After watching the footage, this series seems like less of a fit for NBC and more of a fit for the CW. It could have been a good guilty pleasure superhero series to replace Smallville… oh well.

127 Hours
I had such mixed emotions when this movie came out. On the one hand, I was so excited to see it because the trailer looked incredible and I have an undying love for all things James Franco. But on the other hand, I was seriously scared, the way I used to get when I was a kid and was next in line for the front seat of a scary looking roller coaster. I wasn’t sure how well I’d handle the material that had people passing out at early screenings.

127 Hours is the true story of adventurous thrill seeker Aron Ralston, who spent 5 days with his right arm pinned under a boulder in Utah. This movie seemed to boil down to one important question- can James Franco carry a movie almost completely alone? The answer is a resounding yes. Franco’s performance is engaging and incredible. As Aron, his time trapped is spent alternating between being incredibly resourceful and daydreaming about all the things he should have done (for instance, tell someone where he went) that would have changed things. However, I think the film suffers because the end is known. Every moment spent with Aron as he’s trapped is coupled with a level of anxiety, waiting for what is to come. There is a daydream sequence where it begins to rain and Aron’s boulder is lifted away, freeing him and allowing him to escape. But we know the whole time this isn’t real- this isn’t how the story ends. The anxiety that sets in while waiting for the inevitable end result is so overwhelming that when the end does come, it’s a huge relief. It’s an incredible story, but the film remains distinctly average. The whole time I felt as though any moment it would push into being as amazing as it’s lead actor and as inspiring as its source material, but it couldn’t quite clear that hurdle.

Ever since the Academy implemented it’s 10 Best Picture slots, I like to look at selections and determine if I think they’d have been nominated in a 5 Best Picture year. This movie would not have been; it’s definite bottom 5 material. While it boasted a fantastic performance, it just couldn’t build off of that to make the film into something memorable as well. Because it doesn’t do it’s inspiring source material as much justice as expected, I don’t think it’s a strong contender in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.

As for Best Actor, in another year, James Franco might be a frontrunner. His performance as Aron is the best thing about this film. Unfortunately, he has some steep competition and as a first time nominee, he likely won’t take the award home.

The music, both Original Score and Original Song, evoke touching images and match Aron’s spirit and emotion throughout the film. But despite being inspirational, neither are unique enough to stand out amongst the contenders.

One thing the film does get right is its energy, and that is conveyed best through the editing. It’s music video-like beginning captures Aron’s liveliness, and as the film wears on, we are brought in and out of Aron’s thoughts and mind. There are big players in the Best Editing category this year, but the Academy could choose to honor the film here.

The time is here! The Hoff returns to The Young and the Restless!

Starting tomorrow, Tuesday June 15th, David Hasselhoff returns to the show that launched his career, The Young and the Restless. Hasselhoff steps back into the role of Dr. William “Snapper” Foster, who was last seen in Genoa City in 1982, before Snapper left to teach a three-month fellowship in London. Of course, like many soap characters who leave to do something overseas, he never returned.  The Hoff will be guesting on the show for 5 episodes, taking him through June 21st.  You can catch a video preview of Hasselhoff’s return.

Returning to the Soaps that made you famous seems to be an in thing lately. Nathan Fillion returned to One Life to Live last year, and now comes word that fan favorite Vanessa Marcil will be returning to the role of Brenda on General Hospital this summer.  In addition to big stars going back to soaps, there have been some recent movie stars making the first time jump to the genre, most notability James Franco’s General Hospital stint, which he’ll return to later this month. Franco will be returning to the daytime drama and will be taking with him veteran film and television actor Bruce Davison.

Will you be watching Hasselhoff’s daytime return? Excited about other stars returning and some making their daytime debuts?

I saw this film back in November just a few weeks after the election, so I was still in the politics mind set.

The film tells the story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), California’s first openly gay elected official, who after a life of struggling against oppression, is assassinated by a fellow politician, supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin).

I loved this film and it really struck a chord with me, and I’m sure many fellow Californians as well, as one of Milk’s campaigns against a Prop so closely resembles that of the recent Prop 8. While Sean Penn is great, I think the supporting cast is ever better. James Franco, Josh Brolin, and Emile Hirsch are all fantastic as supporting cast. The only critique I’ve heard about this film is that the documentary is better. I’ve never seen it, so I really enjoyed it, but maybe if I had I’d feel differently. Either way, as much as I loved this film, I don’t predict it taking home any awards come Oscar night.

Nominations:

Best Picture
I just don’t think this film has generated enough buzz to really give Slumdog or The Reader a run for their money. But, it’s one of my favorites in the category, so I’m glad to see it here.

Best Director – Gus Van Sant
I’ve said before that whatever takes Picture will take Director as well, and I just don’t think Van Sant will take it home over Boyle.

Best Actor – Sean Penn
Penn is fantastic as Milk and a lot of people seem to think he’ll take this one home, but I’m standing by Mickey. He’s more deserving and everyone loves a good comeback.

Best Supporting Actor – John Brolin
This nomination seems to be nominating his recent career choices than the actual role. He didn’t get any recognition for No Country and I hear that he was the only reason to watch W. Brolin followed all that up with a great supporting performance in Milk and here he is. Personally, I think Franco has the most stand out performance next to Penn, but either way no one’s taking this award from Ledger.

Best Original Screenplay
This, I think, is it’s best chance to take an award home for the night. The problem is that this category is just so unique. Recently there’s always been a breakout winner (Juno, Little Miss Sunshine), but this year I loved all the entries. However, Milk has the most nominations out of all the films in this category, so it does stand apart from the rest in that regard.

Best Editing
This is a good entry here, but I just don’t think it has enough to cut it against the beautifully cut Slumdog.

Best Costumes
This is an interesting nomination, but I don’t think that the dated clothing will be enough to take home the win as the Academy tends to favors lavish costumes such as those in The Duchess.

Best Score
I wish I could recall a single note of the score, but it just didn’t seem memorable enough to me. Those that I remember, such as Changeling and Revolutionary Road, didn’t get nominated. My score radar was definitely a tad off this year. Either way, I think that Slumdog will take this home on Sunday.

[rate 4]