Pixar's 3-D Up Opens Cannes on Cheery Note

Movie reviews: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum can't save amnesia romance

(NEWSER) - In The Vow, Rachel McAdams plays a woman who must learn to love her husband again after amnesia wipes her memory. It's no surprise it was released ahead of Valentine's Day: It's pure mushiness, critics say.

• In the New York Daily News , Elizabeth Weitzman calls the film a "down-the-middle, by-the-numbers fantasy, in which no one is too quirky or interesting or challenging in any way." Still, "there’s no shortage of viewers ready to embrace an old-fashioned, guilty-pleasure romance."

Kristen Wiig comedy snags another record

(NEWSER) - It's official: Bridesmaids has become the most popular video-on-demand movie ever, with 4.8 million rentals in four months, says the Hollywood Reporter . It's just the latest record for the sometimes raunchy female comedy, which is also the top-grossing movie in its genre ever made—$288 million worldwide. And that's not counting $100 million in Blu-ray and DVD sales in the US and two potential Oscars—for original screenplay and supporting actress (Melissa McCarthy). More»

But war movies aren't

(NEWSER) - To give your heart a boost, turn on The Hangover—but make sure you avoid Halloween. Movies that make you chuckle are good for your vascular function, while stressful war and horror movies hurt your system, a study finds. Researchers showed bits of funny movies one day and the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan another day. When subjects viewed the comedies, the lining of their vessels expanded. More»

Alcon Entertainment slated to produce upcoming sequel or prequel

(NEWSER) - "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe..." But would the infamous replicant leader in Blade Runner believe that director Ridley Scott is making a new version of the 1982 sci-fi classic? Sequel or prequel, nobody seems to know—and Harrison Ford's participation is a question mark (he reportedly hated Scott)—but The Blind Side producer Alcon Entertainment will begin development, Deadline.com reports. This on the heels of Scott's Prometheus, an upcoming 3D pic that loosely revisits the Alien franchise. More»

Or, Natalie Portman: From Black Swan to Thor

(NEWSER) - This year has seen many an Oscar winner in less-than-deserving films, from Tom Hanks in Larry Crowne to Frances McDormand in Transformers. Over at Grantland , Lane Brown averaged the Rotten Tomatoes scores of all an actor’s films since the Oscar victory—first through 2010, then through this year. The difference—measured in “cubas” (sorry, Mr. Gooding)—reveals how much the actor tainted his or her Oscar this year. And the winners are: More»