Melissa Leo

It's only May, but the trailer for Lee Daniels's The Butler already has me thinking about award season. The drama stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, a butler who serves eight US presidents over the course of his three decades at the White House. Working through particularly volatile moments in the country's history, he gains a unique perspective on the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and more. Oprah Winfrey plays Cecil's wife, marking the first time she's been on screen playing a character other than herself since 1998's Beloved.

Whitaker and Winfrey aren't the only big names in the movie. The laundry list of stars playing presidents is fascinating: Robin Williams is Dwight Eisenhower, James Marsden is John F. Kennedy (with Minka Kelly as Jackie Kennedy!), Liev Schreiber is Lyndon Johnson, John Cusack is Richard Nixon, and Alan Rickman is Ronald Reagan. Not all the actors resemble their presidential counterparts, so I'm curious to see how this pans out. The film opens Oct. 18, and you can see the trailer after the jump.

I've been excited to see Oblivion since the trailer came out, but it isn't the mind-bending sci-fi film I was hoping for. Though it has a promising premise — a man on a postapocalyptic Earth is troubled by vivid memories of a world he supposedly wasn't alive to witness — it throws lackluster wrenches into the plot and settles for a ho-hum resolution. Jack (Tom Cruise) is one half of a maintenance team that repairs resource-sucking drones on what's left of Earth. He and partner Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) only have a few weeks left until they get to go back home to the moon outside of Saturn where humans are now residing, but mysterious happenings disrupt their plans.

Cruise and Riseborough have a prickly chemistry that's interesting to watch, which is helpful since a large portion of the film just stars the two of them. Cruise brings his usual charm to Jack; even on a desolate landscape with only one person in the world to win over, he still grins, cracks jokes, and delivers silly lines with determination. His signature smile and wit can only go so far, though, and it's not enough to keep this disappointing film afloat. To find out what else I thought of Oblivion, just read more.

Jesse Eisenberg stars as Eli, a musical genius who just wants to get into a piano program, in the dramatic comedy (or is it a comedic drama?) Why Stop Now. Interfering with his ability to pursue his scholastic goals is his alcoholic, drug-addicted mother, Penny, played by Melissa Leo. He's already used to taking care of his little sister, but now, on the day he's scheduled to audition for his spot in a music program, he must rally his mom to enter rehab. Of course, it's not as simple as it sounds, and the family gets tangled up in an adventure with Penny's outlandish drug dealer, Sprinkles (Tracy Morgan).

The premise of this movie makes it sound like a typical drama: kid has a gift, kid can't flourish with his dysfunctional surroundings, kid eventually escapes and makes it big (or not). That's also how the preview begins, before it takes a sharp right turn into wacky comedy territory. I'm a little concerned about the uneven tone, but the preview is also reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine, which is a good thing. The movie opens in limited release on Aug. 17, but check out the trailer when you read more.

• Kate Winslet cusses in response to Melissa Leo's acceptance speech — Lainey Gossip
• Seth Rogen opens up about his weight gain — Huffington Post
• Lindsay Lohan might take plea bargain, serve jail time — TMZ
• Miley Cyrus calls Hannah Montana "awkward" — Us Weekly
• Denise Richards wants to keep her daughters away from Charlie Sheen — D-Listed
• Ryan Gosling celebrates Green Beer Day with his dog — JustJared
• Malin Akerman thinks she looks like a boy — PopEater
• Emma Roberts is one good-looking young woman — Hollywood Tuna
• Vanessa Hudgens shows off her butterfly neck tattoo — Pink Is the New Blog
• Charlie Sheen reportedly doesn't even write his own tweets — The Superficial
• Karolina Kurkova is still making the modeling rounds — Hollywood Rag

There was a great deal of glamour on display at this evening's Oscars. Academy Awards newcomer Hailee Steinfeld led the subtle sparkling trend in a tea length Marchesa, while Cate Blanchett picked lavender Givenchy and Black Swan's Mila Kunis wore a darker purple Elie Saab. Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman stuck with the color theme, wearing Dolce and Gabbana and Rodarte respectively. Amy Adams, meanwhile, went bold in blue with her sequined L'Wren Scott.

Blue Valentine star Michelle Williams, who brought her pal Busy Philipps as her date, dazzled in Chanel, while Nicole Kidman picked a similar hue from Christian Dior. Celine Dion chose a simple and chic white Armani Prive, and Halle Berry stepped out in an ethereal design by Marchesa. Mandy Moore arrived solo in a romantic Monique Lhuillier, and Gwyneth Paltrow's first look of two was a metallic Calvin Klein.

Red was perhaps the night's most popular color, with Jennifer Hudson choosing a bright Versace and Jennifer Lawrence being a knockout in Calvin Klein. Last year's best actress winner, Sandra Bullock, returned in red Vera Wang and the show's host, Anne Hathaway, was decked out in a similar look from Valentino for her first gown. Reese Witherspoon changed things up in black and white Giorgio Armani, and Camila Alves perfectly complemented her partner, Matthew McConaughey, in a black gown. Mila is currently your pick for the evening's best dressed — click through to see more photos, and remember to vote on all of Fab and Bella's love it or hate it polls!

There are over 100 more photos of all the ladies at the Oscars, so be sure to read more