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My Week With Marilyn: Michelle Williams Brings Back the Magic of Monroe

Shannon Vestal — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:54:16 PST

In My Week With Marilyn, Michelle Williams takes on the formidable challenge of playing '50s screen siren Marilyn Monroe. She proves that she's capable and delivers a performance that goes beyond mimicking Monroe; Williams creates a character that you appreciate outside of the real person. The film follows Marilyn while she was in the UK filming the 1957 movie The Prince and the Showgirl opposite Laurence Olivier, but the story is told from someone far less famous than those Hollywood legends. Colin Clark (played by Eddie Redmayne), a young production assistant on the film, wrote the memoir the film is based on, and the story - and impression of Marilyn - are all from his perspective.

The shooting of the film doesn't go smoothly, due to the difficulties caused by Monroe's acting insecurities. She frustrates Olivier, who is not just her leading man, but also director and producer. Marilyn needs constant support, but when her new husband Arthur Miller has to go back to the US to work, she has to find it elsewhere, and takes a shine to Colin. They become friends and confidantes for a week, and they're a magical few days for Colin. Though he experiences ups and downs with the actress, he still falls for the woman easily, in much the same way that I fell for this lovely film. To find out why I was so charmed by My Week With Marilyn, just keep reading.

Game On: Dance Central 2 and Kinect Sports Season 2

Susi May — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:57:12 PDT

I don't think exergaming will ever replace running in the great outdoors, but it certainly gets people off the couch and moving - something we could all do a bit more of. My family of four has been perfecting our dance moves and working on our sports skills since last Christmas, when my hubby received a Kinect as a gift, turning his Xbox into family fun time. Updated versions of our fave games, Dance Central 2 ($50) and Kinect Sports Season 2 ($50), were just released. We've been tearing it up in the living room with these two games, and here's what we think.

Dance Central 2
The new soundtrack includes a mix of old-school tunes ("Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot and Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff") and recent hits (Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and the Usher/Pitbull tune "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love") and is highly inspirational. The graphics are improved from last year's game; even though the game is now busier visually, the graphics are not distracting but certainly add to the entertainment value. The final photo of the game is now you, the player, in the ending position, which is always good to nail for extra points. The developers have managed to create a background so you don't see the walls of your living room in the low res photos of your moves, but disco-inspired horizontal neon lines. When you do a move correctly, a tracer appears around your hands giving you positive visual feedback. It's cool!

Keep reading to learn more about both games.

8 Things You Didn't Know About Patrick Stewart

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:42:44 PDT

Our favorite captain, Sir Patrick Stewart, sat down for a live Nerdist podcast with Chris Hardwick this week to chat about his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation, his upcoming voice work on American Dad, and how he first met Ricky Gervais. We dug up some interesting tidbits that geeks will love about Patrick Stewart, thanks to the podcast. Check them out below!

He once fell asleep standing up while filming a scene on TNG. Apparently, the film footage is still in Paramount's vaults.
"The Alphabet Song" was originally filmed with choreography as a private gift for creator Gene Roddenberry's birthday, and the piano track was added in later (in the wrong key). Obviously, it was never meant to hit the Internet.
During the first season of TNG, he thought that the cast and crew "screwed around" too much (he was very serious about the work), so he gave them a pep talk about shaping up. He said "I could do this, because I was the captain and a lot older."
He credits Levar Burton, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, and Marina Sirtis for giving him a sense of humor.
When Ricky Gervais initially called him to work on Extras, he was in a supermarket and thought that it was a friend who does excellent impersonations.
He's not a comic book fan and had to be talked into doing X-Men.
He says that America has never forgiven him for slapping Julia Roberts in Conspiracy Theory.
When asked what he has learned about himself through acting, he said "Not to be afraid. I was fearful for years, afraid of being myself; I was a great faker. . . . Getting rid of fear, and that's what I say to all acting students when I talk to them, that it's the most important thing they have to free themselves of, because they are not expressing themselves when they are afraid of being themselves."

What Other Airlines Can Learn From Virgin America's New Tech-Savvy SFO Terminal

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:54:13 PDT

Sir Richard Branson unveiled the brand new Virgin America T2 terminal at SFO yesterday, after a first-of-its-kind simultaneous flight of the Airbus A320, WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo over the San Francisco coastline. The new eco-friendly terminal is LEED Gold-certified and sustainable, which is a first in the US. Not only earth conscious, the terminal looks pretty sexy, too. Check out images of the new terminal, find out why tech-savvy travelers will love it, and what other airlines can learn from the new addition.

Jen Biesty on Top Chef All-Stars Episode 10

Guest Writer — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:15:56 PST

Here to recap last night's Top Chef All-Stars is the always awesome TC Chicago cheftestant Jen Biesty. Take it away Jen!

Blooowing UP and hitting The Buitoni Target is where it's AT!

What is more popular than cookies and Cookie Monster? Well, my niece will argue it is Elmo - and we got both last night on Top Chef All-Stars for none other than a COOKIE Challenge.

Dale is so ready to dis on Mike Isabella for being a chubby. Yo Dale, I love ya, but you too have been eating some dozen or so cookies by the looks of you!

OK cute challenge: too cute.

To find out what Jen thought of the elimination, keep reading.

Hit the Books: Kids Don't Know Their Science Basics

babysugar — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:00:20 PDT

Who was the first human to set foot on the moon? A) Buzz Lightyear, B) Luke Skywalker, or C) Neil Armstrong? Seems like a silly quiz, but when British schoolkids were recently surveyed, the movie characters were named in addition to the actual astronaut.

In an online survey of 1,000 British kids between 4-16 years old, the UK's Birmingham Science City received some rather interesting answers when it asked lil ones who invented the telephone (the queen was a common answer) and what Sir Isaac Newton discovered (one-third of the surveyed boys said fire). Though the study's results may be alarming to scientists and educators, they should find some solace in the fact that almost 70 percent of 9- and 10-year-olds would like to be famous for winning a Nobel Prize in science. Researchers are hoping teachers will use the findings to help inspire a love of science as children move on through their school years.

How do you integrate science in your family's life?