Directed by “Ice Age”‘s Carlos Saldanha, animated family film “Rio” centers on a rare, domesticated macaw, Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg, who must have beaten out a crestfallen Simon LeBon), who lives an easy life in Minnesota. Believing he’s the last of his kind, Blu has never spread his wings and learned to fly — both figuratively and literally. When he learns of a female counterpart in Rio de Janeiro, Jewel (voiced by Anne Hathaway), however, Blu sets off a wild adventure and makes some new friends along the way. The supporting vocal performance (from George Lopez, Tracy Morgan and Jamie Foxx, among others) are energetic and peppy, but not always…

How unfair is this? TBS is cancelling George Lopez’s late-night show, “Lopez Tonight.” According to NBC, Thursday night will be the final episode of “Lopez Tonight.” The series, which premiered in 2009, has been in the constant struggle to gain a concrete audience. To make matters worse, he was bumped back an hour in order for TBS to make room for Conan O’Brien’s show, “Conan.” A spokesperson for the network said, “TBS has reached the difficult decision not to order a third season of ‘Lopez Tonight.’ We are proud to have partnered with George Lopez, who is an immensely talented comedian and entertainer. TBS has valued its partnership with George…

I don’t think anyone is really itching for there to be a sequel to “The Smurfs,” but since the movie did so surprisingly well monetarily, even getting close to beating blockbuster “Cowboys & Aliens” and making $135 million throughout its run thus far, talk of a sequel was sure to follow. According to Filmonic and Deadline, the film will have a sequel for August 2, 2013. Who knows what the story will be. I suppose even though the film was panned by nearly every critic, it is saying something when these weird blue creatures can take on Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford and almost best them one of the things…

Granted, it’s still early, but with seven reviews in at Rotten Tomatoes, it looks like “The Smurfs” didn’t exceed anyone expectations. If anything, it seems like they didn’t even meet the low expectations people had in the first place. The film is currently at a 0% rating. Most of the critics seem to be saying that the film uses gimmicks and plot devices from films like “Alvin and the Chipmunks” (which is very apparent even from the trailers), “Garfield,” “Hop,” and others. They are also saying that the film is unoriginal and practically torture for adults (which is ironic, seeing how adults are the ones that actually grew up with…

Title: The Smurfs Director: Raja Gosnell Starring: Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, Sofia Vergara, Jayma Mays (voice cast listed below) Thank you Hank Azaria for continuing to bring your A-game even if everything else around you is a Smurfing mess. His portrayal of the sinister wizard Gargamel is the life-force that will keep the adults involved. The only other aspect to keep the generation that grew up with “The Smurfs” attentive is to count how many subtle sexual innuendos are coming out of Smurfette’s mouth (voiced by Katy Perry); something the movie enjoys addressing every so often (or I was just that bored creating things to entertain myself). Other than…

Title: Rio Directed By: Carlos Saldanha Starring The Voices Of: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Foxx, will.I.am, Rodrigo Santoro, George Lopez, Tracy Morgan Is it a bad thing when the animation tells a better story than the characters’ dialogue? Can voice-over work really hamper a CGI cartoon? The answer to these interrogatories is both yes and no. “Rio” is 96 minutes of splendid visuals and vibrant characters. The flick is flying high until some of them start to open their mouths. More specifically, beaks. Now one should know that yours truly screened this the morning after a healthy night of birthday celebrating. So although the professionalism…

20th Century Fox just released the first two minutes from the upcoming animated film “Rio” by director Carlos Saldanha (Ice Age), and starring Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Neil Patrick Harris and George Lopez. Synopsis: ‘Rio’ is a 3-D animation feature from the makers of the ‘Ice Age’ films. Set in the magnificent city of Rio de Janeiro and the lush rainforest of Brazil, the comedy-adventure centers on Blu, a rare macaw who thinks he is the last of his kind. When Blu discovers there’s another — and that she’s a she — he leaves the comforts of his cage in small town Minnesota and heads to Rio. But it’s far…

Anna Faris has received an apology from New Zealand’s state tourism agency for attacking her credibility, accesshollywood.com is reporting. The agency questioned the ‘Yogi Bear’ actress’ reliability after she recently described New Zealand men as vulgar on George Lopez’s late-night TBS talk show, ‘Lopez Tonight.’ Faris told Lpez that when she was in the country, carloads of men yelled obscenities at her while she was walking home from shoots of the live-action movie. After the segment aired, New Zealand tourism spokesman Ian Long questioned Farris’ integrity, telling the New Zealand Herald “In the same segment, she accepts an award for being a pothead stoner of the year…I don’t think she…

Sofia Vergara, who has also landed a voice role in George Miller’s “Happy Feet 2″ and is slated for a November 18th, 2011 release, has joined the cast of Sony’s big-screen version of “The Smurfs”. Vergara (“Modern Family”) is being described by Variety as “Odile, a powerful executive at a high-end French cosmetics company who is married to the live-action character played by Neil Patrick Harris.” She joins Harris and Jayma Mays (TV’s “Glee”), Hank Azaria, Jonathan Winters, George Lopez, Katy Perry and Alan Cumming. “The Smurfs” is being directed by Raja Gosnelland is set to hit theaters August 3rd, 2011. Filming is starting in New York City next week….

Title: Valentine’s Day Directed by: Garry Marshall Starring: Taylor Lautner (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse), Bradley Cooper (The A-Team), Anne Hathaway (Alice in Wonderland), Jessica Biel, Taylor Swift, Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Alba. The power of a consumer driven holiday is frustratingly overwhelming. We’re weakened to the point that we’re willing to drop hundreds of dollars on overpriced meals, greeting cards and flowers even though a simple ‘I Love You’ would have sufficed. Not only have I conceded and bought gifts, flowers, cards and candy, but I haven been suckered into enjoying one of the most poorly made films of the year, Valentine’s Day. Brace yourself; this is no…