At The Movies

Invictus
A look at life of Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) after the fall of apartheid in South Africa during his first term as president when campaigned to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event as an opportunity to unite his countrymen. Morgan Freeman has had this project in development for several years, and he sought out a reunion with Clint Eastwood for what has to be the biggest challenge of his acting career to date.

On DVD

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort's defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn't counted on Romilda Vane's chocolates! And then there's Hermione, simmering with jealousy but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

The Buzz...

USA's long running series Monk exited with a record breaking 9.5 million viewers, making it the most watched hourlong series ever on basic cable. The dramedy, which centers on a detective with a serious case of OCD, concluded its run Friday and topped The Closer's record of 9.2 million. The show, which stars Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, came to a close after eight seasons on USA. Shalhoub garnered seven Emmy nominations, and won three, for Monk.

Given that vampires have earned the company one or two pennies in the last couple of years, it's hardly surprising that Summit Entertainment would be looking to stick with the creatures of the night. Dracula, with Brad Pitt's production company will keep the blood flowing. Vlad will explore Drac as a young prince, plundering the history of Vlad the impaler, the man behind the myth.

Young Hollywood sensations Corbin Bleu, Jesse McCartney and Annalynne McCord were honoured for their tireless charity work. The up and coming stars were all lauded at Variety's third Power of Youth event in Los Angeles, which recognizes the philanthropic work of people under 25. Singer McCartney, who was honoured for his work with the City of Hope charity. High School Musical star Bleu was congratulated for his efforts as spokesman for the Starlight Children's Foundation, while 90210's McCord worked as a goodwill ambassador for The Blind Project.

Andrew McCarthy, the star of some of the most iconic teen movies of the '80s (Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero), is getting back to his roots by taking on the CW's sexy drama, Gossip Girl. McCarthy, who will direct an episode set to air in the spring, says the show's young stars are different than the ones who came to be known as the Brat Pack.

Jason Reitman’s Up In The Air found stunning numbers in its first weekend of limited release. The Paramount release, which led the National Board of Review winners last week, grossed $1,100,000 from only 15 screens. That amounted to a scorching $73,333 average, among the 25 highest of all time and the year’s best specialty debut behind only Precious.

Current Captain Kirk Chris Pine has long been mooted as the man to take over the role of Jack Ryan. This has now been confirmed by producer Mace Neufeld, who also claimed that this Ryan flick would be based on an original script rather than a Tom Clancy novel.

New Moon was kicked out of the top spot at the box office this weekend. The Sandra Bullock film The Blind Side, which has already been in theatres for three weeks, beat out the vampires and werewolves. But don’t feel bad for Robert Pattinson and the Twilight gang, New Moon pulled in another $15 million in North America this weekend bringing its worldwide total to $570 million.

Twilight’s Taylor Lautner is confirmed to play teenaged crime fighting superhero Max Steel for the big screen. Based on the hit Mattel toy and animated TV series, Max Steel is the story of a young extreme sports junkie who is left with super powers after he suffers an accident in a science lab.

Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo was hospitalized after a bus crash this weekend. The frontman was left with three broken ribs, an injured leg and internal damage after his tour bus hit a patch of ice and ended up in a ditch off the I-90 in New York State.

Apparently whether or not Miley Cyrus is pregnant was one of the hottest topics this past year. The website askmen.com has released its list of the most searched celeb rumours of 2009 and Miley being knocked up was one of them. Also on the list: whether or not Adam Lambert is gay and if Lady Gaga is actually a dude.

ABC may not want Adam Lambert, but FOX is welcome him back to the old stomping grounds with open arms. The American Idol runner up, under fire for a risque performance at ABC's American Music Awards ceremony, will guest on the Dec. 16 So You Think You Can Dance finale. Both shows air on FOX.

U2 frontman Bono has paired with Nike in the fight against AIDS. The singer appeared with English soccer stars in London to promote the Lace Up, Save Lives campaign. Nike will sell shoes with red laces and donate the proceeds to AIDS charities.

Diane Sawyer says this is her last week as co-anchor of Good Morning America on ABC. This news doesn't come as a huge surprise, since last week Charles Gibson gave an official date for his departure from World News. Sawyer is replacing him as anchor starting on Monday, Dec. 21.

The story of Blink-182 could soon be coming to the big screen. San Diego based filmmaker Brandon Flores is writing a script called Blink that documents the band’s early days, from forming with original drummer Scott Raynor up until hitting the big time with Travis Barker.