'Hangover' helps break records

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Hollywood has hustled up a hangover for the record books.

"The Hangover Part II" set a new high for comedy debuts with $105.8 million over the long Memorial Day weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The blockbuster sequel also led Hollywood to a new revenue record of around $280 million for the holiday weekend, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com

"If you can enjoy a Hangover, this is one to enjoy," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which releases "The Hangover" flicks.

Opening at No. 2 behind "The Hangover" was another sequel, DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda 2" with $62.2 million. In barely a month, Hollywood has hurtled out of a box office slide that lingered all winter, when revenues were down as much as 23 percent compared to the previous year's.

"Hollywood is back with a vengeance," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarbedian. "We always knew there were big movies on the horizon coming to save the day and it looks like that's what's happening so far this summer."

1. "The Hangover Part II" $105.8 million
2. "Kung Fu Panda 2" $62.2 million
3. "Pirates of the Caribbean" $50.4 million
4. "Bridesmaids" $21 million
5. "Thor" $12 million
6. "Fast Five" $8.2 million
7. "Midnight in Paris" $2.6 million
8. "Rio" $2.4 million
9. "Jumping the Broom" $2.35 million
10. "Something Borrowed" $2.3 million

"Midnight in Paris"

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"Midnight in Paris" is more than just Woody Allen's "best film in more than a decade," said David Edelstein in New York. It's "the only one that manages to rise above its tidy parable structure and be easy, graceful and glancingly funning."

Owen Wilson is brilliant as Gil Pender, a hack screenwriter who, during a trip to Paris with his vapid fiancee, finds himself transported each night back to the 1920s--when the French capital teemed with artists and writers. There, he meets Picasso, Hemingway and a "hilarious" Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), said Joe Morgenstern in The Wall Street Journal. He also meets a woman (Marion Cotillard) who is "everything his fiancee isn't." Allen seems to be asking: "When was the golden age and why didn't we get to live it?"

Mercifully, he doesn't appear to take the question too seriously, said David Denby in "The New Yorker." Mostly he simply delights in the travails of a "contemporary neurotic" who's been plunged into the company of "artists with seemingly dauntless strength."

Austrian Ambassador to London plans to invite the royal couple to Vienna next year

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Emil Brix, the Austrian ambassador to London, recently revealed plans to invite Prince William and Kate Middleton to next year's Vienna Opera Ball and the upcoming New Year's concert by the Vienna Philharmonic.

The Vienna Opera Ball is an annual Austrian society event which takes place in the building of the Vienna State Opera. Together with the New Year's concert, the Opera Ball is one of the highlights of the Viennese carnival season.

The dress code is evening dress, white tie and tails for men, floor-length ball-gowns for women.

The Opera Ball was first held in 1935, but was suspended during WWII. It was revived after the war and has been held annually ever since, with the exception of 1991, when it was cancelled due to the Persian Gulf War.

"Real Housewives of New Jersey"...They really tawk like dat!

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Bravo may have canceled the "The Real Housewives of D.C.," due to low ratings, but the franchise is far from played out.

The third-season premiere of "New Jersey" last week delivered record ratings for the network, easing the pain of cancellation a few months ago of "D.C."

"Jersey" and it's tough talking Italian broads, averaged 2.02 million adults 18-49 for last Monday's 90-minute season premiere, airing at 9p.m. becoming the highest-rated series debut in the network's history.

The show got a big boost from the cast turnover during the off-season. Danielle Staub, the show's outspoken villain, left amid great fanfare, after getting into a physical altercation with fellow "Housewife" Teresa Giudice during the second season reunion.

Last week the "Housewives" stole the spotlight right back with their outrageous antics during the season premiere, as a brawl broke out during the christening of a Giudie's nephew, the son of new cast member Melissa Gorga. That's right...a BRAWL at a christening. Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous?

That's the type of over-the-top drama that was missing from the "D.C." franchise and it suggests that as long as the Housewives continue misbehaving, there's room for more incarnations.

"Midnight in Paris"

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"Midnight in Paris" packed with Angelenos and New Yorkers, scored the best limited-release opening ever for a Woody Allen film as it opened in two cities.

Riding a wave of good reviews and publicity from the Cannes Film Festival, Allen's new film, starring Owen Wilson as a writer drawn to the City of Light, opened to $578,805, according to an estimate from distributor Sony Pictures Classic.

The fantastic start demonstrates that the 75-year-old Allen can still pack auditoriums for movies with the right publicity and buzz. It remains to be seen whether "Midnight in Paris" will appear to a broader audience as it expands to more cities, including San Diego, San Fransico, Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Washington D.C. on Friday.

'Thor' hammers 'Bridesmaids' at box office

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"Thor" nailed down the No 1 spot at the box office again.

Paramount's 3-D superhero film starring Chris Hemsworth as Marvel's hammer-toting god of thunder earned $34.5 million in it's 2nd weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Universal's "Bridesmaids," the raunchy comedy starring Kristin Wiig as a down-on-her-luck maid of honor, debuted above expectations in second place with $24.4 million. Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, attributed the movie's good reviews and word of mouth to wide audience appeal: 67% of the audience was female, 33% male.

"That's pretty good considering this is a picture titled "Bridesmaids" said Rocco.

Universal's car-racing sequel "Fast Five" with Dwayne Johnson shifted to the third position with $19.5 million in it's third weekend in theaters.

"Priest" opened in 4th place with $14.5 million, while Fox's animated bird tale "Rio" landed at fifth place with $8 million in it's fifth weekend in theaters.

"Mob Wives"

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

"Mob Wives" is like watching a cross between "The Sopranos" and "The Real Housewives of New Jersey."

I love the opening shot where we see four tough looking Italian women in mink coats, strolling down a Staten Island boardwalk. Catchy jazz music blares in the backround.

It's vulgar, gaudy and low class, yet also highly addicting. These are truly mob spouses. Karen Gravano is the daughter of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, Renee Graziano is the daughter of Anthony Graziano, said to be a high-ranking member of the Cosa Nostra. The four main "wives" have either husbands or fathers who have served or are serving time in jail and the women are tough, issuing blithe declarations such as "Ya never rat no matter what" and "I beat up a lotta f---in people."

Renee, Carla Facciolo and Drita D'avanzo are all pals from Staten Island, but Karen has spent the past 10 years in Arizona as part of the witness protection program.

By turns funny, appalling and vulgar, Mob Wives is swiftly paced, reality TV at its most dismaying.

It'll be a royal summer in California

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

They could visit a movie set, grab a surfboard and shoot the curl at Malibu, sample a winery or two, even take in a baseball game at Dodger Stadium.

Maybe Prince William and his new bride, the former Kate Middleton, could buy the team afterward. There is also a rumor it might soon be up for sale.

The point is, there will be plenty to do when Britain's new hot young royal couple arrives in California on July 8. And, if the titters of excitement already emanating across the state are an indication, they will be welcome with open arms by throngs of people. Not that there won't be a downside in that as well.

If the prince and his bride, aka, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have decided where they want to go during their three-day stay, they haven't told the British consulate in Los Angeles said Katherine Keith, a consulate spokeswoman. It will be Kate's first visit to the U.S. and William's first official visit.

Their wedding last month at London's Westminster Abbey created a flurry of excitement in the United States. "No matter where they venture in California the royal visit will create a global postcard for the Golden State," Caroline Beteta, president of the California Travel and Tourism Commission, said.