Get to know the charming Emma Stone

Emma Stone. Some of you may not recognize the name — after all, at 22 years old she hasn’t been in the acting game all that long. Yet, within the last five years she’s managed to be a break-out star in every role she’s taken — leading her to snag a part in next summer’s Spider-Man remake as Peter Parker’s first love interest, Gwen Stacy.

But that’s next summer. This summer Stone takes on a central role in the anticipated release of Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel “The Help,” released in theaters Wednesday. Stone plays Skeeter Phelan, an aspiring writer in the 1960s who decides to write a tell-all book about the life of black maids. Alongside actresses Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, Stone showcases her dramatic side, which we haven’t seen much of in her previous work. It’s a role that will surely move her out of the supporting actress category and into the spotlight.

For now, get to know Emma Stone a little better by looking back at four of my favorite performances from her.

Jules in “Superbad” (2007) — Emma Stone first showed off her acting chops in this Judd Apatow directed flick. Stone plays Jules, the love interest of man-boy Seth (Jonah Hill) in the R-rated summer hit. You can easily see why Seth would like her — Stone’s character comes across as both funny and genuinely nice, despite being portrayed as the popular girl in the film. She’s a character who’s able to hang out with the boys, and I think it’s a role that most resembles the girl-next-door aura that Stone gives off in real life.

Wichita in “Zombieland” (2009) — Wichita was just one great aspect of a fabulous movie staring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg and Abigail Breslin in which zombies take over America.

Stone plays a zombie survivor, who along with her sister, are simply trying to survive, even if it means conning others to get what they need. On the way, the two girls come across Columbus (Eisenberg) and Tallahassee (Harrelson), and the four actors play off each other well. Wichita is slightly more devious than Stone’s “Superbad” persona, but still just as fun.

Natalie in “The House Bunny” (2008) — An underrated flick, I might add — “The House Bunny” stars Anna Faris as Shelley, a former Playboy Playmate who gets kicked out of Hef’s mansion for being too old. With nowhere to go, Shelley stumbles upon a socially-awkward sorority that happens to need a den mother, as well as a major makeover. Stone plays Natalie, the president of the sorority, as well as the resident geeky girl who can’t catch the boy of her dreams.

It’s hard to believe Stone could ever be the resident geeky girl — her character actually comes off quite normal among the other girls of the sorority — but Stone plays the role in a charming way, and it shows most when she’s interacting with the bubbly, yet slightly dimwitted Shelley.

Olive in “Easy A” (2010) — A new-age take on “The Scarlet Letter,” “Easy A” casts Stone as high school student Olive who gets caught in the middle of a rumor involving her losing her virginity to a college guy. Rather than trying to defend herself from everyone, Olive decides to embrace the image the rumor has created of her. From here, she starts a mock business for boys who have trouble catching the attention of girls. Olive takes their money, and in exchange the boys get to say they had sex with her, therefore boosting their popularity.

Stone’s performance outshines the storyline here — there’s a wonderful scene that will have you in tears involving Olive constantly singing Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine” — and the one-liners she’s given are right on point, especially in the scenes opposite her overly-religious fellow student Marianne (Amanda Bynes)

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There's a doc for everybody

In terms of the TV stratosphere, I hope you’re not feeling too overwhelmed this week. I know there’s a lot going on. We’ve got Shark Week taking place on the Discovery Channel, Mob Movie week over on AMC and my favorite late night host, Craig Ferguson, has taken us all on a trip to Paris for the week. And saddled in between all of that, the fourth season of everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure, “The Jersey Shore,” debuted.

Aside from all that greatness (Admit it: You want to see “The Jersey Shore” kids make a fool of themselves in Italy just as much as the next person.), Current TV is airing a weekly segment going by the title of “50 Documentaries to See Before You Die” that I suggest you check out. It’s hosted by “Super Size Me” creator Morgan Spurlock, and focuses on documentaries released in the last 25 years. From sports (“Hoop Dreams”) to animals (“March of the Penguins”) and to global warming (“An Inconvenient Truth”) to spelling bees (“Spellbound”), this documentary series touches on them all — one of my personal favorite being Errol Morris’ “The Thin Blue Line.” And what makes it even better is Current TV is airing many of the documentaries on the list throughout the month.

I might add, that aside from the typical countdown aspect of the series, host Spurlock also tracks down and interviews some the filmmakers whose movies are on the list, as well as “characters” of the films.

For instance, in the first segment Spurlock drives out to Florida to snatch a few moments away from Billy Mitchell, a main player in the 2007 documentary “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters” by Seth Gordon. Mitchell, at the time, held the world record for most points in the arcade game “Donkey Kong.” In the film, Mitchell is challenged by Steve Wiebe, an underdog in all aspects of life, who claims he can beat Mitchell’s high score. Throughout the film, we get an inside look at the world of competitive gaming — and just how intense it really gets.

The first hour-long segment of “50 Documentaries to See Before You Die” aired Tuesday, but don’t fret, you can find reruns playing constantly throughout the week, and practically up until the final installment premiers on Aug. 30. So take some time away from the shark-infested TV set, and sneak a peak at the realistic side of film — it’ll be well worth it

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NOTE: The next four segments of “50 Documentaries to See Before You Die” will air every Tuesday at 9 p.m. from here on out, with the last installment premiering on Aug. 30. For Comcast subscribers, you’ll find Current TV on channel 107. For all other subscribers, check www.current.com for channel listings.

'Winnie the Pooh' keeps things simple

“Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh

Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff.
He’s Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh.
Willy nilly silly ole bear.”

When was the last time you heard those lyrics? Infectious little tune, isn’t it?

If you find yourself humming it for hours on end — and remembering the days of a stuffed bear who loved his honey oh-so-much — then perhaps you’ll spend some time with Pooh and his friends in the newest “Winnie the Pooh” movie, released last Friday.

The film, wonderfully narrated by John Cleese, centers around finding Eeyore a new tail after he lost his old one. The reward: A big bucket of honey — just what Pooh needs to fill his morning hunger pains. And so Christopher Robin alerts everyone of the problem at hand, and Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, Tigger, Kanga and Roo all set out to find the perfect tail for their dear friend Eeyore.

While Pooh and his friends try out a number of items for Eeyore — a clock, a balloon, a yo-yo, an umbrella, and even an accordion — nothing seems to work. As Pooh goes to alert Christopher Robin of their predicament, he finds a note on Christopher Robin’s door: “Gon Out Bizy Back Soon.”

As Pooh can’t read, he brings it to Owl, who misinterprets the note, thinking a “Backson” monster has taken Christopher Robin away. And so the gang digresses from their quest for Eeyore’s tail and begin to think of ways to catch the fictional monster.

The creators of this film couldn’t have released it at a better time — well, maybe one week earlier would have been nice so that it wasn’t overshadowed by a certain boy wizard — but still, “Winnie the Pooh” succeeds during a time when 3-D, CGI-animated, overblown-special-effect movies are all the rage. From the classic simplicity of the 2-D animation, to the wonderful songs such as “The Tummy Song” and “Everything Is Honey,” all is well in this film.

It’s cute, funny and even quite clever, for instance, as we see Pooh break the fourth wall a number of times by interacting with the narrator — “Just then Pooh discovered a note,” says the narrator. “I did?” asks Pooh — and by playing with the visuals, as Pooh walks on the words of the book and jumps from page to page — “Is there honey in this paragraph?” asks Pooh as he climbs from sentence to sentence, searching for any notion that he will discover honey sometime soon.

The only downside to the film is its 65-minute length — which some parents might see as a huge upside. To me it all felt a bit rushed; every story line rapped up a tad too quickly. And just as Pooh is always left with a yearning for more honey, I was left wanting more time with Christopher Robin and his “Hundred Acre Wood” friends.

Remembering Harry Potter

As you may have noticed, I decided to devote the majority of the A&E section this week to Harry Potter. After all, he’s graced our presence for the last 13 years — blessing us with seven novels, courtesy of J.K. Rowling, and eight movies, the last of which flies into theaters today.

A lot of people may not realize it — especially if they never gave in to the hoo-ha of it all — but this whole Harry Potter journey is kind of a big deal. Think about it: What other series of films can you name that have spanned 10 years and kept the entire cast, aside from the use of four different directors, through each and every film? All while managing to hold on to an adoring fan base and gross $2 billion and counting at the box office? There is nothing like it — just as Harry Potter is The Boy Who Lived, this is The Series That Lived. And unfortunately for us, the time has come for Harry Potter’s journey to come to an end — one that I’m sure we’ll never forget. Just as I have never forgotten — as I’m sure many of you, as well — the first time I was introduced to the magical world of Harry Potter.

I was probably 12 or 13-years-old when I first discovered the boy wizard. I managed to get a hold of the first novel, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” before the entire world caught on. It was 1999, and it started when my mother took my best friend and me to our middle school book fair. A bookworm at heart, I relished in the many choices of books I could get my hands on. While I could never make up my mind when it came to choosing one novel over another, my friend was the opposite. She saw the colorful cover with a boy on a broomstick at the center of it all, and there was no turning back. And although you should never judge a book by its cover, as we all know, when it came to the cover of Harry Potter, there was no doubt that it would be a spectacular novel — it just looked like a fun story — and her inkling was spot on.

A few days later she had finished the book and moved on to the newly-released sequel, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” While we were waiting to go to the beach one day, she was so absorbed in her sequel I decided to take along the debut and quickly found out what was so special about Harry Potter and his friends.

From there, the anticipation for the next novel year after year was like waiting for Christmas morning, and the page count kept growing and growing. The initial book spanned 309 pages, while the last installment marked an epic 759 pages.

I can’t say I’ve read any of the novels in a day, or maybe even a week, and I can’t say I know every-which detail of every book — but I’m a fan. The novels are wonderful, easy to read and full of vibrant descriptions that make your imagination run wild. Rowling managed to create a world that every kid wanted to be a part of. And when the last novel, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” was published nearly four years to this day on July 21, 2007, it was a sorrowful and wonderful day all in the same. But it wasn’t the complete end. We still had the movies.

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On Nov. 16, 2001, Harry Potter graced the big screen. It was a task Director Chris Columbus (“Home Alone,” “Mrs. Doubtfire”) knew had to be perfect, as the passionate fans of Harry Potter would expect nothing less.

The adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” sticks out in my mind quite a bit. Simply for the fact that it was the first year my family and I decided to have Thanksgiving at home, just the four of us (my parents and my older brother). And while we let the turkey cook away in the oven, we decided to fill the time by enjoying a movie on a day where the theater wouldn’t be bustling with people. And so we did. By the time we got back, our food was nearly done, and we managed to have a yummy feast just as the students of Hogwarts did in the film. It was delightful — so much so that we repeated the same fare the next year when “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” was released around the same time.

The majority of the next six films were then released in the summer months — an easier way to rake in the big bucks, I presume — so my family and I retired that tradition sooner rather than later.

But it was a time I remember fondly, just as I’m sure actors Daniel Radcliff (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) will remember their time making the films, as they were a mere 9 or 10-years-old when the initial filming took place, and they’re are now in their early 20s. They’ve spent more time encompassing their characters than they have being their Muggle selves. And we thank them for that. Because without them — and Quidditch and Horcruxes and Whomping Willows and Polyjuice Potion — our imaginations might have been as lonely as Moaning Myrtle.

'Weeds,' 'True Blood' return for the summer

Summer used to be synonymous with the notion that nothing good would be on television. June, July and August were filled with re-runs and bad game shows, and there was nothing to resort to during those times when you just wanted to veg out and escape the heat of the night.

Well times have changed, my friends. Aside from the four new television shows I picked out earlier in the month (and yes, I know, one was a game show), there are also plenty of returning favorites as well. And I mean plenty — from USA’s “White Collar” to NBC’s “American’s Got Talent”; from CBS’s “Big Brother” to FX’s “Louis C.K.” — there is a show for every taste.

This week marked the return of two of my favorite summer television likings — Showtime’s “Weeds” and HBO’s “True Blood.” These two, plus FX’s “Rescue Me” (returning July 12) and AMC’s “Breaking Bad” (returning July 15) encompass the cream of the crop of summer television. Now if only “Mad Men” wasn’t postponed until 2012 — but that’s another story. Here’s to two shows that keep my television working during the summer.

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“Weeds” returned on Monday to welcome in its final season — lucky number seven. As the show opens, we find Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise-Parker) three years from when we last saw her: giving herself up to the FBI for murder (her youngest son, Shane (Alexander Gould), was the real culprit) in order to guarantee protection from her drug cartel of a husband, Esteban, who is also the father to her newest son, Stevie.

Nancy is now out on parole, but on the condition that she must stay in a half-way house. But, of course, she soon finds herself back to her old habits.

The rest of the gang, or family for that matter, are living in Copenhagen, Denmark, where brother-in-law Andy (Justin Kirk), along with longtime friend, Doug (Kevin Nealon), are tour guides, son Silas (Hunter Parrish) is a model and other son Shane is a puppeteer, all trying to stay afloat while Nancy pays the price.

How’d they get here? Well, for those of you who have never tuned into “Weeds,” it’s never too late. I didn’t start watching until four seasons in, but with 30-minute episodes, I was able to catch up in no time. As a quick summary: It all started when Nancy lost her husband to a heart attack and found herself selling pot to the locals in order to bring in a little extra cash to support her family. But as you can guess, things get out of hand, drug cartels get involved and Nancy ends up biting off more than she can chew. Seven seasons later, she still hasn’t learned.

“Weeds” creator Jenji Kohan has managed to write a show that never gets old. It’s just such a fun show; all the characters are so different, yet they’re all tied together and it’ll be sad to see them go after this season.

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“True Blood” rang in the start of its fourth season on Sunday, and I must say I think it’s going to be a complicated one. There are so many characters, and their plots don’t seem to want to intertwine as easily as past seasons have. Let’s see if I can sum this up:

Sookie (Anna Paquin) has experienced the land of fairies, after finding out last season that she was one. But she soon finds out that fairies aren’t as nice and Tinkerbell-ish as one might think. Escaping the land that wishes to enslave her, along with her grandfather who was trapped there for 20 years, Sookie travels through a portal back to good-ole Bon Temps, La. Unfortunately for her grandfather, he indulged in too much of the fairy land and dies within minutes of landing home. And unfortunately for Sookie, she finds out that 10 minutes in fairy land equals over a year in Bon Temps.

Which brings us to everyone else: Sookie’s brother Jason has emerged as a sheriff’s deputy; best friend Tara has moved away, using all her pent-up anger to live a life as a cage fighter; and ex-lover Bill has emerged as Vampire King of Louisiana.

On the other side of things, Lafayette is still dating a witch, Jesus, and they experiment with a coven; vampire Jessica is adapting to home life with human boyfriend Hoyt; Sam has found some new shape-shifter friends; and vampire Eric, owner of bar “Fangtasia,” is still lusting after Sookie, while dealing with the equality issue among humans and vampires.

Did I get everyone? Probably not — I think I may have missed a werewolf somewhere in there — but that’s the best you’ll get out of me. While “True Blood” is still as addicting as ever — although I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, or type of blood for that matter — if the writers don’t minimize the number of characters in the show, they’re going to lose out on the fans they do have. Don’t get me wrong, I like the fact that they initiate a new breed each season — i.e. werewolves, witches, fairies — but the writers need to close up some of those story lines as well. Otherwise it’ll be one chaotic mess. Or just a big ole snack for the over-populated vampire community in the show.

With Jim Carrey, there are always plenty of laughs

In Jim Carrey’s newest release, “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” out today, Carrey brings his comedic fanfare down to a family-friendly level in order to play the title character of the beloved book that has resonated with children over the last seven decades.

That’s all good and fun, but what makes Jim Carrey Jim Carrey is his berserk, obnoxious, out-there characters that he perfected early on in his career. Yes, Carrey has done some wonderful dramas over the years — “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004), “The Truman Show” (1998) and portraying the complicated Andy Kaufman in “Man on the Moon” (1999) — but when you hear the name Jim Carrey, you automatically think of comedy. The two are just synonymous with each other, from his days on “In Living Color” to his bizarre MTV Movie Awards appearance in 1999.

And so, here are my top 5 comedic performances (in no particular order) by the one-and-only Jim Carrey.

“Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” — Ace Ventura (1994) — “Alrighty, then.” For Carrey’s first major movie role, he played the dumbfounded pet detective with a big heart who must solve the case of the missing football mascot — a dolphin — after it was stolen just before the Super Bowl. With classic one-liners, talking butts and even an appearance by Dan Marino, Carrey cemented himself as one of Hollywood’s leading funny men with this breakout role.

“The Mask” — Stanley Ipkiss (1994) — “S-s-s-s-smokin’!!” When under-appreciated banker Ipkiss mistakes an old wooden mask for a person drowning in a river, he thinks nothing of it. Until he takes the mask home, puts it on and is transformed into a confidant, lovable man of mystery — in cartoon form. “The Mask” is just a whole lot of fun — especially the scene where he tricks all the cops into dancing and forming a giant conga line to the song “Cuban Pete” as a distraction for him to get away.

“Batman Forever” — Riddler / Dr. Edward Nygma (1995) — “Riddle me this…” Carrey added a lot of fun to an otherwise cheesy film with his Riddler character. Otherwise known as Dr. Edward Nygma, a former employee of Bruce Wayne’s (aka Batman, played by Val Kilmer), the Riddler creates a device that will drain information from the human brain, including Wayne’s, which contains the knowledge of his other identity. Teaming up with Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face character, these two put on one solid show that managed to outshine the debonair Kilmer.

“Liar Liar” — Fletcher Reede (1997) — “I CAN’T LIE!” Carrey brings his usual eccentric best to “Liar Liar,” where he plays a lawyer who can’t lie for 24 hours after his son makes it his birthday wish. Having built his career on lying, you could see where this wish could create quite a snag for Reede, but it’s all the funnier for us to watch. Carrey was also nominated for a Golden Globe for this performance.

“Dumb & Dumber” — Lloyd Christmas (1994) — “Mock! Yeah! Ing! Yeah! Bird! Yeah!” Just as it states, “Dumb & Dumber” is dumb … but it’s still hilarious. Lloyd is a limo driver in Rhode Island who develops a crush on one of his passengers (Lauren Holly). After she leaves a briefcase in the airport (on purpose that is), Lloyd puts all his effort into returning the briefcase — which happens to be full of ransom money — back to her in Aspen, Colo. Joining him for the ride is his buddy Harry (Jeff Daniels), a pet groomer. Along the way a few — OK a lot of — hijinks ensue. It’s the ultimate slapstick buddy comedy that gets funnier the more you watch it. And just last week, Carrey made it known that a sequel is in the works.

HONORABLE MENTION:
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” — Grinch (2000) — “Oh, the Who-manity!” Based on the beloved Dr. Seuss character, Carrey’s real-life Grinch may end up with a big heart, but before he turns his life around the Grinch is a nasty creature who hates Christmas. And although Carrey may be covered in green makeup and fur, he does a great job at bringing out his signature style of comedy to a more lovable, less-obnoxious character. Despite the heartwarming nature of the story, his comedy still works well within the film. So much that it’s the highest grossing Christmas film of all time.

Wind down a summer night with these not-so-boring shows

When it comes to summer, I know TV isn’t the first priority on your list — it may not even be on the list, and that’s OK. We New Englanders need to soak up as much sun as we can before it disappears on us. And with cookouts and camping and kayaking taking up the summer hours, why waste it with TV, right? Well, in case of a dreary day (as was yesterday) or if you’ve been fried to a crisp and just need some relaxation, here’s my top four choices for what’s coming to TV this summer.

“Franklin and Bash” (TNT — Wednesday — 9 p.m.)

TNT has done well with their original series so far — medical drama “Hawthorne” starring Jada Pinkett Smith, police fare “Memphis Beat” starring Jason Lee and the midlife-crisis dramedy “Men of a Certain Age” with Ray Romano, among others. And they continue their consistency for solid drama with their newest show “Franklin and Bash,” which premiered this Wednesday.

Peter Bash (Mark-Paul Gosselaar of “Saved By the Bell” fame) and Jared Franklin (Breckin Meyer, you’ll recognize him, I promise) are the goofballs of the attorney world — not always playing by the rules and in most cases, making a scene in the courtroom. But it works for them. They’ve got a pretty good track record and they’ll do anything for their clients to guarantee a win.

When asked to join a bigger firm, led by Malcolm McDowell, the two cave-in and bring their offbeat way of practicing law to the big leagues. Now it’s just a matter of whether they can continue to stay best buds while their new place of work takes them each in different directions.

“Franklin and Bash” is slightly reminiscent of “The Defenders” starring Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell, but Gosselaar and Meyer make the buddy thing more believable, the dialogue is better and the laughs aren’t as forced.

“Love Bites” (NBC — Thursday — 10 p.m.)

It has taken a long time for “Love Bites” to hit the screen (it has been in development for what seems like forever) but it premiered last night, with eight more episodes to come. It may already be set for cancellation, as all the main players have moved on to other projects and series that debut in the fall, but it’s still something to check out while it’s here.

“Love Bites” centers around Annie (the fabulous Becki Newton from “Ugly Betty”), a single girl looking for “Mr. Right,” and Coleen and Judd (Constance Zimmer and Greg Grunberg), a happily married couple, whose stories connect with each other.

With an array of guest stars, including Jennifer Love Hewitt, Craig Robinson, Lindsay Price, Krysten Ritter and Charlyne Yi, it’s sure to be a fun show.

“Wilfred” (FX — Thursday — June 23 — 10 p.m.)

“Wilfred” has quite a bizarre premise but it stars Elijah Wood, whom I’ve always liked as an actor, even before his “Lord of the Rings” stardom. Plus FX’s has a solid track record when it comes to producing original material, so I’m more than willing to give “Wilfred” a shot.

Based off an Australian series of the same name, “Wilfred” centers around Ryan, who struggles with everyday life, until he forms a friendship with Wilfred, his neighbor’s dog. To him Wilfred (Jason Gann — who co-created and starred in the original Australian version) is a talking man in dog suit who gives Ryan honest advice; to everyone else Wilfred is just a regular dog. Wilfred ends up leading Ryan on a series of adventures to help turn his life around.

“Wilfred” is intriguingly odd, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it pans out.

“101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow” (ABC — Tuesday —June 21 — 9 p.m.)

“101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow” is exactly what it sounds like. And it sounds quite fun. In a chance to win $50,000, contestants answer multiple choice questions, with one contestant eliminated each round. The catch is: Rather than simply being dismissed off the show, eliminated contestants are, for example, shot out of a cannon, dragged underwater by an anchor or pushed off the top of a moving semi-truck. How could you not watch this show?