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It's been another crazy weekend at the box office with the premieres of Dinner for Schmucks, Charlie St. Cloud, and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore joining the race. Blockbuster hits Inception, Salt, and Despicable Me are also in the mix... but, there can only be ONE. Will the highly anticipated Dinner for Schmucks trump Inception this week? The dust has finally settled, so Streaming Flix will get down to the nitty gritty and give you the final results:

10. Twilight Saga: The Eclipse - The teen sensation vampire romance is hanging on by a thread at the #10 spot. I guess Edward Cullen didn't sink his fangs in deep enough.

9. The Sorcerer's Apprentice - Nicholas Cage is a brilliant yet eccentric wizard who enlists the help of a seemingly ordinary and boring college student. Talented director Bruckheimer and his star studded cast could not bring in enough magic to stay at the top of the chart.

8. Grown Ups - This Adam Sandler comedy features a group of high school friends who come together to see what has and has not changed. Apparently, it takes more than a group of comedic misfits to keep the audiences coming back.

7. Toy Story 3 - Pixar's latest installment in its most successful franchise follows Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the gang's adventure in the wake of Andy's departure to college. It's dropped two spots, but the lovable toys still remain #1 in my heart.

6. Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore - one of the movies that premiered this weekend, it features a wily bunch of cats and dogs in their ongoing war. The claws are out, and this funny animal flick has  made its mark on the box office.

5. Chalie St. Cloud - another movie premiere of the weekend, featuring teen heartthrob Zac Efron about a young man who suffers an unfortunate tragedy and learns to look at life in an entirely new perspective. Efron's killer smile and hot bod kept the film afloat, but can it bring it closer to the top next weekend?

4. Despicable Me - this hilarious 3-D film starring Steve Carell as Gru, America's most lovable villain, and his even more adorable minions. The film follows Gru evil plan to steal the moon and his goofy attempts to look after orphan girls. While Gru does reach for the moon, he doesn't quite reach it at the box office.

3. Salt - Angelina Jolie plays Evelyn Salt, a CIA operative who has been accused of being a double agent. While the question of the movie is "Who is Salt?", the real question is "Why is Salt not #1?"

2. Dinner for Schmucks - Steve Carell is at it again with another box office smash, co-starring with Paul Rudd. A young up-and-coming exec must bring in the biggest schmuck he can find for his boss' "Dinner for Schmucks" where the exec who brings in the biggest schmuck wins.

After reviewing the countdown so far, I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of which film has the #1 spot in the prestigious box office...



1. Inception - Chris Nolan's film is a dream come true. For the third week straight, it has managed to fight off the hordes of movies that seek the #1 spot.

With the release of Inception, it's only natural that the masses gravitate towards the leading man, Leonardo DiCaprio. Yes, I'm a big fan of Leo, but I have my eyes set on another interesting character in the film-- Arthur, or as you may know him best, Joseph Gordon Levitt.




Joseph Gordon-Levitt is no stranger to the acting world nor the big screen. Despite being only 30 years old, his career as an American actor dates back to more than 20 years ago.  Here are some of my personal highlights in his long and illustrious career:

• He started out with commercials as a young child, but my earliest recollection of him dates back to the classic Angels in the Outfield. I wasn't quite in love with him yet, but it definitely got the ball rolling.

• 3rd Rock from the Sun was one of my favorite shows growing up. Joseph Gordon-Levitt played my favorite character, Tommy Solomon, the son of Dick Solomon (John Lithgow). While he is the oldest and smartest of the alien family, he is stuck in the body of an adolescent boy. This, of course, provided much comic relief for the show. Imagine being a wise, old man in the body of a hormonal and unthreatening young boy... yeah, not very cool.

• Back at a time when teen movies ruled the world, 10 Things I Hate About You ruled supreme. Sure, everyone was swooning over the hunky Heath Ledger (Dark Knight), but not me. I was rooting for Joseph's dorky yet adorable character, Cam. He was the epitome of a hopeless nerd, but something about him made it irresistible.

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Brick was something I wasn't quite prepared for. I was used to seeing him as the lovable goof in your typical feel-good movie. This indie flick features Joe as a teenage loner, breaking into a drug-filled underworld of his high school in order to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. Yeah, it was definitely a huge stretch from what I was used to seeing, but Joe made it work very, very well. This movie really showed me his range and depth as an actor, thus solidifying my love for him and his work.

• Finally, there's Inception. Holy camoly, what happened to the cute, pocket-sized Joseph Gordon-Levitt that I first knew? His role as Arthur in the hard-hitting blockbuster has really shown me how much he's grown up. Not only in terms of physical appearance, but in his acting prowess. Plus, the hallway fight scene was pretty much the coolest thing EVER.

  
All in all, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one helluva guy. His transition from a child actor to a successful adult actor is a rare Hollywood success story. Many of his childhood actor counterparts have fallen victim to drugs, alcohol, and other destructive vices. His successful career is a testament to his hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Joe isn't lucky to be where he is today... he deserves it.

I don't know about you, but I already have my tickets bought for the Salt premiere this weekend!



I was watching the previews for Salt, and it seems to be a fresh take on the predictable spy film genre. The audience isn't quite sure if Angelina Jolie's character Evelyn Salt is a Russian spy, or a CIA agent trying to clear her good name. Whatever, I don't care. I think I speak for the rest of America when I say that I'm just interested in seeing Angelina kick butt. I wish it would be Jennifer Aniston's butt she was kicking... but for now I guess I'll settle for the bumbling CIA operatives that get in her way.

To settle my Jolie fix, I guess I'm going to have to turn to Streaming Flix. I saw they had a bunch of her movies, so I will be spending my night having an Angelina Jolie marathon. It should hopefully tide me over til the premiere.

My favorite thing about the Emmys (or any award show, really) is the speculation. It's always fun to make your own predictions, and hear what other people think. Right now I want to focus on my favorite category: Best Actress. The nominees are:

1. January Jones (Mad Men)
2. Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)
3. Glenn Close (Damages)
4. Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SUV)
5. Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)
6. Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)

In case you are unaware, Emmy nominees must send in an episode of what they feel is their best work. Then, a select group of TV Academy members screen the submissions in their home and vote. While I respect and admire the work of all actresses, I am rooting for Connie Britton. Connie plays Tami beautifully... such a bright and talented actress. I rented Friday Night Lights from Streaming Flix a couple weeks back and just fell in love with her character. Simply amazing.

Hopefully, I'm right. If not, I'll be 20 bucks poorer.

Forget Speilberg, I'm all about Christopher Nolan.

This British-American film director has always been one of my favorite directors of all time. His latest film Inception opened this past weekend and cracked the $60 million barrier, making it the highest opening this year for a non-sequel/remake. Not bad, huh?

Aside from Inception, Nolan has made an array of amazing movies and has even been credited for reviving the Batman franchise. My favorite movie of his is the psychological thriller Memento, but I did also enjoy Memento, Prestige, and Dark Knight. Nolan has always been able to pick the perfect actors and actressses for the roles and pairing them with haunting yet intriguing visuals, which leave a lasting imprint in the audience.

Nolan has been nominated for and has won several awards throughout his career. Rightfully so, of course, the man is a genius! As a relatively young director, I'm extremely excited to see what else he has to offer to the cinematic world. If you're a fan of Nolan (like me, can you tell?) or if you're slightly curious about this talented director, make sure to check out http://www.streamingflix.com to view his movies. I promise you won't regret it!