Matt Damon: the Outbreak Monkey of Contagion's Talented Mr. Ripley Reunion

Reviewing "Rango," "The Adjustment Bureau" and "Take Me Home Tonight" on Today in LA

Giddy plugs and Johnny Depp love.

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Oscar Eats: True Shrimp and Grits

Everyone knows I love a good pun, especially a good food pun, so to celebrate this Sunday's Academy Awards, I'll be posting recipes all week long that honor some of 2010's greatest accomplishments in cinema and will play with your tastebuds just as much as their titles play on words.

First up, one of my favorite films of the year, the Coen Brothers' True Grit, nominated for 10 awards including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress, though, sadly, Matt Damon will not be recognized for his brilliant Matthew McConaughey impression. If you don't get what I mean, watch this and remember the moment when Damon leans back in his chair, peels his coat to the side to reveal a tin star and drawls, "I'm a Texas Ranger."

True Shrimp and Grits
Serves 4

These whiskey-drenched smoky shrimp are right up Rooster Cogburn’s alley. Served with cheesy grits, this is one meal you’ll never want to bid "A-dios."

2 cups chicken stock
1 cup quick grits
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
2 slices bacon, chopped (high quality turkey bacon may be substituted)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup whiskey
juice of one lemon
4 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

In a large pot over high heat, combine water and stock and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir in grits. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until water is absorbed and grits are tender, about five minutes. Stir in butter and cheese and cook until cheese melts. Remove pan from heat, taste for salt, cover and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook bacon until fat renders and bacon begins to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add onion, cooking until it softens and begins to caramelize, another five minutes. Add garlic, scallions and shrimp, sauté just until shrimp turn pink, about three minutes. Add whiskey, lemon juice and parsley to pan, season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

To serve, ladle cheesy grits into serving bowls and top with drunken shrimp.

"True Grit" is Truly Impressive

At first glance, "True Grit" could be categorized simply as a Western, and given its first cinematic incarnation as the John Wayne vehicle that won The Duke his Oscar, that would make sense. But in the hands of the Coen Brothers the classic story blossoms into a soot-black comedy woven with King James Bible-brand dialogue and some of the best performances of the year.

Adapted from Charles Portis' 1968 novel, the film stars beguiling newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross, a no-nonsense 14-year-old who recruits U.S. Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track down Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), the man who killed her father for a few horses and two California gold pieces, so she can exact avenge. As they set off into barren "Indian Territory," freshly dusted with snow, they're joined by La Beouf (Matt Damon), a Texas Ranger who's spent months on Chaney's trail.

Shot by Roger Deakins (marking his eleventh time as the Coen Brothers' cinematographer) in dusty sepia tones that give way to inky nights spent by the flickering glow of a campfire pockmarked by the occasional muzzle flash, the film looks and smells like a worn leather saddlebag—as does Bridges.

Sporting an eye patch, gin blossom nose and wheezing tobacco-charred voice, Bridges' whiskey-guzzling, sharp-shooting Cogburn is an acting high wire act. Somehow both grounded and grandiose, it's a turn so impressive, it makes you wonder if he could pull a Tom Hanks and win the Best Actor Oscar two years in a row. (Whatdayathink about that, Colin Firth?)

With brief, transfixing appearances by Brolin and the always impressive but hugely underrated Barry Pepper, the other name we expect to hear on the Academy's roll call this year (right after Christian Bale's for "The Fighter") is Damon's, who provides a great deal of the film's unexpected comedy and turns in his best work in recent memory.

The fact that Steinfeld, whose only notable credit before "Grit" was a TV movie called "Summer Camp," goes toe-to-toe with Bridges, Brolin and Damon, driving the story forward with her portrayal of a stoic, stalwart young girl hellbent on vengeance, is proof of an impressive career to come.

Lacking any sentimentality, but somehow full of heart and tenderness, unpredictably funny yet chillingly somber, "True Grit" is a genre-defying, impeccably crafted film that only the Coen Brothers could make.

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Watching Bridges and Damon on the trail, I kept flashing back to my Glamping extravaganza with Brian earlier this year, so I figured, why not resurrect that good ol' Cowboy Caviar Soup?

For the recipe, click here...

"The Town" Trailer Just Blew My Mind

Sadly, the 2010 Summer Movie season has been one of the worst in recent memory. Filled with sequels that ranged from clunky (Iron Man 2) to downright despicable (anyone associated with Sex and the City 2 deserves to be publically flogged), if it weren’t for Pixar’s Toy Story 3, Glee creator Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of Eat, Pray, Love, and Christopher Nolan’s Inception, this summer might have been as successful as an underwater BBQ.

Luckily, there’s fall to look forward to and I have newfound hope thanks to Ben Affleck and his film, The Town.

Ben returns to the director’s chair after his triumphant feature, 2007’s Gone Baby Gone. As director, writer and star, word on the street is this might be Ben’s chance to claim a golden statuette all his own (he shared an Oscar win with Matt Damon in 1997 for their Good Will Hunting screenplay) and finally emerge from his butt buddy's shadow.

Co-starring Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner and Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively, the film is about a career thief (Affleck) who’s in love with Claire, a bank teller who was traumatized by a recent heist (Hall) that he was behind. As their relationship deepens, an investigator (Hamm), who’s also infatuated with Claire, closes in on cracking the case. Based on Chuck Hogan’s novel, Prince of Thieves, I dare you to tell me this trailer doesn't look incredible.

Go, Ben!

Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock's Pseudo-Scandal

Extra, Extra, read all about it:

“Sandra Bullock Blind Sides Julia Roberts”

“Julia Roberts Furious at Sandra Bullock”

“Sandra Bullock Stole Julia Roberts Career...and Cover”

Seriously, people?

After yesterday’s big reveal of Sandra Bullock’s People magazine cover announcing her divorce and secret adoption, the headlines some websites and news outlets choose to focus on were ridiculous. I won’t even dignify the organizations who deemed “Sandra Bullock Adopts a Black Baby” a newsworthy headline, but everyone else got all in a tizzy because Julia Roberts had been displaced as the cover girl of People’s annual Most Beautiful People issue in favor of Sandra beaming at her new baby boy.

Why the big hoo-hah over a little editorial switcheroo?

Because everyone loves a good celebrity catfight.

“[Julia’s] a bit envious of Sandra,” one outlet reported.

Hmm, what do you think she’s more covetous of? The dissolution of her marriage or the ho-bag women who keep coming forward announcing they slept with her soon-to-be ex husband, Jesse James?

Many people claim the beef between the mega stars stems from The Proposal and The Blind Side, two roles Julia originally filled which eventually went to Bullock. The Proposal went on to gross over $300 million, making it one of the biggest success in Bullock’s career, and The Blind Side, which earned $287 million, won Bullock an Oscar. Meanwhile, Julia’s career has cooled a bit in recent years, a situation sure to be turned around when Eat Pray Love opens August 13.

We think the whole thing is nonsense cooked up in people’s minds. Considering this would have been Julie’s fourth Most Beautiful People cover, it’s not like she’s missing out on her big day in the sun.

What’s so vexing is the idea that whenever two actresses are involved in anything in Hollywood, it’s automatically assumed they’re at odds. If Matt Damon had bumped Ben Affleck or George Clooney off the cover, no one would be talking about it.