You know what’s the best thing about that new X-Men movie coming out?

James McAvoy on talk shows.

Regis and Kelly, talking about his love of the Yankees (WHYYYYY?):

Jimmy Fallon:

Some random dude interviewing James and Michael Fassbender — who then do a duet. It’s a lot like that Garth and Kat skit on SNL:

Despite the fact that I’ve seen quite a few James McAvoy movies since my first McAvoy Meter review, I’ve kinda been slacking on updating everyone on my drooling sessions. So here’s another one, of his most recent movie, “Wanted.”

Year of Release: 2008.
Synopsis: Wesley Gibson is your Average Joe accountant working a dead-end job, dating a cheating girlfriend, and best friends with an annoying jerk. When he discovers he’s the son of a super-human assassin–and he possesses all of the same capabilities–he is inducted into the elite world of professional high-stakes killers. Loosely based on the graphic novel by Mark Millar.
Character: Wesley Gibson. Lead character of this action-packed film also starring Angelina Jolie as his assassin school mentor.

How Much Screen Time Does James Have?: It’s basically all James all the time.
But, Is He Shirtless?: Yup. But only in one sequence. A pity since he significantly beefed up for the role.

Most Memorable James Moment: When Wesley lets loose on his irritating boss and co-workers after discovering his new found badass powers.

The Bottom Line: The movie is utterly stupid and unbelievable, but entertaining. James doesn’t get much of an opportunity to flex his acting muscles in between all of the ultra-violent shooting, dodging, and running, but when he does, he reminds us that he is in fact a great Actor. Although the genre and action in the movie is super-cool, his wardrobe and hair don’t (and can’t) really capitalize on his boyishly handsome looks. His American accent wavers at times, but in general pretty believable.

Final Rating: 5 on the McAvoy Meter for his dominating screen time and cool stunts.

Official trailer:

Steven, I TOTALLY feel your pain on this one. Which hottie Scottie is worthy of your adaption of “Flight 103″? Continual saucy Scot Ewan, or rising new-comer James? THIS IS A TOUGH ONE.

Although I love both, I have to say, James is on a hot streak and has been doing some of his finest acting work in the recent pictures he’s been in…Ewan hasn’t had a hit in a while. But both are capable actors, although IMHO, Ewan will always be my favorite hottie Scottie. You just cannot beat Obi-Wan.

Thoughts?

I have often been accused of having incurable Anglophilia, but IT’S JUST NOT TRUE, OK? I actually have Scotophilia, which is the obsession with Scottish people. Am I to be held negatively responsible for their hot accents?

Anyhoo, on Sunday the 2008 Empire Awards were held in London, and TMA favorite, James McAvoy won for Best Actor for Atonement. In his acceptance speech he name-checks fellow Scotsmen (who I saw in March of 2007 at Mercury Lounge), The Fratellis:

“That was The Fratellis, they’re from Scotland, they’re from Glasgow I think and that was cool. I’m truly nervous…”

BLESS HIS LITTLE HEART!

Oh and English actor Sam Riley, who starred as Ian Curtis in the flawed Joy Division biopic Control, picked up an award for “Best Newcomer”:

In other news, my brain nearly EXPLODED when I saw this amalgamation of Scottish hotness: James McAvoy + Ewan McGregor = Too Much for Me to Handle:

The dude in the middle is Ewan’s Othello co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor

Ewan was there picking up the Icon Award for continuing to be awesome.

8:29PM: Sitting down with a quart of Ben & Jerry’s right now in front of the television, waiting for the Oscars to start. Will update when something notable happens.

8:35PM: Daniel Day Lewis, earrings on both ears… yay or nay? Colin Ferrel, how/why is he allowed at the Oscars?

8:36PM: James McAvoy! Sitting next to wifey and nominee Saoirse Ronan.

8:40PM: I love the joke about the black/woman President, “how will we know it’s the future?”

8:42PM: Jennifer Garner, why is there a giant piece of hair falling all over the front of your face? Girlfriend has never met a boob-squishing strapless dress she hasn’t liked.

8:52PM: Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell. DID HE JUST SAY SH-T?? Or was it just “Shhhhhht”?

8:56PM: Catherine Heigl looks and sounds like she’s going to barf. She also looks like she loves bronzer.

8:57PM: WHY IS EVERYONE WEARING RED?

8:59PM: Amy Adams singing “Happy Working Song” from Enchanted. With no special effects or back up dancers.

9:10PM: Harrison and Calista. Eww!!

9:16PM: Woah, I forgot that Jennifer Hudson won last year.

9:18PM: Javier Bardem wins for Best Supporting Actor!

9:30PM: Owen Wilson, alive and well!?

9:33PM: This man who just won for animated short brought Peter the doll up with him to the Oscar stage.

9:35PM: Ooooh boy! Best Supporting Actress coming up!

9:37PM: Hahha, James gave a wink and a nudge to Saoirse.

9:39PM: WOAHOOOOHH! Tilda Swinton won. So rad! Her agent who has an Oscar-shaped butt. Hilarious! George Clooney in the Batman suit with the nipples shout out? Genius!

9:44PM: Jessica Alba dressed up as furry Grimace.

9:45PM: James McAvoy looking scruffy and a slick Josh Brolin!! (James said on Leno that he’s chuffed b/c of his well-documented love of Goonies.)No Country for Old Men wins it!

9:53PM: Miley Cyrus has a stray hair part. And she’s wearing red ALSO.

10:10PM: Leading Actress up! Ellen Page looked so scared.. Marion Cotillard wins.

10:18PM: Yay it’s Once up! Singing “Falling Slowly”. Woah with a WHOLE ORCHESTRA beneath them! A little bit more involved than this:

10:22PM: Awww they’re so cute!

10:25PM: Hmmm… Heath Ledger in the tribute to those that have passed away, Y/N? Technically it should only be folks who died in 2007, but methinks he has a good chance of making it in there.

10:31PM: Nicole Kidman sure is wearing a lot of bling, but why is her necklace all jumbled on her left side?

10:36PM: Kidman looks so bored!

10:40PM: *Yawn* getting tired. Let’s wrap this shiz up by 11 ppl.

10:46PM: Do you think Patrick Dempsey feels weird about watching some guy dressed up like him in the movie dancing on the stage only a few feet away? That chick playing Giselle really looks like Amy Adams though.

10:49PM: Hahah! Travolta almost slipped on that spot that Colin Farrell was talking about! Best Song… I want Once to win but they are up 3 Enchanted songs… WOAH!!!! ONCE WON! That’s awesome!

10:75PM: YAY! They are letting Marketa Irglova speak! She totally got cut off. Loves it.

11:00PM: Danoooo! Danooooo! Dano!

11:01PM: Uh oh. The tribute section. WILL LEDGER MAKE IT? Ohhh snap! They changed it to Jan 31, 2008. LEDGER IS GOING TO MAKE IT.

11:05PM: LEDGER.

11:10PM: Hahha. The camera dudes are all about the McAvoy instead of the dude that just won for the music for Atonement wtf. Ummm… James McAvoy’s wife looks like Amy Sedaris.

11:25PM: Woah! Diablo Cody wins for Best Original Screenplay. She looks scared/emotional. NO MILLION DOLLAR STUART WEITZMAN SHOES! Ballet flats instead. (Man, she was pissed when she found out it was a publicity stunt.) Awwww! She’s all choked up. Woah, she almost flashed everyone just then.

11:30PM: Best Actor

11:34PM: DANIEL-DAY LEWIS PICKS IT UP! Will he dedicate it to Heath Ledger?

11:40PM: Awww. I wish HW was there too! Someone on ONTD just commented “I DRINK YOUR OSCAR!” LOL.

11:42PM: Martin Scorsese looks exactly the same as he did last year! The Coen Brothers win it again!

11:45PM: Denzel! Best Motion Picture…

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO… No Country for Old Men.

Time to go to sleep bye bye.

Newsweek recently had a round table interview featuring Angelina Jolie, Daniel Day-Lewis, Ellen Page, George Clooney, James McAvoy, and Marion Cotillard.

I skipped over reading anything Angelina said, but I was particularly intrigued by what James McAvoy had to say about the movie that inspired him to be an actor:

It sounds weird, but there’s a film called “The Goonies.” [Laughter] And I mean it with all my heart. As a young boy that film made me cry because it’s about how you still have your problems at 10 years old or 12 years old. When I was little, you didn’t get chased by pirates and you didn’t get chased by gangsters and nobody was trying to kill you with guns, but your adventures were no less exciting. It helped inspire my imagination.

BLESS. HIS. LITTLE. SCOTTISH. HEART.

Something that also sparked my interest was the mention that emerging hottie Paul Dano wasn’t originally cast as Eli Sunday in There Will Be Blood–in fact he replaced another young actor about 3 weeks into the filming at the drop of a hat! Crazy.

But who did Dano replace?

According to reports, he stepped in for Kel O’Neil, who has an upcoming role in the Brian DePalma film Redacted. Turns out that Dano was originally cast only as Paul Sunday, but when O’Neil was fired, director Paul Thomas Anderson decided to make Paul and Eli twins in order to explain why the two brothers looked identical. Amazing.

To read the whole thing in one shot, go to ONTD.

As you may have realized, I have gigantic crush on newly BAFTA nominated Scottish actor James McAvoy. Since becoming infatuated with him, I’ve started to rent and go see a good number of movies in which he’s starred in.

And since a good majority of other girls I have talked to about James McAvoy also seem to have swoon-worthy feeling towards him, I thought it might be a fun idea to review as many James movies as possible–but based on slightly different criteria than most critics would use. Basically the only criteria that will matter to my reviews pertain to how much screen time James has in the movie, how often he is shirtless, and other similarly important factors.

For my first review I’ll be tackling my most recent James-related rental, his appearance in the “Macbeth” portion of the “ShakespeaRe-Told” series.

Year of Release: 2005. Originally aired as part of a TV series for the BBC.
Synopsis: Modern retelling of the classic Shakespeare tragedy, “Macbeth,” set in the competitive world of high-end restaurants.
Character: Joe Macbeth. James plays the lead role of a young, hard-working Scottish chef who plots to murder his boss in order to take over the award-winning restaurant at which he works.

How Much Screen Time Does James Have?: He’s the main character, so he’s practically in ever scene.
But, Is He Shirtless?: Yes! He walks around shirtless wearing black leather pants–hellooooo!!!? There’s a pretty lengthy montaged love scene in which James is shirtless, rolling around in the bed.

Most Memorable James Moment: He kisses his fellow male cook, Billy Banquo, on the lips, to which Banquo responds, “Mad boy!” Joe Macbeth cockily responds, “But you love me!” Yes, yes we do!

The Bottom Line: James gives a great performance as the troubled (and tragic) classic character of Macbeth. At first he’s pompous, then he’s remorseful, then paranoid, and then insane. The actress who plays his wife (Keeley Hawes) is slightly annoying and doesn’t seem power hungry enough, and doesn’t really make enough of Lady Macbeth’s mental breakdown. James looks pretty cute in the chef’s outfit, and who couldn’t love the aforementioned shirtless/leather pants scene.

Final Rating: 7 on the McAvoy Meter for sexy screen time and innovative update of the well-known Shakespeare story.

Take a look at the hottness:

Macbeth going ballistic after Banquo is killed:

…when it comes to drinking, that is… Check out this preview clip from the Golden Globes Dateline special where Atonement star James McAvoy (and my favorite Scottish actor of the moment) reveals how his inability to drink large quantities of alcohol prevented him from becoming the “rocker” child he longed to be in his youth:

Sadly, due to the WGA and SAG boycott of NBC’s broadcast of the Golden Globes, you will not see dear Jamesy pick up his award, if he is to win for Best Actor.

Ever since he scampered onto the screen as Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, James McAvoy has been on my shortlist of most favorite movie star crushes. Sorry, but I’m a sucker for pale, blue-eyed Scottish boys. Throw in the fact that he’s wee (James is only 5’7″) AND has a vague resemblance to Sondre Lerche, and well, I’m hooked of course. Just like Scot hottie Ewan McGregor, James is a very fine actor, which increases his hottness by 10.

Anyhoo, I just saw him in Atonement, the film adaption of the novel by Ian McEwan co-starring Kiera Knightley. Having read the book before seeing the movie was probably the main cause of why I thought the movie wasn’t all THAT great, and I really wished that there had been more James (of course). Atonement still has nothing on his performance in The Last King of Scotland.

But in any case, I’d love to see him get recognized for his work in Atonement at this year’s Academy Awards, as well as Sondre for his music for Dan in Real Life. Just imagine it: James McAvoy AND Sondre Lerche at the Oscars. My head would surely explode!

Check out James being interviewed about being nominated for awards on “Shootout.” The full episode of him being interviewed alongside Atonement director Joe Wright) airs again this Sunday at 11am on AMC:

Here’s Sondre talking about music and blah blah blah to some dude from YeboTV: