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Movie Preview: The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

BuzzSugar — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:30:41 -0700

Though the stars of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee were walking the red carpet for the film months ago, the movie still won't hit US theaters until Nov. 27. From the trailer, it doesn't look half-bad, and it features some well-known actors like Robin Wright Penn, Julianne Moore, Alan Arkin, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Blake Lively.

Robin Wright Penn and Blake Lively play older and younger versions of Pippa Lee, a woman who finds herself reflecting on her wild past when her much older husband suddenly decides that they should leave New York for a retirement home. The film is written and directed by Rebecca Miller, writer/director of The Ballad of Jack and Rose and writer of the Proof screenplay.

Pippa Lee looks like she's rather different from the character Lively's playing now in Ben Affleck's The Town, and she's certainly a far cry from Serena Van Der Woodsen. To see the Gossip Girl actress as an edgier, rebellious teen in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, read more.

Sunshine Cleaning: A Cloudy Comedy

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:30:45 -0700

Critics may draw comparisons between this year's Sunshine Cleaning and 2007 Best Picture nominee Little Miss Sunshine. Both were Sundance darlings, both star the wonderful Alan Arkin, and both have optimistic-sounding titles. And despite each film's light-bright disposition, both skew closer to comedy of the darker sort. This intriguing juxtaposition worked quite well for Little Miss Sunshine, and, to a slightly lesser extent, it works for Sunshine Cleaning, too.

The off-kilter premise is what first drew me to the movie when I previewed it for last year's Sundance Film Festival. I loved that the film focuses on the dirty and demeaning task of cleaning up crime scenes, yet didn't seem as gloomy as the description suggested. By the time I saw the trailer, it was clear: No CSI confusion here. Luckily the film delighted me as much as I had hoped, mostly because the two lead actresses, Amy Adams and Emily Blunt, are so compelling to watch.

To hear a little bit more about the plot and what else I liked, read more

In the lead, Amy Adams is Rose Lorkowski, a former hot-shot high school cheerleader who has settled into a low-paying career of cleaning houses. Emily Blunt plays her sister Norah, who, as a failed waitress, is even more down on her luck than Rose. It seems that the strapped-for-cash sisters may have inherited a touch of fiscal bad luck from their father Joe (Alan Arkin) who is constantly searching for ways to get rich quick. And while Rose disapproves of her father's shenanigans, she, too, finds herself scheming to pay for her son's pricey private school.

Enter Sunshine Cleaning, a biohazard removal service that Rose starts with her sister when she discovers that the field is rather lucrative. What follows are oddly hilarious scenes of Rose and Norah learning the ropes of the business and navigating the truly messy world of crime scene clean-up. Picking up chunks of brain matter and bleaching out blood stains sounds like your typical horror fare, but in the hands of these two ladies, there is a sense of down-iness that comes from their "we're in this together" camaraderie.

Despite the more comical moments, there are touches of genuine grief, especially when we hear about the suicide of Rose and Norah's mother, and view some of the sisters' failed relationships (Steve Zahn and Mary Lynn Rajskub are lovely in their respective supporting roles). These parts add a melody to a movie that could otherwise be somewhat one-note.

Bottom Line: The film doesn't reach the fever-pitch fun that Little Miss has at the end, but it's still a worthwhile journey, especially if you're a fan of Blunt or Adams.

Photo courtesy of Big Beach Films

Movie Preview: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt in Sunshine Cleaning

BuzzSugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:44:03 -0700

"Turns out it's against the law to throw biohazards in the dumpster. Who knew?"

Emily Blunt's character, Norah, dryly says this in the preview for Sunshine Cleaning, a little indie movie from this year's Sundance that finds two sisters starting up a "biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service." One of the sisters (Amy Adams) is a single mom who needs to earn money to send her son to a new school. From the trailer, the movie seems strange, dark and funny, a little like Six Feet Under but with the innocent sweetness of Amy Adams.

There's still no actual release date for the film, though apparently it'll open sometime this year. To check out the trailer, read more.

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Get Smart: A Light, Easy Treat

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:30:10 -0700

You know when you're tired, cranky, and hungry right around mid-afternoon and you know you should just gnaw on the baby carrots you put in the office fridge during a fit of optimism but all you want to do is grab the Ho-Hos (or in my case, those Tag-a-Long Girl Scout cookies) in your top drawer and stuff your face? And then sometimes you decide to stuff your face and it's insanely satisfying (if only temporarily)? That's what my experience of watching Get Smart was like. This was one week when I needed a good, lighthearted laugh and in that sense, Get Smart is the perfect thing. It's obviously not high art and it's not even really clever as far as comedies go. It's just fun. I watched, I laughed, I went home happy.

Steve Carell resurrects Maxwell Smart, the main character from the 1960s TV series on which this movie is based. Smart only becomes a secret agent for the spy organization CONTROL when The Chief (Alan Arkin) needs more people on his team after their offices have been attacked by nemesis spy team, KAOS. Now deemed Agent 86, Smart is paired up with the intelligent, accomplished Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) and, together with The Chief and the outrageously manly Agent 23 (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), the CONTROL operatives struggle to stop KAOS from carrying out their plans of mass murder and world domination. Other CONTROL duos like Agent 91 (Terry Crews) and Larabee (David Koechner, who I wish had been recast with Rob Corddry), and the young geek team Bruce (Masi Oka) and Lloyd (Nate Torrence) provide additional laughs when necessary. To find out what I liked best about the movie, read more.

One of the best things about this movie is that the humor comes in quick, brief spurts as the plotline trots gamely along. So often the complaint with things that "should be funny, but aren't" is that the gags go on for too dang long. This is not a problem in Get Smart, and I seriously appreciate it. In a similar vein, with the exception of Carell, no one actor is used for so long that we start to tire of them. Each person does what he or she does best and then gets out of the way.

For example, as much as I like Alan Arkin as an actor, I'm glad he's not in the movie more than he is, and the same goes for Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson who, I'm convinced, was born to have roles like these. His good looks and overt masculinity are played for laughs, but this schtick is doled out in moderation. As much as I enjoy looking at him (and I truly love looking at him), I wonder if instead of carrying entire movies on his own, he should have smaller roles like these in a variety of different projects. I'd like to see that.

As for the guy carrying this movie, Carell's Maxwell Smart is not too different from his alter-ego on The Office, Michael Scott. Carell rarely strays too far from his Michael Scott-style naivete, but then again, Carell is often a pleasantly restrained actor. While I've seen episodes of the original Get Smart series, I don't have such an attachment that I have any specific feelings about the transition from little screen to big screen. At first Anne Hathaway seemed an unlikely choice as Agent 99, but there's an explanation for why she seems so much younger than Agent 86, and she's capable enough in the role. Overall, I think Maxwell Smart - especially as played by Carell - works well in a modern-day movie, and the director makes several clear nods to the original show.

An older gentleman at my screening said he didn't like the movie and thought it was "stupid," which I can understand, but maybe it's because I've also seen The Love Guru and I know what extremely stupid looks like (more on that here) that I can appreciate something that's neither mentally taxing nor insultingly dumb on every possible level. Also, this man told me he doesn't watch The Office, and I think there are simply some people who enjoy that humor and some who don't. I don't presume everyone will like this movie. It's not super intelligent and it's not Apatow-crass - it's just plain silly. But if you're brain's fried and you've had a long week, it might be just the cure, if only temporarily.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

New Get Smart Trailer Released

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:29:51 -0800

It's a good day for Steve Carell fans. An international trailer has appeared online for Get Smart, in which he plays the legendary bumbling Agent 86 (Maxwell Smart). The headquarters of US spy agency Control are attacked, and the identities of its agents compromised, just as evil crime syndicate KAOS plots world domination. Thus, Control Chief (Alan Arkin) is forced to promote his eager analyst Smart, pairing him with veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). They then stumble their way through attempts to thwart KAOS's destructive plans.

The trailer features plenty of Steve Carell-y jokes and slapstick humor. I totally can't wait to see Get Smart when it opens June 20. To watch the trailer and have a few chuckles, read more.

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Sundance Spotlight: Sunshine Cleaning

BuzzSugar — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:30:00 -0800

I am so thrilled to go to Sundance this year, and I can't wait to see as many movies as possible while I'm out there! For the next few days I'll be highlighting some of the films I'm most curious to see. Today's spotlight: Sunshine Cleaning.

Wait a minute - is this the award-nominated Amy Adams and Emily Blunt? Why, yes, yes it is! Sunshine Cleaning stars these two talented ladies, along with Steve Zhan, Alan Arkin and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe from 24). To see what the story's about, read more.

The plot description reads, "In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business - a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service - with her unreliable sister." Not sure which actress plays which sister, but Zahn plays a married police officer having an affair with Rose (Adams), and Rajskub plays a technician for a blood bank who is the object of Blunt's sexual obsession.

Wow, crime scenes, extramarital affairs, sexy blood bank technicians - and it's a comedy! Totally can't wait for this one.

Source

Movie News Roundup: Biel, Arkin and Tisdale - Oh, My!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:30:06 -0800

Lots of movie casting news these days - from Marley and Me to aliens lurking upstairs.

Alan Arkin will join Jennifer Aniston and Owen WIlson in the film adaptation of bestselling memoir Marley and Me. Wilson plays a newspaper columnist who adopts a dog with his wife (Aniston). Arkin will play the editor of the newspaper.
Jessica Biel will star as the lead in the romantic comedy Easy Virtue, based on the Noel Coward play. The movie follows Biel's character, "an American divorcee who travels to the South of France and marries a young Englishman, played by Ben Barnes, on the spur of the moment. The couple return to England to face his family, including his parents, played by Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas."
Amy Ryan is the lucky lady chosen to star opposite Matt Damon in an untitled Iraq war thriller directed by Paul Greengrass, the director of two of the Bourne movies and United 93.
High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale will make her feature film debut in "the adventure comedy" They Came From Upstairs about "a group of teens who have to defend their Maine home from the aliens who invaded the top floor." Just the top floor? Huh.

Teaser Trailer for Get Smart With Steve Carell

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 07:30:00 -0700

As the name suggests, this mini-trailer for Get Smart is truly a tease. There are a few moments of Steve Carell doing funny things along with glimpses of other actors in the movie, like Anne Hathaway, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Alan Arkin. In this remake of Mel Brooks' 1960s TV series, Carell plays the hapless Agent 86, Maxwell Smart. Hathaway plays Smart's levelheaded partner, Agent 99. I've rarely been this excited about a movie that's not coming out for another year (June 20, 2008), but this movie promises to be a lot of fun.

To see the teaser trailer, read more