BuzzSugar

Controversial Comedic Movies

BuzzSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:30:41 PDT

Some of the best comedy provocatively pushes the envelope, and when done well, it can allow us to not take life too seriously. But sometimes it can go really wrong, and feel less like a keen observation and more just mean-spirited. There is a thin line that certain comedic movies walk between hilarious and offensive. As Tropic Thunder, with all its controversies, hits the theaters, I was reminded of other comedies in recent years that were met with some protest. Controversy doesn't always affect ticket sales, though sometimes over-the-line comedy seems to influence the way a movie is received. To see some examples, just hit "Start."

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What to TiVo: Sunday

BuzzSugar — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 23:59:09 PST

8:00 How the Grinch Stole Christmas
9:00 Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas

8:00 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (repeat)
9:00 The Good Wife (repeat)
10:00 CSI: Miami (repeat)

8:00 The Simpsons (repeat)
8:30 The Cleveland Show (repeat)
9:00 Family Guy (repeat)
9:30 American Dad! (repeat)

8:15 Sunday Night Football: Bears at Packers (live)

Lil Links: Jennifer Garner Opens Up About Her Love For Ben

Rebecca M Gruber — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:32:38 PST

Jennifer Garner would do anything for Ben! - Celebrity Baby Scoop
Home birth may be safest way to deliver a low-risk pregnancy - The Stir
Tori Spelling introduces baby Hattie! - Celebrity Baby Blog
A handbook for your pregnancy hormones - FitPregnancy
Tips for surviving your tot's visit with Santa - Parenting
Baby shower or meet-the-baby party? - The Bump
The good, the bad, and the ugly about cloth diapers - Momformation
Politicians' awkward family holiday cards - Yahoo! Shine
The ultimate Christmas toy guide for dads - Playground Dad

Glee-ful Highlights From Episode "Extraordinary Merry Christmas"

Shannon Vestal — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:57:02 PST

I must be in the holiday spirit, because Glee made my heart grow three times this week. Early in the episode, the gang mentions how dreary last year's holidays were, what with Kurt being at another school and Sue destroying their tree and gifts, so they want to have a happier holidays. The show itself seems to take that sentiment to heart, and there's pretty much nothing but music, joy, and laughter in this episode.

If you're a holiday lover, I'm willing to bet this is one of your favorite episodes of all time - it definitely is for me, because watching the glee club perform old Christmas standards and fun original songs made me more than merry. I didn't mind that there's very little story development this week - just fun, and I'm already planning on watching the hilarious and wonderful Christmas special segment again. To break down all the festivities, just keep reading.

Don't Lick the Spoon! Holiday Baking Tips to Prevent Illness

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:38:56 PST

It's holiday baking time! But before you whip up all those fruitcakes and homemade Christmas cookies, keep these tips in mind to prevent the stomachache of food-borne illness and the headache of chemicals in foods.

Don't Lick the Spoon
Spritz cookies with a side of salmonella? Sounds like the worst holiday ever. Prevent a horrible bout of food poisoning this season by resisting the gooey, sugary raw cookie dough. One in 10,000 eggs may be contaminated with salmonella inside the egg shell, so it's just not worth the health risk. The same goes for ready-to-bake dough purchased at the grocery store. Recent news linked the 2009 E. coli outbreak to consuming prepackaged cookie dough, reinforcing the importance of baking batter to kill unwanted pathogens.

Keep reading to find out two more tips to stay healthy while baking this holiday season.

The Sitter Review: 5 Similar Movies You're Better Off Watching

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 08:00:00 PST

The Sitter may be inspired by Adventures in Babysitting, but it's certainly not an improvement on the 1987 classic. The plot is very similar: a babysitter and three kids set out on a simple mission to get something, and along the way, they get mixed up with a bad guy and have to have it all resolved in time to get the children in bed. But a recycled plot is not the only thing that's unoriginal about The Sitter - the movie feels cobbled together with parts of other, funnier films. To save you a trip to the theater, I've named five movies below that share elements with The Sitter - but are far better - that you should watch instead.

Superbad: Noah is the exact same character that Jonah Hill played in Superbad: horny, self-centered, and obnoxious but witty. Even if you're a Hill fan, there's no reason to go out of your way to see him doling out the same shtick. Just watch the far superior Superbad to get your comedy fix.
Go: Sam Rockwell plays the crazy drug dealer that Noah is indebted to after one of his charges accidentally steals drugs from him. While Rockwell is one of my favorite actors, when it comes to attractive but dangerous movie drug dealers who want their money back, Timothy Olyphant has the market cornered in Go as Todd. He has far more dimension than Rockwell's character, and he manages to be threatening in a Santa hat, no less.
Uncle Buck: Unlikely male mentor? Check. Three precocious charges? Check. John Candy is the ultimate man babysitter in this 1989 comedy. It's believable that Buck has formed actual meaningful relationships with his nieces and nephew, whereas in The Sitter, the kids' issues are shoehorned in, and we're supposed to buy the fact that Noah solves each of their problems in one single night.

See the rest of the movies after the break.

What to TiVo: Friday

BuzzSugar — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:59:00 PST

8:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (new)
9:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (new)
10:00 20/20 (new)
12:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live (repeat)

8:00 Frosty the Snowman (repeat)
8:30 Frosty Returns (repeat)
9:00 Yes, Virginia (repeat)
9:30 The Elf on the Shelf: An Elf's Story (repeat)
10:00 Blue Bloods (repeat)
11:35 Late Show With David Letterman (new, with guest Hugh Fink)
12:37 The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (new, with guest RIchard Lewis)

8:00 Pac-12 Football Championships: UCLA at Oregon
8:00 Chuck (new)
9:00 Grimm (new)
10:00 Dateline NBC (new)
11:35 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (new, with guests Bill O'Reilly)
12:35 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (new, with guests Charlize Theron and Sheamus)

8:00 Nikita (repeat)
9:00 Supernatural (repeat)

Holiday Season Comes Early With the Arthur Christmas Trailer

Rose Curiel — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:34:51 PDT

We may still be a few weeks off from Halloween, but Sony is already getting us in the Christmas spirit with the trailer for the CGI animated film Arthur Christmas. The kid-friendly movie takes a look at the complicated, family-run operation in Santa's workshop, which exists with the help of his super-organized eldest son Steve (Hugh Laurie), and his bumbling youngest son Arthur (James McAvoy). Jim Broadbent, who voices the role of Santa, and Bill Nighy, who voices the grandfather, round out a cast of big-name British talent, which means the film offers one endearing English accent after another and Britishisms that include Granddaddy Claus cutely complaining about never being able to remember the "ruddy" names of the reindeer.

With his blind faith in the Christmas spirit and Santa, Arthur reminds me of an animated version of Buddy the Elf, which comes as a welcome contrast to some of the other films hitting theaters during the holidays. With movies like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo billing itself as the "feel bad movie" of the holiday, my inner cheeseball is happy there's still a cutesy Christmas movie hitting the theater. Watch the trailer for Arthur Christmas after the jump

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas Trailer: Tis the Season to Shoot Santa in the Face

Becky Kirsch — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:36:35 PDT

It might feel wrong to watch a trailer for a Christmas movie in August, but A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas certainly isn't your standard warm-and-fuzzy holiday fare. Sure, there's snow and Santa, and, um, Jesus, but there's also scantily clad ladies, beer pong, and, of course, some pot smoking. In the third installment of Harold and Kumar's adventures, the guys meet up after a few years of estrangement and set out on a quest to replace Harold's father-in-law's perfect Christmas tree. You'd never be able to garner that from this trailer though, which is a mishmash of random jokes, some Christmas references, and a solid ad for the 3D. Oh, and there's some Claymation in there, too.

If the actual film has more plot than what we see here, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas could make a nice addition to atypical holiday movies like Bad Santa. If not, Neil Patrick Harris does a song-and-dance number, so there's that. Check it out when you

Ben Affleck Kicks Off His Morning With Some Caffeine

Lindsay Miller — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 08:03:00 PDT

Ben Affleck went shaggy for a Starbucks stop near his Brentwood home on Friday morning. Ben was solo for his coffee run, but spent last July 4 holiday weekend by his girls' side, hanging out with Jennifer Garner and their daughters Seraphina Affleck and Violet Affleck. The Garner-Afflecks attended a Fourth of July parade in their neighborhood, which has become something of a tradition for the family, and also had breakfast by the beach at Shutters in Santa Monica. Ben is enjoying some downtime at home after spending much of the Spring on the road as he scouted locations for his upcoming directorial project. The movie, Argo, will star Ben and Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, and is expected to shoot throughout the Middle East.