BuzzSugar

Better Off Dead Director Back in Action!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:52:15 -0700

It's been 18 years since director Savage Steve Holland has sat in the director's chair for a feature-length film, and now he's back! After writing and directing both Better Off Dead (1985) and One Crazy Summer (1986), Holland went on to direct Disney kid stuff for TV like "Lizzie McGuire."

Now, it sounds like he's returning to his quirky '80s filmmaking ways with The Big One 3, another teenage romp only this time based on his own experience as a thirteen-year-old. Hollywood Reporter continues:

[Producer Warren] Zide described the script, which sat on Holland's shelf for a while, as something that will compliment "Dead" and "Summer," making it a trilogy of sorts.

"This is based on a true events in Savage's life," Zide said. "When he was a kid, he had his 13th birthday party and the only one that showed up was a clown, and all that that guy did was hit on his sister."

"The world needs another Savage movie, done today for today's generation," Zide said. "This is classic Savage."

I agree: The world does need another Better Off Dead-like movie. Fingers crossed they can get Cusack to come back and play the dad.

And in some surprise news from just today, Holland has also just agreed to direct a National Lampoon's comedy titled National Lampoon's Ratko: The Dictator's Son which "centers on a dictator's son who heads to America to attend college." Going from kid's TV to directing two comedies - this guy's on a roll.

FlashForward Breakdown, "Gimme Some Truth"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:30:56 -0700

This week's episode of FlashForward was a bit blah for me. The plot made a teeny bit of headway, but now that we're four episodes deep, I was hoping things would pick up a bit this week. Instead, the FBI agents head to DC to score funding for the Mosaic investigation - using any methods necessary.

There's still plenty to discuss, so to get going just read more.

Flash backward: We do get a bit more insight into Stan Wedeck's life before LA. Apparently he lived in DC and was the right hand man to the guy who eventually becomes the president. When they meet again (in the Oval Office, no less), the president offers Stan a job as the Director of Homeland Security. Instead, Stan blackmails the president into providing the necessary funding for the Mosaic investigation.

Who's your daddy? A few weeks ago, that creepy Nazi Guyer implies that Janis is a lesbian, and it turns out to be true. Janis makes a connection with Maya, a chef she meets in karate class. Unfortunately their courtship is cut short when Maya "mosaics" Janis (it's even better than google stalking) and wants to know if the pregnancy means Janis swings both ways. Janis gets flustered and calls the whole thing off, but right now she's got bigger problems - at the end of the episode she gets shot just as Mark and Demetri do on the other side of the country. Now that my theory about Demetri being the baby daddy is out the window, what are your theories? It seems too easy to hope that she and Maya get back together and work something out, but I'm also afraid to consider a darker alternative, like rape.

Drowning in lies: Mark's alcoholism plays a big role in this week's episode. First, Olivia overhears Aaron advising that Mark attend a meeting, and later she reveals that Mark has a tendency to fall off the wagon when he's away from home. When Mark is put in the hot seat about his flashforward, he dances around the reason why his vision is a little fuzzy, and Senator Clemente uses his fumble as a reason why the Mosaic investigation doesn't deserve funding. Eventually Mark confesses to Stan that he's drunk in his flashforward, and someone tells Olivia like two minutes later. I'm glad Olivia finally knows and that it's out in the open a bit more, but who sold Mark down the river so quickly? And why? Was it someone who overheard the conversation or is one of Mark's fellow agents a rat?

Other major plot points:

The agents get another clue about the dead crows in Somalia when they discover a group of asphalt structures that were built just months before the 1990 blackout.

Now that the FBI agents are officially being targeted, how long can Demetri (and everyone else) avoid death?

What'd you think of this week's episode? Are you starting to waver in your love? Luckily, it seems like next week's episode may pick up, but for now, sound off in the comments!

House Rundown, "Brave Heart"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:30:12 -0700

Wasn't this week's House incredibly satisfying? There was no sign of Thirteen - bring her back! - but House helped resurrect a man from the dead, heard voices in his head (crazy), and made goo-goo eyes at Cuddy. It doesn't get much better than that. I especially enjoyed the sweet friendship moments that played out between the hard-hearted doc and Wilson.

I'm ready to dissect it all - how about you? Let's start with the question portion (and a few spoilers) when you read more.

I loved seeing Wilson and House interact as roommates. (How about that scene where Wilson catches House fishing underneath the blankets, and he uses the excuse, "I'm picking lint out of my belly button"? Hilarious.) They're sort of like a warped version of Oscar and Felix from The Odd Couple. How long do you think until House moves out?
This week's case of the cop with the heart phobia really kept my interest, but I think my jaw literally dropped when they cut him open on the autopsy table and he opened his eyes. It was freaky in a fun, scary movie way. Did you see it coming?
Chase continued to harbor regret for killing off Dibala two weeks back, but this time it manifested itself in constant flashbacks, followed by a trip to a priest. I'm worried that he's going to sink into a major depression/insanity - and obviously destroy his marriage in the meantime. Do you think Chase will heed the priest's advice and turn himself in for the dictator's murder? I think he might - the guy's about to crack.
You probably feel mixed on this, but I'm sort of excited about the Cuddy-House romance that's a brewin'. The hints were everywhere this week - I especially liked his line about getting "hot for teacher!" Looks like those sexy hallucinations from last season may turn into something real after all. What do you make of the setup?
House started to wonder if he was going crazy (again), because he heard voices coming from Wilson's house. While I don't exactly wish insanity upon House, I thought the is-he-or-isn't-he question was fun to watch play out - except for the part where he has to admit to Cuddy that he may not be ready to be a doctor again. He looked so sad and defeated. This begs the question, do you think House really is 100 percent healed?
Chase has to stop being such a jerk to Cameron. No wonder she's leaving him soon.
Foreman really stood up to House in the episode by telling him that he couldn't perform the autopsy "without a medical license." Ouch. Still, I think it may actually earn House's respect in the long run, and I'm curious to see if their dynamic starts changing.
The final scene where House listens for Wilson's voice and then calls out to him from bed was so great. We really got to see House's soft side. Mainly, I just hope that the writers introduce someone for Wilson, don't you? He's so distraught over his girlfriend's death, and I want to see him happy.

Think you can shed light on any of these thoughts? What do you make of the whole Cuddy-House romance? Let me know in the comments, and to gossip more about the show, check out the House! group in Community.

Photos courtesy of Fox

Law Abiding Citizen: Deserves a Death Sentence

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:30:13 -0700

Oh, Gerard Butler, what were you thinking? You might be able to forgive the 300 actor for starring in this horror flick disguised as a meaningful thriller, but he also served as producer to help finance the train wreck. Did he not even read the script?

Law Abiding Citizen opens with Butler as Clyde Shelton, a devoted father and husband who witnesses the murder of his family by two psychopaths after a break-in. When his lawyer, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), strikes a deal in the case that lets one of them free, Shelton begs Rice to reconsider. And that’s where Shelton's deadly resentment - and the slasher flick stuff- begins.

To hear more about what I mean, read more.

Ten years later, Shelton returns to seek vengeance against Rice and the entire Philadelphia legal system through a series of mass killings and car bombs. The man is understandably still distraught over his family’s deaths, but he’s clearly gone cuckoo.

This is when the movie becomes less of a drama and starts resembling the Saw franchise instead. While Shelton starts off as the good guy, he's later partaking in gruesome torture scenes that leave him completely in covered in blood like the prom scene in Carrie. To make matters worse, Shelton throws out bad jokes as he's wreaking havoc for a few cheap laughs. It negates any possibility for the audience to feel sympathy for Shelton, and the attempted shock value also completely ruins the movie's credibility.

The film wants to make us question the inner-workings of law - when dealing with a killer, is it better to leave things to the justice system or take matters into your own hands? Really though, it would’ve worked better as a cheesy horror movie. It has all of the requirements: splattered body parts, a giant chain saw, abandoned warehouses, goofy wigs and costumes, creepy music, the obligatory muffled voice on the end of the phone - and loads of plot holes. Like, why is Shelton rich enough to buy all of his assassin-style supplies and how does he know how to use them all? The film attempts to answer the question for us later in the film, but it feels tacked on and much too late.

In other words, if you do go see this film, don't try to think too much about it. Foxx and Butler do their best with what they're given, but the film is only good for a couple of thrills that make you jump in your seat. As for me, I just wanted to walk out.

P.S. Don't forget to check out the Movie Reviews community group if you want to weigh in about your own weekend film picks.

Zombieland: The Feel-Good Zombie Flick of the Year

TresSugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:30:23 -0700

A Note From Buzz: With so many new movies this week, my friend Très was nice enough to apply her scary-movie expertise to review the box office's newest zombie flick.

In the United States of Zombieland, zombies outnumber people. A mad-cow tainted burger tipped the population in favor of the drooling, limping, and grunting set, and now zombies roam a crashed-car littered, empty-minimall-blighted zombiescape.

Columbus (Adventureland's Jesse Eisenberg), the virginal antihero of horror-comedy Zombieland, has learned to survive this zombie apocalypse by keeping a list of necessary survival skills. Rule #1? Cardio. If you don't want zombies gnawing on you like an hors d'oeuvre, you'd better be fast and limber. In addition, beware of bathrooms, practice the "double tap" (make sure your zombie's actually dead after you kill him), and don't be a hero. (Regarding this last rule - some rules were made to be broken.)

When Columbus meets up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a swaggering cowboy type with a penchant for tank-like cars, shotguns, and Twinkies, and the spitfire sister duo of Wichita (Emma Stone) and Arkansas (Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin), Zombieland takes off like a scary/fun amusement park ride. To find out what happens on this motley crew's wild road trip from hell, read more

There's something funny about zombies and the zombie genre, and in his first feature film, director Ruben Fleischer plays their comic possibilities to the hilt. Zombies don't have what you'd call well-rounded personalities; they're pretty predictable. They have bad attitudes, come out of nowhere, grunt, and see all nonzombies as food to feast on. They're the perfect foil (or straight men, even) to a cast of characters with more than enough personality to make up for the zombies' boorish one dimensionality.

Take nebbishy Columbus. The world changed for him, he tells us in an early voice-over, when a pretty neighbor he calls #406, asks to stay over because a crazed homeless man tries to bite her. Sadly, although she falls asleep on Columbus's shoulder, she wakes up as a rabid zombie and begins chasing him around his apartment, forcing him to repeatedly knock her over the head with a toilet lid. "The first time I let a girl in my life," deadpans Columbus, "and she tries to eat me."

This kind of witty dialogue abounds in Zombieland, and although fans of gore and violence against zombies will be more than satisfied (Tallahassee's scenes of zombie-killing, especially, have a Tarantinoesque choreography to them), it's really the mismatched goofball characters and how they bond and evolve, surprisingly, that hold the film together. A hilarious cameo from Bill Murray in the Beverly Hills sequence of Zombieland, also, is practically worth the price of admission.

Harrelson chews the scenery as Tallahassee, but as we find out, part of the reason he's hell-bent on killing zombies is because they took away his baby boy. As for the sisters, tough-girl Wichita just wants to take care of her little sister Arkansas (who, as a good shot, doesn't seem to need much help), but a beautiful girl has needs, too, and before long she develops feelings for Columbus. Will he or won't he finally be able to live out his nerd-boy fantasy of brushing the hair over a girl's ear?

You probably know the answer to that question, but just because Zombieland adheres to certain formulas doesn't mean that it doesn't revive them in witty ways. Although the zombie-killing gore fest may not be for everyone, Zombieland's amazing visuals, charming characters, and witty dialogue may leave a goofy grin on your face as you leave the theater.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures