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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 07:30:17 -0700

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to my selections below, you can also catch Jean-Claude Van Damme in JCVD on DVD.

Nothing But the Truth
I didn't get to see this in the theaters, so I'm curious to check out this political thriller starring Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Angela Bassett, Vera Farmiga, David Schwimmer, and Alan Alda.

The movie's plot is described as "ripped from the headlines" and centers on a journalist (Beckinsale) who outs an acquaintance of hers as a CIA agent. Things get interesting when the government's prosecutor (Dillon) sends the journalist to jail for contempt. The movie was written and directed by Rod Lurie, the guy behind one of my favorite political movies, The Contender.

Special features include commentary from the director, deleted scenes, and a making-of featurette.

76%

Read about three more movies out this week when you read more.

Bride Wars
Hey, speaking of wedding tips we can learn from movies: Don't . . . destroy a life long friendship over a conflict in wedding scheduling! Which is to say, Bride Wars is out on DVD.

The movie stars Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson as best friends who spend their lives dreaming of weddings together, and part of that dream is getting married at the Plaza Hotel. After both women get engaged, though, things get nasty when the Plaza books both their weddings on the same day. Instead of graciously working it out as two intelligent, grown women might do, the brides-to-be turn against each other, with each trying to sabotage the other's wedding. Needless to say, their friendship suffers.

Special features include three deleted scenes, including an alternate opening, and a featurette titled - wait for it - "The Perfect White Dress."

12%

What Doesn't Kill You
Here's another movie I am excited to bring home to watch. Netflix has a good description of the plot: "Partners in crime Paulie (Ethan Hawke) and Brian (Mark Ruffalo) find themselves at odds after years of pulling dangerous jobs, surviving turf wars and evading a determined detective (Donnie Wahlberg) in this gritty crime drama set in South Boston. The childhood buddies have gone through the wringer together, but when Brian's relationship with his wife (Amanda Peet) begins to fall apart, their loyal friendship is tested."

The New York Times called it a "a no-nonsense, few-frills crime drama about two losers hustling their way into an early grave" that "says a little something about what it means to look at the American dream from the bottom up." Sounds awesome.

Special features include commentary with writer/director Brian Goodman and writer Donnie Wahlberg; deleted and alternate scenes; and "Makes You Stronger: The Making Of What Doesn't Kill You."

68%

The Uninvited
Elizabeth Banks had a good year in '08 and has been popping up in movies left and right well into '09. The Uninvited was one of them, and it looks pretty darn scary.

Netflix's description of this remake of a Korean film is super-creepy: "Committed to a mental hospital after her mother's tragic death, teenager Anna (Emily Browning) discovers upon her release that her father (David Strathairn) plans to marry his deceased wife's former nurse, Rachael (Elizabeth Banks), a woman who may not have the best intentions. Foreboding warnings from her mother's ghost only cement Anna's suspicions." Yikes! I'm such a wimp about scary movies that I will definitely be recruiting people to watch this with me.

Special features include a behind-the-scenes featurette called "Unlocking the Uninvited," deleted scenes, and an alternate ending.

33%

Buzz In: What Movie Proposals Do You Love?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:30:50 -0700

Around this time of year, my calendar starts to fill up with weddings, which also means I've been hearing all about the proposals for a while now. Inevitably this leads me to think about cute movie proposals, like the one in Bride Wars when Anne Hathaway's character finds a ring in a fortune cookie. It's not a good movie, but that part is sweet.

And while the romance was doomed, I still think Patrick Dempsey's proposal to Reese Witherspoon's character in Sweet Home Alabama is totally romantic. Alone at Tiffany's surrounded by sparkles? Awesome. Another adorable movie proposal involving Ms. Witherspoon comes from Walk the Line in which Joaquin Phoenix's Johnny Cash corners his lady love on stage and tells her, "Now I've asked you 40 different ways and it's time you come up with a fresh answer. . . . I'm asking you to marry me. I love you, June. . . . You're my best friend. Marry me." The cutest!

Now it's your turn: what movie proposals do you love?

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Caption It: Which Caption Should Win?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 07:30:01 -0800

Thanks for chipping in caption ideas for this photo from Bride Wars:

Alas, we can only name one winner so here are your finalists:

Kate: "See Anne, that's how you scooch down the aisle on your butt."
Kate: "Do you think I look too much like my mom in this hairdo?"
Anne: "I would be more worried about our career choices right now if I were you. . ."
"We've fallen and we can't get up."
". . . I want a veil."
"Stay still. . . if we don't move the tulle won't hurt us."

Time to vote!

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Box Office: Gran Torino Drives Off With the Money

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 07:00:20 -0800

Recently, Clint Eastwood's movies (whether he's behind the camera or in front of it) are often critical hits but that doesn't necessarily translate into immediate box office success - until now!

Eastwood's latest movie, Gran Torino, debuted this weekend in the top spot, earning a whopping $29 million! It seems fitting that a movie that is rumored to be Eastwood's swan song is also his "best nationwide opening of all time, both as an actor and director." If you're gonna go out, go out on top!

In second place came Bride Wars which defied expectations with $21.5 million after a brutal week of being panned by critics. The horror flick The Unborn followed behind the brides in the third spot. Marley and Me and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button rounded out the top five respectively.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Bride Wars: Trite and Joyless

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:45:13 -0800

Movies about weddings can be so fun and girly and sweet. It's easy to get swept up in the sparkly rings and the hunt for the perfect dresses and the cream-colored towering cakes. Plus, at the heart of Bride Wars there's also this relationship between two BFFs and I'm all for movies with an emphasis on the strength of female friendship. But this film doesn't do right by either the fun bridal aspect or the "girlfriend" aspect and comes up seeming empty and kinda sad.

Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Liv (Kate Hudson) are the bestest of friends who spent much time as children dreaming of (and role-playing) their weddings. Now that they're adults (Liv a harsh, high-powered businesswoman and Emma the sensitive low-paid schoolteacher), they plan to be each other's maid of honor and as luck would have it, they both get engaged around the same time. But when they meet with wedding planner extraordinaire Marion St. Claire (Candice Bergen), an administrative hiccup causes the two weddings to be booked at the Plaza Hotel on the same date. When neither one will move her wedding, the two brides-to-be turn against each other, trying to sabotage the other's wedding, and their friendship suffers. For more of my thoughts on all this, read more.

For a "comedy," there's not much humor involved, and regardless of whether the intention was to satirize bridezillas, the truth is that the whole thing has this eerie antiquated feeling to it. What year are we living in? What era is this when two grown women have spent their lives - and apparently their whole friendship - aspiring mostly just to have lavish weddings? And then, when the weddings are booked on the same day, they attack each other? How is this that important? One of them is even demoted at her job because, as it appears in the movie, her hysterical little lady brain can't handle the stress of destroying her "best friend's" wedding and navigating the big bad business world. At the core of it all, their main "problem" is hard to accept. Just move the dang wedding!

During the moments when they’re supposedly these superclose best-best-best friends, I just can't buy it. They don't really seem to even like each other. But then when they are scheming and tricking each other, it's just kinda boring. Emma gets an orange tan. Liv's hair turns blue. Yawn. For one thing, we see most of this in the trailer so none of it is a funny surprise. For another thing, it's not particularly interesting or clever - it's merely cruel and catty.

Anne Hathaway saves some scenes with her endearing ways and that big ol' toothy smile. But Kate Hudson just looks. . . mean. She looks angry and mean all the time. Even when she’s supposed to be happy or sweet or apologetic there's no getting past that meanness. Something about her look in this movie, combined with her hateful, selfish character makes it difficult to like or care about Liv.

The movie redeems itself a little toward the end when the women have had their own journeys that ultimately lead them closer to each other and more in tune with the women they want to be, etc. etc. etc. But the sweetness of this doesn't quite make up for the joylessness of all that came before it.

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Caption It!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:30:31 -0800

Welcome to the Caption It game on BuzzSugar! Every other Wednesday, I'll post a photo still from a TV show or movie here and challenge you to think of the most hilarious caption possible. I'll announce the finalists the following Tuesday, and you'll get to vote for the best caption; the winner will get a fabulous BuzzSugar t-shirt!

First, congratulations to lilprisci! Her winning caption won in last week's poll:

"And so Ron goes, 'A hufflepuff!' HA! Get it?"

Now on to this week's challenge from the upcoming movie full of bride-on-bride violence, Bride Wars:

Leave your captions in the comment space below before 5 p.m. PST on Monday, Jan. 12 to be considered for a spot in the voting round. Have fun! To see a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, just read more.

The BuzzSugar t-shirt

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Watch, Pass, TiVo or Rent: Bride Wars

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:30:13 -0800

This Friday's bridezilla comedy stars Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson as best friends and brides-to-be who are also planning to be each other's maid of honor. Everything starts to unravel, however, when their weddings are unexpectedly booked for the same day at New York's Plaza Hotel - and neither bride is willing to change the date of her wedding.

Will you see Bride Wars in the theaters, or wait for it to be on TV or available on DVD? Or maybe you already give it a big ol' thumbs-down?

One-sheet image courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Buzz News Roundup, 4/14

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:31:59 -0700

Having recently taken on Gossip Girl books and Dancing with the Stars, The New Yorker now turns its attention to The Hills.
300 director Zack Snyder is set to direct an animated film adaptation of Guardians of Ga'Hoole, writes ComingSoon.
Variety reports that the romantic comedy HangingOutHookingUpFallingInLove has just added an ensemble cast which includes Janeane Garofalo, Jenna Elfman and Rita Rudner, among others.
Kristen Johnston will join Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway and Candice Bergen in Bride Wars, writes Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile, Danny DeVito has been cast in When in Rome alongside Kristen Bell and Will Arnett, reports ComingSoon.
And, some TV casting news: TV Guide reports that Albert Brooks will play Nancy's dad on Weeds, while Variety has news that Six Feet Under mom Frances Conroy has joined the cast of a CBS comedy pilot.
Lifetime will adapt two of bestselling author Patricia Cornwell's novels into TV movies, Zap2It reports.
Billboard has news that My Morning Jacket will make their SNL debut on May 10, and will perform material from their upcoming album Evil Urges.
Apparently, The New York Times reports, many people who call to vote for American Idol can't get the numbers right and bother off-duty notaries and the like instead.

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Three Funny Ladies Get Great Comedic Roles

BuzzSugar — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:30:01 -0700

I love news days like today. Three actresses I love and admire have nabbed roles in promising comedies. Check it out:

Leslie Mann - Everyone's favorite hysterical wife from Knocked Up is signed on to play another spouse, this time married to Jim Carrey in the black comedy I Love You, Phillip Morris. According to Hollywood Reporter, "The story follows a married father (Carrey) who is sent to prison and falls in love with a cellmate named Phillip Morris. His love leads him to make several escape attempts."
Toni Collette will be joining the untitled Sam Mendes "relationship comedy" that already stars Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski. The HR description makes me smirk: "Collette will play a college professor and close family friend of a couple (Krasinski and Rudolph) canvasing the country to find the best place to raise their unborn child. She's convinced that their kid will end up dysfunctional no matter where it's raised." Yet another funny lady, Cheryl Hines, will also star in this one.
Candice Bergen will probably effortlessly slip into the role of "Marion St. Claire, the queen of all wedding planners" in the wedding comedy Bride Wars which stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway. According to Variety, "Story revolves around best friends (Hudson and Hathaway) who are pitted against each other when their wedding dates clash. They compete for venues, services and guests."

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Buzz News Roundup, 12/7

BuzzSugar — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:33:35 -0800

The James McAvoy-Angelina Jolie action flick Wanted has moved release dates from March to June 27, writes ComingSoon.
Johnny Depp will star in a Depression-era crime drama titled Public Enemies, Variety reports.
Some scheduling notes: Fox has renewed Don't Forget the Lyrics, writes Zap2it; Medium is headed to Monday nights, according to Variety; and The Futon Critic says ABC will start airing a tournament-style game show called The Duel.
A group of documentary directors will team up to make a documentary based on the bestselling book Freakonomics, writes Variety.
According to Hollywood Reporter, Zach Gilford will star opposite Alexis Bledel in the comedy The Post-Grad Survival Guide.
Reuters has the news that Michelle Williams will play the wife of Leonardo DiCaprio's character in Scorsese's film Shutter Island.
ComingSoon reports that five more actors have joined the cast of Judd Apatow's next comedy Year One, including David Cross and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
Want Reba McEntire's Valentine's Day album? You'll have to buy it at Hallmark, Billboard reports.
Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson will star together in a wedding-themed comedy Bride Wars, according to Zap2It.

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