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Movie Preview: The Assassination of a High School President

BuzzSugar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:30:27 -0700

Not long ago I watched Rocket Science for a second time and was struck all over again by how superbly Reece Thompson (pictured, right) captures the whole Awkward Teen thing. In Assassination of a High School President, he's at it again - though this time his character is ever so slightly cooler and more self-assured than Rocket Science's Hal. In Assassination he plays a sophomore high school student who finds himself teaming up with an unlikely friend, popular girl Francesca Fachini (Mischa Barton), to solve a case of stolen SAT exams. Then, "once the duo target their suspects, a larger conspiracy is unearthed." Bruce Willis plays the school's tough-guy principal.

The movie was well-received at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was directed by relative newcomer Brett Simon. No release info is available just yet, but even if it goes straight to DVD I'm going to check out this weird little high school movie. To see a trailer, read more.

Buzz News Roundup, 9/24

BuzzSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:32:35 -0700

Lifetime just paid a whole lot of money for the reruns of How I Met Your Mother. - Hollywood Reporter
Bruce Willis will make his directorial debut with the indie psychological drama Three Stories About Joan. - ComingSoon
Billy Crystal will join Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd, and Julie Andrews in the comedy Tooth Fairy. - Variety
Mary McDonnell of Battlestar Galactica will guest star on Grey's Anatomy. - E! Online
A recent study shows that there are more than double the number of gay and bisexual characters in prime-time TV series this Fall compared with last year. - AP
Fox has picked up the series Lie to Me, starring Tim Roth, for midseason. - TV Guide
Kanye West is teaming up with Comedy Central for "a project described as hip-hop meets the Muppets." - Billboard

Photo courtesy of CBS

Movie Preview: What Just Happened?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:29:59 -0700

What Just Happened? was a fairly big deal at this year's Sundance mostly because of Robert De Niro who is at the center of this strange comedy. It's a Hollywood satire that some people will probably appreciate more than others, and the reviews I've read of the film have said there may be too many "insider" jokes about "the industry" for most people, but that otherwise it's a great movie.

The story follows "two weeks in the life of a fading Hollywood producer (De Niro) who's having a rough time trying to get his new picture made." Sean Penn plays himself, as does Bruce Willis (pretty hilariously, it seems) and Twilight's Bella, Kristen Stewart, also stars in the film, which opens October 3.

To check out the funny/odd trailer for What Just Happened?, read more.

Source

Perfect Stranger: Least Thrilling Thriller Ever

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 12:51:41 -0700

For some reason, I'd hoped that Perfect Stranger would be better than the previews made it look. Unfortunately, the previews were as bad as they were because there are no quality scenes to draw from. The plot is this: When her friend Grace is mysteriously murdered, investigative reporter Rowena (Halle Berry) suspects that advertising mogul Harrison Hill may be involved, so she goes undercover as a temp at Hill's agency to gain information.

Hill, suspicious that his employees are "spies" from a competing agency, doesn't make it easy for Rowena to gather any dirt. Miles (Giovanni Rivisi), Rowena's underling at the newspaper, helps her with the investigation while nursing a most creepball crush on Rowena. As Rowena delves deeper into Hill's life, she discovers that everyone - including Miles and ultimately herself - has dirty little secrets.

The movie is supposed to be a thriller, but fails miserably at creating any sort of interesting suspense, largely because at no time is it clear why we are supposed to care about, well, anyone in the film. My thoughts on this movie would best be expressed in a list of absurdities, so

This film had all the potential of being like "Alias," with a cool lady spy getting stuff done. There's even a vaguely feminist moment, when Rowena writes a story exposing a politician, but the article is killed because, as she angrily puts it, the world is just "powerful men protecting powerful men." Yet in the end, her valid gripes are dismissed as the ramblings of a woman off her rocker.
In a story that is rather dependent upon the usage of technology (Rowena communicates with Hill via instant messenger in many, many scenes), one might think that the technology would at least be up-to-date. But no. Remember that part in Pretty in Pink when Andrew McCarthy's character sends Molly Ringwald's character a kind of IM on the library computer systems? The technology featured in Perfect Stranger is maybe one step up from that. Maybe.

Even if I didn't have a fair amount of knowledge about the advertising world, I would suspect that the story line about "spies" from a competing agency reporting back to the competitors about Hill's plans to "steal" clients is silly. It reminds me of little kids making up the rules of a game, with no basis in reality.
Hill is a high-powered executive with a lot to lose, yet he conveniently and carelessly forgets to close the curtains of his hotel room, which is low enough to the street to gaze into.
I'm sorry, but who in Manhattan keeps their door key in an obvious "hiding" place (on top of the door jamb! under a mat!) outside their door? In this movie, both Miles and Rowena do.
Bruce Willis and Halle Berry are good actors but are helpless to fix the outrageously lacking script. It seems that at some point they decided to put on brave faces and just get through it.

Bottom line: With so many thrillers out right now, do not waste your time on this one.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

Movie Preview: Perfect Stranger

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:52:38 -0700

The latest in the recent string of thrillers, Perfect Stranger comes out - appropriately - this Friday, April 13. Most likely you've already seen the previews, which seem to air constantly, but allow me to fill you in on the plot. Halle Berry plays investigative reporter Rowena, who is trying to get to the bottom of a mystery involving her murdered friend and a powerful advertising executive Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis). Giovanni Ribisi plays Rowena's underling with a massive crush on his boss. When Rowena goes undercover to gain some dirt on Hill, she learns how far people will go to hide their secrets.

Unless the filmmakers have something different up their sleeves, the movie looks familiar and tired. It makes me wish the title referred to a film version of the '80s TV series with the lovable Balki Bartokomous. Still, I'm going to give the movie a shot, so look for my review this Friday. In the meantime, you can watch the trailer if you read more

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

What to TiVo: Wednesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:50:00 -0700

ABC is new with Hank, The Middle, Modern Family, Cougar Town, and Eastwick
CBS is new with The New Adventures of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY
FOX is new with So You Think You Can Dance and Glee
NBC is new with Mercy and Law & Order: SVU
The CW is new with America's Next Top Model and has a repeat of Melrose Place
FX has The Devil Wears Prada and is new with Nip/Tuck
Bravo is new with Top Chef: Las Vegas
Comedy Central is new with South Park, Secret Girlfriend, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report
E! is new with True Hollywood Story: Courteney Cox
MTV is new with Real World/Road Rules Challenge
Late-night highlights include Paul McCartney and Bruce Willis on a repeat of The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Jennifer Aniston and Phoenix on a repeat of The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Salma Hayek on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; and Elijah Wood and Taraji P. Henson on a repeat of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:30:36 -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. Oh and even though it's not on Netflix, don't forget that Ally McBeal: The Complete Series is finally available on DVD today!

Year One

The comedy chops of Michael Cera and Jack Black weren't enough to make prehistoric comedy Year One a hit, but the movie still has some laughs, especially if you're fans of the two actors.

The gross-out humor definitely wore on me, but the funny supporting cast might make it worth the rental (Paul Rudd, Hank Azaria, and David Cross all make cameos) - if you can stand all the toilet humor.

16%

See two more new releases when you read more.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Anvil! The Story of Anvil became a surprising sleeper hit, thanks in large part to word of mouth (aka Twitter). The documentary centers around Canadian heavy metal band Anvil, who may have been little known to the public, but actually went on to influence other popular acts like Metallica. Metallica even shows up in the movie to talk about the band.

The movie was beloved by critics (check that Rotten Tomatoes rating!) and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.

98%

Assassination of a High School President

Bruce Willis and Mischa Barton star in Assassination of a High School President, a comedy/crime caper set in a high school. The film made a splash at last year's Sundance Film Festival, but then kind of faded away when it came to a theatrical release . . . no matter, because it's on Netflix now.

I was intrigued by the trailer for this movie and will probably check it out, especially since it has Rocket Science's cute protagonist, Reece Thompson.

57%

Which movie will you be adding to your Netflix queue?

Box Office: Audiences Still Eating Up Meatballs

BuzzSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:30:47 -0700

Dancing and Bruce Willis weren't enough to knock kid flick Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs out of this weekend's top spot at the box office. Sony's 3D Meatballs held its place for the second weekend in a row, making $24.6 million, followed by Willis's sci-fi movie Surrogates ($15 million) and Fame ($10 million), which both just opened Friday.

The Informant! came in fourth this week with $6.9 million, and Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All by Myself rounded out the top five with $4.7 million in its third week in theaters. Unfortunately, Cam Gigandet's Pandorum didn't break the top five with its debut; the space-set action movie only made $4.4 million.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

What to TiVo: Friday

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:50:48 -0700

ABC has repeats of Flash Forward, Modern Family, Cougar Town and a new 20/20
CBS is new with Ghost Whisperer, Medium and NUMB3RS
FOX is new with Brothers and Dollhouse
NBC is new with Law and Order and Dateline
The CW is new with Smallville and has a repeat of America's Next Top Model
E! has repeats of Kendra and Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami
TLC is new with Making Over America with Trinny and Susannah, Say Yes to the Dress and Masters of Reception
Late-night highlights include Bruce Willis on The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS; LeBron James on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Teri Hatcher on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on NBC; and Julianna Margulies on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Link Time!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:30:14 -0700

Stephenie Meyer's The Host will be made into a movie - MTV Movies Blog
Betty White will play herself on 30 Rock - Zap2It
Dwayne Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, and Steve Coogan cast in Adam McKay's The Other Guys - Coming Soon
K-Fed joins the cast of Celebrity Fit Club - TMZ
True Blood's jewelry line has stainless steel and dastardly silver pieces - FabSugar
Bruce Willis' 10 best movies - Rotten Tomatoes
Where's Kirk Cameron? Preachin' about Darwin - Best Week Ever
The early Oscar predictions get started - Moviefone
Pee Wee Herman: Planning a comeback - Vulture
Can Modern Family be the new Arrested Development? - TV.com