BuzzSugar

Link Time! Christoph Waltz Enters the World of Rom-Coms

BuzzSugar — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:30:55 -0700

Christoph Waltz is writing and directing a rom-com . . . in German - Slash Film
Paul Dano talks about his band, Mook, at SXSW - Music Mix
Paula Abdul won't be signing on for Star Search after all - TV Guide
10 FX shows that redefined their genres - TV.com
Tim Burton denies those Addams Family rumors - MTV Movies Blog
TV's best platonic duos - TresSugar
Jamie Foxx to play opposite Bruce Willis in Kane & Lynch - Cinematical
Music video for "Rollercoasta" with Estelle and Robin Thicke - Vulture
Jennifer Aniston's best movies (Iron Giant is No. 1?!) - Rotten Tomatoes

Johnny and Anne at the Alice Premiere, Video Review of Cop Out, and Glee Details

Molly — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:30:00 -0800

Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway pop up in London for the premiere of Alice in Wonderland, where she gracefully composed herself after a wobbly moment. A Glee star gives us details about what's to come, and Maggie Gyllenhaal poses with fellow Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe in NYC. Plus, our review of Cop Out on the weekend edition of PopSugar Rush!

Cop Out: Comedic Misconduct

BuzzSugar — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:30:00 -0800

It's easy to cast an odd couple in a movie, counting on their unexpected pairing for the initial draw. For Cop Out, that couple is Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, a seasoned action vet and a live-wire comic. It's an inspired pair, and though there are some laughs in this caper, there's also a lot of laziness that makes this movie . . . wait for it . . . a total cop out.

As Jimmy and Paul, the straight man and goofy screw-up who have been police partners for nine long years, Willis and Morgan induce chuckles just by interacting in the beginning. Where director Kevin Smith goes wrong is relying too much on the sight gag of the polar opposites together.

To hear more of what I thought, just read more.

Working off of a script by Mark and Rob Cullen rather than his own writing, you'd think that Smith's director trademarks would be subdued. You'd be wrong. There are plenty of penis jokes, rivaled only by the amount of poop jokes. I'm not a total stick-in-the-mud; I'll laugh at a poop joke if it's funny, but when it's being invoked repeatedly for shock value, I get bored. These kinds of easy laughs dominate the movie's dialogue, which isn't just mind-numbing, it's a waste of talent - particularly Morgan's. The actor's delivery is spot-on in each episode of 30 Rock, but he comes off as an oafish dummy in this role.

Did I mention that the plot of the movie is that Jimmy and Paul are in pursuit of a valuable baseball card? No, I didn't yet because that simple storyline becomes so overstuffed with wacky characters and vignettes that you completely forget the point of the expedition.

I will give it up for Seann William Scott as a Parkour-practicing petty criminal who keeps crossing paths with the duo. But, when the funniest scenes in the movie belong to a peripheral character, can that really be a victory? It's par for the course for Cop Out, which manages to be a succession of low comedy mixed with a few good laughs - and too many stumbles.

If you'd like to review a movie you've seen recently, check out the Movie Reviews Group in community. I may even feature your critique on the site!

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Police Partners: Best Movie Cop Duos

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:30:48 -0800

Seems that whenever Hollywood has a crime to solve, it calls on a pair of mismatched officers for its hijinks. Take for instance Lethal Weapon, Starsky and Hutch, Rush Hour - and joining their ranks this Friday, director Kevin Smith's Cop Out, which features Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as partners. It's an unlikely pairing, but they're obviously not the first to try this formula. Can they stack up against their predecessors? Check out my list of favorites!

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Movie Preview: Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis in Cop Out

BuzzSugar — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:30:00 -0800

There are a lot of things that please me about the preview for Cop Out (formerly known as the less SFW-sounding A Couple of Dicks): a return to form as a tough-talking officer for Bruce Willis, an always hilarious Tracy Morgan, and the fact that the movie is directed by Kevin Smith, but does not look like a Kevin Smith film.

Though I'll always have a soft spot for Mallrats and Clerks, it looks like the Smith-isms have been toned down for this raucous and fun buddy cop flick, instead playing to the actors' strengths rather than the director's. Morgan and Willis together is enough to get me excited, while the promise of Adam Brody's appearance in the movie (though not the trailer, boo) sweetens the pot. Brody's not the only rad actor who's been included, either; Rashida Jones, Jason Lee, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Fred Armisen are all in the cast list.

To see the trailer, just read more.

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