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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:30:33 -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 picks below, you can now watch Cadillac Records, Let the Right One In, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas in the comfort of your own home.

Milk
If you still haven't seen Milk after all the months of accolades and awards, now's your chance to learn what all the fuss is about. In addition to being an incredibly moving story based on the real life of San Francisco gay activist Harvey Milk, it's wonderfully acted and directed. It's everything a biopic ought to be, right down to beautifully recreating the events of such an extraordinary life.

The cast is full of talented, adorable actors, like Sean Penn (who won the Oscar for his portrayal of Milk), James Franco, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, and Emile Hirsch. I am anxious to watch it again, even though it's so heartbreaking.

Special features include deleted scenes, a featurette about remembering Harvey, and another titled "Hollywood comes to San Francisco."

So much more to recommend, so read more.

Rachel Getting Married
Even though this heavy portrayal of familial heartache and forgiveness is intense to watch, I highly recommend it. You may have noticed Anne Hathaway at a couple of awards shows this year - all due to this movie (not Bride Wars, just in case there's any confusion on that). Rosemarie Dewitt, also a phenomenal actress, is another reason to add this to your queue.

Special features include deleted scenes, filmmaker and cast commentaries, and "A Look Behind the Scenes of Rachel Getting Married."

Synecdoche, New York
You know him as the writer of such films as Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and now Charlie Kaufman can add "Director" to his filmography with Synecdoche, NY. The movie stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as Caden Cotard, a local theater director struggling to maintain his marriage with his more-famous wife, Adele (Catherine Keener). When she takes off for Germany with their daughter and Caden receives a grant, he decides to stage a giant-scale theater piece about life, setting it inside a towering replica of New York. It's a complicated, difficult, sometimes frustrating piece of cinema but I found the experience to be totally worthwhile.

Featurettes include "The Story of Caden Cotard: In Conversation With Philip Seymour Hoffman," "Infectious Diseases in Cattle: Blogger's Roundtable," and "NFTS/Script Masterclass with Charlie Kaufman."

Happy-Go-Lucky
I called this movie a sweet slice of life when I first saw it and I was thrilled when the talented Sally Hawkins won the Golden Globe for her performance in it. The movie is essentially plotless, focusing mostly on a woman whose outlook on life remains defiantly sunny despite the world's inevitable darkness and sorrow. It's so moving because despite it's bright and colorful surface, the film is also a meditation on sadness, longing, confusion, and hopefulness. You know, the stuff of life.

Special features include commentary by director Mike Leigh and the featurettes "Behind the wheel of Happy-Go-Lucky" and "Happy-in-character."

Box Office: Audiences Love Christmases

BuzzSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:30:01 -0800

Reese and Vince proved a potent pair at the box office once again as Four Christmases came in at No. 1 for the second weekend in a row. The holiday comedy earned an estimated $18.2 million over the weekend, bringing its overall total since debuting to $70.8 million. Meanwhile, Twilight continues to plow full steam ahead, coming in at No. 2 and bringing its overall total to an impressive $138.6 million. The top five was rounded out by Bolt in third, Australia in fourth, and Quantum of Solace at No. 5.

There are a lot of "specialty" offerings at the moment, many of which are doing very well given how many theaters they're playing in. Cadillac Records had a decent debut at No. 9, and both Slumdog Millionaire and Milk continue to thrive thanks to great buzz.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Cadillac Records: Spot-On Performances Bring Legends to Life

BuzzSugar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:30:33 -0800

There's plenty wrong with director Darnell Martin's biopic about Chicago's famous record label Chess Records, including the confusing title: Cadillac Records. What with the production quality that makes the film look like a sound stage, amateurish editing, and a script that bites off too many legends than it can chew, this movie's got issues.

But you know what? I forgive it these faults for two reasons: the performances are out-of-this-world good (Beyonce actually sets the screen on fire), and the awesome music is prominently on display with most of the actors doing most of the singing. The resulting experience is less a cerebral one (it is awfully formulaic) and more primal. The music moved me, and the performances are so powerful they got under my skin and stayed with me for days.

To see what else I so enjoyed about this ensemble cast (including what might be my favorite Mos Def performance ever), read more.

The musical biopic is as formulaic as a Hollywood genre gets these days, and Cadillac Records does nothing to break free of the now-predictable twists and turns. Improbable rise to fame after overcoming hardship? Check. Breakout moment where the artist really becomes a star? Check. Fame that comes with an emotional price to pay? Check. Drug and alcohol use and abuse? Oh, of course. And the men, they will not be faithful to their wives, and the wives, they will be so sad but will stoically love their tortured artists anyway. You can expect all these tiring cliches and more from this movie.

But the story of Chicago's Chess Records is not only compelling, it's important. Founded by Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), this itty-bitty record label made stars out of folks like Muddy Waters (who Jeffrey Wright plays with a fantastically down-and-dirty swagger). Bursting with talent, each new artist that Leonard takes on struggles with the demons you'd expect to plague anyone who reaches heights they've never imagined in a society that doesn't think they deserve it. The movie portrays a sad time in America's history indeed, when the powers that be even tried to keep the songs on the radio separate but equal. But the music will find a way, and so it did when the raucous, soulful blues pouring out of Chess found an audience.

As earnestly as this movie handles the music-sees-no-color theme (Cedric the Entertainer does some voiceover narration that doesn't help with the hokey factor), I was still deeply moved. This has less to do with the facts of the story and more to do with the raw emotion and pure joy radiating off each of these performers. Beyonce's Etta James is sassy, hardened, and bursting at the seams - physically and emotionally - with feelings of self-hate due to a lifetime of rejection. When she sings, you really do feel her pain and are never sure if she's going to break down midsong in a puddle of tears or punch someone. My other favorite is Mos Def, who plays Chuck Berry with aplomb. He runs off with the scene each and every time he's on the screen.

These were turbulent times, and the pacing of the movie reflects that. It sweats and jams along at a speed that rarely sags, with musical performances that either break out in gun shots, yelling, or a growl. A stronger center would have helped the narrative out a bit, and it seems that that's what they were trying to do with Brody's character. Chess has a nose for business and cares about his artists, but too often the personal and professional collide, resulting in the kind of paternalistic treatment from a white dude that these musicians have endured their whole lives. Unfortunately, this character isn't filled out enough here, which makes caring about him difficult and gives all these plot lines nothing to rotate around. As entertaining as they all are, a movie focused on one, maybe two, of these artists would have sufficed (as it is, it's like Ray times five). This isn't the movie these musical founders deserve, but these are the best performances anyone concerned with their legacies could ask for.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

What to Download: New Music on iTunes

BuzzSugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:32:32 -0800

Tuesdays are big in entertainmentville: Not only do all the new DVD releases hit Netflix, but new music also pours into stores, including iTunes. So I take a spin through each week's iTunes music releases and pick out some albums and tracks worthy of a download. Here are today's selections:

Comeback kid: Britney Spears's new album, Circus, is being described as "adequate" by most reviewers, and from what I've listened to so far, I'd agree. I've had "Womanizer," a song I really enjoy, on my jogging mix for a while now (and all I see is Chuck Bass). I'm not too sure what else from this odd collection of songs I will get into next, but Britney's tunes have a way of creeping up on me over time as I warm to their catchiness. One song, "Unusual You," is very pretty even though it hardly sounds like her, and "Kill the Lights" is cool. Also: What is going on with her accent on "Mmm Papi"?

The best of Chess: I caught an early screening of Cadillac Records last night (I'll share my thoughts on the movie later this week) and boy, am I in the mood for some blues from this era. Lucky for me, the original songs featured in the film have been neatly rounded up for an album available for download today. Classics like "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Forty Days and Forty Nights" by the legendary Muddy Waters sound great even on MP3. Oh man, and Etta James pouring her heart out on tracks like "Trust In Me" and "All I Could Do Is Cry" sounds amazing here too. The entire album is awesome - I downloaded it all.

One more still to come, so read more.

Before they were famous: Before Neil Young released a single song as a solo act, he taped this concert held at the Canterbury House in Ann Arbor in 1968. The tracks sound intimate, and Young sometimes seems shy, but it's cool to hear him learn his way through songs like "On The Way Home" and "Birds" live.

Movie Preview: Cadillac Records

BuzzSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:45:45 -0800

Well, here it is, folks: A real look at Cadillac Records, the musical biopic people have been buzzing about lately - especially since we first caught a glimpse of Beyonce as Etta James. The movie focuses on several legendary greats, like Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, and Leonard Chess, portrayed by the likes of Jeffrey Wright, Columbus Short, Mos Def and Adrien Brody.

The story chronicles the rise of Chess Records in 1950s Chicago when, as the voiceover explains, "Sex had a sound. Danger had a rhythm. And freedom had a music all its own." Cadillac Records opens Dec. 5. To check out the trailer, read more.

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Buzz News Roundup, 3/31

BuzzSugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:30:26 -0700

This incredibly creepy dude, Derek Mears, will reportedly play Jason in the new Friday the 13th, ComingSoon writes.
Meanwhile, Mos Def has signed on to portray Chuck Berry in the movie Cadillac Records, Billboard reports.
Zap2it reports that ABC is shuffling its Spring schedule, moving Women's Murder Club to Tuesdays and taking Men in Trees off the air for a few weeks.
Uh-oh: The LA Times has an update on a possible actors' strike.
According to the AP, Heather Mills will judge the next Miss USA pageant.
Kathie Lee Gifford will host the fourth hour of The Today Show, the New York Times reports.
Zany soap opera Passions no longer has a home at NBC, Variety reports.
If you want to see Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward's band play live, She & Him are going on a very, very brief tour, and Pitchfork has the details.

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Buzz News Roundup, 3/26

BuzzSugar — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:30:47 -0700

According to Variety, a celebrity-studded version of Family Feud will be coming to primetime.
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Shekhar Kapur will direct the late Anthony Minghella's last project, a short film for the anthology New York, I Love You.
Hugh Jackman and TV writer/producer Marc Guggenheim are co-creating an original comic book series titled Nowhere Man, ComingSoon reports.
Zap2It has news that Jaime King will star in a 3-D remake of the 1981 horror flick My Bloody Valentine.
Variety reports that TV judges are getting their own Daytime Emmy Awards category.
VH1's Rock Honors will only honor The Who this year, the Associated Press reports.
Gabrielle Union is set to star in Cadillac Records, playing Muddy Waters' girlfriend Geneva Wade, writes ComingSoon.
A Broadway musical version of A Tale of Two Cities will head to New York this summer, Variety reports.

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Can You See Beyonce as Etta James?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:30:14 -0800

There is news today that Beyonce will return to the big screen to play legendary songstress Etta James in a movie about the music scene in 1950's Chicago. Other music legends that will be brought to life include Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Elvis Presley.

I enjoyed Beyonce in Dreamgirls when she played a beautiful lead doo-wop girl, but Etta James is known more for her powerful voice than "it-girl" good looks. What do you think about this casting choice? Can you see a stunner like Beyonce playing a young Etta James?

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