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Movie Preview: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried in Dear John

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:30:22 -0700

You were all pretty split on your feelings about Channing Tatum, but we can all agree that the actor has made a name for himself as the muscle-bound sensitive guy. He gets even deeper into that archetype in Dear John, an adaption from the Nicholas Sparks novel where he plays the love interest of Amanda Seyfried.

The two fall for each other one Summer while Seyfried's character Savannah is home from college and Tatum's John is home on leave. When they have to leave each other and return to their respective obligations, they begin writing letters to keep in touch, hence the title.

Normally I would be holding my nose for this schlockfest, but I can't deny the talent of director Lasse Hallstrom, the charisma of the two leads, or the major soft spots I have for The Notebook and A Walk to Remember - movies made from Sparks books. And there's another bonus: Six Feet Under's Richard Jenkins as John's dad. To watch the trailer and decide if it's going to be a cheesy mess or a heart-tugger, just read more.

Channing Tatum - Love Him or Leave Him?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:30:16 -0700

Life seems to be good for Channing Tatum. Just this Summer, the actor scored box office success with G.I. Joe, married his actress girlfriend Jenna Dewan, and impressed Dirty Dancing fans far and wide with his spot-on impression of Patrick Swayze. Now, the actor has signed on for a role in the upcoming Eagle of the Ninth, a Roman epic that will costar Donald Sutherland and Jamie Bell.

I know that Tatum has a strong fan base that dates back to his Step Up days, but I'm still not sold on his appeal. Maybe I just haven't seen enough of his movies - or maybe it's these hilarious photos of his stripper days - but I'm willing to give him another chance. What do you think of Channing Tatum - love him or leave him?

Channing Tatum's Stripper Past, Paula and Simon's New Deals, A Peek at 90210/Gossip Girl!

Molly — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:14:28 -0700

Channing Tatum secret stripper past now includes video of his impressive moves. Plus, we discuss Paula's next career steps and what's in store for some of our favorite shows when they return this Fall. You won't want to miss the latest 90210 news. Watch PopSugar Rush now!

Video of Jessica Simpson's Insensitive Slipup, Channing vs. Patrick Faceoff, and More!

Molly — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:30:39 -0700

Check out how Channing Tatum's dirty dancing stacks up against Patrick Swayze's famous moves. Watch video of Jessica Simpson's most recent controversial remark! Plus, diamonds made out of Michael Jackson's hair - ew - and an Olympian's embarrassing swimsuit moment. Check out today's PopSugar Rush!

Movie News That Teaches Me Stuff: Channing's Parkour Drama

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:35:27 -0700

I was unfamiliar with the word "Parkour" until I read this new bit of movie news about Channing Tatum's next movie, an untitled drama about Parkour, which Variety describes as "a free-jumping extreme sport in which agile practitioners run and jump from rooftops." The article goes on to say the movie follows "a pair of jumpers who use their skills in heists," and that "Parkour was featured in the opening sequence of Casino Royale." In fact, my buddy FitSugar discussed Parkour as a burgeoning fitness movement a little while after Casino Royale came out.

A little jaunt over to Wikipedia provided a whole new world of information regarding the practice that is apparently, "miscategorized as a sport or an extreme sport." The Wiki page is incredibly helpful:

Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement (English: the art of movement) is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment - from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls.

The practice differs from a sport in that it "has no set of rules, team work, formal hierarchy, or competitiveness. On the contrary it is more like an art or discipline that resembles self-defense in the ancient martial arts."

In any event, I bet this movie of Channing's will be pretty awesome to watch. Also, now I've learned a few things. And learning is fun.

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Hallstrom, Tatum and Sparks Team Up for Dear John

BuzzSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 07:01:24 -0700

I can confidently say that Lasse Hallstrom has become one of my most well-respected directors over time. I loved Chocolat, What's Eating Gilbert Grape and last year's indie film The Hoax, and I have a lot of respect for The Cider House Rules and The Shipping News. So whenever there's news about a Hallstrom project, I sit up and pay attention.

Now Hallstrom is signed on to direct Channing Tatum in an adaptation of Nick Sparks' bestselling novel Dear John. According to Variety, the story follows "a soldier who, while home on leave, falls for a conservative college student." Tatum will play the soldier, though there's no word yet on who will play his leading lady.

I tend to think of Sparks' books as sentimental weepies and while I liked the movie version of The Notebook, frankly I barely got through A Walk to Remember. But who knows? Maybe Channing and whoever is cast as the "conservative college student" will become the next Ryan and Rachel!

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Stop-Loss: Overwrought but Good-Hearted

BuzzSugar — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:33:21 -0700

It's an oft-lamented fact that movies about the Iraq war don't do very well - either in box office sales or with audience favor in general. There are plenty of reasons for this, but the fact is it's a challenge for filmmakers to put out movies about a controversial war that isn't yet over. With Stop-Loss, the filmmakers have attempted to make the topic more appealing by getting MTV on board, using popular good-looking young actors and featuring plenty of quick-edit montages set to rap songs.

The main characters in the movie are also relateable and familiar, just regular guys, playing with their techie devices, engaging in silly banter. This is presented right from the start, with a mock-amateur video in which a group of soldiers jostle each other, trade good-natured insults and sing along together as one of them, Tommy Burgess (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), plays his guitar. The action moves quickly to a bloody, violent conflict into which Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Philippe) inadvertently leads his group of soldiers. Some of the men don't make it out alive, one is severely injured and all the others are thoroughly messed up by the experience. This is the basis for all that comes afterward, so read more.

Brandon returns to his hometown a decorated hero, along with his childhood best friend Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) and the young Tommy Burgess. Relieved, he begins settling back into civilian life when he is informed that he's being sent back to Iraq via stop-loss, the US policy by which soldiers who have completed their terms of service can be called back to serve again, sometimes referred to as a back-door draft. Confused and furious, Brandon lashes out at his superiors and then goes AWOL and hits the road to Washington DC to discuss the matter with a senator he knows. Of course, the senator won't interact with a fugitive soldier, and Brandon's options narrow down to two: go back to Iraq, or leave the country and never see his family again.

I've heard people label this as an antiwar, antimilitary film when that's only half-right. It's antiwar, for sure, but it's fiercely promilitary. The film shows military families in the most respectful, reverent, and sympathetic light. Director Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry) has a tenderness for these families, for Americana and cowboy culture, draping her Texas in blue and yellow hues and a warm, downhome atmosphere. These are good people, upright citizens, solid in their belief that it's right to serve one's country no matter what. This belief is challenged by the stop-loss policy, and this challenge - especially since they think they've been doing their time all these years, only to be told it's not quite enough - makes them angry. Very, very angry.

Anger is the key word for this movie, in fact. This is no deft, subtle, poignant piece of art but an explosion of rage, indignation, and violence. Those going to the film thinking there might be a strong love story involved - there isn't. The friendships between the men are intriguing and deeply rooted, but ultimately everything takes a backseat to just this blind fury Brandon feels over his lose-lose situation. Despite the muddled nature of this film, the helplessness of Brandon's dilemma clearly comes through. What's refreshing about this film is that this helplessness reflects the state of political affairs in Iraq on a grander scale. Other movies (Lions for Lambs, for example) may insert some heartfelt sadness amidst the two hours of people discussing politics, but this one does the opposite - a movie full of anger, machismo, and despair peppered with bits of politics. It's not a great movie. The accents are mostly terrible and the performances are not the best (except for the unbearably pitiable Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is excellent). But it is a powerful salute to our troops, and brings an important issue to light.

To see the trailer and more clips from Stop-Loss, check out movies.ivillage.com.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Buzz News Roundup, 1/30

BuzzSugar — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:29:37 -0800

The Juno soundtrack has become the No. 1 album on Billboard's charts, writes Billboard.
Police uncovered a real-life Weeds-style pot garden in the suburb where Weeds films some of its scenes, the LA Daily News reports.
According to ComingSoon, Kevin Nealon will play the dad to Ashley Tisdale's character in the alien movie They Came From Upstairs.
ABC is issuing a disclaimer for the Eli Stone premiere after complaints about a storyline that links childhood vaccines and autism, TV Guide reports.
After a last-minute controversy that almost got it dropped from the Oscar ballot, "Falling Slowly" from Once is officially eligible for the Best Original Song award, according to the New York Times.
Hollywood Reporter has news that director Sam Raimi will create a live-action weekly TV series titled Wizard's First Rule, based on the fantasy series The Sword of Truth.
Channing Tatum and Dennis Quaid are the latest additions to the live-action G.I. Joe movie, Variety reports.
Another season of the Celebrity Apprentice is on the way for 2009, and this season will end with a live finale; details are at The Futon Critic.

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The Results Are In: Recast Saved by the Bell

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:49:09 -0700

Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

Oh, how I wish this show were still on TV! But alas, Saved by the Bell lives on only in reruns, on DVD and in my fond memories. Though the original cast was priceless, you all thought of some fantastic new cast lists for this recast challenge. I enjoyed the suggestions put forth for recasting Mr. Belding in particular, from bart simpson's pick of Rainn Wilson and syako's idea of Alec Baldwin to alynn's Kevin Nealon suggestion.

Also, the idea of Whitney from The Hills playing Jessie, as shopper10024 suggested, made me laugh out loud.

Yet my favorite recast list this week comes from mdeezy! To see who mdeezy picked, along with a new cast photo, read more

mdeezy's cast:
Zach - Chad Michael Murray
Kelly - Megan Fox
Slater - Channing Tatum
Screech - Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Jesse - Haylie Duff
Lisa - Raven Symone
Principal Belding - Steve Carell

Movie Preview: Stop-Loss

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:30:00 -0700

Stop-Loss, starring Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, examines the difficult government policy by which soldiers who have completed their terms of service can be called back to serve again. Phillippe plays a soldier who refuses to return to service, despite being recalled to duty. It's a prickly issue, and so far I'm impressed by how the trailer makes it look like the movie doesn't shy away from examining the various sides of the matter. Stop-Loss doesn't open until March 28, but it's worth checking out the trailer if you read more

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