BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 3/11

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:30:47 -0700

Universal Pictures is headed to Austin this weekend to give South by Southwest attendees a sneak peek at Sasha Baron Cohen's movie, Bruno, at the event's Fantastic Fest. - ComingSoon
Ridley Scott has cast Scott Grimes, Kevin Durand, and Alan Doyle as the Merry Men in his Robin Hood movie. - The Hollywood Reporter
Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, and Jesse Williams will join the cast of The Cabin in the Woods, a movie written and produced by Joss Whedon. - ComingSoon
CBS is reportedly considering canceling Cold Case and Without a Trace. - TV.com
Police said Monday they confiscated about $1.2 million in illegal drugs and more than $68,000 in cash, and arrested 194 Phish fans during last weekend's three-night celebration of the band's return to the stage. - Billboard
Sean Penn is in talks to star in the gritty drama Cartel. - Variety
Fox will air an internationally produced medical series called Mental this Summer. - The Hollywood Reporter
Disney has moved up the nationwide release of The Princess and the Frog from Christmas Day to Dec. 11. - Variety
Danny Devito is planning to direct Crazy Eddie, the biography of electronics salesman Eddie Antar. - Zap2It

"Cold Case" Starts Season with All-Nirvana Episode

BuzzSugar — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 11:31:12 -0700

I've never been a big fan of "Cold Case" on CBS, but I do think the show uses music in a cool, unique way. Last year, the show set one entire episode to a soundtrack of Bob Dylan tunes, and this year, the show's season premiere will use Nirvana songs as the background.

It's fitting, given that the case the show's detectives will be re-opening is a murder that took place in 1994. The story of the episode, which airs Sept. 23, focuses on two teenagers who have been convicted of the murder of three 10-year-old boys, despite evidence that shows the real killer could still be at large. "Nirvana's music not only evokes the era when this case's killings took place but brings a starkness and poetry to the story that deeply enhances it," the show's executive producer, Veena Sud, said in a CBS press release.

The eight featured songs include all the major hits of Nirvana's career: "All Apologies," "Stay Away," "If You Must," "Lithium," "Drain You," "Heart Shaped Box," "Something in the Way" and "Come as You Are" (though I'm not sure if that's the order in which they'll appear in the episode). With this, Nirvana joins Dylan, Johnny Cash, John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Tim McGraw and U2 as artists whose music has been showcased in full episodes of "Cold Case."

Photo courtesy of CBS

Link Time! 2/13

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 13:35:38 -0800

"Top Design" judge Jonathan Adler attempts to explain his weak "see you later, decorator" catch phrase.
With a very awkward video, Best Week Ever proves how much Sharon Stone needs a new schtick.
Stereogum shows us what Vanilla Ice is up to: rapping about doing taxes. And it's actually pretty awesome.
TV Squad serves up five reasons to avoid "American Idol" as it moves into Hollywood Week.
Film Experience tells us how much they can’t wait to see the next Tim Burton-Johnny Depp film, Sweeney Todd.
Defamer is all over Tina Fey's swipe at Aaron Sorkin.
Rolling Stone Rock & Roll Daily has an epiphany: The "Cold Case" soundtrack is to baby boomers what "The OC" music is to 20-somethings.
Popwatch provides some handy pointers on how to get out of your Valentine’s Day obligations so you don't miss any good TV.
BuddyTV wonders if "Lost" will jump the shark in sweeps.
You Ain't No Picasso gives us Arcade Fire covering the Clash.
Reeling talks to Fight Club director David Fincher about his upcoming thriller, Zodiac.

What to TiVo: Sunday

BuzzSugar — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:50:06 -0800

ABC has the 2009 American Music Awards
CBS is new with Amazing Race, Cold Case, and Three Rivers
FOX is new with The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad
NBC has Sunday Night Football: Eagles at Bears
The Food Network is new with Next Iron Chef
HBO has the season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm
Showtime is new with Dexter and Californication
E! is new with Girls Next Door and Leave It to Lamas
MTV has repeats of MTV Cribs and has Drumline
VH1 has repeats of Tough Love and Sex Rehab With Dr. Drew

What to TiVo: Sunday

BuzzSugar — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:50:31 -0800

ABC is new with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers and Sisters
CBS is new with Amazing Race, Three Rivers, and Cold Case
FOX is new with The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad
NBC has Sunday Night Football: Patriots at Colts
AMC is new with The Prisoner
E! is new with 20 Best & Worst Celebrity Plastic Surgery Stories, Girls Next Door, and Leave It to Lamas
The Food Network is new with Food Network Challenge and Next Iron Chef
HBO is new with Curb Your Enthusiasm
Showtime is new with Dexter and Californication
MTV has repeats of MTV Cribs and has The Addams Family
VH1 has repeats of Sex Rehab With Dr. Drew and Tough Love 2

What to TiVo: Sunday

BuzzSugar — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:50:58 -0800

ABC is new with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers and Sisters
CBS is new with The Amazing Race, Three Rivers, and Cold Case
FOX is new with Family Guy, Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, and The Cleveland Show
NBC has Sunday Night Football: Cowboys at Eagles
ABC Family has The Prince & Me: A Royal Honeymoon
AMC is new with the season finale of Mad Men
E! is new with Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Girls Next Door and Leave It to Lamas
The Food Network is new with Iron Chef America
HBO is new with Curb Your Enthusiasm and Bored to Death
Showtime is new with Dexter and Californication
MTV is new with Styl'd
VH1 is new with Tool Academy 2

What to TiVo: Sunday

BuzzSugar — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:50:39 -0700

ABC is new with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers and Sisters
CBS is new with The Amazing Race, Three Rivers, and Cold Case
FOX is new with World Series, Game 4: Yankees at Phillies
NBC has National Treasure
The Food Network is new with Food Network Challenge, Next Iron Chef, and Iron Chef America
HBO is new with Curb Your Enthusiasm and Bored to Death
Showtime is new with Dexter and Californication
AMC is new with Mad Men
MTV has repeats of The Hills and The City, and is new with Styl'd
VH1 has repeats of Tool Academy 2 and is new with Sex Rehab With Dr. Drew
E! is new with Girl Next Door and Leave It to Lamas

What to TiVo: Sunday

BuzzSugar — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:50:41 -0700

ABC is new with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers and Sisters
CBS is new with The Amazing Race, Three Rivers, and Cold Case
FOX has repeats of The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad
NBC has Sunday Night Football: Cardinals at Giants
ABC Family has Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice
AMC has The Shining and is new with Mad Men
The Food Network is new with Next Iron Chef and Iron Chef America
HBO is new with Curb Your Enthusiasm and Bored to Death
Showtime is new with Dexter and Californication
VH1 is new with Tool Academy 2 and My Antonio
MTV is new with P. Diddy's StarMarker
E! is new with The Girls Next Door and Leave It to Lamas

What to TiVo: Sunday

BuzzSugar — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:50:00 -0700

ABC is new with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers and Sisters
CBS is new with Amazing Race 15, Three Rivers, and Cold Case
FOX is new with The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and American Dad
NBC has Sunday Night Football
E! has Knocked Up, and is new with The Girls Next Door
Food Network is new with Food Network Challenge, The Next Iron Chef, and Iron Chef America
HBO is new with Curb Your Enthusiasm and Bored to Death
Lifetime is new with Drop Dead Diva and Army Wives
MTV has repeats of True Life, The City, and The Hills, and is new with P. Diddy's StarMaker
Showtime is new with Dexter and Californication
AMC is new with Mad Men

Couples Retreat: Not Exactly a Relaxing Getaway

BuzzSugar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:30:11 -0700

Everyone loves a vacation, right? Beautiful scenery, tropical drinks, fun in the sun. Add a few of your closest friends and you could have the trip of a lifetime - or a romantic getaway gone horribly awry.

To be fair, the four pairs in Couples Retreat don't realize what they're agreeing to when they head to Eden East, a swanky resort on a remote island. But once the relationship boot camp begins, the friendships quickly break down, and it's often more depressing than hilarious. To see what I mean, just read more.

The movie's couplings range in age, family size, and personality, with Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman at the epicenter. As Dave and Ronnie, they are perhaps the most "normal" of the bunch. Between Dave's demanding job making video games (hello, Guitar Hero product placement) and raising two young sons, Dave and Ronnie don't even realize their problems until they are forced into couples skill-building. Vaughn is his typical wise-cracking character, but a touch of sweetness makes his on-screen relationship with Akerman the most enjoyable to watch. You can actually believe that they love each other and aren't using the trip as a band-aid for a bullet hole.

Jason and Cynthia (played by Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell), on the other hand, are a lot harder to relate to as two type-A personalities with an undying love for organization and PowerPoint presentations. Jason and Cynthia present the idea of the group vacation to their friends as a last-ditch effort to save their marriage (promising that the therapy sessions are optional, of course). Bell is her typical adorable self, but Bateman is insufferable. His character is painfully meticulous and overbearing, making the audience feel just as suffocated as Cynthia does.

Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin Davis) represent the worst of the worst: the couple that's been together so long that they don't even notice each other anymore. The high school sweethearts take the trip not as an opportunity to re-kindle the flame, but to chase skirts (or in this case, bikini bottoms) and muscular yoga instructors. Favreau gets a few laughs with his quest to get to Eden West, the "singles" side of the island, but age-wise, Davis doesn't quite fit in with Bell and Ackerman. It's also hard to laugh at characters that embody one of the biggest fears for young couples, and their ice-cold relationship is almost too realistic to scoff at.

Then there's Shane (Faizon Love), who's newly separated from the wife he still loves, but brings along his 20-year-old girlfriend for the ride instead. As Trudy, Kali Hawk steals a lot of the laughs as she yearns to drink and party all night long while her boyfriend would rather take a nap. One joke that never gets old: Trudy's insistence on calling Shane "Daddy" throughout the entire film.

With such a strong headline cast, it's disappointing that the supporting actors steal the show. I laughed the hardest at Dave and Ronnie's adorable boys (who get very little screen time) and at the motley crew of therapists and other wacky workers at the resort dedicated to making this the trip from hell.

At the end of it all, you'll get a few laughs along with some very beautiful imagery, but you might just want to put your money toward your own vacation instead.

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures