BuzzSugar

Chris Pine in Talks to Learn the Art of Making Money

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:30:51 -0700

Chris Pine can thank Star Trek for a beamed-up career: the new Captain Kirk is in talks to star in The Art of Making Money.

The film is based on the true story of Art Williams, who went from petty thievery to master counterfeiter. Pine would play Williams, and there's also a possibility that DJ Caruso (who helmed Eagle Eye and Disturbia) will direct.

I'm glad Pine is blazing a trail for the other breakout stars of the Summer (like his Star Trek cohorts). He's also currently filming a movie with the apt title Unstoppable.

Buzz News Roundup, 7/27

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:30:41 -0700

Ian Somerhalder confirms that Boone will return to Lost. - Entertainment Weekly
Mila Kunis is in talks to star opposite Natalie Portman in Darren Aronofsky's supernatural drama Black Swan, playing Portman's rival ballet dancer. - ComingSoon
Moon Bloodgood leads a new group of people cast on Steven Spielberg's alien invasion pilot for TNT, which stars Noah Wyle. - The Hollywood Reporter
A new study gives HBO top marks for showing gay characters. - AP
Eagle Eye director D.J. Caruso is attached to direct a sci-fi/horror film adaptation of the Electronic Arts video game Dead Space. - Variety
Shonda Rhimes wishes she could have shown more of George's last day on Grey's Anatomy. - Entertainment Weekly
Mariah Carey, Diddy, and Lil Wayne all have delayed the release dates of their next albums. - Billboard

Eagle Eye Soars at Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:30:36 -0700

Shia LaBeouf proves he's box office gold once again with the No. 1 movie this weekend, Eagle Eye, also starring Michelle Monaghan and directed by D.J. Caruso. The action-thriller performed well with an estimated $29.2 million, making it the fourth-best September debut ever. In second place with an estimated $13. 6 million came the Nicholas Sparks tearjerker Nights in Rodanthe.

Lakeview Terrace came in third place, and to my great surprise Fireproof, starring Kirk Cameron (yes, you read that right), came in at No. 4. The Christian-themed flick narrowly beat Burn After Reading, which came in fifth. Who would have ever guessed that Mr. Cameron would join Mr. LaBeouf as two of the big stars of the weekend?

Spike Lee's World War II epic Miracle at St. Anna suffered from disappointing reviews (including my own) and paid for it at the box office, coming in at No. 9.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Eagle Eye: Absurd . . . ly Fun

BuzzSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:30:28 -0700

The story of Big Brother watching and controlling all of the helpless citizens in Eagle Eye might be more effective if it weren't quite so preposterous. That said, this movie intends to thrill and entertain, and it succeeds on all counts. It holds your attention with all the plot twists and the bombardment of explosions, the kind of explosions that make a certain audience cheer. Eagle Eye will probably not be an award-winner, but it's great for when you want to totally escape with a loud, ridiculous, big ol' Hollywood popcorn flick.

For starters, the two leads are seriously likable. I so enjoy watching Michelle Monaghan in pretty much anything (even crap like Made of Honor) because she seems so comfortable on screen. She's like someone we all might know. Not average, really, but familiar in a comforting way - smart, nurturing, sweet, tough. And Shia LaBeouf is utterly adorable in this film. It doesn't ask much of him, but he delivers nicely nonetheless. He plays Jerry Shaw, a slacker living in Chicago and having trouble making ends meet. The sudden death of his estranged twin brother Ethan sets off a series of baffling occurrences for Jerry, starting with a strange woman contacting him on the phone just as he's being set up to look like a terrorist. Oh, this is only the beginning, though, so read more.

It turns out the strange woman is forcing Jerry to do her bidding or else get caught by the authorities. As long as he does what she says, he's safe from the police who have plenty of (planted) evidence to lock Jerry away for good. Single mother Rachel Holloman has been similarly summoned by this woman, and she and Jerry are thrown together on a crazy, mysterious chase at the instruction of a disembodied voice which, unbelievably, is able to manipulate any form of technology (making signs flash instructions to Jerry, turning all the traffic lights to green so they can rush through them, etc.) in order to speed up their journey and confound the police and FBI who are hot on their trail.
The woman's voice leads the two straight into an actual terrorist plot, an act of revenge for an impulsive and wrongful bombing of innocent people by the US. What follows is a convoluted string of twists, turns, and (usually) death-defying stunts, and all for what? The answer is pretty silly, but I won't spoil it for you here.

People always say that there's no original story left in Hollywood and that it all depends on how filmmakers reassemble old ideas. Eagle Eye completely borrows from other movies and churns out clichéd moments left and right. And yet, that doesn't diminish the fact that it's still compelling to find out how this technology controls and manipulates these humans, and how the humans desperately try to win anyway.

There's an attempt at some kind of political statement with this movie, but it doesn't quite make it. And that's fine. At some point you understand that this is pure entertainment and nothing else. It's one of those times when you can resign yourself to the silliness of it all and be swept away in the zooming car chases and frantic search for answers, or not. It's not artful, by any means, but as far as action movies go, it's not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

First Look: Shia LaBeouf in Eagle Eye

BuzzSugar — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:50:39 -0700

Woah. The teaser trailer for Eagle Eye is dark and intense right off the bat, as Shia LaBeouf's character Jerry is immediately set up to look like a criminal, though he's actually innocent. The FBI doesn't believe him, of course, and now it appears that the people who set him up have further plans. Actually, it looks like they "own" him now. According to the plot description, he meets up with a single mother (played by Michelle Monaghan, who doesn't appear in this teaser) and they learn that they're both being framed as terrorists.

Scary! Disturbia director D.J. Caruso is back to put us at the edge of our seats again - and returning with cute Shia LaBeouf to boot. Eagle Eye opens in theaters September 26, so to check out the teaser trailer, read more.

Source

Link Time! 1/8

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:30:59 -0800

SlashFilm finds a San Francisco street artist posing a key question: Do you prefer shoot-em-up star Rambo, or 19th-century French poet Rimbaud?
Popwatch has a call to action to stop Jessica Simpson's country album from happening.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's return to the air makes TV Squad wonder: What's the going definition of "writing" these days, anyway?
When MTV Movies Blog chatted with director David Fincher he revealed his plans to turn Fight Club into a musical.
Pop Candy shares a way to win a chance to see the Lipstick Jungle premiere early - plus free lipstick.
Pop has photos from the set of Eagle Eye, the thriller that is reuniting Shia LaBeouf with his Disturbia director D.J. Caruso.
Check out Stereogum for Moby's latest video for the song "Alice."
TV Filter spreads the good news that all of Lost is now available online for free!
CasaSugar lets us tour Parker Posey's old apartment - without stalking her!
Idolator already has a contender for the worst album cover of 2008.

Source

Rosario Dawson's Descent and More

BuzzSugar — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:42:31 -0700

As it is with George Clooney, it seems I can't peruse entertainment websites or magazines these days without seeing something new about Rosario Dawson. Today I've rounded up the top three items - including the new teaser trailer for her movie Descent, which premiered earlier this year at Tribeca - circulating the film world about Ms. Dawson.

1. Dawson has been cast alongside Shia LaBeouf in Eagle Eye, the next thriller on Distrubia director DJ Caruso's list of projects. She mentioned to MTV that she had signed on for the movie, though she gave no specifics about her role. In a separate interview Caruso "would only say that 'she is going to play a character named Zoey.'"

2. Though Kevin Smith seems to think otherwise, Dawson will not, in fact, be starring in Smith's next "bawdy sex comedy" Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Dawson was rumored to be a part of the movie from the beginning, but apparently the production dates conflict with those of Eagle Eye. About Porno, she says, "It’s going to be a really interesting film. I don’t think I’m going to be a part of it. He wrote it for me, but I’m just signing on to do [Eagle Eye] and that’s going to be shooting from November to March."

3. In Descent, Dawson plays a bright and attractive college student who vows revenge on the man who rapes her. You can watch the new teaser trailer for Descent if you read more

Source

Shia Spies Another Thriller, Gushes About Harrison Ford

BuzzSugar — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 04:45:00 -0700

Along with preparing for the opening of Transformers next Tuesday July 3 and working on the fourth Indiana Jones movie, Shia LaBeouf has signed on to team up with his Disturbia director D.J. Caruso for another project. Titled Eagle Eye, the movie has Shia starring as "a young slacker whose overachieving twin brother has died mysteriously. When the young man returns home, both he and a single mother find they have been framed as terrorists. Forced to become members of a cell that has plans to carry out a political assassination, they must work together to extricate themselves."

Yipes! Well, the Disturbia duo have proven themselves more than capable of doing the thriller thing, so I'm looking forward to this project. For now, check out this video of Shia talking about meeting Harrison Ford and being overwhelmed by Ford's coolness. I had no idea that Shia said things like "he's not really a Hollywood cat" until I saw this video but now that I know that, I have to say I love the little guy a bit more. It also looks like he might cry while he gushes about Ford, which is weird and sweet. To see the video, read more

Photo courtesy of DreamWorks

Disturbia: Shia LaBeouf Shines in Capable Thriller

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 10:13:59 -0700

I can't think of a better way to describe Disturbia than as a Rear Window for teens, and as a modern homage, the entertaining thriller is highly enthralling, if not incredibly complex. Shia LaBeouf, who I'm ready to declare one of the most natural young actors working today, is excellent as Kale, a troubled teen who punches his Spanish teacher when the teacher makes a rude comment about Kale's recently deceased dad.

Sentenced to a summer of house arrest, Kale at first spends his time on trivial pursuits like playing video games and building towers out of Twinkies. But soon, he develops a new hobby: watching the seemingly mundane routines of his neighbors play out as "reality TV without the TV." He's particularly interested in Ashley, the very hot city girl who just moved in next door; soon, she realizes what Kale is up to and wants to peek too.

In true Hitchcock style, the movie's suspense builds very slowly from there and keeps us guessing the whole time, so

Disturbia benefits from a well-written script that - aside from one cheesy but obligatory romantic scene - never feels unnatural or forced. That keeps us compelled even during the first three-quarters of the film, which is relatively light on action: Kale flirts with Ashley, talks back to his mom (Carrie-Ann Moss), and grows more and more paranoid with each passing day that his neighbor (David Morse) is actually the perpetrator of a recent murder. With an arsenal of surveillance technology that seems excessive even for a rich suburban teen, Kale, Ashley, and his buddy Ronnie become obsessed with catching the man in some sordid act.

But of course, paranoia often begets mistaken accusations, and after several run-ins with the neighbor and a few embarrassing cries of wolf, Kale's friends begin to think maybe he's the problem. As viewers, we also start to suspect that this neighbor is just a normal, if slightly creepy, guy.

As the movie progresses, I found myself veering between being completely at ease and scared out of my wits. That, my friends, is the mark of a good thriller, and Disturbia never reaches to be anything but. The pleasant surprise is that, thanks to capable actors and a neat little script, the movie rises above the standard teen fare.

Photo courtesy of DreamWorks

Movie Preview: Disturbia

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:35:03 -0700

If you've seen Rear Window, the trailer for Disturbia feels very familiar, but despite that - or maybe because of it - I'm still captivated by the premise. Rising star Shia LaBeouf plays Kale, a teenager on house arrest for assaulting a teacher who uttered some unkind words about Kale's recently deceased dad. He whiles away his posh "prison" time watching the goings-on outside, including those involving his hot new neighbor, Ashley (Sarah Roemer).

Soon, Ashley is onto Kale and wants a piece of the stakeout action, too. The teens become convinced that a creepy neighbor across the street is actually a killer, and from the looks of it, the movie goes into full-throttle thriller mode from there. For more details and to watch the trailer, read more

I don't know much about director D.J. Caruso, who has worked on "The Shield" and The Salton Sea, but the movie looks promising. It comes out this Friday the 13th, with the also creepy but less promising Perfect Stranger. Tune in later for my review, and watch the trailer now and tell me what you think.

Photo courtesy of DreamWorks