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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:30:00 PDT

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 the titles below, family-friendly flicks Bee Movie and August Rush are available as well.

No Country for Old Men
If you haven't heard about No Country for Old Men, the staggering, Oscar-winning adaptation of Cormic McCarthy's novel, you might well be living under a rock. Not for those looking for warm fuzzies, this is the Coen Brothers at their best: entertaining, dark, and thought-provoking. Javier Bardem (um, how scary is he on that DVD cover?) won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Anton Chigurh, a demented serial killer whose evilness will haunt you for days. The film also stars Josh Brolin as a man on the run from Chigurh and Tommy Lee Jones a local sheriff on both of their trails.

Though the film's ending is obscure and has left many scratching their heads, I really thought it worked and I was completely entranced by the suspenseful cat-and-mouse plot. If you haven't yet seen this darn-near-perfect flick, now is your chance. Special features include a featurette about the making of the movie and one titled "Diary of A Country Sheriff."

One more release starring a beloved comedian if you

Dan in Real Life
I will be the first to admit this wasn't my favorite movie of all time but like most people, I really love Juliette Binoche and Steve Carell, and I figured you may like to know that this one is out on DVD.

Dan in Real Life is about an advice columnist (Carell) raising three daughters on his own. Yet he could use some advice himself when he meets and develops "eyes" (as they say) for the beautiful Marie (Binoche) - who also happens to be Dan's brother's girlfriend. Much soul-searching over this and other life issues goes down when Marie joins a vacation with the entire extended family. One of the best things about the movie is the great music provided almost entirely by Sondre Lerche.

Sugar Bits - Saw IV Takes Top Spot at Box Office

PopSugar — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 09:29:59 PDT

Saw IV took the top place at the box office this weekend, followed by Dan in Real Life and 30 Days of Night. Guess that means Saw V is unavoidable - BuzzSugar
Oprah tearfully apologized to the parents of students in her South African girls school after allegations of abuse against teachers and administrators. Hopefully the school will recover from this scandal and continue to bring education to the girls who need it. - South Africa News 24
Natalie Portman had a hard time getting a table at a top NYC restaurant even when she flashed her cute smile and asked them "Are you sure?" Apparently they couldn't totally resist and made some room for her and her boyfriend at the lounge. - Page Six
Michelle Williams is apparently thinking of leaving Brooklyn for Manhattan, as Heath Ledger has already done, because her townhouse is too big for her and Matilda alone. A fresh start is probably what's best for both of them. - Page Six
Another woman has spoken out about David Copperfield's "creepy" attempt to hit on her during one of his performances. Now would probably be a good time to perfect his disappearing act. - TMZ

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Box Office: Saw IV Takes No. 1 Spot

BuzzSugar — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:30:00 PDT

I would make some kind of "Saw IV slaughtered the competition!" pun here but I'm just not in the mood after hearing that this fourth installment of the Saw series took the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend. The horror flick drew in an impressive $32 million, significantly more than the No. 2 movie, Dan in Real Life. Surely the proximity to Halloween helped get people in the theaters for Saw, but I'm still a little surprised by this. Most surprisingly, however, is that more women than men were in the audiences for Saw. Interesting, to say the least.

At No. 3 was 30 Days of Night, while The Game Plan continued to score big time at No. 4. Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? took fifth place, bumping Michael Clayton out of the top five.

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Music Video: Sondre Lerche, "To Be Surprised" from Dan in Real Life

BuzzSugar — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:31:32 PDT

As I mentioned earlier today, one of the few standout things about Dan in Real Life, which plods into theaters today, is the soundtrack, provided entirely by Sondre Lerche (well, except for one cover of "Let My Love Open the Door"). I've been a huge fan of Lerche's loungey style and smooth voice for years now. I've even seen the slight, adorable Norwegian with the foppish hairstyle perform live, and he's a real class act.

His music in Dan in Real Life manages to enhance scenes that would otherwise lie flat; indeed, his music often comes as a relief, indicating that we can relax, enjoy the visuals and the relaxing tunes without being subjected to some more uninteresting dialogue.

Recently Lerche went on Letterman to perform his song "To Be Surprised" which is featured prominently in the film. You can take or leave Dan in Real Life but definitely take a listen to Lerche's music. This song is happy, and yet leaves me feeling slightly melancholic as well. To can check out the video of Lerche performing on Letterman,

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Dan in Real Life: Real Life Is Boring

BuzzSugar — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:30:42 PDT

My reaction to Dan in Real Life is a big fat "eh." I chuckled a few times, rolled my eyes a little bit, and questioned Dane Cook's sexuality. I also felt some sadness toward Juliette Binoche and Steve Carell, two actors who seem to have been charged with providing the charm for this movie entirely, and who both give up under the pressure. Because I like these actors very much, it depresses me to report that Dan in Real Life is forgettable.

Carell plays Dan, an advice columnist and widower with three daughters. He comes from one of those big, goofy, aw-shucks families you only see in movies. The stupidly flawless kind of family that has crossword competitions! And talent shows! And group aerobics on the front lawn! It's so saccharine my teeth started to ache. Apparently the "humor" of the film is supposed to come from the fact that Dan doles out flecks of wisdom on parenting and life, yet he's illogically overprotective with his own girls and he ends up falling in love with his brother's new girlfriend. Unfortunately, it's not humorous enough to be a comedic success, and not compelling enough to be heartwarming. To see more of what I mean,

Here's my main annoyance with the movie: it's supposed to be ironic because he's an advice columnist who can't seem to succeed as a father/brother/son/boyfriend/person? He's human and flawed? Who cares? For one thing, they don't do nearly a good enough job making us see what a "fantastic" advice columnist Dan is. So why should we care when he's attracted to his brother's girlfriend? For another thing, while I love Steve Carell, his attempts to be (I think) a struggling widower who's clumsily entering back into the dating world come off as distracted, slightly ashamed and a little sleepy. Nothing about this movie gets me to care about Dan, in his real life or otherwise.

The best things about the film are Juliette Binoche and the music, provided entirely by Sondre Lerch. Binoche is beautiful, self-assured, funny and warm as The Perfect Woman, Marie. The moments that have any real spark at all are when Binoche has reason to be passionate. When Marie is jealous of Dan's date with another woman, she burns Dan's pancakes the next morning and glares at him while he eats them in front of her, a moment that contains a surprising mix of comedy and sexual tension. These fiery moments are only that, however: momentary, and they are mostly dependent upon Binoche's irresistible charm. Lerche's music adds a relaxing ease to the movie, making otherwise lame scenes tolerable.

The narrative, such as it is, doesn't just trudge along dopily, it meanders and veers woozily from side to side. At no point did I have confidence that this was all leading someplace satisfying. The artful, truthful beauty that director Peter Hedges achieved in Pieces of April is utterly missing. It's like his creativity plodded around in a circle for a while before curling up and going to sleep. I had a kind of naive optimism about this movie but found that real life really is pretty disappointing - even in the movies.

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First Look: Steve Carell in Dan in Real Life

BuzzSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:28:11 PDT

There is something about the endearing everyman-ness of Steve Carell that just makes me want to root for the characters he plays, no matter what. In the trailer for his fall movie Dan in Real Life, that feeling is only intensified as he plays a widower raising three daughters. He falls for a woman (Juliette Binoche! Hooray!) who turns out to be his brother's (Dane Cook, booooo) new girlfriend.

The trailer, while not fall-down funny, is very sweet-looking and features some great lines. Dan in Real Life is scheduled to open October 19. To watch the trailer,

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Announcing the 2012 Grammy Award Nominations

Rose Curiel — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:51:21 PST

For the second year in a row, the Recording Academy has given a hip-hop artist the most Grammy nominations. Last year, it was rapper Eminem with eight, and this year, Kanye West leads the nominees with seven chances at the golden gramophone, including a song of the year nod for "All of the Lights." West is also nominated twice in the rap album of the year category for his collaboration with Jay-Z on Watch the Throne and his own album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Brit crooner Adele wasn't far behind Kanye, picking up six nominations for her album 21, as well as a shot at song of the year with "Rolling in the Deep."

Bruno Mars also did well, racking up six nominations (that's down one from last year for those keeping track), while newcomers like Nicki Minaj and dubstep artist Skrillex are up for the best new artist category. See what other artists have a chance of walking away with a Grammy during the February 12 award show when you read more

Who Is Blair's Soul Mate on Gossip Girl?

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:33:29 PDT

Blair Waldorf may be engaged to Louis on Gossip Girl, but we're not giving up on her other suitors until she and her prince say "I do." We know we're not alone on this either, given the hoards of fans who have pledged their allegiance to Team Chair or Team Dair. Even Penn Badgley himself has opened up about his feelings toward Blair's love life. He told Nylon magazine that "I think Blair is Dan's soul mate. I don't know if they're ever going to get together."

It seemed like any chance of a real Dan and Blair relationship was lost at the end of last season, but there's clearly still a fire between them in the more recent episodes. Still, Gossip Girl has essentially programmed us to believe that Blair and Chuck will always be meant for each other, no matter what. They're like the Ross and Rachel of the show. Where do you stand on the debate - do you think Blair's soul mate is Dan or Chuck?

Photo courtesy of The CW

Take Me Home Tonight: Not the Party of the Decade

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 04:00:00 PST

Most movies try to show you something you've never seen before, but Take Me Home Tonight aims to do just the opposite. Set in 1988, the objective of the comedy is to capitalize on the trends of the decade, poke fun at the style, and pay homage to the films that defined a generation. Unfortunately, it gets so bogged down in piling on the clichés that it comes off as a forgettable knockoff of a John Hughes movie.

The movie takes place over one long night as Matt (Topher Grace) sets out for one purpose: to obtain the phone number of his high school crush, Tori (Teresa Palmer). A recent MIT grad, brainy Matt is unsure what to do with his life and ends up living in his parents' house and working at the local video store. There, he bumps into Tori for the first time in years and fabricates a fancy job at Goldman Sachs to impress her. When he learns that she'll be attending a rager that night, he enlists the help of his twin sister Wendy (Anna Faris) and best friend Barry (Dan Fogler) to keep his charade going.

To find out why the film misses the mark, just

Matt's pursuit of Tori plays out in a predictable but sweet way. Grace has the bumbling-but-endearing routine down cold, and it's easy to root for him as he gives Palmer longing looks and cracks cringe-worthy jokes in her presence. Palmer is equally likable; she's part girl-next-door, part bombshell, but Palmer succeeds at giving Tori a little more depth than just a nerd's high school fantasy girl.

Matt's got a few extra layers too; though all he can think about in the short-term is winning Tori over, the movie is ultimately about his inability to figure out the next stop of his life. Unfortunately, the theme holds the comedy back from being a light, entertaining, party flick. Wendy's story line mostly revolves around her struggle to decide if she should dump her boyfriend (Chris Pratt), a party boy with a popped collar who wants to turn her into a housewife. Though I liked seeing Faris playing it straight, her scenes with real-life husband Pratt aren't funny and drag down the film.

The '80s throwbacks are fun at first, as Matt and Barry head into the party to the tune of classic hits from the decade (including the "Safety Dance"), surrounded by girls with big hair and neon leggings. After that, it starts to go downhill: Barry's adventure with coke might have been representative of the time, but it only leads to absurdly unrealistic gags that try to push the envelope and instead fall flat.

It would have been wise to keep the film focused on Matt and Tori, but unfortunately the filmmakers try way too hard to make Take Me Home Tonight the perfect blend of coming-of-age film and raucous comedy. In the end, we're left with a half-baked love story that only delivers a handful of laughs.

Emma Watson on How Her Harry Potter Fame Means She's Recognized All Over the World

Allie Merriam — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:15:34 PDT

Emma Watson joined her Harry Potter costars yesterday for an afternoon press conference in NYC. She's in the US after attending the London premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and Emma had lots more to share about her experiences with the franchise over the last decade. Emma revealed what she has in store this Summer and next Fall as far as college is concerned, and she also chatted about how she wrapped up more than ten life-changing years on the Harry Potter set. Emma said:

On what she has in common with Hermione: "Not so much now but I guess an earnestness, an eager to please and do the right thing and terrified of ever getting into trouble. I am very heady in the same way that she is. I am constantly thinking three, four moves ahead. I try and intellectualize a lot, which she does as well obviously. She’s very determined, I am as well. I like to think that I am very loyal in the same way that she is. Bit of a feminist in the same way that she is. I will speak my mind in the same way that she does. It’s hard to say really. I feel as though so much of me went into her and so much of her went into me, I can’t really differentiate too much anymore. It’s all a bit of a blur."
On realizing how famous she is: "It was when I was in a shantytown in Bangladesh and a boy stopped me in the street and said, 'You’re the girl from Harry Potter.' And I just. . . there’s no where in the world I can go that almost, it feels, that isn’t somehow touched by this film franchise. It’s absolutely amazing. It reaches the farthest, furthest corner of the earth in the least expected places you would expect. So that was a real, 'Wow I really can’t go anywhere. This is incredible.'"
On handling her fame: "It became easier to handle once I accepted it. Once I sort of came to terms with it, definitely. I feel fortunate in it that I’ve never known, never really known what its like to have total freedom and anonymity. It’s not as though I had it and then all of a sudden it got taken away from me. It was something I grew up knowing and a process that happened gradually. I’ve never known anything else. So in a way, I guess that’s a blessing."
On the next step in her college plans: "I am going to Oxford in the fall to study English for a year. Just to explain, I haven’t left Brown. I’m still enrolled at Brown but I’m doing my third year abroad, studying at home abroad for me. So I’ll go back to the States to do my last year. I took a semester off but my A level credits actually count as advanced place me out a semester so I’m no longer further behind. I’m still technically going into my third year."

To read what Emma says about tackling Broadway, how she's changed over the last ten years, and her Summer plans, just

On Daniel Radcliffe's Broadway stint: "Dan is so ballsy. That kid. Amazing. I’d love to do something on Broadway. I think I need to pluck up some more courage. . .I love to sing, at some point. I love singing."
On her own changes: "It’s hard to say because obviously when you go from the ages of nine to twenty- one, there are so many changes that are inevitable - that’s just part of growing up. It’s hard to say what isn’t that natural process and what else has happened. I went from being a nine- year old girl, a schoolgirl, to having a job. I’ve learned how to be an actress and how films are made and how to do interviews, hopefully! I always had quite a strong sense of who I am, but it's nice coming through this and feeling like I still managed to maintain my own sense of identity away from something that potentially could have overwhelmed.
On her favorite Harry Potter movies: "The last two, part 1 and part 2 for me really stand apart from all of the rest. The quality is amazing. The role and depth and how much darker they get really gave me a chance to stretch myself as an actress and really feel like I was an actress."
On her Summer plans: "I’m going to travel this summer, which I’m really excited about. It’s obviously scary, change is always scary, but I feel really excited. I feel like I’m entering a new chapter, like I get a fresh start, and there’s something really exciting about that. So traveling this summer - I’m going back to school in the fall. . . I guess just now reading, reading, reading and trying to find the next thing that really speaks to me and that I really care about. Finding great directors who will keep teaching me so I can keep learning. But I’m excited about the idea that being an actress now in a way that I wasn’t so sure of before."
On the last shot of the movie: "The last shot we did was this kind of strange moment where we dive into the fire place at the Ministry of Magic. It was actually for part 1 not for part 2. So Dan, Rupert, and I one by one jumped onto these blue safety mats and that was the shot - that was it - and it seemed like a strange one to go out on but actually David made the point that we were like leaping into the unknown. It was kind of like the perfect metaphor for what we were about to go into. It's so funny 'cause I can’t tell you how I felt when we were shooting it. I was sort of numb."