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Buzz's Favorite Dance Flicks

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:30:30 -0700

Remake Fame comes out on Friday, with a whole new cast of kids as talented students. The number one reason I'd see it: the dance numbers. It doesn't matter what style, I am a sucker for dance movies. As bad as the plot and dialogue might be, when the dance sequence comes on, it's just so . . . fun! There's no better way to describe it, and since I consider myself a dance movie aficionado, I'm sharing my favorites.

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TV Tonight: Center Stage Sequel on Oxygen

BuzzSugar — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 13:30:11 -0700

I can't believe this almost slipped off my radar, but never fear, dear readers: I finally did remember that the sequel to Center Stage is airing on Oxygen tonight. And just because this is a made-for-TV movie (the first went to theaters) that will head to DVD in January doesn't mean they're skimping on the good stuff.

For example, Peter Gallagher is reprising his role as artistic director Jonathan Reeves, and accomplished ballet dancer Ethan Stiefel is back as Cooper Nielson. This time around, we'll watch a new generation of dancers tackle the world of New York ballet:

Kate, a talented, self-taught ballerina . . . leaves her Detroit home to audition for the prestigious American Ballet Academy in New York. Despite displaying superior abilities and impressing experienced teacher Cooper Nielsen (Stiefel), Kate is rejected by Artistic Director Jonathan Reeves (Gallagher) in favor of classical ballerina Suzanne. A prodigy from a wealthy family, Suzanne has been trained in classical ballet since the moment she could walk. Kate then meets hockey player-turned-dancer Tommy, who has been accepted to the Academy, but still needs help with his technique. As Kate and Tommy work together, their growing affection inspires a new determination and commitment to achieving their dreams.

Think you'll be checking this out? Were you a fan of the first one? To see a trailer for tonight's sequel, Center Stage: Turn it Up, just read more.

Photo courtesy of Oxygen

Center Stage Sequel on the Way!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:30:22 -0700

What a great hump day! First, Ryan and Rachel rekindle their love and now this: Popwrap is claiming that one of my favorite dance movies of all time will be getting a sequel. They write:

CS: Turn It Up gets a little urban on us this time as Kate Parker, a self-taught prodigy catches Jonathan's eye and makes it into the American Ballet Academy. Sadly things don't go as planned and she's booted from the school - only to meet Tommy, an ex-hockey player and unlikely new ABA student (obviously) who crushes on Kate and gets her a job at a hot NYC nightclub, The Foundry. Well, needless to say, sparks fly and I am sure there is an amazing dance-off to end all cinematic dance-offs.

I totally agree that the dance-off is a guarantee - and I look forward to it. The original Center Stage is hilariously earnest and cheesy, but when dance is involved I have a hard time saying no. Of the original cast only Peter Gallagher and Ethan Stiefel will return. The sequel will premiere on Oxygen in November (don't worry, I'll remind you) and then head straight to DVD (I'll probably remind you then too).

It may not be a masterpiece but it's totally the kind of mindless TV movie sequel I kinda can't resist. I dug up the final dance scene for the original Center Stage, so if you have about ten minutes you'd like to fill with wonderment, just read more.

Source

Movies For Those Who Love to Dance (or Just Watch It on TV)

BuzzSugar — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:30:40 -0700

Do you feel that, too? That giant hole in your Wednesday and Thursday nights that used to be filled with glorious dance (and Nigel Lythgoe)? It's just one week since the finale, and I'm already suffering withdrawal from So You Think You Can Dance. My backup dance show, America's Best Dance Crew, is also nearly done. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite dance movies of all time to get me through these tough times. To see some of my picks, hit "Start." Photo courtesy of Fox

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What to Download: New Music Today

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:30:29 -0800

Time for more Tuesday entertainment! I've already shared a few new DVD releases to give your movie library a shot in the arm, but now, let's amp up your iPod. Big-name albums hit shelves today, so be sure to read up on these three. (And if you want to see your own music reviews featured on Buzz, submit them in the Music Review Group in the community!)

Fan-pleasing pop: American Idol fans rejoice: you've said that you're interested in post-AI albums, and now Kris Allen's anticipated self-titled debut is finally here. The song selections started a bit bland for me, but Allen picks up momentum with "The Truth" and the soft but moving ballad "Bring it Back." Both songs get needed oomph from orchestral accompaniment to create a sweeping sound that's sure to make Allen aficionados swoon. As for the rest of the album, it's predictable, but likable, much like the singer himself.

Why the sad face? Listening to John Mayer's latest, Battle Studies, you've got to wonder who ripped his heart out - Jessica Simpson? Jennifer Aniston? Every song is about a hurt guy who doesn't want to love again. Sensitive crooning isn't anything new to Mayer, but this time, it feels like mundane easy listening. I long for the days of "No Such Thing" when we had a more upbeat Mayer, or the Mayer who can riff on the guitar like nobody's business. But we don't really get either here. Still, it's worth noting his collaboration with Taylor Swift on "Half of My Heart," and my personal fave, "All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye."

See one more release when you read more.

Diva in training: Leona Lewis burst onto the scene two years ago with "Bleeding Love," and now she returns with her sophomore follow-up to Spirit, Echo. Lewis hits the high notes - and she'll once again draw comparisons to Mariah Carey - but the lyrics don't always pack the same punch, and they often feel like recycled love musings. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to see Lewis branch out of her usual comfort zone with the dance track "Outta My Head" and "Can't Breathe," which goes heavier on the R&B. If you've seen those Precious promos, you've heard another song from the album, "Happy," but it was recently announced that Lewis will be providing the title track for the film Avatar, so listen for her voice to show up there, too.

What to TiVo: Monday

BuzzSugar — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:50:00 -0800

ABC is new with Dancing With the Stars and Castle
CBS is new with How I Met Your Mother, Accidentally on Purpose, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and CSI: Miami
FOX is new with House and Lie to Me
NBC is new with Heroes and Trauma
The CW is new with One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl
E! has E! Investigates: Last Days of Michael Jackson, and is new with The Soup Presents: Ladies, Ladies, Ladies and 10 Vampires We Love
MTV is new with True Life, Twilight: Love Bites, and Twilight New Moon: An MTV Movie News Special
TLC is new with Jon & Kate Plus 8
Bravo is new with Million Dollar Listing and Chef Academy
VH1 has repeats of Tough Love 2, For the Love of Ray Jay 2, and I Want to Work for Diddy 2
Late-night highlights include Taylor Lautner and Heather Locklear on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Sharon Stone, Seth Meyers, Wyclef Jean, and Cyndi Lauper on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Kristen Stewart, Judd Apatow, and Carrie Underwood on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Ted Danson, Khloe Kardashian, and Lamar Odom on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; LL Cool J and Mindy Kaling on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS; and Tim McGraw and Anna Torv on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC

Fantastic Mr. Fox: Lives Up to Its Title

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800

For the past five years, Wes Anderson's wide fan base has been waiting for his first fully animated film. Would his adaption of Roald Dahl's children's book, Fantastic Mr. Fox appease the same crowd that holds Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums near and dear to their hearts? The answer is an emphatic yes, and the best news is that you don't even have to enjoy Anderson's other work to fall in love with this film.

The story follows the wily Mr. Fox, a professional robber turned family man (er, fox) who just isn't satisfied with his quiet life working as a newspaper columnist. Even a move to prime real estate isn't enough to satiate his appetite for a little trouble making, and Mr. Fox (or "Foxy" as his friends call him) decides to take on the biggest adventure of his life. That's just the tip of the iceberg though, so read more.

Mr. Fox isn't your average wild animal; in fact he's just the opposite. He lives a civilized life with his wife Felicity (Meryl Streep) and 12-year-old son, Ash, making an honest living as a newspaper columnist. Like a kid who can't sit still, Mr. Fox has trouble curbing his desires to rebel and go back to his life stealing squab and running into trouble. Against his wife's wishes, Mr. Fox convinces his dim-witted but trusty sidekick Kylie (Wally Wolodarski) to take on one last hurrah. The crime? Ripping off the three biggest (and meanest) farmers around - Boggis, Bunce and Bean. When Mr. Fox starts an all-out war, he is forced to join forces with his family, friends, and neighbors - and that's where the fun begins.

The film's brilliance lies in the fact that Fantastic Mr. Fox is a movie for grown-ups disguised as a kiddie flick. Even with Anderson's name stamped all over it, there's no denying the furry animals dressed as humans. The animation makes the plot play out like a story book come to life; we're taken deep into the fox hole and beyond in a world that looks like a dollhouse made for fuzzy creatures. Kids will love the adventure and the colors, but the witty dialogue and quirky characters are made for the grown-ups.

The movie features a crew of lovable characters who deliver hilarious one-liners when they aren't breaking into impromptu dances. There's nothing new about a movie featuring animals acting like humans, but the actors make the movie the gem that it is. Jason Schwartzman playing a crabby 12-year-old but using his regular deep voice is genius. Clooney and Bill Murray (as badger, Mr. Fox's lawyer) bantering back and forth but replacing swears with the word "cuss" never gets old (as in "This place is a cluster cuss" and "What the cuss is wrong with you?").

Rare is the animated film with this much wit, cleverness, and chemistry between characters, but Fantastic Mr. Fox hits it right on the head. Score one more for Mr. Anderson.

(Don't forget that if you see a movie that you'd like to review, you can post your write-up in the Movie Review Group in Community - I may even post it here on the site!)

Twilight Leads the People's Choice Awards Nominations

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:43:12 -0800

The 36th annual People's Choice Awards nominees are here, and last year's Twilight is leading the charge! American Idol's Kris Allen was among the announcers this morning for the nominees, which also include lots of nods for The Proposal - but of course, everyone's favorite bloodsucking love story landed in many categories, including favorite on-screen movie team.

Why didn't they look to 2009's New Moon? Because last year's nominations debuted before the first movie in the Twilight saga.

To see the full list of nominees, just read more.

MOVIES

FAVORITE MOVIE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
The Hangover
The Proposal

FAMILY MOVIE
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

COMEDY MOVIE
17 Again
Bride Wars
He's Just Not That Into You
The Hangover
The Proposal

INDEPENDENT MOVIE
(500) Days of Summer
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Paranormal Activity
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail

FAVORITE MOVIE FRANCHISE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Transformers
X-Men

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTOR
Brad Pitt
Hugh Jackman
Johnny Depp
Robert Pattinson
Ryan Reynolds

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTRESS
Anna Hathaway
Drew Barrymore
Jennifer Aniston
Kristen Stewart
Sandra Bullock

FAVORITE ACTION STAR
Christian Bale
Gerard Butler
Hugh Jackman
Shia LaBeouf
Vin Diesel

FAVORITE COMEDIC STAR
Adam Sandler
Ben Stiller
Jim Carrey
Ryan Reynolds
Vince Vaughn

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTRESS:
Anna Kendrick
Emily Osment
Ginnifer Goodwin
Miley Cyrus
Zoe Saldana

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTOR
Chris Pine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Sam Worthington
Taylor Lautner
Zachary Quinto

FAVORITE ONSCREEN TEAM
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal
Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, Twilight
Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan and Daniel Henney, X-Men Origins: Wolverine

TELEVISION

FAVORITE TV DRAMA
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Grey's Anatomy
House
Lost
NCIS

FAVORITE TV COMEDY
Desperate Housewives
How I Met Your Mother
The Big Bang Theory
The Office
Two and a Half Men

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTOR
Hugh Laurie
Kiefer Sutherland
Mark Harmon
Matthew Fox
Patrick Dempsey

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTRESS
Anna Paquin
Blake Lively
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Katherine Heigl
Mariska Hargitay

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTOR
Alex Baldwin
Charlie Sheen
Jim Parsons
Neil Patrick Harris
Steve Carell

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTRESS
Alyson Hannigan
America Ferrera
Amy Poehler
Eva Longoria Parker
Tina Fey

FAVORITE TV OBSESSION
Dexter
Gossip Girl
The Hills
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
True Blood

FAVORITE TV TALK SHOW
Chelsea Lately
Live with Regis & Kelly
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Tyra Banks Show

FAVORITE TV SCI-FI/FANTASY
Heroes
Lost
Supernatural
The Vampire Diaries
True Blood

FAVORITE TV COMPETITION SHOW
American Idol
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Survivor: Samoa

FAVORITE ANIMAL SHOW
Animal Cops
DogTown
Dog Whisperer
It's Me or the Dog
Rescue Ink

FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA
Eastwick
FlashForward
Melrose Place
Mercy
The Forgotten
The Good Wife
The Vampire Diaries,
Three Rivers
NCIS: Los Angeles
V

FAVORITE NEW TV COMEDY
Accidentally on Purpose
Brothers
Community
Cougar Town
Glee
Hank
The Cleveland Show
The Middle
Modern Family

MUSIC

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST
Eminem
Jason Mraz
John Mayer
Keith Urban
Tim McGraw

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST
Beyonce
Britney Spears
Carrie Underwood
Pink
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE COUNTRY ARTIST
Brad Paisley
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Rascal Flatts
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MUSIC ARTIST
Adam Lambert
Demi Lovato
Kris Allen
Lady Gaga
Susan Boyle

FAVORITE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Eminem
Flo Rida
Jay-Z
Lil' Wayne
T.I.

FAVORITE ROCK BAND
Daughtry
Green Day
Kings of Leon
Muse
Paramore

FAVORITE MUSIC COLLABORATION
Cobra Starship & Leighton Meester, "Good Girls Go Bad"
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, "Lucky"
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West, "Run This Town"
T.I. & Rihanna, "Live Your Life"
The Lonely Island & T-Pain, "I'm on a Boat."

FAVORITE R&B ARTIST
Alicia Keys
Beyonce
Jennifer Hudson
Mariah Carey
Usher

FAVORITE POP ARTIST
Britney Spears
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift
The Black Eyed Peas

FAVORITE WEB CELEB
Andy Samberg
Ashton Kutcher
Miley Cyrus
P. Diddy
Will Ferrell

Are You Getting Tired of Competition Dance Shows?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0800

So You Think You Can Dance is now in full swing, and Dancing With the Stars is nearing its season end, but it looks like there won't be any time of the year when you have to go without a dance competition show. It's just been announced that Kathy Griffin has signed on to host Let's Dance, where stars re-enact famous dance routines from pop culture. While it sounds kind of awesome, I feel overloaded with similar news, since Oxygen has just given its competition reality show Dance Your Ass Off a new season.

I love a good dance show (and good dance movie), but I worry this may be too much of a good thing. Are we in competition dance show overload?

Photos courtesy of Fox

Fergie's "Be Italian" From Nine - Nailed It or Not Impressed?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:30:24 -0800

Rob Marshall's long anticipated movie musical Nine won't hit theaters until December, and I'm practically counting the minutes until I can see all the talented ladies (Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, the list goes on) singing and dancing with Daniel-Day Lewis. The songs are showstoppers for sure, and now you can have a taste of the upcoming soundtrack. Give a listen to Fergie singing "Be Italian," one of the show's biggest numbers, and tell me what you think - nailed it or not impressed?