BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 5/16

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:30:28 -0700

Did you ever read R.L. Stine's Goosebumps books? Now there's going to be a movie version of the series, Variety reports.
Billboard has the rundown of this year's BET Awards nominees; T. Pain leads the pack with five nominations.
Hooray! The hilarious Rob Corddry has finally landed a starring role, in the action-comedy Project A, which will be produced by Ben Stiller, ComingSoon writes.
According to Variety, we'll see an English-language remake of the Chilean movie Pretendiendo in which "a beautiful woman . . . dons a fat suit to shield herself from any more romantic upsets."
American Idol's Taylor Hicks is headed to Broadway as the Teen Angel in a production of Grease, Billboard reports.
Zap2It writes that George Clooney will star in an adaptation of the non-fiction book Men Who Stare at Goats.
The Wall Street Journal claims that if ratings don't improve for the CW, the network may be doomed.
ComingSoon reports that Danny Glover will reprise his stage role in a big screen adaptation of Master Harold... and the Boys.
Check out the colorful pictures of the grand opening of the Simpsons ride at Universal Studios in the Orlando Sentinel.

Caption It: Which Caption Should Win?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:30:00 -0800

Nice job, everyone who offered up ideas for this week's Caption It contest! The challenge was to provide a caption to go with this goofy image from Michel Gondry's latest release Be Kind Rewind:

And now to choose a winning caption. Here are my finalists:

Beer. Turning perfectly good kitchen items into bike helmets since 1955.
"When I told these fools to use protection this isn't what I meant!"
While Danny Glover is yet to be converted, several A-list Hollywood stars such as Mos Def and Jack Black are opting for the cheaper Scientology Lite.
Mos Def: "Between Mr. Glover and I we've got several Emmy, Golden Globe and NAACP Image Awards, as well as great reviews for our work on Broadway."
Jack Black: "But have you heard 'F*** Her Gently?'"
Scoffing at the local crop circles, Danny Glover looks on with disgust as his friends prepare for total alien domination.

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema

Be Kind Rewind: Just a Silly Good Time

BuzzSugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 08:30:00 -0800

When I first saw the trailer for Be Kind Rewind, it made me feel all happy and giggly. I had relatively high hopes for the movie itself, thinking it would have that bizarre brand of humor I've come to expect from writer/director Michel Gondry and, satisfyingly, I was right. It's not the funniest film ever, and it's not the best use we've seen of Gondry's hyperactive imagination - it's just a goofy, silly good time.

The premise itself is funny: Mike (Mos Def) works for Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) at Be Kind Rewind, the video store Mr. Fletcher opened in an old building where Fats Waller reportedly used to live. Mike's friend Jerry (Jack Black), who's a little touched in the head, manages to become magnetized and ends up erasing all the videos in Mr. Fletcher's store. Thus, the two guys - with the help of their charmingly sweet friend Alma - start to "swede" some of the most popular movies in the store, recreating key plot points using the crudest (and most hilarious) of props and special effects. Eventually the whole community starts to help out and business picks up. Yet trouble arises when Mr. Fletcher's building is condemned and everyone needs to figure out how to save him from moving to the projects. That's just the plot, though, so to see what I think of the movie overall, read more.

While the sweded movies are hilarious, what makes the movie's pulse really beat is the actual feeling between these characters. Mike will defend his weirdo friend Jerry to the death, and he's endearingly loyal to his surrogate father, Mr. Fletcher. The characters in the community seem to care about each other and truly want to be a part of this unique movie-making/video rental experience. Parts of the movie are gimmicky, but the people keep it chugging along nicely.

Of all these people in the movie, Jack Black is a particularly welcome addition. I never thought I'd be so relieved to see Black do his same old overwrought, anxiously energetic, physical comedy thing, but in truth, he sometimes saves the scene. At times, Gondry's humor is too strange or just downright not funny, and Black's easy willingness to play the bumbling fool to the hilt is genuinely refreshing. His slapstick combined with Mos Def's earnestness and Gondry's creativity makes for an hour and a half of goofy fun. The energy of the movie loses much of its steam as it crawls toward the end, but the majority of the film is so engaging, I didn't mind. Bottom line: If you're a fan of Gondry's, it's a must-see, and if not, it's good for some chuckles.

To see a preview for Be Kind Rewind, check out movies.ivillage.com.

Photos courtesy of New Line Cinema

First Look: Be Kind Rewind

BuzzSugar — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 10:16:34 -0700

Up until today, there was just a grainy bootleg version of the trailer for goofball comedy Be Kind Rewind that someone covertly (or, not so covertly, since it says "Shhh I wasn't supposed to tape this! Hee hee..." before the footage) videotaped at Comic-Con where the trailer was screened. Now there's a legit trailer for all to enjoy, and enjoy it I do.

I'm not sure where I am on the topic of Jack Black. I loved him in High Fidelity, but quickly grew tired of him in School of Rock. This trailer, however, looks like the comedy is a collaborative effort with a lot of funny moments for Mos Def and not too-too much of Black's obnoxiousness. The supporting cast includes Danny Glover, and Mia Farrow. The movie follows video store employees Jerry (Black) and Mike (Mos Def) whose videos all become erased. To appease the customers, the duo shoot brief, low-budget versions of the original movies (like Driving Miss Daisy, pictured), which then become major hits in the community.

Be Kind Rewind opens in limited release this December 21. To see the trailer, read more

Source

Buzz News Roundup, 7/18

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:39:04 -0700

Danny Glover will play a love interest for Sally Field's character on "Brothers & Sisters" next season, says Hollywood Reporter.
Variety reports that John Leguizamo has been cast in M. Night Shyamalan's next project, The Happening, also starring Zooey Deschanel.
TV Guide reports that news from the CBS presentations at the TCA press tour includes an episode of "Cold Case" with an all-Nirvana soundtrack and a lot of remarks about Mandy Patinkin quitting "Criminal Minds."
ComingSoon says Ron Howard is on board to direct The Emperor's Children, a kind of Cruel Intentions-type story for 30-somethings.

Never fear, Starbuck fans: Despite her conspicuous absence from a "Bionic Woman" event on Tuesday, "Battlestar Galactica" star Katee Sackhoff has signed a deal to continue appearing on "Bionic."
According to Zap2It, there will be a third Ace Ventura movie, this time focusing on the pet detective's son who will be played by Josh Flitter.
Victoria Beckham will "host" NBC's Thursday comedy lineup this week, promoting a 10 p.m. re-airing of her "Coming to America" special, the Futon Critic reports.
Universal has canceled the release of Evan Almighty in Japan on account of the movie's meager draw so far and the fact that "there aren't that many Christians in Japan," says Variety.

Source

2012: Apocalyptic Good Times

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:30:00 -0800

In terms of end-of-the-world movies, 2012 packs it all - a love story, teary family moments, action-packed adventure, over-the-top-CGI, and a ton of recycled film cliches - in a two and a half hour package. That's lengthy by today's standards, but I wasn't bored for a minute. This is pure escapist entertainment.

The film opens in 2009 as a scientist in India and his American associate Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) discover that the Earth's core is overheating. His forecast: Tectonic plates will shift, thereby causing a worldwide catastrophe that will wipe out the human race.

Dun, dun, dun! (Doesn't take long to pull you in, does it?) To hear my full assessment, read more.

The real action goes down three years later in 2012 when, according to the Mayan calendar, the Earth will reach its end. The entire So-Cal coast starts crumbling, so our hero Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) and his family begin a journey to China where the governments around the world have supposedly assembled spaceships to carry select humans to safety.

What? You expected this to be plausible?

Of course not, but the film does include tons of cool CGI - volcanos, snow storms, giant tsunamis. It's like every disaster movie you've ever watched combined. (That should come as no surprise seeing as how the director is Roland Emmerich who created The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day, and Godzilla.)

As for the characters, we've seen them all stereotyped in other films before, but they're still enjoyable here. (Even though I admittedly winced over a Russian family complete with a fur coat, tiny dog, and an employee named Sasha.) This is thanks to the actors who play their parts with believability, even when the scenes feel ridiculous. Ejiofor portrays a great bleeding heart swept up in a governmental plan that's looking out for No. 1, and Cusack pulls off his father role without being over-the-top or sappy. Also, watch for Woody Harrelson as a nutty conspiracy theorist living in Yellowstone National Park.

2012 is purely meant to be fun, and it succeeds. There's a constant barrage of cliff-hanger moments that never let up, and though you pretty much know where things are headed, it's easy to get sucked in.

(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!)

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

What to TiVo: Thursday

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:50:33 -0800

ABC is new with Flash Forward, Grey's Anatomy, and Private Practice
CBS is new with Survivor, CSI, and The Mentalist
FOX is new with Bones and Fringe
NBC is new with Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, and 30 Rock
The CW is new with Vampire Diaries and Supernatural
Bravo is new with Real Housewives of Orange County
Comedy Central is new with Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
FX is new with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League
Lifetime is new with Project Runway
MTV is new with World's Strictest Parents and Gone Too Far
Late-night highlights include Larry David on Lopez Tonight on TBS; Penelope Cruz and Dolly Parton on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Amanda Peet on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Al Gore, Jim Parsons, and Jason Mraz on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Danny DeVito and Switchfoot on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Kate Walsh on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC; and Danny Glover on Last Call With Carson Daly on NBC