BuzzSugar

Buzz In: Who's Your Favorite Movie President?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:30:57 -0700

Sometimes movie presidents are so much more fun than real life presidents. With a team of talented screenwriters and directors behind them, they often make the kind of grand, inspirational speeches that can be pretty rare in the real world. And they seem to get away with a lot of stuff, too.

Take Kevin Kline's character in the movie Dave, for example. He isn't even supposed to be president, he's just a doppelganger subbing in, which is totally against all the rules and stuff. But you know what? He has a good heart, and that's what matters in movie presidents.

Of course, things get all meta and mind warpy when you start to think about biopic movie presidents, but they count, too, for these purposes. So, who is your favorite movie president? Do you agree with a recent poll that Harrison Ford in Air Force One is the best? I personally like Jeff Bridges (pictured) as President Jackson Evans in The Contender. He nominates a - gasp! - female vice president and all hell breaks loose.

Source

Meet Scrubs's New Docs on the Block

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:30:04 -0800

Now that Scrubs has an official premiere date (just a few weeks away!), it's time to check out the fresh meat we can expect for season 9. We already know that Bill Lawrence is taking the show in a new direction, this time focusing on the med students as Dr. Cox, Turk, and J.D. take their positions as mentors. We can expect to see those three in December, along with Eliza Coupe as Denise.

And now, on to the newbies. First there's Lucy (Kerry Bishe), who's been described as a go-getter and the first in her blue-collar family to attend med school. Then there's Cole (Dave Franco - yes, James's bro) who's supposedly overconfident and a little spoiled, which probably means it won't take long for Dr. Cox to knock him down a peg or two. Rounding out the trio is Drew (Michael Mosely) who's a bit older than the other two, and is returning to med school after dropping out years ago.

Though I thought Scrubs had a very poetic and fitting finale last season, I'm hopeful about breathing new life into the show. What about you - are you excited to see the new faces?

For more photos of the doctors old and new, just read more.

View 8 Photos ›

Where the Wild Things Are: A Passionate Ode to Childhood

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:30:00 -0700

There's been a bit of a controversy over how to market Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's book, Where The Wild Things Are. Is it for kids? Adults? Adult hipsters?

The answer is anyone who wants to feel what it's like to be a child, and not in the fun-loving, no-responsibilities way. As adults, we tend to forget the insecurity and fears we had as kids, which the film's young character Max is in the throes of. There's just enough exposition before the fantasy begins: Max has a single mom (Catherine Keener) and an older sister who has recently outgrown him. His first few acts at home show his innocence and the savage emotions under the surface. He knows it as being "wild."

Where the Wild Things Are isn't a heavy-handed allegory, or an edgy children's movie; it's a loyal tribute to the way kids think and feel. To see what else I thought of the film, just read more.

Max reaches the world of the wild things after throwing a particularly heinous fit, prompting his mother to yell, "You're out of control!" After running away, Max finds himself on a boat that finally brings him to a strange land. This is where the wild things are. The creatures Jonze has created are aesthetic wonders: creepy, hostile, and huggable at once. These aren't Jim Henson's Muppets, but real characters, led by Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini). The rest of the group is comprised of Lauren Ambrose as aloof KW, Catherine O'Hara as prickly Judith, Paul Dano as timid Alexander, Chris Cooper as Douglas, and Forest Whitaker as Ira.

Each creature has a fully realized personality, with flaws and varying temperaments; their faces are so emotive and their dialogue so human that their scenes with Max are as real as those with his mother. This group is not easily classified as friend or foe - they're dysfunctional in their relationships and don't always treat each other well. One of the most successful elements of the movie is the dialogue of the wild things, which is rooted in Max's head.

In many ways, screenwriter Dave Eggers's job was tougher than Spike Jonze's, because it's imperative to remember the way children think. Max's interactions with Carol and his new clan are made up of the kind of things a kid would hear from his parents and peers and then internalize. In fact, in the wild world, Max declares himself king to bring order, and he summons up speeches from the authority figures that he's pulling away from in his real life. Naturally, he's too young to recognize how his subverted position is significant.

Max's relationship with Carol is most telling. As the de facto leader of the group who can't handle sadness, loneliness, or jealousy, he acts out as a mirror of Max while still being his own character. The richness of Carol and the creature cast stays with you; when Max has to say goodbye to his friends, your heart breaks.

Jonze impressed me with his non-conformity; in another movie, Max would have demonstrated the grand lessons he learned from his time on the island, but in this one, he doesn't have to learn anything. He just gets to feel and experience and appreciate his emotionally fragmented new friends. It's devastating as a viewer, especially if you can put yourself back in that childlike place when your feelings were so raw and simple.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

What to TiVo: Saturday

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:50:20 -0800

ABC has College Football
CBS has a repeat of The Mentalist and is new with 48 Hours Mystery
FOX is new with Cops and America's Most Wanted
NBC has repeats of Mercy, Law & Order, and Law & Order: SVU
Bravo has Brokeback Mountain
E! has The Wedding Singer
MTV has repeats of South Park, Real World/Road Rules Challenge, Twilight: Love Bites, and MTV News: New Moon Revealed
USA has Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
VH1 has Trading Places
Late-night highlights include Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dave Matthews Band on Saturday Night Live on NBC

Link Time! Rumer Willis to Romance a Major 90210 Character

BuzzSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:30:34 -0700

Guess who Rumer Willis's character on 90210 is going to have a girl-on-girl relationship with? - Ausiello Files
Hulu will not start charging for content after all - PopWatch
Zooey Deschanel will make a guest appearance on Bones - The Futon Critic
Natalie Portman was the guest judge on Top Chef last night - test your knowledge! - YumSugar
Dave Eggers's novel Zeitoun is going to be made into an animated film - Vulture
The new Avatar trailer is a bit more exciting than the first - Cinematical
Keanu Reeves will star in romantic comedy Henry's Crime with Vera Farmiga - Coming Soon
Abigal Breslin will star as Helen Keller on Broadway, along with Alison Pill - Hollywood Crush
Will Twilight's Anna Kendrick get a supporting actress nomination for Up in the Air? - HitFix

Photos courtesy of The CW

What to TiVo: Thursday

BuzzSugar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:50:00 -0700

ABC is new with FlashForward, Grey's Anatomy, and Private Practice
CBS is new with Survivor: Samoa and CSI, and has a repeat of The Mentalist
FOX has MLB ALCS Game 5: Yankees at Angels
NBC is new with Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, and 30 Rock
The CW has repeats of Vampire Diaries and Supernatural
MTV is new with Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, Nitro Circus, and MTV's Ultimate Parkour Challenge
Bravo is new with The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Comedy Central is new with The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
FX is new with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Lifetime is new with Project Runway
Late-night highlights include President Barack Obama on a repeat of The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Hilary Swank on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Charlize Theron and Dave Matthews Band on a repeat of The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; John C. Reilly and NeNe Leakes and Kim Zolciak from The Real Housewives of Atlanta on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Tim Gunn, Colbie Smulders, and Lynyrd Skynyrd on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS; and Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone on a repeat of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC

Weekend Movie Reviews, Dave's Multiple Affairs, and the Kanye/Gaga Tour Gets Canceled!

Molly — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:50:00 -0700

Trying to figure out which movie to go see this weekend? Check out our one-sentence movie reviews of Whip It!, Zombieland, and The Invention of Lying. Plus, find out what we're thinking about the David Letterman affair/extortion bombshell and possible reasons behind why Kanye West and Lady Gaga canceled their tour. Watch the weekend edition of PopSugar Rush now!

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

David Letterman Admits on Air He Had Sex With Staff Members

BuzzSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:52:58 -0700

Well here's something I didn't see coming - while taping tonight's episode of The Late Show With David Letterman, Dave revealed to the audience that he was recently blackmailed for $2 million dollars. Apparently the extortionist sent Dave a letter a few weeks back, threatening to go public with information that the talk show host has had sexual relationships with several female members of his staff.

Dave went on to tell the audience that he met with the individual and had the person in question arrested after passing over a fake check for $2 million. He continued, "This morning, I did something I've never done in my life. I had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury. In terms of the affairs, he said, "My response to that is, yes I have. Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would. I feel like I need to protect these people - I need to certainly protect my family."

Sex scandals are sadly common these days, but I'm still pretty shocked about this news - and even more surprised that Dave came clean on national television. My heart goes out to his wife and family. The episode won't air for a few more hours, but while we wait to see the video - what do you make of this news?

What to TiVo: Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:50:30 -0700

ABC is new with Dancing With the Stars and the series premiere of The Forgotten
CBS is new with the season premieres of NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles and the series premire of The Good Wife
FOX is new with Hell's Kitchen
NBC is new with The Biggest Loser
The CW is new with 90210 and Melrose Place
Bravo is new with Flipping Out
MTV has a repeat of The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and is new with Daddy's Girls and The Hills Season Preview
Late-night highlights include Pee Wee Herman and Amy Poehler on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Bill Clinton and LeBron James on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Rebecca Romijn on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; David Duchovny and Kid Cudi on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Reba McEntire and Dave Annable on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS; and Seth Meyers on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC