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Buzz News Roundup, 11/10

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:33:10 -0800

We have a definite premiere date for the fifth season of Lost! The craziness begins again on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009. - Variety
Chris Rock is set to star and co-write a re-imagining of the 2007 British comedy Death at a Funeral. - Variety
Fox has ordered a full season of The Cleveland Show to premiere in Fall 2009. - Zap2it
Coldplay has been named the world's biggest band of 2008. - Reuters
Casey Affleck and Jessica Alba are joining the cast of The Killer Inside Me, an adaptation of a novel from noir author Jim Thompson. - The Hollywood Reporter
Quantum of Solace has reached a box office take of $160.3 million internationally in its first 10 days. - ComingSoon
Bret Ratner is in final negotiations to direct a 21st century update of Conan the Barbarian. - Reuters
Knight Rider is getting a major makeover. - The Hollywood Reporter
Influential DJ and Morning Becomes Eclectic host Nic Harcourt is stepping down from KCRW. - LA Times

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 07:30:00 -0800

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, 30 Days of Night is available if you have the need to get the bejesus scared out of you, and you can finally catch the emotional Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale on DVD.

The Darjeeling Limited
In the latest addition to director Wes Anderson's growing collection of movies that feature dysfunctional families, The Darjeeling Limited gives us Anderson's typically quirky characters, his stylized look and of course some witty, awkward dialogue. The movie stars Adrien Brody alongside Anderson regulars Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman as brothers who plan a road trip across India.

The first part of the film contains all the goofy and neurotic trademarks of this director's films, though the story takes an unexpected dark turn in the middle. While there are certainly problems with this movie, fans of Wes Anderson won't be disappointed. The DVD's special features include the film's prequel Hotel Chevalier which stars Natalie Portman.

Two more movies you might enjoy are out this week, so read more

Death at a Funeral
I've been waiting for Death at a Funeral to come out on DVD as it was one of my Must-Haves this month and I never got to catch it in the theaters. The movie received a lot of great reviews from critics and audience members alike, and the tag line perfectly sums up what I've heard about it: "From director Frank Oz comes the story of a family that puts the F U in funeral."

I'm a big fan of those find-humor-in-the-bleakest-of-situations stories so I'm really excited to see this one. Special features include a gag reel as well as commentaries by the film's writer, Dean Craig, and director Frank Oz.

Beowulf
The epic English poem comes to life (albeit with some liberties taken) as a 3-D animated film thanks to director Robert Zemeckis. Voiced by big-time talent including Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich, the movie tells the story of a Scandinavian warrior's journey to find and kill some terrifying monsters. In Beowulf, Zemeckis again employs the motion-capture process used in The Polar Express, which proves very impressive during the battle scenes.

Today this title is also released in an unrated director's cut version which takes the chains off the film's scenes that include violence and nakedness. Special features include a treat for folks interested in animation with plenty of making-of featurettes, an extensive look behind the scenes, and an odd bit with Zemeckis discussing how much he hated the original poem.

BuzzSugar's Must-Haves for February

BuzzSugar — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:30:00 -0800

February is a big month here in entertainment-land, with both the Grammy Awards and the Oscars on the docket and this weekend's Super Bowl unleashing a new crop of commercials (not to mention a new Paula Abdul song) on the world. But I have my eye on plenty of other things, too. Want to see what I've got to have (and do, and see, and rent) this month? Just hit "Start."

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Movie Preview: Death at a Funeral

BuzzSugar — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:30:17 -0700

If teen comedy Superbad isn't your cup of tea, but you're still looking for a movie that will make you laugh this weekend, Death at a Funeral might be worth a try. Directed by Frank Oz, the movie centers on a dysfunctional English family whose supposedly staid and classy funeral for the patriarch of the clan is interrupted by one disaster after another, ranging from the delivery of the wrong body to the appearance of a mysterious stranger who knows a secret about the father. I first saw the trailer in the theater before Hot Fuzz, and it was a hit with the crowd that was already in the mood for some good British humor. To check out the trailer, read more

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Mad Men, "The Grown Ups": This Week's 5 Maddest Moments

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:30:10 -0800

Did you hear it? That was the sound of the Mad Men implosion, as the death of JFK on November 22, 1963, rocked the country and the lives of the show's characters. This season has been building up to the events of this episode, which felt more intense, more important, than next week's finale can possibly be. If there's an episode that has defined the third season so thoroughly, it's this one, "The Grown Ups."

Ready to talk? See this week's five maddest moments when you read more.

Death of a President: The timeline of the show has made it clear that John F. Kennedy's assassination is coming, but like those who experienced it, there was no way to prepare for it emotionally. So where is everyone when JFK is shot? Peggy is having a "nooner" with Duck, Betty is at home, Pete and Harry are talking work, and Roger's daughter Margaret is having a fitting on the eve of her wedding.
One wedding and a funeral: The show must go on, Roger decides, and Margaret's wedding still happens on Saturday night, with far fewer guests in attendance. I understand why they didn't cancel it, but as Joan remarks, "Poor thing." Margaret overcomes her marriage jitters and fit over Jane's extravagant gift and presence in her life, only to agree to be married the day after the President's shooting. That's pretty rough.
Downgrade: Pete is demoted so thoroughly at Sterling Cooper that he leaves work and tells Trudie he's been fired at first. Like Betty, the fact that he's already going through something jarring when JFK is shot only escalates his personal situation, and he stays at home with Trudie instead of going to Margaret's wedding. Shaken as well, Trudie tells Pete to start gathering his clients in preparation to leave the company. Pete seems shattered, and again, I enjoyed Vincent Kartheiser's nuanced performance of one of the show's most complicated characters.
Where's the love: A wedding and a violent event prompt everyone to re-evaluate their romantic relationships; particularly Don and Betty (their kiss at the wedding proves to be only passionate from one side) and Joan and Roger. That Roger calls Joan, just happy that she's home, says so much about his feelings for her.
The Proposal: "What is going on?" Betty asks both Don and Henry, distraught about the country's events, but that's exactly how I felt when Henry tells her in her car that he'll marry her if she leaves Don. Last week, when she got advice against divorcing him, I thought there was no way they'd split up, but now that Betty has this viable option, I'm actually scared they may divorce. As screwed up as their marriage is, their being together is one of the show's fixtures. Their separation would be like Sterling Cooper going out of business. But Betty sees things as having "no point" now, and she tells Don that she no longer loves him. I don't know what to think! Is it a coincidence that she was wearing a pink twinset like Jackie the day JFK is shot? Hadn't she just "lost" her husband in last week's episode when she discovers that Don is really Dick Whitman? In any case, it's completely disconcerting to see Don, sitting in his bedroom at the end, broken by Betty's dramatic disclosure of her lack of feelings for him.

Everyone keeps saying variations on how everything will be fine, it will all be OK, but we know from experience with this show that nothing is going to be fine. Whatever is to come, I'm so impressed by this episode; in the future, this will be the episode that you remember when you think of this season.

What do you think will happen with Pete, Roger and Joan, the Drapers? Will Betty take Henry up on his offer? And to talk more about the show later, join the Mad Men group in the community.

Photo courtesy of AMC