BuzzSugar

What to Rent: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:30:00 PDT

On the menu for this week's DVD releases? Comedy, comedy, and more comedy. Check out the titles below and start planning your next movie night!

Date Night

In this action romantic comedy, Tina Fey and Steve Carell play a bored married couple who get caught in a mix-up and end up on the run from a couple of thugs in New York City. The two stars are as perfect together as you'd think, and I was laughing out loud at their antics more often than not. The action sequences get a little tiresome, but the humor is worth the trip with Carell and Fey, not to mention the hilarious cameos from Mark Wahlberg and James Franco. DVD extras include a blooper reel, three dating PSAs from Carell and Fey, and director featurettes with Shawn Levy.

68%

The Joneses

David Duchovny and Demi Moore star as Steve and Kate Jones, a couple whose house, clothes, and kids are as good-looking as they are. Here's the catch: they're actually salespeople paid to create the illusion of a perfect life and plug products to their envious friends and neighbors. Things start to get messy when Steve develops feelings for Kate and his morals get in the way of his work life. I thought the film was very entertaining, thanks to Duchovny's endearing performance. Though the social commentary gets to be a bit much, it makes for the perfect rental. DVD extras include deleted scenes.

63%

See one more new release when you

read more. Death at a Funeral Director Neil LaBute remade this 2007 British hit with a cast that includes Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, and James Marsden, about a family that reunites when the patriarch dies and everyone gathers for the funeral proceedings. When tension, drugs, and a little person claiming to be the dead father's gay lover ensues, well . . . I think you can figure out where this is going. Extras on the DVD include deleted scenes, a gag reel, commentary from LaBute and Chris Rock, interviews, and two featurettes. 38%

Box Office: Dragon Makes a Comeback

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:30:00 PDT

Despite its lack of superheroes and weapons, Dreamworks's How to Train Your Dragon managed to regain the top spot at the box office with $20 million. It's been a few weeks since it came in at number one, but it looks like the family fave was a bigger draw than my pick, Kick-Ass, which came in closely behind it at No. 2, earning $19.8 million.

Last week's winner, Date Night, came in third with $17.3 million, followed by new release Death at a Funeral, which pulled in $17 million. The top five was completed by blockbuster Clash of the Titans, which fell to $15.8 million.

UPDATE: Final tallies calculated Monday show that Kick-Ass actually beat Dragon for the No. 1 spot!

Buzz News Roundup, 11/10

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:33:10 PST

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 PST

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 PST

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."

Movie Preview: Death at a Funeral

BuzzSugar — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:30:17 PDT

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,

The Vampire Diaries "Our Town": The Good, The Bad, and The Bloody

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:15:48 PST

After last week's epic kiss, this week's episode of The Vampire Diaries is almost a little disappointing, except that so many other crazy non-Elena/Damon things happen. It's Caroline's birthday, but it's not all cake and tequila shots with her friends, and Stefan tries his hardest to be a baddie but just ends up looking like a jerk.

On the Damon and Elena front, she's still feeling bad for having Jeremy sent away, and Bonnie has some harsh words for the already guilty-feeling Elena. I'm ready to get down into it, so if you are too, let's deconstruct it into the good, the bad, and the bloody after the break.

Brad Pitt Screens Moneyball as Angelina Jolie Does 60 Minutes

Allie Merriam — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:16:21 PST

Brad Pitt joined his Moneyball costar Jonah Hill in LA last night for a special screening of their film. It was a rare domestic viewing for Brad, who in recent weeks has taken the movie around the world, from the Tokyo International Film Festival to a short South Korean tour. Brad and Angelina are currently on the West Coast with their six kids, and he took the oldest four out for a special Thanksgiving weekend theater trip to see Hugo.

Angelina, meanwhile, is prepping for the release of In the Land of Blood and Honey. As part of her press efforts, she appeared on 60 Minutes last night and revealed a unique career ambition. Angelina once wanted to direct funerals, and is surprised that her career's taken the path of making movies instead. She said, "It sounds like this very strange, eccentric, dark thing to do, but in fact, I lost my grandfather and was very upset with his funeral . . . How somebody passes and how family deals with this passing and what death is should be addressed in a different way. If this whole acting thing didn't work out, that was going to be my path."

Glee-ful Highlights From Episode "Funeral"

Shannon Vestal — Wed, 18 May 2011 09:14:28 PDT

There's just one more week before Glee's season finale and their trip to NYC for Nationals, and things get more dramatic than anyone expected. There's a death that shakes up everyone and changes one character to the core, and the gang busily plans a funeral service despite the prep they still need to do before the big event.

Still, the show must go on, and Jesse St. James is there to pull everyone's thoughts away from funeral arrangements and back into cutthroat competition. His funny lines break up the otherwise somber episode, which I'm ready to discuss, spoilers and all, when you

What Did You Think of the First Season of Game of Thrones?

Becky Kirsch — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:49:10 PDT

The Game of Thrones season one finale is titled "Fire and Blood," and boy, does the episode bring a lot of meaning to those two words. Though the final episode isn't nearly as emotional as last week's (I'm still reeling from Ned's death), we're left with a lot to reflect on as we wait all the way until Spring 2012 to find out what happens next.

For the most part, the Starks are each grieving in their own way; Arya is taken into hiding with the Night Watch army, Jon tries to leave the Night Watch, Robb rises to power, and Catelyn projects her frustrations onto Jaime Lannister. Perhaps no one has it worse than Sansa, who's forced to follow and obey King Joffrey's repulsive demands. On the other side of Westeros, Dany Targaryen literally rises from the ashes of her husband's funeral pyre and emerges as some kind of new dragon queen.

I was expecting the finale to pack more punch, but overall I have nothing to complain about. Game of Thrones managed to initially pique my interest with the pilot, then keep me on the edge of my seat waiting for each new episode as the season unfolded. The show has quickly landed on my list of favorites, and I'm already depressed that we'll have to wait a whole year to reconnect with the characters.

Now I want to hear your thoughts on the finale and the season as a whole. Did you get totally hooked too? Did you try it out but then give up? Will you abandon ship now that Sean Bean's been given the axe? Let's discuss season one in the comments.

Photo courtesy of HBO