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Link Time! ABC Pulls the Plug on Kelsey Grammer's Hank

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:30:57 -0800

It's just no Frasier: ABC cancels Hank - Ausiello Files
In a quick turn of events, Steven Tyler announces that he is not quitting Aerosmith - E! Online
Did you watch The City last night? Test your knowledge with this tech quiz - GeekSugar
Celebrate Veterans Day with these classic war movies! - MTV Movies Blog
The Tony Awards better get ready: Denzel Washington is coming to Broadway in a revival of August Wilson's Fences - Culture Monster
Winona Ryder signs on as the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie. - Movieline
Check out this list of John Cusack's 10 best movies - Rotten Tomatoes
Get to know the actress behind Anna on TV's V - TV.com

Movie Preview: Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli

BuzzSugar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:30:13 -0700

At Comic-Con today, I'm hoping to learn more about The Book of Eli, a forthcoming post-apocalyptic film starring Denzel Washington. The first trailer for the film - one of many dark movies coming over the next few months - has hit the web, and it definitely does look spooky.

The trailer sets up the basic outline of the story: Washington stars as Eli, one of the only survivors left on Earth. He possesses a book that holds the secrets to rebuilding humankind. As his voiceover solemnly intones in the trailer, some would kill to take the book from him; he will kill to protect it from falling into the wrong hands.

The cinematography is what's really catching my eye in this trailer. Everything's shot in tones of green and gray, with deserted roads and broken overpasses and other signs of a civilization deserted. The fight scenes are filmed almost in shadow, with the figures standing out as black outlines against the creepy green sky. I hope I'll have more to share soon about how this looks on the big screen! The movie hits theaters on Jan. 15, 2010, and for now you can check out the trailer for yourself if you read more.

How Well Do You Know Denzel Washington?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:15:31 -0700

Denzel Washington is one of those mega-superstars who has mostly avoided becoming a tabloid staple, which is probably why I'm so enamored by him. Well, that and the fact that he has the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing going on. He's also hugely talented and has enjoyed one of the longest, most successful careers in Hollywood.

So it's high time for a quiz on Mr. Washington's career, especially in light of his latest movie, The Taking of Pelham 123, opening this weekend.

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The Taking of Pelham 123: The Taking of Our Time, 104 Minutes

BuzzSugar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:30:58 -0700

I wanted The Taking of Pelham 123 to be great, or at least kinda fun - full of thrills and interesting characters with a few little one-liners tossed in. Expecting too much? Maybe. But I was disappointed nonetheless because it turns out this movie is predictable and forgettable. It managed to keep my attention for a while, but mostly it's just blah.

For the most part, what you see in the trailers is what you get, in terms of plot: A crazy guy who wants to be called Ryder (John Travolta) hijacks a subway car in New York and he demands millions of dollars in exchange for the hostages' lives. He tells the dispatcher, Walter Garber (Denzel Washington), that the mayor (played a sleazy New Yorker to a "T") has one hour to get Ryder the money and for every minute they're late after the hour, he's going to kill a hostage. Ryder becomes attached to Garber and he forces Garber's secrets to come to light during their interactions, which everyone in the Garber's room can hear - including his boss and the mayor of New York. Ultimately Ryder wants Garber to deliver the money personally, and then we wait to see whether or not Garber can stop Ryder from continuing on with his plans once he gets the money. For more of my thoughts, read more.

In attempts to make up for the lack of drama, or to fill in the gaps between the few genuinely tense moments, director Tony Scott favors fast-paced montages of crowded subway platforms and general New York "hustle and bustle." Zooming camera shots, blurry quick-moving figures alternate with "dramatic" slow-motion and close-ups on grim faces, all set to loud tunes like "99 Problems." Because, you know, Ryder is a tough guy. This is a tough guy's game because Jay-Z says so. At first, this distracts us from the fact that we don't really care much about this story, but that wears off as the movie wears on.

Denzel Washington often brings an elegance and gracefulness to his characters, and he always exhibits a calm control over his performances. We're supposed to like Walter Garber, and we do, but this entire thriller can't rest on this particular average Joe's shoulders, no matter how nicely Washington presents him. Garber's not all that compelling. Supposedly providing the jolts of craziness (and therefore, in this case, entertainment), is John Travolta who gets a few really good lines in but who mostly seems like he's impersonating a crazy person rather than inhabiting an actual character.

Theoretically this should be an excellent Summer movie - digestible, intriguing, exciting. But I can't recommend this for a theater-going experience. It'll probably be a pretty solid rental, if you're quite bored. I wanted to be swept up in the mystery of it all (why is Ryder doing this? How will he pull it off? How will they stop him?) and the tension of the situation, but really, it's a silly movie. In order to get swept up, I'd have to be able to take the movie seriously and it just wouldn't let me do that.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

Buzz Brainteaser

BuzzSugar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:30:38 -0700

Welcome to Buzz Brainteaser, the trivia feature on BuzzSugar! Every weekday I'll test your knowledge about TV shows, music, and movies. If you enter in the correct answer, you win points!

On what '80s TV show did Denzel Washington star for all six seasons?

Movie Preview: The Taking of Pelham 123

BuzzSugar — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 07:30:04 -0800

In The Taking of Pelham 123, Denzel Washington plays city employee Zachary Garber who gets tangled up in a dangerous hostage situation when armed men take over a subway train and try to negotiate money in exchange for releasing the trapped New Yorkers. John Travolta plays the mean mastermind behind the whole thing who gets to know Zachary Garber fairly well during their little back-and-forth.

Have you seen the original 1974 film The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw? The trailer for this remake is pretty heart-poundingly intense, actually. I'm curious to see this come June 12. What about you?

To check out the trailer, read more.

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Buzz News Roundup, 9/5

BuzzSugar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:30:56 -0700

Leisha Hailey's Alice will headline the L Word spinoff. - Variety
Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are adaptation now has an October 2009 release date. - ComingSoon
Denzel Washington will star in the post-apocalyptic drama Book of Eli. - Zap2it
Mitchell Hurwitz and Jason Biggs have teamed up for a CBS comedy. - Hollywood Reporter
Kanye West might have another album out before the end of the year. - Billboard
Austin Nichols of John From Cincinnati has booked a job on One Tree Hill. - TV Guide
Gail O'Grady is the newest troublemaker on Wisteria Lane. - Entertainment Weekly
Michael Moore will make his new documentary available online for free. - AP

Photo courtesy of Showtime

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:30:48 -0700

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 you can now rent the Diane Lane thriller Untraceable, Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth, and Mad Money.

The Great Debaters
The Great Debaters stars Denzel Washington (who also directs), Forest Whitaker and newcomer Nate Parker in a movie that is maybe formulaic but also poignant and powerfully acted. As I pointed out in my review, the film borrows the the same elements of storytelling you find in underdog sports movies and inspirational teacher movies. However the film, based on a true story, is no less inspiring thanks to some moving performances.

The movie takes place in Texas circa 1935 when schools were segregated and economic times were hard all around. A group of young black college students work to become a debate team worthy of challenging Harvard. Washington plays the hard-driving debate team coach who encourages his students to succeed. You've definitely seen this all before in one form or another, but it's a great family rental with an inspirational message. The movie was honored earlier this year with an NAACP Award to boot.

Special features include deleted scenes and featurettes titled, "The Great Debaters: An Historical Perspective," and "Learning the Art: Our Young Actors Go to Debate Camp."

One more release to go so read more

Autism: The Musical
I have been curious about this documentary ever since it showed at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and I'm so glad it's out on DVD now, as I missed its airing on HBO a couple of months ago. The film has earned high praise and was even one of the Academy's 15 documentaries considered for an Oscar nod.

As Netflix puts it, the documentary follows "five autistic children as they develop and rehearse The Miracle Project, an original musical about autism." Between this flick and The Great Debaters I'd say you've got yourself a great family movie night here.

Special features include deleted scenes, a featurette called, "About Autism Speaks" and a filmmaker biography.

Buzz News Roundup, 4/4

BuzzSugar — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:30:31 -0700

Has it really been that long? Fox has picked up King of the Hill for a 13th season, TV Guide reports.
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Judi Dench and Nicole Kidman may join Rob Marshall's film adaptation of the Broadway musical Nine.
According to ComingSoon, Werner Herzog will write and direct The Piano Tuner, a Victorian-era drama about one man's journey to war-torn Burma.
Reuters reports that the Stone Temple Pilots reunion tour is definitely a go.
Denzel Washington is attached to star as the hero in a film adaptation of the bestselling Robert Ludlum novel The Matarese Circle, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
USA Today writes that MySpace will be launching a full-fledged music service where people can buy music and concert tickets.
John Schneider and Molly Ringwald have been cast in ABC Family's Juno-esque teen pregnancy TV pilot from the creator of 7th Heaven, writes Zap2it.
Justin Long and Hayden Panettiere have been tapped to voice the lead characters in the animated family film Alpha and Omega, reports ComingSoon.

Photo courtesy of Fox

James Gandolfini Goes From Mob Boss to NYC Mayor for Pelham Remake

BuzzSugar — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:33:21 -0700

Everybody's favorite TV mob boss appears to have turned over a new leaf. James Gandolfini has been cast to play the NYC mayor in director Tony Scott's remake of the 1974 thriller The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three. He joins Denzel Washington and John Travolta. Variety has more:

Gandolfini will plays a pol under incredible pressure to end a crisis when a packed subway car is ransomed by a criminal (Travolta) and his gang.

So, from the Bada-Bing strip club to city hall, I'd say Gandolfini's doing pretty well for himself, wouldn't you? I look forward to seeing how Scott plans to update this movie, though I have a long time to wait: Pelham most likely won't be released until Fall 2009.

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