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Movie Preview: Ed Norton and Ed Norton in Leaves of Grass

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800

That double Ed Norton in the title is not a typo; Leaves of Grass stars the talented actor in a dual role, as polar opposite twin brothers.

As twins, Norton really goes for it - one twin, Bill, is straight-laced, while the other, Brady, is a mulleted hick with a heavy Southern accent. I've missed Norton's presence, but I'm wondering if this is going to a be an amazing acting opportunity or an embarrassing diversion for him. Joining him in the cast sans outrageous accents is Keri Russell, Susan Sarandon, and Richard Dreyfuss. It's a little hard to tell the tone of the movie from the trailer; it's been described as a comedic thriller, but I can't tell if it wants to be Adaptation or Joe Dirt.

To see the trailer, just read more.

Box Office: High School Musical Dances to No. 1

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:00:23 -0700

We knew High School Musical was a huge television hit but now it's a bona fide silver screen success. The third installment of the perky Disney musical bonanza scored the top spot at the box office over the weekend, earning an estimated $42 million.

Meanwhile, Saw V did excellent business over the weekend as well, earning an estimated $30.5 million in the No. 2 spot. Variety notes that both titles were record breakers:

The top two films each entered record territory. Disney’s High School is by far the biggest musical bow ever, besting Mamma Mia! Lionsgate’s Saw franchise is within $2 million of eclipsing Friday the 13th to become the top-grossing horror series ever.

Max Payne and Beverly Hills Chihuahua came in at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively, with the top five being rounded out by the Ed Norton cop thriller Pride & Glory.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Pride and Glory: An Ordinary Story About Dirty Cops

BuzzSugar — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:30:29 -0700

We've all seen plenty of movies about police corruption and while it's not necessary to avoid this storyline altogether, it should be avoided if there's absolutely nothing new or interesting brought to the table. Today we even have another new movie that deals with a similar issue (dirty cops) - but in a compelling way. I really enjoy Edward Norton's work, and I wanted to give Pride and Glory a chance for his sake. But while he does a fine job in the film, he can't save it from being a rote, disappointing knockoff of many movies to have come before it.

Norton plays Ray Tierney, whose whole family - including his father Francis Sr. (Jon Voight), his brother Francis Jr. (Noah Emmerich), and his brother-in-law Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell) - is involved in the NYPD. Ray begins the investigation of a case involving slain cops and as he digs deeper, signs begin pointing him toward his own fellow officers and worse - his own brother and brother-in-law. Soon the family is torn over whether to go public with the truth about the case which would destroy careers (including Francis Jr.'s, while his wife is battling cancer), and the overall reputation of the NYPD. For some of my thoughts on all this, read more.

Edward Norton puts in a good-faith effort here and he's always a relief to see on the screen instead of most of the others (though Colin Farrell does well as a fairly one-note thug type). Jon Voight is well-cast as the aging, alcoholic family man at the head of this cop family, but Noah Emmerich appears to be incapable of keeping up in the heavy, dramatic scenes he's given.

There's one horrifying scene that really does seem to be shockingly violent just for the sake of being shocking and violent, and most of the time I had to roll my eyes at what seems to be a movie about little boys trying to act tough. One of the most intense conflicts of the movie is settled by, literally, a fistfight. By that point, the movie is nearing its end and the audience is hoping for more than this. Soon after the fistfight, everything wraps up rather neatly for this family of cops caught up in a dangerous mess, so while they must be relieved, we're left wondering why we went through the whole rigmarole in the first place.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Buzz Brainteaser

BuzzSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:30:17 -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! What was the first feature film that Edward Norton starred in?

Ed Norton Skips Hulk Promotion: Admirable or Childish?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:30:37 -0700

It's no secret that Edward Norton, star of The Incredible Hulk, was not thrilled with the direction Marvel Studios and the director of the film took the script that Norton helped write.

There's been a lot of speculation around the fact that because the studio and the director pulled rank on him, he refused to do very much promotion for the film (the only late-night stop he made was Jimmy Kimmel). Norton's camp says he was never supposed to do more publicity than that and this is just much ado about nothing.

It's hard to believe he wasn't asked to do more to promote a major blockbuster leading up to its opening. If he's embarrassed by the film, I can see how it would be hard to discuss with reporters, but then again that's sort of his job as "star of the movie," isn't it? If he wants to have more control of a film, maybe he should just direct.

What do you think? Was he well within his right to skip press after his creative input was denied? Or is he being slightly immature?

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The Incredible Hulk: Most Improved But Not the Best

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:30:47 -0700

Bringing Marvel's Hulk to the big screen is a challenging undertaking. For one thing, the idea of the Hulk is just funny: when a guy loses his temper he morphs into a giant green monster who smashes things. Plus, that green monster in ripped-up pants is just cartoonish, any way you slice it. You can always update Iron Man's suit with sleeker corners and more abilities or give Batman cooler gadgets, but how do you make a green monster-man something today's audience will take seriously?

So, given these obstacles, and the fact that Ang Lee did everyone a favor by demonstrating what not to do if you want the fanboys to show up, the most recent incarnation of The Incredible Hulk is pretty much a success. All things considered, the CGI looks great, there is plenty of action to keep hearts pounding, and Ed Norton and Liv Tyler turn in wonderful performances with the lines they have. That said, it's no Iron Man and I'm about 99.9% sure once The Dark Knight hits theaters we may all forget this movie even happened.

To find out why this Incredible Hulk will be remembered as the superhero movie that gave us something to do between Iron Man and Dark Knight, read more.

First of all, it's worth the ticket price alone to see Ed Norton with this much screen time. Despite the fact that he isn't given much material to work with and not a minute is spent on character development, he still manages to convey the emotional toll that spontaneous, out-of-control monster transformation can take on a person. I was also pleasantly surprised by the chemistry Norton and Tyler have together.

Taking a cue from the movie itself, I'm not going to waste time on plot, and you just kind of accept certain things about each of the characters. For example, Norton's Bruce Banner is very concerned with the weapons General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (played by a superbly chilly William Hurt) will create with the science behind whatever turns Bruce into the Hulk. I'm not sure where Bruce's initial concern comes from, nor do I understand what motivates Thunderbolt's obsession. But right when this started to bother me, the movie kicked into high gear with lots of action sequences and scary CGI and I forgot what I was puzzling over before.

It's in this way that the pendulum swings just a bit too far in the other direction from Lee's film. Sure, it can be boring to spend too much time building up the sad events that lead to the Hulk's creation. But when you nearly banish all dialogue and scenes that include a little humanity, you end up with a fun ride that lacks a heart (despite the cast's best efforts to inject one). So, while I laughed (it has some genuinely witty moments) and clung to my chair (Poor Hulk! Stop shooting at him!) I didn't leave with the emotional connection I had with Iron Man.

In any other year a B+ superhero movie would be something to get excited about. But 2008 is shaping up to be the summer of the superhero - and everyone else is bringing their A-game.

To see the trailer and more clips from The Incredible Hulk, visit movies.iVillage.com

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What's the New Hulk Movie's Biggest Challenge?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:30:25 -0700

Recently The LA Times ran a piece that analyzes the bumpy road it's been to bring the latest Marvel comic book hero, The Incredible Hulk, to the big screen.

First and foremost there's the question of "why?" Ang Lee's disappointing stab at it was out in theaters a mere five years ago. Fans feel burned by that adaptation and skepticism lingers that anyone can get it right.

More anxiety grew as the trailer was suspiciously delayed. Now that two trailers have been released it seems fans are feeling better about the film. Then again, behind-the-scenes rumors persist that the movie's star Edward Norton isn't thrilled with some of Marvel's choices. And while the trailers definitely look more action-packed than Ang Lee's movie, those CGI monsters running at each other in the end still strike me as a bit silly.

When all is said and done, I'm wondering if the good buzz will triumph over the bad in time for audiences to get on board by June 13. What do you think is the biggest hurdle the filmmakers are facing in getting people to see their movie? Do you have high hopes for The Incredible Hulk, or not so much?

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Buzz In: What's Your Favorite Film Score?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:29:53 -0700

Recently the filmmakers behind the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie held a panel discussion at the New York Comic-Con to promote the film to its key audience: fanboys. When director Louis Letterier declared the musical score for Hulk was, "Star Wars good" he reportedly got booed by the audience.

It cracks me up that, to a certain group of fans it is sacrilegious to ever suggest anything is as good as (or - gasp! - better than) that famous, ominous tune. Then again, to some degree, I can understand that kind of passion.

A great musical score not only helps to set the tone of a movie, but when done right audiences will forever associate the sounds with the emotion of a film. For example, the sound of a clacking typewriter will probably always make me think of the subsequent piano music and then the overall sense of agony and guilt associated with Atonement, a score that ended up nabbing the Oscar.

Of course, it's hard to look at Harrison Ford without the boisterous Indiana Jones score cuing up in my brain immediately. And while I hardly remember a single line from Driving Miss Daisy, that whimsical old-timey score is clear as day in my head.

What are some of your favorite movie scores? Are there any that will always evoke certain memories? Is there one that tops all the rest?

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Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 08:00:00 -0700

If you missed Amy Poehler's impression of Project Runway's Christian on SNL I highly recommend kicking your weekend off with this clip.
ER has been around since 1994 and might be back for yet another season - and they're even courting older stars to return. The '90s are hot right now as the big news out of the CW is that they're looking at a spin-off of Beverly Hills 90210. Any characters from that hit show you'd like to see again?
Check out the trailers for two cool action thriller trailers out right now: The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton and Righteous Kill starring super acting duo Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. Norton also made news this week with talk about developing an Obama documentary.
There was a lot of scary movie remake news this week that struck me as mostly odd, involving more Michael Bay projects and tomatoes that kill.
What do you think of the new Breeders song? And did you hear? You'll be able to get the new REM album on Facebook!
Some things don't need a part two - I'm looking at you, Lost Boys 2. However, somethings should be recast (just for fun!). What actors do you think could fill the big shoes of the characters in Jerry Maguire?
Whether or not you thought letting Idol contestants sing the Beatles was blasphemous, America loved it, and next week the top 11 will be singing more from that songbook. Let's hope Kristy Lee Cook leaves the fiddles out this time.

Photo of Christian courtesy of Bravo

The Incredible Hulk Teaser Trailer Arrives!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:28:41 -0700

While the results of my comic book adaptation poll leaned toward the "I'm sick of these movies" option, many of you commented that there are some movies based on comic books that you simply cannot wait to see - and The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton is one of those. And now, after nearly a year of following this project, we have a teaser trailer for this summer blockbuster.

Edward Norton will earn my sympathy and support pretty much every time, so watching him struggle with his powers and his identity - which takes up the majority of the trailer; we don't see an inch of green skin until about two-thirds of the way in - is actually pretty interesting. The Incredible Hulk hits theaters June 13. To check out the teaser, read more.

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