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Movie Preview: Nick Hornby's An Education

BuzzSugar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:45:12 -0700

The description for An Education goes like this: "A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age." And the new trailer for the movie, written by Nick Hornby, shows just that. In fact, the whole movie seems to unfold within this trailer, and yet, I still really, really want to see the movie. In a rare occurrence, I'm anxious to find out what happens in between all the scenes we see in the preview. This is largely due to the engaging cast, which includes Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Emma Thompson, Alfred Molina and Rosamund Pike. Carey Mulligan, as the young woman at the center of the story, is particularly riveting, a spirited pixie with a sharp mind and the sweetest, most innocent face in the world.

An Education opens in limited release here in the U.S. Oct. 9. To watch the trailer, read more.

Last Chance Harvey: Realistically Adorable

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:30:15 -0800

Last Chance Harvey tells a basic, simple story of a burgeoning love and one that, in a rare instance, isn't about hard-bodied youngsters. Not so much a May-December romance as, say, October-December, it features two of cinema's most esteemed living actors in a narrative that is all the more lovable for its straightforwardness and simplicity. Simple, basic, straightforward . . . does that sound boring? Somehow, it's actually not.

Dustin Hoffman plays Harvey, an aging pianist who, having given up on his dreams of playing jazz, now struggles to remain relevant in his job composing music for commercials. Kate (Emma Thompson) works at the airport and meets Harvey in one of the airport’s restaurants when Harvey travels to London for his estranged daughter’s wedding. The two sad sacks get to talking and end up spending a pleasant day together, a surprise for both of them. Harvey had planned on attending his daughter’s ceremony and not the reception, but Kate convinces him to go - and he insists she accompany him. They are smitten with each other, but in the end Kate must decide if she truly wants to trust in love again. That's most of the story itself, now for more of my take on it, read more.

Fantastical stories make for wonderful escapism, but part of this movie's charm is how feasible it is and how relatable the main duo is. These are flawed, funny, very human characters, and because their flirtation and even their topics of conversation are so plausible, the sweetness of it all is that much more affecting.

Much of this is due to the pitch-perfect acting. I'm convinced there could be nobody else in these roles besides Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. What a pair! In the first third or so of the movie, we get to know Harvey mostly as a pitiable, bumbling old man who is desperate to remain relevant in his work. Scene after scene harshly hammers home the fact that Harvey is a relic in a constantly advancing field. What with computers doing all his work, he's not really needed anymore. So, he fights tooth and nail to remain important, which only makes him seem more and more pathetic. We need these cringe-worthy scenes of Harvey's crestfallen face and gradual acceptance of his changing purpose in life, however, so that the payoff later is more intensely sweet - when he delights in getting to know Kate, and when he starts to figure out how he might fit into his daughter's life.

Thompson's Kate, meanwhile, is easy to relate to, full of good humor and kindness and realistic ambitions. She's a very "normal," attractive woman who enjoys children but just didn't do the whole married-with-kids thing years ago. Now she's a little bit older and a little bit sad, but she's not in agonizingly bad shape. She's just going along, doing her thing, not without hope for a slightly sweeter future - much like the rest of us. She is so normal, we root for her all the more, wanting her to succeed and get the guy and have some excitement . . . because that could be any of us up there. Perhaps that is what endears this movie to me so much - it provides a true and comforting sense of hope. It's adorably, realistically hopeful.

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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:30:35 -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 selections below, you can also add Kevin Costner's Swing Vote to your queue.

Brideshead Revisited
Here's a movie I never got around to seeing in '08, which makes it my favorite kind of new DVD release! This lavishly costumed period drama starring the wonderful Emma Thompson sort of gives me an Atonement vibe except it didn't get nearly as much critical or box office attention.

Based on the bestselling novel, the movie follows "the memoirs of Captain Charles Ryder who is stationed at Brideshead Castle during WWII and remembers his involvement with the owners of the Brideshead estate: The aristocratic yet Catholic Flyte family and in particular brother and sister Sebastian and Julia."

Special features include deleted scenes, filmmakers' audio commentary, and a segment titled "The World of Brideshead."

Two more up next, so read more.

Appaloosa
I enjoy a Western every now and again and Appaloosa, directed by and starring Ed Harris, is a good one. Harris plays Virgil Cole, a man who, along with his partner Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen), makes a living off the lawless frontier by helping out towns overrun with criminal activity. Things get complicated when a gal (Renee Zellweger) appears right as they're in the middle of sweeping the bad guys out of town.

It's a good-looking, sometimes funny movie with some great acting and, of course, shoot-em-ups. I recommend bringing this one home.

Special features include additional scenes and commentary by Harris and screenwriter/producer Robert Knott.

Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys
This recent Tyler Perry flick has a large and impressive ensemble cast that includes Kathy Bates, Sanaa Lathan, Alfre Woodard, Rockmond Dunbar and Benjamin Button's Taraji P. Henson. Like other Perry movies, The Family That Preys looks to be heavy on the familial melodrama that, according to Netflix, centers on "a pair of friends - wealthy socialite Charlotte (Academy Award winner Kathy Bates) and working-class Alice (Alfre Woodard) - whose families stand to be ripped apart by greed and scandal."

DVD extras include special featurettes titled "Two Families, Two Legends," "Preying in the Big Easy," "Casting the Family," and "Delving Into the Diner."

Link Time! 11/13

BuzzSugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:30:56 -0800

Did you watch Top Chef last night? Time to dish! - YumSugar
Jeffrey Tambor is the latest to confirm that the Arrested Development movie is a go. - RedEye Chicago
Turns out Emma Thompson (and therefore Sybill Trelawney) won't be in the final two Harry Potter movies. - Cinematical
What are the best bath/hot-tub moments in TV and movies? - Popwatch
Dev Patel talks Slumdog Millionaire and Skins. - Vulture
Tilly and the Wall on Sesame Street! - Stereogum
An interview with David Blue, Ugly Betty's adorable Cliff. - The TV Addict
The Twilight DVD will feature a bonus scene from Midnight Sun. - MTV Movies Blog

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Movie Preview: Last Chance Harvey

BuzzSugar — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:30:12 -0700

It can be a little obnoxious when the few movies featuring middle-aged folks finding love are melodramatic and poorly done, a la Nights and Rodanthe, which came complete with horses galloping on the beach. I am thankful when Hollywood pays attention to this age group at all, but I feel like there's room for improvement.

So it's a wonderfully pleasant surprise to see a romantic movie starring Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman that looks sweet, plausible, and quirky.

Last Chance Harvey takes place in London, where Harvey (Hoffman) has traveled to attend his daughter's wedding. Even though a wedding ought to be cause for celebration, Harvey's world seems to be unraveling around him and he meets Kate (Thompson) just as he's hit bottom (in a bar, naturally). The story looks sweet and hopeful with both of these tremendous actors sparking a nice chemistry together.

The film opens in limited release on Dec. 26. To check out the trailer and let me know what you think, read more.

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Buzz News Roundup, 6/6

BuzzSugar — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 14:34:50 -0700

Die-hard "The Price Is Right" fans camped out last night to be able to attend Bob Barker's last taping of the show before he starts his retirement tomorrow, the AP states.
The creator of the fast food documentary Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock is making another documentary, this time about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, Variety reports.
R. Kelly defies controversy to score his sixth No. 1 album, reports MTV News.
Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld will headline HBO and AEG Live's the Comedy Festival in Las Vegas come November, says Reuters.
Variety has details on New Line's recently bought documentary King of Kong, all about fierce Donkey Kong competitions.
Taking a break from film, Mandy Moore tells Billboard she hopes to tour this Fall.
Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson will team up to star in romantic drama Last Chance Harvey, Reuters reports.
Reuters has news about a Canadian journalist who is suing Judd Apatow for allegedly stealing her story and using it for Knocked Up.
Meanwhile, Variety reports that Seth Rogen's Apatow-produced comedy, Pineapple Express, will be released next August.

Photos courtesy of CBS

An Education: A Wonderful, World Weary Coming of Age Tale

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:30:00 -0700

There's very little time left for Carey Mulligan to be an unknown. She plays the central character in An Education, and it's a mesmerizing, star-making turn.

Nick Hornby is behind the screenplay, which follows 16-year-old schoolgirl Jenny as she navigates her strict school-minded parents and the affections of a man twice her age in '60s London. Though some might be turned off by the Lolita-esque premise, this isn't a movie about a May-December romance but the story of Jenny's discovery of the world and adulthood.

To see what I liked about the movie, just read more.

Peter Sarsgaard is the older man, whom he plays with the seductive blandness the role calls for. It's not Sarsgaard's character, David, who tempts Jenny; it's the idea of him. Before David shows up, Jenny has a path set forth by her parents and her English teacher: Oxford.

When David enters the picture by chance, Jenny suddenly has a choice: Oxford or the glamorous life David exposes her to that doesn't require a college degree. She declares her first date with David as the best night of her life. It's easy to see why: fabulous dinners and concerts in London with David's friends, played by Rosamund Pike and Dominic Cooper. Pike is really too worldly looking to be playing such a dim bulb, but she's luminous as a representation of Jenny's possible future.

Jenny soon learns that David’s seemingly easy life may not be what she truly wants, and she finds herself at a crossroads. The movie does an excellent job at making you live the conflict too - it's not obvious what life Jenny will choose, even though a traditional Hollywood movie would make it clear what the "right" thing to do is. Instead, you find yourself in Jenny's shoes thanks to the engrossing performance of Mulligan, whose angelic face and throaty voice shift easily from dedicated student to London sophisticate.

Mulligan's likability is matched only by her Oxford-pushing father, played by Alfred Molina. Some of the most entertaining scenes are those in which Molina is either brusquely insulting one of Jenny's suitors or being entranced by David himself. At first I wondered why Jenny's parents would let her go off so easily with David when I watched the trailer, but it plays out plainly: David is irresistible. Like a snake-oil salesman, that is. He feeds Jenny and her parents what they want to hear, and when things go awry, Jenny angrily confronts her father about how he could have been so seduced by David. This is one of the lessons Jenny learns from her affair with David; that despite education, maturity, and age, authority figures are fallible.

The other authority figures of this movie are compelling as well: Olivia Williams plays Jenny's encouraging teacher (whose radiance can't be hidden by a pair of horn-rimmed glasses) and Emma Thompson has a cameo as a rigid headmistress who seems to take pleasure in threatening Jenny about her future.

However, no one shines brighter than Mulligan. Her Jenny is a strong, bright young woman who never completely loses her way, despite the situation she gets caught up in. It's her performance in An Education you'll be talking about when you leave the theater - and maybe in a few months when awards season begins.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures