BuzzSugar

Link Time! Adam Lambert Goes Glittery For His Album Cover

BuzzSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:30:50 -0700

Behold: Adam Lambert's glitzy album cover - Best Week Ever
Will you see This Is It today? - PopSugar
Friday Night Lights premieres on DirecTV tonight - Hit Fix
Take a look at the best movies of the 1940s - Moviefone
Hooked on the bloodsuckers? Check out the 25 best reviewed vampire movies - Rotten Tomatoes
Lisa Kudrow will make an appearance on Cougar Town - Zap2it
Go behind the scenes with Spike Jonze and Kanye West - Pitchfork
Val Kilmer and Emmanuelle Chriqui will star in the upcoming film Georgia - Movieline
Family Guy is too raunchy for Microsoft - TV.Com

Cadillac Records: Spot-On Performances Bring Legends to Life

BuzzSugar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:30:33 -0800

There's plenty wrong with director Darnell Martin's biopic about Chicago's famous record label Chess Records, including the confusing title: Cadillac Records. What with the production quality that makes the film look like a sound stage, amateurish editing, and a script that bites off too many legends than it can chew, this movie's got issues.

But you know what? I forgive it these faults for two reasons: the performances are out-of-this-world good (Beyonce actually sets the screen on fire), and the awesome music is prominently on display with most of the actors doing most of the singing. The resulting experience is less a cerebral one (it is awfully formulaic) and more primal. The music moved me, and the performances are so powerful they got under my skin and stayed with me for days.

To see what else I so enjoyed about this ensemble cast (including what might be my favorite Mos Def performance ever), read more.

The musical biopic is as formulaic as a Hollywood genre gets these days, and Cadillac Records does nothing to break free of the now-predictable twists and turns. Improbable rise to fame after overcoming hardship? Check. Breakout moment where the artist really becomes a star? Check. Fame that comes with an emotional price to pay? Check. Drug and alcohol use and abuse? Oh, of course. And the men, they will not be faithful to their wives, and the wives, they will be so sad but will stoically love their tortured artists anyway. You can expect all these tiring cliches and more from this movie.

But the story of Chicago's Chess Records is not only compelling, it's important. Founded by Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), this itty-bitty record label made stars out of folks like Muddy Waters (who Jeffrey Wright plays with a fantastically down-and-dirty swagger). Bursting with talent, each new artist that Leonard takes on struggles with the demons you'd expect to plague anyone who reaches heights they've never imagined in a society that doesn't think they deserve it. The movie portrays a sad time in America's history indeed, when the powers that be even tried to keep the songs on the radio separate but equal. But the music will find a way, and so it did when the raucous, soulful blues pouring out of Chess found an audience.

As earnestly as this movie handles the music-sees-no-color theme (Cedric the Entertainer does some voiceover narration that doesn't help with the hokey factor), I was still deeply moved. This has less to do with the facts of the story and more to do with the raw emotion and pure joy radiating off each of these performers. Beyonce's Etta James is sassy, hardened, and bursting at the seams - physically and emotionally - with feelings of self-hate due to a lifetime of rejection. When she sings, you really do feel her pain and are never sure if she's going to break down midsong in a puddle of tears or punch someone. My other favorite is Mos Def, who plays Chuck Berry with aplomb. He runs off with the scene each and every time he's on the screen.

These were turbulent times, and the pacing of the movie reflects that. It sweats and jams along at a speed that rarely sags, with musical performances that either break out in gun shots, yelling, or a growl. A stronger center would have helped the narrative out a bit, and it seems that that's what they were trying to do with Brody's character. Chess has a nose for business and cares about his artists, but too often the personal and professional collide, resulting in the kind of paternalistic treatment from a white dude that these musicians have endured their whole lives. Unfortunately, this character isn't filled out enough here, which makes caring about him difficult and gives all these plot lines nothing to rotate around. As entertaining as they all are, a movie focused on one, maybe two, of these artists would have sufficed (as it is, it's like Ray times five). This isn't the movie these musical founders deserve, but these are the best performances anyone concerned with their legacies could ask for.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

TV Preview: An "Entourage" Outing

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 11:56:41 -0700

This Sunday night at 10 p.m., HBO's "Entourage" returns with the second episode of the season's second half, of which we had a chance to get a sneak peek. PopSugar recently interviewed the adorable Emmanuelle Chriqui, who plays E's girlfriend. Last week, they celebrated Vince's birthday, and this week, E plans a romantic weekend with Sloan, but he can't seem to break it to Vince that they want to go solo. How does Eric handle telling his BFF and A-list celebrity friend that he's not invited? Tune in on Sunday night and see what happens; in the meantime, figure out which "Entourage" buddy you are.

Photo Source: Claudette Barius/HBO

What to TiVo: Monday

BuzzSugar — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:50:49 -0800

ABC is new with Dancing With the Stars and Castle
CBS is new with How I Met Your Mother, Accidentally on Purpose, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and CSI: Miami
FOX is new with House and Lie to Me
NBC is new with Heroes and Trauma
The CW is new with One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl
ABC Family is new with Lincoln Heights
E! has Keeping Up With the Kardashians and is new with The Soup Presents: The Best Talk Show Moments
Bravo is new with Million Dollar Listing
Comedy Central is new with The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
FX has 13 Going on 30
TLC is new with Jon & Kate Plus 8
VH1 is new with For the Love of Ray Jay 2
MTV is new with World's Strictest Parents
Late-night highlights include Ellen DeGeneres, Eva Longoria Parker, Kobe Bryant and Carlos Santana on Lopez Tonight on TBS; Jamie Foxx and Toby Keith on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Bill Murray and Gabourey Sidibe on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Carla Gugino on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS; Howie Mandel and Diablo Cody on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Kelsey Grammer and David Gray on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Laurence Fishburne on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC; and Emmanuelle Chriqui on Last Call With Carson Daly on NBC

What to TiVo: Friday

BuzzSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:50:51 -0700

ABC has repeats of Flash Forward, The Forgotten and a new 20/20
CBS is new with Ghost Whisperer, Medium and NUMB3RS
FOX is new with Brothers, 'Til Death and Dollhouse
NBC is new with Law and Order and Dateline
The CW is new with Smallville and has a repeat of America's Next Top Model
E! has repeats of Kendra and Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami
TLC is new with Say Yes to the Dress and Wedded to Perfection
Late-night highlights include Jenna Fischer on the Jay Leno Show on NBC; Larry David and Olivia Wilde on the Late Show with David Letterman on CBS; Whitney Port on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Tim Gunn on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS; Drew Barrymore on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC; and Emmanuelle Chriqui on Last Call with Carson Daly on NBC