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The Time Traveler's Wife: Doesn't Fulfill Its Destiny

BuzzSugar — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:30:26 -0700

What makes the book The Time Traveler's Wife so magical is how well it marries two genres: romance and sci-fi. But the big-screen adaptation leans more toward old-fashioned Hollywood love story, with the attendant schmaltz and a touch of slapstick.

Fans of the cherished book - myself included - had many hopes and fears about the film. Although the movie didn't make me swoon, it is satisfying to see the story on screen, and the movie is very sweet in parts. Still, what should be an epic tale and a first-rate tearjerker sadly let me down.

Movie Preview: The Time Traveler's Wife

BuzzSugar — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:30:51 -0700

Phew! It's finally here. The fact that we've waited this long for the The Time Traveler's Wife trailer - and the fact that the release date has been pushed back (originally to February 2010!) - had me mighty worried, not gonna lie. I wondered if there were serious issues with the movie that might ultimately delay the release even more, or I thought the studio was ashamed of it! But now the trailer is here and it's just . . . beautiful. And tender, and sweet, and filled with love.

For those who haven't read the book, it's a story about Henry (Eric Bana) and Clare (Rachel McAdams) whose love is unique because Henry can travel through time. Their relationship spans Clare's entire life as Henry travels to various points in Claire's past and future. The movie is now scheduled to open Aug. 14. To check out the trailer, read more.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Star Trek: Move Over Kirk, Spock Is Hot

BuzzSugar — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:30:01 -0700

To be honest, I'm not a huge Star Trek fan. Obviously as a member of the human race who was raised in the United States, I've been exposed to the original television show and many of its different iterations. I've even seen some of the movies including Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (responsible for my lifelong fear of earwigs) and the movie I commonly refer to as "the one with the whales," aka Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

So, getting me to be excited for anything Star Trek related is a bit of an uphill battle. Given that, it's a pretty amazing thing director J.J. Abrams and his team have accomplished with this reboot. The movie successfully turns back the clock on a franchise four decades old and brings it back to life with an adrenaline shock to the system that will leave you breathless. And in pure Abrams fashion, the story and characterization do not suffer. The result is popcorn cinema at its best. Despite not being a Trekkie (or Trekker, or whatever you call megafans these days), I can't stop thinking about this movie. To see why, read more.

The question I had going into this movie was: How does one reimagine Star Trek for today's audience without completely alienating hardcore fans? The answer, it turns out, was to simply start over. In a clever twist, the opening sequence sets into motion events that alter the space/time continuum. Yes - and this will come as no surprise to Lost fans - Abrams uses time travel that bends around certain facts. Rather than disregard Trek lore, the filmmakers simply figured out an acceptable way to start fresh with the characters.

Because of these time-bending events, James T. Kirk, the future captain of the USS Enterprise, grows up fatherless in Iowa. He's brilliant but extremely self-destructive. Meanwhile, on Vulcan, a young Spock is teased and discriminated against for having a human mother (Winona Ryder). We know the two young men are destined to meet but when they finally do it's different than what you might imagine. When Kirk (played by Chris Pine with a wink and nod to the original performance) meets Spock (Zachary Quinto) at the Starfleet Academy they do not get along. Kirk is all swagger and machismo. Spock is, of course, logical but Quinto plays him with a smug know-it-all edge that hints at the human emotions beneath the surface.

However, when the movie's villain Nero (Eric Bana) declares war on Vulcan and then Earth, it's all-hands-on-deck time and the two must work together. A bunch of green, yet familiar, cadets - Dr. "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Sulu (John Cho), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), and eventually Scotty (Simon Pegg) - suddenly find themselves in charge of a brand-new ship. There are moments when seeing these good-looking youngsters in such a well-known uniform feels a little bit like the Trek version of Muppet Babies. But that feeling is fleeting and for the most part the performances are heartfelt and quite funny.

In the midst of chaos and war, Kirk and Spock become friends - but not before Spock violently pins Kirk's cocky butt to the floor. In Abrams's universe, Spock aims for logic but often succumbs to his emotions, messy though they may be. Pine charges through the film with all the charisma needed in a golden-haired leading man, but in a lot of ways this is Quinto's movie and he actually turns Spock into something of a sex symbol. Some fans might find these changes to the characters' personalities sacrilegious, but I just appreciate the fact that their friendship provides the movie with an emotional center.

In the end, the experience is completely satisfying. There are in-jokes galore that even a Trek philistine like myself found thrilling and there are action sequences that had me on the edge of my seat. It's thoughtful, it looks great, and it's completely absorbing. In terms of epic action-adventures, it doesn't get much better than this.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Hurray! Time Traveler's Wife Now Coming August '09!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:30:24 -0700

Once upon a time, I naively believed The Time Traveler's Wife was going to be released in late December of 2008. So I anxiously awaited a trailer for this adaptation of one of my favorite books. And the trailer never came. Then: Disaster! The release date was apparently (and quietly) pushed back - way back - to February 2010. This drastic move combined with no news about the project made me concerned that something was amiss.

Just as I was working on readjusting my high expectations to a lower, more manageable level, more news: The movie now has an August 14, 2009 release date. I don't know what to think or expect from all this date-shifting! I just know that I would love to see a trailer one of these days.

Maybe the studio is simply struggling to find the perfect weekend for unleashing this love story starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. I don't know. I'm bewildered, but I'm going to just take this new release date as a positive sign and hope for the best. What do you think? Are you laughing at me because of my intense passion for this movie, or are you right there with me?

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Movie Preview: Judd Apatow's Funny People

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:24:06 -0800

The trailer for Judd Apatow's new comedy, Funny People, has arrived, and it looks like a bittersweet mix of Apatowian humor and genuine emotions. Apatow's wife Leslie Mann stars as the love interest of Adam Sandler's character, with an ensemble filled out by Eric Bana (sporting an all-natural Australian accent), Seth Rogen (naturally), Jason Schwartzman, and those two adorable daughters of Apatow and Mann. It looks like this movie could contain everything I so enjoyed about Knocked Up: a lot of laughs but also a lot of heart.

To check out the trailer, read more.

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Judd Apatow's Next Project Gets Funny People

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:36:36 -0700

News and rumors have been trickling in surrounding Judd Apatow's next directorial venture, a dramedy about stand-up comedy which now has the title Funny People. Like You Don't Mess With the Zohan, this will be a collaboration between Apatow and Adam Sandler, with both guys' production companies backing the project.

About the plot, Apatow has been "deliberately vague. . . allowing only that the movie takes place in the world of standup comedy and the focus is on a comedian who has a near-death experience." The cast includes such funny folks as Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman and Jonah Hill. So, same old Apatow faces (Mann, Rogen, Hill) with some nice new peeps (Schwartzman, Bana).

I'm especially excited about Eric Bana, who is a funny, funny guy. As Variety explains, "Bana began his career as a comic on the standup circuit in Australia and starred in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal and The Eric Bana Show before remaking himself as a dramatic actor." If you haven't seen his impression of Tom Cruise, you should probably click here.

I just hope they get some other notable stand-ups to make appearances somehow, like Bill Cosby or Seinfeld. I'm also curious about which peripheral character Paul Rudd will be playing, since Apatow always includes him somehow.

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Movie Preview: The Other Boleyn Girl

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:00:13 -0800

From the looks of this trailer, Eric Bana gets a whole lot of Boleyn booty playing King Henry VIII in The Other Boleyn Girl. The story looks gripping: two sisters Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson) vie for the King's affection - and a place on the throne beside him. Though while I like both actresses well enough, they both seem to me like little kids playing dress up. That said, however, the costumes are gorgeous and I'm still looking forward to seeing this period piece when it opens February 29, 2008.

To watch the trailer and tell me what you think, read more

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Beam Me Up, Simon Pegg

BuzzSugar — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 15:42:53 -0700

Yes, that's right folks: Simon Pegg has been cast as Scotty in JJ Abrams' Star Trek movie! The cast for this film keeps getting better and better. In addition to the news about Pegg, John Cho (Harold, from Harold and Kumar) has landed the role of Sulu, the Enterprise's helmsman. And as we already learned, the super cute Zachary Quinto was given the role of Spock.

I'm not even much of a Star Trek fan but I'm very excited for this project, just based on the cast alone. When it comes to real Trekkies, it sounds like many of them are cautiously hopeful about the Abrams project, according to a recent LA Times article. The true-blue fans of the old TV series are understandably wary of someone trying to make a new Star Trek movie both respectful to the series' origins as well as appealing enough to non-Trekkies to be successful.

But Abrams is apparently invested in making the movie satisfying for die-hard fans and many Trekkies seem to be comforted by some of the project's details: "the movie will be about the earliest adventures of the original series characters; it's said to be 'Spock-centric'; at least one of the writers is a genuine Trek fan himself; Leonard Nimoy will be involved."

The time and care Abrams and Co. seem to be taking with this movie is reassuring. And besides, they still have until December 2008 to make this the perfect Star Trek film.

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Buzz News Roundup, 10/10

BuzzSugar — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:33:04 -0700

Critics have been told that the thriller Pathology, starring Milo Ventimiglia, will now release in March instead of November.
ComingSoon reports that Eric Bana will play the villainous Nero in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie.
CNN reports that a new REM song will premiere tonight during "Anderson Cooper 360."
Jake Gyllenhaal will star in DreamWorks' Untitled Movie Project about a private moon expedition, Variety reports.
Bruce Springsteen's Magic ruled the charts this week, Billboard reports.
Will Ferrell will star in a remake of Land of the Lost scheduled to start production in March, writes Zap2It.
"Regis and Kelly" will be 3-D for Halloween, Ad Age reports.
Michael Cera is signed on to star in a film adaptation of the novel Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, according to ComingSoon.
The Futon Critic has the details on an upcoming "Family Guy" 100th episode retrospective.

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Movie Preview: Lucky You

BuzzSugar — Sun, 06 May 2007 14:33:16 -0700

In a weekend belonging almost entirely to Spider-Man 3, Lucky You is quietly opening nationwide. The tag line for this movie is "Change your game. Change your life." So we kind of already know what's going on here. Eric Bana plays Huck Cheever, a poker player with a special gift for reading people, but an inability to bring his people skills off the table. That is, until he meets a passionate, lively singer named Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore) who, I suppose, changes his game, changes his life. Sappy metaphors about "taking chances" in love surely abound. Check out the trailer and tell me what you think if you read more

Photo courtesy Warner Bros.