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Fantastic Mr. Fox: Lives Up to Its Title

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800

For the past five years, Wes Anderson's wide fan base has been waiting for his first fully animated film. Would his adaption of Roald Dahl's children's book, Fantastic Mr. Fox appease the same crowd that holds Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums near and dear to their hearts? The answer is an emphatic yes, and the best news is that you don't even have to enjoy Anderson's other work to fall in love with this film.

The story follows the wily Mr. Fox, a professional robber turned family man (er, fox) who just isn't satisfied with his quiet life working as a newspaper columnist. Even a move to prime real estate isn't enough to satiate his appetite for a little trouble making, and Mr. Fox (or "Foxy" as his friends call him) decides to take on the biggest adventure of his life. That's just the tip of the iceberg though, so read more.

Mr. Fox isn't your average wild animal; in fact he's just the opposite. He lives a civilized life with his wife Felicity (Meryl Streep) and 12-year-old son, Ash, making an honest living as a newspaper columnist. Like a kid who can't sit still, Mr. Fox has trouble curbing his desires to rebel and go back to his life stealing squab and running into trouble. Against his wife's wishes, Mr. Fox convinces his dim-witted but trusty sidekick Kylie (Wally Wolodarski) to take on one last hurrah. The crime? Ripping off the three biggest (and meanest) farmers around - Boggis, Bunce and Bean. When Mr. Fox starts an all-out war, he is forced to join forces with his family, friends, and neighbors - and that's where the fun begins.

The film's brilliance lies in the fact that Fantastic Mr. Fox is a movie for grown-ups disguised as a kiddie flick. Even with Anderson's name stamped all over it, there's no denying the furry animals dressed as humans. The animation makes the plot play out like a story book come to life; we're taken deep into the fox hole and beyond in a world that looks like a dollhouse made for fuzzy creatures. Kids will love the adventure and the colors, but the witty dialogue and quirky characters are made for the grown-ups.

The movie features a crew of lovable characters who deliver hilarious one-liners when they aren't breaking into impromptu dances. There's nothing new about a movie featuring animals acting like humans, but the actors make the movie the gem that it is. Jason Schwartzman playing a crabby 12-year-old but using his regular deep voice is genius. Clooney and Bill Murray (as badger, Mr. Fox's lawyer) bantering back and forth but replacing swears with the word "cuss" never gets old (as in "This place is a cluster cuss" and "What the cuss is wrong with you?").

Rare is the animated film with this much wit, cleverness, and chemistry between characters, but Fantastic Mr. Fox hits it right on the head. Score one more for Mr. Anderson.

(Don't forget that if you see a movie that you'd like to review, you can post your write-up in the Movie Review Group in Community - I may even post it here on the site!)

The Men Who Stare at Goats: Glaringly Unfocused

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:30:00 -0800

I went into The Men Who Stare at Goats with high expectations. How could a film possibly disappoint when you have the acting trifecta of George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, and Jeff Bridges? But unfortunately, while the pros work hard to generate laughs - and they do deliver at times - the film on the whole is all over the place.

Goats is based on the non-fiction book by Jon Ronson. That's right - non-fiction. The film opens with the line, "More of this is true than you would believe," which is a nice reminder, because the plot is intentionally convoluted. At first, this far-fetched quality makes the story feel fun and quirky, but as time goes on, it gets mucked up in its own self-aware confusion and starts to feel stale. To see what I mean, read more.

McGregor stars as the movie's hero, Bob Wilton, a small-town journalist whose wife has just left him for his editor. So Bob decides to do what most men do when they're heartbroken - he goes to war. Or at least he tries to, but he only gets as far as a hotel pool bar in Kuwait. That's where he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a former "Jedi warrior" with the U.S. Army - or simply put: soldiers with superpowers. (Yes, note the coincidence: McGregor and Jedis.)

Lyn begins to tell Bob about the former founder of his unit, Bill Djanjo (Jeff Bridges), a vet who goes to find himself after Vietnam in the drug and orgy, peace and love '70s. Armed with a new, zen persona, Bill returns to the Army to share his more peaceful point of view and take charge of a new special force that uses mind control over traditional weapons. That's when Lyn comes in. As a new recruit, Lyn is exceptionally psychic, and he quickly gets a reputation for being able to find anyone, including terrorists, strictly using his mind.

So Bob and Lyn begin on a journey into Iraq. Where they're headed, Lyn's not exactly sure. He just assumes he'll find it, thanks to his extra sixth sense. As for the audience, we're sort of in the same boat - along for the ride without any real direction.

The movie tries to comment on the inhumanity (and stupidity) of war, but has a difficult time making its point alongside the slapstick elements. The actors are great with comedic timing and deliver one-liners to entertain the audience in many moments, but that was ultimately the only aspect that held my interest. (That and Jeff Bridges's sweet hippie braided hair.) What had the potential to be a funny, original story or a satire instead starts to feel boring. The characters wander aimlessly, the flashbacks float in and out, and without a clear focus, you stop caring. And that's not an easy feat where Clooney's usually concerned.

George Clooney Descends on Yet Another Role

BuzzSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:30:00 -0800

I haven't been shy about how excited I am about George Clooney's upcoming box office takeover, and the hits just keep on coming. Clooney is in talks to star in The Descendants, a dramedy that follows a rich family man (Clooney) who tries to prevent his family from falling apart by taking his daughters on a trip to find his wife's lover. Alexander Payne will direct the film, which is based on the Kaui Hart Hemmings novel of the same name.

Clooney has had a well-rounded career to say the least, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in a role that showcases his talent as a serious actor as well as his charm and comedic timing. Plus, we haven't seen him in a ton of doting dad roles (other than One Fine Day which holds a special place in my heart). I'm excited to see Clooney tap into his emotions to bring us a different side to the bachelor than what we see in interviews and on red carpets.

Are you excited for more Clooney, or are you feeling a bit overwhelmed with Men Who Stare at Goats, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Up in the Air all slated for release in the next few weeks?

Link Time! George Clooney Gets Behind A New TNT Show

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:30:05 -0700

George Clooney is signing on to exec-produce Delta Blues (with an Elvis impersonator cop!) for TNT - TV Squad
January Jones will star in the Nicolas Cage thriller The Hungry Rabbit Jumps - Coming Soon
The Short Circuit remake gets a director - MTV Movies Blog
Those DirectTV ads with Chris Farley and David Spade suffer some backlash - E! Online
Kristin Davis talks the Sex and the City sequel - Hollywood Crush
Lots of photos from this past weekend's CMJ Festival - Stereogum
Weezer and Lil Wayne's collaboration "Can't Stop Partying" is pretty darn catchy - Idolator
Check out this list of the best rock-'n'-roll movies - Rotten Tomatoes
Author Augusten Burroughs is working on two new TV series, one for CBS and one for Showtime - Movieline
Norah Jones plays a pirate in her new music video - HitFix
Just in time for Halloween: The 5 scariest TV episodes ever - TV.com
Plus, 10 girl-power inspired costumes (Bella Swan made the list!) - TresSugar

Who Should Play Frank Sinatra in Martin Scorsese's Biopic?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:57:25 -0700

And then there were three. Back in May I asked you all who you would choose to play Frank Sinatra in the upcoming biopic, and Martin Scorsese reportedly has narrowed it down to Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and George Clooney. Apparently Scorsese's first choice is his muse DiCaprio, while Universal Pictures would like to see Depp in the role.

As for Clooney - he's the top pick for Tina Sinatra, who would like the movie to focus more on the more charming side of her father's personality rather than the more gritty aspects of his life. Rest assured that whoever snags the role won't have to sing - the music will feature Sinatra's original voice. So between these three guys, tell me - who should play Frank Sinatra in Martin Scorsese's biopic?

The Actors Behind Jack Ryan: Past, Present, Future

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:30:26 -0700

Just yesterday I was talking about how Chris Pine is blowing up after the big success of Star Trek, and his name is already making headlines again this morning. Pine will likely be the next actor to take on the role of Jack Ryan in the next film adaption of the popular Tom Clancy novels. A few actors have taken on the role in the past, and other names have been attached to the project before, so let's take a look at the evolution of Jack Ryan - with a few of my own suggestions for who could take on the role.

View Slideshow ›

Link Time!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:40:23 -0700

Our Review of Beatles Rock Band, Clooney Has a Naked Man Fan, and Using Facebook Instead of 911?!

Molly — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:17:19 -0700

Beatlemania returns today as The Beatles: Rock Band hits stores, and we're here with GeekSugar's review of the hotly anticipated new game! Plus, watch cute clips of George Clooney's indecent proposal and David Beckham with his family on Ellen. All that plus two Australian girls who got lost and instead of calling the police, they updated their Facebook statuses to get rescued. Check out PopSugar Rush now!

First Look: George Works That Clooney Charm in Up in the Air

BuzzSugar — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:00:45 -0700

UPDATE: When I posted yesterday, we only had a clip from the movie. Now there's an official teaser trailer, so check it out after the jump!

Start saving your movie money, because we've got a Clooney-intensive season ahead at the theater. A couple of weeks ago, we got our first taste of his wacky character in The Men Who Stare at Goats, and here's your first look at a very different Clooney in Up in the Air. In the film, directed by Juno's Jason Reitman, Clooney plays a charming corporate businessman who makes his career by downsizing companies and racking up frequent flier miles. In the scene below, we watch Clooney smirk and flirt his way through a conversation with a woman he meets in a hotel bar (Vera Farmiga) who shares his love of the many perks of jet-setting.

The film was a hit at the Telluride Film Festival over the weekend and is already garnering Oscar buzz even though Reitman apparently only finished it a few days ago. It hits theaters on Dec. 4, so check out the clip and trailer when you read more.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Movie Preview: George Clooney in The Men Who Stare at Goats

BuzzSugar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:30:50 -0700

After watching the trailer for The Men Who Stare at Goats, I think George Clooney's upcoming movie is going to live up to its quirky title. Based on columnist Jon Ronson's book and inspired by a true story, the film follows Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), a journalist who heads to Iraq to gather research for a story about a secret psychic military movement. Enter Clooney as Lyn Cassady, a soldier who calls himself a Jedi and seems to have the power to back it up. Two minutes of banter between wacky Lyn and straight-laced Bob has already left me wanting more. Add Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey to the mix as Lyn's fellow soothsayers (not to mention Boston's "More Than a Feeling") and I'm pretty much sold.

George Clooney hits the big screen in all his mustachioed glory on Nov. 6. To see the full trailer, just read more.