BuzzSugar

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People: Not Alienating, Just Not That Funny

BuzzSugar — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:00:53 -0700

It’s hard to care too much about someone as obnoxious as Sidney Young, the main character of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, played by Simon Pegg. Having a main character as unlikable as Sidney is one of the key things that doesn't work in it. There are some things that do work - a few funny bits, some great comedic performances - but they don't quite make up for the experience of watching the movie as a whole, which ends up being just kinda "meh."

The character of Sidney Young is based on the real Toby Young, who wrote the memoir on which this movie is based. In the film, Sidney is a cynical British writer who is obsessed with the notion of celebrity while simultaneously finding it ridiculous. He puts out a magazine in England called Post Modern Review, full of snarky pieces about famous people. Amused by this, Clayton Harding (Jeff Bridges), editor of Sharps magazine in New York offers Sidney a job and the bumbling, uncouth Sidney sets off for glamorous New York. Once at Sharps, however, Sidney discovers that he's expected to write only "safe" celebrity profiles, and that his sarcasm and brutal honesty are unacceptable. Thus, Sidney struggles to succeed at Sharps - as a writer, but also as a boorish guy in a glamorous magazine world - without relinquishing his identity altogether. Of course, there's a love story tossed in, too, so for more on that and everything else, read more.

At Sharps, Sidney meets Alison Olsen (Kirsten Dunst), a droll aspiring novelist who has no problem calling Sidney out on his impertinence. They often engage in that sarcastic banter that is actually flirtatious, but Sidney's not interested in Alison because he's too busy drooling over the beautiful young starlet Sophie Maes (Megan Fox). This storyline is so obvious and predictable, I was certain it would surprise me in the end but alas, there's not a ton of surprise at the end of this movie in general.

I really like Simon Pegg, and his uniquely awesome comedic abilities sometimes save the day here, especially in the beginning when it's funny to watch someone so socially inept act inappropriately at all times. It can be refreshing to see Sidney call out the pretentious charade of American celebrity, but we don't really root for him to succeed because he's kind of a jackass. And then, when he starts to really try to succeed, we certainly don't want him to do so by selling out and writing the crap that Clayton insists he write. But then everything you could have predicted (but didn't truly want to have happen) happens - including the incredibly generic rom-com stuff - and it's a total disappointment. Like the pitiful kid at the party, the colorful balloon of the movie deflates, and we’re left disappointed and sleepy. But then again, after a nap we'll probably forget the entire thing ever happened.

Photos courtesy of MGM

X-Files: I Want to Believe: Sadly, a Disappointment

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:30:07 -0700

You can count me among the fans - but not the super-fanatics - of The X-Files when it aired in the '90s. I may not have been as insane about it as others, but I kept up with the weird, spooky drama and I looked forward to new episodes. Plus, Gillian Anderson's character, Dana Scully, is a strong, female sci-fi heroine of sorts, and I really looked up to her at the time. Oh, and of course David Duchovny's Fox Mulder was definitely crushworthy so all in all, it was a highlight of my TV-viewing universe. This is why I had nothing but high hopes for X-Files: I Want to Believe, and I tried to ignore those pesky questions during the build up to the release like: "Really, ten years later?" and "Will people still, in fact, want to believe?"

I should also point out that this movie has been promoted as a stand-alone story, meaning that even folks who have little knowledge of the series would be able to get on board and enjoy a dark thriller with a compelling mystery. In fact, details of the plot have been kept so tightly under wraps my assumption was that they must have thought of something really awesome to hinge a new movie around - hence everyone's willingness to get back together years after the series left the airwaves.

Which brings me to the bad news first (and I won't give away spoilers): the so-called "mystery" that has been so shrouded in secrecy is truly nothing very exciting. In fact, it hardly stands up to the most mediocre of episodes, which only adds to my perplexity over this movie. Truth be told, I'm pretty bummed out. To see why, read more.

When the movie opens it has been six years in "real time" since we last saw everyone in the series finale, and we learn that Fox Mulder is no longer with the FBI and is a bit of a recluse (well, we're meant to assume this because he is bearded and sits around clipping newspaper articles like a crazy person). Meanwhile, Scully is a surgeon at Our Lady of Sorrows Hospital where she is personally invested in saving a terminally sick boy, to the displeasure of her colleagues.

Also, two FBI agents (played by Amanda Peet and Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner) are feverishly looking for a missing colleague using the help of a psychic priest named Father Joe (Billy Connolly), but they really need the one agent who has experience with this kind of stuff: Agent Mulder. With the help of Scully the FBI pulls him back in and X-Philes will sigh with relief at how quickly he's back to his obsessive ways.

It's Scully who has probably changed the most; she's no longer just a pragmatic voice of reason, but resolute in her unwillingness to "look into the darkness" any longer. A lot of screen time is focused on faith, losing faith, that darkness, etc. Like the television series, it's dark and brooding, but without a strong case to solve all this analysis and back-and-forth between the two former agents is tepid. It's sad to see these two so empty. I missed the occasional wry glint in Mulder's eye and I wanted to see Scully quit dragging her feet and jump on board the case despite her reservations. But between all that angst and a story that's mostly uninteresting (I wish there had been something extraterrestrial about it, or maybe some magic - anything too crazy to believe!) the whole thing is mostly just so-so.

Still, even after all that head-scratching and some boredom, I love Mulder and respect Scully and I suppose after such a mediocre return to the X-Files that's probably the silver lining. Which is to say: it could have been worse but I wish it were so much better.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

How Well Do You Know the X-Files?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:30:13 -0700

Here we are, 10 whole years after the last X-Files movie and fans of the show will finally get another (perhaps last?) taste of two of the most beloved sci-fi characters of our time: Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. While X-Files: I Want to Believe is supposed to be a stand-alone story (so, you don't have to know the whole history of the show to enjoy it), I still think we could all use a little brush-up on our X-Files trivia.

If you, too, are hearing that spooky theme music in your head, take my quiz!

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

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Gillian Anderson Takes Non-X-Files Role as Martha Gellhorn

BuzzSugar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:39:07 -0700

Just as we're all gearing up to catch ~~Scully~~ Gillian Anderson on the big screen in the upcoming X-Files movie, Anderson is preparing to produce and star in a biopic about Martha Gellhorn.

Anderson's production company acquired the rights to Caroline Moorehead's biography of Gellhorn, who is described as "a trailblazing female war correspondent who covered conflicts from the Spanish Civil War to Vietnam and weathered strife in personal relationships that included a failed marriage to Ernest Hemingway."

According to Anderson, "Martha Gellhorn was one of the most respected journalists of this century, and I thought Caroline's biography effectively encompassed her rich and complex life." I love watching Gillian Anderson onscreen; she brings an air of intelligence to everything she does.

What do you think of Gillian Anderson in a role that doesn't involve the paranormal?

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New Trailer for The X-Files: I Want to Believe

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:32:21 -0700

OK, X-philes, ready for the most exciting one minute and 30 seconds of your day? There's a new, official trailer out now for the upcoming X-Files movie and it's pretty great. There's more of what we saw in the teaser trailer (Billy Connolly being spooky, people frantically digging in the snow, etc.) but there are also more details and the creepiness factor has been upped.

Also, I'm convinced that the eerie theme music that goes with The X-Files can rival other recognizable theme songs and movie scores for its ability to create instantaneous chills.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe opens in theaters July 25. To check out the new trailer, read more.

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First Glimpse of the X-Files 2 Teaser Trailer

BuzzSugar — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:29:55 -0800

Sure, this bootleg video of the X-Files 2 teaser trailer is low-quality and full of "X-phile" audience members screaming like banshees, but still - it's our first glimpse at the X-Files 2 movie! I look forward to A) a real version of the teaser trailer, and B) a full-length trailer, but for now this video - grabbed at the recent WonderCon - will have to do. It's definitely exciting to see Mulder and Scully back together in this spooky world, so to check out the video, read more.

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The X-Files Sequel: Fewer Aliens, More Ghosts

BuzzSugar — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:32:46 -0800

Not only did some new production stills come out today for the X-Files sequel, but new details about the plot have been revealed. Or, more specifically there are details about what's not going to be included in the next X-Files movie: mythology.

According to USA Today, this next movie "will dump the long-running 'mythology' plotline - that aliens live among us and are part of a colonizing effort - that made it one of the most popular television shows in the late 1990s but ultimately drove away some viewers who found it too complex and ambiguous." Series creator Chris Carter is quoted as saying "We want a stand-alone movie, not a mythology conspiracy one."

What does this mean, exactly? To find out, read more.

Carter is remaining mum on any and all plot specifics, though there's mention of the stand-alone episodes that aired and didn't have to do with the long-running story, episodes that centered on "cults, ghosts, psychics and ancient curses." The hope is that focusing the movie on this sort of thing will attract a wider audience than just the show's core fan base. For fans, filmmakers think the Mulder-Scully relationship will still be a big draw. Carter claims the duo had "an intellectual romance that's very rare and restrained compared to so many relationships on TV. I think that's what appealed most to the fans."

What do you think? Are you anxious to see Mulder and Scully teamed back up again, hacking away at supernatural mysteries?

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Would You Go to See an "X-Files" Sequel?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 04:30:00 -0700

Yesterday there came news of a sequel to the first X-Files movie (which I'm betting some of you didn't know about the first time around) getting a script. Five years after the TV series ended, would you be interested in seeing it?

Second "X-Files" Movie in the Works

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:00:49 -0700

While promoting his upcoming Showtime series "Californication" at the TCAs on Saturday, David Duchovny said that he's supposed to see a script for a sequel to the X-Files movie next week. Stirring up years-old speculation about the project, Duchovny confirmed that "X-Files" creator "Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz wrote the screenplay and that Carter is set to direct." He also assured everyone that both he and Gillian Anderson "'are on board' the follow-up to the 1998 film and the series that ran on Fox from 1993 to 2002."

The question is, are audiences still on board? Is the "X-Files" still as relevant? Will the generation of viewers still be interested in seeing an "X-Files" movie, and will a new generation of "Heroes" and "Lost" fans enjoy seeing an "X-Files" movie?

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