BuzzSugar

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:15:03 PDT

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 titles below you can now rent the fourth film in the Rambo franchise, simply titled Rambo, and Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream, starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell.

Absolutely Fabulous - Absolutely Everything
"Is it Lacroix Darling? I'll love it if it's Lacroix." - Edina Monsoon. While it might not be Lacroix, it's certainly the next best thing. That's because this Absolutely Fabulous box set, just like its title, has absolutely everything. For a series previously available by season only, this box set compiles every episode from 1992 to 2005.

The British comedy follows Edina, who owns a public relations firm, and her best friend Patsy, who doesn't do much of anything. The duo is consumed by the latest fads and fashion and obsessed with regularly putting drugs and booze - and little else! - into their bodies. Edina's daughter Saffron provides the motherly voice of reason for the out-of-control spinsters. Ab Fab is definitely an acquired taste, but if you are a fan of British humor, I recommend the purchase.

Two more titles if you

Lipstick Jungle
I can't believe this is on DVD already! The first season of NBC's Lipstick Jungle (which just concluded at the end of March) focuses on three New York City women striving for success. Brooke Shields stars as Wendy Healy, a movie exec trying to juggle her family life and career. Her friends Nico (Kim Raver) and Victory (Lindsay Price) round out the ensemble as a magazine editor and fashion designer, respectively. The show is based on a novel by Candace Bushnell, who also wrote Sex and the City and our current book club selection, Four Blondes.

Grace is Gone
Grace is Gone stars John Cusack as a widowed husband whose wife dies while serving in Iraq. The film centers on his struggle to tell his two daughters that their mom has died, which he delays doing by taking the girls to an amusement park.

The film did well at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival (where it won the Audience Award in the dramatic category) and it pulled in a very respectable $4 million by The Weinstein Company. I haven't yet seen it, but I'm always up for a John Cusack film and he's supposedly excellent in this one.

2007 Sundance Film Festival: The Cold, Hard Cash

BuzzSugar — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 11:58:22 PST

My coverage of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival is almost over, as the event comes to a close in Park City, Utah. I've brought you previews of some of the promising comedies, dramas, dramedies and documentaries, so I figured I'd also mention some of the films that, thanks to big studios offering lots of money, will probably be coming to a theater near you (or Netflix) relatively soon. Check out which movies attracted the big money - and how much.

The dramedy starring John Cusack, Grace Is Gone, was bought by The Weinstein Company for $4 million.
The documentary questioning child genius, My Kid Could Paint That, handed over rights to Sony Pictures Classics for a cool $1 million.
The Southern small-town comedy starring Keri Russell, Waitress, was bought by Fox Searchlight for $4 million.
Paramount Vintage paid an impressive $7 million for the rights to a British coming-of-age film called Son of Rambow.

To see the rest

I don't know how I missed this one, but I can't wait to see it: romantic drama Dedication, starring Billy Crudup and Mandy Moore drew $4 million from the Weinstein Company and First Look.
Not another dance competition movie! Yes, a drama called How She Move and was bought by MTV Films and Paramount Vantage for $3 million.
Psychological thriller Joshua drew in $4 million by Fox Searchlight, while horror flick The Signal was bought by Magnolia Films for $2 million.
Black Snake Moan already has Paramount Classics behind it and will be in theaters on February 23rd.

Behind the Scenes at Sundance: Portrait Gallery

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 06:00:58 PST

One of my favorite things about the Sundance Film Festival is the portrait studio. Between schmoozing and talking up their movies, the casts of each film pose for a series of casual yet artful shots that are inexplicably fun to look at. Maybe there's just something about seeing people like Sienna Miller and Steve Buscemi, who star together in Interview, mugging like they're old friends.

I've collected my favorite pics so far from the festival films, including Smiley Face starring Anna Faris, Mandy Moore's Dedication, The Nines starring Elle Fanning and Ryan Reynolds, Year of the Dog with Molly Shannon and Peter Sarsgaard, John Cusack in Grace is Gone, Waitress with Keri Russell, and the awesome young cast of The Good Life (pictured above). To see the rest of the portraits,

View 36 Photos ›

Source

2007 Sundance Film Festival: Dramas

BuzzSugar — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 11:42:33 PST

The Sundance Film Festival kicked off on Thursday in Park City, Utah, and I've been busily seeking out the films that look the most promising. I already shared what look to be this year's must-see comedies, and for today's installment, I'm back to introduce you to four more picks, this time in the drama category.

Chapter 27
Given the subject matter (John Lennon's murder) and the star power (Lindsay Lohan, Jared Leto), Chapter 27 is likely to be a mainstream hit in no time. Leto plays Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman as he increasingly turns to J.D. Salinger's book Catcher in the Rye. The anti-hero takes on Holden Caufield's mannerisms and actions until even the film itself seems to merge with the book, with first-person stream of consciousness narration from the future.

Three more dramas, so

Black Snake Moan
This film stars Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, and Justin Timberlake and is directed by Craig Brewer, who gave us the 2005 Sundance favorite, Hustle and Flow. Black Snake Moan introduces Lazarus (Jackson), a love-bitter ex-blues guitarist who comes upon the town tramp, Rae (Ricci), lying beaten on the side of the road. Lazarus takes it upon himself to save her soul, which includes chaining her to his radiator and giving Bible lectures. Brewer is known for his skillful use of music (Hustle and Flow won Best Original Song at lsat year's Academy Awards), and with a release date of February 23rd, you won't have to wait long after the festival to check this one out.

Grace is Gone
John Cusack has finally succumbed to the fact that he's beyond the age when he can realistically play the scruffy, vaguely depressed playboy (as in High Fidelity). Instead, he's going the route of so many favorite actors, like Kevin Spacey and Robin Williams, and playing The Dad. Yet have no fear, he still gets to be moody and distraught as Stanley Phillips, father of two who learns that his wife has died in the Iraq war. He knows he must tell his daughters about their mother's death, but first decides to bring them on a road trip to their favorite amusement park. On the journey, the daughters try to understand their father's strange behavior, and Stanley realizes that he needs to know who his children are before he can help them with this sorrowful turn of events.

Hounddog
As Dakota Fanning matures, it only makes sense that she should take on more complex roles. She gets her chance in Hounddog, playing Lewellen, a spunky Southern girl who finds comfort from her dark memories in the music of Elvis Presley. A difficult tale of abuse and lost innocence, Fanning lends her natural charm to the story, cutting the bleakness with childlike hope.

Source, Source, and Source

Grey's Anatomy Season Finale Rundown, "Flight"

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 18 May 2012 23:18:05 PDT

It's hard for me to even write this recap because I'm so mad at Grey's Anatomy right now. The death of a major character in the season finale has been teased for weeks, but it's not left until the episode's final moments. In fact, it happens in the first 20 minutes, and once it does, it's hard to focus on anything else.

I'll save my spoilers for below the break, but this is definitely one of the most affecting and frustrating episodes Grey's Anatomy has ever seen, and considering there's been a ferry crash, bomb scares, and a Seattle Grace shooter, that's saying a lot. As Cristina astutely observes, "I don't understand how this keeps happening." There's a lot to go over, like the plane crash, the fate of the residents, and what we'll be wondering about all Summer long, so let's get the depressing party started when you

I hope you're ready for a rant, because I couldn't be more upset about Lexie's death. She's one of the few characters that I've continued to root for and sympathize with over the years, and her will-they-or-won't-they with Mark is one of the biggest reasons I still loved the show this season. Yes, she and Mark got a bittersweet farewell in which he finally confesses his feelings for her, but I just sat there wishing she'd miraculously wake up right up until the final scene. I applaud Shonda Rhimes and the rest of the show's writers for taking big risks that will seriously impact the audience, but right now I feel more like I've been punished for sticking with this show for so long.
You'd think with Lexie's quick death, the rest of the doctors in the crash would be in the clear for the rest of the episode, but that's not so. Meredith and Cristina seem to be OK, but Arizona's got a hideous gash in her leg, Mark's teetering on the brink of death, and Derek may very well lose his hand. For a second I thought we were going to lose Mark too in a sort of Romeo and Juliet move from the writers, but we don't even get closure on what will happen to the current survivors. Which brings us to the next question: how will the surgeons get out of this mess? And will everyone besides Lexie survive?
One doctor we won't be seeing more of is Teddy, who gets a job offer to serve her country again. She passes up the opportunity, and when Owen questions her loyalty, she admits that she's staying to watch over Owen since Cristina is on her way out. Owen then pulls out the trump card and fires Teddy so she'll be forced to leave the hospital. Though she's angry at first, it's clear that she's actually relieved to be leaving the hospital where Henry died. I've always liked having Kim Raver on the show, but Teddy's storyline hit its peak with her marriage to Henry, and has been kind of stale ever since his death. That said, I'm glad the door is still open for her to return.
Both Karev and Jackson decide to leave Seattle Grace for Johns Hopkins and Tulane, respectively. Karev leaves Arizona a voicemail explaining that he needs to see what he's made of without his mentor, while Jackson just seems to want to get away from all of the Seattle Grace drama, April included. As for April, she's hating life because she's not a virgin and she didn't pass her boards, and because Jackson is leaving. So that leaves us with Teddy, Jackson, Karev, and April all flying the coop. If all of these characters (plus Lexie) are really gone for good, there had better be an impressive lineup of new cast members coming in for season nine.
There's one silver lining in this dark cloud of an episode, and that's Bailey's happiness with Ben. She's one of the few characters whose problems seem completely trivial this week (what with her life not being in jeopardy and all). Though Ben is moving to LA, she's agreed to marry him and do a long-distance relationship - and she actually seems pretty content. In a way, it almost feels like this is Bailey's redemption for the trauma she experienced in the season six shooter finale. Not only is she completely uninvolved with the plane crash, but she actually gets a happy ending. At least until she finds out that most of her friends have been in yet another horrific accident.

This season finale definitely ranks high on the scale of shocking finales. Are you as bummed as I am about Lexie's death? Which characters do you think will still be around next season?

Real Talk With TV Broke Girl Beth Behrs

LearnVest — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:59:07 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Since when is being broke funny?

Since CBS released its new sitcom 2 Broke Girls, in which actress Beth Behrs plays a recently humbled heiress, Caroline, who moves to Brooklyn to hide out after her father loses their family fortune in a Ponzi scheme.

Caroline winds up living with her perpetually poor fellow waitress, Max, played by Kat Dennings, and the two hatch a plan to save their wages and start a cupcake business.

Recession-era cupcake businesses have been all the rage lately (see: Bridesmaids), but shows addressing personal finances - or lack thereof - with humor and honesty is something we don’t see very often. Caroline and Max manage to plan for their future while hustling for their present - and survive on a shoestring with admirable grace. We love that these characters live richly, even on a tight salary: After all, that's what LearnVest is all about.

And, of course, any show where the leading ladies discuss interest rates is right up our alley.

Check out our exclusive talk with Behrs on her penny-pinching past, her first pair of Louboutins - and why she still chooses to live with a roommate in real life. It turns out that we can learn something from celebs about money.

LearnVest: As a 26-year-old in Hollywood, how much of Caroline and Max’s financial struggle can you relate to?

Beth Behrs: Literally up until we shot the pilot, I was working as a nanny five days a week and then as a bartender and concierge at The Geffen Playhouse on the weekends. So, I can definitely relate to being broke, right out of college and working tons of odd jobs to just pay the rent.

Real-life waitress stories and more from Behrs.

Here Come the Bridesmaid Requests! 5 Tips If You're Pregnant or a New Mom

Kate Stahl — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:42:31 PST

The holidays are here, bringing not only lots of gifts, cookies, and good cheer, but also a ton of engagements! While hearing that one of your besties is sporting a new rock is always exciting, being a bridesmaid and being pregnant or a new mom can be really challenging - just ask Kourtney Kardashian, who rocked a skin-tight lilac bridesmaid dress in Khloe's wedding when she was seven months pregnant! Here are a few tips for surviving with your friendship and sanity intact.

Be realistic. Many a bridesmaid has agreed to stand up in a friend's wedding only to regret it when she's tottering around in the required three-inch heels and unflattering silk dupioni dress when she's super pregnant or still hanging on to 15 pounds of baby weight. While you don't want to disappoint your friend, really think about whether you'll be able to live up to her expectations if you are nearing your due date or will be dealing with a newborn. It's better to bow out gracefully than to feel miserable or torn in two directions (i.e. hair and makeup or a breastfeeding session) on her big day.
Speak up about the dress early. Ask your friend if you can try on bridesmaid dresses with her; otherwise, you can't complain when she picks out a bright orange pencil dress for you to wear six weeks postpartum. Women who haven't gone through a pregnancy often don't realize how uncomfortable pregnant women and new moms can be within their own bodies. If you go to the appointment, you can make your opinion on the dress known. If she doesn't take them into consideration, refer to tip number one. For three more tips, keep reading.

Katherine Heigl and Ellen Pompeo Have a Grey's Reunion at Lunch With the Girls

Katie Henry — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:54:47 PST

Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl bundled up their daughters, Stella Ivery and Naleigh Kelley, and met for lunch at LA's Cliff's Edge restaurant on Saturday. It was a happy reunion for the former Grey's Anatomy costars, who are both balancing life in front of the cameras in addition to raising toddlers. It's been nearly two years since Katherine's departure from the doctor drama, and she's since gone on to star in several big-screen projects including her upcoming New Year's Eve. The film hits theaters Dec. 9, and, according to Katherine, her make-out scenes with Jon Bon Jovi were "nerve-wracking."

Meanwhile, Ellen and the surgeons at Seattle Grace are up to their elbows with trauma. Ellen's character Meredith is still working out the kinks of her marriage with Derek, Patrick Dempsey, and the rest of the staff is dealing with OR emergencies, an unfortunate death, and relationship woes - don't forget you can stay up-to-date with all the good-looking doctors by following Buzz's weekly Grey's Anatomy recap!

Grey's Anatomy Rundown, "What Is It About Men"

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:06:57 PDT

Let's hear it for the boys! The ladies of Seattle Grace are MIA, allowing this week's episode of Grey's Anatomy to focus solely on the menfolk. Each of the male surgeons is dealing with some feelings of anger, whether it be in their career or personal life - but, as the episode tells us, that doesn't mean they want to talk about it. Ultimately, Derek signs up all of his colleagues for his house-building anger management program, and helps the guys hammer out their problems. Literally.

There are bromance troubles brewing with the patients too, as the latest disaster to hit Seattle involves a freak accident at a local comic book convention. You know what that means: zombie nurses, hobbits, and Game of Thrones references abound. It's one of the more comical episodes we've seen in awhile, which is a refreshing change of pace. Let's break it down when you

In the few moments that Meredith appears in this episode, we see that she and Derek are sharing a bed again, but there's still some tension between them. Derek's none-too-pleased about having a new resident on his staff, and it only makes things worse when Karev makes no attempt to hide his apathy toward neuro. Luckily, Derek's found a solution - building his new deck! He heads out there to deal with his frustrations, and over the course of the episode, offers solace to his friends as well.
Owen's trying to settle into his new job as chief of surgery, but it's not exactly a smooth transition. Getting bogged down in paperwork makes him feel helpless, so he tries getting rid of his office to make himself feel more useful. When that doesn't work, Hunt decides to get his hands dirty - by punching out a big guy who's making a ruckus in the ER. His transgression is fun to watch throughout the episode; it's easy to see that he's uncomfortable being the head honcho in the big office, and much prefers to be down in the trenches taking care of business.
Owen's not the only one having trouble adjusting; Webber is in a state of limbo. His fellow surgeons still see him as the chief that's too good to be roughing it with them, while he just wants to be part of the action. He finds his niche in teaching Jackson and Karev to appreciate what they've got. (Speaking of which, how depressing are the scenes where Webber is talking about Adele?) He does eventually get through to the young whippersnappers, and has Karev finding the "joy" in his surgeries again.
Jackson finally finds a solution to his issues with Mark. Derek sees the potential in Jackson and offers him a surgery in neuro, but Jackson sticks to his guns - and sticks it to Mark, using reverse psychology on him to convince Mark that he deserves to lead a surgery a plastics. Unfortunately, when he hints that he might want to work with Derek, Mark lashes out at his friend for stealing Jackson away.
As for Mark, he's on solo baby-sitting duty while Arizona and Callie are away, which of course, is the time that baby Sofia decides to roll over for the first time (is it just me or did she roll right off the couch?). When Sofia seems too content, Mark automatically assumes that something must be wrong with her. As it turns out, he's just being a good dad, and Sofia's fine. That's not enough to calm Mark down, though; he's been quietly holding a grudge about being passed over for Owen's job. Derek's answer to Mark's problems? He needs to get laid.

What are your thoughts on this week's episode? Did you miss the ladies or was it fun to get a man's perspective for a change? Are you missing Lexie as much as I am (the girl has been gone all season!)? Tell me all about it in the comments.

In Which Our Short-Haired Editor Decides to Grow Out Her Hair

Jaime Richards — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 05:00:47 PDT

If you've ever tried to grow out your hair, then you'll know the entire process is just that: a huge process. Last August, after 10 years of having various shorter hairstyles, I decided to switch it up and let my hair grow out. Now, I'm not sure just how long I'll go, but I can say with great certainty that Rapunzel-like proportions are not in my future. It's been almost five months since I began the painstaking process, so to see how it's gone so far, just keep reading.