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Buzz Brainteaser

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:30:56 -0700

Welcome to Buzz Brainteaser, the trivia feature on BuzzSugar! Every weekday I'll test your knowledge about TV shows, music, and movies. If you enter in the correct answer, you win points! Name the youngest member of the Seaver family on Growing Pains.
(Just the first name is fine!)

Music Video: Mary J. Blige, "Just Fine"

BuzzSugar — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 10:31:06 -0700

Mary J. Blige wants us to know that she is loving life. She's here to tell the world that there is no more drama, and that she truly is "Just Fine." And from a woman who has practically made a career of singing about her pain that is quite a bold statement.

From her bouts with depression and drug abuse, Mary has successfully channeled her sorrow into solid gold. But now she's older, wiser, and surprisingly upbeat. And so is the video for "Just Fine," the first single off her new album Growing Pains, which is hitting stores November 27.

The video itself is lively and divalicious, featuring a whole slew of Mary J. Bliges in various outfits, so to check it out for yourself, read more

Source

The Results Are In: Recast "Growing Pains"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:49:16 -0800

"Growing Pains" started airing on Nick at Nite this weekend, so for last week's Recast challenge, I asked you guys to pick new actors for the roles Dr. and Mrs. Seaver, Mike and Carol, and, of course, Mike's sidekick, Boner. Many of you took it upon yourselves to cast the roles of siblings Ben and Chrissy Seaver, too, and I really admire that extra bit of effort!

This week's Recast winner was Intern07, who recast every role and chose people with uncanny resemblances to the original actors. I particularly love her choice for Chrissy. To see Intern07's list and the "new" cast photo, read more

Ok, so the only "Growing Pains" photo I could find is a little bit too old, since the actors' ages don't exactly meet up. But it's funnier that way, right?!

Dr. Seaver - Bob Saget
Maggie Seaver - Felicity Huffman
Mike Seaver - Colin Hanks
Carol Seaver - Rachel Bilson
Ben Seaver - Zac Efron
Chrissy Seaver - Abigail Breslin
Richard 'Boner' Stabone - Chad Michael Murray

Recast "Growing Pains"!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 06:00:11 -0800

Ever wonder what a movie or TV show would be like if you could be the casting director? Well, every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I'll be posting a Recast challenge, where I'll ask you to recast a classic TV show or movie for these modern times.

This week's challenge: "Growing Pains," the 1980s sitcom that will soon begin airing on Nick at Nite. Who could replicate the snarky charm of Dr. and Mrs. Seaver? What actors could play smart-aleck Mike, his sister Carol, and, of course, his friend Boner? Leave your entry us in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature next Tuesday, Jan. 23, complete with a "new" cast photo.

Characters to recast:
Dr. Jason Seaver
Maggie Seaver
Carol Seaver
Mike Seaver
Richard 'Boner' Stabone

"Growing Pains" Comes to Nick at Nite

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 07:18:45 -0800

For a brief period in the '80s, "Growing Pains" was one of the coolest shows on TV. It had so many things going for it. There was the cynical but loving dad (Alan Thicke) who somehow managed to maintain patient confidentiality while running a psychiatric practice out of his home; a curly-haired smart-aleck hottie (Kirk Cameron); his sassy and exasperated sister (Tracey Gold); guest appearances by a young Leonardo DiCaprio; and, of course, a friend named Boner.

I remember the show fondly, and I've always wondered if it would hold up today. Well, I'll soon find out, because on Jan. 21, "Growing Pains" is coming to Nick at Nite. The channel will start by airing a "Growing Pains" marathon on from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on the 21st. After that, the show will air at 9 and 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, at 10:30 on Saturdays, and at 9:30 on Sundays.

Now I'm starting to recall all sorts of awesome stuff about the show, including the opening-title sequence that featured the actors' actual baby photos. What do you guys remember about "Growing Pains"?

New Moon: Better Than Twilight

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0800

Let's be honest: for most of you, it doesn't matter what I - or any critics for that matter - have to say about New Moon, the incredibly anticipated sequel to last year's Twilight. The film started breaking box office records before it was even released, and audiences will flock to the theaters for weeks to come. On the plus side, a ticket to New Moon is a win even if you're not a Twihard - provided that you know what you're getting into.

New Moon is not incredibly acted, and it doesn't boast impressive dialogue or larger-than-life special effects. But it's not trying to be the Best Picture of the Year, so I can only critique it for what it is: a fantasy movie about a love triangle between a werewolf, a vampire, and a teenage girl. To see what I mean, just read more.

The movie picks up a few months after where Twilight left off. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is blissfully in love but she can't fight her insecurities about growing older than her perpetually seventeen vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). All Bella wants for her eighteenth birthday is for Edward to change her into a bloodsucker, but a close call with his brother drives Edward to break up with Bella and leave town instead.

The drama following Bella's abandonment is everything we remember from high school heartbreak, from Bella's night terrors to the glazed over look in her eye. The anguish and pain are easily seen on Stewart's face, and her innermost thoughts are revealed to the audience through letters to Edward's sister Alice that will never be sent. After months of moping, Bella finally starts to open up to Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a family friend. As Bella struggles to find hope in a life without Edward, her friendship is complicated by Jacob's romantic feelings for Bella and made worse when Jacob discovers that he's a werewolf (and an enemy to all vampires).

The surprise of the movie is Lautner's performance. We've seen and heard about those muscles countless times before, but he also packs enough charm and charisma into his Jacob that you truly see him as more than just Bella's unrelenting admirer / best friend. He presents himself as a viable suitor for Bella's heart, and it's hard not to root for him against Robert Pattinson's wooden (albeit handsome) Edward. Stewart and Pattinson have chemistry to spare in Twilight, but in New Moon, Bella's relationship with Jacob seems hopeful and comfortable while her scenes with Edward are mostly awkward and frankly not as much fun to watch.

The movie belongs to Stewart and Lautner, but their melodrama is balanced out by the characters who pad out the cast. Yes, we meet the wolf pack and the Volturi, but for the most part the Forks residents and beyond make for some much-needed comic relief. The downside is that while it's funnier than what you'd expect, not all of the laughs are intentional (a scene where Jacob's temper rivals that of The Incredible Hulk comes to mind).

It doesn't take more than a grain of salt to appreciate New Moon for what it is - a film that stays true to its origin and delivers the necessary elements to ensure that you'll be back when the next installment of the franchise comes our way.

Photos courtesy of Summit Entertainment

Good Hair: A Funny, Informative Doc For Everyone

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:06:03 -0700

Chris Rock's first shot at a documentary was spurred on by a simple question his daughter asked: "Daddy, why don't I have good hair?" Good Hair is Rock's quest to find out what that is, and why we - men and women, black and white - care so much.

It's not a race relations angle as much as the trailer makes it seem, but rather an investigation into the phenomenon his two young daughters are growing up into: that straight European hair is what's desirable, beautiful, and worth lots of money and pain to get.

Check out Bella's review, and to hear what I liked about the film, just read more.

As a documentarian, Rock excels at putting his subjects at ease, and his experts run the gamut. There are African-American women (particularly actresses like Nia Long and Eve), who can report their feelings firsthand about their hair and the extra pressure from Hollywood they endure to conform. Ice T is hilarious whether he's talking about silicone or wearing curlers in his hair for mugshots. Rock even gets Maya Angelou and Al Sharpton to deliver some of the documentary's biggest laughs. Yes, that's the kind of doc this is - one in which a political figure can make the momentous occasion of lobbying for Martin Luther King Jr. Day into a knee-slapping anecdote.

Watching a doc with as many one-liners as a Judd Apatow flick, I left wondering why more comedians don't make documentaries. Then again, Rock shows that he's green as a nonfiction filmmaker when he initiates conversations only to abruptly drop them. There is a lot to be said for black women striving for straight hair in a cultural context, and Rock raises this issue, but doesn't make a strong point about it. Particularly frustrating is Rock's discovery that most of the human hair sold as weaves in the US comes from India; specifically, from worshipers in India who sacrifice their hair to God in a ritual called Tonsure. Rock shows the Tonsure ceremony and the hair removal, but stops short of questioning what I think is a gross offense.

That's not to say Rock doesn't have some major revelations; he exposes the harms of sodium hydrochloride, also known as chemical relaxer (street name: "creamy crack"). His tenaciousness at that issue makes me wish he'd delved further into the other important matters of the movie.

On the whole, though, this is a solid effort for a first documentary, and it's surprisingly weighty subject matter. When you might think that he's gone a bit too far from his own point of reference, he brings it back to why he's looking at "good hair" in the first place -for his daughters. From salons in Beverly Hills to barber shops in Compton, Rock makes you laugh while opening your eyes to a hairy social subject.

Photos courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Grey's Anatomy Rundown, "Tainted Obligation"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:30:58 -0700

The title of this week's episode of Grey's Anatomy says it all. Meredith finds herself between a rock and a hard place when her dad enters Seattle Grace in need of a liver transplant, and she's the only viable donor. Meanwhile, the Chief is still trying to navigate the merger, and Izzie continues to struggle with the transition from patient back to doctor.

Check out the Grey's Anatomy Junkies for more discussion, but for now, just read more.

So, married life isn't exactly typical for Alex and Izzie between brushing their teeth in the kitchen sink and the bears greeting them in the morning. The turning point for Alex comes in one of the episode's funnier scenes: he finds a tick in his ear over lunch. Though Izzie defends trailer life at first, I'm glad she finally comes around by the end of the episode - those two have enough problems as it is.
Thatcher makes a grand entrance into Seattle Grace, immediately puking blood all over Meredith's sneakers. At first Mere is back to her typically gloomy self, half hoping her father will die and continuing to hold her lifelong grudge. I felt for Meredith, but after Lexie's heartfelt begging and pleading, I was happy that Mere finally grows up and casts her selfishness aside. Three seasons ago Meredith would never have dreamed of putting Lexie first, and I was proud of her for giving up part of her liver - her offer to get to know her dad was an even bigger milestone.
Doctor Sloan has a lighter case on his hands, though it's still a family matter. He handles an aging man who desperately wants a penile implant. Appalled, his adult children try everything they can to talk him out of it, but their father wants nothing more than to be with his new love in his life. I loved that some of Lexie's pain transferred over to Mark, as he gets all emotional about the sanctity of life and death. And of course his homage to Lexie: "And there's nothing wrong with dating a younger woman. It keeps you young and that's my professional opinion!"
Cristina spends most of the episode puttering about and trying to do anything she can to scrub in on a surgery. When Owen refuses to play favorites, she tries batting her eyes at any surgeon willing to give her a look. In the end she finally gets to help out - though she's less than thrilled to be part of Sloan's "penis pump" surgery. As her confidence continues to break down, Cristina eventually explodes at the Chief. Personally, I'm enjoying the more vulnerable side of Cristina.
Izzie is back to work, but she understandably can't separate her life as a doctor from her past as a patient. She quickly develops a rapport with another cancer patient and his girlfriend and insists on trying a risky surgery to try to save him. When she loses the patient, it becomes clear to Owen that she's not ready yet - and unfortunately, we already know that this ends in her getting fired (looks like next week). I'm not sure what fate lies for Izzie just yet, but I'm glad the writers are handling her recovery responsibly, rather than having her bounce back from melanoma as if it never happened.

Overall, I'm finding this season of Grey's a bit lackluster, but what about you? Were you surprised that Meredith gave in to Lexie and Thatcher? Are you looking forward to the new influx of doctors next week?