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Halle Berry to Face Sharks in Dark Tide

BuzzSugar — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:30:44 -0700

Halle Berry is in talks to go swimming with the fishes - Great White sharks, to be precise. The next project she's looking at is Dark Tide, an action-thriller that will follow "a diving instructor who returns to the deep after a near-fatal incident with a Great White shark." The movie will begin filming in South Africa later this year.

The last movie I saw that starred Halle Berry was Things We Lost in the Fire, which I think showcased her talent well, but I'll be excited to see her in new projects. It looks like the next one to hit theaters will be Frankie and Alice, in which Berry plays "a young woman with multiple personality disorder who struggles to remain her true self and not give in to her racist alter-personality." Yikes. From that to swimming with Great Whites, Berry's life is all drama.

Buzz News Roundup, 6/1

BuzzSugar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:30:17 -0700

Better Off Ted will be back with new episodes starting June 23. - The Futon Critic
Natalie Portman will star with Danny McBride and James Franco in the comedy Your Highness. - Variety
Live Nation will eliminate all service fees on its concert tickets for one day only on June 3. - Billboard
Michael Shannon is in negotiations to play one of the lead male roles in The Runaways, the feature take on Joan Jett's 1970s rock band. - The Hollywood Reporter
This year's Emmy Awards are moving up a week to Sept. 13. - TV Week
Halle Berry is in talks to star in director Paul Verhoeven's new thriller The Surrogate. - ComingSoon
"Octomom" Nadya Suleman has signed a reality TV deal, but the show hasn't yet been picked up by a network. - Variety
The creators behind comic strip cat Heathcliff might be bringing the feline to the big screen. - Entertainment Weekly

Buzz News Roundup, 2/18

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:30:08 -0800

Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd are in talks to star opposite Reese Witherspoon in James L. Brooks's untitled romantic comedy. - ComingSoon
Ashton Kutcher is in talks to play a star NFL quarterback who trades bodies with a 12-year-old boy in the comedy Traded. - Zap2It
Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black are teaming up for a new Comedy Central show, Michael and Michael Have Issues. - The Hollywood Reporter
Robert Rodriguez is set to write and direct the futuristic thriller Nerverackers. - Variety
Law and Order: Criminal Intent and In Plain Sight will return to USA on April 19. - TV Guide
Martin Lawrence may star in Back to America, a comedy in which a working-class man from Queens discovers he is heir to the throne of an African country and travels there to claim his birthright. - ComingSoon
Halle Berry is set to star as the international jewel thief at the heart of the film Who Is Doris Payne. - Variety
A&E has picked up an MC Hammer reality show called Hammertime. - TV.com
Brothers & Sisters star Dave Annable has been cast in the romantic comedy Wedlocked opposite American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee. - The Hollywood Reporter

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Buzz News Roundup, 4/18

BuzzSugar — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:31:25 -0700

According to ComingSoon, IFC has picked up Madonna's directorial movie venture, Filth and Wisdom, and will give it a theatrical run.
Scrubs and 30 Rock will swap timeslots starting next week, The Futon Critic reports.
Keyboardist Danny Federici of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band has died at the age of 58, Billboard reports.
Howie Mandel will star in a new unscripted sitcom for NBC, TV Guide reports.
Variety reports that Jennifer Garner and her producing partner Juliana Janes now have a first-look deal with Warner Bros. for their production company Vandalia Films.
The AP has news about the Houdini musical coming to Broadway in the Spring of 2010.
Zap2it writes that HBO has documentaries lined up for Monday nights this summer, including Sundance hit The Black List and films about Roman Polanski and high school debate teams.
Ridley Scott will direct Casey Affleck in the period noir drama The Kind One, writes Variety.
Halle Berry will star in and produce the psychological thriller Frankie and Alice, ComingSoon reports.

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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:30:00 -0800

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, Awake, a thriller staring Hayden Christensen and Jessica Alba is out on DVD as well.

Into the Wild
There has been no shortage of buzz around this heartbreaking and visually stunning film directed by Sean Penn and starring Emile Hirsh. While it didn't make it as far at the Oscars as many hoped it would, it did make it onto my March Must-Haves, and I know many people are just as excited as I am that this movie is finally out on DVD. Into the Wild is based on the best-selling true story by Jon Krakauer all about a young, upper-middle class man with the world at his feet who decides to part with his normal, steady life in search of adventure. He sets out on a journey across the country and eventually ends up alone in the wilderness of Alaska.

The breathtaking scenery and unforgettable characters, along with the thought-provoking tale of a young man's journey on the path less taken makes for an important and moving film. Special features include interesting information about the true-life inspirations for the movie.

For two more selections, read more.

Things We Lost in the Fire
Starring Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro, Things We Lost in the Fire is Susanne Bier's directorial follow-up to her Oscar-nominated After the Wedding. At first glance, this movie looked melodramatic and depressing but I gave it a shot (after all, who can resist Benicio?) and I'm so glad I did.

The story follows a widow (Berry) attempting to put her life back together after her husband tragically dies. Benicio plays the husband's childhood best friend, now a troubled recovering drug addict, who moves in with the grieving woman and her children. Together they deal with the loss and learn to accept each other, in memory of the man they all cherished. This isn't an escape movie, but it is touching and features some beautiful performances by Berry and Del Toro. Special features include audio commentary and extra scenes.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
First off, until now I've never been concerned that a DVD cover might have the same effect on my vision as looking straight into the sun. Those are some bright colors. Moving on. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium stars Dustin Hoffman as a 243-year-old toy store owner and Natalie Portman as the store's manager. When Mr. Magorium discovers he's not well, he turns to Portman's character to take over his magical world of toys. Lots of colors, slapstick comedy and whimsical fun make this a great choice for family viewing, especially with little ones in the house.

Things We Lost in the Fire: Lush, Moving, and Very Sad

BuzzSugar — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:38:13 -0700

Based on the melodramatic-seeming trailer that told most of the movie's story in its two-and-a-half minutes, I had fairly low expectations for Susanne Bier's directorial follow-up to her Oscar-nominated After the Wedding. But Things We Lost in the Fire far exceeded those expectations. Aided by some solid performances and wise directional decisions, the movie is less cheesy and more potent than the trailer suggests.

The story starts out dreary and sentimental, then kicks into high drama and deep sadness, then it's horrifying, and then back to very sad, where it ends. There is redemption, but little joy to this story. The narrative begins with the funeral of Steven Burke (David Duchovny), which I think is a questionable move because watching people mourn without giving the audience any reason yet to be sad along with the characters creates an empty, pointless feeling. But the characters go on to earn our sympathy, and through a series of flashbacks interspersed with present-day action we are absorbed into this world of Steven's grieving widow Audrey (Halle Berry), their two children, and Steven's best friend - the down-and-out recovering drug addict Jerry Sunborne (Benicio Del Toro). For more about the story and my take on it, read more

Though she spent years mistrusting and disliking him, Audrey invites the quiet Jerry to live with her and the children in the garage that was damaged in a fire and never entirely finished before Steven's death. Once he moves in, Jerry is simply given things - a job and furniture from family friend Howard (John Carroll Lynch), the love and affection of Steven's kids - because they all loved Steven, and because Jerry knew him in a way nobody else did.

What I appreciate most about this movie is the character of Audrey, which Berry portrays as graceful and conflicted. It is so refreshing to find a true-to-life, complex female movie character. She's a caring mother and a sympathetic person, but she also acts in incomprehensible ways, making impulsive decisions fueled by grief and lack of sleep that seem heartbreakingly rash but also deeply human. At one point she demands that Jerry move out of the garage, which leads to Jerry relapsing, a most upsetting part of the film.

Certainly, I have some quibbles with the film. Steven's character is a little too goody-two-shoes to be believable, even up to his heroic death - getting shot while trying to protect a woman from her abusive husband. I'm also sure that after Audrey tells us all about the things they lost in the garage fire, two scenes later we don't need an actual written-out list of things they lost in the fire, as it just seems irritatingly redundant.

Yet these things are overshadowed by the beautiful direction (complete with perfectly-chosen music, from soothing flute to a sorrowful Spanish guitar to the steely blues that Jerry often pumps through his headphones) and some near-perfect performances. Del Toro does well with these gorgeously flawed characters, and his depiction of Jerry's relapse brings tears to my eyes even now. This isn't a breezy, escapist film, but it is very moving and lovingly crafted.

Photos courtesy of Paramount

First Look: Things We Lost in the Fire

BuzzSugar — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 08:30:00 -0700

After watching the trailer for Things We Lost in the Fire, starring Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro and David Duchovny, I felt like I'd seen the entire movie. Berry plays Audrey who loses her husband (Duchovny) to a senseless crime. Del Toro is her husband's best friend who is also a heroin addict. He moves in with Audrey and her kids, and we can all probably guess what happens after that. I'd been looking forward to seeing this trailer for Things We Lost in the Fire, which opens October 27, but now that I have it's kind of letdown. You can check it out and tell me what you think if you read more

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Which Lady Could Be Ocean's Fourteenth?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 05:45:00 -0700

Let's just say that there were an Ocean's Fourteen in the works (and there's not, I'm playing pretend here). And let's pretend the fourteenth member of Ocean's gang was going to be a lady. Who should play the part? Who could be sexy, tough and poker-faced but also silly enough to wear goofy costumes from time to time?

Here are the women I could see playing the role of Ocean's fourteenth. I mostly looked at smarts, sexiness and wisdom - I simply can't see anyone too young in the role, so no Knightleys, Portmans or Biels allowed. What do you think?

Which Current Thriller Are You Most Interested to See?

BuzzSugar — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 14:35:02 -0700

'Tis the season, apparently, for thrillers to pile into the theaters. This weekend, Fracture joins the cinemas where current thrillers Disturbia, Perfect Stranger and The Lookout (among several others) are already clamoring for thrill-seeking viewers. I know I've asked you to tell me all about your favorite thrillers of old, but what about the newest ones? Which of these heart-pounders are you most interested in seeing?

Perfect Stranger: Least Thrilling Thriller Ever

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 12:51:41 -0700

For some reason, I'd hoped that Perfect Stranger would be better than the previews made it look. Unfortunately, the previews were as bad as they were because there are no quality scenes to draw from. The plot is this: When her friend Grace is mysteriously murdered, investigative reporter Rowena (Halle Berry) suspects that advertising mogul Harrison Hill may be involved, so she goes undercover as a temp at Hill's agency to gain information.

Hill, suspicious that his employees are "spies" from a competing agency, doesn't make it easy for Rowena to gather any dirt. Miles (Giovanni Rivisi), Rowena's underling at the newspaper, helps her with the investigation while nursing a most creepball crush on Rowena. As Rowena delves deeper into Hill's life, she discovers that everyone - including Miles and ultimately herself - has dirty little secrets.

The movie is supposed to be a thriller, but fails miserably at creating any sort of interesting suspense, largely because at no time is it clear why we are supposed to care about, well, anyone in the film. My thoughts on this movie would best be expressed in a list of absurdities, so

This film had all the potential of being like "Alias," with a cool lady spy getting stuff done. There's even a vaguely feminist moment, when Rowena writes a story exposing a politician, but the article is killed because, as she angrily puts it, the world is just "powerful men protecting powerful men." Yet in the end, her valid gripes are dismissed as the ramblings of a woman off her rocker.
In a story that is rather dependent upon the usage of technology (Rowena communicates with Hill via instant messenger in many, many scenes), one might think that the technology would at least be up-to-date. But no. Remember that part in Pretty in Pink when Andrew McCarthy's character sends Molly Ringwald's character a kind of IM on the library computer systems? The technology featured in Perfect Stranger is maybe one step up from that. Maybe.

Even if I didn't have a fair amount of knowledge about the advertising world, I would suspect that the story line about "spies" from a competing agency reporting back to the competitors about Hill's plans to "steal" clients is silly. It reminds me of little kids making up the rules of a game, with no basis in reality.
Hill is a high-powered executive with a lot to lose, yet he conveniently and carelessly forgets to close the curtains of his hotel room, which is low enough to the street to gaze into.
I'm sorry, but who in Manhattan keeps their door key in an obvious "hiding" place (on top of the door jamb! under a mat!) outside their door? In this movie, both Miles and Rowena do.
Bruce Willis and Halle Berry are good actors but are helpless to fix the outrageously lacking script. It seems that at some point they decided to put on brave faces and just get through it.

Bottom line: With so many thrillers out right now, do not waste your time on this one.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures