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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:30:13 -0700

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 also find the first season of the 90210 reboot and the indie film starring Zooey Deschanel, Gigantic, on DVD.

I Love You, Man
Paul Rudd proves he can be more than just a funny sidekick in his leading role in I Love You, Man. Paul plays Peter, a sensitive guy who genuinely enjoys spending all of his time with his girlfriend. Upon realizing that his wedding party is lacking a best man, Peter sets off on a search for true guy love. He soon finds both fun and trouble in his new friendship with Sydney (Jason Segel).

I really loved exploring the sweeter side of the bromance genre with this movie and I can't wait to see it again. Extra DVD features include a gag reel, Jason Segel discussing whether or not to shave before a man-date, and a mash-up of the movie's bear-hug scenes. Aww.

82%

Two more new DVD selections this week, so read more.

The Class
An Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film, The Class gives us a year in the life of François Marin, a teacher at an inner city high school in Paris. The teachers struggle to find a balance between inspiring their students and showing them how to help themselves. As commonly seen in the teacher-student genre, Marin's trials and tribulations with his teenagers are littered with just as much failure as victory. It may sound like something you've already seen before, but I found that the raw emotion in the storytelling really makes this French film worthwhile.

97%

17 Again
Feeling nostalgic for your high school years? Me neither, but it's always fun to watch cute teenagers bumble through adolescence - in this case, for the second time around. In 17 Again, Matthew Perry plays Mike O'Donnell, a 37-year-old longing for the good old high school years when his adulthood doesn't turn out the way he expected (spoiler alert: his wish comes true). Enter Zac Efron as the hot, teenage version of Mike who tries to get through to his (actual teenage) kids and put his family back together. Things are a little weird when Mike's daughter gets, um, uncomfortably close to the young version of her dear old dad, but it's fun to see Zac in a high school scenario that doesn't involve jazz hands.

57%

Box Office: Fast and Furious Races to the Top

BuzzSugar — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:30:05 -0700

Wowza! The fourth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise debuted this weekend and earned an estimated $72.5 million, easily taking the No. 1 spot at the box office. Variety reports this represents one of the biggest box office surprises of the season and is the biggest April opening ever.

Monsters vs. Aliens continued to do solid business and came in second place with an estimated $33.5 million. The top five was rounded out by The Haunting in Connecticut, Knowing, and I Love You, Man in third, fourth, and fifth place respectively. Finally, a movie I really enjoyed, Adventureland, debuted at No. 6.

Did any of you see Fast and Furious? Did your theater have shaky seats?

Source

Monsters vs. Aliens Wins Big at the Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:30:53 -0700

DreamWorks Animation's Monsters vs. Aliens scored the best opening of the year over the weekend earning an estimated $58.2 million. The movie's success signals to studios that audiences don't seem to mind paying an extra few dollars for movies in 3-D.

Meanwhile, the super scary-looking horror flick The Haunting in Connecticut was No. 2, grossing an estimated $23 million, followed by Knowing. Most of you said you'd be off to see I Love You, Man this weekend and the comedy hung out in the top five at No. 4, followed by Duplicity.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Box Office: Nicolas Cage's Knowing Is No. 1

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:30:27 -0700

The special effects thriller Knowing handily won the box office over the weekend with an estimated $24.8 million. Meanwhile, Paul Rudd and Jason Segel's comedy I Love You, Man came in second place with an estimated $18 million, followed by Duplicity, starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, at No. 3.

Race to Witch Mountain slid to No. 4 after winning the top spot a week ago, while Watchmen continued its free-fall to the fifth spot, earning a total of $98.1 million since debuting three weeks ago.

Source

I Love You, Man: Bromance at Its Cutest

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:45:52 -0700

I Love You, Man is a sweet, low-key comedy about two guys who find true friendship. As I left the screening a friend said it struck her as a kind of poor man's Judd Apatow movie (meant as a positive thing, BTW) - in the literal sense, it seems lower-budget but it's also just quieter, tamer, and less yucky. There's tons of super awkwardness, similar to the kind we see each week in The Office, and little gross-out humor. It's also simply more genuine than something Apatow might do, and it's a nice change.

The movie focuses on the platonic relationship between two guys, and the fact that they're guys is central to the humor of their awkward blossoming friendship. It all starts when Peter (Paul Rudd) proposes to his girlfriend Zooey (Rashida Jones) and realizes that he has nobody to be his best man in the wedding. So, on the advice of his gay brother Robbie (Andy Samberg), he goes on a series of "man dates" to try and find a friend to be his best man. Finally, Peter meets Sydney (Jason Segel), the carefree and fun-loving antidote to Peter's buttoned-up steadiness. Peter discovers what it's like to talk frankly with another guy and how to loosen up a little bit and not always play by the rules. Sydney's relaxed attitude starts to rub off on Peter, which is refreshing until it gets to the point that Peter (and Zooey, for that matter) feels like he's not totally himself anymore. He then has to figure out if he can balance both romance and bromance in his life. For more of my thoughts on it all, read more.

There are a lot of perfect fits in this movie. Rudd and Segel are natural together, and they strike a comfortable balance of sincere affection and dudeliness. Rudd fits well with his character, Peter, who's just a nice, stable guy with a calm and respectful temperament. It's easy to like Peter for who he is, though we recognize that he lacks some confidence and might be more successful if he believed in himself. Rudd easily takes on this role, without judging Peter, and it's satisfying to see that he's quite capable of carrying a movie as the lead character.

The emphasis is on the "bromance" between these two guys - their totally straight man-love - and a lot of the humor stems from Peter trying to navigate a male friendship. How to get close but not really intimate? How much of himself should he show? It's an exploration of friendship in general, really (finding the people who bring out the best in us, etc.). It's just a new and funny story because of the ever-changing societal norms that dictate how men should acceptably express emotion and love.

There are funnier movies out there, but I Love You, Man is certainly one of the easiest and most digestible comedies I've seen in a long time. The boys are cute and funny without being over-the-top, and the girls are relatable and funny without being naggy psychos. There's no poop or menstrual blood, but there are lots of silly lines that people will be quoting for a long, long time ("Sleppin' da bayse, mon"). It's like this year's Anchorman or Superbad in that sense - but it's a helluva lot cuter than both of those.

Photos courtesy of Paramount

Watch, Pass, TiVo or Rent: I Love You, Man

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:30:26 -0700

In I Love You, Man, Paul Rudd plays a man who proposes to his girlfriend (Rashida Jones) and realizes that he has nobody to be his best man. So, he goes on a (best) man hunt and finally finds bromance with Sydney (Jason Segel) - but is he the best man for the job?

The previews look funny for this movie - are they funny enough to make you want to see I Love You, Man in theaters? Or is it a rental/wait 'til it's on TV-type of thing? Or will you just pass on this one altogether?

One-sheet courtesy of Paramount

Caption It: Which Caption Should Win?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:30:27 -0700

Look at that Paul Rudd. Such a cutie. What? Oh, and great job on all the caption ideas for this week's photo from I Love You, Man:

You know the drill, here are your finalists:

Paul: "Dude it's a scooter, we're going 10 miles per hour. Why are you screaming?"
Jason: "Wooooooooooooooo. . . ."
"No, this is NOT just like that scene in Dumb and Dumber! You're gonna have to hold it, man!"
"I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!!!!!!"
Paul: "Please tell me we're not going to Aspen."

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Caption It!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:00:15 -0700

Welcome to the Caption It game on BuzzSugar! Every Wednesday, I'll post a photo still from a TV show or movie here and challenge you to think of the most hilarious caption possible. I'll announce the finalists the following Tuesday, and you'll get to vote for the best caption!

First off, congrats to kemma, whose caption won this week's poll by a slim margin as of the time I wrote this post:

"She'll give this back when I'm done, right?"

Now on to this week's challenge from the newest bromantic comedy, I Love You, Man:

Leave your captions in the comment space below before 5 p.m. PDT on Monday, March 16 to be considered for a spot in the voting round. Have fun!

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Movie Preview: I Love You, Man

BuzzSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:32:21 -0800

In theory, I think the premise for I Love You, Man is funny and cute: A guy (Paul Rudd) gets engaged to his lady (Rashida Jones - yay for her having more movie roles!) but he doesn't have a best guy friend so he basically goes on a manfriend-hunt to lock down a best man for the wedding.

The trailer features some funny folks (Jason Segel, Andy Samberg, Thomas Lennon) and people I just love seeing pretty much anytime (JK Simmons), and yet, it doesn't really make me laugh. Also (and I'm assuming this is explained in the movie), why doesn't he just ask his brother (Samberg) to be his best man, instead of asking his brother for tips on going on man dates to find some guy he barely knows to be his best man? Time will tell, I suppose. I do appreciate the use of the Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man" in the trailer, anyway.

I Love You, Man opens March 20. To check out the trailer, read more.

Link Time! 7/10

BuzzSugar — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:35:37 -0700

Popwatch wonders: Which actors need to be rescued from their sub-par TV roles?
Cinematical tells us of a place to go if you're not so informed about comic books and don't want to be ridiculed for it.
TV Squad has put together an insanely comprehensive guide to reality TV.
E!'s Ben Lyons visited the set of the "bromantic comedy" I Love You, Man and chatted up Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Jon Favreau, among others.
The TV Addict talks with Gabrielle Anwar about Burn Notice ahead of tonight's premiere.
Meanwhile, Vulture just keeps interviewing those Hellboy folks; today it's Ron Perlman's turn.
FilmExperience is none too pleased with the news that Elfquest will be adapted for the big screen.
Pop Candy brings word that Sub Pop Records is relaunching its singles club.

Photo courtesy of CBS