BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 7/13

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:30:13 -0700

Natalie Portman will play Jane Foster in the upcoming comic-book film, Thor. The film is to be directed by Kenneth Branagh and is slated to be released May 20, 2011. - AP
Director Morgan Spurlock will produce and direct the documentary special The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special in 3-D on Ice, which will air on Fox on Jan. 14, 2010. - EW
Lady GaGa joins Avril Lavigne and Ace of Base as the only artists to have three songs from a debut album hit number one on the Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart - The Hollywood Reporter
Jason Statham is in negotiations to star in Blitz, a thriller about a serial killer who targets cops. - Variety
Paul McCartney will play the Late Show With David Letterman this Wednesday, which will be a return to the theater where the Beatles made their American debut 45 years ago. - The Hollywood Reporter
Fox is bringing back Sit Down, Shut Up as part of its late-night lineup this fall. - The Futon Critic
Danny Huston will be King Richard in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood movie. - The Hollywood Reporter

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:30:29 -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 also rent the complete fifth season of Reno 911 as well as the Raven-Symoné comedy (and that's being generous) College Road Trip.

The Bank Job
I wouldn't be surprised if you missed The Bank Job while it was in theaters because it may have been written off as yet another bank heist flick. Now that it's out on DVD I think it deserves your rental/Netflix queue consideration.

Like I said before, it's an entertaining movie that is supposedly based on a true story. It centers around a group of crooks led by Terry Leather (Jason Statham ), who catches wind of a vulnerable vault of safe-deposit boxes. Little does Terry know, however, that the heist will end up having much farther-reaching implications involving several parties with a keen interest in this particular vault. It's not rocket science, sure, but it is a whole lot of fun and smartly directed. I highly recommend you check it out for yourself.

Special features include commentary with director Roger Donaldson, actress Saffron Burrows and composer J. Peter Robinson, and an "Inside The Bank Job" featurette.

Two more fun picks, so read more.

Meet Bill
Even though I didn't hear much buzz surrounding Meet Bill originally, I still hoped to see it. But time flies when you're watching everything else, and here it is, already out on DVD. It's possible that we didn't hear much about it for good reason, though I still want to give it a shot because I really like Aaron Eckhart, not to mention Elizabeth Banks.

Netflix sums up the plot as such: "Beleaguered bank employee Bill (Aaron Eckhart) has his hands full with his wife's (Elizabeth Banks) infidelity with a local television reporter (Timothy Olyphant), his oblivious father-in-law (Holmes Osborne) who runs the bank, and his own frustrated attempts to change careers in this screwball comedy. But when he's persuaded to mentor a teenager known as the Kid (Logan Lerman), things just might turn around for Bill."

Penelope
Me? I wasn't in love with Penelope but that isn't to say it doesn't have its charms and depending on the mood your in, could be just the anecdote to all these summertime superhero blockbusters.

The move stars James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon, and Christina Ricci and tells the fanciful story of a girl cursed with a pig nose. In order to break the curse she must find "one of her own" (i.e. a "blue blood") to love her just as she is and marry her. What follows is a fanciful story that is visually lovely and sometimes touching.

Special features include "The Making of Modern-Day tale" as well as a Twilight sneak peek.

The Bank Job: One Helluva Heist

BuzzSugar — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Heist movies are formulaic by definition, but when filmmakers follow the formula well, it makes for a highly satisfying flick. As proof, I present The Bank Job, which is the kind of movie you go see just because you're in the mood for a movie but walk away from highly entertained. It's not star-studded, nor a showcase for fine acting, but it possesses the two essential elements of a good heist movie: a well-written script and smart directing.

Directed by Roger Donaldson (The Recruit, Cocktail), The Bank Job centers on a pack of amateur crooks led by Terry Leather (Jason Statham ), who gets a tip from an old flame named Martine Love (Saffron Burroughs) about a vulnerable vault of safe-deposit boxes. The fact that the two main characters are named Leather and Love suggests is an early sign that this movie doesn't take itself too seriously. But the comedic caper takes some dark turns and pulls off both vibes very well, so read more.

The thieves - "villains," in movie's parlance - don't know that the robbery has been orchestrated by the British secret service, who want to lift some highly secretive photos from the vault without being associated with the theft. Loosely inspired by a real-life 1971 bank heist in London, the caper ends up having much farther-reaching implications, including a royal-family scandal and corrupt cops who want revenge.

I won't reveal too much more of the plot: That is, after all, the main draw, and the action, while clever and never dull, isn't difficult to follow. What sets The Bank Job apart is its retro style. The color palette pays homage to '70s cinema, and it's refreshingly free of the high-tech hijinks that clutter up so many modern heist movies (The Italian Job and Ocean's 13 being prime offenders).

And unlike some action movies that begin to drag on once the main event is over, The Bank Job's denouement is just as riveting as the bank job itself - albeit much darker and more violent, so consider yourself warned. But if you're not the squeamish type, this film is a fun and fast-paced way to pass the slow Spring movie season.

Photos courtesy of Lionsgate