BuzzSugar

Couples Retreat: Not Exactly a Relaxing Getaway

BuzzSugar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:30:11 -0700

Everyone loves a vacation, right? Beautiful scenery, tropical drinks, fun in the sun. Add a few of your closest friends and you could have the trip of a lifetime - or a romantic getaway gone horribly awry.

To be fair, the four pairs in Couples Retreat don't realize what they're agreeing to when they head to Eden East, a swanky resort on a remote island. But once the relationship boot camp begins, the friendships quickly break down, and it's often more depressing than hilarious. To see what I mean, just read more.

The movie's couplings range in age, family size, and personality, with Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman at the epicenter. As Dave and Ronnie, they are perhaps the most "normal" of the bunch. Between Dave's demanding job making video games (hello, Guitar Hero product placement) and raising two young sons, Dave and Ronnie don't even realize their problems until they are forced into couples skill-building. Vaughn is his typical wise-cracking character, but a touch of sweetness makes his on-screen relationship with Akerman the most enjoyable to watch. You can actually believe that they love each other and aren't using the trip as a band-aid for a bullet hole.

Jason and Cynthia (played by Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell), on the other hand, are a lot harder to relate to as two type-A personalities with an undying love for organization and PowerPoint presentations. Jason and Cynthia present the idea of the group vacation to their friends as a last-ditch effort to save their marriage (promising that the therapy sessions are optional, of course). Bell is her typical adorable self, but Bateman is insufferable. His character is painfully meticulous and overbearing, making the audience feel just as suffocated as Cynthia does.

Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin Davis) represent the worst of the worst: the couple that's been together so long that they don't even notice each other anymore. The high school sweethearts take the trip not as an opportunity to re-kindle the flame, but to chase skirts (or in this case, bikini bottoms) and muscular yoga instructors. Favreau gets a few laughs with his quest to get to Eden West, the "singles" side of the island, but age-wise, Davis doesn't quite fit in with Bell and Ackerman. It's also hard to laugh at characters that embody one of the biggest fears for young couples, and their ice-cold relationship is almost too realistic to scoff at.

Then there's Shane (Faizon Love), who's newly separated from the wife he still loves, but brings along his 20-year-old girlfriend for the ride instead. As Trudy, Kali Hawk steals a lot of the laughs as she yearns to drink and party all night long while her boyfriend would rather take a nap. One joke that never gets old: Trudy's insistence on calling Shane "Daddy" throughout the entire film.

With such a strong headline cast, it's disappointing that the supporting actors steal the show. I laughed the hardest at Dave and Ronnie's adorable boys (who get very little screen time) and at the motley crew of therapists and other wacky workers at the resort dedicated to making this the trip from hell.

At the end of it all, you'll get a few laughs along with some very beautiful imagery, but you might just want to put your money toward your own vacation instead.

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures

Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau Take on Cowboys & Aliens

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:30:05 -0700

Last Summer, Robert Downey Jr. signed on to a film adaption of the graphic novel Cowboys and Aliens, and here's more good news - Jon Favreau most likely will direct the film! If you've seen Iron Man (or have even heard of it), you know what kind of magic these guys have together.

I've been antsy for Iron Man 2 after seeing new footage at Comic-Con, but I might be even more interested in RDJ and Favreau's newest venture. The duo is staying within the comic book realm, but I'm looking forward to new characters, fresh story lines, and 100 percent more aliens.

Movie Preview: Couples Retreat

BuzzSugar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:02:27 -0700

This movie stars a whole slew of actors who are no strangers to comedy (Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and a bunch more), though the trailer for their upcoming movie Couples Retreat doesn't really elicit the big laughs. It does look pretty cute, though, so maybe it's more of a silly-funny thing than a ha-ha-funny thing.

The story follows four couples - some happy in their relationships and some on the brink of separating - who attend a couples retreat together in a beautiful tropical location. As they go about working on their relationships, funny stuff happens, I guess. I will say that it's very cool to see Jon Favreau back in a more central role (he also wrote the movie). I love it when he directs movies, but I love it just as much when he's being funny on the big screen. The comedy opens Oct. 9. To check out the new trailer, read more.

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

Buzz News Roundup, 9/19

BuzzSugar — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:35:47 -0700

Aww, more Vaughn-Favreau goodness: Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman and Faizon Love are set to star together in the comedy Couples Retreat. - ComingSoon
New albums are on the way from Wilco and from Weezer. - Billboard
Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones will play Stella's ex on How I Met Your Mother. - TV Guide
Guess who's the latest name rumored to be playing Dr. Watson to Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie's film: Jude Law. - Variety
Wade Allain Marcus will play "a hipster photographer" on Gossip Girl. - Hollywood Reporter
David Duchovny, Demi Moore and Amber Heard will play a perfect family in the drama The Joneses. - ComingSoon
Get your glasses ready: Chuck is planning a 3-D episode to air the day after the Super Bowl. - Chicago Tribune
Keira Knightley, Eva Mendes and Sam Worthington will star in the romantic drama Last Night. - Variety

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Movie Preview: Four Christmases

BuzzSugar — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:30:38 -0700

The little taste of Four Christmases in recent TV previews has only made me more curious to see a longer trailer, and now we've got it. As we know, Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn play Kate and Brad, who try to avoid their families around the holidays - but this year is different. Both of them have divorced parents, and they're forced to visit all four of their families for Christmas.

Sometimes I think Vince Vaughn is too snarky to be likable - especially in a movie like this - though Witherspoon is as cute and funny as ever. And the full-length trailer shows a few of the supporting actors, like Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Favreau, Robert Duvall, and Sissy Spacek, all of whom seem well-cast.

I'll admit, I'm excited for the holiday films to hit theaters, so I'll surely see Four Christmases when it comes around Nov. 26, if for no other reason than because it's fun to get into the spirit of the season.

To see the full trailer and tell me what you think, read more.

Four Christmases Trailer | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

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My Shout Out to Jon Favreau

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:31:04 -0700

Now that the dust has settled around the huge Iron Man opening last weekend, I wanted to take a moment to give the director of the movie a little shout out. As buzz around Iron Man started to build, I heard a lot of people remark at what an odd canon of work Favreau has created as a director (even more so when you stick in his acting jobs) and that trusting him with the reigns of a giant film with a big-budget comic book movie seemed strange at first.

But just like casting Robert Downey Jr. struck me as totally inspired, I think Marvel knew what they were doing when trusting their big movie venture with Favreau. While his body of work may appear to be a bit random (Zathura: A Space Adventure, Elf, Swingers, Made, guest appearance on Friends), upon closer inspection it's clear that one thing ties it all together: a healthy respect for good old-fashioned storytelling. He knows what goes into a spinning a great yarn, and part of that is casting incredibly engaging lead actors (Will Ferrell in Elf, RDJ in Iron Man, etc.).

To read more about why I'm glad this guy was given the chance to direct Iron Man, and why I'm excited to see what he does next, read more.

At this stage in the game, it's pretty hard to freshen up the regular story arc of a superhero movie, much less create a fun summer blockbuster that isn't totally reliant on CGI, and he managed both. This is why I think we can expect a lot more from Favreau the director in the future: his heart is in the craft of filmmaking and he has a strong sense of what folks wants to see. In a recent interview with the LA Times, he reflected on arguably the most successful week of his career by summarizing the way he views filmmaking these days:

Right now is an interesting time because technology is what you're using to tell stories. Really, George Lucas was the guy who made that leap from taking the primal elements of storytelling, the sort of mythic Joseph Campbell storytelling and Jungian archetypal deconstruction of storytelling, and using modern technology to amplify that and present it to a new generation. But I contend it's not the technology that draws people to it, it's the story. It's touching something in us that's much older and deeper.

Here's hoping Favreau sticks around for a long time as I think he and his movies will help to balance out the ratio of story-to-computer generated robots in Hollywood.

Are you as happy as I am for Favreau's success?

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Link Time! 5/6

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:30:45 -0700

Pop Candy has news on a fully Veronica Mars-themed cruise this Summer!
Right after the premiere of the Twilight teaser trailer, MTV Movies Blog has the new poster for the movie and an interview with the poster's designer who already knows what he'll do for the posters for the Twilight sequels.
This Cinematical writer wants more superheroines on the big screen - with directors like Jon Favreau or Bryan Singer making their stories come to life.
TV Squad is all happy about the people providing commentary on the forthcoming Spaced DVD, including Diablo Cody and Kevin Smith.
FilmExperience examines what happened to the nine actors who were featured in the 2000 Young Hollywood Vanity Fair article.
Rolling Stone's Rock&Roll Daily has video of the 15 most memorable musical moments from The Hills. Remember what was playing when LC and Heidi called it quits?
Popwatch is taking nominations to elect the characters on TV that have the best chemistry.
The TV Addict has an interview with Gossip Girl's Matthew Settle.
Stereogum gives the new Wolf Parade album a premature evaluation, calling it "great rock & roll."
TV Worth Watching is not pleased with the threatening tone of the "you'll miss them while they're gone" TV ads on CBS.

Box Office: Audiences Make Iron Man the Year's First Blockbuster

BuzzSugar — Mon, 05 May 2008 08:30:41 -0700

It wasn't just comic book fans that lined up this weekend for Iron Man, it was everybody! And I mean, everybody. The film raked in an extremely impressive $104.2 million its opening weekend, which is a staggering amount for any studio, much less for the first title fully produced and paid for by Marvel Studios.

I recently watched some footage of director Jon Favreau at a 2007 Comic-Con panel where he said, "If you make a good movie, the box office will be there." And boy, was he right. He also said that he cast the movie the way he might approach casting the (mostly independent) films he normally works on. Again, his instincts are proven right as the stellar reviews (including my own) praising the performances no doubt aided such a successful opening.

Variety reports Iron Man is the 10th best opening ever and "the second-best debut for a non-sequel after Spider-Man," which opened to $114.8 million on the same weekend in 2002.

Meanwhile, it was the romantic and the comedic films that rounded out the rest of the top five. Patrick Dempsey's so-so romcom Made of Honor was No. 2 and pulled in a respectable $15.5 million. It was followed by Baby Mama in the third spot, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall came in at No. 4. Finally, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay earned $6 million in the No. 5 spot.

Who saw Iron Man? Did you catch the teaser trailer after the credits?

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Iron Man: The Most Fun Ever

BuzzSugar — Fri, 02 May 2008 06:30:22 -0700

All hail John Favreau for rescuing the Summer blockbuster! Iron Man is the most fun I've had watching a movie in a long time. Going into the screening, I was wary of a premise centered around a giant robot superhero. I figured it would be a recipe for a lot of CGI and explosions and not much else, something any old director with a giant budget can churn out this time of year. However, as soon as the first scene opened, AC/DC's "Back in Black" guitar riff filled the theater and I got my first glimpse at Robert Downey Jr.'s acerbic smirk, something told me I was wrong.

If Spider-Man's alter ego is a dweeb and Batman's Bruce Wayne is kind of a "Debbie Downer," then the human inside this iron suit, Tony Stark, brings us a new kind of superhero: the coolest cat in the room. I haven't read the Marvel comic the movie is based on, but I think the cool factor has less to do with the original character and more to do with the spin director John Favreau puts on it - along with Robert Downey Jr.'s mesmerizing and nuanced performance.

Can you tell yet that I'm excited about this film? To see what else I loved and what I thought of the other performances from Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges, read more.

Our hero Tony Stark is a brilliant manufacturing magnate who is supplying the United States government with sophisticated and deadly weapon technologies. He has seemingly bought into the party line that without these weapons the world would be thrown into chaos and his company keeps everyone safe. We get to know Stark as a ladies' man who approaches just about everything, including charges that he is responsible for a lot of the world's suffering, with a largely irreverent outlook. He's charming, witty and arrogant, and watching Downey play him during this first part is a whole lot of fun.

This isn't to say that there aren't parts that, upon reflection, are fairly preposterous, like when Stark is captured by the bad guys in the Middle East who order him to make them a weapon and instead he builds a giant robot . . . in the desert. But it's a testament to how fun (and how well-made) this movie is that I totally didn't care about the absurdity.

I know I'm not the first to point out that anyone who has observed Downey's personal ups and downs will be able to see the similarities between him and his character. It's as if someone decided to make an allegorical comic book hero based on his life. Because of this inspired casting choice, Tony Stark's personal transformation into a superhero is more than just believable - it's downright moving. Honestly, I couldn't tell the difference between Tony and Robert Downey Jr. when his eyes well up and he realizes he should use his life to do good things with his unique talent.

Gwyneth Paltrow is wonderful as Stark's love interest/steadfast assistant, and Terrence Howard makes a great, straightlaced sidekick - first to Stark's hard-partying self, but later as someone who tries to understand his friend's new ambition to destroy all the weapons he supplied bad guys with. And then there is Jeff Bridges, who makes a marvelous, if prototypical, villain. This mature group of supporting actors, combined with a commanding lead actor and a director who leans heavily on story (not special effects) makes this one of the best movies you'll treat yourself to this year.

For the trailer and more videos from Iron Man, check out movies.ivillage.com.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures