BuzzSugar

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:30:50 -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.

21
The box office winner 21 is the kind of movie I'd be happy to come across on basic cable whilst channel surfing. It has a likable cast and a not-mind-numbing-but-not-confusing plot that is perfect for a day on the couch. The movie stars newly anointed heartthrob Jim Sturgess as a geeky genius MIT senior who's having trouble drumming up enough tuition money. He's soon recruited by the no-good professor Rosa (Kevin Spacey) into a secret little card-counting operation (which includes five other MIT students, one of whom is played by Kate Bosworth) to scheme Vegas out of a lot of cash.

It's based (loosely) on the true story documented in the memoir Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, and overall I had a good time seeing it in theaters. Special features on the two-disc edition include featurettes titled "The advantage player: The cast explains the game of blackjack and card counting," and "Money Plays: A tour of the good life."

One more for TV fans so read more.

Las Vegas: Season 5
Hey hey, it's a Vegas kind of day. For fans of the sexy NBC drama Las Vegas the fifth and final season on DVD is reason to celebrate because now your at-home collection can be complete.

The series stars manjoyment heavyweight Josh Duhamel along with Vanessa Marcil and Molly Sims. They were also able to nab Tom Selleck to lend some star power to the last season as two regulars (James Caan and Nikki Cox) exited early. Special features include a gag reel.

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21: Predictable, Generic Fun

BuzzSugar — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:32:04 -0700

Well, it turns out this writer was right: you could absolutely review 21 based on the trailer alone. Having seen previews for this movie (or even having seen a cinematic work put out by Hollywood once or twice), the movie is predictable from start to finish. But you can also probably predict how you'll feel about 21 from the trailer. If it looks entertaining to you, that's because it is, with its glittery Vegas backdrop and good-looking cast. If it looks predictable and cheesy, well, it's that, too. The "twists" come at you a mile away and the themes (searching for a father figure, defining oneself not by wealth, etc., etc.) rain down on your head like a plague. But at the same time, it's a PG-13 movie clearly trying to appeal to a younger audience, and it probably will. It's going to be flashy and obvious. It's going to be fond of montages and driving music. For what it is, it's a pretty fun time.

Jim Sturgess plays the endearingly geeky genius MIT senior Ben Campbell, whose ability to attend the school of his dreams, Harvard Medical School, is blocked by a pesky little $300,000 tuition. When the shady Professor Rosa (a disappointingly one-note villain's performance by Kevin Spacey) discovers Ben's ability to do math under pressure and keep his cool, he folds Ben into his secret little card-counting operation. This business, as Mickey Rosa calls it, consists of five MIT students who work together to scheme Vegas casinos out of some major cash - using math. To see what else happens and more of my take on it, read more.

At first, Ben is anxious about the whole thing, but of course, as he starts to succeed, it becomes easier and easier to enjoy the big money he's pocketing. Plus, "the prettiest girl at school," Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth, in a mostly forgettable role) is involved in the scam, giving Ben further incentive. Thus, the geeks become the gangsters. Yet when Ben has a falling-out with Rosa, his newfound pompousness moves him to suggest the students continue without the teacher. Only thing they don't count on is a casino security head (Lawrence Fishburne) with his own bitter vendetta against Rosa and his little "business."

The movie is too long, has surprisingly little real action and lots of low moments that drag. There are, however, fast-paced montages (the Learning the Ropes montages, the Winning Big montages, the Spending Spree montages, the Generally Living the High Life montages) set to any number of the soundtrack's hipster tunes, and quick zooms onto cards and chips aplenty. Most of all, there is a fondness for the slow-motion. If I've learned anything from the movies, it's that you can take any group of average schlubs, make them walk toward the camera in a fan formation, employ some thumping bass and some slow-motion and suddenly it's Gangsta Paradise. This applies to MIT students, too, apparently. And yeah, it's generic. But it's fun, too.

To see the trailer and more clips from 21 check out movies.ivillage.com.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

Movie Preview: 21 With Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth

BuzzSugar — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:30:16 -0800

I have to admit, I kind of enjoy watching Kevin Spacey play the seedy, morally gray characters as he gets older. He's pretty darn convincing as the everyman-turned-bad.

In 21, a casino heist movie due in theaters March 28, he plays a man who leads six MIT students in an operation to count cards at various Vegas casinos, counting their way to millions of dollars. To check out the trailer before 21 weasles its way into theaters in March, read more

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