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Movie Preview: Angelina Jolie in Salt

BuzzSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:30:05 -0800

I've been eagerly awaiting the trailer for the Angelina Jolie thriller Salt ever since the gender-bending news was announced that the actress would be replacing Tom Cruise in the title role. Though we already knew it was spy thriller, the trailer reveals new plot details, which reveal the necessity of all those wig changes.

The tense clip with Jolie as Evelyn Salt on the run already looks more compelling than her last action flick, Wanted, and I think the addition of supporting cast like Liev Schreiber could make this a hit. To watch the trailer, just read more.

Wolverine: Fun, If You Don't Mind That It Makes No Sense

BuzzSugar — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:00:14 -0700

I'm a big fan of the first couple of X-Men movies and of the comic in general. Maybe it's the ensemble cast full of cool mutant powers or the fact that the gang of superheroes includes lots of women, but I've always found this Marvel comic to be totally entertaining - not to mention great source material for movie adaptations.

Definitely one of the better parts of this franchise so far has been Hugh Jackman's take on the surly and brutishly funny Wolverine. This isn't sissy stuff - and the machismo action star gets even more extreme in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. With favorites like Storm and Rogue long gone, we zoom back in time (way back, actually: 1845) to learn how the hot-tempered Logan came to be a lot of things: a mutant with a skeletal system reinforced by adamantium, a very angry mutant, and, in the end, a hero. It's a lot of big, blockbuster fun, as long as you don't mind plot holes you could drive an 18-wheeler through. To see the rest of my thoughts, read more.

The movie starts us out somewhere in the far Northwest Territory in Canada, where a young James Howlett (later known as Wolverine) is very sick. In the first of many head-scratching moments, there's a strange paternal mixup that results in James killing a man with his mutant claws who turns out to be his father. James and his brother, Victor (later played as an adult by Liev Schreiber), then flee to the woods. Apparently the two boys, both afflicted with mutant powers (Victor sprouts catlike claws that one character later describes as "homeless lady" fingernails), grow into men who can live a long time and choose to fight in almost every American war up until Vietnam. You might have a nagging question at this point: but I thought they were Canadian? That's the voice you're going to have to turn off to enjoy this movie.

Eventually the boys become enemies - but it's revealed that all mutants in this pre-X-Men world are simply vulnerable pawns to William Stryker (played by the excellent Danny Huston), a military man who's the friend turned foe in this flick. While this is definitely Wolverine's show (we see him fall in love, lose love, seek revenge, undergo freaky scientific experiments, etc.), he assembles a crew of friends along the way, including Gambit (Taylor Kitsch), John Wraith (will.i.am), and a very funny Wade Wison (played by Ryan Reynolds, who should have had more screen time because he's so good).

Everyone turns in great performances, but Jackman, known these days for being extremely easy on the eyes - not to mention very talented at singing and dancing - slips into the role of moody lumberjack wolfman with a surprising ease. It's awesome and - not gonna lie - extremely hot. There's a lot of talk about "counterprogramming" right now, with Ghosts of Girlfriends Past offered up this weekend as an alternative for women who aren't in the mood for a superhero movie. But for the record, Jackman is shirtless and/or naked in many scenes, and that's all the counterprogramming I need.

The movie has plot holes and logic gaps to spare. It also suffers from a lack of imagination in the fight sequences, with actors tumbling through the film like some kind of poor man's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Yet, somehow, despite those glaring flaws, this movie isn't completely brain dead and succeeds at being totally entertaining popcorn cinema. When stuff didn't make sense, my audience snickered, but then Wolverine came screaming, adamantium claws out, charging the screen, and we were jolted back into enjoying this fun flick.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Wolverine Character Videos . . . Well, They're Kind of Hot

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:30:27 -0700

For a movie like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, these brief little videos in which the characters speak directly to camera about themselves is way more intriguing to me than an ordinary old trailer. In the trailers we get glimpses of these guys, and of course there's more of an emphasis on Wolverine and Sabretooth, but with individual videos we can actually take a good look at Gambit, Wraith and Deadpool (speaking of whom, holy cow, Ryan Reynolds, all that working out seriously paid off).

I've included all five of the character videos after the jump, but I personally think the ones for Gambit, Deadpool and Wraith are by far the most interesting. To check 'em out, read more.

Wolverine

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Sabretooth

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Gambit

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Deadpool

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Wraith

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

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Movie Preview: Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock

BuzzSugar — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:30:59 -0700

You might see the word "Woodstock" and feel like we've seen enough about the famous music festival, but this trailer for Ang Lee's first English-language film since Brokeback Mountain actually looks like it might have something new to add to the story. Taking Woodstock is kind of hilariously hard to figure out: In the lead role there's comedian Demetri Martin (who you may know from his TV show Important Things With Demetri Martin) - and then people like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, and Eugene Levy pop up throughout the trailer and it's like, whaaa?

The movie is based on a memoir about a motel owner and his parents who are instrumental in helping the hippies pull off the seminal 1969 rock concert. This description from the book makes the movie all the more fascinating: "Hounded by the guilt that he can't live up to his parents' standards and riven by his own covert homosexuality, Tiber pokes fun at what he calls the Teichberg Curse, a scourge that won't allow the family to escape financial ruin." I wonder if that stuff is explored in the movie? We'll have to wait until Aug. 14 to find out.

I'm still wrapping my head around this trailer, but I'm optimistic. To see for yourself, read more.

Buzz News Roundup, 2/20

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:30:32 -0800

Sandra Bullock will star in football drama-comedy The Blindside, based on the book The Blind Side: Evolution of the Game. - Variety
Project Runway filmed its season six finale today, even though it's unclear if or when season six will air. - AP
In the latest pilot casting news, Jenna Elfman will play a movie critic, Amy Smart will play a future presidential contender, and Jason Clarke will play a federal prosecutor. - The Hollywood Reporter
There's a new museum in Hollis, Queens, devoted to hip-hop - and it serves cheap hamburgers. - AP
Chiwetel Ejiofor has signed on for and Liev Schreiber is in talks to star opposite Angelina Jolie in the spy thriller Salt (also known as Edwin A. Salt). - ComingSoon
Robert De Niro, Tina Fey, and Cameron Diaz are among Jimmy Fallon's first Late Night guests. - NBC
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is in negotiations to topline an adaptation of the DC-Vertigo comic book The Losers. - Variety
The ABC Family show The Middleman will continue in comic book form. - TV Guide

Source and Source

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Trailer Now Online!

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:34:40 -0800

Have you had enough of this year's sexiest man alive? Ha! Who am I kidding? The more Hugh Jackman, the better. Now we've got the official trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine that screened before The Day the Earth Stood Still over the weekend and it's pretty awesome. I've been psyched for this movie for a while (especially since I saw Jackman bound into the Comic-Con audience to personally thank Len Wein, the person credited with co-creating the character of Wolverine) and whether it's all the crazy action or the great X-Men story being told or the, you know, beautiful man at the heart of it - this trailer made my pulse race.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens May 1. To watch the trailer, read more.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

Buzz News Roundup, 10/3

BuzzSugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:32:35 -0700

Frasier's John Mahoney is joining the cast of Burn Notice. - Entertainment Weekly
Liev Schreiber and Helen Hunt will play a couple in a troubled marriage in the upcoming drama Every Day. - Variety
David Strathairn and Catherine O'Hara are among the new additions to HBO's Temple Grandin film, which already stars Claire Danes. - Hollywood Reporter
Feist is turning her Fall tour into a charity drive. - Pitchfork
AMC is developing a TV series about a human colony on Mars. - TV Guide
Salma Hayek will reportedly guest-star on 30 Rock. - New York Post
Tyler Perry's in trouble with the Writers' Guild for firing four writers. - Variety
Live tracks from Ben Folds' tour will be available almost immediately on iTunes. - Billboard

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Comic-Con Surprise - Hugh Jackman Shows Up With Wolverine Footage!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:10:54 -0700

Ho-ly smokes, people, this has been a ridiculously exciting day. More on the Max Payne and The Day the Earth Stood Still panels later - it's what immediately followed the Max Payne panel that is blowing my dome right now!

As soon as the panel was over, Hugh Jackman - looking freaking fine - appeared onstage and the crowd. Went. Wild. First off, as I said, he looked amazing. He's got some long-ish wavy locks, a lovely tan and distractingly shapely arms. Anyway, he started off (in his adorable Australian accent) thanking the fans of comic book movies, without whom, he thinks he would not have a career (ha!). Then, he bounded down the steps (amid super high-pitched screaming from attendees, many of whom have gotten to the hall early so they could get good seats for the Twilight panel later today) to shake the hand of Len Wein, the person credited with co-creating the character of Wolverine. It was a really inspiring moment, actually. Jackman leaned over a bunch of people and shook Wein's hand.

There was another little speech from Jackman about the next X-Men movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and then - roll footage! We were treated to a bunch of scenes from this Wolverine movie, which isn't due in theaters until May 9, 2009. But from what we saw - so far, so awesome. To find out some of the stuff I spotted, read more.

As the title promises, we'll see the origin story of Wolverine, and to some extent, it seems, that of Sabretooth (played by an also-very-manly Liev Schreiber). We see Stryker, who's putting together "a special team" of superheroes, and from there we get glimpses at some of the other characters, including a great-looking Gambit, played by FNL's Taylor Kitsch. Toward the end of the montage, there are some brief, but cool-looking fight scenes between Wolverine and Sabretooth.

Surely this stuff will be online soon, but I'm kinda overcome with adrenaline right now - it was such a cool surprise!

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Movie Preview: Defiance

BuzzSugar — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:28:21 -0800

Defiance has been completely off my radar, but now that I've seen the trailer with the ultra-dreamy Daniel Craig, and knowing it comes from Edward Zwick, director of Blood Diamond (not to mention Legends of the Fall), I can't wait to see the movie this autumn. The plot is this: "Three Jewish brothers (Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) escape from Nazi-occupied Poland into the Belarussian forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters and endeavor to build a village in order to protect themselves and others in danger." The trailer is, as you might expect, highly dramatic, dark and thrilling in a scary kind of way. To check it out for yourself, read more.

Source

Twilight Leads the People's Choice Awards Nominations

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:43:12 -0800

The 36th annual People's Choice Awards nominees are here, and last year's Twilight is leading the charge! American Idol's Kris Allen was among the announcers this morning for the nominees, which also include lots of nods for The Proposal - but of course, everyone's favorite bloodsucking love story landed in many categories, including favorite on-screen movie team.

Why didn't they look to 2009's New Moon? Because last year's nominations debuted before the first movie in the Twilight saga.

To see the full list of nominees, just read more.

MOVIES

FAVORITE MOVIE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
The Hangover
The Proposal

FAMILY MOVIE
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

COMEDY MOVIE
17 Again
Bride Wars
He's Just Not That Into You
The Hangover
The Proposal

INDEPENDENT MOVIE
(500) Days of Summer
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Paranormal Activity
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail

FAVORITE MOVIE FRANCHISE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Transformers
X-Men

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTOR
Brad Pitt
Hugh Jackman
Johnny Depp
Robert Pattinson
Ryan Reynolds

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTRESS
Anna Hathaway
Drew Barrymore
Jennifer Aniston
Kristen Stewart
Sandra Bullock

FAVORITE ACTION STAR
Christian Bale
Gerard Butler
Hugh Jackman
Shia LaBeouf
Vin Diesel

FAVORITE COMEDIC STAR
Adam Sandler
Ben Stiller
Jim Carrey
Ryan Reynolds
Vince Vaughn

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTRESS:
Anna Kendrick
Emily Osment
Ginnifer Goodwin
Miley Cyrus
Zoe Saldana

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTOR
Chris Pine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Sam Worthington
Taylor Lautner
Zachary Quinto

FAVORITE ONSCREEN TEAM
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal
Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, Twilight
Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan and Daniel Henney, X-Men Origins: Wolverine

TELEVISION

FAVORITE TV DRAMA
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Grey's Anatomy
House
Lost
NCIS

FAVORITE TV COMEDY
Desperate Housewives
How I Met Your Mother
The Big Bang Theory
The Office
Two and a Half Men

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTOR
Hugh Laurie
Kiefer Sutherland
Mark Harmon
Matthew Fox
Patrick Dempsey

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTRESS
Anna Paquin
Blake Lively
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Katherine Heigl
Mariska Hargitay

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTOR
Alex Baldwin
Charlie Sheen
Jim Parsons
Neil Patrick Harris
Steve Carell

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTRESS
Alyson Hannigan
America Ferrera
Amy Poehler
Eva Longoria Parker
Tina Fey

FAVORITE TV OBSESSION
Dexter
Gossip Girl
The Hills
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
True Blood

FAVORITE TV TALK SHOW
Chelsea Lately
Live with Regis & Kelly
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Tyra Banks Show

FAVORITE TV SCI-FI/FANTASY
Heroes
Lost
Supernatural
The Vampire Diaries
True Blood

FAVORITE TV COMPETITION SHOW
American Idol
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Survivor: Samoa

FAVORITE ANIMAL SHOW
Animal Cops
DogTown
Dog Whisperer
It's Me or the Dog
Rescue Ink

FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA
Eastwick
FlashForward
Melrose Place
Mercy
The Forgotten
The Good Wife
The Vampire Diaries,
Three Rivers
NCIS: Los Angeles
V

FAVORITE NEW TV COMEDY
Accidentally on Purpose
Brothers
Community
Cougar Town
Glee
Hank
The Cleveland Show
The Middle
Modern Family

MUSIC

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST
Eminem
Jason Mraz
John Mayer
Keith Urban
Tim McGraw

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST
Beyonce
Britney Spears
Carrie Underwood
Pink
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE COUNTRY ARTIST
Brad Paisley
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Rascal Flatts
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MUSIC ARTIST
Adam Lambert
Demi Lovato
Kris Allen
Lady Gaga
Susan Boyle

FAVORITE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Eminem
Flo Rida
Jay-Z
Lil' Wayne
T.I.

FAVORITE ROCK BAND
Daughtry
Green Day
Kings of Leon
Muse
Paramore

FAVORITE MUSIC COLLABORATION
Cobra Starship & Leighton Meester, "Good Girls Go Bad"
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, "Lucky"
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West, "Run This Town"
T.I. & Rihanna, "Live Your Life"
The Lonely Island & T-Pain, "I'm on a Boat."

FAVORITE R&B ARTIST
Alicia Keys
Beyonce
Jennifer Hudson
Mariah Carey
Usher

FAVORITE POP ARTIST
Britney Spears
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift
The Black Eyed Peas

FAVORITE WEB CELEB
Andy Samberg
Ashton Kutcher
Miley Cyrus
P. Diddy
Will Ferrell