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Buzz Time Machine: January Jones in Love Actually

Shannon Vestal — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 06:20:00 PST

January Jones stars in new release Unknown this weekend, and though most people now think of her as Betty Draper from Mad Men, I'll always remember her as one of the sexy American girls in Love Actually. She has a bit part as Jeannie, the fantasy fulfillment object of Colin (Kris Marshall, who now stars in Fox sitcom Traffic Light). Another fun fact? Her Unknown costar Liam Neeson also stars in Love Actually. Enjoy!

Ensemble Romantic Comedies - Love 'Em or Leave 'Em?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:30:48 PST

I couldn't help but let out a groan yesterday when I heard the news that Lionsgate is in the process of adapting pregnancy guide What to Expect When You're Expecting into a romantic comedy. The film will follow seven couples as they prep for parenthood, and I'm willing to bet the the majority of those onscreen parents-to-be will be big budget actors.

It's no secret that the ensemble romantic comedy is getting more popular every year - we had He's Just Not That Into You, and Valentine's Day will hit theaters in a few weeks. I'm kind of divided on the whole genre, though I'll always have a soft spot for Love Actually. Where do you stand - love 'em or leave 'em?

Decorating Ideas to Steal From Love Actually

CasaSugar — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:00:42 PST

I'm not ashamed to admit that Love Actually is one of my favorite holiday movies - take a quiz on my other faves here! The star-studded cast, the London setting, the music, the comedy, the romantic love, the brotherly love, the unrequited love . . . there are too many things to love about Love Actually. But, no surprise, one of my favorite elements is the film's sets. There's lots to learn from the chick flick's décor. Let's take a look!

What's Your Favorite Storyline in Love Actually?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 08:15:07 PST

A recent Love Actually-based Buzz Brainteaser prompted a few of you to share in the comments which of the movie's many storylines are your favorites. So, I figured it was time for a poll.

I'm having a hard time deciding, personally. I cry each and every time (every time!) Aurelia says "Just in cases," and who can resist Colin Firth? But the storyline with Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman's characters gets me right in the feelings, too. I also love Laura Linney's character, Sarah, and I may or may not have a habit of fast-forwarding to the scene that features a shirtless Karl (Rodrigo Santoro).

So many to choose from! Which is your favorite?

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Buzz Brainteaser

BuzzSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:30:47 PST

Welcome to Buzz Brainteaser, the trivia feature on BuzzSugar! Every weekday I'll test your knowledge about TV shows, music, and movies. If you enter in the correct answer, you win points! When Mark appears at Juliet's door in Love Actually, he tells Juliet to say there are "carol singers" at the door and he plays music on his portable stereo to simulate these "carol singers." What song plays on the stereo while Mark makes his presentation to Juliet?

Holiday Video Clip: "All I Want for Christmas Is You" from Love Actually

BuzzSugar — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:28:06 PST

For the last post on the Friday before Christmas, it seems only fitting to go out with a rockin' and heartwarming video clip from Love Actually. This is one of my top five favorite scenes from the film, when Joanna sings "All I Want for Christmas Is You," and she points to Sam . . . before pointing to everyone else! Sigh. This movie just gets me right in the feelings.

I hope you like this part of the movie, too. To end your week with some holiday spirit from Love Actually,

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Why I Love ... Chiwetel Ejiofor

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:10:13 PDT

While on the topic of Children of Men, which comes out on DVD today, I thought I'd pay homage to an actor I love: Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays Luke. Though his character is technically a bad guy, Ejiofor's speech toward the end - delivered between rounds of bullets he aimlessly sprays out a window - makes me soften toward Luke, thinking maybe he's just trying to survive like everyone else.

There is something friendly and trustworthy about the British actor, who I first noticed in Love Actually as Peter, the husband of Keira Knightley's character. But it was when I saw Kinky Boots that I really fell in love. In the quirky comedy, Ejiofor plays drag queen Lola, who co-creates a line of supportive yet fabulous drag queen footwear. For more on why I love Ejiofor,

In a role that could have easily crossed over into caricature, Ejiofor keeps it real in Kinky, deftly alternating between Chaka Khan-esque diva and warm, smart businessman.

In addition to these films, Ejiofor's credits include Amistad, Inside Man, and Serenity. His sensitive demeanor might stem from a tragedy he experienced as a child: According to IMDB, the actor was in a car accident at age 11 with his father. He survived, but his father did not. Whatever the reason, I find this man mesmerizing. Thankfully, it looks like I'm not the only one with a Ejiofor crush: He has several more projects in the works. Until I can check those out, I'll watch Kinky Boots a few more times, and I suggest you do the same.

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Awesome Opening Title Sequences

BuzzSugar — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 06:00:55 PST

I recently came across this list of the top 10 opening title sequences in movies, compiled by laboratory101.com. Granted, many of them are truly awesome: I have a particular fondness for the opening scenes of Snatch. Yet, I couldn't help noticing that they are basically all crime, horror, or gangster movies: Casino, Dawn of the Dead, Fight Club, Seven, etc. It got me thinking: Aren't there good opening sequences to movies that aren't violent?

Here are some of my picks for really well-done or entertaining opening sequences. What others can you think of?

Love Actually
I know I’ve said this before, but the footage of real people greeting each other at the airport is as heartwarming as a Kodak commercial, and even more so because it’s real.

Drop Dead Gorgeous
One of my all-time favorite films, Drop Dead Gorgeous opens with the promotional video for the Sarah Rose Cosmetics American Teen Princess Pageant, featuring "last year's host," Adam West. I particularly enjoy the programmed robot voice inserting "beautiful Mount Rose, Minnesota" to personalize the video.

To see the next three,

Little Miss Sunshine
A fantastic introduction to each of the family members, starting with Olive carefully studying Miss America footage.

The Wedding Singer
Adam Sandler sings "You Spin Me Right Round" while wedding guests enjoy themselves.

Legally Blonde
Yes, that's right, Legally Blonde. It may not be the most life-changing of films, but I find this first sequence silly and entertaining: images of stereotypical sorority life intermingled with shots of Elle getting ready for her date, all to the tune of "Perfect Day." Note the bottle of blonde hair dye on Elle's vanity table!

Movie Night: Holiday-ish Films

BuzzSugar — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 22:58:22 PST

So many movies, so little time. Thankfully, BuzzSugar is here to help you sort through them all! Each week, we'll choose a theme for a Movie Night and feature three must-see movies in keeping with that theme. This week's theme: holiday-ish films.

There are two types of holiday films. The ones, like Deck the Halls, that are entirely driven by holiday-based plots, and movies like The Holiday, where the action just happens to unfold over a holiday backdrop. Here are three of my favorite holiday-ish films that are fun to watch this time of year.

Love Actually

Nothing puts the warmth and cheer of the season into your heart quite like a film all about love in its various forms. Love Actually brings us many love-centric storylines at once: There are the coworkers awkwardly courting, the little boy whose world revolves around his beautiful classmate, the new marriage threatening to become a love triangle, and the old marriage starting to show cracks in its foundation. The wonderful cast (Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightly, and Laura Linney, to name just a few) is stellar enough to make the movie truly enjoyable, and it's even more fun to see how the stories intersect. And if you're anything like me, the real footage of people greeting loved ones at the airport in itself will be enough to get you all misty-eyed.

To see the rest,

Beautiful Girls

In Beautiful Girls, the holidays are the perfect time for Willie Conway (Timothy Hutton) to go back to his hometown, introduce his soon-to-be-fiancee, Tracy (Annabeth Gish), to his father and brother, reconnect with old buddies, and reevaluate his life. The movie explores the idea of growing up, making sacrifices to live the life you want to live, and learning to be content with what you have. Willie's in a very mature relationship with a nice woman and lives in New York City, while his old buddies stuck around their old hometown. He befriends precocious 13-year-old Marty (Natalie Portman) next door, a fast-talking, dry-witted mini-adult who develops a crush on Willie. It's a highly realistic and funny film about the old problem of wanting what we can't have, and coming to terms with adulthood. Added bonus: Rosie O'Donnell goes on an absolutely classic tirade about women's magazines, men and relationships. Priceless.

While You Were Sleeping

Yes, the idea of someone fooling an entire family into thinking that she is their comatose son's fiancee is far-fetched. Yes, it requires some serious suspension of disbelief, and yes, the characters in said family are caricatures. Still, it's all worth it for this sweet, familiar comedy of mistaken identity. Basically, Lucy (Sandra Bullock) saves the life of a man named Peter (played by Peter Gallagher), though he is knocked into a coma in the process. When she goes to see him in the hospital, his family assumes she is his fiancee and she chooses not to correct them. She ends up spending holiday time with the quirky clan, quickly falling under their warm, charming spell. Before long, she realizes she is in love with her "fiance's" cute brother, Jack (Bill Pullman), which of course sets up an awkward situation, especially when Peter wakes up.

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Men in Black 3: A Return to (Alien Life) Form

Becky Kirsch — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:29:01 PDT

I saw the original Men in Black movie so long ago that my memories of the film might as well have been zapped with a neuralyzer (that's the memory-erasing device the guys use in the movie, for those of you who are also having trouble recalling the original). What I did retain is that the film was funny, fresh, and silly and that it didn't hold up very well for the 2002 sequel. With that in mind, I had low expectations for Men in Black 3, but the newest installment is just as much fun as the original, and it actually benefits from the 15-year time lapse.

The script for the film is one of its biggest assets and truly sets Men in Black 3 apart from its predecessors. The aliens are still alive and ickier than ever now that they're in 3D, but the story is more focused on the friendship between J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) and how it has evolved over the years. We learn early on that K has been keeping a secret from J all these years, and the mystery drives a wedge between the partners. Meanwhile, a treacherous alien named Boris the Animal (played to hilarious perfection by Flight of the Conchords's Jemaine Clement) breaks out of maximum-security prison and goes back in time to get revenge on K, who arrested him back in the '60s. The day that K had Boris locked up is the key to K's secret, so J heads on a mission back in time to save K and learn the truth.

To see why Men in Black 3 is so much fun, just

Will Smith hasn't been in a movie since 2008's Seven Pounds, and I didn't realize I missed him until I found myself giggling all the way through Men in Black 3. His shtick is still the same (he's one-liners still consistent of dialogue like "Where did you come from? Planet damn?"), but you can't help but love Agent J as he bumbles through the '60s, desperately trying to sell his story to people who don't recognize him - or believe him. You can tell that Smith feels completely comfortable in the role, and in the signature suit, which still looks perfect on him, as he hasn't aged a day.

Tommy Lee Jones is ever the reliable curmudgeon, but the film mines extra laughs when J travels to the '60s and meets a much younger version of his partner, played by Josh Brolin. Brolin looks enough like Jones to pass for him, but it's really his studied delivery and mannerisms that sell the performance. We also get some insight into how K has evolved over the years (he's always had a penchant for cowboy music, but he also used to be a bit of a dreamer), giving the film an extra layer to the enjoyable banter between J and K.

I'm not usually one to gush about 3D, but the special effects really come to life in Men in Black 3 in a way they never did in the first two movies. Not only do the aliens look creepier than ever, but the cartoonish feel of the film is taken to the next level with the 3D aspect, especially with the time-travel thrill-ride element. Much like with the 3D movies from my youth, I found myself shrinking in my seat just to avoid being too close to the alien goo, blood, breath, and beyond. Combined with the welcome return of Will Smith, you've got yourself a fun, mindless blockbuster.

Photos courtesy of Sony