BuzzSugar

RocknRolla: Slow to Build With a Rockin' Finish

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:30:32 -0800

RocknRolla is extremely similar in tone and format to director Guy Ritchie's other films, and I must say I'm starting to think that his movies are only as good as the actors in them. Snatch is a good ensemble piece overall, but the most memorable parts are due to standout performances by actors like Brad Pitt and Alan Ford. Though not as good a film as Snatch, RocknRolla similarly benefits from some fine performers, in this case Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, and Toby Kebbell, among other members of the extensive cast in this convoluted story.

And by convoluted I mean I'm not sure I can even get into the plot here without writing another six paragraphs or so. Suffice to say there are a couple high-level criminal guys (played by Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong and others), a resourceful accountant (Thandie Newton), a few bumbling low-level thugs (Gerard Butler, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy), and a druggie rock star, Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell) all chasing around large amounts of money and/or a beloved painting. There are a lot of men behaving badly because they had cruel fathers. There's a good amount of violence (often paired with great music) and torture mixed with dry, dark humor. It's funny and exciting - but not consistently so. For more on what I mean, read more.

The beginning is slow to build, with tons of details to take in at once, and sometimes the story is downright uninteresting. But the ending is exciting enough to make you forget the entire hour or so that came before it. Maybe that's Ritchie's shtick: Saving the best, most memorable parts for last so you're left with the impression that it was a great movie.

So, is it worth it? That depends. If you haven't liked any of Ritchie's stuff in the past, this movie will definitely not change your opinion. If you've never seen his movies, start with Snatch and make RocknRolla last on the list. And for any fan of his, RocknRolla is worth it for the helluva good ride we get to take in the last third or so of the movie.

Oh, also: We get a brief glimpse of Gerard Butler's bare backside. So. There's that.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Body of Lies: Tense in Some Parts, Tedious in Others

BuzzSugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:30:41 -0700

Body of Lies has slipped on and off my radar over the past couple of months. It's hard to ignore because it's Ridley Scott working with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, and yet the previews haven't looked all that original. But I went anyway, hoping to be entertained and thinking that if it turned out to be thought-provoking as well, all the better.

The thing is, this movie doesn't do more than it has to in terms of both entertainment and thought-provocation. There's a tedious quality to it that, despite some good action scenes and funny lines, is hard to shake. That said, I appreciate that Scott aims to give us a slightly different, more psychological view of life on the ground for American operatives in the Middle East. But to see why I'm a bit torn about this movie, read more.

DiCaprio (sporting some icky facial hair and a strange accent) plays Roger Ferris, a CIA agent operating in the Middle East on the hunt for an elusive Bin Laden-type mastermind named Al-Saleem. He's only ever a cell phone call away from his boss, Ed Hoffman (Crowe), who runs the show from the comfort of his suburban home in the Washington DC area and some kind of mission control room where he can view Ferris's whereabouts via satellite. The whole thing has a Big Brother feel to it while demonstrating how easy it is for people (like the calculating Hoffman) to detach from the messy moral issues that take place on the ground.

Both characters come to embody the different aspects of a war of this nature: Crowe's paunchy Hoffman pragmatically give orders through a lazy Southern accent while stuffing his face with food. Meanwhile, DiCaprio's Ferris blends into the Arab world and earns their trust, only to pick shrapnel out of his skin when things go awry due to the impatience of his boss. It's kind of a funny thing watching Crowe peer over his glasses in comfy armchairs while DiCaprio rolls around from one explosion to the next the whole movie. In this world, catching terrorists is a mad scramble, with agents literally rummaging through the post-bombing rubble looking for evidence and information. There's nothing particularly organized or methodical about it until they partner with the most interesting character in the movie, Hani, the head of Jordanian intelligence.

The introduction of Hani, played beautifully by the handsome Mark Strong, is where things get good as he warns the Americans not to lie to him and to let him do his job. Of course, Hoffman decides they need results more quickly and he pressures young Ferris to embark on a risky scheme behind Hani's back. Unfortunately, this all happens during the last third of the movie, and up until this plot-thickening it's all rather pointless and predictable, not to mention boring.

Though torture is used and both lead characters give monologues about winning the war on terror, the movie's focus has less to do with any kind of political statement and more to do with use and abuse of relationships as mere means to an end (in this case capturing jihadists). It fails to bring to the table in a new and entertaining way what we already know about spies: no one is to be trusted, human life is disposable, and technology only complicates matters. As a result, Body of Lies has some bright spots of action and intrigue sprinkled throughout an otherwise forgettable entry into the political thriller genre.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Link Time! 8/14

BuzzSugar — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:34:19 -0700

Popwatch's caption for this particular image is absolutely hilarious, but can you think of a funnier one? (That's supposed to be Matt Damon, by the way.)
Cinematical's Kim Voynar gives advice to dudes who want to learn more about how to become "sexy geeks" like Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen.
Give Me My Remote tells Los Angeles-area residents how to watch "Pushing Daisies" in a cemetery on Thursday.
FilmExperience sings the praises of Mark Strong, "the ubiquitous bad guy," who's currently starring in Stardust.
Rolling Stone Rock&Roll Daily shares the news that John Lennon's solo work is finally available on iTunes, along with some bonus videos.
Kristen Bell tells MTV's Movies Blog that a "Veronica Mars" movie hasn't even been discussed.
GeekSugar tests your eagle eye for all the gadgets seen in "The Hills" season premiere.
TVGasm mourns the death of "John from Cincinnati."
After watching "Greek," TV Squad wonders: Really, is it that easy to get a drink underage these days?

Shutter Island: Time to Take Your Crazy Pills

BuzzSugar — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:30:00 -0800

When the release date of Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island was pushed back, I started to panic a little. Postponing a much-anticipated film is usually not a good sign, particularly since the delay took Shutter Island out of the Oscar running. I entered the theater with managed expectations, and left feeling thoroughly satisfied. Though it's not Scorsese's finest, it's still a solid, engaging film - and the first truly good movie I've seen in 2010.

Don't let the promos fool you: Shutter Island is not a duck-and-cover horror movie. Sure, it has its share of creepy music, suspenseful moments, and harrowing scenes, but you'll be scratching your head more than covering your eyes. The movie is all DiCaprio, as US Marshal Teddy Daniels investigating an escape from Ashecliffe Hospital on Shutter Island (off the coast of Boston) in 1954. Backed by his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), Daniels immediately runs into issues with Ashlecliffe's doctors and patients, and becomes convinced that there's a conspiracy hiding in the case. As Teddy grows more obsessed with revealing the truth, the line between sanity and insanity slowly grows blurred.

I promise not to give away any big spoilers, so just read more.

The movie is loaded with old Hollywood thriller elements, almost to a tongue-in-cheek point. For starters, we've got two guys running around a hospital for the criminally insane (the only prison that's also a mental hospital), and they're on an island that only has one way off: a ferry. Naturally, the doctors seem to be hiding something and just when the detectives suspect foul play, a hurricane rolls in right on cue leaving them stuck among 66 mentally ill patients and caretakers who seem to have a hidden agenda.

In some ways, Shutter Island has Hitchcock written all over it, but I actually found myself drawing comparisons to some of Kubrick's work - and not just One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The film is hedged largely on Teddy's flashbacks to a tortured past: as he falls deeper into to the island's abyss, he begins having nightmares about his deceased wife (Michelle Williams) and his time spent serving the country in World War II. Teddy's visions are graphic, and often disturbing glimpses at his inner psyche, but Scorsese portrays the images with vivid colors and a delicate finesse that makes them quietly beautiful and reminiscent of Kubrick's storytelling.

Though I wonder what Kubrick may have done with the script, the film is still Scorsese's, and the director's reputation is both his blessing and his curse. Audiences will undoubtedly compare Shutter Island to Scorsese's body of work, and it likely won't live up to expectations set by films like The Departed and Gangs of New York. Though engaging, the movie never truly grabs the audience by the throat; it's intense, but those heart-pounding moments I was anticipating never showed up. The story itself is also not without its flaws: despite a fulfilling ending, the movie still has holes, unanswered questions, and sub plots that are unnecessarily nurtured.

Bottom line: Shutter Island is a creepy thriller that keeps the audience on its toes right until the final scene. It's a strong showing from Scorsese even if it's not his most memorable film.

If you'd like to review a movie you've seen recently, check out the Movie Reviews Group in community. I may even feature your critique on the site!

Box Office: Avatar Is Still Unstoppable

BuzzSugar — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:30:00 -0800

Another holiday weekend, another big win for Avatar. The film still held strong at the No. 1 spot, pulling in an impressive $68.3 million domestically and bulldozing the rest of the competition, including Sherlock Holmes which came in second with $38.3 million.

Avatar's earnings push it past the $1 billion mark globally, making it the fourth highest grossing film worldwide behind James Cameron's other baby, Titanic, as well as Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. And it's only in its third weekend in theaters so time will tell.

Rounding out the rest of the top five was Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel with $36.6 million, It's Complicated with $18.7 million, and The Blind Side which continued to surprise by earning $12.6 million - even better than last week's figures.

Michael Jackson's This Is It Is Already Breaking the Box Office

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:30:13 -0700

This Is It, aka the Michael Jackson movie, doesn't open in theaters until Oct. 28, but the late music icon's loyal fans are already securing their seats. The film is breaking records for advance ticket sales, with hundreds of shows selling out in North America and all over the world since Sunday.

LA, San Francisco, Houston, and New York mark strong showings in the States, while Japan, Holland, Sweden, Belgium, and New Zealand represent impressive sales overseas. Many of you said you were planning on seeing the movie, but did you already buy your tickets?

Julianna Margulies on The Good Wife's Real-Life Inspiration

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:30:59 -0700

Tonight's premiere of The Good Wife marks Julianna Margulies's return to TV. She plays Alicia, the wife of a disgraced politician (Chris Noth), as she moves on in part by going back to work as a lawyer. The plot sounds ripped from the headlines, so when I saw Margulies at the TCA press tour, I had to ask how much the show was inspired by the Eliot Spitzer scandal. She said:

The press conference itself looked very much like the Spitzer press conference, but it's not based on her [Silda Spitzer] and her alone. One thing I did do was Google all of it. It is an amazing journey to watch what they all look like six months before the scandal and then they literally age. It's why in the very opening scene we aged me down - we really drew in lines. I wanted her to look 10 years older than when you see her six months later, because one of the things that I saw was that all of them look exhausted and like they haven't slept in months. And then [later they all look beautiful] - great hair, great clothes!

The show will explore what happens beyond the initial shock of a public fiasco, and we'll get to follow Alicia as she tries to re-build her life. Margulies is no stranger to riveting nighttime drama after years on ER, and from the looks of the pilot, The Good Wife may be a strong Fall contender for ratings. Will you be tuning into CBS tonight for the premiere?

Photo courtesy of CBS

The Vampire Diaries: The Good, the Bad, and the Bloody

BuzzSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:30:40 -0700

Doubting the thirst for vampire entertainment? The evidence is against you: last night's pilot of the The Vampire Diaries was the CW's most watched premiere ever. I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed it, but I'm not completely sold yet - I need a few more strong episodes to see if it can earn a permanent spot on my TiVo. Here were a few of my love-it-or-hate-it moments:

The Good: The guys. Though Paul Wesley's Stefan is as introspective and sensitive as Edward Cullen, his self-loathing isn't as annoying. But it's not just about Stefan; Ian Somerhalder is literally killer as his bad boy brother, Damon. He's so gorgeous and charming already that I had to remind myself that I'm not supposed to like this guy.

To see the bad and the bloody, just read more.

The Bad: That fog. And the crow. The creepy thematic elements are so heavy handed that I thought the cheesiness factor might turn me off. I hope that now that the fog/crow's origin has been revealed, it'll be abandoned. The "dear diary" stuff also needs to be toned down. I know that it's a cornerstone of the books (and hello, in the title), but it's such an overwhelming plot device that I'm worried that Elena's (Nina Dobrev) every emotion will hit us over the head.

The Bloody: I was surprised at the level of gore on the show. It's certainly no True Blood, but I'd assumed that the bloody stuff was going to be akin to the immaculate biting of the Twilight vamps. Not so, as evidenced by some pretty gnarly bite marks. But even for a gore-hater like me, it's still easy to stomach.

So, if you were one of the many who tuned in to see the latest spate of vampire/damsel players, which parts did you think were the best and worst? Where do you want to see the story go this season?

Photo courtesy of The CW

So You Think You Can Dance: Meet the Final Four

BuzzSugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:30:09 -0700

Can you believe that this time next week, we'll be talking about which So You Think You Can Dance contestant was named America's favorite? On Thursday, we took our last step before next week's big finale: sending one final guy and one final girl home, paving the way for the final four to perform. So, who got through and who was stopped just short? Did your predictions come true? To talk about Thursday's results, just read more.

They started the show together, and they said goodbye together: Melissa and Ade were the final two contestants to leave before the finale. I can't be too surprised, especially on the girls' side: Kayla's been the most-praised dancer of the season (not that that saved Janette last week, but still), and Jeanine's really come on strong these past few weeks. Once it was down to Melissa vs. Kayla, the answer seemed obvious; even Melissa seemed to know what Cat was going to say before the results envelope was open. Melissa's solos were never quite as expressive as the other remaining girls', and I think she just made less of an overall impression throughout the season. Still, she's a great inspiration to all the ballerinas who worried about being able to master SYTYCD's range of styles, and I hope she goes on to great things - I just love watching her dance.

The guys' elimination was a bit more of a toss-up, especially once Brandon was sent to safety. That left Evan and Ade, and - in what I think was a true test of Evan's popularity - Ade was the one to head home. I've seen a lot of "why is Evan still here?" comments these past few weeks, here and elsewhere, but apparently a lot of people still really love him. I think the introduction of the solos on competition nights has really helped him: He absolutely shines on his own, in his style, in a way he rarely has in duets - even Broadway duets. Ade, meanwhile, had a bit of a rocky time on the show, some weeks up and other weeks down. This week was a relatively down one for him, just when he needed to come on strong.

So that leaves Jeanine, Kayla, Brandon, and Evan to duke it out next week, and for the first time, I'm wondering: Could Evan really win this thing? Or do you still think a girl will take it all - and if so, which one? If Brandon breaks out another solo like he did on Wednesday, does he have a shot at the title? Is there one dancer you'd say is a favorite going in? I'm going to go out on a limb and say Evan won't win, but between the other three, I think it's a total tossup.

Some other thoughts on Thursday's show:

Best Cat quote of the season? "You break my heart, you sad clowns."
Speaking of Cat, I think it's time for her to retrain the audience to scream jidges, not judges. It's starting to sound a little too normal.
It's good to see last season's contestants back, and I'm totally digging Will's new hair! I'm bummed that Cat didn't chat with any of them, though. I would have loved to hear what they're up to these days.
Did last year's classic routines stand the test of time? I can't believe I hadn't noticed how much more Katee had to do in "Mercy" than Twitch. And I'm impressed with how well Chelsie and Mark recaptured "Bleeding Love," since so much of that routine is about passion and for all I know, they haven't danced together since the tour.
I just love watching JabbaWockeeZ. Their moves (plus the "Ramalama" redo last week) made me wish we could have gotten some cooler group numbers this seasnon.

So, who do you think will win it all?

Photos courtesy of Fox

Julie Powell on Meals, Maggots, and the Julia Child in Her Head

BuzzSugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:30:52 -0700

In 2002, Julie Powell was a secretary who blogged on the side. Now, she's a bestselling author whose first book, Julie and Julia - a former Buzz Book Club pick - has been adapted into a film starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. Along the way, she's stirred up some controversy (including having her dedication to cooking questioned), and so when she stopped in San Francisco earlier this week, I was curious to chat with her about the book, the movie, and what comes next. Here are highlights from our chat:

So who feeds you better: book tour or movie tour?
Movie tour! Well, yes and no. The thing with the movie tour is, it's so fast. Everywhere I go, I have someone always ask, "Where are you going to go when you're in [whatever city]?" I'm always like, "Room service." The movie tour puts you up better, but the book tour gives you more time so you can actually go to a restaurant.

We all play those games where we think about who would play us in movies of our lives. Who were those people for you? Did you ever think Amy Adams?
One of my good friends from [Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, her former employer], he - I don't know what the event was that made him do this, but he was talking about "LMDC: The Movie," and he got everybody and he would put their face beside who he decided he wanted to cast . . . and he had me as Kate Winslet. And I thought, you know, that works. She looks like she can curse like a sailor. She looks like she could eat a good meal. When they proposed Amy, it took me a moment, because she's just so tiny! She's this teeny tiny little thing! . . . But she's such a wonderful actress, and I've been a big fan since Junebug. I think she's just lovely.

How involved were you in the process of making the movie?
Not terribly. When Nora [Ephron] first came on and started working on the script, we met a couple of times. We met for lunch, and she had printed out the entire blog on pink paper - a very Nora touch - and it had the whole thing just marked all to hell, and she went through and she would ask, "This, this here? This didn't happen, did it? This is bullsh*t, right?" She's this incredibly smart, incisive, terrifying woman, totally unlike me, and she asked me all sorts of questions and she took that information, and a lot of the details that are in that movie, I'm sort of shocked that she remembered. . . . I visited the set once, when Meryl was shooting the Paris parts, and got to talk with her for two minutes, which was lovely. But . . . Chris [Messina, who plays Julie's husband] and Amy and Nora got together and said, "Let's wait to meet until we've got it in the can." . . . So they were able to develop the characters based on the script, which is fiction. And it's not me. So, you know, putting the real me in there would just be like there's some weird, faulty 3-D thing going on.

To find out how Meryl Streep's Julia Child matches the Julia in Julie's head and hear about some scenes she wishes had been included in the film, just read more.

How does the Julia that Meryl portrays in the movie compare to the Julia in your head?
Julia of course lives on in so many people's heads, and each Julia is a little bit different. And I think a lot of people's Julias are kind of like your favorite aunt, or who you'd love to have to be your mother, just endlessly warm and giving and generous. And I think she was kind of this salty broad. I think she could be a little tough, and I think she could be a bit of a b*tch. And I like that about her. I don't want her to be this saintly, warm thing! And I think that Meryl as Julia really got that across, that she was this life-loving, strong woman, but part of that strength was standing up for herself and not taking any sh*t from anybody. And I also love that this is the period that they cover, before Julia becomes Julia, and that Meryl manages to get in - even in this hugely ebullient woman - that there is some vulnerability there and there is uncertainty and doubt. She had to have that. I think there's a temptation to believe that Julia kind of burst forth fully formed from the head of Zeus, and she had to work to become who she was, and I think Meryl does a lovely job of very subtly finding those moments of vulnerability and those tiny, tiny defeats that she allows herself to feel before, "Right! On to the next thing."

Are there any scenes or meals - either good ones or disasters - from the book that you're sad weren't in the movie?
They didn't get any of the really disgusting stuff in there. I was talking to some friends last night and they were like, "I missed the maggots!" It's a Nora Ephron movie! We're not gonna get maggots.

And you have another book coming soon - about butchering?
It's called Cleaving and it's another sort of food-oriented memoir coming out in December. The armature of the book is about a six-month stint I spent in a butcher shop in upstate New York learning to butcher. I've always been fascinated by butchers, and so when I had this opportunity to learn the trade I was really excited to do it, and so many amazing characters that you meet - the people up there at Fleischer's are crazy and great. So it's about that, and, of course, like Julie and Julia, it'll address other things. Julie and Julia was about turning 30, it was about being a woman in New York, and getting lost, and this is sort of about what happens a little later - what happens to a 35-year-old woman who's at a different stage in her marriage and different stage in her life. It's sort of a sequel, but mostly it's about cutting up animals.

It's funny, because I'm sitting here looking at you and yet all I can picture is Amy Adams with a giant cleaver and a leg of lamb.
So there's the question for Amy Adams: Is she thrilled at the notion of spending the rest of her life portraying Julie Powell at various stages in her life? That would be awesome. She could be my Daniel Radcliffe!

Photos courtesy of WireImage and Sony Pictures