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Green Lantern Shines at Comic-Con With Ryan and Blake

BuzzSugar — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:42:12 PDT

I wasn't alone in my excitement for the Green Lantern panel - Comic-Con fans started camping out in line the night before to get a glimpse of the flick (well, and probably Ryan Reynolds, too). I'm pleased to announce that we weren't disappointed. DC Comics brain Geoff Johns kicked it off with the very first teaser trailer, and it was much more satisfying than just that photo we saw last week. Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, and Mark Strong came out to talk up the film - even though they're still keeping mum on any spoilery details.

The teaser trailer doesn't show much - hence, why it's a teaser - but we do see more of Reynolds's Hal Jordan than his alter ego Green Lantern (in fact, I don't recall seeing him in costume during the clip at all); however, we do get a peek at the famous ring the hero wears. Lively is brunette, and Peter Sarsgaard is virtually unrecognizable underneath the heavy makeup (and ginormous head) he wears as Hector Hammond. The tagline at the end of the preview: "Await further contact."
When asked about what it's like to be married to a fellow comic hero (wife Scarlett Johansson plays Black Widow in the Iron Man franchise), Reynolds laughed and remarked: "We've had some strongly worded dinners. We probably have more comic books lying around than your average married couple."
Reynolds described his version of Hal Jordan as an "amalgamation between Chuck Yeager and Han Solo." "He can tell a joke, throw a punch and kiss a girl," said Reynolds. "Who wouldn’t want to play that for a movie? Let alone two or three." He wasn't the only one who hinted at a sequel - or better yet, a full franchise. Screenwriter Greg Berlanti also alluded to more films, as did Johns. Get ready for a full series, fans!

To hear more about the film,

Lively plays Carol Ferris in the film, and the actress shared her enthusiasm for a part that isn't the typical damsel in distress: "She gets to save Hal a few times," she bragged. Ferris is a past love of Jordan's but also a competitor. Lively promised plenty of verbal sparring between her and Reynolds in the film, but if there are future films to continue on with the story, she'll evolve into a villain to Green Lantern. "I can't wait to kick his butt!" she said.
Sarsgaard shed some light on Hector Hammond, summing him up as "the kind of kid who licked the battery or went up to the roof with a coat hanger in a lightning storm." Mark Strong also spoke a little about Sinestro, Hal's mentor of sorts who later turns on him - though it doesn't sound like we'll see his bad side in this first film.
In my favorite moment of the panel, a little boy went up to the mic to ask Ryan Reynolds about the Green Lantern oath. In response, Reynolds recited the oath, and then did an air fist-bump to the kid (who happened to be wearing his own Green Lantern ring). All of the ladies in the audience swooned.
Best question asked: What costume would you wear to Comic-Con? Blake Lively replied, "Harry Potter. He's not a superhero, but he's awesome." Reynolds's answer: "I'd go with a Wookiee, because I'd like to be cute and dangerous."
As for those rumors about a Justice League movie, the very tight-lipped Johns said it's "always a possibility," but that "the success of Green Lantern will really lead the charge." By the looks of the panel, the film's success seems like a sure bet.

Be sure to check out all of my Comic-Con coverage and follow me on Twitter for live updates!

Robin Hood: Misses the Epic Mark

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 14 May 2010 07:30:00 PDT

Certainly, Robin Hood is a figure we all know very well; most people associate him with one of the actors who've played him, like Kevin Costner or Cary Elwes, and the latest inhabitant of the icon in this year's Robin Hood is Russell Crowe. However, this version of the legend isn't just different because the actor has changed - this is definitely not the Robin Hood we're used to.

The main difference is that this is a prequel, a recounting of how a common archer named Robin Longstride became the man who stole from the rich to give to the poor. This film is serious and high-minded (read: there's not one chuckle in there), with director Ridley Scott clearly aiming to make this the most epic version of the tale. Scott has the ideal ingredients, namely star power: Crowe, most memorable for his heroic performance in Scott's Gladiator, and leading lady Cate Blanchett. Despite this careful mixture, something went wrong in Nottingham, making Scott's Robin Hood overlong and uninspiring. To see why I didn't love the movie, just

I'd hoped the prequel status would be license to make a radically nuanced translation, but the only major difference here is that it's just plain not as good as its predecessors (and yes, I'm including Robin Hood: Men in Tights). A huge fault is its length - clocking in a butt-numbing two and a half hours, the plot travels at a snail's pace. The running time is astoundingly unnecessary; the characters reveal their intentions in fifteen-minute scenes that could have been five-minute interludes. To add insult to injury, the action sequences are half-halfheartedly executed.

It's really kind of surprising that the movie isn't more entertaining, considering that some of the roles have been reinvented - Maid Marian (Blanchett) gets to play soldier and fight alongside the boys. Mark Strong also appears as mustache-twirling villain Godfrey (he's apparently the go-to actor for bad guy parts these days). Unfortunately, his presence is confusing, since he's one of many villains you know you're supposed to root against - you're just not sure why. In fact, there's not really anyone to root for, not even our beloved Robin Hood. There's so much screen time given to the circumstances that make Longstride an outlaw, without actually letting him engage in outlaw activities. By the time he's established as the title character, it's the end of the movie.

There's no payoff for viewers who are hoping to see a semblance of a story they're familiar with; what you get instead is a bland update to a tale that's been told many times before - but better.

Photos courtesy of Universal

Jude Hits the City of Love With Sherlock Amid Marriage Rumors

PopSugar — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:45:00 PST

Jude Law hammed it up with Guy Ritchie this morning at a Sherlock Holmes photo call in Paris. Rachel McAdams struck a few poses in her latest pretty look, though Robert Downey Jr. wasn't with the gang following their premieres in both Madrid and Berlin. Jude's all about promoting his holiday blockbuster during their European tour, but his heart apparently is back with Sienna. After their shirtless and bikini fun in Barbados, things are rumored to be getting serious between them again. There's talk that Jude is getting ready to propose, and Sienna's said to be into it despite the fiasco of their first engagement.

To see more from the photo call, just

View 10 Photos ›

RocknRolla: Slow to Build With a Rockin' Finish

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:30:32 PST

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,

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 PDT

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,

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 PDT

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?

How Not to Destroy Your Marriage

The Good Men Project — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:30:42 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Today, Mark Tyrrell offers eight relationship tools to make your marriage work.

"All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble." - Raymond Hull

So how do you make your marriage work? Or do you just blindly hope it'll take care of itself?

Think of a hot, successful date with someone you’re attracted to. You have fun, great conversation and more sexual chemistry than a warehouse full of pheromones. You don’t have to “work at” the date because it’s self sustaining. It runs as smoothly as the gliding hand of a classical guitar maestro and you can’t wait for another rendition.

Teenage Dating in a Twilight-Hunger Games World

But marriage, or any long term relationship; well that’s a whole other caboodle.

If we’re not careful, marriage can deteriorate into little more than a torturous assault course; littered with routine boredoms, frustrations and resentments. Couple all that with external pressures and sometimes marriage feels not worth the effort. But there are major benefits to being hitched or committed, other than just a beneficial tax regime.

Healthy marriage; healthy people.

Being happily married bestows heaps of health benefits. You might be forgiven for thinking that if you’re married you don’t live longer it just seems like it but, no, a good marriage really can help you clock up more years (1) and married people are happier (2) even though they don’t always look it from the outside.

But when marriage doesn’t work it can feel being manacled to a maniac, marooned with a misogynist or nailed to a nag. And I don’t care what the studies say, that’s not healthy. You may hear couples say stuff like: “We are making our marriage work!” but how do we do this?

Making it work.

We pay lip service to “working on the marriage” but what is the work we need to do? Marriage vows such as “to love and to cherish” and “forsaking all others, for better or for worse” don’t really tell us how to make it work, although they give us a clue.

Fortunately a ton of research has been done on what to do and not do to make your marriage, or any intimate relationship work. Follow the guidelines here to become “good at marriage."

Tip one: Be romantic but keep it real.

We are all (force?) fed romance in movies and novels. The handsome man gets the beautiful woman. But what I wonder is what happens after our romantic couple ride off into the sunset together? What do they do exactly? Bicker? Moan at one another? Start to ignore each other?

After all that romance, our beautiful couple is bound to have massive expectations of their life together. But when rose tinted expectations clash with day to reality, watch out!

Romance is vital in any relationship. Always seeing the best in your partner helps to keep things intimate and love should be expressed. But if you have been raised on Mills and Boon Romance novels or feel-good movies, then your own romantic expectations can work against the sustainability of your long term relationship.

When day to day life fails to live up to the giddy, heady lust-filled days of the pre-settled down romance people can become angry, even blame one another: “This wasn’t what I signed up for." They find it hard to take the rough with the smooth because they never really figured there would be any rough.

Expectations not diluted with at least a dash of realism can be a royal road to relationship ruin. Your partner may be an angel, but they have feet of clay. You must learn to love those feet or at least accept them a bit!

Get the rest after the jump!

7 Money Mistakes Women Often Make

LearnVest — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:15:55 PDT

We all make mistakes - we're all human after all. LearnVest shares some of the common money mistakes that women often make so readers will learn not to make them, too.

Some of us handle our money flawlessly, perfectly, brilliantly, all of the time.

But most of us don't.

Most of us make mistakes here and there. We make some mistakes more than others, because of our personalities, or our upbringing . . . or sometimes even our gender.

It's ridiculous, but true.

We've heard it firsthand - from our readers. In fact, we went through hundreds of reader submissions and found examples of the most common stories that cross our desks every day.

Let's be clear: Not all women make these mistakes. Not all men avoid them. But in our experience, these are a few female financial problem areas that can lead to major debt and lots of stress.

RELATED: Are You a Social Shopper?

Ever bailed out an ex? Indulged in a little more retail therapy than you meant to? Or woken up one day and realized you didn't know as much as you thought you did about managing your money? You just might recognize yourself.

Of course, if you don't, good for you. We're just saying, bad money snafus happen to good people. But read on: We'll show you the top seven mistakes women make - and what to do instead.

Feeling Guilty

"When we were together, I let my ex stay with me rent-free until he found an apartment, lent him my furniture and paid for every date because I had a job and he didn't. When I lost my job, he paid for my rent for a few months and bills, etc. Now that we're broken up, he wants me to pay him back for the rent he insisted on covering. I am still on unemployment and barely getting by. I feel so guilty because we didn't end up as the forever couple and while I can't (nor would I . . . ) calculate all of my assistance getting him settled in NYC, he can quite easily."

A 2011 study from Eversave.com found that 67% of women have felt guilt about a purchase. But that's not the only opportunity for guilt: There's also staying in a job you feel guilty about abandoning, giving someone money because you feel guilty about their situation and, oh, doing the opposite of what you want when it comes to working after having children because you feel guilty about being a good mom (more on that here).

This guilt effect might not be limited to finances, either. Some studies suggest that women are more inclined than men to feel any kind of guilt. And we'd argue, more likely to bail out their exes, too.

Read on for more.

A Reader's First Half Marathon Is Full of Triumphs and a Little Bit of Embarrassment

Fit Community — Thu, 03 May 2012 00:41:02 PDT

FitSugar reader Dhitri has an embarrassing tale about her first half marathon. She shared her story in our RunningSugar community group. Help her out by sharing your own funny or embarrassing race tales below!

So you know I ran my first half and had the greatest time ever.

There were a few blunders, of course (what's a race without 'em?). Firstly, I arrived only half an hour before the start. Leaving the house without breastfeeding my little miss didn't feel right (and I had to lose that excess fluid from that part of my body anyway!) and it took longer than anticipated. Then of course I completely forgot about the road closures! We were stuck in traffic and I had to hop out of the cab and run to the event location to save me a few minutes. Also, in all my excitement, I forgot to put on any Vaseline or Bodyglide and even forgot to apply sunscreen. My skin was dry and full of marks from me scratching all night (I do that when nervous). My legs never looked this ugly!

But here comes a big confession: I peed in my pants during the run. Okay, firstly I have to criticize the otherwise flawlessly organized race. There were simply not enough portaloos! The line before the start was just EPIC.

Initially I didn't feel like I needed to go, but then remembered that I downed a lot of water when I woke up at 5AM (2 hours before start) and even though I went a few times at home, I felt like I needed to visit the conveniences in case I needed to wee because of the cold (it was a chilly morning at 10 degrees C) or nerves. I braved the line until a couple minutes before start (and was still nowhere near my turn). Big mistake! I should have braved the bushes instead.

Read on for the rest of Dhitri's story!

Why Pixar's First Leading Lady Merida Is the Bravest Princess of Them All

Tara Block — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:44:25 PDT

I recently attended a Pixar event at the animation film company's HQ for its upcoming Summer flick Brave. I was able to watch the first 30 minutes of the film, interview the director Mark Andrews and producer Katherine Sarafian, learn all about Scottish traditions, and even channel my inner Merida with archery lessons. Not only am I hooked on archery (pretty proud of my bull's-eye), I'm also hooked on Brave's heroine Princess Merida - Pixar's first leading lady! But don't let Merida's royal title fool you. As an adventurous girl in ancient Scotland who'd rather shoot arrows than get married, she's far from a typical Disney princess. Katherine and Mark both shared the ways she's breaking the princess mold and what makes her a great role model for us all. And as you'll see in the clip from the film below, the last thing Princess Merida wants is a Prince Charming.

Brave producer Katherine Sarafian agrees that the studio's latest project is especially exciting because it stars a girl. She asked me, "Who among us wouldn't want to give our daughters or sons a great cinema role model?" And not only is Merida a "powerhouse of a girl" with "fire and gusto and vigor" as Katherine describes her, she's also relatable, as she doesn't come with any special superpowers. "She just has great skills and she practices them," Katherine explains, "and she earned her skills by working hard and practicing and playing archery and playing sword fighting with her dad."

What really makes Merida someone little girls and adult women alike can relate to is that she's not perfect. At one point Merida's mom, Elinor, who's trying desperately to persuade her daughter to conform to her traditional role as a lady, says, "A princess strives for perfection." As women, we're constantly feeling that pressure to meet impossible expectations and aspire to society's ideal of who we should be and what we should be doing. But we rarely hit the mark. Katherine tells me, "I find her very relatable as someone who's coming of age and struggling with that central question of how can I really be seen for who I am in a world where there's an expectation of me that is incongruous to who I am?"

So why is such a relatable female lead so rare? Katherine tells me she's never understood why we haven't seen more strong female characters onscreen. With Brave, the filmmakers weren't trying to produce a story with a leading lady; it was the story, that happened to be about a girl, that got the project made. "If more filmmakers are developing ideas with great females at the center of the story, we should be able to take the world by storm," Katherine says.

The good news is with hits like The Hunger Games that are incredibly popular with both sexes, perhaps Brave is a part of a trend toward more female-driven films. Katherine points out that the box office figures have proven that people want to see girls and women lead stories. She adds, "I'm hoping people are realizing and studios realize that there is an audience, that this is half the population."

I found it interesting that Pixar (a subsidiary of Disney) would have its first female lead in a feature film be a princess, meaning, technically, Merida is a Disney princess. It appears that for a girl to be the lead in an animated movie she has to be princess. But both Katherine and director Mark Andrews insist the princess decision had nothing to do with the classic Disney princess archetype, but rather it was about a more exciting plot. "If you're a teenager and you make a stupid decision, maybe you get grounded," Katherine explains. "If you're royalty, your bad decision can have consequences that could cause a war in your kingdom. It was important that her decisions be tied to something much bigger than herself and her immediate family."