BuzzSugar

Which Past Memorial Day Weekend Blockbuster Was Your Favorite?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 25 May 2008 13:30:51 PDT

Looking back over the past 10 years, every Memorial Day weekend has meant huge box office success for the big blockbuster movie of the time, and this weekend promises the same for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Just looking at the past 10, which giant Memorial Day box office winner has been your favorite?

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Movie Night: War Satires

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 May 2007 14:53:30 PDT

Memorial Day is not a time for cracking jokes, but wartime itself often requires humor as a matter of survival. So in honor of this weekend's holiday, I've put together a Movie Night featuring some thought-provoking but entertaining war satires. These three films utilize dark humor while also recognizing and respecting the horrors of war.

Dr. Strangelove

It's remarkable to think that Stanley Kubrick's classic satire of nuclear holocaust was made back in 1964, because not a year has passed since when Dr. Strangelove wasn't eerily relevant. To me, this is not only one of the greatest war satires of all time but also one of the most expertly crafted satirical films overall. That's because it manages to put forth a subtle yet clear critique of deadly serious issues while also delivering laugh-out loud laughs that make you just uncomfortable enough. George C. Scott and Peter Sellers handle their one-liners ("precious bodily fluids," anyone?) with the care one would afford a nuclear warhead, making them infinitely quotable even now.

For two more war satires,

read more MASH Amid the martinis, intramural football games, and madcap practical jokes, it's sometimes easy to forget while watching Robert Altman's brilliant satire that the colorful characters are in the middle of a war. But when the horrors of combat surface, it's a sinister reminder that the dark comedy is merely a coping mechanism. The arrestingly odd pace of MASH only enhances the stellar performances by Donald Sutherland, Sally Kellerman, and the rest of the cast, who will make you think as much as they make you laugh.
Good Morning Vietnam Based on a true story, Robin Williams plays Adrian Cronauer, an American radio deejay who takes to the air waves in Vietnam in 1965, entertaining the troops with his racy commentary. Recent Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker also stars. Williams is his usual clever, funny and raunchy self, breathing fresh air into a dismal situation. The movie highlights the human need for connection during times of difficulty and also asks the question: Is it better to be just entertained and in the dark, or to hear the truth?

The Vow: Channing Tatum Is More Memorable Than the Romance

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:30:00 PST

It's no accident that The Vow's release date coincides almost perfectly with Valentine's Day. The film promises the kind of epic love story that many of us, like it or not, are more amenable to getting swept up in at this time of year: a man tries to make his wife fall in love with him again after a horrific accident leaves her with no memory of the last four years, or of him. Channing Tatum is endearing as Leo and though he has chemistry with Rachel McAdams's Paige, it almost goes to waste due to the film's lack of focus and uneven plot.

For starters, having a stranger for a husband is just the beginning of Paige's problems. Sometime in the four years she's lost, she went from being a preppy law student to a free-spirited artist. Naturally, when she wakes up, she wants an explanation for why she doesn't talk to her family anymore, what happened to her pretty boy fiancé (Scott Speedman), and why her hair is so "weird." It's understandable that she's a little different from who she used to be, but a complete life transformation is a bit hard to swallow - both for Paige, and for the audience.

To see why The Vow may not be the love story you're expecting, just

read more. Watching Tatum and McAdams play off each other is what keeps the movie engaging, and Tatum is particularly sympathetic. Though Paige is the one who has suffered the trauma, it's even more difficult to watch Leo quietly suffer as the love of his life continues to slip away in favor of the life she actually remembers. Leo represents a life that the new Paige is enticed by but can't imagine: he's goofy, laid-back, and immensely committed to her. But Paige can't come to terms with a life she doesn't feel part of, and instead reverts back to her former self. The sincerity and sweetness that Tatum brings to Leo are reflected in flashbacks of his life with Paige and in his current attempts to win her back, but the film isn't the epic romance that it's packaged to be. In fact, it's more depressing than it is joyful; not only are most of the characters in pain throughout the film, but with the exception of Leo, most of them are downright irritating. Paige's family and friends couldn't be more stereotypically conservative, which only makes Paige's decision to stay with them all the more frustrating to watch. As the film goes on, the love story starts to take the backseat to her family issues, and the crux of the film rests on a subplot that's both lame and contrived. The Vow is certainly watchable, thanks to the intrigue of the premise, and the mystery of how Leo and Paige will (inevitably, of course) find their way back to each other. But the film tries too hard to manufacture extra drama out of Paige's memory loss, when all the audience really wants to see is a love story to get swept up in.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

The Couple Who Inspired The Vow

Annie Scudder — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:55 PST

Kim and Krickitt Carpenter sold the movie rights to their unforgettable love story back in 1996. But it took until this week for that film, The Vow, to come out. The Carpenters married in September 1993, and less than 10 weeks later, a car accident left them both injured and Krickitt in a coma. Once she woke up, she had no memory of her husband.

Besides the coma and memory loss, The Vow doesn't quite follow the story of Kim (played by Channing Tatum) and Krickitt (played by Rachel McAdams) to the exact details. The real-life couple had met serendipitously over the phone when Kim, a baseball coach living in New Mexico, had called the sport shop Krickitt was working at in Southern California. Hitting it off, they talked for hours on the phone each week, and soon Kim invited Krickitt to visit him in New Mexico. After a whirlwind romance they got married.

The accident soon ended their newlywed bliss, and the couple described life after Krickitt's amnesia in a 1996 People article. "I honestly didn't think our marriage would work," Kim admitted thinking when his wife seemed to be a completely different person, but he said he "made a vow before God" to stick it out. She remembered asking, "'How did I do the wife thing? Did I cook for you? Did I bring you lunch?'" And she told herself, "I figured, if I fell in love with this guy before, I guess I just need to meet him again."

The accident happened in 1993, and on Valentine's Day 1996, Kim proposed again to his wife Krickitt and she accepted. In 2000, they wrote a book about their experience, The Vow: The Kim and Krickitt Carpenter Story. Although she never regained memory of the 18 months she had forgotten after her coma, they stayed together and have two kids, whom they brought to this week's premiere of The Vow. See photos of the Carpenters and their movie star alter egos.

Geeky Proposals Caught on Film

Kelly Schwarze — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:05:05 PST

With Valentine's Day creeping around the corner, we're caught up in the season of love. If it's marriage we're talking, these days, to make a serious statement of your heart's intentions it's all about adding some geeky personality for an unforgettable proposal. We've seen dozens of these proposals memorialized on the web to send our hearts aflutter. The latest: the below video combines binary coding aptitude and Futurama fanaticism. Yes, that is a proposal spoken exclusively in binary.

Follow the break to watch our favorite geek-tinted proposals.

6 Geeky Valentine's Date Ideas For Photographers

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:12:51 PST

Don't settle for dinner and a movie this Valentine's Day! As photographers, you're both stimulated by the visual elements around you - why not incorporate your favorite pastime (or profession) into your next date? Check out these ideas for a very photo-friendly evening out.

Create a photo scavenger hunt. Each of you write down a random clue, rhyme, or abstract fact about three locations, then exchange clues and have the other person take photos based on the clues received.
Honor your shared love of photography by baking some camera cookies.
Do a bar crawl to hit up the city's best photo booths. Take a set of pics and have a different cocktail at each.
Make funny gifs of your favorite memories together.
Grab your cameras and spend the day snapping photos of your hood.
Say cheese and challenge yourself by posing for self-portraits together using every filter in Instagram or every film style in Hipstamatic in different locations.
Act like a visitor and snap pics at every tourist attraction in your city.
Stay up late to capture light trails on a city street or highway.
Spend some time after dinner perfecting your bokeh skills around town.
Give each other a list of images to capture throughout the day and compare your shots over drinks.

Source: Flickr user BlueGoaॐ☮

Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum on Their "Drunk" Scene and Their Romantic Tendencies

Lindsay Miller — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:00:00 PST

Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams tackle a true story in The Vow, playing a husband and wife trying to rebuild their life after a car accident leaves her with no memory of their relationship. I talked to the onscreen pair at the recent press day for the movie in Beverly Hills. Channing, who is married to fellow actor Jenna Dewan, said being a young husband made him especially connected to the role, and we also chatted about his and Rachel's shared tendencies toward romantic fare like The Notebook and Dear John. While the subject of their new movie might be dramatic, they also admitted to some lighter moments on set, and talked about a scene that left Rachel "borderline hallucinogenic." Check out our interview and catch The Vow in theaters on February 10.

50 Geeky Date Ideas For Valentine's Day (and Beyond)

GeekSugar — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:30:10 PST

Coming up short for Valentine's Day date ideas? If you and your sweetheart are more of the geeky persuasion, simply hitting up an overpriced restaurant just won't cut it. We brainstormed 50 date ideas that incorporate science, tech, and video games, for a special Valentine's eve. But don't limit yourself - tackle these date ideas all year!

Bundle up, pack a dinner picnic, and head to the park for some stargazing.
Watch Contact (for the millionth time).
Go to a science museum.
Hit the natural history museum and check out your favorite dino bones.
Go retro - grab a roll of quarters, a slice or two, and hit the pizza parlor arcade.
Build your own planetarium with glow-in-the-dark stickers.
Catch up with the Doctor Who craze by watching the series from the beginning.
Throw a Star Wars party for two.
Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
Visit Nerdy Day Trips and find geeky stuff to do near you.
Go to the planetarium.
Take a dream vacay to the Hobbit Hotel in New Zealand.
Spend a few romantic nights in the Hobbit House of Montana.
Visit the actual Lord of the Rings movie set.
Travel to the Chott el Djerid salt lakes in Tunisia, which were transformed into Luke Skywalker's home on Tatooine.

See the rest of the list after the break!

Rewind: Sundance Magic

BuzzSugar — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:05:00 PST

We had a blast in Park City this year! Feast your eyes on these beautiful cast portraits from Sundance Film Festival.
Be sure to check out our reviews for Celeste and Jesse Forever and Your Sister's Sister: two of our favorite films of the fest.
The full list of Oscar nominations was released on Tuesday! Read through our snap judgments on the picks, and watch which nominees that surprised us!
New stills were released of some upcoming films we can't wait to see. Click through photos from The Amazing Spider-Man, The Hunger Games, and The Dark Knight Rises to see all we have to look forward to in 2012.
Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, and more rock big bellies in new What to Expect When You're Expecting movie posters.
We took a trip down memory lane, remembering all of Katherine Heigl's leading men through the years.
Check out all of the TV guest stars who will be making appearances on the small screen soon.
The first leg of the journey kicks off February 19 - check out the 11 dynamic duos who will compete on The Amazing Race Season 20.
Cougar Town is almost back! Get psyched for the season three premiere on Valentine's Day with these Cougar Town pics.

Keira Knightley Compares and Contrasts Costars Jude Law and Michael Fassbender

Allie Merriam — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:12:00 PST

Keira Knightley stars as patient-turned-psychiatrist Sabina Spielrein in David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, which expands into theaters across the country this week. The film came out in limited release last Fall, and quickly earned notoriety for the racy sex scenes Keira shares with her hot costar Michael Fassbender, who plays Carl Jung.

Yesterday, Keira spoke about working with both Michael and David. Keira shared excitement for the critical acclaim Michael's earned for another daring performance in Shame, a movie she liked quite a bit. She also spoke about her other upcoming projects, Seeking a Friend at the End of the World, the directorial debut from Lorene Scafaria featuring Steve Carell, and a remake of Anna Karenina. The later film sees Keira paired up with director Joe Wright for the third time, after Atonement and Pride & Prejudice, as well as leading man Jude Law. Keira said:

On having reservations about the spanking scenes in DM: "I was 95% going to say yes as soon as my agent said, 'Look, David Cronenberg is going to offer you a film.' . . . I did have reservations about the masochistic scenes. I actually spoke to him about it and said, 'I love the script, but I'm not sure I can do this because of these scenes. I'm not quite sure I want to go there.' And he said, 'If that stops you playing the part, that would be a tragedy so let's just take them out.' And I thought that was an amazing thing for him offer. We just talked and talked, and once he's made it clear he didn't want it to be voyeuristic and sexy, he wanted them to be kind of more clinical, I thought I might as well go for it."
On similarities between Jude and Michael: "No! No. Jude's a proper actor - he's wonderful to work with. He's a proper actor, I mean they all are . . . Michael works in a much more muscular way. Everything turns into muscle memory. He works a script, and works a script. Jude does a lot of theater so he comes from the preparation side - like a rehearsal room. He's really open to it, and he asks a lot of questions on that day. He's just phenomenal. So no there aren't any similarities, but they're all very good actors."
On first-time director Lorene: "She's just fab - she's great. She's completely the reason I think everybody signed up to do the movie. The script was wonderful. It was one of the best scripts I've ever read. The dialogue was brilliant, and the concept behind it was amazing. I haven't seen the finished article yet. I'm seeing it [today] so that's really exciting. She's an amazing woman, an amazing talent. On set, to think it was her first film - you'd never have guessed it. She was so cool, she knew exactly what she wanted, she was unbelievably fast, she was completely amazing. So hopefully it will work!"
On what she's excited to see succeed during award season: "I was really excited about Shame, because given the nature of it and the subject matter of it, quite often those ones get passed by. I think Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady. That performance was amazing. That was very good. I haven't seen The Artist yet, but I'm really looking forward to seeing that."

To read Keira's thoughts on Michael in Shame, working with the "lovely" Steve Carell, and wrapping Anna Karenina, just keep reading.