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Fantastic Mr. Fox: Lives Up to Its Title

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800

For the past five years, Wes Anderson's wide fan base has been waiting for his first fully animated film. Would his adaption of Roald Dahl's children's book, Fantastic Mr. Fox appease the same crowd that holds Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums near and dear to their hearts? The answer is an emphatic yes, and the best news is that you don't even have to enjoy Anderson's other work to fall in love with this film.

The story follows the wily Mr. Fox, a professional robber turned family man (er, fox) who just isn't satisfied with his quiet life working as a newspaper columnist. Even a move to prime real estate isn't enough to satiate his appetite for a little trouble making, and Mr. Fox (or "Foxy" as his friends call him) decides to take on the biggest adventure of his life. That's just the tip of the iceberg though, so read more.

Mr. Fox isn't your average wild animal; in fact he's just the opposite. He lives a civilized life with his wife Felicity (Meryl Streep) and 12-year-old son, Ash, making an honest living as a newspaper columnist. Like a kid who can't sit still, Mr. Fox has trouble curbing his desires to rebel and go back to his life stealing squab and running into trouble. Against his wife's wishes, Mr. Fox convinces his dim-witted but trusty sidekick Kylie (Wally Wolodarski) to take on one last hurrah. The crime? Ripping off the three biggest (and meanest) farmers around - Boggis, Bunce and Bean. When Mr. Fox starts an all-out war, he is forced to join forces with his family, friends, and neighbors - and that's where the fun begins.

The film's brilliance lies in the fact that Fantastic Mr. Fox is a movie for grown-ups disguised as a kiddie flick. Even with Anderson's name stamped all over it, there's no denying the furry animals dressed as humans. The animation makes the plot play out like a story book come to life; we're taken deep into the fox hole and beyond in a world that looks like a dollhouse made for fuzzy creatures. Kids will love the adventure and the colors, but the witty dialogue and quirky characters are made for the grown-ups.

The movie features a crew of lovable characters who deliver hilarious one-liners when they aren't breaking into impromptu dances. There's nothing new about a movie featuring animals acting like humans, but the actors make the movie the gem that it is. Jason Schwartzman playing a crabby 12-year-old but using his regular deep voice is genius. Clooney and Bill Murray (as badger, Mr. Fox's lawyer) bantering back and forth but replacing swears with the word "cuss" never gets old (as in "This place is a cluster cuss" and "What the cuss is wrong with you?").

Rare is the animated film with this much wit, cleverness, and chemistry between characters, but Fantastic Mr. Fox hits it right on the head. Score one more for Mr. Anderson.

(Don't forget that if you see a movie that you'd like to review, you can post your write-up in the Movie Review Group in Community - I may even post it here on the site!)

Caption It: Which Caption Should Win?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:30:32 -0700

When Ms. Julia Child gets cooking, y'all start talking.

For this week's Caption It challenge, I chose a picture from Julie and Julia. There are a lot of hilarious captions, but here's what the finalists have to say:

"Just 3 easy payments of $19.99 for your very own 'Lean Turkey' exercise DVD guarantees you won't gain a pound this Thanksgiving!"
"Julia Child gives new meaning to the 'chicken dance.'"
"It is a little known fact that Julia Child briefly considered writing a Kama Sutra for poultry book."
"I love cooking THIS much!"
"Y-M-C-A!"

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Movie Preview: Streep, Martin, and Baldwin in It's Complicated

BuzzSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:30:40 -0700

Though I truly love Father of the Bride and Baby Boom, I'm starting to think that the projects coming from writer/director Nancy Meyers in these later years of her career (like Something's Gotta Give) are only as strong as her casts. And even then, the actors can only do so much. This latest movie from Meyers, It's Complicated, looks cute enough, if a little bland, and it seems to benefit tremendously from the lovable Meryl Streep in the lead role.

Streep plays a divorced woman who starts to have feelings for her remarried exhusband (Alec Baldwin) just as a sweet single man (Steve Martin) takes a shine to her. It's perhaps an ordinary love triangle rom-com, but I like that it features older characters who have already gone through heartache and divorce. Still, I hope the movie in its entirety is more interesting than the trailer makes it seem. My favorite part includes Streep and Martin's characters, um, getting a little silly.

The movie hits theaters Dec. 25. To check out the trailer, read more.

Julie and Julia: One Amazing Story . . . and Another One

BuzzSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:45:29 -0700

Julie and Julia markets itself as being based on "two true stories": one of Julie Powell, a secretary-turned-blogger who endeavors to cook every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year; the other of Child herself, also a secretary-turned-writer and chef who brought French recipes to American cooks. But what happens if one of the two true stories just doesn't deserve equal time?

The trouble with Julie and Julia is, quite simply, that it would be a better as just Julia. Not that I blame anyone for trying to merge these two lives: Powell's original blog and book, which combines her story and Julia's, seem like good fodder for a big-screen adaptation. If anything, the trouble is more a tribute to Meryl Streep, whose big, boisterous Julia Child sweeps onto the screen and demolishes any other story that might try to rise around her. Once you meet her delightful Julia, it's hardly surprising that Julie's story pales in comparison.

Julie and Julia flashes back and forth through time, splitting its time between Julie's 2002 life in a tiny New York apartment and Julia's Parisian life in the late 1940s and early '50s, where a passion for French food led her to learn to cook. To be fair to writer/director Nora Ephron, who put the stories together for film, Julie and Julia's lives do have plenty of parallels: Both are (or have been) secretaries looking for something more to do. Both love food and find solace in cooking. And both are shown in the film pre-fame - before Julia became a household name, before a New York Times story helped turn Julie's blog from a side project into a published book. But that's about where the similarities end. To talk more about it, read more.

It shouldn't be surprising that Streep shines, but I was floored by how much I loved her Julia. Streep herself isn't particularly tall, but as Julia, she takes up the whole screen, towering over her doting husband, Paul (Stanley Tucci). She's dominating and inappropriately loud, but ultimately, she's irresistible. Whether she's whacking away at a lump of dough, gleefully starting a cooking school, or drawing stares from the French when her equally tall and magnetic sister (Jane Lynch, in a brilliant piece of casting) comes to town, she's a joy to watch. She seems to know that any defeat she might suffer - like failing her cooking school final or having her cookbook rejected- is just a speedbump on the way to something bigger. By the end of the film, I wanted to be Julia Child, or at least be her best friend - not necessarily for the cooking (though that would be nice) but for the resilient and loving spirit she brought to life.

The movie's Julie Powell, on the other hand, is harder to love. She's more passive, more concerned with what others think, and more self-deprecating. And more selfish, too - her cooking project nearly ruins her marriage on more than one occasion. Some of the Julie stories work well: her attempts to kill her first lobster or create and eat a disgusting plate of something en gelee get plenty of chuckles. Amy Adams is a good fit for the role, which calls for a tricky blend of vulnerability and anger, and on some level, it's wonderful to see Hollywood embrace a female protagonist who's deeply flawed and deeply stubborn. But she suffers in comparison to Julia, who handles greater obstacles with more grace. In the end, the Julie sequences feel like something to get through so we can hang out with Julia again.

The biggest letdown of Julie and Julia is that we may never get another shot at a glossy, gorgeous, commercial big-screen biopic of Julia Child. From Streep's performance here, I would have gladly bought a ticket to that movie. I'll settle for this one, which certainly has its moments, but that won't stop me from wondering what could have been.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

Movie Preview: The Fantastic Mr. Fox

BuzzSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:30:31 -0700

Some of my favorite directors are just rollin' out the trailers today - first the Coen brothers with A Serious Man, now Wes Anderson with his forthcoming project The Fantastic Mr. Fox. This animated film is based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name and follows a family of foxes and their animal associates as they struggle against the farmers who want to dig out their neighborhood.

I'm not sure whether the first word to describe this trailer should be "bizarre" or "hilarious" - but either way, I know I want to see this movie. George Clooney as Mr. Fox and Bill Murray as the "demolitions expert" badger seem like particularly inspired bits of casting, and Meryl Streep as Mrs. Fox isn't far behind. The trailer really won me over about halfway through, when the foxes start doing things like making bandit masks out of spare tube socks and drugging beagles with blueberries. Not unlike Where the Wild Things Are, it looks like a cross between a children's classic and a film hipsters will adore.

The movie - which Anderson co-wrote with The Squid and the Whale's Noah Baumbach - will be opening the London Film Festival in October and then hitting US theaters on Nov. 13. To check out the trailer, just read more.

Link Time! 6/23

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:30:22 -0700

Rest in peace, Ed McMahon. - PopSugar
Will Kristen Wiig be the next Amy Poehler? - TV.com
A former Seinfeld writer talks about "writing" Bruno. - Cinematical
Happy birthday, Joss Whedon! - Popwatch
And happy 60th birthday, Meryl Streep! Here are 60 ways to celebrate Meryl. - The Film Experience
Seems like the UK is getting all the good TV shows these days. - Vulture
Watch as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog wreaks havoc at Bonnaroo. - Stereogum
Connie Britton talks seasons four and five of Friday Night Lights. - Ausiello Files

WireImage

Movie Preview: Julie and Julia

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:30:56 -0700

Ever since I read Julie and Julia, the story of a New York woman working and blogging her way through Julia Child's Mastering The Art of French Cooking, I've been curious to see how the movie would translate to film. We got a brief glimpse after this year's Oscars, but today the first full trailer is out, and it looks charming.

It appears that writer/director Nora Ephron has beefed up the Julia Child portion of the story, showing her life in France and her own early cooking ventures to go along with Julie's modern kitchen foibles. There's also more physical humor than I was expecting - whacking at things with rolling pins, running from lobsters that escape from pots - and both Streep and Adams seem to pull it off with ease.

Hmm, what would be the appropriate movie theater snack for watching Julie and Julia? The film hits theaters on Aug. 7, and to check out the trailer, just read more.

Source

Movie News: Krasinski, Eckhart, Blanchett Circle Roles

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:30:11 -0800

Aaron Eckhart in Rum Diary
Amber Heard gets to work with some mighty handsome men. Aaron Eckhart is in talks to join the cast of Rum Diary, the movie based on Hunter S. Thompson's novel, which already nabbed Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in main roles. In the story, "Eckhart is part of a love triangle that sees him vying with Depp for Heard's affection." Richard Jenkins is also joining the project as "the man who oversees the rundown newspaper" where Depp's character works.

Two more movie casting tidbits if you read more.

John Krasinski Joins Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin in Nancy Meyers Rom-Com
I'm pretty much sold on this movie already, even if details are scarce about, you know, the plot. In another love triangle story, Meryl Streep plays a woman caught between two men - played by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Veteran rom-com writer/director Nancy Meyers (Father of the Bride, Something's Gotta Give, The Holiday) is behind the untitled project, which just now got John Krasinski to sign on. Again, mum's the word on any plot or character details (I'm guessing Krasinski's character is someone's son), but this casting makes me more anxious than ever for the movie.

Cate Blanchett May Play Maid Marian!
This is 100 percent just a rumor so far, but still, it's out there and it's a pretty awesome idea: Cate Blanchett might take the part of Maid Marian in Ridley Scott's movie Nottingham, a role originally intended for Sienna Miller. Actor Mark Strong (set for the role of Sir Guy of Gisbourne in the project) recently commented, "I think Cate Blanchett is set to take the Maid Marian part." Then he added what we all know to be true: "She is a wonderful actress and it would make it a much classier film if she was in it."

Source

Doubt: All About Meryl and Philip

BuzzSugar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:30:55 -0800

Doubt is a tense, thought-provoking and incredibly well-written play, and it must be difficult to adapt such a dense play for the big screen. With a play there's the understanding that we're somewhat confined in terms of location and there's often a lot of talking and emoting. The film adaptation of Doubt is pretty much entirely talking and emoting. It's not that that's a bad thing, per se, it's just that it requires a bit more wrangling of the ol' attention span than most movies require. In some ways, I'm not completely sure why it was adapted for the big screen, except to cement in cinematic history these exceptional performances by some of today's Hollywood giants.

There's nothing visually interesting about it (at all), though surely the visuals aren't the focus here. The exploration of what's moral and good, which sin is greater than another sin, and the back-and-forth dance of trust and suspicion - these are central to the story that Doubt attempts to tell. But it is, well, a lot of talking. It's often absorbing because these actors so expertly guide us through the narrative, but it might take a particularly patient modern-day moviegoer to enjoy this movie. To see what it's all about and more of my thoughts, read more.

The story takes place in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 where the school's stern, unyielding principal, Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) becomes suspicious of the parish priest, the likable Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), when he takes a particular shine to one boy: The school's first black student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster). Father Flynn insists that he is merely trying to help a lonely, isolated boy, but Sister Aloysius is convinced that the nature of this relationship is inappropriate. The sweet, young nun Sister James (Amy Adams) is pulled into the conflict and doesn't know who to believe: Her kind and gentle-seeming priest or this steely nun who is utterly certain (despite a lack of hard evidence) of wrongdoing. The audience is basically in Sister James's shoes, wanting to believe the best about this seemingly good-hearted priest, but worried that if there is something going on and it goes ignored then this boy will be further harmed.

The performances are top-notch, and all the awards buzz is completely deserved. Restricted by clothing and (for the women) modest head-covering bonnets, as well as a nearly action-free script, it's up to the actors and their facial expressions, vocal intonation, and slight changes in body language to convey the emotion within this story. Lesser actors would have brought down the entire thing, but as it is, Streep, Hoffman, Adams and Viola Davis (who plays Donald's mother) manage to make this heavy, talky script loom more powerfully before us than I ever thought possible. They each have such tremendous presence, emitting a heat that we can practically feel in the audience. However, all in all it feels like watching a play, so if you aren't exactly a fan of plays, this may not be the movie for you.

Photos courtesy of Miramax

Buzz News Roundup, 11/14

BuzzSugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:30:29 -0800

Meryl Streep is in talks to take the lead (human) role in Dewey, a film based on Vicki Myron's book Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. - Variety
Clint Eastwood is in talks to direct the supernatural thriller Hereafter. - ComingSoon
Sarah Silverman has signed a deal for a book of comedic essays. - New York Observer
Will Gluck will direct Easy A, a modern comedic retelling of The Scarlet Letter, set in a high school. - ComingSoon
Whoopi Goldberg will produce a London stage musical version of Sister Act. - Variety
Recently single Bachelorette DeAnna Pappas will be hosting a wedding show on Lifetime. - People
Hilary Duff will star in a new series for NBC. - Variety
Summit Entertainment has acquired the film rights to New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer's three Twilight follow-ups. - Zap2It

Source and Source