BuzzSugar

Movie Preview: Tina Fey and Steve Carell in Date Night

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:30:01 -0800

I freaked out a little (OK a lot) when it was announced that Tina Fey and Steve Carell would play a married couple in the comedy Date Night. Well, the trailer is here, and I'm still enthusiastic about it - though I wasn't expecting it to be so action-adventure-y.

The movie revolves around a single night out for typically bored (but atypically hilarious) married couple Claire and Phil Foster. When they take another couple's dinner reservation, their romantic evening turns into an issue of mistaken identity, and they spend the night running from trouble. While I'm not thrilled by the setup, there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in this first preview, including some amazing appearances from Mark Wahlberg and James Franco.

To check out the trailer, just read more.

Date Night comes out April 9, 2010.

Extract: A Few Drops of Humor

BuzzSugar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:30:46 -0700

Director Mike Judge's Office Space didn't do well at the box office, but it enjoyed a popularity and appreciation long after its release that continues to this day, particularly by cube dwellers who find solace in identifying and ridiculing the archetypal office workers. It can be a dark, uncomfortable movie in parts, but there's something almost uplifting about the end of Office Space.

Judge's latest movie Extract has only a few of the elements that make Office Space so great, though, and those elements are dramatically watered down. With the exception of Clifton Collins' character Step, who suffers a distressing injury on the job and whose bumbling good intentions make him hard to resist, there's not much heart to Extract. There are some funny moments for sure - mostly from the supporting cast - but overall it just feels soulless. For more of my thoughts on this, read more.

The story is set in another workplace, but this time we're in a factory and our main character Joel (Jason Bateman) actually likes what he does - owning and running the extract factory. He likes extract, and he has a sort of even mix of fondness and frustration for his employees on the floor. He dreams of selling the place and leaving behind the annoyances of running a business, but mostly his dissatisfaction stems from his home life where he never has sex with his wife Suzie (Kristen Wiig). He never talks to her about it, though, he just whines to his friend Dean (Ben Affleck) who dispenses alcohol, pills and bad advice in equal amounts.

One such piece of advice is to hire a gigolo to seduce Suzie so Joel will have no guilt about sleeping with his new hot temp, Cindy (Mila Kunis). Sure, Joel is heavily drugged when he agrees to the plan, but even when he comes to his senses he doesn't seem all that perturbed about it. Though he goes through a variety of experiences and emotions throughout the movie, Bateman's expression never wavers from basic tired exasperation. It's hard to ever tell what Joel is really going through here, which makes it hard to care.

Up until recently, I was a huge fan and supporter of Jason Bateman. I love it when a movie has just a dash of his specific type of funny (like Smoking Aces and State of Play), but when the side character played by Ben Affleck is funnier than Bateman's leading man (granted, Affleck's character is sillier all around), there's something wrong. Actually nearly every other character in the movie is more appealing and satisfying to watch than Bateman's Joel.

The supporting characters really are fantastic. Judge has a way of creating spot-on replications of the types of coworkers that we've all worked with. Office Space was full of them, from the passive-agressive boss to the overly chipper phone operator to poor old Milton who has focused his whole life on basically one thing (a stapler). Here in Extract, we've got the chatty Cathys who just gossip, complain and shift blame, and the punk kid who can't seem to retain any work-related information in his brain but manages to play in four different bands outside of work. And Joel's clueless, talkative neighbor Nathan (a pitch-perfect David Koechner) is one of the funniest and most painfully realistic portrayals in the film.

This is where I think Judge shines: in crafting characters that people can recognize, at least to some extent. There is a tremendous amount of comedy to be mined from these characters, and they add great flavor to the larger storyline following the average straight man. Problem is, it's pretty tough to like or sympathize with Joel so all we do is keep looking toward the other characters for some fun and relief. They deliver, but it's disappointing that the main storyline is so empty.

Photos courtesy of Miramax

Buzz News Roundup, 7/27

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:30:41 -0700

Ian Somerhalder confirms that Boone will return to Lost. - Entertainment Weekly
Mila Kunis is in talks to star opposite Natalie Portman in Darren Aronofsky's supernatural drama Black Swan, playing Portman's rival ballet dancer. - ComingSoon
Moon Bloodgood leads a new group of people cast on Steven Spielberg's alien invasion pilot for TNT, which stars Noah Wyle. - The Hollywood Reporter
A new study gives HBO top marks for showing gay characters. - AP
Eagle Eye director D.J. Caruso is attached to direct a sci-fi/horror film adaptation of the Electronic Arts video game Dead Space. - Variety
Shonda Rhimes wishes she could have shown more of George's last day on Grey's Anatomy. - Entertainment Weekly
Mariah Carey, Diddy, and Lil Wayne all have delayed the release dates of their next albums. - Billboard

Movie Preview: Affleck, Bateman in Extract

BuzzSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:30:50 -0700

Jason Bateman. Ben Affleck. Director Mike Judge (Office Space). If you like any one of these things, you may want to take a look at the new teaser trailer for Extract, another comedy from Mike Judge that follows an average guy in an average job who's dissatisfied with both his work and his home life. Bateman plays the central character, Joel, the owner of a flower-extract factory whose marital problems with his wife (Kristen Wiig) bum him out - but he perks right up when a pretty new temp (Mila Kunis) joins the company. Affleck (sporting a beard and some long, scraggly hair) plays Joel's lawyer friend.

Extract opens Sept. 4. Check out the trailer after the jump and tell me: Does this look funny to you? Or a bit of the same old, same old? To watch, read more.

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:30:47 -0800

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue.

Henry Poole Is Here
What a difference a year makes! Last Winter I was reporting live from Sundance that I really enjoyed this little movie starring Luke Wilson. I know many people didn't get the chance to check it out in theaters, which makes it a great rental.

Wilson plays Henry Poole, a grouchy man who buys an ordinary house in Southern California. Soon after, his very friendly neighbor Esperanza (Adriana Barazza) notices a stain on the outside of Henry's house that she thinks is the face of Jesus. She calls in a priest (George Lopez) and starts telling everyone in town about "the miracle" at Henry's house, much to Henry's annoyance. This movie features great performances and a quirky look at the old discussion of faith vs. reason.

Special features include audio commentary with director Mark Pellington and writer Albert Torres, a featurette titled "The Making of Henry Poole Is Here," and the Henry Poole Is Here music video directed by Mark Pellington and featuring the MySpace.com theme song contest winner Ron Irizarry.

Two more up next, so read more.

Max Payne
Mark Wahlberg had an October hit on his hands when this dark, slick-looking action flick hit the screens. If you missed this one in theaters now's your chance for a mindless adrenaline rush from the comfort of your couch.

Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg) has been searching for his wife's murderers for three years when he meets the sexy Natasha (Olga Kurylenko) who leads him into a sinister world of drugs, which provides more clues toward solving the mystery. Before long, Natasha winds up dead with certain details linking her death to Max's wife's. Natasha's sister Mona (Mila Kunis) joins Max in his hunt for answers and revenge.

Special features include audio commentary by director John Moore, production designer Daniel Dorrance and visual effects supervisor Everett Burrell, and a featurette on adapting the graphic novel for film.

Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger
A Chris Rock comedy special is kind of like an eclipse to me: They don't happen all that often but when they do, I'm ready to watch and savor. I'm excited to add this one to my own queue and kick back and laugh my butt off.

Not having seen it yet, it's hard to describe what we can expect from this DVD, so I'll leave it to the product description: "Three-time Emmy Award-winning comic Chris Rock returns to HBO with his first stand-up comedy special in nearly five years, offering his unique, uncensored take on a variety of topics ranging from politics to celebrities, and never holding back while exposing the many absurdities of modern living. Compiled from footage captured during performances at South Africa's Carnival City Casino, New York's Apollo Theater, and Carling Apollo Hammersmith in London, this ninety-minute special marks Rock's eagerly-anticipated return to the stage after taking a break."

Max Payne: Awesome Style, Not Much Else

BuzzSugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:30:09 -0700

In its own haunting way, Max Payne is beautiful to watch. I knew that director John Moore had utilized some new digital technology while filming, but I didn't quite expect the movie as a whole to be so visually mesmerizing. This world never strays from its grainy state, everything awash in a blue-gray sheen - except for striking spots of bright red, and sometimes twinkly orange sparks - and there is near-constant precipitation usually large snowflakes swirling through icy air.

In other aspects (you know, the actual story and stuff), there's not too much to chat about. The story is fairly simplistic and the visual symbolism of this sad, dark world is obvious (in his memories of his past life, the world is bright and lovely, his miserable present-day life is only cold darkness). This isn't a subtle film by any means. But while there's plenty of violence and gunfire, somehow it doesn't seem to be fetishizing it. There's a greater goal to be met, and violence is par for the course in reaching this goal. To see why else I kinda liked this movie, read more.

Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg) has been searching for his wife's murderers for three years, and one night he meets the sexy Natasha (Olga Kurylenko) who leads him into a sinister world of drugs which provides more clues toward solving the mystery. Max even starts sniffing around the company where his wife worked alongside a kindly older friend of Max's family, BB Hensley (Beau Bridges). Before long, Natasha winds up dead with certain details linking her death to Max's wife's, and Natasha's sister Mona (Mila Kunis) joins Max in his hunt for answers and revenge.

Mark Wahlberg is tasked with playing what he does quite well: a hot-headed, broody guy with not too many lines. Mila Kunis plays the badass chick convincingly, and Ludacris is more or less OK in his role as a tough guy detective with some sassy one-liners (though I'm wary of seeing him take on meatier roles). No real acting chops are required for this movie (the acting's not really central to the film's success), though Beau Bridges puts his all into it anyway, and comes out the best of the bunch. He's got that fatherly businessman-with-shady-secrets thing down pat. We see Marky Mark the most in the movie, but it was Bridges's performance that I kept thinking about.

I might've liked the ending more if they hadn't taken such pains to ensure there will be a sequel. I understand the urge to do that (studios love nothing more than an endless number of unnecessary sequels), but it seems like a lame move here. It also felt like the movie ended a few times before it finally ended. Still, the journey getting there is captivating from start to finish, and extremely cool to watch.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:30:14 -0700

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below, the Oscar-winning documentary Taxi to the Dark Side is also now available on DVD.

Iron Man
Hurray! It feels like just yesterday the Summer box office was electrified by this superhero hit. I really loved it (and saw it twice in the theaters), mostly due to a super cool performance by Robert Downey Jr. and the skillful storytelling abilities of director Jon Favreau. Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, and Terrence Howard also do well in this fun action movie. It's a good way to go back in time and shake off those dark, depressing blues you may have caught from your 10th viewing of The Dark Knight.

Special features include deleted and extended scenes, featurettes titled "I Am Iron Man: 7-Part Making-of Documentary," "The Invincible Iron Man: 6-Part History of the Hero," and "Wired: The Visual effects of Iron Man." Something I'm really curious to see in the extras is a Robert Downey Jr. screen test and a featurette on his acting process. More time with RDJ is always good.

Two more spiffy choices, so read more!

Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Another comedy from the Apatow universe to add to your at-home collection (or your Netflix queue): Forgetting Sarah Marshall, starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, and Mila Kunis in a story about a guy trying to get over his most recent ex. And this could be considered a good thing or a warning, depending on your opinion: VMA host Russell Brand is in this movie and has a ton of screen time.

The unrated version is cryptically described as including scenes "you couldn't see in theaters" which I pray does not mean more of Jason Segel's private parts. I saw plenty myself, how about you? Other special features include a gag reel and a featurette titled "Line-o-rama: Lines you'll be reciting for ages."

Sports Night: Complete Series
On days like today, I really wish Aaron Sorkin would stop fiddling around on Facebook and get back to writing really awesome TV shows. He's definitely more hit than miss on the small screen and today's release of the special anniversary edition of his acclaimed Sports Night is an example of what it's like when he's hit his stride.

If you've never heard of the show, it's loosely based on ESPN's Sports Center, and it takes a look at the behind-the-scenes dynamics. The awesome cast is led by Peter Krause and Felicity Huffman who skillfully deliver those faster-than-the-speed-of-light dialogues that Sorkin is so good at writing.

The special edition DVD set includes new interviews with Sorkin, cast members Josh Charles, Robert Guillaume, Felicity Huffman, Peter Krause, and Joshua Malina; a featurette where real SportsCenter employees compare their experiences with the characters on Sports Night; a look back with creators Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme; and of course, gag reels.

Movie Preview: Max Payne

BuzzSugar — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:26:09 -0700

The trailer for the video game-turned-movie Max Payne looks dark and spooky, though the story doesn't seem particularly new. According to the plot description, Mark Wahlberg's character, Max Payne, is looking to avenge the deaths of his family members. Mila Kunis costars as an assassin who is also looking to avenge a loved one's death (her sister's). Lots of avenging going on.

Ludacris and Chris O'Donnell also star. Additionally, there is a giant bird.

The dark thriller hits theaters October 17. To check out the new trailer, read more.

A Sneak Peek at "Family Guy"'s 100th Episode

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 07:30:27 -0700

One of the most fun events I've been able to attend so far at the TCA press tour was Monday's live reading of the 100th episode of "Family Guy." Over themed lunches (the Lois was a cobb salad; the Peter included a large cookie), we listened to the show's voice actors run through a half hour of crude, inappropriate and often hilarious lines from the episode, which will air early in the show's upcoming season.

Of course, it will be interesting to see how much of the episode we heard actually makes it to air; Fox reminded us both in print and in person that this script hadn't yet been reviewed by the folks in broadcast standards and practices - which was obvious, to put it mildly. All the actual cursing will be saved for the DVD, of course, and there was one joke involving Keanu Reeves' unmentionables and the magical mailbox from The Lake House that I can't quite see making it to prime time either.

But there were lots of great (and slightly cleaner) moments in the episode, currently titled "Stewie Kills Lois." The basic plot line is pretty self-explanatory: Stewie, well, kills Lois when she and Peter decide to go on a cruise without him. The episode has a lot of scenes between Stewie and Brian the dog, and watching Seth MacFarlane switch seamlessly between the two voices as he essentially did dialogue with himself was pretty incredible. It also has an appearance by the Kool-Aid Man busting through a courtroom wall, which is something I can always get behind in my "Family Guy." The series will return for its sixth season on Sept. 23, and between this and the much-anticipated Star Wars parody episode, it should be something to watch.

Photo courtesy of Fox

Kristen Bell on the Set of Forgetting Sarah Marshall

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 07:30:00 -0700

I love Kristen Bell. I would watch Kristen Bell fold her laundry if she let me. Okay, that's a little creepy but still, I would. So I was excited to see the MTV movies blog post this video clip of Bell on the set of her comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, yet another in the long string of Judd Apatow-produced comedies.

In the film Bell plays a TV star (um...) who travels to Hawaii with her new boyfriend and ends up at the same resort as her ex with whom she recently broke up. There has to be more to the story than that, I hope, because otherwise it sounds pretty lame. But Paul Rudd, Mila Kunis and Jonah Hill also star, so maybe it'll be great.

The clip is endearingly cute and kind of awkward. To see Bell at work, read more

Source