BuzzSugar

Movie Night: The Material Girl Turns 50!

BuzzSugar — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:00:00 -0700

Madonna turning 50 is practically a holiday around here at Sugar HQ. I know one mega-fan here in the office who couldn't be more excited about the Queen of Pop's birthday. While many appreciate Madge's tremendous impact on popular music, I am equally appreciative of some of her movie roles. You'd think that Madonna's off-screen persona might overwhelm her characters onscreen, but that hasn't really been the case. I consider her a capable and engaging actress, and I've picked out a few of my favorite titles in her filmography. So, happy birthday Madonna - this Movie Night's for you!

Dick Tracy
I love that Netflix describes Madonna's character in this awesome '90s movie as the "seductive and sultry torch singer Breathless Mahoney." Dick Tracy was pretty much panned by critics, despite its star-studded cast. Regardless, the visual setting is vibrant, the costumes are neato, and to this day I still watch Madonna's performance of "Sooner or Later" and want to be her for Halloween.

For the other two Madonna movies on my list, just read more.

A League of Their Own
Even though Madonna was a big star by the time she did this movie, she humbly fit herself into the ensemble cast, and her character is a huge part of what makes this Penny Marshall classic so great. Her dynamic with Rosie O'Donnell's character is so perfectly rendered, the two of them endeared themselves to me when I saw this movie for the first time. Aw, how can you resist A League of Their Own?

Desperately Seeking Susan
How fun is it to re-experience the '80s Madonna in all her dark-roots glory? Sure, you can pop in some of her greatest hits, but there is nothing like seeing her on your TV screen. A bored housewife (Rosanna Arquette) becomes infatuated with Susan (Madonna) through the classified ads (remember those?) in this 1985 classic. And who wouldn't get obsessed? Susan is a free-spirited Holly Golightly-type but with a lot more lace. As the screwball comedic plot twists ensue, you're reminded why Madonna became one of the world's biggest stars.

Source and Source

Movie Night: The World of Dark Knight Director Christopher Nolan

BuzzSugar — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:30:46 -0700

Christopher Nolan is a director who initially made a huge splash with a little budget and not much celebrity star power. He's the director of The Dark Knight and the man responsible for resuscitating the Batman franchise. Not so long ago, he was an independent filmmaker, but after this weekend he'll probably be seen as one of the most influential creative forces in Hollywood. So who is the visionary behind the ~~mask~~ camera? Well, you could read this interesting New York Times profile, or you could let his work speak for itself by embarking on a Christopher Nolan Movie Night!

Memento
Try to remember back to 2000 - there was a lot of hype around a little movie about a guy suffering from short-term memory loss looking for the man who murdered his wife. Memento was a big deal and shot Nolan to the head of the class in the eyes of film critics and Hollywood bigwigs alike. Guy Pearce is mesmerizing as a man forced to tattoo himself to remember things, and the way the movie plays with time is chilling and mind-blowing.

Two more Nolan flicks to go so read more.

The Prestige
Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, David Bowie, magic, murder - what more do you need for an exciting movie? Nolan created a spooky atmosphere in which to set this tale of two illusionists competing against each other at the turn of the 20th century. The film earned Oscar nods for both art direction and cinematography. The gripping story follows both magicians (Bale and Jackman) as they try to outdo each other, taking their competition to deadly extremes.

Batman Begins
While it had only a third of the hype The Dark Knight has, Batman Begins wiped the superhero's slate clean of the tarnished image of the franchise (and memories of George Clooney's nippled batsuit) and brought the tale of the dark hero back to its roots. Its super darkly awesome roots, that is. If you haven't seen this first installment of Nolan's reboot, you definitely won't be lost at Dark Knight this weekend, but it's well worth watching and will get you super pumped.

Source

Movie Night: Far-Off Destinations

BuzzSugar — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:30:04 -0700

I've been really inspired by traveling this week - both because of my own itch to go on an adventure and because I have a handful of friends who are either planning their honeymoon or enjoying it right now. As part of my travel urge, I got to thinking about movies that captured a culture and a country so well that they've made me add a new entry to my list of places I have vowed to visit. Come away with me on a mini-jaunt around the globe via this movie night!

Out of Africa
This Oscar-winning classic directed by the late Sydney Pollack starred Meryl Streep and an extremely dreamy Robert Redford, but the biggest star of the film is East Africa. The movie is loosely based on Karen Blixen's 1937 autobiography about her real-life journey to Kenya. The character based on Blixen enters a loveless marriage but then meets Redford's character, a local-game hunter, and an epic romance ensues. The movie was filmed on location and is breathtakingly beautiful. If this doesn't make you consider Africa as a travel destination, I don't know what will.

Two more glorious locations, so read more.

French Kiss
Most people probably don't need their arms twisted to stick France on their travel list, but when a movie comes along that captures that certain je ne sais quoi of the French countryside, vineyards, and coast, it makes not being there feel nearly intolerable. French Kiss is one of those movies, and it stars Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline as unlikely partners in a trek across France. She's on a mission to get her cheating fiance back, and he's a petty criminal who helps her as a means to reach his own goal of buying back a vineyard he lost. Their chemistry is charming, but the way the film captures the spirit and nonchalance of the place is what makes it a lovely vicarious trip abroad.

Sex and Lucia
To call this movie racy is probably an understatement. The word "sex" is in the title for good reason, because there's a lot of it in this mystical Spanish film - and it's pretty explicitly discussed and enacted. You've been warned. That said, nearly five years after I first saw this, what sticks with me are the unbelievably gorgeous shots of nature: the azure skies and ocean set against the snow-white sands of Spain's Balearic Islands. After this movie, this semi-remote location has remained high on my list of places to get myself to.

Source and Source

Tax Season Movie Night: Money, Money, Money

BuzzSugar — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:30:27 -0700

Tax season is upon us and I know how stressful it can be to dig up receipts, fill out the forms and file the ol' taxes. Although my friend Savvy wouldn't be too happy to hear this, I have a bad habit of procrastinating and will find any reason to avoid doing my taxes. This year I have a new strategy: hold a money movie night with the following films and then do my taxes - no more excuses! It's a good plan because there are a lot of good lessons to learn from these movies, you know? OK, that's a lame rationalization, but hey, these movies are fun and might even convince you to stay away from white-collar crimes.

Trading Places
Just thinking about Trading Places makes me laugh, which is the perfect way to kick off a tax season movie night. Eddie Murphy stars alongside fellow funny man Dan Aykroyd in this film that poses the question: Does money make the man?

Louis Winthorpe III (Aykroyd) is a Harvard educated broker who has it all. Billy Ray Valentine (Murphy) is a street hustler angling for a dollar. When these two men switch places in society, all hilarity breaks loose. It's a wacky premise, but Murphy is hysterical and it's a funny peek at the ways in which money changes people.

Two more money movies, so read more.

Wall Street
In high school, my economics teacher taught us all about the stock market and making lots of money. And then he made us watch this movie starring Michael Douglas (who won an Oscar for his performance) and Charlie Sheen to warn us of the dangers of excess. Looking back, this was a smart move as Wall Street is the ultimate cautionary tale. At the center we see the evil, morally depraved Gordon Gekko (Douglas), who embodies the worst of the opulent 1980s. Sheen plays the young and naive newcomer who first believes he can make it big as a mover and shaker on Wall Street, but under the tutelage of the greedy Gekko finds himself tangled in an insider trading scheme and has to fight for his soul. Again, white-collar crime is bad. Thanks, Teach!

Indecent Proposal
Indecent Proposal, starring Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson and Robert Redford, is a provocative twist on an age-old question: How far are you willing to go for money? Moore and Harrelson are a happy couple who find themselves in a serious financial crisis and head to Vegas (naturally!). There, a rich, handsome stranger (Redford) offers them $1 million for a night of you-know-what with Moore. What follows is scandalous, shocking and painful. In the end though, it's a good lesson in how just a little bit of moral compromise in the name of greed can eat you alive.

Source and Source

Christian Bale Movie Night: Serious Actor, Also in Newsies

BuzzSugar — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:29:58 -0800

Though he wasn't nominated for any awards, I believe some of the year's best performances have come from Christian Bale (3:10 to Yuma, Rescue Dawn), and I'm a little sad that he's missing from the red carpet. The man has been honing his craft since he was a wee child and has been working steadily for years since. To properly pay my respects to the talented Mr. Bale this awards season, I'm designating a Movie Night to him. It's hard to choose given his large body of work, but I dug out some gems. In addition to these titles, he also sang his way into my heart in Newsies and freaked me out in American Psycho and The Machinist.

3:10 to Yuma
I've said it before and I'll say it again: 3:10 to Yuma is an excellent retelling of an old Western, reminding us that this dusty genre isn't dead. The lead actors turn in solid performances including Christian Bale who plays rancher Dan Evans, a man down on his luck physically and financially. Evans seizes an opportunity to earn some good reward money by delivering the infamous outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to the Yuma prison via the 3:10 PM train. With Ben's men hot on their trail, their journey to Yuma takes on a power struggle that is ultimately as simple as good versus evil. This film has one of Bale's most arresting portrayals in recent history, and should definitely kick off your movie night.

Two more titles from the deeper confines of Bale's past, so read more

Swing Kids
In this 1993 drama, Bale plays one of three friends growing up in Nazi Germany on the eve of World War II. Alongside Robert Sean Leonard (who you can now catch on House), Bale and friends rebel against the status quo by listening and dancing to American swing music. Eventually though, their teenage rebellions are forced to a stop and the young men are faced with some hard choices.

Though sappy at times, it's fun watching the young, strapping Robert Sean Leonard and Christian Bale together onscreen.

Little Women
Bale first really hit my adolescent radar when he brought Laurie to life in Little Women. I'm just going to say it: I don't think there could ever be a more perfect Theodore 'Laurie' Lawrence. In other news, it's a good wintertime family classic with a great cast, including Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Susan Sarandon and a tiny Kirsten Dunst.

Source and Source

Movie Night: All Amy Adams, All the Time

BuzzSugar — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:42:24 -0800

Even if you haven't yet seen the cutefest that is Enchanted, you've probably heard a lot about how lovely and endearing Amy Adams is in the lead role. Indeed, lately there seems to be a kind of Amy Adams fever going around! I think she's just darling, so if Enchanted was the first you'd heard of her and you're eager to see more of this charming girl, check out my suggestions for an Amy Adams Movie Night. In addition to these titles, she is also hilarious in Drop Dead Gorgeous and convincingly petulant in The Wedding Date.

Junebug
Adams is at her sweet, wide-eyed best in this fish-out-of-water tale. Big-time Chicago art dealer, Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz), finally meets her new dreamboat husband's (Alessandro Nivola) family when she goes down to North Carolina to close a deal with a reclusive artist. There she meets her touchy mother-in-law (Celia Weston), quiet father-in-law Eugene (Scott Wilson), grouchy brother-in-law Johnny (Ben McKenzie), and Johnny's pregnant wife Ashley (Adams). Naive and childlike, Ashley idolizes Madeleine and her glamorous big-city ways. As with most stories like this, the newcomer acts as a catalyst for examining deep-rooted family issues.

Two more titles featuring America's redheaded sweetheart if you read more

Psycho Beach Party
In this spoof of 1960s surfer and slasher films (think Gidget, but murderous and insane), Adams plays the perky, blonde beach-babe Marvel Ann, whose boyfriend becomes attracted to the crazy main character, Florence "Chicklet" Forrest (Lauren Ambrose). The film is hugely campy and completely absurd, so don't try to make any sense of it - just enjoy the hilarious dialogue and super-fake surf scenes.

Catch Me if You Can
Of course, most of this movie belongs to Leonardo DiCaprio as the scheming trickster Frank Abagnale Jr. who cons his way into a variety of professions, including teacher, airline pilot, doctor and lawyer as a way of eluding the FBI. Adams plays nurse Brenda Strong, the only one of Abagnale's many girls who he truly loves.

Source and source

Movie Night: She Works Hard for the Money

BuzzSugar — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 13:26:52 -0700

In honor of the upcoming Labor Day weekend, let's take a moment and honor those cinematic ladies who, as Donna Summer would say, "work hard for the money." I know there are plenty of movies to choose from for this category, but I'm narrowing my list for this Movie Night to just three. So this holiday weekend, curl up in solidarity with some of your onscreen working sisters.

Nine to Five
This tale of office revenge is perhaps the most satisfying ever - especially because it features three fed up ladies getting back at "the Man." Dolly Parton has big hair and bigger boobs, and pairing up her Southern charm with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda makes for some hilarious hijinks as the three disgruntled ladies exact revenge on their clueless, rude, sexist boss (Dabney Coleman). This movie makes me cheer.

Two more films, so read more

Clockwatchers
This 1998 movie depicts the soul-crushing monotony of corporate life so accurately it both makes me cringe and comforts me to know that others experience the same thing. Toni Collette plays the shy, quiet Iris who keeps a journal and narrates the film with her inner monologue. The plot description is this: "She begins her first day as a temp for the nondescript Global Credit Association by waiting in a chair for two hours. This sets the scene for her (mis)adventures with the other 'corporate orphans', Margaret, Paula and Jane. Led by Margaret, they find subtle ways to lessen the ennui of corporate oppression. The tension escalates when the new permanent hire, Cleo, enters the picture." The superb cast (especially Collette and Posey) and the careful direction make for a true-to-life and funny look at the friendships and culture in office environments.

Working Girl
If you haven't seen this movie which features whispy-voiced Melanie Griffith and some of the largest glasses this side of 1988, you can often catch it on weekends on networks like TNT. The story follows Tess McGill (Griffith), an executive assistant in a company riddled with piggish men - and a conceited, ruthless female executive named Katharine Parker (Sigorney Weaver). When Katharine breaks her leg and is bedridden, Tess pretends to be her wheeling-dealing boss - and turns out to be a better Katharine than Katharine is. Between Working Girl, 9 to 5 and countless others, it seems revenge is a common fantasy among office workers, no?

9 to 5 poster source
Clockwatchers image source
Working Girl image source

Movie Night: O, America

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:00:00 -0700

In keeping with this week's Independence Day theme, this week's Movie Night consists of three movies having to do with the U.S. of A. I've already recommended American Beauty in a previous installment of Movie Night, but that's another great one to watch this week!

American Pie
A staple in many an American teenager's cinematic repertoire, American Pie oozes with adolescent sexual frustration and poses hilarious worst-case scenarios. As a foursome of guys gets ready to graduate high school, they turn their attention to the one thing left to do before senior prom: lose that pesky virginity. They each approach this challenge in their individual ways and with varied results, though they all learn some kind of lesson in the end. Eugene Levy plays Jim's (Jason Biggs) well-meaning but horrendously awkward father in what has become one of his signature roles. American Pie also brought the term "MILF" into common usage, and anyone familiar with the movie now knows the ending to any story that starts with "This one time? At band camp?"

Two more movies if you read more

In America
There are scenes from this heartwarming family drama that bring tears to my eyes just thinking about them. The movie follows Irish parents Sarah (Samantha Morton) and Johnny (Paddy Considine) whose only son has died. So, they take their two young daughters to New York City in search of a new life and an escape from their grief. There they endure dismal living conditions, demeaning jobs and unbearable summer heat - but they also befriend an artist living downstairs (Djimon Hounsou) who helps them learn how to heal each other. The performances in this movie are deeply moving, particularly that of Samantha Morton, who will break your heart only to sew it back up again.

American Splendor
Paul Giamatti, in a role he was simply born to play, portrays Harvey Pekar in this biopic about the surly, misanthropic comic book writer who ultimately found himself famous. Working as a file clerk in Cleveland, Harvey Pekar wrote comic books about his life for over 20 years and called them American Splendor. The comics aren't adventurous or fantastical, but they rather detail the minutiae of Pekar's day-to-day experiences. Eventually he meets Joyce Barber (played to sardonic perfection by Hope Davis) and together the two navigate Harvey's newfound cult popularity. Pekar chronicled his average American life with humor and bleak honesty, and the movie captures this superbly. It also won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and was honored with a prize at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.

Movie Night: Vacation Movies

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:19:23 -0700

Seeing as this week the Sugar network celebrated all things honeymoon as a part of wedding season coverage, I thought I'd do a Movie Night featuring three great vacation movies.

Roman Holiday
One of my all-time favorite Audrey Hepburn movies - and the only one that earned her an Oscar win - Roman Holiday will steal your heart and spirit it away to the narrow streets of Italy's capital city. Hepburn plays a princess who, on the Roman leg of her European capitals tour, rebelliously sneaks away from her entourage and strikes off on her own. She falls asleep on a bench, however, and is discovered by an American reporter (Gregory Peck) who is thrilled that he can get the inside scoop on the runaway princess. A charming romance, of course, ensues. Rome often looks beautiful in the movies, and this film is no exception. Watching it makes me more fully understand the meaning of "roman-tic."

Two more if you read more
National Lampoon's European Vacation
And for something completely on the other end of the spectrum, one of my favorite travel comedies is National Lampoon's European Vacation. The Griswold family has won themselves a grand tour of Europe, and in true National Lampoon's fashion, the trip is anything but smooth. From Clark (Chevy Chase) trying to drive on the "wrong" side of the road in London, to him single-handedly destroying Stonehedge, this movie is pure comedic entertainment. My favorite part is when Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) finds herself plastered on billboards across Italy wearing just a towel after the family's new video camera is stolen. Classic. I find myself compelled to watch this movie every time I am preparing for a long vacation.

Swingers
Where do you bring your down-on-his-luck buddy when he needs to get away? "Vegas, baby, Vegas!" This movie features a much skinnier Vince Vaughn back when his sleaziness was funny and endearing. Vaughn plays Trent who harbors arrogant delusions regarding his power to attract the ladies. John Favreou plays his glum-faced friend Mike whose self-esteem is suffering after breaking up with his longtime girlfriend. In Vegas, the duo meet a couple "beautiful babies," though both girls end up cooing over Mike, the friend in need. And, of course, there is my favorite part when Mike swing dances with a lovely stranger (Heather Graham) to a Big Bad Voodoo Daddy song. The movie is a testament to the fun, healing powers of vacation (and swing dance).

Movie Night: Sarah Jessica Parker Movies

BuzzSugar — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 09:30:31 -0700

On the heels of her latest movie news, this week's Movie Night is all about Sarah Jessica Parker. She will forever be associated with Carrie Bradshaw on "Sex and the City," but the truth is, she's played some delightful non-Carrie-like characters in her day.

Banish from your mind Failure to Launch and If Lucy Fell, and check out three of my favorite movies that feature SJP. And instead of photo stills, this week I found short clips from each of these movies. This first one is truly a little bit of '80s bliss.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun
For this movie description - in case you somehow missed the movie back in the mid-1980s - I'm deferring to the Netflix write-up because it's rather hilarious: "Janey (Sarah Jessica Parker) is a shy good girl. Lynne (Helen Hunt) is a cool rock chick. But when the two friends scheme to get Janey on television's biggest after-school dance show, they find themselves on a wild adventure filled with cute boys, hot dancing, prudish nuns, mean rich kids, parents that just don't understand, and girls doing what they know best...just having FUN!"

For two more SJP suggestions and clips, read more

State and Main
When I need to be cheered up, this David Mamet movie about a doomed movie shoot never fails to do the trick. Sarah Jessica Parker plays a Hollywood starlet who refuses to do a key nude scene (despite the fact that she's well-known for dropping trou in other films) because she wants to restore her saintly image. Besides Mamet's witty dialogue, the best part about this movie is the cast, which also includes Philip Seymour Hoffman as a mopey screenwriter, William H. Macy as a self-important director, and the hilarious Alec Baldwin as ~~himself~~ a drunken, philandering movie star.

L.A. Story
More than just a great SJP movie, this is one of the best Steve Martin movies ever (which makes sense, seeing as Martin wrote the screenplay, basing it on "A Midsummer Night's Dream"). Sarah Jessica Parker plays the young, flighty California girl to Martin's midlife crisis. Victoria Tennant plays the lovely French horn-playing neighbor living next door to Harris (Martin) and who rounds out the little love triangle. The story is funny, whimsical and has that light California feeling with a sprinkling of dour Steve Martinisms.

Source