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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:30:01 -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 my selections below, you can also add Jessica Biel's Powder Blue to your queue, along with the first season of Designing Women.

New in Town
Renée Zellweger stars in this quirky romantic comedy as Lucy Hill, a tough Miami executive who is sent to take over a processing plant located in the frozen tundra of New Ulm, MN. Lucy is supposed to lay off a bunch of employees, but the longer she's in town the more she sees how devastating her actions would be to the people of New Ulm who have been so gosh darn nice to her. The plight of the townfolk is given voice through the local ~~hottie~~ union rep, Ted (Harry Connick Jr.), who has lots of initial contempt for the new lady in town and sees Lucy as a corporate stooge. Until, of course . . . he doesn't.

This isn't the best thing you'll ever see but it's fun enough for a little movie romance on the couch. Special features include featurettes titled "The Folk Art of Scrap Booking" and "Pudding's Delicious Role," along with deleted scenes and audio commentary with cast and crew.

18%

One more up next so read more.

The Closer: Season Four
I haven't watched The Closer in a little while so I'll definitely be adding this to my queue. There are lots of fans of this show out there so I'll leave the season's description to some folks who know better than I (Netflix): "L.A.'s top high-priority homicide detective, Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick), returns to tackle more intriguing cases, such as the reappearance of a wanted psychopath, while trying to maintain her relationship with her fiancé, Fritz (Jon Tenney). This exciting and powerful fourth season blazes onto the screen as a murdered body is discovered in fire-ravaged Griffith Park."

Special features include unaired scenes, observational tips from an FBI interrogator, a gag reel and a featurette titled, "A Day in the Life of a Homicide Detective: Series star Corey Reynolds rides along with retired LAPD detective Mike Berchem."

Box Office: Audiences Taken With Taken

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:00:40 -0800

Liam Neeson's thriller Taken scored the top spot at the box office this weekend, which according to Variety, proves that "male-driven pics can open successfully on Super Bowl weekend." Last year Miley Cyrus brought her magic to the big screen over Super Bowl weekend and broke records.

Meanwhile, Paul Blart: Mall Cop continues to do well and dropped to the No. 2 spot after two weeks in first place. People love this movie! Elizabeth Banks's horror flick, The Uninvited, came in No. 3 followed by Hotel for Dogs and Gran Torino.

Finally, New in Town, the romantic comedy starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. had a disappointing (though not unexpected) debut at No. 8, only earning an estimated $6.8 million.

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

New in Town: Lovin' in the Cold

BuzzSugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:30:40 -0800

New in Town is packed with a lot of bad, wrong-headed moves including small-town stereotypes, predictability, conventionality, and in one bizarre scene, hard nipples. Despite a talented and likable cast with wonderful character actors like J.K. Simmons and Frances Conroy, this romantic comedy was probably doomed from the start due to a script that can't decide if it wants to be Fargo, Norma Ray, or Working Girl.

That said, there is something in this movie that no script can write in and that's some honest-to-goodness chemistry between the two leads. Maybe I'm a sucker for Harry Connick Jr., maybe it's rare to witness some genuine onscreen sparks, or maybe I've been suffering too long from generic rom-com fatigue. Whatever the reason, I couldn't help but get a moderate case of the warm fuzzies after watching it.

To see some more of my thoughts on New in Town, read more.

Renée Zellweger plays Lucy Hill, a tough Miami executive at some kind of food-making corporation who storms around in sky-high heels as if they were running shoes. We see Lucy at a meeting full of suits and jogging on the shore, but beyond that we don't really get any more insight into her character, which is one of the problems with this script. It makes it difficult later on to sympathize with her or even to understand why she does some of the things she does when she has to take over a processing plant located in the frozen tundra of New Ulm, Minnesota.

Lucy is sent to lay off a bunch of employees, but the longer she's in town the more she sees how devastating her actions would be to the people of New Ulm who have been so gosh darn nice to her. The plight of the town folks is given voice through the local union rep, Ted (Harry Connick Jr.), who has lots of initial contempt for the new lady in town and sees Lucy as a corporate stooge. Until, of course . . . he doesn't.

There are lots of tiresome homespun-isms by the sweet, down-to-earth townspeople, as well as much scrap-booking and tapioca-making, stuff like that. And at first Zellweger plays Lucy as a stiff "ice queen" (another extreme stereotype this movie can claim: that of the callous, powerful working woman). But once things heat up between her and Ted, she warms up and the performance takes on a more natural, playful tone. If fact, it's right in the middle that the characters emerge as more than caricatures and things get charming. Lucy is especially fun to root for midway through because she's smart and determined and also hilariously out of place on dates with Ted. The bottom line is that there is plenty to roll your eyes at, including an ending that's silly and syrupy, but I'll admit it: I laughed and I wanted these two opposite lovebirds to be together forever.

Photos courtesy of Lionsgate

Watch, Pass, TiVo or Rent: New in Town

BuzzSugar — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:15:00 -0800

This Friday, Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. star in New in Town in which a "Miami businesswoman adjusts to her new life in a tiny Minnesota town." Do you think you'll watch this one in theaters, or wait for it to be on DVD - or even for it to be on TV when you're lazing around some Saturday afternoon? Or is this a total pass?

One-sheet image courtesy of Lionsgate

Movie Preview: Renée Zellweger Is New in Town

BuzzSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:31:48 -0800

The trailer for the romantic comedy New in Town, starring Renée Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr., seems to tell the whole story, and it looks like a predictable story at that. As the plot description states, "Renée Zellweger stars as a Miami-based consultant whose latest assignment, to restructure a manufacturing plant in small-town Minnesota, causes her to reconsider her professional and personal objectives once she settles into her new life."

And yet, if it's so predictable, why did I laugh out loud a few times while watching the trailer? There's something kind of adorable and funny about this movie, and I'm actually excited to see it. New in Town (which was previously titled Chilled in Miami) opens Jan. 30. To check out the trailer, read more.

Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. Chill in Miami

BuzzSugar — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:40:09 -0700

As the title suggests, these two are in negotiations to star together in a movie. The "fish out of water comedy" is titled Chilled in Miami and "centers on a Miami businesswoman who's transferred to the sticks of Minnesota."

The original title for this project was 32 and Single, so I'm certainly relieved to see that at least they changed that up (because, you know, it's the 2000s now and being 32 and single isn't all that unusual or tragic). However, I must say I don't really understand what Chilled in Miami means, exactly. I assume it has something to do with Zellweger's character's icy cold personality before slowing down and warming up to the Minnesotans charming small town ways.

Yawn. I so hope there's more to the storyline than this!

Source, source

Link Time!

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:50:10 -0700

Bradley Whitford is heading back to TV in Jack and Dan - TV Squad
A few early predictions for the 2010 Oscars - Vulture
The release date of Nine has been moved from Thanksgiving to Christmas - Cinematical
Ellen Pompeo may not miss any episodes of Grey's Anatomy for maternity leave after all - Watch With Kristin
A countdown of Vince Vaughn's funniest moments (including video clips!) - Moviefone
Daniel Radcliffe will return to Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - MTV Movies Blog
Amazon has New Moon soundtrack snippets! - Pitchfork
Desperate Housewives' creator Marc Cherry is working on a new show for ABC - Hollywood Reporter
ABC picks up The Middle, Cougar Town, and Modern Family for full seasons - HitFix
Fine Living Network is changing over to the Cooking Channel - Yum Sugar
The Top 15: Greatest Opening Title Sequences - TV.com

Link Time! New Moon Director Chris Weitz Has a New Project

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:30:52 -0800

New Moon director Chris Weitz reveals his next film, titled The Gardener - Cinematical
Who was the most over-the-top on the AMAs stage? - PopSugar
ABC halts Cougar Town due to a "private family matter" for Courteney Cox - HitFix
Here's a sneak peek at the final episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 - People
Taking a page from Kevin James's resume, TLC is doing a new show about mall cops - TV Squad
Behind the scenes of Avatar - Rotten Tomatoes
Will the Grammys let Lady Gaga compete for Best New Artist? Pretty, pretty please! - Rock & Roll Daily
What's really based on true life and what was just made up in The Blind Side - Moviefone
Parks and Recreation's Aziz Ansari on his favorite music growing up - Pitchfork
Kat Dennings joins the Thor cast - MTV Splash Page
The top five turkeys on TV - as in failures, not the bird - The TV Addict
Heroes stars reveal what they're thankful for this year - TV.com

New Moon: Better Than Twilight

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0800

Let's be honest: for most of you, it doesn't matter what I - or any critics for that matter - have to say about New Moon, the incredibly anticipated sequel to last year's Twilight. The film started breaking box office records before it was even released, and audiences will flock to the theaters for weeks to come. On the plus side, a ticket to New Moon is a win even if you're not a Twihard - provided that you know what you're getting into.

New Moon is not incredibly acted, and it doesn't boast impressive dialogue or larger-than-life special effects. But it's not trying to be the Best Picture of the Year, so I can only critique it for what it is: a fantasy movie about a love triangle between a werewolf, a vampire, and a teenage girl. To see what I mean, just read more.

The movie picks up a few months after where Twilight left off. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is blissfully in love but she can't fight her insecurities about growing older than her perpetually seventeen vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). All Bella wants for her eighteenth birthday is for Edward to change her into a bloodsucker, but a close call with his brother drives Edward to break up with Bella and leave town instead.

The drama following Bella's abandonment is everything we remember from high school heartbreak, from Bella's night terrors to the glazed over look in her eye. The anguish and pain are easily seen on Stewart's face, and her innermost thoughts are revealed to the audience through letters to Edward's sister Alice that will never be sent. After months of moping, Bella finally starts to open up to Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a family friend. As Bella struggles to find hope in a life without Edward, her friendship is complicated by Jacob's romantic feelings for Bella and made worse when Jacob discovers that he's a werewolf (and an enemy to all vampires).

The surprise of the movie is Lautner's performance. We've seen and heard about those muscles countless times before, but he also packs enough charm and charisma into his Jacob that you truly see him as more than just Bella's unrelenting admirer / best friend. He presents himself as a viable suitor for Bella's heart, and it's hard not to root for him against Robert Pattinson's wooden (albeit handsome) Edward. Stewart and Pattinson have chemistry to spare in Twilight, but in New Moon, Bella's relationship with Jacob seems hopeful and comfortable while her scenes with Edward are mostly awkward and frankly not as much fun to watch.

The movie belongs to Stewart and Lautner, but their melodrama is balanced out by the characters who pad out the cast. Yes, we meet the wolf pack and the Volturi, but for the most part the Forks residents and beyond make for some much-needed comic relief. The downside is that while it's funnier than what you'd expect, not all of the laughs are intentional (a scene where Jacob's temper rivals that of The Incredible Hulk comes to mind).

It doesn't take more than a grain of salt to appreciate New Moon for what it is - a film that stays true to its origin and delivers the necessary elements to ensure that you'll be back when the next installment of the franchise comes our way.

Photos courtesy of Summit Entertainment

What to TiVo: Wednesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:50:00 -0800

ABC is new with The Middle, Modern Family, Cougar Town, and In the Spotlight With Robin Roberts: Janet Jackson
CBS is new with New Adventures of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY
FOX is new with So You Think You Can Dance and Glee
NBC is new with Mercy and Law & Order: SVU
The CW is new with America's Next Top Model
E! is new with True Hollywood Story: Football Wives
Bravo is new with Top Chef: Las Vegas
Comedy Central is new with South Park, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report
FX is new with Nip/Tuck
MTV is new with Real World/Road Rules Challenge
Late-night highlights include Robert Pattinson on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Amerie on Lopez Tonight on TBS; Seth Green, Heidi Montag, and Spencer Pratt on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; 50 Cent on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Kristen Stewart on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC; and David Duchovny on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS