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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:30:29 PDT

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 you can also rent the complete fifth season of Reno 911 as well as the Raven-Symoné comedy (and that's being generous) College Road Trip.

The Bank Job
I wouldn't be surprised if you missed The Bank Job while it was in theaters because it may have been written off as yet another bank heist flick. Now that it's out on DVD I think it deserves your rental/Netflix queue consideration.

Like I said before, it's an entertaining movie that is supposedly based on a true story. It centers around a group of crooks led by Terry Leather (Jason Statham ), who catches wind of a vulnerable vault of safe-deposit boxes. Little does Terry know, however, that the heist will end up having much farther-reaching implications involving several parties with a keen interest in this particular vault. It's not rocket science, sure, but it is a whole lot of fun and smartly directed. I highly recommend you check it out for yourself.

Special features include commentary with director Roger Donaldson, actress Saffron Burrows and composer J. Peter Robinson, and an "Inside The Bank Job" featurette.

Two more fun picks, so

read more. Meet Bill Even though I didn't hear much buzz surrounding Meet Bill originally, I still hoped to see it. But time flies when you're watching everything else, and here it is, already out on DVD. It's possible that we didn't hear much about it for good reason, though I still want to give it a shot because I really like Aaron Eckhart, not to mention Elizabeth Banks. Netflix sums up the plot as such: "Beleaguered bank employee Bill (Aaron Eckhart) has his hands full with his wife's (Elizabeth Banks) infidelity with a local television reporter (Timothy Olyphant), his oblivious father-in-law (Holmes Osborne) who runs the bank, and his own frustrated attempts to change careers in this screwball comedy. But when he's persuaded to mentor a teenager known as the Kid (Logan Lerman), things just might turn around for Bill." Penelope Me? I wasn't in love with Penelope but that isn't to say it doesn't have its charms and depending on the mood your in, could be just the anecdote to all these summertime superhero blockbusters. The move stars James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon, and Christina Ricci and tells the fanciful story of a girl cursed with a pig nose. In order to break the curse she must find "one of her own" (i.e. a "blue blood") to love her just as she is and marry her. What follows is a fanciful story that is visually lovely and sometimes touching. Special features include "The Making of Modern-Day tale" as well as a Twilight sneak peek.

Box Office: Semi-Pro Semi-Beats Out Competition

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:30:00 PST

Despite earning the top spot at the box office, the predictable laughs in Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro only earned $15.3 million over the weekend. This is considered a disappointing sum, especially compared to opening weekends of other Ferrell films like Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory. Variety reports that this underwhelming performance by the basketball comedy may have been due to mediocre reviews and an R-rating.

Vantage Point was only bumped down one spot to No. 2 over the weekend followed by The Spiderwick Chronicles at No. 3. The adaptation of Buzz Book Club's February selection The Other Boleyn Girl took the fourth spot earning an estimated $8.3 million. Penelope starring Reese Witherspoon and Christina Ricci also opened this weekend coming in at No. 8 behind Jumper, Step Up 2 The Streets, and Fool's Gold.

Filling out the top ten were Oscar-nominated films No Country for Old Men and Juno.

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema

Penelope: Fanciful But Not Fantastic

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:45:03 PST

There are some intriguing issues buried within the story of Penelope: what it means for a woman to love and accept herself the way she is, the way beauty ideals are - sometimes cruelly - passed down from mother to daughter, society's eagerness to vilify those who are different and then, just as quickly, to embrace them as "cute" upon discovering that they're harmless. These things are touched on, but mostly with a glazing brush, leaving the pretty film with adorable people lacking anything resembling "oomph."

The story follows Penelope Wilhern who, due to a curse put on her wealthy socialite family long ago, was born with a pig nose. In order to break the curse, she must find "one of her own" (i.e. a "blue blood") to love her just as she is and marry her. Only then will the spell break and her nose take on a normal shape. Desperate to break the curse and have a normal daughter, Penelope's mother (Catherine O'Hara) devotes her life to finding Penelope a husband, but the men who meet Penelope keep jumping out the window at the sight of her. Meanwhile, a one-eyed journalist determined to get a photo of "the pig-faced girl" and a selfish blue-blooded young man pay a down-on-his-luck musician (James McAvoy) to try and woo Penelope. For more about the movie than just this plot - some spoilers ahead -

read more. Visually, the fanciful made-up world providing the backdrop for this modern fairy tale is endearing and at times quite lovely. The performances are mostly great - I especially enjoy Reese Witherspoon in her funny, tough girl role as Penelope's friend, a wonderful departure from Witherspoon's bright and sometimes two-dimensional rom-com stuff. James McAvoy is lovable as always, and Catherine O'Hara as Penelope's hysterical mother sometimes steals the show. My favorite performance comes from Peter Dinklage who plays the desperate journalist. Not only is he a master of deadpan humor, but he's perhaps the only person in the film who goes on any kind of identifiable emotional arc. We're supposed to be on Penelope's journey, but Ricci has a hard time fluctuating the tone of her performance beyond a steady whine. Thus, the few good performances can't make up for Ricci's low-octane delivery and a disappointing cop-out ending. This tired, predictable ending features Penelope learning to accept herself and being rewarded with what she's always wanted. The message within this is frustrating. Penelope's final, hard-won self-acceptance, once found, is rendered useless and thrown out the window because that's when she becomes "normal." Phew! Now she no longer needs to like being different. Normal is still best. How refreshing. Bottom line: It's a modern fairy tale that still supports age-old beauty ideals and doesn't really try anything new or interesting. Source

Reese, Christina and James' Little Piggy Goes to LA

Molly — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:46:28 PST

Reese Witherspoon, Christina Ricci and James McAvoy brought their quirky little movie, Penelope to LA last night. Reese had on her best businesswoman pants and a big smile on her face posing for the cameras as both a star and producer of the project. Check out how to get her cute look here. Hell, she even stopped mid-red carpet to take a phone call (too funny). Amanda Bynes who is never one to miss a chance to show off those stems these days was around in yet another LBD. While this movie didn't appeal to me right off the bat, it's hard to deny the great trio of Christina-James-Reese. Maybe I'll have to check out that pig snout for myself after all.

To see more from the premiere including Reese, Christina, James, Amanda and others just read more

View 28 Photos ›

Images include: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon, Amanda Bynes, Sissy Spacek, Catherine O'Hara Source and Source

Movie Preview: Penelope

BuzzSugar — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:30:00 PST

Despite the star power of Reese Witherspoon (and James McAvoy for that matter), it seems like Penelope has been extremely reluctant to come out in theaters, though it has made the festival rounds since the fall of 2006. Even the newest trailer recently came online with as little fanfare as possible. Why, you ask? Perhaps because Penelope is an extremely strange-looking little film.

Christina Ricci stars as Penelope, a girl who was born with a pig snout for a nose. After years of being hidden away in her home by her mother (Catherine O'Hara), she is suddenly expected to find a husband, but all the men she meets run screaming from her. All the men except for Max (McAvoy). After she meets Max, she decides to strike out on her own and experience the world as she has never done before. With all the vibrant colors and the whimsical visual tone, the movie has the look and feel of a sort of dark fairy tale.

If nothing else, the trailer features Reese in the role of a badass and James McAvoy with a funny American accent, so to check it out before Penelope opens February 1,

"That Girl" Moves Into An Apartment

GiggleSugar — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 13:00:00 PDT

I think we've all met "that girl" at some point in our lives. The hair-stroking, always talking, insecure girl who compulsively lies to one-up everyone on everything. You like cartoons? Well, she was born a cartoon. You have a cat? Yeah, she gave birth to hers. SNL calls her Penelope, but I call her plain annoying. So... (Thanks, i am bored!)

Would You Want to be as Successful as Sheryl Sandberg?

Emily Co — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:34:15 PST

Many of us look up to Sheryl Sandberg as a role model because she's one of the most successful female business leaders of our time. She's consistently ranked by Forbes as one of the most powerful women in the world and she's estimated to be worth a cool $1.6 billion. She's the face of women trying to crack the glass ceiling, and with so many glowing praises showered on Sandberg, I was surprised to see career blogger Penelope Trunk make the bold statement that "very few women want to be Sandberg." Trunk explains:

"Sandberg wants to be a role model for women who want big, exciting careers. But here’s the problem: women don't want to be Sandberg. It’s no coincidence that the number one woman on the list of self-made millionaires is Oprah. She has no kids and no husband. She’s fascinating, nice, and smart. But few of us would really enjoy her life.

Sandberg and Oprah represent extreme choices in life. The things they give up are not things that most women would want to give up in exchange for the wild career success they could have . . . You can't have small kids and a startup if you want to see your kids."

Everyone has a different definition of what it means to "make it." In fact, success for many women doesn't mean climbing the corporate ladder; it's having a good work-life balance, according to a More magazine survey. The Facebook executive may be one of the wealthiest women around, but her intensive job may leave her with less time to spend with her two kids. What about you - would you want to be as successful as Sheryl Sandberg?

Penelope Cruz Takes a Night Meeting in London's West End

Mackenzie Wagoner — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:59:35 PST

Penelope Cruz left a meeting in London last night layered up in a leather jacket and chunky scarf. The actress and her family have been spotted hanging out in the UK while her husband, Javier Bardem, works on the new James Bond film, Skyfall. Meanwhile, Penelope's been keeping busy between casual outings and day dates with her little man, Leo. Javier and Penelope were among the hottest couples walking the red carpet during the 2011 award season, but this year they're taking a break from the glitz and glamour to focus on new projects. She has two films hitting the big screen this Fall, Nero Fiddled and Venuto al Mondo, while Javier's still-untitled Terrence Malick flick is also scheduled for release later this year.

Penelope Cruz Brightly Goes About Her London Business

Allie Merriam — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:45:19 PST

Penelope Cruz paired her green turtleneck with a pink blazer this morning as she left London's Berkeley hotel. She's hanging out in London with her two main men, husband Javier and son Leo Bardem, this week. Penelope and Javier are all about their Leo time, but did have an adults-only night out on Saturday, when they went for dinner at Benihana. Leo Bardem is one year old and already looking so big! His arrival was the highlight of Penelope and Javier's 2011, and their 2012 is shaping up to be an excellent year as well. Javier has been busy filming the new Bond film Skyfall, while Penelope's gearing up for the release of both Nero Fiddled and Venuto al Mondo in the Fall.

Penelope Cruz Heads Home to Madrid With Her Pirates

Allie Merriam — Wed, 18 May 2011 07:42:20 PDT

Vogue cover girl Penelope Cruz changed up her promotional outfits today by wearing a one-piece, instead of a long dress, to the Madrid photo call for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides held at the city's Villamagna Hotel. She's in her native Spain after a whirlwind promotional schedule that kicked off over a week ago in LA, where she and costar Johnny Depp debuted the movie with a huge todo at Disneyland. Penelope and Johnny were then off to Moscow, London, and, finally, Cannes for a star-studded screening during the film festival. Despite our hopes, neither Johnny nor Penelope have hit the red carpet with their respective significant others Vanessa Paradis and Javier Bardem. In fact, Johnny seems to be sitting out the last leg of the promotional endeavors. Penelope was solo for yesterday's event in Munich, and this morning she had only costars Sam Claflin and Astrid-Berges Frisbey as well as producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Penelope has one more Pirates premiere this evening in her home city, and she's sure to keep the fab press tour fashion coming.