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Movie Preview: Rachel Weisz in Agora

BuzzSugar — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:30:18 -0700

The story being told in Agora is so interesting, it would be a shame if the movie itself turns out to be lame, but so far I feel kind of lukewarm about the trailer. The film is set in Roman Egypt in the fourth century A.D. and stars Rachel Weisz as "astrologer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, who fights to save the collected wisdom of the ancient world. Her slave Davus ([Max] Minghella) is torn between his love for his mistress and the possibility of gaining his freedom by joining the rising tide of Christianity."

I adore Rachel Weisz and I hope this movie turns out to be the epic, dramatic tale it's striving to be. I've liked some of director Alejandro Amenábar's previous projects, like Abre los ojos (of which Vanilla Sky is an English-language adaptation), so maybe Agora will be really cool. There's no set release date for the US just yet, but to take a peek at the trailer, read more.

Movie Preview: Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones

BuzzSugar — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:40:49 -0700

If you've read the book The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, you'll know that it's a heartwrenching, mysterious tale about family, death - and whatever comes after death. Peter Jackson's film adaptation has been a point of discussion ever since it was announced over two years ago, from the casting choices to the question of how to adapt a story like this, which regularly blurs the line between reality and the supernatural. Jackson's 1994 movie Heavenly Creatures does this very thing as well, which made him a good choice for this particular challenge.

The new trailer for the film, which opens Dec. 11, starts out tender and soft before building to a tense and chilling crescendo. Atonement's Saoirse Ronan plays Susie Salmon, a young teen who narrates the story after she's been murdered. She observes her family as they try to piece together what happened to her, and it's all a big tangle of scariness, sadness, and aching sweetness. To watch the trailer, click here.

Pattinson and Jackman and Weisz? Oh, My

BuzzSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 10:30:04 -0700

Robert Pattinson, Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz starring together in a movie? That's hot.

The period drama is titled Unbound Captives and follows a woman (to be played by Weisz) "whose husband is killed and her two children kidnapped by a Comanche war party in 1859. She is rescued by a frontiersman, to be played by Jackman. Pattinson will play the son." First-time director Madeleine Stowe will be working with her own screenplay which she wrote, under the pseudonym O.C. Humphrey, with her husband. She'd originally planned on starring in the lead role herself, but ultimately decided to direct. She says she saw three actresses and just knew that Weisz would be good for the role. Interestingly, Robert Pattinson agreed to be in the film last Fall, "before everything broke with Twilight."

There's no question that Pattinson and Jackman are hot actors - in that they're attractive (Pattinson even has his own sexy faceoff game over on Pop) and rather popular right now. And I've always thought that Rachel Weisz is one of the most beautiful actresses of our time (just my humble opinion), so, just like I'm going to see The Brothers Bloom in which she stars with other cuties (Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody), I'll probably see this movie no matter what.

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Movie Preview: The Brothers Bloom

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:30:47 -0700

Had you ever heard of this movie before right now? Me neither! But it looks weird and funny and stars an odd-but-promising assortment of people, like Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz and Babel's Rinko Kikuchi. The plot follows a quirky group of people who plan a heist, but of course, things go haywire. I never would have thought to put Ruffalo and Brody together in a comedic film, but it really seems to work. Also, this same director, Rian Johnson, directed the strange little teen noir film Brick, which I liked.

Check out the trailer and tell me if I'm just a little tired and easily amused right now, or if you might also seek out The Brothers Bloom when it opens October 24. You can watch the trailer if you read more.

Photo courtesy of Summit Entertainment

Definitely, Maybe: Definitely Adorable

BuzzSugar — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 07:30:00 -0800

Sometimes I get to thinking that the whole romantic comedy genre could use a good shake-up to get out of the hole that movies like Fool’s Gold keep digging the genre into. Rom-coms with smart, secure yet interesting female characters would be one way to do this. Stories with a likable male protagonist who’s neither misogynistic nor a total weenie would be another good way. Definitely, Maybe actually manages to achieve both these things, and it’s truly a relief to see.

Somehow, the movie hits a sweet balance between completely adorable and realistic. There are a few cheesy moments and some genuinely funny parts, but the real reason the movie succeeds is due to the well-drawn, well-developed characters, each of whom I found myself liking and rooting for. Ryan Reynolds charmingly plays Will, whose young daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) is struggling to come to terms with her parents’ divorce. She begs her father to tell her the story of his relationship with his mother: why they fell in love, etc. Reluctant, Will decides instead to tell her the stories of three women from his past, and Maya can guess which one ended up being her mother.

This sets up a fun storytelling structure: alternating between Will’s sweet, funny tales of romance - though some of them are so true-to-life it makes me cringe - we come back to little Maya and her spunky commentary. Sure, sometimes she’s sort of annoying, but it’s also cute and refreshing to get her take on things. She contemplates which of these three different women could be her mother: the kind, gentle Emily (Elizabeth Banks), the sassy and fun-loving April (Isla Fischer) or the fiercely independent and intellectual Summer (Rachel Weisz). There's more to the movie than just this, though, so read more.

There are lots of good things about this movie. The performances are engaging and pretty much everyone in this movie is completely adorable. The relationship between father and daughter is incredibly endearing - as are the threads of sweet father-daughter relationships throughout the film - and the music is well-placed. In particular, the opening title sequence is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time: Will leaves work to pick up Maya at school and chooses a song on his iPod to enjoy during the walk. As we amble down the streets of Manhattan to the tune of "Everyday People" by Sly and the Family Stone we watch the kaleidescope of New York life drift by a relaxed Will. My main complaint is that the movie feels long and drags in parts, though I also admit that it might be hard to get the full story with a shorter film.

Perhaps those terribly cheesy and poorly written rom-coms like Fool's Gold have lowered my standards for this genre, but I enjoyed the film immensely. It’s not the best movie you'll ever see, but as a heartwarming romance, it easily and satisfyingly hits its mark. Here's hoping other rom-coms take some cues from Definitely, Maybe.

To see the trailer and clips from Definitely, Maybe, along with cast interviews, check out movies.ivillage.com.

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Movie Preview: Definitely, Maybe

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:50:46 -0800

Putting aside the fact that Ryan Reynolds seems too boyishly young to be Abigail Breslin's father, Definitely, Maybe looks extremely adorable. Breslin plays Maya, a little girl who wants to learn about her parents' love story. Reynolds, as her nearly divorced father Will, wants to avoid the topic altogether but appeases his daughter by telling her stories of his relationships with three women, and Maya must figure out which one is the story of his romance with her mother.

From the trailer, the movie looks lighthearted and sweet and features some of the cutest actors out there (Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fischer, Abigail Breslin). Definitely, Maybe opens February 14, 2008 so to watch the preview and see what you think, read more

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Fred Claus: Holiday Classic?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 07:00:00 -0800

The recipe for the perfect holiday movie requires a pinch of star power, a dash of humor, and a heaping handful of good old-fashioned family feuds. There are a slew of films that have mastered this combination, namely National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, and, more recently, Elf. Not only have these films perfected the holiday formula, they have since become modern-day classics. What Thanksgiving or Christmas is complete without at least one viewing of the aforementioned movies? And while Fred Claus seems to have all of the ingredients to add it to the list of Christmas classics, it falls short. Or should I say it's a little bland?

One thing Fred Claus certainly is not lacking is that pinch of star power. Vince Vaughn plays Fred, the brother to Paul Giamatti's Nick Claus (AKA Santa). The film focuses on the relationship between these brothers spanning the course of many centuries. At the very beginning we see the brothers quarreling as little boys do. The difference is that the boys aren't fighting over who gets what toy, they're fighting over who Nick gives the toy to. You see, Nick is a do-gooder from birth and as such is the prize possession of the boys' mother, played by Kathy Bates. From there the boys grow older and Nick becomes sainted and as a result he and his family become eternal. Fast forward to present day and the two boys are estranged, Nick lives in the North Pole (naturally) and Fred resides in Chicago. And though they may be separated by location, they're both in predicaments that require the other. To find out why read more

Fred is a repo man who's unlucky in love with his girlfriend (a badly miscasted Rachel Weisz) and out of money. Nick agrees to lend a heaping handful (sick of the food puns yet?) on the condition that Fred agrees to come work at the North Pole during the busy holiday season. Fred reluctantly agrees. But when he arrives, he finds out that Nick has problems of his own, namely an efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) who feels that the Santa isn't as speedy as he could be with the growing demands of children across the world. Unsurprisingly, Fred runs amok and ruins Nick's chance of impressing the efficiency expert. Shocker!

The lack of true surprises is the ultimate downfall of the movie. It's all been done before, and better. The only true gem of the movie comes in the form of a siblings anonymous meeting (similar to alcoholics anonymous) where non-famous brothers complain about their famous siblings. It's almost worth the price of admission, but not enough to add this to my short list of holiday classics.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

First Look: My Blueberry Nights

BuzzSugar — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 11:15:44 -0700

Not only does France have a definite release date for My Blueberry Nights, but there's also a full-length trailer for the film with French subtitles. So far, there's no U.S. release date scheduled. What's up with that?

My Blueberry Nights stars Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman and Norah Jones in Jones' first big feature-film role. The film screened at Cannes to mixed reviews. Most critics said director Wong Kar Wai did a stunningly beautiful job visually with his first English-language project, but that otherwise the movie lags. Jones plays a young woman who "takes a soul-searching journey across America to resolve her questions about love while encountering a series of offbeat characters along the way." If nothing else, the trailer features Cat Power's lovely voice crooning in the background, so to check it out, read more

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Link Time! 9/25

BuzzSugar — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:30:08 -0700

Got a question for Mandy Moore? She'll be appearing on iVillage's "In the Loop" show tomorrow, so send in your questions for Mandy now!
NBC has blogs from Josh Schwartz on "Chuck," Tim Kring and Jack Coleman on "Heroes," and Kevin Falls on "Journeyman."
Perhaps you can think of a better caption than Popwatch's for this photo of Brad Pitt and his nosebleed on the set of Burn After Reading.
BuddyTV mulls why "Smallville" is advertising Supergirl so much.
Stereogum has a track from Joni Mitchell's first album in 10 years.
According to Cinematical, Rachel Weisz and Chloe Sevigny are battling it out for a role in Terminator 4.
TV Filter kept track of all the great stunts on the season premiere of "The Bachelor."
Idolator tested out Amazon's new mp3 download store.
Maya Rudolph may or may not be returning to "Saturday Night Live." TV Guide's Ausiello is still trying to sort it all out.

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Ryan Gosling Cast in The Lovely Bones

BuzzSugar — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:33:31 -0700

Wow!
The cast for Peter Jackson's film version of The Lovely Bones is shaping up beautifully: Ryan Gosling has just been added to the cast, joining the recently added Rachel Weisz.

Variety says:
"Based on Alice Sebold's novel, storyline revolves around a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family - and killer - from heaven. Girl must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. Gosling will play the girl's father; Weisz plays the mother."

Wow!
Peter Jackson, Rachel Weisz and now Ryan Gosling? Sure, Gosling seems a little on the young side (ahem, 26) to have a 14-year-old daughter, but that's forgivable. I am anxiously waiting to find out who they cast as Susie. Who could do that role justice?

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