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What to Download: New Music Today

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:30:24 -0700

Tuesdays are big in entertainmentville: not only do all the new DVD releases hit Netflix, but new music also pours into stores. So I take a spin through each week's music releases and pick out some albums and tracks worthy of a download.

An amicable breakup: I thought Scarlett Johansson's album of Tom Waits covers was just OK, but her second effort really showcases her vocal talent. Paired with alt-country artist Pete Yorn, the two created Break Up, an album inspired by the '60s-era recordings of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot. Despite its title, the record is surprisingly upbeat. Many of you enjoyed the first single, the retro-twangy "Relator," when it debuted in May, and ultimately, it's still my favorite track. The rest of the album sounds more run-of-the-mill, but Johansson's sultry voice adds a lot of flavor to Yorn's music. Also worth hearing: "Clean" and "Wear and Tear."

Rebel yell: I wasn't that familiar with UK band Muse, but their performance at Sunday's VMAs was foot-thumping fun. (Some of you even said they were your favorite act.) Now comes their fifth studio release, The Resistance. My favorite track, "United States of Eurasia/Collateral Damage," is reminiscent of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," and the entire album has a similar rock opera feeling. The guys are reportedly contributing to the New Moon soundtrack, but until then, check out "Eurasia," "Unnatural Selection," and "Uprising."

One more up next, so read more.

One giant leap: Kid Cudi was another VMA performer, and even though I've been hearing his name for a while - he contributed to Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak album last year and is on Kanye's label - Cudi's promising debut, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, hit stores today. Like his mentor, Cudi tries his hand at "conceptual" music, using this album to tell personal stories in the context of nightmares, and he mixes in every genre from hip-hop to rap to electronic. Fans of 808s and Heartbreak should check this one out, but I think Cudi is at his strongest when he collaborates. "Pursuit of Happiness" is a track featuring MGMT and Ratatat, and "Make Her Say," which samples Lady GaGa's "Poker Face," gets help from Common and Kanye.

Could Any Modern-Day Actress Portray Marilyn Monroe?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:30:50 -0700

Rumor has it Scarlett Johansson is topping a list of actresses to potentially play Marilyn Monroe in the film My Week With Marilyn, directed by Simon Curtis. The movie will be "based on the diary of Colin Clark, an employee of Laurence Olivier, who looked after the blonde bombshell when she came to London to film Olivier's The Prince and the Showgirl in 1957." Here's more:

In the diary, Clark talks about showing Marilyn around Queen Elizabeth's private apartments at Windsor Castle and other "behind-the-scenes" trips. Clark published excerpts of his diary in 1958, but left the details of one week out. These chapters weren't released until he died in 2002, and will form the basis of the movie.

Other actresses reportedly considered for the role include Kate Hudson, Amy Adams, and Michelle Williams. Between those three and Johansson, I'd say Johansson comes closest in the looks department, but none of these ladies seems quite right for portraying the sexy icon. Who, if anyone, could you see playing Marilyn Monroe on the big screen?

Which of These Duets Would You Prefer?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:30:25 -0700

Already this week, two unexpected musical collaborations have caught my attention. First, Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson have teamed up for an album called Break Up, which will be out Sept. 8. Meanwhile, John Mayer joined Taylor Swift on stage at her Los Angeles concert to sing "White Horse" (her song) and "Your Body is a Wonderland" (his song). The first song from Scarlett and Pete is already streaming online, while this video captures the unlikely John/Taylor duo singing (well, and their fans screaming).

Both of these duets strike me as odd choices - but maybe that's the beauty of them? You tell me: Does one of these duets make more sense than the other? Which would you rather hear?

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Buzz News Roundup, 5/4

BuzzSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:30:46 -0700

Fringe has been renewed for a second season. - The Futon Critic
Fox has also asked for a second season of its Family Guy spinoff, The Cleveland Show, even though the first season won't air for a couple of months. - Zap2it
Hugh Jackman is attached to star in a film version of Ghostopolis, an upcoming graphic novel from Doug TenNapel. - ComingSoon
Jenny McCarthy will get her own syndicated talk show through a deal with Oprah's studio. - The Hollywood Reporter
Ben Stiller has been set to direct Help Me Spread Goodness, "a drama with comic overtones." - Variety
Sugar Ray's next album, releasing July 21, is titled Music For Cougars. - Billboard
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has reportedly been cast in Disney's reworking of 20 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo. - ComingSoon
Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut for a segment of the film New York, I Love You, shot in black and white and starring Kevin Bacon, has been cut from the film and will appear only on the DVD release. - Zap2It

Photo courtesy of Fox

Link Time! 1/27

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:30:39 -0800

Something to ponder: Do we want a Charlie's Angels 3? - Cinematical
Susan Sarandon is also coming to ER in the same episode as George Clooney. - Watch With Kristin
Spike Lee plans to use James Brown's real voice - not Wesley Snipes's - in his biopic of the Godfather of Soul. - MTV Movies Blog
The Once couple's band, The Swell Season, will continue on even though their dating relationship is over. - Hollywood Insider
What series (like, say, Lord of the Rings) do you revisit over and over? - Popwatch
Check out the veggie sex PETA ad that NBC pulled from its Super Bowl lineup. - TV Squad
How does Gossip Girl love LG? Let us count the ways. - geeksugar
We can now hear Scarlett Johansson's cover of Jeff Buckley's "Last Goodbye,", which will be featured on the soundtrack for He's Just Not That Into You. - Stereogum

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The Spirit: A Flashy Story Lacking Soul

BuzzSugar — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:30:50 -0800

From dime-store digests to lush graphic novels, the comic-book genre has fully established itself as part of high culture. Along with the literary upgrade have come equally artful films, including The Dark Knight and Sin City. But for all its highbrow hopes, The Spirit plays like a B movie.

Written and directed by Frank Miller of Sin City and 300 fame, The Spirit is no Sin City or even the less cerebral 300. As both artful sketch and pure entertainment, The Spirit is lacking. For all the highs and lows, read more.

With its black-and-white brushstroke canvas and film-noir narration, The Spirit starts with promise. In cahoots with the local cops, the Spirit (Gabriel Macht) is a slain policeman turned subdued superhero and ladies man who feels indebted to keep watch over his city.

Our hero has a campy rivalry with the requisite villain, a theatrical mad scientist known as the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) with a genetically engineered posse of doofus henchman. When one brute gets killed off, Octopus and his evil assistant (Scarlett Johansson) just make more, all in pursuit of an urn containing the blood of Heracles that the Octopus needs to secure his immortality.

The plot is fairly simple. Yet with each new character who is introduced- a devoted doctor smitten with the Spirit, an angel of death draped in a sparkly veil, a jewel thief who is the Spirit's childhood love (Eva Mendes) - the movie gets ever more spiritless. Despite its loftiest constructs, mythic undertones, and bizarre Nazi imagery, The Spirit is almost cool but mostly just awkward. The aesthetics look impressive, but the tone is all off. It's like the comic-book film equivalent of a one-camera sitcom without a laugh track that just isn't funny enough.

Photos Courtesy of Lionsgate

Which Actors Do You Think Are Overrated?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:30:01 -0700

People are all a-twitter today about the second annual Forbes list of Hollywood's most overpaid actors, with Nicole Kidman topping this year's list. According to the calculations, "Kidman's films earn a mere $1 for every dollar Kidman was paid, compared with $8 in 2007. The Invasion, a second remake of the 1956 classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, actually lost $2.68 for every dollar Kidman earned." Jennifer Garner comes in second place after Kidman, followed by Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, and Jennifer Lopez in the top five.

This list of actors who receive more money than they should (from a studio's standpoint, anyway) made me think of those actors who receive more accolades (and more roles) than they should. Do you ever see actors and wonder why they're so popular or so highly regarded?

I know I've heard the words "overrated" and "Scarlett Johansson" strung together here in the comments before. I've also seen it attached to Hilary Swank's name. Personally, I am confused about Charlie Sheen's success (though perhaps it's Two and a Half Men in general that confounds me), and while I liked Jennifer Hudson's performance in Dreamgirls, I'm still not totally sold on her as an actress.

What about you?

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Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Neurotic Mixed With Beautiful

BuzzSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:30:32 -0700

I'd probably say I'm a medium-sized fan of Woody Allen. If I were ordering a dose of Woody Allen at Starbucks, I'd probably get it in a grande cup. His nebbishy dialogue style grates on my nerves after too long, and some of his movies remind me of me at my most neurotic, which is tiring. Vicky Cristina Barcelona is more of the same Allenistic stuff we've grown to expect, but it's also given a refreshing jolt from the (mostly) talented and entirely beautiful cast. There's a nice balance of overthinky anxiety, wacky storyline, and attractive people to make this Woody Allen film a medium-sized, easy-to-drink treat.

The movie is narrated as though someone is reading us a story, and the detached commentary provides occasional insights into the thoughts and feelings of the protagonists, which I appreciated in this case. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) are girlfriends who set off for a Summer in Barcelona. They soon befriend a famous painter, Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who is known for his volatile relationship with his ex-wife, Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz).

Cristina becomes Juan Antonio's paramour, but before too long, Vicky finds herself drawn to him as well, despite her engagement to the wealthy, steady Doug (Chris Messina). The love triangle becomes a square when the emotionally unstable Maria Elena returns to live in Juan Antonio's house, which he now shares with Cristina. The tangled web gets messier - and funnier - as the Summer goes on. For more of my thoughts on all of this, read more.

It's easy to relax into this Summer-in-Spain atmosphere, and the city lends a softer, friendlier vibe to the film than the usual fast-paced craziness of New York City, Allen's frequent location of choice. Bardem and Cruz are two of the hottest human beings ever, in my opinion, and both are superb as the love-crazed, passionate artists forever enmeshed in a love/hate, push-pull relationship. Even if they weren't superb, I would love watching them (I mean, look at this photo of Penelope Cruz! Look at it!).

Using Spanish actors in a Spanish setting (as opposed to solely focusing on the Americans' experiences abroad) was wise, and these two often carry some of the wackier scenes simply because they are so comfortable in the setting. They're less easy with some of the anxious, uniquely Woody Allen-y dialogue, but frankly, so is Johansson. For all that talk of her being a "muse," she doesn't do very well with Allen's material. The one who really and truly does is Rebecca Hall, playing a character who thinks so much and so intensely about everything, she has a hard time just relaxing and being content. Sound like anyone else we could name? It's like she was born to star in a Woody Allen film, and I hope we get to see her in more of them.

Photos courtesy of The Weinstein Company

The Spirit Gets a New Trailer

BuzzSugar — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:00:39 -0700

The new trailer for the upcoming film The Spirit brings fans of Sin City back to the world of Frank Miller and his surreal,
noir-ish style. The description of the plot (based on a popular comic by Will Eisner) on IMDB is this: "Rookie cop Denny Colt returns from the beyond as The Spirit, a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces in Central City."

In the trailer we find a man in a Zorro-like mask (Because I Said So's Gabriel Macht) being tormented by the hot women in his world who all seem to want to have sex with him. . . or something. But apparently, this is a bad thing. And then Samuel L. Jackson storms across the screen in several crazy get-ups that include something of a Nazi uniform.

In other words: It's probably just the thing you'd expect from this director and I think his fans will be pleased.

The movie also stars Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, and Jaime King and will be released in theaters on December 25. To see the new trailer for yourself, read more.

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Movie Preview: Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 May 2008 06:30:39 -0700

The trailer for Woody Allen's latest effort Vicky Cristina Barcelona has no dialogue - only a montage of scenes from the film set to a song sung in Spanish. This is probably for the best, I suppose, so we can concentrate on all the making out that's going on (including a kiss between Penelope and Scarlett) and how good-looking Javier Bardem is. According to IMDB, the plot description is this: "A painter enters a relationship with two American tourists. Conflict begins with the painter's jealous ex-girlfriend."

The movie opens in theaters September 5. To watch all the beautiful people and tell me what you think of the dialogue-less trailer, read more.

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