BuzzSugar

Link Time! Simon Baker Scores Surfer Role

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:30:40 -0800

Simon Baker attached to surfing drama Breath - Coming Soon
Eddie Murphy to star in R-rated animal comedy The Misadventures of Fluffy - Movieline
Anvil! The Story of Anvil and Capitalism: A Love Story both left off of Oscar documentary shortlist - Cinematical
Get a look at next week's annual Slapsgiving on How I Met Your Mother - PopWatch
All Songs Considered: The 50 most important recordings of the decade - NPR
Susan Boyle breaks Amazon's record for global CD pre-orders - Lifeline Live
Could Lost's Nestor Carbonell be Khan in the Star Trek sequel? - Moviefone
True Blood's Stephen Moyer signs on for thriller The Caller - MTV Movies Blog
Remember Chandler's awkward relationship with Thanksgiving? Share your own stories with Très - TrèsSugar
Interpol is prepping an album for next year - Pitchfork

TV Tonight: The Mentalist

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:30:42 -0700

In a Fall TV season filled with unremarkable shows (and/or shows critics just got sent within the past couple of days), The Mentalist is . . . pretty good. It's not spectacular, and it doesn't break very far out of the mold of other CBS crime series, but it's a decent show that's made watchable by its leading man.

The "mentalist" of the title is Patrick Jane, played by Simon Baker, who's best known for his role in The Devil Wears Prada (and who is not Scott Speedman). Jane's a former faux TV psychic who now helps the California Bureau of Investigations solve crimes - when he's not being belligerent and unethical, that is. Jane may be a pain in everyone's rear, but he can also be serious about his job, particularly when working on cases that tie into a personal tragedy. Sound familiar? OK, it is: The Mentalist is basically what would happen if you crossed USA's Psych, NBC's Life, and Fox's House.

I'm not sure if The Mentalist will develop into anything more than that; it partly depends on whether the crime cases stay intriguing, and also partly on whether any of the supporting characters (including one played by Robin Tunney) get interesting. But for now, it's a solid show, and Baker's pretty charismatic and easy on the eyes. I wouldn't rearrange my TiVo for it, but if you have a hole on Tuesdays at 9 and want to check out something new, The Mentalist could be worth a shot. To watch a preview, read more.

Photo courtesy of CBS

Pilot Watch: The Mentalist

BuzzSugar — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:31:19 -0700

The networks have announced their Fall schedules, but which of the series will actually be worth watching? This Summer, as the networks release their pilots, I'll be posting my first impressions. A lot can change before a show makes it to air - especially this year, when the writers' strike severely gummed up the production of pilots - so consider these just some quick thoughts on how the shows look now. Today's installment: The Mentalist, a new CBS drama that will be sandwiched between NCIS and Without a Trace on Tuesdays.

What's it about? The Mentalist focuses on, well, a mentalist: Thomas Jane, a former faux-psychic who with something of a dark past who now uses his observational skills to solve crimes for the California Bureau of Investigation.

Who's in it? Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Amanda Righetti, Owain Yeoman

The good: Baker is an appealing leading man, and not just because he's easy on the eyes (though that helps). His character is a jerk, but he's a jerk in the same way Dr. House is a jerk: Ultimately, he wants to do the right thing, and so it's easy to root for him even at his most abrasive. There's a good twist at the end, actually a bit reminiscent of NBC's Life pilot last season, and I also enjoyed the flashback to Jane's glory days as a TV psychic. Fans of crime procedurals will probably find a lot to like.

The bad: If you're not already a fan of the crime procedural, I'm not sure this one will win you over. There are a lot of "odd (fill-in-the-blank profession) with a tortured past" shows on the air right now, and The Mentalist will have to work pretty hard to set itself apart. I didn't get much out of any of the supporting characters, though that could be because the pilot was working so hard to set up Baker as a bankable star.

Will I watch? Perhaps. I wasn't bowled over, but I'm curious to know how the show integrates the story of Baker's past with his current cases.

To check out a preview, just read more.

Photo courtesy of CBS

Movie Preview: Women in Trouble

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:30:29 -0700

Every few years, a woman-heavy ensemble hits the theaters, and I always hope it's going to be as good as the standard, Steel Magnolias. This year's flick, Women in Trouble, stars Carla Gugino, Connie Britton, Marley Shelton, Emanuelle Chriqui, and Sarah Clarke as the various women from different walks of life. One's a porn star, one's a masseuse, one's a flight attendant, and many of them are in their bras in this trailer. As you can tell from the title, they're each in some kind of personal trouble and the film looks like a Crash-like melange of the ladies' intersecting lives.

There's also a wee bit of testosterone with a few actors who are easy on the eyes: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Josh Brolin, and Simon Baker. The cast seems pretty promising, but I worry it'll veer into the same stale territory as last year's The Women.

To see the trailer, just read more.

What to TiVo: Wednesday

PopSugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:50:00 -0700

ABC is new with Dancing With the Stars and the series premieres of Modern Family, Cougar Town, and Eastwick
CBS is new with the season premieres of The 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 the 11th season opener of Law and Order:SVU
The CW is new with America's Next Top Model and The Beautiful Life:TBL
Bravo is new with Top Chef
MTV has repeats of True Life followed by a new The True Adventures of True Life
Late-night highlights include Simon Baker and Mary J Blige on The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS; Jennifer Love Hewitt on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS; Courteney Cox on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Martin Short and Tim Gunn on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on NBC; and Amy Poehler on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC

What Do You Think About the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:58:52 -0700

Bryan Cranston is taking home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Breaking Bad for the second consecutive year. He beat out Simon Baker, Michael C. Hall, Hugh Laurie, Gabriel Byrne, and Jon Hamm.

As much as I wanted to see Jon Hamm grace the podium, Cranston is definitely deserving of the statue. What do you think of this win? Vote on all my Emmy Awards polls here!