BuzzSugar

Buzz In: What's Your Biggest Movie-going Disaster?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:30:31 -0700

In Utah recently, a movie theater full of parents and kids expecting to watch Disney's family-appropriate High School Musical 3 were instead treated to the beginning of the R-rated flick Sex Drive. Apparently, the opening few minutes of the movie include nudity so parents didn't even have a chance to shield their youngsters. Understandably, folks were horrified:

"I could not carry my little children out before they were exposed to extremely vulgar and sexually explicit material," one parent complained in an e-mail to the Desert News.

That's a pretty big (though kinda amusing) movie-going disaster, I'd say. My disaster stories aren't quite so traumatic, though still entertaining. On the opening weekend of the new Star Wars movie a few years ago (you know, with mega-fans dressed up as characters) the film totally burnt out at a climactic moment toward the end. The audience completely freaked out - l turned around in time to spot a Sith angrily trying to climb into the projection booth. I also once went to a showing of Sin City only to have Million Dollar Baby come onscreen.

What are your movie-going disasters?

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Buzz In: What's Your Favorite Film Score?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:29:53 -0700

Recently the filmmakers behind the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie held a panel discussion at the New York Comic-Con to promote the film to its key audience: fanboys. When director Louis Letterier declared the musical score for Hulk was, "Star Wars good" he reportedly got booed by the audience.

It cracks me up that, to a certain group of fans it is sacrilegious to ever suggest anything is as good as (or - gasp! - better than) that famous, ominous tune. Then again, to some degree, I can understand that kind of passion.

A great musical score not only helps to set the tone of a movie, but when done right audiences will forever associate the sounds with the emotion of a film. For example, the sound of a clacking typewriter will probably always make me think of the subsequent piano music and then the overall sense of agony and guilt associated with Atonement, a score that ended up nabbing the Oscar.

Of course, it's hard to look at Harrison Ford without the boisterous Indiana Jones score cuing up in my brain immediately. And while I hardly remember a single line from Driving Miss Daisy, that whimsical old-timey score is clear as day in my head.

What are some of your favorite movie scores? Are there any that will always evoke certain memories? Is there one that tops all the rest?

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TV Tonight: "Family Guy" Takes on Star Wars

BuzzSugar — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 08:01:58 -0700

Three of Fox's animated series - "Family Guy," "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill" - return tonight with their season premieres. I'm pretty excited for "The Simpsons" 19th (yes, that's nineteenth) season opener, especially considering it has a Spider Pig cameo. But the one that really has my interest is "Family Guy" because of its long-awaited Star Wars parody, "Blue Harvest."

Now, I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan ever, but for some reason, parodies of the movie empire just get me (remember "Robot Chicken"?). And while I thought the one clip I saw of the hour-long "Family Guy" episode lingered a little too long on a gag with a couch, there are a few inspired moments, including everything about the way Stewie is drawn as Darth Vader. To check out a clip, read more

Photo courtesy of Fox

Harry Potter Works Record-Breaking Magic Worldwide

BuzzSugar — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:27:59 -0700

Just for funsies, someone over at Warner Bros. has done some number-crunching and come up with further proof that the Harry Potter franchise is on its way to world domination. Beating out the Star Wars and James Bond franchises, Harry Potter's is the top-grossing film franchise worldwide. Ever.

The first five Harry Potter movies have raked in a total of $4.47 billion worldwide, magically flying past the records set for the 22 James Bond flicks (which grossed $4.44 billion worldwide) and the six Star Wars movies ($4.23 billion).

Now, this is pretty crazy. But do these numbers account for inflation or higher ticket costs? No. Furthermore, this is worldwide they're talking about. Domestically, the Star Wars franchise still wins. As Variety points out, "All told, the Star Wars pics have grossed $2.18 billion, while the Harry Potter franchise has grossed $1.41 billion. But then there are still two more Potters to go."

Indeed, there are two more Harry Potters to go, and they will undoubtedly be extremely successful. Yet there's a definite end in sight for the Harry Potter story. James Bond, however, well, his stories could go on for many, many years. Someday his franchise may even outpace the boy wizard's.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

"Robot Chicken" Takes on "Star Wars"

BuzzSugar — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 14:15:18 -0700

George Lucas usually isn't one for letting people make fun of his beloved Star Wars franchise, but this Sunday marks an exception. The guys of "Robot Chicken," the Adult Swim show that uses stop-motion animation and action figures to poke fun at pop culture, convinced Lucas to lend his material (and his voice) to a special "Robot Chicken" take on Star Wars.

Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill is among the other celebrities lending their voices to the special, which will air at the top of every hour from 10 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday. USA Today has the details on how Lucas came to give the special his blessing, while MTV talked with creator Seth Green about making sure he and "Family Guy" (which will do its own take on Star Wars in the fall) weren't making fun of the same things.

I'm not sure if I'm a big enough Star Wars geek to get all the jokes, but I'll definitely give it a shot. Of the details that have come out about the episode so far, I'm most excited for the Ice Capades send-up called Emperor on Ice. To watch a trailer for the special, read more

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Link Time! 1/9

BuzzSugar — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 12:44:11 -0800

As a church examines the morality of "Grey's Anatomy," PopWatch drafts The Ten Commandments according to Grey's.
M. Night Shyamalan will also direct an Avatar movie, Defamer says, but not the James Cameron kind.
The Modern Age finds out how Alicia Keys feels about being name-checked by Dylan.
TVGasm gives us an early "American Idol" fix with footage from the Pasadena auditions.
TV with MeeVee interviews Ed Begley Jr. about what it's really like to live with him.
Stereogum somehow makes me care about folk-rockers America covering My Morning Jacket very earnestly.
Best Week Ever lets us vent our pop-culture frustration with the Rosie vs. Donald Street Fighter game.
BuddyTV talks with Martin Han Clarke, the first fired "Apprentice."
TV Squad has the scoop on new DVDs: the last season of "NewsRadio" and 1970s classic "Maude."
Idolator challenges the Village Voice Pazz & Jop list with its Jackin' Pop poll.
Filmrot.com finds a hilarious silent film version of Star Wars, complete with piano accompaniment.

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Holiday Fun: "How the Sith Stole Christmas"

BuzzSugar — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 11:51:47 -0800

In this 16-minute fan film, animators spoof the beloved "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" story by combining it with aspects of the Star Wars series. Plenty of laughs to be had for both Dr. Seuss and George Lucas fans. May the Force be Grinched.

FlashForward Breakdown, "Playing Cards With Coyote"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:30:30 -0800

After Al's tragic suicide on last week's episode of FlashForward, this week shows how the idea of "changing the game" has affected all the characters. Mark and Olivia start to find new hope for their relationship, Lloyd teaches Simon a lesson, and Aaron learns more about where his daughter has been for the past two years.

Ready to get into all the details? Just read more.

"The future can be changed": Al's death makes headline news when Celia gets her letter in the mail, instilling hope in Mark and Demetri - for a bit. Mark whisks Olivia off on a romantic getaway and things seem to be much happier between the two. But once they're back to regular life, they both get a reality check: Mark gifts her the lingerie she's wearing in her flash forward, and Aaron's reunion with Tracy makes Mark go back to believing that the visions may be set in stone.

The stars are aligned: Mark thinks he has a big lead when some footage shows up of a man he recognizes from his vision - a woman named Ingrid reports a crime and her phone images reveal a man with a tattoo of three stars on his arm. Thinking it's the same pern who breaks into his office in the future, Mark immediately dedicates himself to finding the guy. Using Ingrid as bait, Mark manages to take kill him, and rushes home to Olivia to tell her that they're going to have a second chance because he changed the game. But then - surprise! There's a whole crew of dudes with that tattoo. Um, seriously Mark? This never occurred to you? It's not like the guy has an unmistakable tattoo of Edward Cullen on his arm.

That was a crazy game of poker: Feeling guilty about that whole deadly experiment thing, Lloyd sends out an email to a few colleagues saying "We have to take responsibility." Of course, Simon isn't pleased about Lloyd's plans to go public and wants to settle their argument over a game of Texas hold 'em. There's plenty of trash talking from Simon, who thinks that he and Lloyd are gods for the impact they've had on the planet. He tosses around ideas of fate (was anyone else thinking about Lost's Charlie and his fate finger tape?) and just when Simon thinks he's sitting pretty, Lloyd turns the tables with a sleight of hand. (Some U2 lyrics come to mind here). Somehow I still don't think Simon is going to make it easy for Lloyd to publicize what they've done.

Reunited and it feels so good? Tracy is back at home with Aaron, but she's not exactly the same girl that went off to war. She's lost her leg in combat and suffering from PTSD, which she's reluctant to discuss with her dad at first. Feeling confident from his flash forward, Aaron encourages Tracy to open up about what happened overseas. She finally reveals that her near-death experience was an ambush from Jericho, a group of military contractors that she ratted out after seeing something she shouldn't. Tracy is paranoid after living a life on the run for two years (and is not at all pleased when Aaron talks to Mark about her situation). Though keeping track of all the different characters and their separate story lines is getting confusing, I'm liking this new development in Aaron's story.

Other plot points:

Janice tries to quit but Stan won't let her. As she continues to contemplate Al's death and her vision, she starts looking into sperm donation - does this mean those are tears of joy in her flash forward?

Ingrid says that she remembers one of the shooters saying "QED," which is also brought up during Simon and Lloyd's poker game.

Ingrid and her bird collection can be added to the list that already includes the crows and the bird crashing into Fiona's window.

So, is that Simon strangling Nicole in her vision? Creepy. I'm wondering if she finds out his secret and tries to intervene.

How'd you feel about this week's episode? Any new theories on what's going to happen over the next few months? Let's get the conversation going!

Twilight Leads the People's Choice Awards Nominations

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:43:12 -0800

The 36th annual People's Choice Awards nominees are here, and last year's Twilight is leading the charge! American Idol's Kris Allen was among the announcers this morning for the nominees, which also include lots of nods for The Proposal - but of course, everyone's favorite bloodsucking love story landed in many categories, including favorite on-screen movie team.

Why didn't they look to 2009's New Moon? Because last year's nominations debuted before the first movie in the Twilight saga.

To see the full list of nominees, just read more.

MOVIES

FAVORITE MOVIE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
The Hangover
The Proposal

FAMILY MOVIE
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

COMEDY MOVIE
17 Again
Bride Wars
He's Just Not That Into You
The Hangover
The Proposal

INDEPENDENT MOVIE
(500) Days of Summer
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Paranormal Activity
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail

FAVORITE MOVIE FRANCHISE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Transformers
X-Men

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTOR
Brad Pitt
Hugh Jackman
Johnny Depp
Robert Pattinson
Ryan Reynolds

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTRESS
Anna Hathaway
Drew Barrymore
Jennifer Aniston
Kristen Stewart
Sandra Bullock

FAVORITE ACTION STAR
Christian Bale
Gerard Butler
Hugh Jackman
Shia LaBeouf
Vin Diesel

FAVORITE COMEDIC STAR
Adam Sandler
Ben Stiller
Jim Carrey
Ryan Reynolds
Vince Vaughn

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTRESS:
Anna Kendrick
Emily Osment
Ginnifer Goodwin
Miley Cyrus
Zoe Saldana

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTOR
Chris Pine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Sam Worthington
Taylor Lautner
Zachary Quinto

FAVORITE ONSCREEN TEAM
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal
Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, Twilight
Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan and Daniel Henney, X-Men Origins: Wolverine

TELEVISION

FAVORITE TV DRAMA
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Grey's Anatomy
House
Lost
NCIS

FAVORITE TV COMEDY
Desperate Housewives
How I Met Your Mother
The Big Bang Theory
The Office
Two and a Half Men

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTOR
Hugh Laurie
Kiefer Sutherland
Mark Harmon
Matthew Fox
Patrick Dempsey

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTRESS
Anna Paquin
Blake Lively
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Katherine Heigl
Mariska Hargitay

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTOR
Alex Baldwin
Charlie Sheen
Jim Parsons
Neil Patrick Harris
Steve Carell

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTRESS
Alyson Hannigan
America Ferrera
Amy Poehler
Eva Longoria Parker
Tina Fey

FAVORITE TV OBSESSION
Dexter
Gossip Girl
The Hills
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
True Blood

FAVORITE TV TALK SHOW
Chelsea Lately
Live with Regis & Kelly
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Tyra Banks Show

FAVORITE TV SCI-FI/FANTASY
Heroes
Lost
Supernatural
The Vampire Diaries
True Blood

FAVORITE TV COMPETITION SHOW
American Idol
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Survivor: Samoa

FAVORITE ANIMAL SHOW
Animal Cops
DogTown
Dog Whisperer
It's Me or the Dog
Rescue Ink

FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA
Eastwick
FlashForward
Melrose Place
Mercy
The Forgotten
The Good Wife
The Vampire Diaries,
Three Rivers
NCIS: Los Angeles
V

FAVORITE NEW TV COMEDY
Accidentally on Purpose
Brothers
Community
Cougar Town
Glee
Hank
The Cleveland Show
The Middle
Modern Family

MUSIC

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST
Eminem
Jason Mraz
John Mayer
Keith Urban
Tim McGraw

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST
Beyonce
Britney Spears
Carrie Underwood
Pink
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE COUNTRY ARTIST
Brad Paisley
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Rascal Flatts
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MUSIC ARTIST
Adam Lambert
Demi Lovato
Kris Allen
Lady Gaga
Susan Boyle

FAVORITE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Eminem
Flo Rida
Jay-Z
Lil' Wayne
T.I.

FAVORITE ROCK BAND
Daughtry
Green Day
Kings of Leon
Muse
Paramore

FAVORITE MUSIC COLLABORATION
Cobra Starship & Leighton Meester, "Good Girls Go Bad"
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, "Lucky"
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West, "Run This Town"
T.I. & Rihanna, "Live Your Life"
The Lonely Island & T-Pain, "I'm on a Boat."

FAVORITE R&B ARTIST
Alicia Keys
Beyonce
Jennifer Hudson
Mariah Carey
Usher

FAVORITE POP ARTIST
Britney Spears
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift
The Black Eyed Peas

FAVORITE WEB CELEB
Andy Samberg
Ashton Kutcher
Miley Cyrus
P. Diddy
Will Ferrell

The Men Who Stare at Goats: Glaringly Unfocused

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:30:00 -0800

I went into The Men Who Stare at Goats with high expectations. How could a film possibly disappoint when you have the acting trifecta of George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, and Jeff Bridges? But unfortunately, while the pros work hard to generate laughs - and they do deliver at times - the film on the whole is all over the place.

Goats is based on the non-fiction book by Jon Ronson. That's right - non-fiction. The film opens with the line, "More of this is true than you would believe," which is a nice reminder, because the plot is intentionally convoluted. At first, this far-fetched quality makes the story feel fun and quirky, but as time goes on, it gets mucked up in its own self-aware confusion and starts to feel stale. To see what I mean, read more.

McGregor stars as the movie's hero, Bob Wilton, a small-town journalist whose wife has just left him for his editor. So Bob decides to do what most men do when they're heartbroken - he goes to war. Or at least he tries to, but he only gets as far as a hotel pool bar in Kuwait. That's where he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a former "Jedi warrior" with the U.S. Army - or simply put: soldiers with superpowers. (Yes, note the coincidence: McGregor and Jedis.)

Lyn begins to tell Bob about the former founder of his unit, Bill Djanjo (Jeff Bridges), a vet who goes to find himself after Vietnam in the drug and orgy, peace and love '70s. Armed with a new, zen persona, Bill returns to the Army to share his more peaceful point of view and take charge of a new special force that uses mind control over traditional weapons. That's when Lyn comes in. As a new recruit, Lyn is exceptionally psychic, and he quickly gets a reputation for being able to find anyone, including terrorists, strictly using his mind.

So Bob and Lyn begin on a journey into Iraq. Where they're headed, Lyn's not exactly sure. He just assumes he'll find it, thanks to his extra sixth sense. As for the audience, we're sort of in the same boat - along for the ride without any real direction.

The movie tries to comment on the inhumanity (and stupidity) of war, but has a difficult time making its point alongside the slapstick elements. The actors are great with comedic timing and deliver one-liners to entertain the audience in many moments, but that was ultimately the only aspect that held my interest. (That and Jeff Bridges's sweet hippie braided hair.) What had the potential to be a funny, original story or a satire instead starts to feel boring. The characters wander aimlessly, the flashbacks float in and out, and without a clear focus, you stop caring. And that's not an easy feat where Clooney's usually concerned.