BuzzSugar

What Is the Best Little-Movie-That-Could of 2009?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:00:00 PST

Everyone loves an underdog, and 2009 seemed to be the year for them. Several movies with lesser-known stars and/or low budgets held their own against their Goliath-sized counterparts, winning the hearts of fans and critics alike. Time will only tell if they can pull off a dark horse upset in awards season, but I'm willing to wager that a couple of these will at least earn mentions. Tell me, which is your favorite?

Don't forget to vote on all of my Best of 2009 polls!

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:30:59 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. Besides the movies below, you can also find the Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal soccer charmer Rudo y Cursi, as well as TV shows Californication: Season 2 and House: Season 5.

Adventureland
This nostalgic coming-of-age comedy stars Jesse Eisenberg and angsty starlet-du-jour Kristen Stewart as co-workers and romantic prospects in an '80s-era theme park.
I loved director Greg Mottola's tender depiction of a frustrating but hopeful time in one guy's life. It's got more heart than the director's previous effort, Superbad, but just as many laughs.
The DVD extras include deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, cast commentary, and a feature music selection that lets you select scenes by picking the soundtrack song.

88%

Check out two other comedies out on DVD today when you

read more. Sunshine Cleaning Fans of Amy Adams and Emily Blunt will be into Sunshine Cleaning, a dark comedy about two down-on-their-luck sisters who find success in cleaning up gruesome crime scenes. I drew some parallels to earlier indie comedy Little Miss Sunshine when I reviewed it (blame the van and Alan Arkin), and like its predecessor, there's a certain lightness in the bleak world of the featured profession. Extras on the DVD include not just the usual commentary, but also a mini-documentary on real-life crime scene tidiers. 73%
Duplicity Gorgeous actors Clive Owen and Julia Roberts reteam in this slick comedic caper, light years away from their prickly married couple in Closer. I appreciated the scenery, but not necessarily the plot - it was a bit too twisty, to the point of unevenness. Still, you'll enjoy the two leads here if you're not too exasperated by the hairpin storyline. 65%

Sunshine Cleaning: A Cloudy Comedy

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:30:45 PDT

Critics may draw comparisons between this year's Sunshine Cleaning and 2007 Best Picture nominee Little Miss Sunshine. Both were Sundance darlings, both star the wonderful Alan Arkin, and both have optimistic-sounding titles. And despite each film's light-bright disposition, both skew closer to comedy of the darker sort. This intriguing juxtaposition worked quite well for Little Miss Sunshine, and, to a slightly lesser extent, it works for Sunshine Cleaning, too.

The off-kilter premise is what first drew me to the movie when I previewed it for last year's Sundance Film Festival. I loved that the film focuses on the dirty and demeaning task of cleaning up crime scenes, yet didn't seem as gloomy as the description suggested. By the time I saw the trailer, it was clear: No CSI confusion here. Luckily the film delighted me as much as I had hoped, mostly because the two lead actresses, Amy Adams and Emily Blunt, are so compelling to watch.

To hear a little bit more about the plot and what else I liked,

read more In the lead, Amy Adams is Rose Lorkowski, a former hot-shot high school cheerleader who has settled into a low-paying career of cleaning houses. Emily Blunt plays her sister Norah, who, as a failed waitress, is even more down on her luck than Rose. It seems that the strapped-for-cash sisters may have inherited a touch of fiscal bad luck from their father Joe (Alan Arkin) who is constantly searching for ways to get rich quick. And while Rose disapproves of her father's shenanigans, she, too, finds herself scheming to pay for her son's pricey private school. Enter Sunshine Cleaning, a biohazard removal service that Rose starts with her sister when she discovers that the field is rather lucrative. What follows are oddly hilarious scenes of Rose and Norah learning the ropes of the business and navigating the truly messy world of crime scene clean-up. Picking up chunks of brain matter and bleaching out blood stains sounds like your typical horror fare, but in the hands of these two ladies, there is a sense of down-iness that comes from their "we're in this together" camaraderie. Despite the more comical moments, there are touches of genuine grief, especially when we hear about the suicide of Rose and Norah's mother, and view some of the sisters' failed relationships (Steve Zahn and Mary Lynn Rajskub are lovely in their respective supporting roles). These parts add a melody to a movie that could otherwise be somewhat one-note. Bottom Line: The film doesn't reach the fever-pitch fun that Little Miss has at the end, but it's still a worthwhile journey, especially if you're a fan of Blunt or Adams.

Photo courtesy of Big Beach Films

Movie Preview: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt in Sunshine Cleaning

BuzzSugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:44:03 PDT

"Turns out it's against the law to throw biohazards in the dumpster. Who knew?"

Emily Blunt's character, Norah, dryly says this in the preview for Sunshine Cleaning, a little indie movie from this year's Sundance that finds two sisters starting up a "biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service." One of the sisters (Amy Adams) is a single mom who needs to earn money to send her son to a new school. From the trailer, the movie seems strange, dark and funny, a little like Six Feet Under but with the innocent sweetness of Amy Adams.

There's still no actual release date for the film, though apparently it'll open sometime this year. To check out the trailer,

Sundance Spotlight: Sunshine Cleaning

BuzzSugar — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:30:00 PST

I am so thrilled to go to Sundance this year, and I can't wait to see as many movies as possible while I'm out there! For the next few days I'll be highlighting some of the films I'm most curious to see. Today's spotlight: Sunshine Cleaning.

Wait a minute - is this the award-nominated Amy Adams and Emily Blunt? Why, yes, yes it is! Sunshine Cleaning stars these two talented ladies, along with Steve Zhan, Alan Arkin and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe from 24). To see what the story's about,

read more. The plot description reads, "In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business - a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service - with her unreliable sister." Not sure which actress plays which sister, but Zahn plays a married police officer having an affair with Rose (Adams), and Rajskub plays a technician for a blood bank who is the object of Blunt's sexual obsession. Wow, crime scenes, extramarital affairs, sexy blood bank technicians - and it's a comedy! Totally can't wait for this one. Source

10 Tips For Air-Drying Your Laundry

Elka Karl — Mon, 02 May 2011 09:42:39 PDT

Yesterday, surrealist artist Andrew Baines staged an art installation consisting of eight clotheslines accompanied by eight "moms" hanging the wash on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. The project was meant to highlight the loss of backyard space that many families experience due to high-density living - but for me, it also highlighted the need to review some tips for air drying our laundry. Even though it's not as common in the United States, many families across the world air-dry their clothes. You don't need a backyard to air-dry your laundry, or even patio space. See how it's done with these tips.

If you do have outdoor space . . .

Invest in a clothesline that you'll use. This may mean simply stringing rope between trees or a fenceline, or going for something more compact and cute, like this Deluxe Bamboo Collapsible Clothesline ($95).
Plastic clothespins will survive wear and tear (and rainstorms, if you forget the pins on the line) better than wooden ones. That said, I prefer the look and feel of wooden clothespins for line drying; just like your clothesline, pick pins that you'll actually use. Look for either kind at your local hardware store.
If you're not a fan of stiff towels, transfer your almost-dry terrycloth towels to the dryer for the last five minutes of drying time. This will effectively fluff your towels.
In the past, I've had a few clothing items fade in direct (and harsh) sunlight. To avoid this possibility, turn clothing inside out before placing it on the clothesline on an extremely sunny day.
Take a few seconds to organize your clothes before hanging them. For instance, try to clothespin your socks in pairs. This way, when you take your clothes off the line, you can immediately roll them into pairs, cutting down on the amount of time you spend folding and organizing your fresh, sunshine-dried laundry
Since dust and debris can build up on your clothesline, clean it every few months by running a damp cloth over it from end to end.

Don't have an outdoor space for air-drying? Keep reading for tips on drying your clothes in the great indoors.

90210 "Nerdy Little Secrets": Most Scandalous Moments

Becky Kirsch — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:09:24 PDT

Now that Spring break is over, it's back to the day-to-day drama on 90210, and things are anything but humdrum. Silver is officially feeling the effects of Adrianna's sick revenge, but Naomi's too wrapped up in her relationship with Max to come to the rescue of her friend. Meanwhile, Ivy hits a relationship hurdle of her own.

Annie's in a pickle of an entirely different kind: she takes on a new high-paying job as an assistant, only to realize that she's playing housemaid to a former star. Aside from Silver's scenes, it's a fairly tame episode, but I have a feeling that we're being set up for a quite a bit, as we head into the home stretch of the season. Ready to break it all down? Just keep reading.

10 Things to Do With 10 Bucks: Spring Clean With These Fresh Tips

LearnVest — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:15:23 PDT

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

You pulled out your spring purses and found a ten dollar bill inside one of them. Or you’ve budgeted carefully and have some extra cash. However it happens, we always love finding an extra $10 to spare at the end of the month. Hence our new series “10 Things To Do With $10″ - our picks of 10 major steals and fun, interesting ways to spend a Hamilton (yes, he’s our man).

After a brutal winter (and snow as recently as this week in NYC), we’ve made the executive decision that spring is here, whether the weather cooperates or not. So, here are our ten ways to ring in flowers, sunshine, and warmth - and get a head start on Spring.

Check out 10 things to do with $10 after the break!

Do You Wash Your Running Shoes?

Heather Dale — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:54:43 PDT

It's Spring cleaning time, which usually means going through my closet, getting rid of clothes, shoes, and organizing my things strategically to jump-start my Spring workout routine.

I've already come across a pair of running shoes that are in great condition, and have hardly been worn - problem is, I wore them hiking last year and they are covered in mud! They are in too good of shape to give away just yet, so what's a girl to do? It's time to clean 'em up.

If you have dirty running shoes like mine that need to be shined up, don't throw them in the washing machine! Washing machines can damage or shrink your shoes, and the grit and grime from your shoes may damage the machine as well. Instead, fill your sink with a few inches of lukewarm water and add in a tiny bit of laundry soap. Take out a old scrub brush and scrub the exterior and the soles of the shoes (changing the water when it becomes cloudy). Don't put your shoes directly under any running water (this will prolong the drying time), but keep rinsing the brush and scrubbing the affected areas. Once your shoes look clean, put them on a towel in the sunshine to dry - first facedown with the shoe tongue open to ensure proper drying, and then flip them over the next day so that the exterior will dry.

Source: Flickr User xcorex