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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:30:00 -0700

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.

Transformers
The summer's loud, raucus, action-packed robot movie is finally available for consumption on DVD, complete with all the special feature trimmings. In addition to the story of the Autobots vs. the Decepticons, the DVD boasts such extras as a featurette in which Steven Spielberg discusses his love for the franchise, a peek into how the actors were selected for their roles, a look at the military training Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson endured for their roles, a full exploration of how the film came to fruition from initial storyboards to special effects, and much, much more.

A few more new titles to add to your queue, so read more

The Hoax
This DVD is one of my October must-have items because it's one of the smartest, most absorbing movies of the year. Richard Gere plays author Clifford Irving whose false biography of the mysterious Howard Hughes is eagerly believed by his publishers - at first. But soon the weight of having to keep up his charade starts to get the best of Irving. Based on a true story and directed by Lasse Hallstrom, the movie is at times sad or funny, and always riveting.

A Mighty Heart
This film is very thoughtful, respectful and superbly done, but it will also rip out your heart and throw it into a meat grinder. Angelina Jolie turns in a heart-wrenching performance as Mariane Pearl whose journalist husband goes missing in Pakistan in 2002. She soon learns that he has been kidnapped by terrorists and she enters a long, grueling process of chasing down fruitless leads and dealing with infuriating red tape. This is not an easy movie to watch, but it is also an inspiring story of one woman's strength.

Planet Terror
Now, several weeks later, we have the second of the Grindhouse features on DVD. Planet Terror finds Rose McGowan with a gun for a leg, battling crazy zombies. Special features of the 2-disc set include audio commentary by Robert Rodriguez, a peek at how McGowan's leg-gun was fashioned on a low budget, something called "The Badass Babes of Planet Terror," and a featurette about the stunts in the film, among others. Oh, and you also have the option to watch the movie with the "Audience Screening Track."

BuzzSugar's Must-Haves for October

BuzzSugar — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 08:30:00 -0700

Welcome to BuzzSugar's monthly must-haves, where I show off a handful of the things I'm most looking forward to watching, buying, renting and reading. With fall in the air, here are a bunch of the goodies I'm craving this month.

To find out why these seven things are at the top of my list, just read more

"My So-Called Life" - The Complete Series (w/ Book) - It's about time! One of the most important TV shows of my formative years is finally getting some proper DVD treatment. The set, which will be released on Oct. 30, includes seven commentary tracks, an interview with Claire Danes, and a book with notes on the show from Joss Whedon, Janeane Garofalo and creator Winnie Holzman, among others.
"Twin Peaks" - The Definitive Gold Box Edition (Seasons 1 & 2) - Yet another legendary series is finally getting its DVD due this month. "Twin Peaks," the show that made America ask who killed Laura Palmer and turned Kyle MacLachlan and David Lynch into household names, has only been released in small, one-season sets before now. But this Gold Box Edition, which will be released Oct. 30, includes all 29 episodes plus the original pilot, a feature-length documentary about the show, deleted scenes and even a "Twin Peaks" sketch from "Saturday Night Live."
The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland - Douglas Coupland's novels are occasionally absurd, consistently quirky, and frequently moving. His latest book, The Gum Thief, which comes out Oct. 2, is actually two stories in one: the main story, which chronicles the relationship-in-letters between two misfits, is interwoven with chapters of one of the character's (apparently very bad) novels. Sounds just like the bizarre, bitterly funny and unendingly clever Coupland I've come to love.
The Hoax - I maintain that The Hoax is one of the greatest films I've seen in 2007. Based on the true story of writer Clifford Irving who falsely claimed to have interviewed the mysterious Howard Hughes, The Hoax is expertly directed and deftly acted (particularly by the ever-great Alfred Molina). The DVD is released October 16 so... to your Netlix queues!
Bruce Springsteen: Magic - There's something oddly comforting about Bruce Springsteen. The Boss is back with a new album, Magic, on Oct. 2, and I'm looking forward to hearing his familiar, trademark classic rock once again. Not sure if you're up for this? You can get an early listen of the album over here.
CMJ 2007 Music Marathon and Film Festival - Taking place in New York City October 16-20, the College Music Journal's Music Marathon and Film Festival boasts a huge number of musical performances, film screenings and special exhibits.
Glamour Magazine's Reel Moments - Glamour's Reel Moments series features short films written by "real women" and directed by A-list Hollywood ladies. Next up in the series we'll see films helmed by Kirsten Dunst, Kate Hudson and Rita Wilson. The ladies' films will screen on October 9 in L.A. and then will be available for viewing by pleebs like us online soon after. I can't wait to see Dunst's "ghost story" movie starring Michelle Williams.

Why I Love ... Marcia Gay Harden

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:31:09 -0700

You may have seen Marcia Gay Harden in many films without knowing her name. Or, if you're like me, you've been an admirer ever since her stunning Oscar-winning role in Pollock. Whatever the case, it's high time to give this lady some props. I think she is up there with Virginia Madsen, Laura Linney, and Patricia Clarkson in the category of actresses who give subtle yet deeply riveting performances, where their extensive character analyses consistently come through.

Harden can currently be found in The Hoax playing Edith, wife to Richard Gere's character, Clifford Irving. Edith was German but had lived in Sweden, Spain, and London, posing a peculiar challenge when it came to mastering Edith's accent, according to the film's press notes. Harden watched videos of the real-life Edith and worked with a dialog coach to achieve the delicate balance of those influences.

Despite her con-artist husband's infidelity and illegal schemes, Edith retains an idealistic belief in him - and in their marriage. Her performance is heartbreaking, while at the same time lending incredible strength to a character someone else might have depicted as a doormat. In a cast full of excellent actors (Alfred Molina, Hope Davis, among others), Harden more than holds her own. To see what else I love about Harden, read more

She won an Academy Award in 2001 for her turn in Pollock, again playing a wife, artist Lee Krasner, whose own motivations are trumped by her husband's. Rather than be relegated to a background wife role, Harden pretty much steals the movie out from under Ed Harris.

The rest of her resume is just as impressive, specifically her role as the sympathetic but creepy Celeste Boyle in Mystic River and her pitiable performance as the uptight, lonesome woman who rooms with Julia Roberts' character in Mona Lisa Smile.

Thankfully, Harden's career is chugging along healthily; she stars in the upcoming thriller The Invisible and has five other films in various stages of production. She also just signed on to join the cast of The Christmas Cottage alongside Peter O'Toole. I can't wait to see her on screen again, in all of her thoughtful grace.

Source

The Hoax: It's Fun to Be Duped

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 05:03:10 -0700

The Hoax is exciting in the way that casino/bank heist movies are exciting - only it's based on a real-life media heist. It's 1971, and billionaire Howard Hughes has captured the curiosity of millions for being extremely powerful and strangely resistant to any contact with the public. People are ravenous for information about Hughes, so when a desperate, off-kilter writer named Clifford Irving (Richard Gere) claims falsely to have been trusted with Hughes' life stories, everyone eats it up.

Irving concocts elaborate lies to sell his story and swindles publishing company McGraw-Hill out of outrageous advances - for himself and, incredibly, for Hughes as well. With the help of his wife Edith and his best friend Dick Suskind, Irving tangles himself further and further in all things Howard Hughes, until even he believes himself to be a Hughes expert.

In such a character-driven film as this, the cast is of great importance, and the actors pull off Hoax masterfully, so

Gere has the exuberance of a much younger man, bewitching everyone with his winning grin. Marcia Gay Harden movingly plays Irving's wife Edith, while Hope Davis is snappy and high-strung as Irving's publisher. If anyone deserves kudos, however, it's Alfred Molina, whose subtle, thorough character work just makes you ache for him. He plays Suskind, Irving's lumbering good-guy buddy who gets pulled into the deception, ultimately finding himself in over his head.

The costumes, music, and film techniques all help to make the movie heave with authenticity. This isn't the fun, glamorous 1970s of mini-dresses and frosted lipstick, but rather the dowdy world of publishing in the 1970s. The musical selections feature evocative popular tunes of the era, though the original score is also supremely effective, popping and bubbling almost optimistically through tension-filled scenes.

The film is peppered with real footage of political events at the time, highlighting the fact that talk of corruption and lies was prominent in the mass media, while also weaving together fact (real footage) and fiction (the movie). And as a most impressive tactic, director Lasse Hallstrom and director of photography Oliver Stapleton put the film through filters and then sharpened it digitally later, creating a softness that looks eerily like something out of the 1970s.

The success of Irving's attempt is dependent upon two assumptions: 1) that the publishers would give him the benefit of the doubt, and 2) that Hughes, in his desire to avoid the public, wouldn't call Irving out on the lies. It's nearly impossible to believe that the publishers would be so gullible, and yet the point of the film seems to be that people will believe anything when they so hungrily want to. On the second point, Irving was very close to assuming correctly about Hughes, a man Irving came to view, delusively, as a close acquaintance. Remarkably, the filmmakers also suggest that Irving had a hand in revealing the Watergate scandal. Far-fetched, it seems, but by the end of The Hoax, I myself was ready to believe nearly anything about this crazy con man.

Photos courtesy of Miramax

Movie Preview: The Hoax

BuzzSugar — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 05:36:03 -0700

Richard Gere looks so young and sprightly in the previews for The Hoax, a tale based on the true story of one of the greatest media deceptions ever attempted. In the early 1970s, writer Clifford Irving (Gere) sells a "biography" about Howard Hughes, featuring exclusive information about the mysterious and fiercely private billionaire.

Eager for the juicy story, Irving's publishers pay him exorbitant advances for the manuscript - which he promptly fabricates. Alfred Molina - who happens to be one of my favorite actors working right now - stars as Irving's friend and right-hand man in the hoax. You can read my review this Friday when the film comes out. Until then, to watch the trailer and tell me what you think, just read more