BuzzSugar

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 07:38:02 -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. This week brings us an exciting list of big titles, many of which got Oscar attention this year. In addition to these recommendations, check out Heath Ledger in the gritty drama Candy, as well as the gorgeous-looking Curse of the Golden Flower, which was up for Best Costumes.

Children of Men
Nominated for three Academy Awards, Children of Men is a frightening sci-fi tale of a not-so-distant future when women are unable to have babies, and humans everywhere, facing extinction, have turned to violence and warfare. Miraculously, one woman named Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) has managed to conceive and needs help from Theo (Clive Owen) to bring her - and the future of the race - safely to a science center named The Human Project. It's a chilling and dramatic piece of sci-fi that's a far cry from Jar Jar Binks. For more details, check out my full review.

For two more recommendations, read more

The Pursuit of Happyness
Against Peter O'Toole and Forest Whitaker, Will Smith really didn't have a prayer in this year's Best Actor race. But if his excellent portrayal of Chris Gardner is any indication, Smith should get more chances to win. He is subtle and studious as a salesman who takes an unpaid internship as a stockbroker in hopes of bettering his life and that of his young son (Jaden Smith). Gardner hits such lows that this movie is often painful to watch, but it will also open your eyes. Check out my full review and you'll understand what I mean.

Happy Feet
Sure, this is technically a kids' movie, but this one is so CGI-tastic that it won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. The story follows Mumble, a lovable emperor penguin with a woefully bad singing voice. His peers use their vocal skills to attract mates while Mumble, well, mumbles. Luckily, he was gifted in another way: The penguin can dance! The songs are toe-tappingly happy, and there is a serious message about being environmentally responsible. But really, the bottom line is: Who doesn't love penguins?

"Happyness" Triumphs Over "Apocalypto"

BuzzSugar — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 12:52:22 -0800

I was excited to see that "The Pursuit of Happyness" was No. 1 at the box office this weekend, beating out "Apocalypto", which held the top spot for just one week. It's great to see a very un-Hollywood movie like "Happyness" win out, but I'll be interested to see if the film maintains its momentum. After all, it's definitely not your typical feel-good movie, and some people may be surprised at how hard it is to watch. Still, if you haven't seen it yet, you should.

The Pursuit of Happyness: Heavy But Not Heavy-Handed

BuzzSugar — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 07:31:03 -0800

Don't be fooled by the cute title and the heartwarming shots of Jaden Smith tying his dad's tie: The bulk of Will Smith's latest movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, is neither happy nor heartwarming. Rather, it is painful to watch, serving as a test of tolerance to see just how much desperation, terror, and exhaustion we can witness one man going through. And that's exactly what makes it good.

Without a doubt, one of the best things about The Pursuit of Happyness is the career-making performance by Smith, who moves through every emotional peak and valley with appropriate and astounding gravitas. Inspired by a true story, the movie tells the story of a San Francisco salesman named Chris Gardner (Smith) whose life is starting to feel like an endless climb up one of the city's more brutal hills. His character is toiling in a less-than-lucrative job selling portable bone-density scanners, and he cringes to send his son Christopher (played by Smith's real-life son, Jaden) to a cut-rate daycare center that can't even manage to spell "happiness" right on its mural.

Meanwhile, the son's mother, Linda (Thandie Newton), is pulling double shifts and getting fed up with the family's endless debt. Conflicted, she decides to leave, and Chris is left to care for his son alone. Unable to pay the rent, Chris and his son are soon evicted from their apartment and forced to move into a motel. But that's just the premise, so

It's here that the story moves beyond one man's biography to become a broad-reaching statement about the plight of the working poor, set against the backdrop of Reagan-era America. Chris, after seeing the crowds of happy, smiling people pouring out of an SF brokerage firm, decides to apply for an internship as a stock broker. Incredibly sharp and personable, he lands the job despite his lack of a college education, only to discover that the internships are unpaid. He accepts anyway, thinking that the job could be the ticket to a better life but at the same time plunging his family further into poverty.

From here, we see the pair finding shelter anywhere they can, from train-station bathrooms to charitable churches, while Gardner struggles not only to look presentable at work but also to excel in his highly competitive job.

Viewers familiar with San Francisco will have fun watching this movie, because not since the first Dirty Harry movie has the city been cast in such a major role. But for the rest of the viewing populace, there is little respite from the endless gauntlet of crushing hardships that Chris faces. The only real relief is getting to witness the deepening relationship between father and son. While the young Smith is perfectly adequate and predictably adorable as Christopher, it's the elder Smith who really shines, by creating a character who is endearing despite his flaws as a parent.

Frankly, I found this movie difficult to wrap my brain around, and that might be because it's a very American story told through the unique perspective of an Italian director, Gabriele Muccino. To the director's credit, The Pursuit of Happyness is brutally real and dismal in a way that most Hollywood films aren't, but the script was often too light and simple for such a heavy subject. What's more, the movie's takeaway-a sort of testament to the power of the American dream-makes some rather unsettling connections between the pursuit of happiness and the accumulation of money. But that doesn't obscure the most important fact, which is That Pursuit of Happyness is far more complex than the movie's feel-good family movie trailers suggest.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

Which Upcoming Movie Are You Most Excited to See?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:36:11 -0800

Just as the best TV shows are going on hiatus for the winter break, plenty of new movies are coming out to fill the void-many of them likely Oscar contenders. Which of this season's new releases are you most psyched to see?

Source