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First Episode of Heroes Season Three Screened at Comic-Con

BuzzSugar — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:15:03 -0700

And I got to see it! The Comic-Con started off with executive producer Jeph Loeb profusely thanking all the loyal fans and all the Comic-Con attendees from a couple years ago for getting the word out about Heroes. The whole cast came onstage, followed by Tim Kring whose wrist was handcuffed to a metal briefcase, which he referred to as "a big giant thank you to all of you." The cheering was deafening (I should add that there were some die-hard fans who had camped out overnight to be first in the convention center for this panel; the crowd was enthusiastic, to put it mildly) as Kring pulled out a DVD which he said contained the whole first episode of the next season.

And I don't think I was too influenced by all the intense excitement generated by thousands of Heroes fans when I say that I was really impressed with the season premiere. The writing is just better, the pacing is exciting without being way too much stuff at a time, and there aren't like, 64 new heroes. I was sometimes frustrated with the last season, for various reasons, and this episode totally wiped the slate clean. In fact, I have a newly bolstered respect for Heroes. I really think they'll deliver an awesome season, if the premiere is any indication.

I won't reveal anything specific about the plot but if you want a tiny taste of what we got to see this morning, read more.

The episode is way funnier than I remember the show being, though it hasn't totally devolved into camp. There's also a ton of horror movie moments that are both gruesome and satisfying.
We find out who shot Nathan pretty early on.
Mohinder makes a groundbreaking scientific discovery that changes everything in his life. He mentions Molly briefly (just to explain where she is), but his story right now is mostly intertwined with Maya's (you know, black eyes when angry, etc.).
Hiro is feeling a little lost at the beginning, like he is a man without a quest. He grapples with the issue of what his destiny is now. Soon, however, his becomes one of the most exciting stories of them all. We also meet a new hero through his story.
Several characters that were presumed gone for good make reappearances, of some sort.
One of the characters has a major spiritual awakening.
Old characters (yeah - plural!) who didn't have powers now do.
There's a new twist on the "save the cheerleader, save the world" mantra.

It was awesome. It was like a spectator sport, but the sport was just watching Heroes. There was even wild cheering for Mr. Muggles, which made me happy. Suffice to say, I look forward to September.

The Office, "Shareholder Meeting": Best Lines of the Night

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:30:00 -0800

Looks like The Office is trying for a little economic relevance. While it sort of knocks you over the head this week - e.g. showing the Dow Jones sign - you can't blame the writers for making the story timely. Michael travels to New York for a shareholders meeting with Dwight, Andy, and Oscar in tow, but instead of being honored for his work at the branch, he steps into what's essentially a sounding board for grievances.

Lots of great quotes in this episode, so let's recap some of my favorites, shall we? (Don't worry, I've included Michael's big speech.)

"Recyclops will drown you in your over-watered lawns."-Dwight
Obviously the writers had to plug NBC's Green Week like the rest of the network, but The Office's is one of the most creative. I especially enjoyed Jim's side story about how Recyclops's fictional planet was attacked and he "vowed to destroy the planet he once loved." Oh, and his nemesis Polluticorn, which is actually a Power Rangers reference. They could've made the entire episode about Recyclops, and I would've been happy - if for nothing else, just to see Dwight rock that weird eye headband.

For more quips from the evening, including a deleted limo scene, read more.

Dwight: "Oh, I'm sorry were you raised in a household with no consequences?"
Woman in line: "It'll just be a second."
Dwight: "Oh, if onlys and justs were candies and nuts, then every day would be Erntedankfest."
Dwight lays into the woman in the microphone line when she wants to use the bathroom, but his special comeback phrase really made me laugh. I plan on reciting it myself at least once this week. (By the way, I googled "Erntedankfest" and it's Germany's Thanksgiving. Dwight taught me something!)

Pam: "Well, I can't really imagine you yelling at anyone."
Jim: "Oh, I yell, you've heard me yell."
Pam: "Oh, okay. I've heard you exclaim, like the time you said, Hey look, we parked over here."
Jim: "Well that was apple picking day. There's no need to yell that day. You know, I was just excited to find the car. Perfect end to a perfect day."
Aw, Jim. You try so hard to be tough. But you've got to admit that putting Ryan in the closet is genius. Not only does it teach the guy a lesson, but I'm considering it payback for all of those weird getups that Ryan's been wearing recently. (Remember the fedora?!)

"We're gonna come back with a plan for you, it's a 45-day plan, 45 days to get us back on track, 45 points. It's a 45-day, 45 point, one point per day, we get the 45 points. We are back in business. And you can take that to the bank. And limo lady, we are going completely carbon neutral! I love you New York!"-Michael
Best. Speech. Ever. God forbid anyone ever give Michael Scott a mic - serves them right. Oh, and speaking of limos, check out this funny deleted scene of the boys in their ride.

"I just want to say that I believe that there are options out there. A take-a-number option like they have in a deli. What about line varieties? Like an express line for quick comments of ten words or less that could move much more efficiently. What about ropes along the lines that you can hold on to?"-Dwight
I was always welcome a ridiculous Dwight rant, and this was one of his better ones.

Alright, so your turn! What'd you think of the episode? The whole situation has me questioning what's going to happen to Michael in next week's episode. The guy destroys the shareholders meeting, his CEO is annoyed, and then he runs off with the limo - are there going to be repercussions?

If you're a Dunder Mifflin fanatic, head on over to The Office! group in the BuzzSugar Community!

Photo and videos courtesy of NBC

Movie Preview: Miley Cyrus in The Last Song

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:30:56 -0800

Are you ready for your second Nicholas Sparks movie preview in as many months? (Last month's was the romance Dear John.) Here it is: The Last Song stars Miley Cyrus (cue The Soup's "It's Miley!" sound bite) as a girl who's dropped off at the home of her estranged father to spend the Summer. Obviously she doesn't want to be there, obviously she falls for a local boy, and obviously she and her father end up bonding.

You couldn't call me a Miley fan, but I do love Greg Kinnear, who plays her well-meaning father. From the trailer, the movie looks very sweet and very schlocky - which is exactly how Sparks usually does it. Interestingly, Sparks was commissioned to write both the screenplay and novel simultaneously, with Cyrus in mind. While I don't know that I'll be rushing to the theater for this one, it's probably something you'd find me secretly Netflixing later on; I'm kind of a sucker for the addictive cheesiness of a Sparks movie.

Check out the trailer for The Last Song when you read more.

The Last Song comes out on April 2, 2010.

Talking New Moon With Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:15:50 -0800

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner may be dominating the promotional circuit right now, but they're not the only cast members with something to say about New Moon. I had the opportunity to chat with costars Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene, aka Emmett and Alice Cullen, during their recent stopover in SF. They chatted about their characters, the vampire craze, and what it's like to be a "Twilight celebrity." Here are highlights:

On why so many people are crazy for the Twilight Saga:
Ashley: I think this film in particular is highly relatable. There are a lot of situations that people can relate to. The love story - everyone can relate to being in love or being in lust. You add the vampire, and it adds that next level fantasy. Vampires are mysterious and sensual and dangerous and unattainable. And everyone wants what they can't have. I think on another level that this came together at the perfect time. All the elements just fit, the casting was spot on, and we're in a difficult time right now with our economy. That's why you never have a drop in ticket sales because everyone wants an escape, and this movie is very much an escape from reality.
Kellan: It's a good escape but also it deals with so many situations, on so many positive notes. Just looking at it from the vampire coven to the wolf pack. It just deals with everyday issues just on bigger levels, in a way. And you have Bella as the keystone in many situations. You can just all relate from different countries to issues within the United States. It's easily relatable.

To read a lot more about working with three different directors and why they feel so lucky, just read more.

On how their portrayals of the Cullens are similar or different from the books:
Kellan: We got the jobs because we brought something new to it. You can interpret the characters each their own, but I think it's what we did alongside. Just like Kristen said - she's playing Bella but she's putting her Kristen spin on it, just like all of us are. And I think that's what's making it unique. We're still following the cheat sheets that Stephenie created by making the books, and there's Wikipedia. We have a lot of information to go off of. But I hope it's what I did in my audition that set it apart from the other guys trying out.

Ashley: I think it's mannerisms too. People do fall in love with this book, but I think part of it is that they always want more. You can't write out every human mannerism. You can imagine it, but seeing the emotion in someone's eyes and seeing them be affected it - it was kind of easy to give something to it, because we were just being people. We kinda just got lucky.
On how much more of the Cullens we can expect in the remaining movies:
Kellan: Realistically, we stick pretty close to the books. Obviously us Cullens would love to be in the books a lot more, which would mean we'd be in the movies a lot more. Talking New Moon, the scenes that the Cullens - except for Ashley, playing Alice who gets to go to Italy and be a main lead in the movie - us Cullens, we have to stick really close to the books, and the scenes that we're in are really crucial to the story, as you know - the birthday scene, the voting scene. I don't know, it was kind of a tease. Chris Weitz is such an amazing director, and for us, for myself - I only worked about a week on that movie. And it didn't even seem like I really got a taste for what it was.

Ashley: In the third film, you'll see a lot more of the Cullens because it's all of us collaborating and then getting ready to fight this war that's coming up. In the second one, my character got a much larger role because Alice is the Cullen, other than Edward, that really embraces Bella and they end up becoming best friends. In the beginning, you see her throw this huge party for Bella, and then Alice is the one who does, in fact, come back for Bella when everyone else decides to skip town. Alice is responsible for dragging Bella over to Italy, and she and I the whole time are fighting to save my brother's life. And then of course we get held up by the Volturi and stuff like that. My character got to grow a lot, which is really cool. You get to actually see the relationship develop between Bella and Alice, where in the first one you didn't. The first one was very much about the romance and showing the audience why these two people are willing to die for each other.
On working with a different director on each film:
Ashley: Each director is going to be very different. They're artists as well, and I don't think any of them are quite the same. The books, when you read them, all have very, very, different tones. So I think it's highly appropriate that we switch directors each go. The first one is very much a romance and is a very scenic, beautiful film. And Catherine's really, really great at capturing that. She's very high energy and works well in chaos and stuff like that. And it was fantastic because we didn't quite know what we were getting ourselves into, and so it was nice to have her to guide us when we were freaking out a little bit. She was just so high energy, and it was really contagious. We were sad to lose her and move on to the second film, but then we got Chris Weitz and he's the complete opposite! But great as well. He's so giving and caring and collaborative and created this atmosphere that was kind of a safe haven for us. And it was really nice because we didn't know, switching directors, if they were gonna embrace us or if they had a completely different vision than what we created in the first one. It was nice that he was right there on the same page with us. And the second one is a warmer film, even from the color scheme. The first one is very blue tones, and the second one is much richer and warmer and I think he did a great job at capturing that. And we just finished shooting with David Slade, and I think he's highly appropriate as well. He just finished shooting 30 Days of Night and Hard Candy, and they're both very dark, edgy films. And Eclipse is very much that. It's all centered around the anticipation and us getting ready to fight this huge war. We just finished filming, we haven't gotten to see much of it, but I think it's gonna be fantastic. He is, technically, the most advanced director. The angles that he shot and how he knows that tweaking something can affect a whole scene and the lenses. He was really nice to work with.
On coping with the fan effect and being a "Twilight celebrity"
Kellan: That's what blows my mind, 'cause I feel like it's really unearned in a way. The fans are making our careers. Without them, we wouldn't be working and doing the saga. There's so many times that trilogy books become a movie and the first one bombs, and then that's it. And you're always hopeful that you get to do them all. Especially since we're all in love with our characters. I love Emmett Cullen to death, he's my favorite character I've ever played. It's just so cool to have made it this far, and I think we all hope that we get to finish this series and do Breaking Dawn. This is such a blessing, it's every actor's dream to be part of something like this. It's not terribly hard either. We don't shoot halfway around the world; we don't shoot for a year of our lives. I know a lot of us have homes, we have pets, we have family. And it's really nice to shoot on the West Coast, either Portland or Vancouver, and have the chance to fly down if we need to. But it's definitely amazing to be part of something like this. And I don't think any of us knew how crazy it would be and how exhilarating it would turn out to be. Going to the premiere, really just, wow. I don't even remember it because I was really just starstruck by how many fans and signs and cameras. It felt like I was just walking through a strobe light room. It's amazing.

Ashley: I still think we can't really wrap our heads around what's going on and what's happening. We're still in the midst of filming and kept very busy from one film until the next. It's only these brief moments where you sit back and are actually able to take a breath where you go "Whoa. Wow. This is crazy." I mean, the amount of tickets they've already sold for New Moon - I'm pretty sure I can't even get a ticket if I tried to see my film in Jacksonville and it's mind boggling. We're just very lucky. I went into this film thinking "Oh my gosh, I got a job" and the it turned into the biggest break of my life. I think we all feel very blessed to be a part of this.
On how it feels to be part of Twilight fan fiction:
Kellan: It's an escape, in a way. We do live in a trivial time period right now. There's so much depression that it's kinda cool to be a part of something where people use it to be an escape. In a way that's kinda what Stephenie did -she had a dream and just elaborated on it. It became a huge success and it's really encouraging that people are doing the same and just making up this journey.

Ashley: That's why people love it so much I think. You can take it and make what you want of it. Before the demographic was teenage girls, but now it's women of every age and guys are starting to get into it, too. It's because there is that element of fantasy. If you're 8 years old you look at it one way; if you're 80 years old you look at it another. I think it's fantastic that we can draw such a huge crowd. The other thing is - it blows my mind but people are making connections over this film and over this book. there are mothers and daughters and grandmas who can all sit and talk about the same story and all fantasize about it and I think that's a really cool thing. I think it's rare.

To see all of our Twilight and New Moon coverage, check out TwilightSugar!

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!

Rob, Kristen, and Taylor Are This Week's Entertainment

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:56:22 -0800

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner have been posing for photo ops all over town - check out Pop's favorite promo tour moments - and it wouldn't be complete without an interview with Entertainment Weekly. In the cute interview, the costars quip about everything from Rob's attachment to his signature hair to Kristen's confession that she'd like to quit smoking to Taylor's obsession with hitting the gym for New Moon. There're also tidbits about Rob and Kristen's off-screen relationship and how Robert handles fandom. They're clearly a tight-knight trio, so check out the highlights below. If you can't get enough Twilight, keep the convos going in the Twilight Saga community group, and be sure to check back next week for my own interview with Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz!

Robert Pattinson on his hair in Eclipse: I swear to you I’ve never experienced anything like this. It's every single day. In Twilight, they wanted me to have extensions down to my hips.
Kristen Stewart: He's a liar. He doesn't remember. He's remembering how they made him feel, but they were just, like, down to here [pointing to her shoulders].
Pattinson: So I told them, "Look, that's just not going to happen." I said, "It looks like this already – I'll come to set like this." I sound so stupid, but in a lot of ways the hair is 75 percent of my performance, so in the second one I said, "Listen, I need to tone down the hair. Let's make it a little more real, a little bit more . . . Method.” [Laughs] And then in the third one, I'm doing fight scenes and there's a strand going down my forehead and they're like, "We need to do it again because no one will recognize you! No one will know who it is!" I'm like, really, is my face that generic?
Stewart: They want proof that you're doing your own stunts, man!
Pattinson: I have to look like the poster at all times. Just in case they want to use any clip for the trailer. Any clip at all! There were about five people in different departments who, because of my forelock, ended up in tears.

For tons of more quotes, just read more.

EW: How are you all coping with living in a fishbowl?
Pattinson: It really depends on the mood. When I met you last year [before Twilight came out], I was doing interviews very sporadically and I never got recognized. Now it's like anywhere I go there's immediate recognition. So there's more of a responsibility . . .
Stewart: I don't mind working every day. It's just, suddenly, I have this other role. And that's really disappointing. All I'd like to do is go outside with a book and figure out what to do with the day. And if I can't do that, then I'm just going to sit in my hotel room on my balcony and chain smoke. [Pauses] I'm going to stop smoking. I'm not such a good smoker, anyway. It's not in my bones. I'm gonna drop it.
Pattinson: The three of us have been working for two years [straight]. It does feel like your day has a shape just as soon as you wake up. I just forget what it's like when you're free.
EW: Taylor, you're the only one who almost lost a shot at the sequels. Do you have a different relationship with fame because you had to fight for your job?
Lautner: No, I kept my eye on the prize 100 percent of the time. I was motivated. I wasn't even thinking about anything else.
Stewart: Thank God you got the job. I wouldn't have wanted to deal with you if you didn’t. After all those months of working out!
Lautner: I just wanted to focus on what I could control, and I worked really hard.
EW: You mean in the gym? Because I see your abs everywhere these days.
Lautner: Yeah, the gym was a major part, but I really studied the books and the character, too. And it all turned out good.
EW: Kristen, it must be nice to watch the guys' appearances get obsessed over for a change.
Stewart: Seriously, it's a trip to sit back and look at the sexual objectification of these dudes. I've never been asked to do any of this stuff.
EW: You guys are lucky. You clearly all dig each other.
Lautner: The amount of time we have to spend with each other – if I didn't like these two, it would be exhausting.
EW: Rob, you made Remember Me this summer, between sequels. Was that the set in New York, where you were knocked into a cab by hordes of fans?
Pattinson: That was completely made up. I was walking across the street, and there was one cab going about one mile an hour and it nudged my leg. The story ended up being how I got hit by a cab because of a mob of screaming fans, [but] it was 4 o'clock in the morning and there was one person there – a paparazzi. . . . And then there was another time – apparently they said on the news that I had a drug overdose. The security guy saw it on TV, and I wasn't in my room, and he was like, "Uh-oh!" It's just so weird. I wake up and my room is too messy to order room service, and so I end up eating a pack of M&M’s for breakfast – and it takes me about five hours to find it. That's my first five hours of the day. [Laughing] And then you see the news and think, "Who cares if he had a drug overdose? It would probably make him more interesting!"
EW: Kristen and Rob, why do you think people are so obsessed with the state of your off-screen relationship?
Pattinson: Good question. That's a little thing I have to think about every day.
Stewart: Maybe it's just my personality, but I'm never going to answer it. I probably would've answered it if people hadn't made such a big deal about it. But I'm not going to give the fiending an answer. I know that people are really funny about "Well, you chose to be an actor, why don’t you just f---ing give your whole life away? Can I have your firstborn child?"
EW: You don’t think just saying, for example, "Listen, we dated for a few months, it was weird, we're better off as friends" would end the speculation?
Pattinson: No way.
Stewart: People are deeply judgmental and I'm not strong enough. I would love to be like, "I don't care what anybody thinks." But I'm a very private person. And think about every hypothetical answer: "Okay, we are. We aren't. I’m a lesbian." I've thought about this a lot. There's no answer that's not going to tip you one way or the other. I'm just trying to keep something. If people started asking me if I was dating Taylor, I'd be like, "F--- off." I would answer the exact same way."

The Vampire Diaries "162 Candles": The Good, The Bad and The Bloody

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:30:41 -0800

It's a party on this week's The Vampire Diaries for Stefan's birthday, but it's hardly a cake and merriment fest. Our broody hero finally gets a chance to smile, but of course, it's taken away from him quickly.

Ready to chat about the good, the bad, and the bloody? Watch out for spoilers when you read more.

The Good

Stefan's girl BFF Lexi comes to town to give Stefan a proper 126nd birthday party, and she's a tough-talkin', sexy badass of a vampire. Can you believe that Arielle Kebbel is the same girl who played Lindsay on Gilmore Girls? In the preview, she seemed like a rival for Stefan's affections, but that's not the case at all; she's his (literally) oldest friend and apparently brings out the fun-loving beast in Stefan (hey writers, can we please get some flashback scenes of the good times with Lexi? That would be awesome). She also talks some sense into Elena, encouraging her not to ignore her real feelings for Stefan. Amen. Did you catch that very brief shot of Stefan with his shirt off? Elena could have just seen that and been convinced, but I guess Lexi's soul mate talk works too.
Bad boy Damon proves that he's not softening like I thought he was; his diabolical master plan includes pursuing Caroline's sheriff mother and pretending to help in the vampire hunt. He also engineers the demise of yet another character (more about that in The Bloody rundown), which is heartless and shocking, to say the least.
Bonnie and her awesome Grams make an appearance, apparently having had a sleepover/feather floating lesson. Grams explains that her necklace is her talisman and it chose her, which becomes even more obvious when it also shocks Caroline when she tries to snag it back for Damon. I was disappointed when I thought that was the extent of what we'd see of Bonnie and her witchery this week - until the very end, when Bonnie has a disturbing nightmare featuring her ancestor Emily Bennett and then actually wakes up in the cemetery near the Salvatore family grave. Spooky.

The Bad

Are we supposed to be rooting for Caroline and Matt to get together? I thought it was sweet and all for Matt to take care of Caroline and cuddle her when she's drunk, but I feel like we haven't been given enough to be invested in Matt. Sure, I feel for him losing his sister, but he and Caroline are still side characters to me, so I'm not excited about their pairing quite yet.

The Bloody

I knew something was up when Damon briefly leaves the party and attacks two amorous teens so blatantly; turns out, he pins that attack and all the previous ones on Lexi, supposedly to get the hunting squad off of him and Stefan.
I gasped audibly once again during this episode when the second vampire was killed in as many weeks. Even though Vicki was a more prominent character than Lexi was, I was still completely shocked that Damon stakes her so mercilessly. I really liked her character and loved that for once, someone could overpower Damon. I have a feeling that her little domination of him in the beginning of the episode had something to do with how easily he kills her, but it's still such a horrible thing to do to Stefan. I thought that the small part of Damon that's still human harbors a love for his brother, but I can't believe how deeply he's willing to hurt him.
Heartbroken over the murder of his friend, Stefan tells Elena he has to kill Damon. Which means: vampire fight! But Stefan can't do it; he just sticks the wooden stake in Damon's torso to hurt, but not destroy, him. Well, yeah, he's a star of the show. He can't go anywhere! And Stefan wants to spare him, blah, blah, blah.

From the looks of the preview, I definitely thought this week would just be a filler episode, but it managed to keep up the pace of last week's super intense and amazing "Haunted." A couple more things to think about: Lexi brings up an interesting point - Katherine and Elena look so alike, they could be related. This is a small town with residents whose roots go deep; could they be related? It's an interesting thought. Also, the best way to end an episode is a ghostly Emily Bennett telling Bonnie "It's coming." What's coming? Ack, it's so ominous and exciting, I can't wait to find out what it means! What did you think of this week's episode? And if you want a place to talk more about the show, join Hooked on Vampire Diaries in the Buzz Community!

Photos courtesy of The CW

Continue or Kill: Men in Black

BuzzSugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:30:37 -0700

Today's sequel news sort of makes my eyes roll: Men in Black 3 is coming, and Sony is bringing fresh blood to the franchise. The studio has roped in Etan Cohen of Tropic Thunder to write the script - even though neither Will Smith nor Tommy Lee Jones have signed on yet to star.

Not to be cruel, but the second MIB came out seven years ago - isn't Agent K getting kind of old to chase aliens? I liked the first MIB OK (loved that theme song!), but the second didn't grab my excitement, so I'm surprised they've decided to revisit it again. All I've got to say is they better get Smith and Jones to agree stat, because I can't imagine an MIB with all new characters - or even worse, younger actors taking over the roles they originated.

What's your take? Are you happy to see Hollywood move forward with the Men in Black series, or would you rather see it offed already?

Rashida Jones and Chris Pratt Talk Parks and Recreation

BuzzSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:38:35 -0700

Since the beginning of the Fall season, Parks and Recreation has gone from shaky midseason replacement to a solid half-hour of comedy, thanks in part to a talented and hilarious cast. Two of my favorite actors from the show, Rashida Jones and Chris Pratt, who play Leslie's best friend Ann and Ann's ex-boyfriend Andy, respectively, chatted with some reporters this week about Parks and what's in store for their characters.

Rashida on the possibility of Ann and Andy getting back together: You know, I don't think it's an impossibility. I think there's still love in Ann's heart for Andy. I think so much would have to change for him to be OK with her. But I don't think it's an impossibility.
Chris on whether Andy will get a job or home: Yeah, the writers have found a nice way for Andy to get out of the pit and get a job and start sort of working his way up into independence.

To read more on why Chris and Rashida think the second season has been better, Ann and Andy's ex relationship, and those nude scenes, just read more.

Rashida on whether she likes Ann and Andy better together or apart: I think there's a lot of comedy both ways. I mean, I like this particular paradigm; I think it's really funny, because I just think Chris gets to shine a lot here and do something with something that could potentially seem really kind of cartoony and big which is like him, you know - showing up places and pretending to be casual about seeing me and all that. But he manages to make it kind of realistic and really sweet. So I like this dynamic for now.
Chris on whether Andy will start dating: I think that Andy's undying devotion toward Ann is one of the only things that sort of redeems him, so I hope not. I hope that he just keeps pining after Ann for 10 seasons to come. That would be the best for me.
Rashida on what Chris wears when he's naked on the show: They have those really unappealing little dance belts that were uncomfortable for Chris Pratt.
Chris on the nude scenes: Yeah, let's just say there was a dance belt included and it was uncomfortable. They kind of just are these little things that cover up your junk, but it was almost as if I was wearing nothing at all. Yeah.
Rashida on the show clicking more in the second season: It just takes time. I think for the actors, for the writers, for the audience, you just need some time to settle into what the characters actually are, and what's funny about their dynamics. And I'm super grateful that people gave us a shot to get there but I definitely think it takes about 10 episodes to even know what anything is, you know? I mean, you watch some early Seinfeld, you watch some early Sex and the City, it's nothing like the show turned out to be; the things that people loved about that show did not exist at the beginning of that show, you know.
Chris on the same: I've noticed that, as a fan of the show, I've seen it get better and better, and working on it I've noticed the scripts coming down the pipes have gotten better, but it kind of goes back to what Rashida said: it takes time for everybody. And I think it's just a matter of finding the sensibilities to all the characters and starting with Amy, you know; I think a lot of people compared Steve Carell to Ricky Gervais from The Office when they first started the American version of The Office. But he has a different style of comedy, and maybe they were writing for Steve the way they did for Ricky Gervais. And maybe in the beginning, they were writing for Amy the way that they wrote for Steve Carell, but her comedic sensibility is a little different. Maybe it's not that funny to watch her be uncomfortable the way it is with Steve Carell, but it's so goddamned endearing when she smiles. And you see her and when she's enjoying herself, so is the audience. And you see her doing that a lot more now; kind of just becoming comfortable in who she is, and like the episode with the beauty pageant, she's standing up for women's rights. You're seeing more dimensions of her. And maybe it's always been who they've envisioned her to be, or maybe they're figuring it out, but I sure like Leslie a lot more in the second season. I just enjoy watching her more and I think that's starting to happen with all the characters.

Don't forget to tune in to watch Ann and Andy on tonight's special Halloween episode; something tells me that some of what Rashida and Chris talked about will start developing sooner rather than later!

FlashForward Breakdown, "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:30:52 -0700

FlashForward gets into the Halloween spirit this week, with a few tricks for the characters and treats for the audience. We get just a bit more info about Simon and see a few costumes as Olivia and Mark's relationship issues come to a head in a big way.

This week's episode is heavy on the revelations (just like Sonya Walger promised), so to get into it, just read more.

Simon says: Within the first few minutes of the episode, one thing is abundantly clear: Simon is not Charlie from Lost. Instead, he's a smooth-talking, self-proclaimed "quantum physicist genius", who actually gets a woman into bed using the line "I know what caused the FlashForward." The scary part is that he actually does - and in his own vision, he's murdering someone. Totally creepy.

Trick or treat: Mark takes Charlie out trick-or-treating, and has an unpleasant surprise waiting when he gets home. He's understandably uncomfortable having Lloyd in his house, and things hit the fan when Olivia gets home and all three realize what's going on at the exact same time. I was so happy when Mark finally tells Olivia the truth about his vision (was totally expecting him to lie again), but then Olivia insinuates that they should break up - which seems a bit random to me. They're finally making progress and now they're going to throw it all away?

Runaway rapper: Lloyd's son Dylan runs away from the hospital in his rapper costume), and heads to the Benford residence. It's baffling when Dylan runs past Nicole and makes himself comfortable, until we finally see the kid's flashforward: he and Charlie are hanging out in the kitchen, eating cookies and having a grand old time. (So much for my kidnapping theory). So here's where I'm confused: Charlie looks perfectly happy to be hanging out with Dylan in her vision, so where did she get the "D. Gibbons is a bad man" idea from?

Janis's body: Janis is admitted to the hospital after last week's shoot-out, and Olivia is her doctor, naturally. My heart jumped for a split second when Janis pretends that she doesn't recognize Olivia (would be an all-too-easy explanation of her vision). Thinking about her flash-forward gets Janis all stressed out, and she has to undergo another surgery - this time, part of her uterus is removed, making it "almost impossible" for her to get pregnant. Almost.

Other major plot points:

Simon brings up the Schrödinger's Cat theory, discussing that it's up to the cat to decide if it wants to live or die. Is this foreshadowing for the flash-forwards? Perhaps each character can decide for him- or herself whether or not to make it happen?

Demetri sets off in search of his attacker, follows a bunch of blue-hand signs to an abandoned warehouse. I'm starting to get a little bored of his storyline.

Lloyd and Simon reunite at the end of the episode, with Lloyd saying, "Our experiment killed 20 million people Simon, what more is there to say?" What's do you think the relationship is here? Brothers? Old buddies? Lab partners?

The kangaroo makes an appearance!

This episode was one of my favorites so far, but what did you guys think about all the new revelations? Tell me your theories in the comments below!

Photos courtesy of ABC, Inc.