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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 05:30:00 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. This week's DVD selections are all TV series, though there are some movies coming out on DVD today, like the Kevin Costner thriller Mr. Brooks.

Veronica Mars: Season Three
VM fans, the wait is over! Season Three has finally made it to DVD and the 6-disc set looks to be a doozy. In addition to all the episodes that made up what turned out to be, sadly, VM's final season, there are a bunch of interesting extra features. There's a gag reel (natch), unaired scenes, cast interviews and set tours. Most interestingly, however, there's a featurette called "Pitching Season 4" in which Rob Thomas explains the idea he had for a new direction for the series - fast-forwarding years later with Veronica as a rookie FBI agent.

Two more new releases if you

read more The Sopranos: Season Six, Part Two Continuing on the train of sad final seasons, today you can also find the second part of The Sopranos' sixth season, complete with that much-discussed final episode. In addition to the episodes that aired last spring (Episodes 13-21), you can hear commentary by some of the cast members and delve deeper into the music of show. There's also a featurette that goes behind the scenes of Christopher's horror film Cleaver. So the series may have been laid to rest but if you come away from the show with nothing else, don't forget: "Don't Stop Believin'."
The Company It may not be the most fantastic CIA drama ever made, but this miniseries that aired on TNT over the summer is fairly compelling. Sure, a similar story is told in The Good Shepherd, but The Company does explore some different territory. The story follows the Cold War intelligence battle between the CIA and the KGB from the end of World War II to the fall of the Soviet Union. The performances of Alfred Molina and Michael Keaton are particularly absorbing.

TV Tonight: "The Company"

BuzzSugar — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 13:30:25 PDT

Here's the bad news: I didn't love the first installment of TNT's "The Company" the way I expected to. The two-hour segment, which airs tonight, seemed a bit jumbled, covering a lot of ground without a good hook to pull me in. The good news is that there was enough compelling content in the first episode that I'm still planning to check out the other two.

Broadly speaking, "The Company" tells the story of the CIA in the Cold War. More specifically, it focuses on two friends (played by Chris O'Donnell and Alessandro Nivola) who are recruited from Yale into the CIA, a third friend (Rory Cochrane) who ends up working for the KGB, and an American intelligence expert's quest to uncover a KGB spy within the CIA.

The book by Robert Littell on which the series is based weighs in at almost 900 pages, so I suppose it's no surprise that the miniseries (which will air in three two-hour segments) also plows through a lot of material. But what did surprise me was how disorganized the whole thing felt, so to hear more about that and see a video of Chris O'Donnell talking about his role,

read more The screener copy of "The Company" that I received came with a poster-sized chart of who's who, breaking down which characters work for the CIA, which work for the KGB or other intelligence agencies, and which are (or at least appear to be) civilians. And thank goodness; part of the idea of "The Company" is that you don't know who's really working for which agency, but I thought the first two hours contained too many characters with too little context. Beyond that, "The Company" doesn't seem to have a coherent identity thus far. Is it a story of three college friends who end up working on opposing sides of the Cold War intelligence effort? Or is it a story of one man's lifelong quest to track down the KGB's mole within the CIA? I also had to roll my eyes at the "love story" portion of events; those who fall in love seem to do so in about 10 seconds, and of course all of the main characters' relationships are with people who could jeopardize their jobs and their lives. (One of those women, a ballerina who seems to do nothing but dance 24/7, is particularly grating.) The first hour certainly had its good points, though. I mentioned I'm a sucker for spy stories, and there's some great code-cracking, phone-tapping and allegiance-switching here. Alfred Molina delivers a strong performance as a CIA agent nicknamed "The Sorcerer" who mentors O'Donnell's character and thrives on the danger of his job. And I hope Cochrane gets more screen time in future installments; his character, a conflicted Russian-born, American-bred spy, has more depth than anyone else so far. Overall, "The Company" looks to be a mixed bag - but fellow fans of spy stories still might find it worth a try. Source

First Look: "The Company"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:33:39 PDT

Sure, on the surface, I'm a pop culture-obsessed, concert-going, movie-watching maven. But behind it all, I'm really just a nerdy, somewhat spy-obsessed gal. So TNT's new miniseries, "The Company," easily earned a spot on my list of reasons to keep the TV on this summer.

The three-night, six-hour exploration of the history of the CIA, which premieres this coming Sunday, Aug. 5, has an excellent pedigree. Based on an acclaimed novel by Robert Littell, the miniseries is directed by Ridley Scott and counts Chris O'Donnell, Michael Keaton and Alfred Molina among its cast. I have high hopes that this miniseries - like "Mad Men" - can be not just a great period drama but a great drama, period. I'll share my thoughts on the first episode later this week, but in the meantime, you can check out
this tense trailer and a sneak peak from the first episode.

Photo courtesy of TNT

Chris O'Donnell Is In Good Company

Molly — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:18:12 PDT

Chris O'Donnell was looking almost as dreamy as his Circle of Friends/Mad Love days last night at a screening of his new TNT miniseries The Company in LA. Chris hasn't had excellent luck on TV series in recent years (either written off or all together canceled), but I do love seeing those baby blues back on the small screen. This new show which premieres August 5, is produced by Ridley Scott and centers around the double lives of Cold War Era CIA agents. It sounds interesting, but anything that helps keep Chris in our living rooms for at least a little while longer is fine by me.

To see more pics from the screening, including Michael Keaton, Natascha McElhone, Dana Delany and lots more just read more

View 19 Photos ›

Source Images include Alessandro Nivola, Alfred Molina, Catherine Bell, Chris O'Donnell, Michael Keaton, Rory Cochran, Caroline Fentress, Ricardo Chivara, Natascha McElhone, Dana Delany, and Gregory Cruz

Video: Chelsea Handler Talks Friendship With Reese - "She'd Never Ask Me to Babysit!"

Lauren Bradshaw — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:14:26 PST

Reese Witherspoon had some handsome company at the LA premiere for This Means War. Reese stepped out in a pretty, strapless Miu Miu dress along with her male costars Tom Hardy and Chris Pine and friend Chelsea Handler. Chelsea plays Reese's best friend in the movie and a mom, which she told us was a bit of a stretch, given that Reese would never ask her to babysit her kids! See our chat with Chelsea on the red carpet and find out about Reese's sexy lingerie scene in PopSugar Rush.

Obama Compromises on Contraception

Annie Scudder — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:20:55 PST

Despite the fact that 99 percent of women who have ever had sex - religious or not - have used contraception, the Obama administration's decision to make birth control free under all employer health insurance packages has caused a controversy. Today, the White House announced that it will make a change to its new policy to accommodate religious institutions, such as Catholic hospitals and universities, who do not want to cover prescriptions like the pill. Under the compromise, religious employers would not have to offer free birth control. Rather, insurance companies themselves would have to provide free contraception to workers at religiously sponsored institutions if the worker requests it.

The original policy, similar to laws that already exist in states like California and Oregon, would have required groups affiliated with religious institutions, like hospitals, charities, and universities, to provide insurance plans that cover birth control for free. Churches themselves would be exempt. But some religions, like the Catholic Church, oppose all forms of birth control, and leaders, especially the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, put pressure on the White House to change course, threatening to make this a major campaign issue.

So far, it looks like the compromise has pleased both sides. Planned Parenthood's President Cecile Richards said it "does not compromise a woman's ability to access this critical birth control benefits," and Sister Carol Keehan, the president of the Catholic Health Association of the United States, says she is "pleased and grateful that the religious liberty and conscience protection needs of so many ministries that serve our country were appreciated."

Rachel McAdams Preps For The Vow's Release Alongside Real-Life Love Michael Sheen

Allie Merriam — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:28:16 PST

Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen were hand in hand for a walk in LA yesterday. They've enjoyed a week of fun together in and around Hollywood, having lunch and shopping dates during free afternoons. Rachel has had some work to do, though, to promote her new movie - check out our review of The Vow! Rachel and her onscreen leading man Channing Tatum dressed up Monday for their West Coast premiere. Michael wasn't seen on the red carpet next to Rachel, but Channing had the company of his wife Jenna Dewan.

"We Had Drunk Sex and I Feel Awful"

Tres Community — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:05:00 PST

This question is from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

I had been "seeing" this guy for about three months, when it appeared to me that he really wasn't that interested in me anymore. He would always say that I worry too much but eventually admitted that "He didn't want to be in a serious relationship, but enjoyed my company and still wanted to be friends." I stupidly agreed b/c I really liked him.

Through the time we had been seeing each other, we fooled around but never actually slept together. I had told him that I didn't want to have sex unless we were committed and since he couldn't commit, we didn't let it get that far. Well...being the idiot that I am, I decided to hang out with him one weekend and go out to have drinks. He invited me to stay the night since he didn't want me driving home intoxicated, and I agreed. The deal was we'd sleep in different rooms.

Long story short . . . I drank wayyyy too much. I didn't even realize I was so drunk until the morning. I had blacked out, and woke up to find that we had sex. I apparently came on to him, very aggressively and wouldn't take no for an answer. He told me he resisted a couple of times and told me things weren't like that anymore, but I kept pushing. He also said that I was acting completely out of character and that I usually freak out about things like that, but that I was all for it. So he agreed to it.

I don't remember any of it.

Needless to say, he says he had a great time and doesn't regret it and asked that I don't regret it either. I agreed, but told him afterward that being just friends sucks for me. He says he knows, but it's all he can give me.

I feel sooooo embarrassed and ashamed for doing this. I tried so hard not to sleep with him and I suddenly get drunk one night and am all for it!? He tried contacting me a couple of days ago, but I didn't respond. Idk if I should speak to him again. I'm hurt that I let myself get into this situation and also that he agreed to sex when he knew I was acting differently. I know it takes two to tango, but I never wanted it to be this way. Now I just feel hurt, and awkward. He says everything is cool and he's not upset about it, but I feel terrible. I don't like casual sex like that . . . especially with him. I feel cheap.

What do I do? Just move on, ignore him, and forget about the whole thing or talk to him about it? Being just friends is too hard, especially when this just happened. I really like the guy, I just can't believe I let it get that far, especially when I knew he didn't want anything more than friends.

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it anonymously to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.

Personal Finance Advice From a Billionaire

Emily Co — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:01:01 PST

Of all the people to take advice from, perhaps we might be able to learn a thing or two about money from billionaire Mark Cuban. In a Business Insider interview, Cuban says he encourages people to angel invest rather than buying stocks. Angel investing is when individuals (generally those with high net worth) provide capital to someone trying to start a company in exchange for part ownership of the start-up. Cuban says the angel investing will work if " . . . you stick to what you know and can add value to. If you can't add value, don't do it. What's insane is thinking the stock market will always go up and the needs of your life, house, car and medical won't crush your investment approach."

Besides the bit of investing wisdom, the Dallas Mavericks owner shared some personal finance advice that he gives to his athletes.

I tell everyone the same thing. Pay off 100 percent of your debt. Use the transactional value of cash to get an absolute return on your savings (buying something in bulk to save 40 percent on something you know you need is a guaranteed return of 40 percent. You can't get that anywhere in market). And don't invest in things you don't know.

Diane Kruger Picks a Dramatic Look For Her Royal Debut

Katie Henry — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:37:57 PST

All eyes were on Diane Kruger as she made her way down the red carpet at tonight's Berlin Film Festival premiere of Farewell, My Queen. She began the day at a photocall wearing a colorful look from 10 Crosby by Derek Lam and chatted with press, in her native German, about director Benoît Jacquot's dramatic Marie Antoinette tale. She spoke freely about the project, and even addressed the movie's over the top fashion. Diane said of the wardrobe, "I personally hate historical films where people just look at dresses and hair. . . I had to forget that to do the film. . .You need to see the woman Marie Antoinette, not just the queen."

For tonight's screening Diane went for a bolder look and turned up the sparkle factor in a beaded Giambattista Valli Couture gown, jeweled Judith Leiber clutch, and edgy cuff earrings. Diane and boyfriend Joshua Jackson are one of our favorite red-carpet pairs, and they're right at the top of our pre-Valentine's Day list of Hollywood's cutest couples. He couldn't be with her tonight, but she did have the company of the film festival's director, Dieter Kosslick.