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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 May 2007 06:02:23 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. I should probably mention that in addition to the following titles, Apocalypto is also out on DVD today. Oh, and the Girls Next Door Workout.

Letters From Iwo Jima
This is perhaps the better of Clint Eastwood's two-part World War II project, following up Flags of Our Fathers. Letters was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture, and took home the award for Best Sound Editing. The film tells the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima from the viewpoint of the Japanese soldiers, as led by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe). It's one of those sweeping war epics that manages to be stately and sentimental all at once.

Two more if you

Venus
Sex. Art. Youth. Love. Aging issues. Peter O'Toole giving what one reviewer called "a staggering performance - fearless, defiantly untamed and in its own way a work of art." What more could you ask for? O'Toole plays an older man who becomes enthralled with his friend's nineteen-year-old grand-niece. Her crass immaturity and his sophisticated old manliness collide to form a surprisingly sweet bond. Check out the trailer and see for yourself.

The Good German
Starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett, The Good German was expected to be a modern noir with nods to classics like Casablanca. While it didn't end up wowing the critics, it's still a visually arresting film featuring some excellent performances. The movie, shot in black-and-white, follows American journalist Jacob Reismer (Clooney), who travels to Berlin to cover the Postdam Peace Conference. There, he reconnects with an ex-girlfriend (Blanchett), and the two soon become embroiled in a Nazi/Soviet/American conspiracy. Tobey Maguire attempts to play a sociopath. For a more detailed perspective, check out my review.

Clooney Words Lost In Bad Translation

PopSugar — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 13:58:37 PDT

Nothings better than kicking off a Monday with new Clooney pics! George is still hard at work on the set of Leatherheads, which he is both directing and starring in himself. We're sure he's got his hands full with all those responsibilities, but at least there's one big hurdle that he doesn't have to worry about this time. Turns out, while filming The Good German there was a little bit of on-set trouble with the, uh, German part. Here's more:

“It was brutal,” Clooney told Australia’s Herald Sun. “We had a dialect coach on the set who apparently didn’t speak any German. We didn’t know. He would say, ‘That was good.’” But when the film was shown to German speakers, they couldn’t understand a word of what Clooney said. Director Mike Nichols, who was born in Germany and speaks the language, was called onto the set to help out. “So, for dubbing, Mike was my dialect coach,” Clooney explained. “He would say, ‘Okay, say this.’ Every word of it was from Mike Nichols.”

We're sure George was good-natured as always about the whole mix up. Just another reason to love him -- after that sexy smile of course!

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Cate Warms Berlin Up to The Good German

PopSugar — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:30:51 PST

Cate Blanchett looked classy as always at the opening of the Berlinale International Film Festival this weekend. She was there for the premiere of her film The Good German, which was one of 22 films at the festival up for the top Golden Bear award. We were surprised that it didn't do better in the states, but director Steven Soderbergh is hoping for a warmer reception in Europe. After seeing Cate in this dress, we're sure it's off to a great start!

For more pics including Christian Oliver and Steven Soderbergh just

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The Good German: A Paler Shade of Noir

BuzzSugar — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 05:07:01 PST

Even before the opening credits roll, it's clear that The Good German is going to be a visually arresting film. Everything from the Warner Brothers logo to the film quality looks straight out of the 1940s, and until Tobey Maguire makes an appearance, you might mistake it for a movie made 60 years ago.

Set in post-war Berlin, Steven Soderbergh's latest tells the story of American journalist Jacob Reismer (Clooney), who once worked in Berlin and returns to cover the Postdam Peace Conference. There, he is assigned a driver named Tully, a gee-whiz American officer taking advantage of the thriving black market-and taking up with Reismer's ex-girlfriend, Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett).

Soon, Reismer finds himself entangled in a murderous conspiracy, which as it unfolds pays homage to noir classics like Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, as well as the
and the German Trümmerfilms, or rubble films, filmed against the landscape of bombed-out Berlin. The problem with such high-brow references, however, is that The Good German is just okay, so

That's not to say that The Good German is without its strengths. The beautifully textured film captures a unique piece of history, set in a city inhabited by once-normal people who've seen unimaginable horrors. No matter how bad one story seems, "there always something worse." You can sense that in the fallen face of Blanchett and in the combative wit of her roommate, Hannelore, a prostitute played to perfection by Robin Weigert of "Deadwood."

The plot, however, is alternately captivating and completely underwhelming, unraveling so slowly that it nearly drains you of your interest. And while nearly every aspect of the movie recalls its 1940s noir predecessors-right down to the stilted fight scenes-the script and many of the performances feel almost anachronistic. For instance, you'd never hear characters in an actual post-war production dropping f-bombs, nor uttering lines with Maguire's modern inflections.

Such anachronisms would be acceptable were The Good German, like the Coen brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There, trying to give noir a modern update. But unlike Clooney's previous black-and-white project, Good Night and Good Luck, which perfectly captured its era, The Good German can't quite seem to master its voice.

Movie Preview: The Good German

BuzzSugar — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 07:35:25 PST

Just watching the trailer for The Good German gives me chills. Opening nationwide December 22, this black-and-white murder mystery stars George Clooney as a journalist sent to Germany to cover the Potsdam conference. At the same time, he reconnects with his old girlfriend, Cate Blanchett, and the two soon become embroiled in a jumbled-up Nazi/Soviet/American conspiracy. Tobey Maguire takes a shot at playing a sociopath with a fiery temper.

I'm going to a screening of The Good German tonight, so tune in on Friday for my review. Until then, check out the trailer below.

Which Upcoming Movie Are You Most Excited to See?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:36:11 PST

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?

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George Signs up for Two New Projects!

PopSugar — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:28:43 PST

George could be the hardest working man in showbiz these days. He is currently fulfilling his People's Sexiest Man Alive duties as well as promoting his latest project The Good German. Now he has signed with Warner Bros. to appear in two thrillers. The only slight problem is the studio isn't sure when filming will begin or which thriller will be filmed first because Clooney's schedule is so packed. E! Online reports:

The first picture, White Jazz, is a film noir based on James Ellroy's acclaimed crime novel-the final volume in the author's "L.A. Quartet" of books (L.A. Confidential, The Big Nowhere and The Black Dahlia) focusing on murder and police corruption in 1940s and 1950s Los Angeles. In White Jazz, Clooney will essay the role of David Klein, a dirty police lieutenant beholden to the mob who gets set up to be the fall guy when feds launch a corruption probe into the police force.

The movie has been mired in development for a good five years now. According to Variety, before the Good Night, and Good Luck star got involved, Nick Nolte and John Cusack were previously attached to headline the project with Robert Richardson at the helm, but nothing ever came to fruition.

The second high-profile new project will see the Oscar winner direct and star in Belmont Boys, a heist drama written by Ocean's Thirteen scribes David Levien and Brian Koppelman that follows seven crooks who reunite at a racetrack to finish a job they started three decades earlier.

We're really looking forward to checking out The Good German in theaters December 15th, and after that hopefully getting to see those thrillers sooner rather than later! Until then, more pics of George arriving for a visit on The Daily Show

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Meet Baumkuchen, Germany's Glorious Cake on a Spit

Susannah Chen — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:12:11 PDT

I'm not much of a German food aficionado, but a few years ago, I read a New Yorker article about Germany's "king of cakes" that's been forged in my mind ever since. In the story, Mimi Sheraton embarks on a fervid quest for baumkuchen, a ringed, hollow cake that's made on a spit with layer after painstaking layer of batter, then iced with a coating of chocolate or sugar.

Source: Flickr User RuckSackKruemel

Her pursuit of the dying art led her to Lutz Café and Pastry Shop, which she proclaimed to be "the closest to Kreutzkamm's famous German bakery that I have found." When I was in Chicago last weekend, I made a trip to Lutz to see what the hype was all about.

Despite the busy street it's on, the Germanic bakery was quiet and unassuming, which allowed all of its baked goods to speak for themselves. Of course, I made a beeline for the baumkuchen. While Lutz makes its cakes on the premises, I wasn't able to see the rare spit machine in action. But I did admire the whole baumkuchen, over a foot tall, in their completed state; the sugar-glazed and chocolate-coated versions were treelike in stature.

Photo: Susannah Chen

But it was cutting into a cross-sectioned slice that truly revealed the cake's intricate construction: crepe-thin layer after crepe-thin layer formed delicate concentric circles, not unlike a California redwood. The composition factored into the texture of the baumkuchen, which was both springy and dense. Its flavor - mildly sweet vanilla with a almond aftertaste - called for a cup of coffee. As I left Chicago, I prepared to mourn my new breakfast ritual - that is, until I learned that Lutz ships across America, even overnight.

Have you ever tried baumkuchen?

The Man Behind the Monarch: A Look at Charming Prince Philip Over the Years

Annie Scudder — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:45:04 PDT

Queen Elizabeth is marking her Diamond Jubilee, but she already celebrated her diamond wedding anniversary back in 2007. Before Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth in 1952, she married the handsome foreign prince from Greece who happened to also be her third cousin, now Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

According to Sally Bedell Smith's new biography, Elizabeth the Queen, Philip came from a tumultuous background despite his lineage. Born in 1921 on Corfu, he moved to Paris with his parents, Prince Andrew of Greece and his mother Alice, at age 1. By age 8, he went to England for boarding school. While there, his parents separated after his mother had a nervous breakdown. She later went back to Greece to start an order of nuns. His father took a different path, living as a socialite in Monte Carlo. As for Philip's four sisters, they married wealthy Germans, some of whom had Nazi ties. That meant Philip couldn't go back to visit as World War II approached.

With generous amounts of good looks and confidence, Philip was able to make his way in England with the help of royal relatives. He met his cousin Elizabeth first at a family wedding in 1934, and then again at the coronation of her father in 1937. He would later be invited to have lunch with the royal family, and that's when Elizabeth reportedly fell for him. During World War II, Philip and Elizabeth wrote letters. By 1946, he was back in London and making regular visits to Buckingham Palace. During that Summer, he spent a month at the royal family's Balmoral estate, where he proposed. At the king's request, they kept it a secret until after her 21st birthday. The wedding was held at Westminster Abbey on Nov. 20, 1947. While on their honeymoon, he wrote a letter to his new mother-in-law, explaining his "ambition to weld the two of us into a new combined existence that will not only be able to withstand the shocks directed at us but will also has a positive existence for good."

During the almost 65 years of their marriage, 60 of them with Elizabeth as the monarch, Prince Philip has been as constant as the queen herself, although he's a bit more controversial, making quite a few insensitive gaffes. But when he's not giving the press an unfortunate quote to run, he's either by the queen's side, working as a patron of 800 charities, or up until recently enjoying carriage racing. At age 90, he doesn't look like he's slowing down, despite a recent heart scare over Christmas. Let's look back at pictures of Prince Philip over the years now.

20 Hot Irish Actors We'd Let Steal Our Pot of Gold

Tara Block — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:52:57 PDT

German-Irish sexpot Michael Fassbender has been the Ireland-hailing actor du jour, thanks to his Shame-less breakout role starring him and his, ahem, member. But with all of his steamy Irish goodness taking over the screen and St. Patrick's Day around the corner, we got to thinking about other Hollywood hunks with similar Irish blood and that super-sexy accent. Some are prim and proper, but others have some serious scruff happening. Whatever your eye candy preference, we've got you covered with some gorgeous actors who hail from Ireland.