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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:30:00 -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. In addition to the titles below, you can also rent Reservation Road (not to be confused with Revolutionary Road), and Leonardo DiCaprio's global warming warning, The 11th Hour.

There Will Be Blood
This April is a great month for renting DVDs because a new stellar, Oscar-nominated film seems to come out every week. Today's release is the stirring Paul Thomas Anderson masterpiece, There Will Be Blood. The film is loosely based on Upton Sinclair's novel Oil! and follows the story of an ambitious oil man, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he becomes one of those famed self-made American magnates, a la William Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie.

If you haven't heard by now that this film is both visually stunning and soul-stirring, and that Daniel Day-Lewis gives the Oscar-winning performance of the year, then you've had a very distracting year. I stuck this movie on my April must-haves list not only because of its classic story of greed vs. compassion, but also because Day-Lewis only seems to emerge to knock one out of the park every five years or so, which in Hollywood years can seem like a lifetime. You'll want to own this one to get you through to 2013 when he's had enough of shoe-making on the Italian Coast or something and decides to show the rest of those amateurs how it's done. Again.

For two more titles that couldn't be more different than each other, read more.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
2007 truly was the year of Judd Apatow, though admittedly this spoof on the musician biopic he co-wrote was probably his weakest submission. While it was hard to recommend paying theater prices for this film, it is a perfectly serviceable at-home rental.

Starring John C. Reilly as Dewey Cox, a rocker with secrets (shocker!), the film pokes fun at movies like Ray and Walk the Line and takes many prisoners, sparing neither Bob Dylan nor the Beatles (in a hilarious scene starring Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Justin Long, and Jason Schwartzman as the Fab Four). While it drags in some parts, Reilly is great in this role and the whole thing is more or less a good time.

Special features include deleted and extended scenes and featurettes titled, "The Music of Walk Hard", and "The Real Dewey Cox."

Lions for Lambs
First of all, the stars of this movie need to have a serious talk with the DVD cover-art people. How is it possible to airbrush Robert Redford so that he looks utterly unattractive? And that's one highly arched brow on Meryl Streep. Anyway, don't let the cover distract you from this serious meditation on the nature of current American politics.

While I realize many are turned off by movies about the current war in Iraq, I think this film, directed by Robert Redford, gives us a lot of food for thought. More talking than action, I thought this might have worked better as a play than a movie, but it's still a highly worthwhile watch. Most intriguing are the questions Redford brings up about young people who, he asserts, seem to feel disaffected amidst these turbulent times. All three performances are fine (Tom Cruise is particularly good as a smarmy congressman), but most importantly it gets you thinking and might spur on good debate.

Special features include audio commentary by Robert Redford and a making-of featurette.

BuzzSugar's Must Haves for April

BuzzSugar — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Happy April! Here in my part of the world, the sun is shining brightly, but I still plan to be inside a good part of this month due to movie releases like Baby Mama and Leatherheads - not to mention the great TV returning this month. In addition to new movies and good TV, this April brings some fabulous new music, an exciting new read and a few Oscar darlings on DVD. To see my picks, just press "Start."

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Which Oscar-Winning Film Do You Want to See Next?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:30:00 -0800

Well, the results are in, and we now have movies that will forever be known as Oscar-winning. A lot of you said you go see the films once they're nominated, but if you didn't get to all of them before Sunday's show, maybe now's the time. Some people were so smitten with Marion Cotillard's acceptance speech that they want to rush out to see La Vie En Rose for her performance. Others want to check out There Will Be Blood so they know why everyone is talking about milkshakes. What about you? Which Oscar-winner is next on your list of must-sees?

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Saturday Night Live Drinks Your Milkshake

BuzzSugar — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:33:18 -0800

Ever since There Will Be Blood hit theaters last year, "I Drink Your Milkshake" references have been all the rage. But I have to give Saturday Night Live credit for the parody they served up on Saturday night that envisions the now-classic line as the basis for a Food Network show that finds Daniel Plainview criss-crossing the country in search of the perfect milkshake. (Might I suggest he try this recipe from Yum?)

Bill Hader does an eerily spot-on impression of the now-Oscar-winning Daniel Day-Lewis, and Fred Armisen makes an appearance as No Country for Old Men's Anton Chigurh, complete with deadly air tank and Javier Bardem pageboy. But you've got to watch to the very end for my favorite part: guest host Tina Fey poking fun at Juno's hipster dialogue. "My kudos to whoever shook this shake, magnum." To check it out, just read more.

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What Do You Think About the Best Actor?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:43:54 -0800

No surprise here: the incomparable Daniel Day-Lewis won the award for Best Actor. He was among a distinguished group of actors that included George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Tommy Lee Jones, and Viggo Mortensen. What do you think about this win?

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Best Picture Breakdown: There Will Be Blood

BuzzSugar — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:30:14 -0800

From now until the 2008 Oscars air on Sunday night, I'll be breaking down the five contenders for Best Picture, giving you the scoop on why each film could win and why it might not stand a chance. Today, I'm kicking off the series with a closer look at There Will Be Blood.

Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood is a stark and stunning look at greed, power, and success viewed through the lens of the oil boom of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The bulk of its acclaim has come for Daniel Day-Lewis's performance as tycoon Daniel Plainview, but the movie has many other things going for it, as its eight Oscar nominations - for diverse categories including cinematography and sound editing - show. To see how I think There Will Be Blood will fare in the Best Picture race, just read more.

Why It Might Win

Three words: Daniel Day-Lewis. His Daniel Plainview is a greed-driven maniac, neglecting all - social conventions, religion, even his own son - in the service of his quest for power, fortune, and oil, oil, oil. Delivering the year's biggest movie catchphrase ("I drink your milkshake") is just the icing on the cake.
It's well-rounded. As its Oscar nominations show, it's strong in a number of different filmmaking categories, from the visual (including Best Art Direction) to the auditory (Best Sound Editing). It's still a shame that Jonny Greenwood's score was disqualified, because his music added yet another compelling dimension to the film.
It's ambitious. Through its focus on Plainview (and its secondary story of Paul Dano's young prophet), it seeks to tell a bigger story about religion, greed, community, and fatherhood.

Why It Might Not Win

It could have used some editing. As I noted in my review, the movie is a series of interlocking conflicts that can, at times, detract from the central story. A few of the subplots just didn't feel necessary enough to justify the film's 158-minute running time.
Day-Lewis truly does make this movie. The Academy could be content with rewarding him with the Best Actor nod and giving the overall prize to another film.
It could be a victim of its own success. Its ambiguous ending could be frustrating for some viewers, and voters who heard the movie described as "the next Citizen Kane" could have expectations too high for this film to meet.

Chance of winning: Moderate to good

Photos courtesy of Paramount Vantage

Oscar Nominee: There Will Be Blood for Art Direction

BuzzSugar — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:30:53 -0800

In the days leading up to the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees in the various visual categories. This week, I've been looking at the nominees for Best Art Direction, which encompasses the entire look and feel of a film from the scenery to the lighting. Today brings us to the last of the nominees: There Will Be Blood.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson and gang did well with capturing the dangerous and spooky atmosphere of the oil industry at the beginning of the 1900s. Every frame portrays a dusty, dirty and oil-splattered world, all in that palette of slick blacks, coarse browns and sometimes fire-gold.

The film makes great use of its landscape, setting its characters against a barren desert or a shockingly blue sky. A few scenes - such as the one where an oil rig catches fire, ultimately tumbling to the ground in a heap of burning rubble - are particularly stark.

For more stills from There Will Be Blood, read more.

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Photos courtesy of Paramount Vantage

Box Office: Hudson and McConaughey Strike Gold

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:15:00 -0800

The chemistry between Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey proved lucrative once again as their comedy, Fool's Gold, won the top spot at the box office over the weekend, earning $22 million. Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, starring Martin Lawrence and Cedric the Entertainer, came in No. 2 grossing $17 million, followed by Disney's super tween 3-D concert experience Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour in the third spot.

Fans of Hudson and McConaughey seem like they're most in the mood for this duo around Valentine's Day as their previous rom-com How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days opened the same weekend in 2003 with similar box office results, Variety reports.

Oscar nominee Juno remained in the top 10 coming in fifth this week just behind Jessica Alba's thriller, The Eye. Katherine Heigl's 27 Dresses continued to draw fans coming in sixth place and There Will Be Blood came in at No. 10.

If you're still in the mood for love next weekend, there will be even more to choose from when Ryan Reynolds and super cutie Abigail Breslin hit the screen in Definitely, Maybe.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Announcing the 2008 Oscar Nominations!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:16:51 -0800

No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood led the field this morning when the Oscar nominations were announced in Hollywood. Each film snagged eight nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

After it raked in a huge number of Golden Globe nominations, Atonement made less of a splash here, scoring nods for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress but largely getting shut out of other major categories.

Juno and Michael Clayton are the other two films that will compete for Best Picture when the awards are presented Feb. 24. Juno scored a total of four nominations, while Michael Clayton nabbed seven. To see the full list of nominees, just read more.

BEST PICTURE
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

BEST DIRECTOR
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, Juno
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Polley, Away from Her
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Beaufort (Israel)
The Counterfeiters (Austria)
Katyn (Poland)
Mongol (Kazakhstan)
12 (Russia)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
American Gangster
Atonement
The Golden Compass
Sweeney Todd
There Will Be Blood

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Across the Universe
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
La Vie en Rose
Sweeney Todd

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
Taxi to the Dark Side
War/Dance

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Freeheld
La Corona (The Crown)
Salim Baba
Sari's Mother

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
La Vie en Rose
Norbit
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Atonement
The Kite Runner
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Falling Slowly" from Once
"Happy Working Song" from Enchanted
"Raise It Up" from August Rush
"So Close" from Enchanted
"That's How You Know" from Enchanted

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
I Met the Walrus
Madame Tutli-Putli
Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)
My Love (Moya Lyubov)
Peter and the Wolf

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
At Night
Il Supplente
Le Mozard des Pickpockets
Tanghi Argentini
The Tonto Woman

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood
Transformers

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma
Transformers

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Transformers

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BAFTA Noms Announced; Atonement Once Again Most Beloved

BuzzSugar — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:42:58 -0800

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced the 2008 nominations, which largely mirror the Globe noms - though there's (unsurprisingly) even more love for Atonement on the other side of the pond. The romantic Joe Wright-directed drama leads the nominations with a whopping 14, while No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood each nabbed nine. La Vie en Rose is another favorite, as is The Bourne Ultimatum, which is one of the few major departures from other recent award nominations.

The acting categories are filled with familiar names (Clooney, McAvoy, Knightley, Cotillard, Bardem, Blanchett, etc.), though there are a few new additions, like Samantha Morton (Control) and Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men). And apparently the German film The Lives of Others, which took home the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film last year is now eligible for a BAFTA award, and has a good chance of winning one with five nominations.

To check out the full list of BAFTA Award nominees, read more.

2008 BAFTA Nominees:
BEST FILM:
American Gangster
Atonement
The Lives Of Others
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

BEST BRITISH FILM:
Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
Control
Eastern Promises
This Is England

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD:
(For special achievement by a British director, writer or producer in their first feature film)

Chris Atkins (Director/Writer) - Taking Liberties
Mia Bays (Producer) - Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
Sarah Gavron (Director) - Brick Lane
Matt Greenhalgh (Writer) - Control
Andrew Piddington (Director/Writer) - The Killing Of John Lennon

DIRECTOR:
Atonement - Joe Wright
The Bourne Ultimatum - Paul Greengrass
The Lives Of Others - Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
No Country For Old Men - Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
American Gangster - Steven Zaillian
Juno - Diablo Cody
The Lives of Others - Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
Michael Clayton - Tony Gilroy
This Is England - Shane Meadows

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Atonement - Christopher Hampton
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly - Ronald Harwood
The Kite Runner - David Benioff
No Country For Old Men - Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE:
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
The Kite Runner
The Lives Of Others
Lust, Caution
La Vie En Rose

ANIMATED FILM:
Ratatouille
Shrek The Third
The Simpsons Movie

LEADING ACTOR:
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
James Mcavoy - Atonement
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
Ulrich Mühe - The Lives Of Others

LEADING ACTRESS:
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie - Away From Her
Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose
Keira Knightley - Atonement
Ellen Page - Juno

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Paul Dano - There Will Be Blood
Tommy Lee Jones - No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
Kelly Macdonald - No Country for Old Men
Samantha Morton - Control
Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

MUSIC:
American Gangster - Marc Streitenfeld
Atonement - Dario Marianelli
The Kite Runner - Alberto Iglesias
There Will Be Blood - Jonny Greenwood
La Vie En Rose - Christopher Gunning

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
American Gangster - Harris Savides
Atonement - Seamus Mcgarvey
The Bourne Ultimatum - Oliver Wood
No Country for Old Men - Roger Deakins
There Will Be Blood - Robert Elswit

EDITING:
American Gangster - Pietro Scalia
Atonement - Paul Tothill
The Bourne Ultimatum - Christopher Rouse
Michael Clayton - John Gilroy
No Country for Old Men - Roderick Jaynes

PRODUCTION DESIGN:
Atonement - Sarah Greenwood/Katie Spencer
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Guy Hendrix Dyas/Richard Roberts
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Stuart Craig/Stephenie Mcmillan
There Will Be Blood - Jack Fisk/Jim Erickson
La Vie En Rose - Olivier Raoux

COSTUME DESIGN:
Atonement - Jacqueline Durran
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Alexandra Byrne
Lust, Caution - Pan Lai
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Colleen Atwood
La Vie En Rose - Marit Allen

SOUND:
Atonement – Danny Hambrook/Paul Hamblin/Catherine Hodgson
The Bourne Ultimatum - Kirk Francis/Scott Millan/Dave Parker/Karen Baker Landers/Per Hallberg
No Country for Old Men – Peter Kurland/Skip Lievsay/Craig Berkey/Greg Orloff
There Will Be Blood – Christopher Scarabosio/Matthew Wood/John Pritchett/Michael Semanick/Tom Johnson
La Vie En Rose – Laurent Zeilig/Pascal Villard/Jean-Paul Hurier/Marc Doisne

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS:
The Bourne Ultimatum - Peter Chiang/Charlie Noble/Mattias Lindahl/Joss Williams
The Golden Compass – Michael Fink/Bill Westenhofer/Ben Morris/Trevor Woods
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Tim Burke/John Richardson/Emma Norton/Chris Shaw
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End – John Knoll/Charles Gibson/Hal Hickel/John Frazier
Spider-Man 3 – Scott Stokdyk/Peter Nofz/Kee-Suk Ken Hahn/Spencer Cook

MAKE UP & HAIR:
Atonement – Ivana Primorac
Elizabeth: The Golden Age – Jenny Shircore
Hairspray – Nominees TBC
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Ivana Primorac
La Vie En Rose – Jan Archibald/Didier Lavergne

THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD:
Shia Labeouf
Sienna Miller
Ellen Page
Sam Riley
Tang Wei

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