BuzzSugar

The Blind Side: An Unexpected Delight

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:30:42 -0800

It's not that the trailer for The Blind Side isn't compelling; the problem is that it combines Sandra Bullock's twangiest, most-over-the top lines with a heartrending song, which makes it seem schlocky. That's exactly what I expected from the movie, but I have to admit that I was wrong - to my surprise, I found it to be a sentimental gem that's actually quite restrained.

The Blind Side is the true story (based on Michael Lewis's book) of NFL player Michael Oher, who grew up in Memphis's projects with his drug-addicted mother and landed in and out of foster homes. He ended up in a fancy private school and in the home of a wealthy family, the Touhys, led by tough-talking Leigh Anne (Bullock). The weaving of Michael's newfound life in the movie is effective, with sweet bits of humor and just enough emotion.

To see what I liked about the film, just read more.

The movie is full of many surprises: first, it looks like it's going to be mainly about football, but it's not all sports. There is proper attention given to Michael's life before he's taken in and the development of the relationships between the Touhy family members and Michael.

Another nice thing is how smoothly Bullock slides into her role. It's not just her wardrobe and hair that transforms her into the high-maintenance Southern matriarch; her manner as the tough mom who's not completely comfortable showing emotion is very natural - not what I'd expect from the laid-back actress.

Quinton Aaron is also impressive as a sad-eyed orphan turned well-adjusted student and son over the course of the movie. It's not an incredibly complex performance, but his teddy bear presence is irresistible. The supporting players are equally as enjoyable: Tim McGraw, whom I didn't expect much from, is charming, while the Touhy children win you over with their affection for their new brother. The late addition of Kathy Bates (whose role is basically an extended cameo) is hardly needed to bolster the movie, but she adds a nice touch as well.

At two hours and six minutes, the movie is a little too long; director John Lee Hancock seemed intent on fitting in nearly every detail of Michael's journey. Then again, at the end you're rewarded with the payoff: footage and photos of the real-life Touhys and Michael. It's an emotionally satisfying ending to a movie that makes no apologies for being so uplifting.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Buzz News Roundup, 4/4

BuzzSugar — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:05:06 -0700

"Friday Night Lights," "The Office," "Ugly Betty," and "Scrubs" are among the Peabody Award winners, Zap2it reports.
The AP reports that Keith Richards was joking about snorting his dad, but here's the original NME interview if you're curious.
Tony Bennett is too sick to perform on "American Idol" tonight, according to Access Hollywood.
Speaking of "Idol," the "American Idol" songwriting contest is for real, writes USA Today - and the deadline is less than two weeks away.
Tim McGraw lands his fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard charts.
The AP reports that Martin Scorsese is going to teach a moviemaking class at Cannes.
The Futon Critic says Bravo is developing a photography competition show called "The Money Shot, which sounds like the paparazzi Olympics.
Milo Ventimiglia of "Heroes" will put his furrowed brow to further use in horror-thriller Pathology, says Hollywood Reporter.
The New York Daily News reports from the set of "Lipstick Jungle."

Photos courtesy of NBC and ABC

What to TiVo: Monday

BuzzSugar — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:50:00 -0800

ABC is new with Dancing With the Stars and Castle
CBS is new with How I Met Your Mother, Accidentally on Purpose, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and CSI: Miami
FOX is new with House and Lie to Me
NBC is new with Heroes and Trauma
The CW is new with One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl
E! has E! Investigates: Last Days of Michael Jackson, and is new with The Soup Presents: Ladies, Ladies, Ladies and 10 Vampires We Love
MTV is new with True Life, Twilight: Love Bites, and Twilight New Moon: An MTV Movie News Special
TLC is new with Jon & Kate Plus 8
Bravo is new with Million Dollar Listing and Chef Academy
VH1 has repeats of Tough Love 2, For the Love of Ray Jay 2, and I Want to Work for Diddy 2
Late-night highlights include Taylor Lautner and Heather Locklear on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Sharon Stone, Seth Meyers, Wyclef Jean, and Cyndi Lauper on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Kristen Stewart, Judd Apatow, and Carrie Underwood on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Ted Danson, Khloe Kardashian, and Lamar Odom on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; LL Cool J and Mindy Kaling on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS; and Tim McGraw and Anna Torv on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC

Twilight Leads the People's Choice Awards Nominations

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:43:12 -0800

The 36th annual People's Choice Awards nominees are here, and last year's Twilight is leading the charge! American Idol's Kris Allen was among the announcers this morning for the nominees, which also include lots of nods for The Proposal - but of course, everyone's favorite bloodsucking love story landed in many categories, including favorite on-screen movie team.

Why didn't they look to 2009's New Moon? Because last year's nominations debuted before the first movie in the Twilight saga.

To see the full list of nominees, just read more.

MOVIES

FAVORITE MOVIE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
The Hangover
The Proposal

FAMILY MOVIE
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

COMEDY MOVIE
17 Again
Bride Wars
He's Just Not That Into You
The Hangover
The Proposal

INDEPENDENT MOVIE
(500) Days of Summer
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Paranormal Activity
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail

FAVORITE MOVIE FRANCHISE
Twilight
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Transformers
X-Men

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTOR
Brad Pitt
Hugh Jackman
Johnny Depp
Robert Pattinson
Ryan Reynolds

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTRESS
Anna Hathaway
Drew Barrymore
Jennifer Aniston
Kristen Stewart
Sandra Bullock

FAVORITE ACTION STAR
Christian Bale
Gerard Butler
Hugh Jackman
Shia LaBeouf
Vin Diesel

FAVORITE COMEDIC STAR
Adam Sandler
Ben Stiller
Jim Carrey
Ryan Reynolds
Vince Vaughn

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTRESS:
Anna Kendrick
Emily Osment
Ginnifer Goodwin
Miley Cyrus
Zoe Saldana

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MOVIE ACTOR
Chris Pine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Sam Worthington
Taylor Lautner
Zachary Quinto

FAVORITE ONSCREEN TEAM
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal
Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, Twilight
Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan and Daniel Henney, X-Men Origins: Wolverine

TELEVISION

FAVORITE TV DRAMA
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Grey's Anatomy
House
Lost
NCIS

FAVORITE TV COMEDY
Desperate Housewives
How I Met Your Mother
The Big Bang Theory
The Office
Two and a Half Men

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTOR
Hugh Laurie
Kiefer Sutherland
Mark Harmon
Matthew Fox
Patrick Dempsey

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTRESS
Anna Paquin
Blake Lively
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Katherine Heigl
Mariska Hargitay

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTOR
Alex Baldwin
Charlie Sheen
Jim Parsons
Neil Patrick Harris
Steve Carell

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTRESS
Alyson Hannigan
America Ferrera
Amy Poehler
Eva Longoria Parker
Tina Fey

FAVORITE TV OBSESSION
Dexter
Gossip Girl
The Hills
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
True Blood

FAVORITE TV TALK SHOW
Chelsea Lately
Live with Regis & Kelly
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Tyra Banks Show

FAVORITE TV SCI-FI/FANTASY
Heroes
Lost
Supernatural
The Vampire Diaries
True Blood

FAVORITE TV COMPETITION SHOW
American Idol
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Survivor: Samoa

FAVORITE ANIMAL SHOW
Animal Cops
DogTown
Dog Whisperer
It's Me or the Dog
Rescue Ink

FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA
Eastwick
FlashForward
Melrose Place
Mercy
The Forgotten
The Good Wife
The Vampire Diaries,
Three Rivers
NCIS: Los Angeles
V

FAVORITE NEW TV COMEDY
Accidentally on Purpose
Brothers
Community
Cougar Town
Glee
Hank
The Cleveland Show
The Middle
Modern Family

MUSIC

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST
Eminem
Jason Mraz
John Mayer
Keith Urban
Tim McGraw

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST
Beyonce
Britney Spears
Carrie Underwood
Pink
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE COUNTRY ARTIST
Brad Paisley
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Rascal Flatts
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE BREAKOUT MUSIC ARTIST
Adam Lambert
Demi Lovato
Kris Allen
Lady Gaga
Susan Boyle

FAVORITE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Eminem
Flo Rida
Jay-Z
Lil' Wayne
T.I.

FAVORITE ROCK BAND
Daughtry
Green Day
Kings of Leon
Muse
Paramore

FAVORITE MUSIC COLLABORATION
Cobra Starship & Leighton Meester, "Good Girls Go Bad"
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, "Lucky"
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West, "Run This Town"
T.I. & Rihanna, "Live Your Life"
The Lonely Island & T-Pain, "I'm on a Boat."

FAVORITE R&B ARTIST
Alicia Keys
Beyonce
Jennifer Hudson
Mariah Carey
Usher

FAVORITE POP ARTIST
Britney Spears
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift
The Black Eyed Peas

FAVORITE WEB CELEB
Andy Samberg
Ashton Kutcher
Miley Cyrus
P. Diddy
Will Ferrell

What to TiVo: Friday

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:50:00 -0700

ABC is new with Ugly Betty and 20/20
CBS is new with The Ghost Whisperer, Medium, and NUMB3RS
FOX has Major League Baseball
NBC is new with Law & Order and Secrets of the Lost Symbol
The CW is new with Smallville and has a repeat of America's Next Top Model
Bravo is new with 13 Scarier Movie Moments
MTV has repeats of Pranked and Nitro Circus
TLC is new with Say Yes to the Dress
E! is new with The Soup
Showtime has a repeat of Dexter
USA is new with Monk
VH1 has repeats of My Antonio and Real Chance of Love 2: Back in the Saddle
Late-night highlights include Uma Thurman and Tim McGraw on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Rachel Griffiths and John McCain on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Dashboard Confessional on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Michelle Monaghan and Toby Keith on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS; Serena Williams on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; and Gina Gershon on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC

What to TiVo: Monday

BuzzSugar — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:50:28 -0700

ABC is new with Dancing With the Stars and Castle
CBS is new with How I Met Your Mother, Accidentally on Purpose, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and CSI: Miami
FOX is new with House and Lie to Me
NBC is new with Heroes and Trauma
The CW is new with One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl
ABC Family is new with Lincoln Heights and Greek
MTV has True Life, and is new with the premiere of Gone Too Far
TLC is new with Jon & Kate Plus 8
VH1 has repeats of Tool Academy 2 and Real Chance of Love 2: Back in the Saddle
Bravo is new with The Rachel Zoe Project
Late-night highlights include Garry Shandling, Kaley Cuoco, and Tim McGraw on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Dana Carvey and Justin Timberlake on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; David Duchovny and Kid Cudi on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Jamie Foxx, Jason Alexander, and Grizzly Bear on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; David Boreanaz and Dierks Bentley on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS; and Penn Badgley on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC