BuzzSugar

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:30:11 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. In addition to these three creepy thrillers that join the others on video store shelves today, Wild Hogs also comes out on DVD, as well as David Lynch's Inland Empire.

The Lookout
One of my favorite thrillers of the year so far, The Lookout has Jeff Daniels and Joseph Gordon-Levitt both turning in superb performances as the good-natured blind man Lewis (Daniels) and his mentee Chris (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Chris suffers a severe head injury from a car accident that cut short his promising athletic future. Now working as a janitor at a bank and living with his blind friend, Chris falls in with the smooth talking Gary Spargo and his posse (including the sweet and sexy Luvlee played by Isla Fisher).

Gary lures Chris into his bank heist, preying on Chris' loneliness and desire to feel powerful again. At the last minute, though, Chris has second thoughts. Chilling and suspenseful throughout, The Lookout is a fantastically worthwhile thriller. For more of my take, check out my review.

For two more thrilling titles,

read more Fracture Fracture pits the adorable and arresting Ryan Gosling against the ever-shifty Anthony Hopkins in a capable legal thriller. Gosling plays Willy Beachum, the up-and-coming assistant district attorney tasked with linking Ted Crawford (Hopkins) to the murder of Ted's wife. Hopkins shows nothing new with his performance, relying on his old Silence of the Lambs tricks to once again portray a clever yet disturbed criminal while Gosling does his very best to pick up the slack. It's a decent rental for a spooky night, however, especially if you need a Gosling fix.
Vacancy Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson star in this horror/thriller that takes place at a creepy motel (hence the title). David (Wilson) and Amy Fox (Beckinsale) are forced to stay in the shady Pinewood Motel when their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. In the cursed Room 4, they turn on the TV and watch some slasher films... until they realize the low-budget movies were all filmed in their very motel room. Vacancy doesn't break any new ground, but it provides a few good scares if you're in the mood.

Box Office: Disturbia Not Disturbed from Top Spot

BuzzSugar — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 22:11:07 PDT

The many of you who want to see Disturbia are not alone: The teenage thriller held steady at No. 1 at the box office, raking in $13.5 million. With the plethora of thrillers out now, three out of the top five movies this weekend were of the genre, with Fracture claiming the No. 2 spot and Vacancy coming in fourth.

Will Ferrell's Blades of Glory was at No. 3 while the family flick Meet the Robinsons held its own at fifth place. Hilarious British comedy Hot Fuzz straggled in at sixth. As one might have expected, not even Adam Brody's cute face could save In the Land of Women from its pitiful opening weekend, bringing in a paltry $4.9 million and landing in eighth place after Ice Cube's Are We Done Yet?

Disturbia has a chance of keeping its top slot this weekend since there aren't too many good-looking films coming out, but it should prepare to be slaughtered by a certain web-slinger come the weekend of May 4.

Photo courtesy of Dreamworks

Which Current Thriller Are You Most Interested to See?

BuzzSugar — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 14:35:02 PDT

'Tis the season, apparently, for thrillers to pile into the theaters. This weekend, Fracture joins the cinemas where current thrillers Disturbia, Perfect Stranger and The Lookout (among several others) are already clamoring for thrill-seeking viewers. I know I've asked you to tell me all about your favorite thrillers of old, but what about the newest ones? Which of these heart-pounders are you most interested in seeing?

Picture Perfect Tech: Luke Wilson's Phone From 'Vacancy'

GeekSugar — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:00:09 PDT

You may not be rushing out to see Vacancy tonight, but if you love Luke Wilson you can get your hands on his Motorola i875 cell phone for Boost Mobile from the movie. Apparently, the phone is all battered up from the set and doesn't close properly, but appears to be functional with the battery included. Premiere Props says the phone's silver finish is also chipping due to all the brutal sequences. Still, you'll have to throw down $1,399.99 to touch the same phone as Wilson. Is that even worth it?

Source

The Best (or Cheapest) Time to Travel This Winter

Emily Co — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:57:16 PDT

If you've been planning your year-end travel plans and are discouraged by the sky-high prices for flights and hotels, maybe you just need to change the dates. If you plan a trip for the first two weeks of December, it'll be less costly and crowded because of the brief travel lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Wall Street Journal says:

This allows for a rare triple threat of deals on airfare, hotels and car rentals. On airfare alone, you can save up to 25% the weeks of Nov. 28 and Dec. 3, compared with what you would spend the week of Christmas, according to search engine Bing Travel.

If you don't mind a cooler climate - but not ski destinations - there are big discounts in the Pacific Northwest, such as Seattle. Western Canada, specifically Vancouver and Calgary, will have good offers on airfare and hotels. Vancouver, for instance, is still facing vacancies in hotels built and renovated for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Those looking to get away from the cold can find deals on all-inclusive packages - typically including airfare, hotel, transportation, food and drinks - to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, especially resort areas like Cancun, the Riviera Maya and Los Cabos. A round-trip flight between Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Cancun and seven nights in a hotel from Dec. 5 to Dec. 12 was recently going for about $1,127 per person, according to travel site Orbitz.com. The price jumped to $2,102 for travel Dec. 26 to Jan. 2.

Although prices will be dropping across the board during this time, major tourist destinations like New York and Paris are more likely to stay constant because of their popularity. Do you ever travel during this period to save?

How to Juggle Multiple Job Offers

Kiplinger — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:08:07 PDT

We're thrilled to present this smart Kiplinger story here on Savvy!

I like to tell job-seekers that launching a serious job search is a move that sets ripples in motion. Once you begin talking with employers about potential opportunities, they can grow and spread in unpredictable ways. And sometimes that ripple effect results in multiple job offers presented to you at the same time.

As flattering as it sounds to be recruited by more than one employer, it can also be a nerve-wracking experience. Nothing makes an applicant second-guess themselves more than a competing offer situation. Using a sample job search scenario, here are some helpful recommendations on how to keep the irons in the fire during the interview process with several companies without getting burned.

You’ve been chatting with Company A so long that you and the front-desk receptionist are now on a first name basis. You’ve got a strong feeling that a job offer is within your grasp, but you have yet to receive it. In the meantime, a headhunter calls to tell you about a must-hire-now position at Company B. You figure, “I’ll go on the interview - why not?” You’re pleasantly surprised to find that the new company loves your resume and professional experience and seems very interested - and you really like them, too.

Read on to find out more about juggling job offers.

Fragrance Review: Memoire Liquide Vacances Liquide

BellaSugar — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:00:21 PST

Vacances Liquide ($95) is like a more grown-up, luxe-smelling version of the popular Harajuku Lovers "G" scent. If you love coconut, tropical florals, and vanilla, you'll eat this one up. It opens up with a bright burst of very real jasmine, sashays its way into a mix of beachy floral and coconut water that smells like the best parts of sunscreen, then dries down to a soft, slightly woody vanilla that makes your heart break for the smell and feel of old redwood decking in the May sun.

It's an unabashedly summery scent, and the creators weren't joking when they said they designed it to smell like vacations, because it does. It reminds me of every trip to the beach, every Summer day spent swimming in lakes and sleeping on docks, and every afternoon spent lazing under the shade of Carolina jasmine creepers. It's rare that a fragrance can evoke such a general sense of nostalgia, but everyone I've asked to smell it feels the same way. A gorgeous scent for the first warm, blue-skied day you get. Wear it on a gray day, too, for a touch of the sweet sadness of memory and the promise of sun-soaked, lazy times to come.