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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 07:30:48 -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 my selections below you can also add Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Fanboys to your queue.

Valkyrie
In Bryan Singer's Valkyrie, Tom Cruise stars as Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, a German officer who leads the plot to kill Hitler. The story is one of those "little known" historical gems that's full of intrigue and political coups. A fantastic cast (including Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, and Tom Wilkinson) surrounds Cruise, lending some serious acting cred to the production.

Special features include audio commentary by Tom Cruise, Bryan Singer and co-writer/producer Christopher McQuarrie, and The Valkyrie Legacy Documentary.

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Two more up next, so read more.

True Blood: Season One
If you don't have HBO but are dying to get a look at one of the cable channel's most talked-about new series, now's your chance! Plus, you have plenty of time to catch up with the show before the new season starts on June 14th. Created by Six Feet Under's Alan Ball, the show follows the trials and tribulations of one Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a mind-reading Louisiana waitress who falls for a vampire named Bill (Stephen Moyer). This gothic series quickly grew on me and now I'm addicted.

Special features include In Focus: Vampires in America a mockumentary about vampires in the U.S.A., both pro- and anti- vampire-rights public service announcements, and six audio commentaries with cast and crew, including Alan Ball, Anna Paquin, and Stephen Moyer.

Friday Night Lights: Season Three
Season three ended just a little while ago and now, here it is on DVD! The third season was so good that I've already started thinking about next season. If it's been a while since you have spent some time with the gang from Dillon, TX I recommend you get reacquainted.

Special features include deleted scenes (like 13 minutes of a lost storyline from the emotionally charged climactic finale), and audio commentary.

Box Office: Audiences Still Lovin' Marley

BuzzSugar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:30:42 -0800

After breaking Christmastime records last week, audiences once again put the adorably naughty pup in the top spot at the box office over the weekend. Marley & Me, starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, earned an estimated $24 million "for a cume of $106.5 million in only 11 days."

In second place came Adam Sandler's Bedtime Stories followed by The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in third, Valkyrie in fourth and Yes Man in fifth.

Another unusually great weekend for the box office during the holiday season! What did you check out this first weekend of the new year?

Photos courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Box Office: Marley Chews Up the Competition

BuzzSugar — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 05:45:56 -0800

Oh, Marley, that insanely profitable little scamp! The cute dog movie had the best Christmas Day opening ever and grossed a total of $51.7 million over the four-day weekend. According to Variety, Marley & Me "played more to females, as well as to older moviegoers. Of Marley's aud, 64% were women, while 62% were over age 25." The grand success of Marley surprised some folks who thought the family flick Bedtime Stories would surely take the top spot at the box office.

In second place for the long weekend was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which just barely surpassed Bedtime Stories. Valkyrie won fourth place, followed by Yes Man at No. 5. The Spirit had a "soft debut" over the holiday weekend and came in at No. 9.

Did you see any of these movies over the weekend? What did you think?

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Valkyrie: Shallow and Underwhelming

BuzzSugar — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 07:30:18 -0800

While there are a zillion World War II movies out there already, I kept an open mind going into the Tom Cruise star vehicle Valkyrie. Sure, this is a movie that has been dogged by bad press from start to finish (even due, in part, to the fact that Cruise is a Scientologist) but I can see that there is a fascinating movie to be made out of a German resistance movement involving Nazi officers in Adolf Hitler's inner circle.

High-ranking, aristocratic officers attempting to assassinate Hitler? There's so much to explore here! Were these men heroes? Or was it a desperate and calculated power grab when it was clear the Germans were losing the war? What did these men know about the mass murders of Jews that had taken place and when did they know it? Did any of them, including Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) who led one of the most daring plots to kill Hitler, have a genuine crisis of conscience? And if so, what does that kind of moral awakening look like?

In a war that is often depicted very starkly as good vs. evil, within the German rank and file there were shades of gray and this makes for interesting psychological thriller fodder for sure. So why did Cruise and director Bryan Singer forego that kind of film in favor of a totally reductive, shallow, glossy, big-budget flick that will leave you feeling underwhelmed and a little icky because you just spent over an hour rooting for Nazis? I really don't know, but let's talk about it. Just read more.

First of all, I'm a little baffled at how little characterization exists in this movie. We are asked to very simply and easily accept these men as heroes and root for them when they are Nazis, for Pete's sake. Just trying to kill Hitler and place yourself and your pals into power isn't quite enough to make us care. And at times it's hard to root for people you know are going to fail because - spoiler alert? - Hitler survives the assassination attempt and World War II continues on.

The whole experience is confusing to say the least. For example, in the opening scene we see Cruise on the ground in Africa fighting on behalf of Hitler's Germany when the "enemy" (that would be the Allied forces fighting to stop Hitler from totally destroying Europe) airplanes zoom in to launch an air strike and bodies go flying everywhere. Instinctively my sympathy went toward the soldiers on the ground, but then. . . aren't these Nazis? Who am I rooting for here? And why?

My fundamental issues with the filmmakers' approach aside, the real question is: Is it entertaining popcorn cinema? And in my opinion the answer is no, not really. It's not the laugh-riot some thought it might be (Cruise, Nazis, eye-patch, ya know) thanks in part to a solid cast that props the movie up, including Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, and Eddie Izzard. It's not a very satisfying experience that fails to keep viewers on the edges of their seats, save the moment when Cruise's character attempts to plant a bomb quite literally under Hitler's feet. There's also a nicely executed political coup late in the movie that is captivating to watch - an example of the potential this movie had.

Finally, at the center of this wannabe-blockbuster is one of the most self-conscious performances of Cruise's career in which he takes all that burning intensity he so often brings to the silver screen and buries it away. I've read that part of Stauffenberg's heroism was his ability to recruit others to his cause based on sheer charisma and charm. Never would have guessed that from this portrayal.

Photos courtesy of MGM

Movie Preview: Bryan Singer's Valkyrie

BuzzSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:30:17 -0700

Oh, Bryan Singer's beleaguered Valkyrie. From multiple release date changes, to trouble with Germany, to rumors of doctoring historical photos, this movie has been plagued with setbacks and bad press for a long time. With equal parts curiosity and trepidation, I awaited a real trailer for the film, which is now opening Dec. 26. Now that the trailer is here, it looks better than I expected.

Visually, I love the look of this movie so far. Singer directed The Usual Suspects (and X-Men, Superman Returns and X2), and with Valkyrie it appears that he has again captured an eerie, ominous tone. What isn't working for me is Tom Cruise whom I simply don't find believable in this role (the list of supporting actors, however, is promising: Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Kenneth Branagh, and more). Cruise plays a high-ranking German officer (with an American accent . . ?) who plots to assassinate Hitler during the height of WWII. The code name for the assassination plan is "Valkyrie." To check out the new trailer, read more.

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Buzz News Roundup, 4/9

BuzzSugar — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:33:17 -0700

I'm devastated by the news about Jeffrey Dean Morgan's split from Mary-Louise Parker, though JDM has some good news to console him: he's been cast alongside Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst in All Good Things, according to Hollywood Reporter.
Variety reports that Robert DeNiro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell will star together in the family comedy Everybody's Fine.
Before there's even a High School Musical 3, they're working on a fourth one! Though ComingSoon reports that No. 4 will be another TV movie, not released theatrically.
If you want to be all nerdy-like (I sure did), the Wall Street Journal has posted a downloadable version of the Project Runway lawsuit.
Yet another time I wish I were in Seattle: the Bumbershoot Festival lineup looks fantastic, with Beck, Stone Temple Pilots, Neko Case and M. Ward among the confirmed acts listed in today's Billboard article.
Meet the new Cupid: Bobby Cannivale has been cast in the lead in the Rob Thomas remake, Zap2it reports.
According to Variety, Nim's Island - not Leatherheads - was the No. 2 movie at the box office over the weekend, coming in behind 21.
The Tom Cruise WWII thriller Valkyrie has been pushed back even more, this time from an October 2008 release date to February 13, 2009, writes Hollywood Reporter.
NME reports that Blondie is set to go on tour this summer.

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Link Time! 1/10

BuzzSugar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:36:34 -0800

Vulture has this handy breakdown of the $100 million budget for Valkyrie.
Popwatch wishes Pat Benatar a happy birthday and asks: Which is Benatar's best song?
Ice Cube talks with MTV Movies Blog about the rumor that he may play B.A. Baracus (the part made famous by Mr. T) in the A-Team movie.
TV Squad pays tribute to Johnny Grant, the unofficial mayor of Hollywood.
Idolator wonders: Will the strike kill the Grammys, too?
Cinematical wonders if the addition of the Chipettes to the Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel is such a good idea.
After watching Juliet's reaction to her husband's affair on Cashmere Mafia, DearSugar wonders: Would you want revenge?
In honor of the Golden Globes, CasaSugar wants to see your best gold-toned home finds.

Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 08:00:44 -0800

Hollywood writers went on strike this week, shutting down The Office and delaying 24, among other things. I wondered if you care and whether the strike will make you watch more Web-exclusive shows.
It was a week chock full of music videos, so watch as Rilo Kiley does The Frug, Jay-Z becomes an American Gangster, Rashida Jones rocks out with the Foo Fighters, and John C. Reilly walks hard.
We learned a lot about next summer's Valkyrie, thanks to this featurette and a full-length trailer.
This week saw the release of Lions for Lambs, and I wondered how you felt about movies dealing with contemporary politics.
What's your list of the worst TV shows ever?
NPR Music got infinitely cooler with its great new Web site. Also, I suggested a step-by-step guide to getting into Neko Case.
It was a week for first looks at a couple of creepy things: the Terminator-based Sarah Connor Chronicles and the freaky-looking film Awake.
And finally, something to mull over for the rest of the weekend: Who could be the heir to John Cusack in an updated Say Anything?

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Movie Preview: Valkyrie

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:30:00 -0800

Well, that's timing. Just as I was saying the full trailer for on its way, poof: Here it is!

Like the featurette, the full trailer has definitely done its job in making me more curious about the movie, which will be out next summer. The thriller stars Tom Cruise as a German general who hatches a plot to assassinate Hitler during World War II. It's cool to see director Bryan Singer returning to this genre after his several-year detour into superhero films; I was a big fan of The Usual Suspects, so my hopes are high. Cruise looks pretty decent here, but the strong supporting cast - Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Izzard - seems like it has the potential to steal the show. To check out the trailer, just read more

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First Look: Valkyrie Featurette

BuzzSugar — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 06:00:00 -0800

The full-length trailer for Valkyrie can't be very far off, since it was shown before my screening of Lions for Lambs this week, but for now we can get a glimpse at the making of the movie, complete with commentary by Kenneth Branagh (who has a role in the film) and writer/producer Christopher McQuarrie. While it seems a little cart-before-the-horse to me, the featurette is actually pretty interesting and successfully piques my interest in this film. So, mission accomplished, featurette.

Valkyrie is a thriller in which German generals scheme to assassinate Hitler at the height of WWII. Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men, Superman Returns) directs and Tom Cruise stars, along with Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard. To check out the featurette, read more

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