BuzzSugar

Box Office: Audiences Book a Night With Couples Retreat

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:30:00 -0700

Well, the numbers speak for themselves - people love a Vince Vaughn movie. I was admittedly lukewarm about Couples Retreat, but that didn't stop it from cashing in at the box office. The ensemble comedy took in $35.3 million, making it the first big hit for Universal after a lackluster Summer. Last week's winner Zombieland dropped to No. 2 with $15 million, at No. 3 was Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs with $12 million, and the double feature of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D followed behind with $7.6 million.

Rounding out the top five was the real champion of the weekend, Paranormal Activity. I had heard the indie was one of the most terrifying flicks in a long time, and now it's broken records by taking in over $7 million in ticket sales - even though it played in less than 200 theaters and only cost a reported $15,000 to make. Paramount expanded the release of this little-engine-that-could after an onslaught of online demands from fans. (Perhaps it deserves a spot on my scary movie bracket, too!)

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures

Zombieland Eats the Competition Alive at the Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:30:55 -0700

Well, it looks like Très isn't the only one who loves a good horror comedy - Zombieland took the top spot at the box office this weekend with $25 million in ticket sales. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs slid to No. 2 with $16.7 million, followed by the Toy Story 1 &2 3-D double feature with $12.5 million.

The Invention of Lying made its box office debut in fourth place with $7.35 million, and Surrogates rounded out the top five with $7.4 million. Drew Barrymore's Whip It couldn't hack it in its opening weekend and finished in seventh with $4.8 million, right behind Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Weekend Movie Reviews, Dave's Multiple Affairs, and the Kanye/Gaga Tour Gets Canceled!

Molly — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:50:00 -0700

Trying to figure out which movie to go see this weekend? Check out our one-sentence movie reviews of Whip It!, Zombieland, and The Invention of Lying. Plus, find out what we're thinking about the David Letterman affair/extortion bombshell and possible reasons behind why Kanye West and Lady Gaga canceled their tour. Watch the weekend edition of PopSugar Rush now!

Zombieland: The Feel-Good Zombie Flick of the Year

TresSugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:30:23 -0700

A Note From Buzz: With so many new movies this week, my friend Très was nice enough to apply her scary-movie expertise to review the box office's newest zombie flick.

In the United States of Zombieland, zombies outnumber people. A mad-cow tainted burger tipped the population in favor of the drooling, limping, and grunting set, and now zombies roam a crashed-car littered, empty-minimall-blighted zombiescape.

Columbus (Adventureland's Jesse Eisenberg), the virginal antihero of horror-comedy Zombieland, has learned to survive this zombie apocalypse by keeping a list of necessary survival skills. Rule #1? Cardio. If you don't want zombies gnawing on you like an hors d'oeuvre, you'd better be fast and limber. In addition, beware of bathrooms, practice the "double tap" (make sure your zombie's actually dead after you kill him), and don't be a hero. (Regarding this last rule - some rules were made to be broken.)

When Columbus meets up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a swaggering cowboy type with a penchant for tank-like cars, shotguns, and Twinkies, and the spitfire sister duo of Wichita (Emma Stone) and Arkansas (Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin), Zombieland takes off like a scary/fun amusement park ride. To find out what happens on this motley crew's wild road trip from hell, read more

There's something funny about zombies and the zombie genre, and in his first feature film, director Ruben Fleischer plays their comic possibilities to the hilt. Zombies don't have what you'd call well-rounded personalities; they're pretty predictable. They have bad attitudes, come out of nowhere, grunt, and see all nonzombies as food to feast on. They're the perfect foil (or straight men, even) to a cast of characters with more than enough personality to make up for the zombies' boorish one dimensionality.

Take nebbishy Columbus. The world changed for him, he tells us in an early voice-over, when a pretty neighbor he calls #406, asks to stay over because a crazed homeless man tries to bite her. Sadly, although she falls asleep on Columbus's shoulder, she wakes up as a rabid zombie and begins chasing him around his apartment, forcing him to repeatedly knock her over the head with a toilet lid. "The first time I let a girl in my life," deadpans Columbus, "and she tries to eat me."

This kind of witty dialogue abounds in Zombieland, and although fans of gore and violence against zombies will be more than satisfied (Tallahassee's scenes of zombie-killing, especially, have a Tarantinoesque choreography to them), it's really the mismatched goofball characters and how they bond and evolve, surprisingly, that hold the film together. A hilarious cameo from Bill Murray in the Beverly Hills sequence of Zombieland, also, is practically worth the price of admission.

Harrelson chews the scenery as Tallahassee, but as we find out, part of the reason he's hell-bent on killing zombies is because they took away his baby boy. As for the sisters, tough-girl Wichita just wants to take care of her little sister Arkansas (who, as a good shot, doesn't seem to need much help), but a beautiful girl has needs, too, and before long she develops feelings for Columbus. Will he or won't he finally be able to live out his nerd-boy fantasy of brushing the hair over a girl's ear?

You probably know the answer to that question, but just because Zombieland adheres to certain formulas doesn't mean that it doesn't revive them in witty ways. Although the zombie-killing gore fest may not be for everyone, Zombieland's amazing visuals, charming characters, and witty dialogue may leave a goofy grin on your face as you leave the theater.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

Link Time!

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:45:07 -0700

It's Jim and Pam's wedding website! - Halpert Beesly
Get a load of new Edward, Bella, and Jacob stills from New Moon - PopSugar
Glee has been picked up for a full season! - Fox
Sacha Baron Cohen will lend his voice to an episode of The Simpsons - Entertainment Weekly
The NPH Effect: Emmy ratings were way up this year, improving on 2008's low viewership - The Wrap
Listen to new tracks from Built to Spill's upcoming album, There Is No Enemy - Stereogum
Can Michael Cera break out of his hipster-nerd pigeonhole? - PopWatch
The dreamy Nathan Fillion talks Castle, Dr. Horrible, and Joss Whedon - Pop Candy
Johnny Depp may be losing interest in doing Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - Vulture
There might be a Big Lebowski spinoff about John Turturro's the Jesus character - MTV Movies Blog
Patrick Swayze was supposed to have a cameo in upcoming horror comedy Zombieland - Coming Soon

Buzz's Picks For Fall Movies: Comedies

BuzzSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:45:00 -0700

I've already given you previews of tons of upcoming Fall films, but now that their release dates are fast-approaching, I'm going to share my picks for the ones most worth seeing. Mark your calendar (or just write 'em in on your TV calendar!). First up, comedies.
Photos courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures, Fox Searchlight, and Sony Pictures

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Movie Preview: Zombieland

BuzzSugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:30:26 -0700

As I mentioned when I came back from Comic-Con, I'm not really big on zombie movies, generally speaking, but after attending the panel there for Zombieland, I'm pretty much sold on this particular zombie movie. They screened the trailer, of course, as well as some funny clips from the movie, including a great scene with Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone as sisters that actually made me kind of sad - before it turned funny. It's really the cast that makes me want to see the film: Jesse Eisenberg is the dorky little guy who gets paired up with the crazy, Southern-drawlin' Woody Harrelson, and the two make for a very fun zombie-fighting team as Eisenberg's character uses the movie to run through the rules for surviving "zombieland."

Zombieland opens Oct. 2. To check out the trailer, read more.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Buzz News Roundup, 8/27

BuzzSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:31:32 -0700

Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns is becoming a TV series for TBS. - Hollywood Reporter
The cop drama Pride and Glory will open the Woodstock Film Festival on Oct. 2. - Variety
After some controversy, the Mad Men Twitter accounts have been restored. - Silicon Alley Insider
The Jonas Brothers can celebrate their second week at No. 1. - Billboard
Cuba Gooding Jr. is coming to TV (briefly) for a TNT TV movie. - Zap2it
Woody Harrelson has signed on for the lead in a horror movie, Zombieland. - ComingSoon
Morgan Fairchild and Alias's Carl Lumbly are among the latest guest stars for Chuck. - Entertainment Weekly
Two writers of The Office, Gene Stupinsky and Lee Eisenberg, have sold a feature film script called Bad Teacher. - Variety

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It's a Scream: 5 Funniest Scary Movies

BuzzSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:30:26 -0700

Ever notice how easy it is to laugh when you're scared? Breaking the tension in a freaky film can make you laugh the hardest, and some of my favorite scary movies are those that tread the comedy genre. Zombieland, opening this Friday, looks like it's going to be as hilarious as it is creepy, and Transylmania, due this Winter, satirizes the horror genre. I tend to watch a lot of scary movies behind my hands, but if there's a good plot and, even better, great jokes, I'm into it. Check out some of my favorites that make you both shudder and giggle.

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