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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 11 Mar 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, family-friendly flicks Bee Movie and August Rush are available as well.

No Country for Old Men
If you haven't heard about No Country for Old Men, the staggering, Oscar-winning adaptation of Cormic McCarthy's novel, you might well be living under a rock. Not for those looking for warm fuzzies, this is the Coen Brothers at their best: entertaining, dark, and thought-provoking. Javier Bardem (um, how scary is he on that DVD cover?) won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Anton Chigurh, a demented serial killer whose evilness will haunt you for days. The film also stars Josh Brolin as a man on the run from Chigurh and Tommy Lee Jones a local sheriff on both of their trails.

Though the film's ending is obscure and has left many scratching their heads, I really thought it worked and I was completely entranced by the suspenseful cat-and-mouse plot. If you haven't yet seen this darn-near-perfect flick, now is your chance. Special features include a featurette about the making of the movie and one titled "Diary of A Country Sheriff."

One more release starring a beloved comedian if you read more.

Dan in Real Life
I will be the first to admit this wasn't my favorite movie of all time but like most people, I really love Juliette Binoche and Steve Carell, and I figured you may like to know that this one is out on DVD.

Dan in Real Life is about an advice columnist (Carell) raising three daughters on his own. Yet he could use some advice himself when he meets and develops "eyes" (as they say) for the beautiful Marie (Binoche) - who also happens to be Dan's brother's girlfriend. Much soul-searching over this and other life issues goes down when Marie joins a vacation with the entire extended family. One of the best things about the movie is the great music provided almost entirely by Sondre Lerche.

Box Office: Audiences Are Enchanted

BuzzSugar — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:30:00 -0800

The magic of Disney strikes again! The half-animated, half-live-action fairytale story Enchanted put a spell on the box office over the long Thanksgiving weekend, bringing in approximately $50 million over the five-day stretch. After Toy Story 2, Enchanted is the highest-grossing Disney movie to open Thanksgiving weekend.

Holiday newcomer This Christmas enjoyed an impressive opening in second place while Beowulf held steady at No. 3. The video game-inspired action flick Hitman opened at No. 4 and the animated Bee Movie continued to "bee" successful at No. 5. Meanwhile, The Coen Bros.' No Country for Old Men just barely edged out Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium for the No. 10 spot.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Beowulf Is a Box Office Warrior

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:00:00 -0800

Beowulf killed more than just a couple monsters over its opening weekend, easily coming in at No. 1 at the box office with just over $28 million. The movie enjoyed the widest release for a 3-D digital film ever, and was the first 3-D movie that wasn't for children. The success of the film spells good things for the future of digital 3-D filmmaking.

In second place taking home half as much was animated family film Bee Movie, and American Gangster held steady at No. 3. Following up in fourth place was holiday comedy Fred Claus, while Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium opened at No. 5, bringing in $10 million.

This upcoming holiday weekend should prove successful for studios releasing new titles, like Disney's Enchanted, the Bob Dylan flick I'm Not There, heartwarming family drama August Rush and Stephen King's The Mist. Also, this weekend expect to kick into the holiday season when This Christmas opens this Wednesday.

Image courtesy of Paramount

Box Office: Bee Movie Buzzes to the Top

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:30:00 -0800

In round two of American Gangster vs. Bee Movie at the box office, the bees buzzed their way to the top. Bee Movie brought in an estimated $26 million in its second weekend, flip-flopping last week's results by edging out American Gangster's $24.3 million.

None of the weekend's new releases came close to challenging those two. Fred Claus brought in about $19.2 million to finish in third place, while Lions for Lambs was a very distant fourth with just $6.7 million. I suppose a lot of people must have agreed with those of you who said you don't necessarily enjoy contemporary political movies. Interestingly, the audience for Lions for Lambs skewed old, with two-thirds of its viewers over age 35.

Possibly the best news this weekend comes for No Country for Old Men. The Coen brothers' Western opened in just 28 theaters around the country, but it still brought in $1.2 million and finished at No. 14 for the weekend. It expands to more theaters this Friday and will be in wide release after Thanksgiving.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

American Gangster Whacks the Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 05:30:00 -0800

Ridley Scott's gritty gangster drama easily took first place at the box office this past weekend, making American Gangster's opening weekend the highest-grossing for any R-rated crime drama in history. The film brought in a mighty $46.3 million over the weekend.

In second place was Seinfeld's Bee Movie, which also raked in an impressive amount: just over $39 million. Saw IV continued its reign of terror in third place, bringing in $11 million, while Dan in Real Life followed closely behind. 30 Days of Night rounded out the box office top five with $4 million.

This weekend Christmas comes early with Fred Claus. There will also be the Coen Bros. Western No Country for Old Men and the Robert Redford political drama Lions for Lambs opening nationwide.

Source

Bee Movie: Seinfeld Flies Successfully Into a New Genre

BuzzSugar — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:30:08 -0700

In the B-movie world, movie titles and posters often come before the scripts. Similarly, with Bee Movie, creator Jerry Seinfeld first came up with the "bee movie" pun came and then wrote a film to fit the title. Those humble beginnings had me a bit worried before going into this movie; as a huge Seinfeld fan, I really wanted to see the comedian succeed.

Bee Movie gets off to a rather pedestrian start, with humor dominated by lazy puns that, admittedly, are more kid-friendly than what follows. The story follows Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld) upon graduating from college in a New York hive. Unlike his buttoned-down buddy Adam (Matthew Broderick), Barry is distraught at the prospect of doing the same job every day for the rest of his existence. After sullenly lounging around his family's pool - in a scene that heavily references The Graduate - Barry decides to join the "pollen jocks" on their next trip out of the hive. From there, the movie starts to gain laughs and momentum, so read more

Barry befriends a florist named Vanessa Bloome (Renee Zellweger), who is dating, against her better judgment but to our entertainment, an obnoxious jock voiced by Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld's Puddy). Barry breaks bee rule No. 1 and speaks to a human, and soon, he's smitten with Vanessa and the outside world.

The plot picks up when Barry learns that humans are "stealing" bee honey and selling it in supermarkets, leading to a dramatic, action-packed story that pokes fun at corporate litigation and champions the importance of the environment.

The movie has the same saccharine look as other Dreamworks projects, but thankfully, Bee Movie forgoes the usual fart jokes in favor of classic Seinfeld delivery, surprising cameos, and witty pop-culture references. When Barry survives being swatted with a pamphlet, he mourns: "I lost a cousin to Italian Vogue once."

As a fan of Seinfeld's comedy, I found this movie far funnier than most animated features. My main gripe is that I'm not sure how entertaining it would be for kids. At my screening, the big laughs were undoubtedly adult guffaws, and I heard one boy, who looked to be about 10, say afterwards that he found it boring. Unfortunately, I can't offer an opinion from the kid perspective, but as an adult, I'm glad to see Seinfeld succeeding in a new medium.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Link Time! 10/30

BuzzSugar — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:30:04 -0700

Cinematical lists their top seven freakiest children from horror movies.
TV Squad rants about Jerry Seinfeld's tireless Bee Movie promotion on NBC.
Head over to Stereogum to hear The Arcade Fire covering The Smiths' "Still Ill."
The interview on MTV Movies Blog reveals that Ben Foster has a man crush on Justin Timberlake.
The TV Addict shares some thoughts on how to fix Heroes.
Pop Candy tells you how to have Nip/Tuck's McNamara and Troy call your friends and invite them in for a consultation.
Want to hear all of "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" from 30 Rock? Check out the complete song over at TV with MeeVee.
RetroCrush actually lists the 100 scariest movie scenes of all time. Not movies, scenes.
Buddy TV writes an eloquent defense of Journeyman.
Popwatch goes on a tirade against EMQs, or Excessive Movie Quoters.

Fall Movie Preview: Kid Stuff

BuzzSugar — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:30:00 -0700

For the last post in my Fall Movie Preview series, let's take a look at some of the fun kid stuff that'll be hitting the theaters in the coming months. Some of these movies look like they will be lots of fun for grown-ups, too.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
Natalie Portman, Jason Bateman and Dustin Hoffman all star in this whimsical tale of a magical toy shop. The brightly colored trailer makes the movie look quirky and cute - definitely a winner for both young and old. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium hits theaters November 16.

Funny New Bee Movie Trailer

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 08:30:00 -0700

When a movie's promotional stunt includes Jerry Seinfeld dangling from a crane in a bee outfit, I am so there. And now DreamWorks has a new full-length trailer for their animated November 2 release, Bee Movie, so we have some actual context to go along with the random promo that caught everyone's eye.

I have to say, I really like Seinfeld, so I'll watch a talking bee if it's his voice any day, especially since the premise seems really cute: Barry B. Benson (the bee voiced by Seinfeld) discovers that humans have been stealing bees' honey and he decides to do something about it. So he sues. In the meantime, he befriends a human named Vanessa (voiced by Renee Zellweger), and they apparently have a romantic picnic together. To see what the heck is going on with this trailer, read more

Bee Movie photo source
Seinfeld source

Whip It: A Rollicking Good Time

BuzzSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:30:56 -0700

Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, roller derby comedy Whip It, is not unlike the actress's persona: cute, fun, and with a whole lot going on.

Ellen Page stars as quiet 17-year-old Bliss Cavendar, whose mother (Marcia Gay Harden) wants to make her the queen of small-town Texas beauty pageants. Bliss meekly goes along with the idea, her voice too small to tell her mom she hates the contests. But one chance visit to nearby big city Austin and everything changes. Bliss admires some intimidating derby girls, and after sneaking off to a match, decides to try out. What follows is a fast-paced, highly entertaining girl-power anthem.

To read more about what I did and didn't like about the movie, just read more.

The movie is perfectly cast; Page plays a shy teen easily, never giving up her sweetness even after she adopts the moniker "Babe Ruthless" and gets repeatedly knocked into the rink sidelines. The team who welcomes her, the Hurl Scouts, is a motley crew: Eve and Zoe Bell don't become much more than background players, Barrymore is an ebullient if minor supporter ("Smashley Simpson"), but team captain Kristen Wiig is one of the hearts of the movie. With a part bigger than the trailer implies, Wiig (I never get tired of the derby names: "Maggie Mayhem") emerges as a mother figure when Bliss's relationship with her own mom is strained. It's nice to see her playing straight for once, and besides Page, Wiig is really the only multi-faceted derby girl.

That's not to say that the derby girls aren't anything special. Beautiful, tough, and impossibly cool, maybe you wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley, but you'd definitely want to be invited to their party. Juliette Lewis looks every part the queen bee - aggressive and sexy, she'll push you in a locker before you know what hit you. And naturally, there's a love interest, musician Landon Pigg - but he's kind of an afterthought, which I liked. By not giving in to the cliche that a girl gets everything she wants when she finds her passion, it strengthens the movie's pervasive girl power idea.

The movie isn't just about derby; it's a coming-of-age tale too, and Bliss didn't come from a shaky foundation. Alia Shawkat (yay, Maeby!) plays the hilarious and supportive BFF who doesn't exist just to cheer Bliss on from the sidelines. She's got her own thing, and is too confident to be left behind when Bliss gets wrapped up in her new life - a refreshing departure from the typical best friend character. And Harden isn't merely a strict parent caricature; she may want something completely different for her daughter, but her caring nature shines through.

It's not all success on skates, though. Sometimes the portrayal of the derby world gets to be an overzealous glorification. Sure, it's an amazing outlet for a lot of people and one of the few contact sports that really belongs to women, but the movie pushes the sexualization of the players a little too far. It's already sexy that the women play such a powerful sport, so it's not really necessary to do close-ups of the actresses' bare flesh to show the bruises.

There are a few things you could criticize about Barrymore's direction; for instance, Shauna Cross's screenplay is really quite funny, but some of the actors' lines fall flat. Also, the roller derby scenes have such potential to be exciting, and they could have been even more epic. Then again, this is Barrymore's first outing as a director, and it's still what you would expect from her: a fun-loving, freewheeling confection of a movie with a killer soundtrack.

Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight