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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:30:51 -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 take home The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Tale of Despereaux, and Beverly Hills, 90210: Season 7.

Yes Man
I'm a little baffled as to why the DVD cover for Yes Man doesn't include Jim Carrey's costar, Zooey Deschanel. She's a major selling point for me! Anyway, this movie is actually pretty cute and a great choice if you're looking for some laid-back, feel-good entertainment at home.

The story follows divorced loan officer Carl (Carrey) who lives life turning down everything from invitations to parties to the loan requests he hears every day. One day Carl finds himself at a self-help-type meeting all about the power of saying "yes" to every opportunity and it completely turns his life around. While he's in the process of becoming a "yes man" he starts up a romance with the free-spirited Allison (Deschanel), and soon learns that there are some negatives to his new lifestyle.

Special features include "Downtime on the Set of Yes Man with Jim Carrey," and "Jim Carrey: Extreme Yes Man - The Outrageous Physical Stunts the Star Performs."

Two more up next so read more.

Doubt
If you're looking for some serious actors doing some serious work, look no further than Doubt. Adapted from a stage play, the movie follows Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), the principal of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, who becomes suspicious of the parish priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) when he takes a particular shine to one boy. Things get more complicated when a young nun named Sister James (Amy Adams) is pulled into the conflict and doesn't know who to believe. The movie also includes an excellent performance from Viola Davis.

Each main member of the ensemble cast - Streep, Seymour Hoffman, Adams, and Davis - earned an Oscar nomination for his/her work in this movie.

Special features include "Doubt: From Stage to Screen," "Scoring Doubt," and commentary with writer/director John Patrick Shanley.

Bedtime Stories
Directed by Hairspray's Adam Shankman, Bedtime Stories is about a handyman who tells his niece and nephew imaginative stories that start to come true. Whatever the kids come up with each evening he has to survive in real life, including a gumball rainstorm and being set on fire.

It's so cute-looking and I really like the idea of a kids' movie starring Adam Sandler. Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, and Russell Brand also pop up in the film.

Bonus features include deleted scenes and outtakes.

Doubt: All About Meryl and Philip

BuzzSugar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:30:55 -0800

Doubt is a tense, thought-provoking and incredibly well-written play, and it must be difficult to adapt such a dense play for the big screen. With a play there's the understanding that we're somewhat confined in terms of location and there's often a lot of talking and emoting. The film adaptation of Doubt is pretty much entirely talking and emoting. It's not that that's a bad thing, per se, it's just that it requires a bit more wrangling of the ol' attention span than most movies require. In some ways, I'm not completely sure why it was adapted for the big screen, except to cement in cinematic history these exceptional performances by some of today's Hollywood giants.

There's nothing visually interesting about it (at all), though surely the visuals aren't the focus here. The exploration of what's moral and good, which sin is greater than another sin, and the back-and-forth dance of trust and suspicion - these are central to the story that Doubt attempts to tell. But it is, well, a lot of talking. It's often absorbing because these actors so expertly guide us through the narrative, but it might take a particularly patient modern-day moviegoer to enjoy this movie. To see what it's all about and more of my thoughts, read more.

The story takes place in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 where the school's stern, unyielding principal, Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) becomes suspicious of the parish priest, the likable Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), when he takes a particular shine to one boy: The school's first black student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster). Father Flynn insists that he is merely trying to help a lonely, isolated boy, but Sister Aloysius is convinced that the nature of this relationship is inappropriate. The sweet, young nun Sister James (Amy Adams) is pulled into the conflict and doesn't know who to believe: Her kind and gentle-seeming priest or this steely nun who is utterly certain (despite a lack of hard evidence) of wrongdoing. The audience is basically in Sister James's shoes, wanting to believe the best about this seemingly good-hearted priest, but worried that if there is something going on and it goes ignored then this boy will be further harmed.

The performances are top-notch, and all the awards buzz is completely deserved. Restricted by clothing and (for the women) modest head-covering bonnets, as well as a nearly action-free script, it's up to the actors and their facial expressions, vocal intonation, and slight changes in body language to convey the emotion within this story. Lesser actors would have brought down the entire thing, but as it is, Streep, Hoffman, Adams and Viola Davis (who plays Donald's mother) manage to make this heavy, talky script loom more powerfully before us than I ever thought possible. They each have such tremendous presence, emitting a heat that we can practically feel in the audience. However, all in all it feels like watching a play, so if you aren't exactly a fan of plays, this may not be the movie for you.

Photos courtesy of Miramax

Box Office: The Day the Earth Earned a Lot of Money

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:30:45 -0800

The Day the Earth Stood Still may not have been a critical hit but it is now officially a box office success, earning $31 million over the weekend and topping Four Christmases, which slid into second place. Twilight, Bolt, and Australia followed in third, fourth, and fifth places respectively.

Meanwhile, Variety is reporting that smaller, independent films "delivered one of the best weekends ever for the specialty box office." Movies like Doubt, The Reader and Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino all enjoyed strong debuts, while movies like Milk and Frost/Nixon continue to draw good sized audiences in theaters.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Movie Preview: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 05:45:02 -0700

Um, we're not in Mamma Mia! anymore. The trailer for the Pulitzer Prize-winning-play-turned-movie, Doubt, has hit the Web and it's dark - and bubbling with Oscar potential. The adaptation was written and directed by Doubt's playwright, John Patrick Shanley.

The story focuses on a Catholic school in 1964 where a nun (Meryl Streep) suspects a priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of abusing a young student. Amy Adams plays the pious young nun trying to make sense of it all within the grander scheme of her faith.

Meryl Streep is so focused and immersed in every role she plays, and this - a difficult and complex role, to say the least - is no different. And Philip Seymour Hoffman is equally impressive as a man who must appear trustworthy and calm, though with an edge of darkness.

Having seen the play I can say that audiences are in for a highly provocative story. Have you seen the play? If so, do you feel like that was enough, or are you intrigued to see it played out onscreen by some of our greatest film actors?

Doubt opens in limited release Dec. 12. To see the trailer, read more.

Doubt - Trailer
Uploaded by hawkbcn

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Buzz News Roundup, 12/12

BuzzSugar — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:31:14 -0800

The Golden Globe nominations will be announced tomorrow morning, but Variety says nominees might not attend the January ceremony because of the writers' strike. Also on the chopping block because of the strike: the Television Critics Association press tour, says the Associated Press - and maybe splashy Upfront presentations, too, says the New York Times.
But, the Screen Actors Guild Awards will go on as planned, Variety reports.
According to ComingSoon, Will Arnett will voice Knight Rider in the TV film.
Amy Adams just might join the cast of Doubt, which also now includes Viola Davis, writes Zap2It.
Journeyman is done, Broadcasting & Cable reports, though its final two episodes will air.
According to Variety, Josh Groban's holiday album Noel continues to be a bestseller for its third week in a row.
ComingSoon writes that Paul Rudd will star in the wedding-themed comedy I Love You, Man, about a groom-to-be who is on the hunt for a best man.
Joan Allen will star and Lasse Hallstrom will direct a remake of the Japanese film Hachiko, A Dog's Story, reports Variety.
Rolling Stone has an intriguing interview with Billy Joel regarding his wartime holiday album Christmas in Fallujah.

Source

Link Time! Watch George Clooney Voicing Fantastic Mr. Fox

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:30:25 -0800

So cool - see how the voice acting was done on The Fantastic Mr. Fox - Cinematical
Comedy Central is teaming up with The Onion for a TV show - The Hollywood Reporter
No Doubt is suing Activision for using their likenesses inappropriately in Band Hero - GeekSugar
2012 already has a TV series sequel, 2013 - MTV Movies Blog
Fox Searchlight has halted the national release of Gentlemen Broncos - Vulture
Sufjan Stevens admits his 50 states album concept was a joke - Stereogum
Amazing video mash-up of scenes with characters saying the movie's title - Videogum
Anthony Hopkins and Annette Bening will play Ernest Hemingway and wife in Hemingway and Fuentes - Variety
The Decemberists' Colin Meloy and wife Carson Ellis are writing a children's book - Pitchfork
10 scary Christmas movies to bridge Halloween and Christmas - Rotten Tomatoes

House Rundown, "Ignorance is Bliss"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:30:45 -0800

With Cameron gone, the new (old) team is still working out the kinks in this week's House - and it feels like the writers aren't sure where the show's going either. The episode tackles a genius patient with what appears to be TTP, Thanksgiving, and House and Cuddy all in one swoop. And while the doc is back to acting like a selfish jerk following his recent good behavior, I didn't even find his quips that amusing. If anything, the episode felt like a downer!

Okay, so I know these are harsh words, so perhaps I'm not giving this week a fair trial. Let's go over the highlights, and tell me what you think when you read more.

The team gathers around the table to start hypothesizing, but to me it feels off without Cameron there. I'll give the writers the benefit of the doubt since it's the first week with the updated crew, but don't you agree?
We get it Chase - you're upset. He huffs and puffs and refuses invitations from Taub, Foreman, and Thirteen for friendly help. Then House refers to Cameron as Chase's "ex-smarter half" and gets punched. I want to be sympathetic to Chase because of his split from Cameron, but with that attitude? Forget it.
House needs to get Cuddy off the brain stat. He announces to Wilson that he's going to break up her relationship with Lucas, and then starts plotting ways to get invited to Thanksgiving dinner to see his plan through. Cuddy gives him the address where the meal is taking place, but (surprise!) the house is empty. I was shocked that she gave him faux info! Do you think it's too mean, or does he deserve it?
After being rejected, House gets drunk and breaks into Lucas's place to confess his love for Cuddy. Seriously. (He says to Lucas, "I'm pathetic," and I couldn't agree more.) The next day, Cuddy tells House that Lucas broke up with her over the incident - until we later find out that she's lying to get him to lay off. It seems like House might leave her alone by the end of the episode. Do you think he's finally giving up? And do you think his intoxicated act was real or fake? He tries to make it sound planned, but I'm not 100 percent sure.
While House and Cuddy were weighing down the show with sadder stuff, Taub and his wife brought a bit of comic relief. She's stopped sleeping with him, because she thinks he's a wuss for going back to House. But once Taub passes off a photo of House's black eye as his own handiwork – instead of Chase's - she basically jumps him!
The medical mystery involving a former genius who dumbs himself down, so he can love his "happy and dumb" wife (his words, not mine) is relatively interesting - even though I snarled at his comments about her stupidity. First they think he has TTP, but the problem is actually an old injury where he broke three ribs causing his spleen to split. Come on, 16 spleens?! I know I'm a dork, but that's pretty cool. Next time writers, less Cuddy skirt-chasing, more stuff like this.

Okay, so time for your assessment - what did you think of the episode? Isn't the House and Cuddy storyline starting to wear thin? (Even I'm over it, and I was rooting for them before!) And how do you like the team now that Cameron's dunzo?

If you're a fan of the show, check out the House! group in community!

Photos courtesy of Fox

90210 vs. Melrose Place: Which Was More Scandalous?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:30:22 -0800

This week's 90210 and Melrose Place combo don't have a ton of shocking moments, but it's obvious both shows are gearing up for major stuff to go down. (Like a drug bust, murder arrest, and Heather Locklear, for instance?!) We do, however, get some nice moments between the characters. Teddy, for one, is acting like an angel - although I can't tell if it's sincere, because I've made it a rule not to trust a guy who ties sweaters over his shoulders. And the gang from Melrose have a nice come-together moment around the pool, which I'd like to see more of.

Not that everything is warm and fuzzy. Hardly. There's still scandal to go around, so ready to decide which gave us more gossip-worthy material? Just read more.

90210 point: Navid discovers Jasper selling Adrianna drugs in her car in the school parking lot. Navid calls Adrianna to confront her, but she of course denies his accusations. Jasper also says the story isn't true and threatens Navid in a "hypothetical" way. Like, "hypothetically if I was a drug dealer, you wouldn't want to mess with me, because I know bad people." Real discreet stuff.
Melrose Place counterpoint: The blood tests from last week's discovery of Sydney's murder weapon come back - and Auggie is the guilty party. Auggie might as well be off the show already, because he is nowhere to be found, supposedly on a trip in Mexico. Ella's relieved, Riley has doubts, and Violet continues to defend him, seeing as how they slept together and she's crazy. When she told Riley that she and Auggie were "intimate" with each other, I nearly ralphed.

90210 point: Debbie is in the doghouse with Dixon. He tries to go comfort Sasha after her "miscarriage," and Debbie admits that Sasha faked the pregnancy - and that she hid the truth. Dixon's unreasonably angry with Debbie, telling her "you're not my real mom anyway." Come on, Dixon. Deb doesn't deserve that.
Melrose Place counterpoint: David sneaks over to Michael's house while he's at work and borrows Noah. He takes his little bro to a fair, but things go amiss when Noah climbs a wall and falls. David rushes him to Lauren at the hospital, and she administers treatment - but not before Michael gets wind of everything. He's understandably furious but later tells David that he's glad he cares about Noah. Could this be the start of an actual relationship between the father and son?!

90210 point: Liam is on the rampage after he tells Mr. Matthews that Jen is psycho and Ryan doesn't believe him. He takes his attitude out on Ivy, Teddy, and an entire group of surfers. Later, Liam explains his behavior, opening up to the guys (and Ivy) about his history with Jen, and the entire thing culminates in a cheesy friend speech to take Jen down, complete with a high-five. [eye roll]
Melrose Place counterpoint: Violet is back to blackmailing Michael. This time, we find out that she's wanted for a court trial for previously resisting arrest. She enlists Michael, suggesting that he find her a lawyer in return for her discretion about their one-night stand. He, in turn, threatens her back, telling her that he can make the sentencing go against her unless she erases the sex video. Which she does . . . or so it seems. I'm still not 100 percent sure that it won't pop up later, but the power play between the two of them was an episode highlight for me.

90210: With Silver's half birthday approaching, her mom decides to make up for years of missed celebrations and throw her multiple parties at once, dressing up their entire house in different themes. The whole thing seemed like a stretch - really, Teddy called his dad's set designer friend to rig up the ambiance? - but it was still nice to see her and her mom get their moment together. Unfortunately, at the end of the episode, Silver goes to wake her mom in the morning and realizes that her mom has passed away.
Melrose Place counterpoint: Whoa, whoa, whoa - Ella makes a move on Jonah that's bold even for her. It all starts when she needs him to pose as a publicist at a lunch with a hot new indie director. The director comes on to Ella, and Jonah swoops in to put off his advances by pretending to be her fiance. They share a steamy kiss to be extra-convincing, and sure enough, once the director is out of sight, Ella suggests that the two of them go to a nearby hotel, so Jonah can see what he's been missing. He angrily tosses Ella's advances by telling her he's in love with Riley. You could tell part of her feels hurt by his words - and that part of him doesn't actually mean them.

90210 point: Annie is falling hard for Jasper. Their back and forth "I love yous" were pretty sickening, and she even gets in a sting at Dixon, defending Jasper and telling Dixon he's a bad judge of character because of Sasha. But the most cringe-worthy part is Annie tells Jasper that she wants him to be her first - and they start tossing on the bed as the episode wraps. Oh, Annie - you're so gonna wish you had given it up to Ethan instead.

Melrose Place counterpoint: You saw it coming: Lauren and David finally kiss! David's actually a standup guy this episode by taking care of Noah, but his speech to Lauren about how he wants her to see the best in him was unexpected - and welcome, in my opinion. Lauren of course is hesitant due to her call girl lifestyle, which David still doesn't know about. I just hope they don't let that hold her back too long, so we can explore these two as a couple.

This is tough one to call, since neither show packed a ton of drama, relatively speaking. I'm going to go with Melrose Place though, since we find Auggie's blood on the murder weapon, Ella propositioning Jonah, and David and Lauren locking lips. But would you argue for 90210 instead? I'll agree that it did include some pretty nasty lines, and obviously Silver's storyline with her mom carries some weight.

Let me know your pick in the comments, then head over to the 90210 Superfans group in the Buzz Community to discuss the show in more detail.

Photos courtesy of The CW

The Box: An Inadequate Package to Unwrap

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:30:56 -0800

I so wanted The Box to be a worthy successor to Donnie Darko, director Richard Kelly's first film and much-appreciated cult fave. Unfortunately, I didn't exactly get my wish.

The Box is a highly stylized, good-looking thriller, from the retro 1976 Virginia setting to the Barbie and Ken looks of leads Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. They play husband and wife Arthur and Norma Lewis, who run into a bit of a financial jam when a strange opportunity conveniently presents itself. A creepy, disfigured man (Frank Langella) offers them a million dollars if they push a button inside a box - but a stranger will die if they do.

Kelly has all the right elements and the creativity to give us a hip, entertaining thriller, but there are a number of blatant missteps that make the movie unsatisfying. To see more about what I mean, just read more.

Kelly puts his stamp on everything, namely the constant eerie atmosphere and the random sinister characters (apparently an old person standing still in the road is his trademark). Though many questioned the casting of Cameron Diaz and her requisite Virginia accent, there was a similar doubt when Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze were cast in Darko, and it ended up working. With Diaz, it's not that I would say that she nailed the part, but that the accent and greater aspects of the plot are very campy. And I like campy, but I don't know if that's what the film is going for.

If you're not taking it seriously, the movie is a pretty good time, with some frightening scenes and jumps. There are also many parts that are supposed to be creepy, but they're so labored that they come out as funny. Like, laugh out loud in the theater funny. I wouldn't call that a failure, I'd just invoke the term I used before campy.

The major problem the movie runs into is when it begins exploring these sci-fi and supernatural angles, which end up being red herrings. For instance, much is made of Arthur's job at NASA and Mars, which made me think we were in for a weird, wild sci-fi ride. I was ready to embrace something really out there (I'm a big David Lynch fan, after all), but you don't really get it. There are so many elements that are introduced but never followed to a conclusion, so you're left shrugging your shoulders when the movie ends. It's even more perplexing because the mystery of The Box itself is explained, but you're left with all these details that went nowhere, in retrospect. It's one thing to leave things open-ended, but you have to give the audience something to work with.

Honestly, if you're a Kelly fan, you'll probably find it enjoyable. But if you want complete resolution, I'd wait for the director's cut.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

TV Tonight: V Premiere

BuzzSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:30:28 -0800

The Visitors are coming! Tonight, V invades ABC with an updated redo of the eighties sci-fi series. I'm still somewhat confused over why the network is splitting up the season into two separate installments (the first four episodes now; the rest in March), but you can bet I'll be watching to assess if the show is worth following into Spring.

If you're not familiar with the original - or didn't take a peek at the my video of the first ten minutes - the storyline follows a group of aliens who visit Earth seeking resources in exchange for their advanced technology. But as you might guess, their "good" intentions aren't what they seem. Scott Wolf of Party to Five fame is one of the stars, along with Elizabeth Mitchell from Lost - which is perhaps why I'm already drawing up comparisons to that fan favorite. (Seriously, ABC even has a Peace Ambassador Program online that viewers can join. The Dharma Initiative, anyone?)

I doubt I'll be as addicted to this new group as I am to the Oceanic gang, but I am loving the trailer thanks to Muse's "Uprising" as its theme song. Check it out for yourself, and tell me if you'll be tuning in this evening, when you read more.