BuzzSugar

The 2008 Saturn Awards Honor the Best in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror

BuzzSugar — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:30:40 -0700

Each year the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films hands out the Saturn Awards, honoring the best actors, movies and TV shows in these genres. It's a pretty all-encompassing way to group things together and the list of projects that earned awards this year runs the gamut, from Cloverfield and Enchanted, to Lost and Dexter. Oh, and August Rush, which I guess fits into some kind of other-worldly realm. Robin Williams does star as some kind of magical urban cowboy, after all.

Looking at the list of winners, I'm struck by how mainstream they are. The sci-fi, fantasy and horror genres have really broadened and become popular over the years, no longer relegated to certain niche circles. It's pretty cool, really.

I'm happy to see that Will Smith and Amy Adams won the movie actor and actress awards (for I Am Legend and Enchanted), though the TV actress award went to Jennifer Love Hewitt for Ghost Whisperer, which just makes my little heart ache for the old Buffy days. And hands down, my favorite winner on the list is Michael Emerson who won for his performance as the crazy/scary/sad/manipulative Ben on Lost. Perhaps an Emmy is not far behind?

Next year's awards should be an incredibly close race, what with all the fantasy-filled movies this year (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight, not to mention The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Watchmen, Frank Miller's The Spirit, and even The Time Traveler's Wife). Batman Begins swept the Saturns in 2006, though The Dark Knight will have some tough competition this year. To check out a full list of the 2008 Saturn Award winners, read more.

To see the other nominees in each category, click here.

BEST SCI-FI FILM:
Cloverfield

FANTASY FILM:
Enchanted

HORROR FILM:
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM:
300

ACTOR:
Will Smith (I Am Legend)

ACTRESS:
Amy Adams (Enchanted)

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Marcia Gay Harden (The Mist)

PERFORMANCE BY A YOUNGER ACTOR:
Freddie Highmore (August Rush)

DIRECTION:
Zack Snyder (300)

WRITING:
Brad Bird (Ratatouille)

MUSIC:
Alan Menken (Enchanted)

COSTUME:
Colleen Atwood (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)

MAKE-UP:
Ve Neill, Martin Samuel (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End)

SPECIAL EFFECTS:
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl, John Frazier (Transformers)

ANIMATED FILM:
Ratatouille

INTERNATIONAL FILM:
Eastern Promises

NETWORK TELEVISION SERIES:
Lost

SYNDICATED / CABLE TELEVISION SERIES:
Dexter

PRESENTATION ON TELEVISION:
Family Guy: Blue Harvest

ACTOR ON TELEVISION:
Matthew Fox (Lost)

ACTRESS ON TELEVISION:
Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer)

SUPPORTING ACTOR ON TELEVISION:
Michael Emerson (Lost)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS ON TELEVISION: (TIE):
Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost)

DVD RELEASE:
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (remix)

DVD SPECIAL EDITION RELEASE:
Blade Runner (5 Disc Ultimate Edition)

DVD CLASSIC FILM RELEASE:
The Monster Squad

DVD COLLECTION:
Mario Bava (Box Sets 1 & 2)

TELEVISION SERIES RELEASE ON DVD:
Heroes (Season 1)

RETRO TELEVISION SERIES RELEASE ON DVD:
Twin Peaks (Definitive Gold Box Ed.)

Special Awards

THE GEORGE PAL MEMORIAL AWARD:
Guillermo del Toro

THE SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Tim & Donna Lucas

THE SERVICE AWARD:
Fred Barton

LIFE CAREER AWARD:
Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr.

FILMMAKERS SHOWCASE AWARD:
Matt Reeves for Cloverfield

Dexter photo courtesy of CBS
Source and source

Buzz In: Which Movies Have You Seen Multiple Times in the Theater?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:30:31 -0700

And no, multiple viewings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show doesn't really count. I'm talking about the movies that so captivated your imagination you just had to go back for more. Or the movies that were such a fun event, you piggiebacked along with different friends and family members to keep the party going all weekend.

Just this past weekend, I know there were plenty of girls' nights out. . . and then girls' afternoons out and girls' Sunday evenings out for the Sex and the City movie. When the first Spider-Man came out, I couldn't get enough and may have seen it four times in the theater. I've also heard some mom friends talk about how many times they escorted their kids to Enchanted over the holidays. And um, I might have known someone, who - ahem! - may have seen The Cutting Edge several times in the theater when it came out in 1992.

What movies have you seen more than once in the theaters?

Source

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:30:00 -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, Guy Ritchie's Revolver and Southland Tales starring Justin Timberlake, The Rock, and Sarah Michelle Gellar are also available today.

Enchanted
Is it just me or does it feel like we've been waiting for this movie to come out on DVD for forever? Enchanted is a treat for anyone who grew up loving those good old-fashioned animated Disney films (remember life before Pixar?). I truly enjoyed this trip down Disney Memory Lane and I know a lot of you did, too. The movie, starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon, and James Marsden is a wonderfully fun twist on the classic princess tale.

The story centers around Giselle (Adams), an amalgamation of Disney heroines from the days of yore who lives in a land called Andalasia. Giselle's chief concerns are marrying Prince Edward (Marsden), singing, and dancing with forest creatures. Edward's stepmother (Sarandon) is unhappy with Gisele and Edward's relationship, and she uses her evil magic to boot Giselle out of the animated world and into real-world Times Square. Once there, Giselle's simple, optimistic outlook on life is challenged by a force much darker and more cynical than any evil witch: a New York divorce attorney (Dempsey).

This DVD comes with lots of special featurettes including bloopers, a glimpse behind the creation of Andalasia, and extra shorts about Pip's (Giselle's trusty chipmunk friend) adventures.

More romance and adventure coming out this week, so read more.

I am Legend
I Am Legend was hit or miss with folks when it came out, but now that it's on DVD it's the kind of movie that will do the trick if you're looking to kick back and be entertained by some action. Plus, it's Will Smith and he's always good entertainment.

The film is based on Richard Matheson's 1954 sci-fi novel and follows Robert Neville (Smith), one of the few people who survives a virus that nearly renders humanity extinct. Robert's not alone however, there is another group of people, the infecteds, who have turned into "the night seekers." These scary things are like vampires/zombies that go around at night trying to infect surviving humans. Robert, a scientist, is working hard to find a cure for the disease before the creepies can get him. Thus, this sci-fi thriller takes you through a suspenseful race against time.

Special features include four animated comics as well as bonus material "exploring the history and current status of life-threatening viral infections."

Love in the Time of Cholera
I'm a big fan of Gabriel García Márquez’s wonderful 1985 novel Love in the Time of Cholera, as are many, but when I heard it was being adapted to film I had a hard time figuring out how that would work. In the book, plot isn't necessarily the driving force so much as the long, gorgeous sentences and the poetic feeling of the exquisite torture of longing for something you love. Like many, this film slipped off my radar and I still haven't been able to see this story brought to life onscreen.

I'm adding this to my queue partly out of curiosity, but also because the Oscar-winning super dreamy Javier Bardem stars as Florentino Ariza, a young man who falls hard (seriously, he loves her forever) for Fermina Daza (played by Giovanna Mezzogiorno). The film is directed by Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco, Four Weddings and Funeral) and was filmed in Columbia. Add it all up and this is one romantic drama I'm excited to get lost in at home.

Link Time! 2/14

BuzzSugar — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:30:23 -0800

FilmExperience is excited about today's news that Amy Adams will be one of the performers at this year's Oscars, singing "Happy Working Song" from Enchanted, while Kristin Chenowith will sing another song from the film, "That's How You Know."
Stereogum has found some funny Valentines for your indie sweetheart.
Pop Candy also rustled up some Get Smart and The Office e-valentines if you want to have a very Steve Carell-y V-Day.
TV Squad's Annie Wu danced with Stephen Colbert at a Colbert Report taping. Jealous? Who, me?
The MTV Movies Blog has outed Nicole Kidman as the person who will play CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Give Me My Remote has clips of Dexter cleaned up for CBS.
I Guess I'm Floating rounds up a whole bunch of covers of Arcade Fire's "Black Mirror."
Cinematical has a list of movies that make you glad to be single, including Sleeping With the Enemy and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Pushing Daisies photo copyright 2008 ABC, Inc.
Source

The Votes Are in: Best Romance and Best Girl Friendship of 2007

BuzzSugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:30:00 -0800

This roundup of my best of 2007 polls include your final picks for the best onscreen movie romance and the best friendship/relationship between women in a movie. And the winners are...

Best Movie Romance: Giselle and Robert, Enchanted
Looks like many of you were swept up into the magical romance shared by Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) in the sweet Disney princess story Enchanted. However, after that the votes are outrageously close for the second place winner. As of right now, the relationship between Jane (Anne Hathaway) and Tom (James McAvoy) in Becoming Jane is beating out the relationship between Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Will (Orlando Bloom) in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End by exactly one vote.

I voted for the relationship between Lars and his real girl, Bianca, because there truly is something so lovely and pure about that relationship, as strange as it sounds.

Best Girl Friendship: The three waitresses, Waitress
There weren't a ton of great depictions of friendship (or sisterhood) between women in this year's crop of films, but of the options available, you all favored the sweet, quirky friendship between the trio of waitresses in Waitress. The relationship between sisters Alison and Debbie in Knocked Up followed behind, and the adorable friendship between Tracy and Penny in Hairspray was a close third.

I joined the voters picking the women of Waitress, as I found those relationships to be both heartwarming and true-to-life.

Source and Waitress photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight

Golden Compass Tops the Box Office, Studio Still Disappointed

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:30:00 -0800

The Golden Compass opened this past weekend to the tune of $26 million, easily taking the top spot at the box office, but still disappointing New Line studio heads who'd expected more like $30-40 million. This is especially frustrating given the $180 million it took to make the film.

Enchanted followed behind The Golden Compass in its third week in theaters, bringing in $10.7 million while This Christmas came in at No. 3. Fred Claus inched its way from sixth place to fourth this weekend, as audiences perhaps sought out more holiday-themed fare. Beowulf rounded out the top five with $4.4 million.

This upcoming weekend I predict the top films will be I Am Legend and Alvin and the Chipmunks, though it should also please many folks that Juno finally opens in more cinemas this weekend.

Photo courtesy of New Line

Box Office: Enchanted's Spell Is Long-Lasting

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:30:00 -0800

For the second weekend in a row, Enchanted hypnotized audiences, topping the box office by a long shot with $17 million. Family holiday flick This Christmas stayed strong at No. 2, though took home about half as much as Enchanted did. Beowulf followed up in third place while the new psychological thriller Awake came in at No. 4 with $6 million. Hitman just barely edged out Fred Claus for fifth place.

This weekend I'll be curious to see if The Golden Compass succeeds in drawing the masses that New Line is so desperate to see. According to Variety, the studio held sneak preview screenings this past weekend, hoping to "boost interest in the film, which has been lagging in tracking, although awareness is high." Also opening this Friday is the romantic drama Atonement, starring James McAvoy and Keira Knightley.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

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

Enchanted: The Title Says it All

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 11:32:07 -0800

The calendar year is nearly over, so what I'm about to say is a bold claim, but I stand by it: Enchanted truly is the feel-good movie of the year. The movie combines old-school Disney animation and live-action filmmaking, with a little modern-day computer-generated animation tossed in, and the result is nothing less than magical. Disney movies have often provided a fantastical escape to far-off places, and Enchanted pushes this to an even more exciting level. The standard Disney magic coexists with the real world, making viewers (well, at least this viewer) wonder... maybe magic mirrors, fairy princesses, evil queens and "true love's kiss" really do exist. The feel-goodness is simply infectious, and you can't help but be swept up in this world of wonderful possibility.

The story follows Giselle, a woman from the land of Andalasia who wants nothing more than to marry Prince Edward (James Marsden). Yet Edward's mother (Susan Sarandon), determined not to be removed from her throne when her son gets married, prevents Edward and Giselle from sharing "true love's kiss" by catapulting Giselle into present-day New York City ("where there are no happy endings!"). There, of course, Giselle embarks on many hilarious adventures, made funnier by cultural misunderstandings. That's not the end of the magical story, though, so read more

When Edward leaps into real life to save Giselle, his mother sends one of her guys (played by Timothy Spall) after him to poison Giselle, though Giselle's faithful chipmunk friend Pip scuttles into New York as well, trying his darndest to thwart the poisoning. Meanwhile, Giselle befriends Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his young daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey), enchanting both of them - and, in certain musical numbers, all of New York - as she waits for Edward to find her.

There has been much talk of Amy Adams' superb performance and I can't join the resounding chorus of praise quickly enough. She is utterly committed to this role, from her wide, unblinking, sweet eyes to her supple wrists making dainty princessy hand gestures. You fully believe that she's a fairy princess because, well, she seems to believe it so much. The rest of the cast also appears to be having a lot of fun. James Marsden is perhaps my favorite of all the supporting characters. His oblivious nature and overzealous princely grandeur never failed to make me giggle. Susan Sarandon is appropriately villainous, her bizarre drag-queenish attire nothing short of fabulous.

There is one moment toward the end when I started to become annoyed that the story would fall right in line with some of the older Disney princess stories in which the female characters are either "good" and therefore helpless, or else they have too much power, which makes them evil. Also, the whole idea of women in fairy tales dying unless they are kissed by the right man makes me queasy. Yet Enchanted has quite a few twists in store for us, creating a sweetly romantic ending in which everyone - male and female alike - has a moment of strength and triumph.

I know many folks not technically in the targeted age bracket for this film who are making Enchanted outings this weekend - be it for Patrick Dempsey, the adorable Amy Adams or because, well, even as a twenty-something it's still exciting to see a real-live fairytale princess on screen. This is perhaps the true allure and success of Enchanted: it puts a modern face on age-old stories, reigniting a childhood belief that maybe - just maybe - fairytales are real. And that feels good.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

Music Video: Carrie Underwood, "Ever, Ever After"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 08:30:23 -0800

Fresh off her wins at this year's Country Music Awards, Carrie Underwood has released a video for her song "Ever, Ever After," which will be featured in the upcoming movie Enchanted, and it's modeled after the very movie of which it will be a part. There's a whole animated section with a Disney-fied Carrie who somehow finds herself in present-day Manhattan, enchanting all those angry New Yorkers -and her soulmate.

The song is nice enough, a little cutesy, but Underwood sounds great. And as ridiculous as the video is, it definitely made me giggle (the magical Carrie even inspires meter maids and illegally parking drivers to drop everything and boogie down together!).

Clearly I'm not in the target age bracket for this particular video, but it's sweet enough, so to check it out and tell me what you think, read more

Source