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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:30:04 -0800

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 picks below, you can now pick up Fred Claus starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.

Hancock
Will Smith's Summer blockbuster has a clever premise at the heart of it: If we genuinely look at what life might be like for a modern-day superhero - especially one with rage issues - what challenges might this guy face? Smith manages to balance the humor of this role along with the badass superhero elements and the result is an all-around entertaining performance. I also think Jason Bateman who plays Smith's PR guy is a real highlight of the movie and reason enough to add it to your queue.

Special features include an unrated version of the movie with footage not seen in theaters, a stunts featurette, and behind-the-scenes footage.

Two more television gems up next, so read more.

Beverly Hills, 90210: Season 6
The farther we get into the new 90210, the more anxious I am to watch the original Beverly Hills, 90210 when I get the chance. I know for some purists the later seasons of the show got a little too nuts but I think the post-Brenda era (which includes Tiffani-Amber Thiessen as evil vixen Valerie Malone) is totally awesome in its own way.

Season six includes Donna's abusive relationship with that guy Ray, Brandon gets addicted to gambling again, and I'm pretty sure this is the season Kelly dabbles in coke. What's not to love?

Freaks & Geeks: Complete Series
Technically I'm not positive this special version of Freaks and Geeks is available on Netflix but I wanted to tell you about it anyway. For those of you who still yearn for more tidbits of your favorite McKinley High stoners, tough kids, bad girls, brains and dorks, this yearbook special edition of the complete series will probably do the trick.

In addition to all the original episodes, commentaries and special features of the regular complete series set, this special version comes with two bonus discs housed in a 40-page yearbook that includes exclusive photos, memorabilia and essays. These new features specifically include original cast auditions, a table read, Museum of Television & Radio Panel, deleted scenes and more.

Box Office: Hellboy and Friends Kick Box Office Butt

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:15:15 -0700

Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army won the weekend box office with an estimated $35.9 million, not only handily beating the current competition, but also surpassing the first Hellboy's opening weekend earnings ($23.2 million). Yippee! I'm happy for that ragtag group of superheroes.

On the other end of the spectrum was Meet Dave, which Variety described as "one of the worst opening grosses ever for an Eddie Murphy pic." The details are even more painful. Consider this: It cost $60 million to make Meet Dave and it only earned an estimated $5.3 million over the weekend. That's not a pretty picture.

Hancock remained a draw (fun aside: at the movie theater over the weekend, a group of young boys sped past me while one yelled, "Hurry up! I don't want to miss a single second of Hancock!"), coming in second place, followed by the 3-D action flick Journey to the Center of the Earth. Pixar's Wall-E came in at No. 4 followed by Wanted to round out the top five.

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures

Hancock Is a Box Office Superhero

BuzzSugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:30:27 -0700

A surprise to no one (but still a delight to me, since I find this Will Smith movie to be pretty fun), Hancock won the crown at the box office over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. According to Variety, the movie "is the eighth Smith film in a row to open at No. 1 domestically, as well as his fifth - and most successful - Fourth of July outing." It is also Smith's second-biggest opening after the record-breaking opening of I Am Legend in December. Over the long holiday weekend (5.5 days), Hancock raked in approximately $107.3 million.

So, in case anyone doubted it before, Will Smith = box office gold.

Elsewhere in the top five box office hits, Wall-E stepped into second place over the weekend, followed by Wanted and then Get Smart. Kung Fu Panda rounded out the group in fifth place. Kit Kittredge came in at No. 8, performing less well than studios had hoped.

Within the indie market, The Wackness did exceptionally well in its per-location average, and the Dr. Hunter S. Thompson documentary, Gonzo, also "enjoyed a solid debut."

Next weekend will bring us yet another movie deemed "male-skewing" by Variety: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (though I not-so-secretly cannot wait to see it!). Overall (with the exception of Wall-E), it looks like next weekend's top five at the box office will be pretty "male-skewing" (Hellboy II, Hancock, Wanted and Get Smart, with The Incredible Hulk still not too far behind).

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Hancock: A New Kind of Superhero Movie

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:30:26 -0700

I'm not totally sure who the intended audience is for Hancock. The superhero aspect is campy enough for kids (and sometimes way too campy for adults), but there's definitely language that doesn't seem suitable for youngsters. Perhaps the teenagers will most enjoy the movie, though as an adult I liked it well enough and I certainly applaud what the story attempts to accomplish: tell a superhuman's story with the emphasis on the "human" experience. In a world overly saturated with superhero movies, this angle is actually pretty refreshing.

Also, it's a mainstream movie focused on a black superhero and I gotta say, it's about damn time.

Will Smith is Hancock, a modern-day superhero who's fallen out of favor with the public. For every good deed he does, he leaves a staggering amount of destruction in his wake. Hancock is surly, drinks constantly and has intense anger management problems. But when he saves the life of PR guy and general do-gooder Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), Ray offers to help Hancock turn around his image. He devises a strategy for making the public stop taking Hancock for granted, while coaching him on how to seem more like a hero and less like a careless drunk. As Ray spends more and more time with Hancock, his son Aaron grows attached to the superhero, though Ray's wife Mary (Charlize Theron) seems constantly suspicious of him. Ray helps Hancock change his image, but that's just half the story; Hancock's past includes many more secrets he didn't even know were there.

For more of my take on the movie, read more.

At it's most basic, the premise for the story is really clever. It's similar to the way Seinfeld manages to be funny while merely waxing philosophic about everyday things: If we look, quite seriously, at what it might be like for a modern-day superhero - especially one with rage issues - what challenges might this guy face? Might the public turn on him? Might he forget his strength and heave a whale into a boat? These would be real issues for a real superhuman, though to us they're just interesting and funny. Where the movie drags considerably is when it tries to be super dark, somber and overly dramatic.

Nobody is a better pick for this role than Will Smith. There are probably better comedians out there and there are guys who are good at being the badass. Smith, perhaps like his character, easily achieves a balance of two beings. He's a funny badass superhero.

And yet the best part of the whole movie is the relationship between Ray and Hancock. One of my favorite actors, Bateman is a funny guy on his own and within an ensemble cast, but when paired up with such a larger-than-life character, he's completely hysterical - and so is Smith. Like Bateman's former onscreen "son" Michael Cera, he plays the straight man like few people can: guilelessly, optimistically, truthfully. He's really just a good, normal guy trying to do his thing, and when set against Smith's great, off-kilter character, it strikes a perfect comedic balance.

It's a silly movie, for sure, and how much you like it will probably depend on your tolerance for silliness. It's not a masterpiece. But it is a pretty fun way to spend a couple of hot summer hours.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

Movie Preview: Hancock

BuzzSugar — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:42:13 -0700

I gotta say, I really like the premise for Hancock. There's a complicated, surly, alcoholic superhero (Will Smith) who grates on peoples' nerves rather than earning their adoration. Thus, he needs a PR pro (Jason Bateman) to help him gain the trust of the public. It could be totally silly, certainly, but the new full-length trailer makes the movie look pretty amusing. I even laughed out loud a few times (mostly during the part with the female cop he's trying to help). However, I also feel like the entire movie is shown in the three-minute trailer, which is frustrating.

Hancock hits theaters July 2, so to check out the trailer and tell me what you think, read more.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

First Look: Hancock

BuzzSugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:30:00 -0800

Hancock, Peter Berg's directorial follow-up project to The Kingdom, stars Will Smith as a ragged modern-day superhero who has fallen out of the public's favor. When he hires a PR guy (Jason Bateman) to help clean up his public image, Hancock winds up falling for the man's wife (Charlize Theron).

This new teaser trailer for the movie - which opens July 2 - is a little bizarre, as drunk modern-day superheroes are wont to be, and not entirely interesting, but there are some funny bits. You can take a look and share your thoughts if you read more.

Flynet

The Blind Side: An Unexpected Delight

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:30:42 -0800

It's not that the trailer for The Blind Side isn't compelling; the problem is that it combines Sandra Bullock's twangiest, most-over-the top lines with a heartrending song, which makes it seem schlocky. That's exactly what I expected from the movie, but I have to admit that I was wrong - to my surprise, I found it to be a sentimental gem that's actually quite restrained.

The Blind Side is the true story (based on Michael Lewis's book) of NFL player Michael Oher, who grew up in Memphis's projects with his drug-addicted mother and landed in and out of foster homes. He ended up in a fancy private school and in the home of a wealthy family, the Touhys, led by tough-talking Leigh Anne (Bullock). The weaving of Michael's newfound life in the movie is effective, with sweet bits of humor and just enough emotion.

To see what I liked about the film, just read more.

The movie is full of many surprises: first, it looks like it's going to be mainly about football, but it's not all sports. There is proper attention given to Michael's life before he's taken in and the development of the relationships between the Touhy family members and Michael.

Another nice thing is how smoothly Bullock slides into her role. It's not just her wardrobe and hair that transforms her into the high-maintenance Southern matriarch; her manner as the tough mom who's not completely comfortable showing emotion is very natural - not what I'd expect from the laid-back actress.

Quinton Aaron is also impressive as a sad-eyed orphan turned well-adjusted student and son over the course of the movie. It's not an incredibly complex performance, but his teddy bear presence is irresistible. The supporting players are equally as enjoyable: Tim McGraw, whom I didn't expect much from, is charming, while the Touhy children win you over with their affection for their new brother. The late addition of Kathy Bates (whose role is basically an extended cameo) is hardly needed to bolster the movie, but she adds a nice touch as well.

At two hours and six minutes, the movie is a little too long; director John Lee Hancock seemed intent on fitting in nearly every detail of Michael's journey. Then again, at the end you're rewarded with the payoff: footage and photos of the real-life Touhys and Michael. It's an emotionally satisfying ending to a movie that makes no apologies for being so uplifting.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.