BuzzSugar

Buzz In: What Are Your Favorite Made-for-TV Movies?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 11:00:10 PDT

Made-for-TV-movies get a pretty bad rap, don't they? For many of us, that term makes us think of something completely melodramatic that has to do with modern damsels in distress. Many of them are like the TV version of those hilarious romance novels you see at the grocery store. But there are actually some great movies that fall into this category that I know lots of people love - even if they won't readily admit it.

For example, I was impressed with Lifetime's TV movie, Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, which starred Sarah Chalke and was based on Geralyn Lucas's true story of her battle with breast cancer. The movie is pretty solid entertainment, and inspiring to boot. I also really liked Iron Jawed Angels, about suffragettes in America, as well as Angels in America (that cast!).

Of course, let's not forget that the High School Musical phenomenon started, for better of for worse, on the old tube as well.

What are your favorite made-for-TV-movies?

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Do You Watch Made-For-TV Christmas Movies?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 05:31:16 PST

Original TV movies like TNT's A Perfect Day, ABC Family's Santa Baby, or The Year Without a Santa Claus on NBC are often too sappy and hokey to swallow. Still, since the best TV shows are on hiatus and I've seen It's A Wonderful Life 346 times, I sometimes find myself succumbing. Do you ever watch these cheesy TV movies?

Buzz Time Machine: Adam Brody Stars in Growing Up Brady

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:30:00 PDT

With all the buzz about his new film Damsels in Distress, we were thinking about how much we loved Adam Brody back in the day. OK, still do. We did some digging to see if we could find anything from his pre-Seth Cohen days, and guess what? We struck gold. Turns out Adam got his start playing Barry Williams in the made-for-TV movie Growing Up Brady, though it will heretofore be known as Growing Up Brody. In this scene, he's finding young love with his costar/onscreen sister (it's The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco!), to the tune of "Crimson and Clover." You're welcome.

Buzz Time Machine: Adorable 11-Year-Old Josh Hutcherson Talks Movies

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 05:30:00 PDT

Josh Hutcherson has been getting a lot of press recently for his role as the bread baker's son Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games, but he's actually been acting in major motion pictures for over a decade. We uncovered this little gem of pint-sized Hutcherson promoting the made-for-TV movie Miracle Dogs (not to be confused with 2002's Snow Dogs or 2011's Big Miracle) in 2002. Let's just say he was just as aww-dorable then as he is now.

What to Rent: New DVDs This Week

Shannon Vestal — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 08:00:00 PST

Contagion

Matt Damon stars in this drama as a man whose wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) is the first victim of a deadly virus. As he grieves and tries to keep himself and his daughter safe, the world goes through crisis, and several other characters try to solve the mystery of how and where the disease broke out. Stephen Soderbergh directed this thriller, which boasts an ensemble of A-listers that includes Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Marion Cotillard. The subject matter may make you feel like a germaphobe, but the movie is a tense and entertaining ride. The DVD extras include several featurettes.

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Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

A woman (Katie Holmes) moves into a decrepit mansion with her boyfriend (Guy Pearce) and his daughter, but their home life is less than idyllic when the little girl starts complaining about being tormented by creatures in the house. Guillermo del Toro produced and co-wrote the horror film (a remake of a '70s made-for-TV movie), but his touch doesn't save the film from feeling a bit formulaic. A three-part making-of documentary is included as a DVD extra.

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To see one more new release, just keep reading.

The New Lorax Movie Is a Love Story

Tara Block — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:27:00 PDT

For fans of Dr. Seuss's classic and dark children's book and 1972 made-for-TV movie The Lorax, you know the plot is a cautionary tale of protecting the environment and warning against greed. It's an important story both youngsters and adults can enjoy. But from the looks of the just-dropped The Lorax trailer (out next year), the new animated film adaptation is now about a boy impressing a girl. It's the girl (voiced by Taylor Swift) who wants to see a real tree now that they're no longer growing in the town, so the male protagonist goes to find one for her. If it was the girl who wanted to find the trees, why couldn't she have been the one to go on an adventure? And why is a story about the environment not good enough without a love story? Watch the trailer above for yourself, and tell me, do you think this new The Lorax will do the book justice?

Kate Winslet Continues Her Streak of Little Hot Black Dresses

Molly Goodson — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 07:16:26 PST

Kate Winslet's classic black dress matched her backdrop at an event at Hotel Crillon in Paris last night. She's in France during the city's Fashion Week, and the actress is also kicking off her promotional duties for Mildred Pierce. The dramatic HBO miniseries is among BuzzSugar's Must Haves for March and premieres later in the month, on the 27th. The role seemed like an Emmy lock for Oscar-winner Kate, but the new rules which merge miniseries and made-for-TV movies will apparently stiffen the competition . Kate is also the latest Glamour magazine cover girl, and in the issue she opens up about her weight, views on plastic surgery, and how she tries to keep her kids from getting special treatment.

10 Student-Teacher Relationships That Cross the Line

TresSugar — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:52:30 PDT

At what point does it become acceptable for a student to date a teacher? It's obviously a no-no if the student is 13, but last year even Yale banned student-teacher sex, and coeds called the policy unrealistic. For years, the topic has fascinated filmmakers far beyond the made-for-TV movie about Mary Kay Letourneau. Here are 10 student-teacher liaisons that cross the line from cute to questionable or just plain creepy.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: Light on Scares

Rose Curiel — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:05:00 PDT

In Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, a young girl named Sally (Bailee Madison) moves cross-country to Blackwood Manor, a Gothic estate her architect father (Guy Pearce), and his interior decorator girlfriend (Katie Holmes) are renovating. Soon after arriving, Sally begins to hear eerie voices coming from tiny creatures in the mansion's basement, and what follows is a pretty formulaic approach to a horror film - there's a house with a dark history, an all-too-knowledgeable groundskeeper, and a child whose fears are written off by the adults around her. The story feels all too familiar, and you can pretty much guess what's going to happen every step of the way.

The film is a remake of a 1970s made-for-TV movie that producer and cowriter Guillermo del Toro cites as the scariest movie he ever saw as a child. It's hard not to expect a unique take on a haunted horror film, given the fact that del Toro created such a vivid imaginary world in Pan's Labyrinth. Instead we get a lot of clichés, and one of the only deviations from standard horror movie fare - an intricate mythology surrounding the creatures - emerges as more confusing than scary. To find out more about why del Toro's monster's failed to make my skin crawl, just

The tiny beasts who torment Sally are most terrifying during the first half of the film, when we only catch brief glimpses of their claws and beady eyes, experiencing them through their raspy whispers. Their ability to inspire fear, however, diminishes when they make their first appearance onscreen and we see that instead of the terrifying boogeymen we've been envisioning are scruffy rat-like creatures that have been brought to life with CGI effects.

More convincing than the little critters is Madison, who taps into Sally's loneliness and fear with such ease, it's hard to believe she was only nine when the film was shot. We feel Sally's pain and isolation as she cries over her parents' divorce, weeps during a phone call to her mother, and wanders the estate's grounds by herself. Madison steals the spotlight from Pearce, who is largely forgettable in his role as a father who cares more about his career than his daughter. Holmes's character Kim, on the other hand, has a little more emotional depth, as we see her struggle to connect with the distant girl who has recently entered her life, and then goes on to become Sally's ally in dealing with the haunting.

If you're a fan of classic horror films that make you scream at characters as they make one bad choice after another, then you will probably enjoy Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. Those who are expecting a more terrifying tale that will stick with them for days might be disappointed, as this definitely isn't the type of film that's going to make you want to sleep with the lights on once you get home.

Photo courtesy of Miramax

Words of Wisdom From Judy Jetson

Tara Block — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 04:00:44 PDT

Typically on the sidelines as Jane and George's teenage daughter on The Jetsons, Judy Jetson gets to shine in the 1988 made-for-TV musical Rockin' With Judy Jetson, which was released on DVD this week. In the movie Judy is trying to get ultrahunky rock star Sky Rocker to play one of the songs she's written, but it turns into a galactic battle against an antimusic witch who's kidnapped the musician.

The futuristic drama queen has always had a special place in my heart, whether she's obsessing over shopping, fighting with her brother Elroy, or chasing after boys (especially rock stars). Here are some of the words of wisdom we've gleaned from the pony-tailed cartoon fashionista.