BuzzSugar

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:30:29 -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 you can also rent the complete fifth season of Reno 911 as well as the Raven-Symoné comedy (and that's being generous) College Road Trip.

The Bank Job
I wouldn't be surprised if you missed The Bank Job while it was in theaters because it may have been written off as yet another bank heist flick. Now that it's out on DVD I think it deserves your rental/Netflix queue consideration.

Like I said before, it's an entertaining movie that is supposedly based on a true story. It centers around a group of crooks led by Terry Leather (Jason Statham ), who catches wind of a vulnerable vault of safe-deposit boxes. Little does Terry know, however, that the heist will end up having much farther-reaching implications involving several parties with a keen interest in this particular vault. It's not rocket science, sure, but it is a whole lot of fun and smartly directed. I highly recommend you check it out for yourself.

Special features include commentary with director Roger Donaldson, actress Saffron Burrows and composer J. Peter Robinson, and an "Inside The Bank Job" featurette.

Two more fun picks, so read more.

Meet Bill
Even though I didn't hear much buzz surrounding Meet Bill originally, I still hoped to see it. But time flies when you're watching everything else, and here it is, already out on DVD. It's possible that we didn't hear much about it for good reason, though I still want to give it a shot because I really like Aaron Eckhart, not to mention Elizabeth Banks.

Netflix sums up the plot as such: "Beleaguered bank employee Bill (Aaron Eckhart) has his hands full with his wife's (Elizabeth Banks) infidelity with a local television reporter (Timothy Olyphant), his oblivious father-in-law (Holmes Osborne) who runs the bank, and his own frustrated attempts to change careers in this screwball comedy. But when he's persuaded to mentor a teenager known as the Kid (Logan Lerman), things just might turn around for Bill."

Penelope
Me? I wasn't in love with Penelope but that isn't to say it doesn't have its charms and depending on the mood your in, could be just the anecdote to all these summertime superhero blockbusters.

The move stars James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon, and Christina Ricci and tells the fanciful story of a girl cursed with a pig nose. In order to break the curse she must find "one of her own" (i.e. a "blue blood") to love her just as she is and marry her. What follows is a fanciful story that is visually lovely and sometimes touching.

Special features include "The Making of Modern-Day tale" as well as a Twilight sneak peek.

Box Office: Semi-Pro Semi-Beats Out Competition

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:30:00 -0800

Despite earning the top spot at the box office, the predictable laughs in Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro only earned $15.3 million over the weekend. This is considered a disappointing sum, especially compared to opening weekends of other Ferrell films like Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory. Variety reports that this underwhelming performance by the basketball comedy may have been due to mediocre reviews and an R-rating.

Vantage Point was only bumped down one spot to No. 2 over the weekend followed by The Spiderwick Chronicles at No. 3. The adaptation of Buzz Book Club's February selection The Other Boleyn Girl took the fourth spot earning an estimated $8.3 million. Penelope starring Reese Witherspoon and Christina Ricci also opened this weekend coming in at No. 8 behind Jumper, Step Up 2 The Streets, and Fool's Gold.

Filling out the top ten were Oscar-nominated films No Country for Old Men and Juno.

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema

Penelope: Fanciful But Not Fantastic

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:45:03 -0800

There are some intriguing issues buried within the story of Penelope: what it means for a woman to love and accept herself the way she is, the way beauty ideals are - sometimes cruelly - passed down from mother to daughter, society's eagerness to vilify those who are different and then, just as quickly, to embrace them as "cute" upon discovering that they're harmless. These things are touched on, but mostly with a glazing brush, leaving the pretty film with adorable people lacking anything resembling "oomph."

The story follows Penelope Wilhern who, due to a curse put on her wealthy socialite family long ago, was born with a pig nose. In order to break the curse, she must find "one of her own" (i.e. a "blue blood") to love her just as she is and marry her. Only then will the spell break and her nose take on a normal shape. Desperate to break the curse and have a normal daughter, Penelope's mother (Catherine O'Hara) devotes her life to finding Penelope a husband, but the men who meet Penelope keep jumping out the window at the sight of her. Meanwhile, a one-eyed journalist determined to get a photo of "the pig-faced girl" and a selfish blue-blooded young man pay a down-on-his-luck musician (James McAvoy) to try and woo Penelope. For more about the movie than just this plot - some spoilers ahead - read more.

Visually, the fanciful made-up world providing the backdrop for this modern fairy tale is endearing and at times quite lovely. The performances are mostly great - I especially enjoy Reese Witherspoon in her funny, tough girl role as Penelope's friend, a wonderful departure from Witherspoon's bright and sometimes two-dimensional rom-com stuff. James McAvoy is lovable as always, and Catherine O'Hara as Penelope's hysterical mother sometimes steals the show.

My favorite performance comes from Peter Dinklage who plays the desperate journalist. Not only is he a master of deadpan humor, but he's perhaps the only person in the film who goes on any kind of identifiable emotional arc. We're supposed to be on Penelope's journey, but Ricci has a hard time fluctuating the tone of her performance beyond a steady whine. Thus, the few good performances can't make up for Ricci's low-octane delivery and a disappointing cop-out ending.

This tired, predictable ending features Penelope learning to accept herself and being rewarded with what she's always wanted. The message within this is frustrating. Penelope's final, hard-won self-acceptance, once found, is rendered useless and thrown out the window because that's when she becomes "normal." Phew! Now she no longer needs to like being different. Normal is still best. How refreshing.

Bottom line: It's a modern fairy tale that still supports age-old beauty ideals and doesn't really try anything new or interesting.

Source

Movie Preview: Penelope

BuzzSugar — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:30:00 -0800

Despite the star power of Reese Witherspoon (and James McAvoy for that matter), it seems like Penelope has been extremely reluctant to come out in theaters, though it has made the festival rounds since the fall of 2006. Even the newest trailer recently came online with as little fanfare as possible. Why, you ask? Perhaps because Penelope is an extremely strange-looking little film.

Christina Ricci stars as Penelope, a girl who was born with a pig snout for a nose. After years of being hidden away in her home by her mother (Catherine O'Hara), she is suddenly expected to find a husband, but all the men she meets run screaming from her. All the men except for Max (McAvoy). After she meets Max, she decides to strike out on her own and experience the world as she has never done before. With all the vibrant colors and the whimsical visual tone, the movie has the look and feel of a sort of dark fairy tale.

If nothing else, the trailer features Reese in the role of a badass and James McAvoy with a funny American accent, so to check it out before Penelope opens February 1, read more.

Source

Movie Preview: Broken Embraces

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:30:00 -0700

Broken Embraces looks like classic Pedro Almodovar: a sweeping story with a heavy dose of film noir, beautiful to look at, and a dazzling Penelope Cruz. There's a reason the director and his muse always work together - he brings out her strongest performances; she serves as a captivating leading lady. (She even got an Academy Award nomination for his film Volver.)

If the trailer for Broken Embraces is any indication, Cruz may just have critics whispering Oscar again. The film follows an aspiring actress (Cruz) stuck in a marriage to an overbearing guy with deep pockets. But in secret, she's in love with her director. Yes, it's in Spanish with subtitles, but the movie looks packed with passion and mystery, which should make for some very good popcorn-eating. Check out the trailer and tell me if you agree when you read more.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Link Time!

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:30:02 -0700

Will Ferrell will star in indie comedy Everything Must Go - Zap2it
Ugly Betty is back tonight! - TV.com
Ian Somerhalder will star in romantic gothic fairy tale Cradlewood - The Wrap
The Big Chill: where are they now? - Moviefone
Last night's 30 Rock is even more meta thanks to low ratings - Vulture
Hilarious: old folks review MGMT's video for "Kids" - Stereogum
Penelope Cruz is going to make a cameo in the Sex and the City sequel - Cinematical
The Top 20 Celebrity Twilight fans - PopSugar
Telling the difference between Where the Wild Things Are and Wild Things - MTV Movies Blog

What to TiVo: Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:50:52 -0800

ABC is new with V, Dancing With the Stars, and The Forgotten
CBS is new with NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and The Good Wife
FOX is new with So You Think You Can Dance
NBC is new with Merry Madagascar and The Biggest Loser
The CW is new with 90210 and Melrose Place
AMC is new with The Prisoner
Bravo is new with Tabatha's Salon Takeover
Comedy Central is new with Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
E! is new with Fashion Police: New Moon
FX is new with Sons of Anarchy
MTV is new with The Hills, The City, and Styl'd
Late-night highlights include Andy Garcia on Lopez Tonight on TBS; Tyra Banks on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Penelope Cruz on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; 50 Cent and Jane Lynch on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Woody Harrelson on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS; Neko Case on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC; and John Stamos on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC

What to TiVo: Thursday

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:50:33 -0800

ABC is new with Flash Forward, Grey's Anatomy, and Private Practice
CBS is new with Survivor, CSI, and The Mentalist
FOX is new with Bones and Fringe
NBC is new with Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, and 30 Rock
The CW is new with Vampire Diaries and Supernatural
Bravo is new with Real Housewives of Orange County
Comedy Central is new with Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
FX is new with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League
Lifetime is new with Project Runway
MTV is new with World's Strictest Parents and Gone Too Far
Late-night highlights include Larry David on Lopez Tonight on TBS; Penelope Cruz and Dolly Parton on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Amanda Peet on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Al Gore, Jim Parsons, and Jason Mraz on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Danny DeVito and Switchfoot on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Kate Walsh on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC; and Danny Glover on Last Call With Carson Daly on NBC

Fergie's "Be Italian" From Nine - Nailed It or Not Impressed?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:30:24 -0800

Rob Marshall's long anticipated movie musical Nine won't hit theaters until December, and I'm practically counting the minutes until I can see all the talented ladies (Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, the list goes on) singing and dancing with Daniel-Day Lewis. The songs are showstoppers for sure, and now you can have a taste of the upcoming soundtrack. Give a listen to Fergie singing "Be Italian," one of the show's biggest numbers, and tell me what you think - nailed it or not impressed?