BuzzSugar

Buzz In: Did You Make Entertainment-Related Resolutions?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:30:22 -0800

With the start of 2009 comes the chance to make another batch of New Year's resolutions (here's hoping you haven't already broken yours!). Every year, I find that a few of my resolutions are entertainment related, and this year is no exception. In 2009, I resolve to see all the Oscar-nominated movies before the Oscars, keep a list of all the books I read, and delete programs from my DVR if I haven't watched them within a month. What about you?

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Parks and Recreation Cast Share Their New Year's Resolutions

BuzzSugar — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:30:27 -0800

Been missing the Parks and Recreation crew? Me too. Good thing some of the funniest players (the ones who made the show one of the best sitcoms of the year) have popped up over the Winter hiatus to share their New Year's resolutions and messages for 2010. First, check out Aziz Ansari's (aka Tom Haverford) very important advice:

To hear the resolutions of Chris Pratt and Aubrey Plaza, just read more.

Chris Pratt's weight-loss tricks:

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Aubrey Plaza's self-motivation:

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Videos courtesy of NBC

The Yellow Handkerchief: A Subtle Charmer

BuzzSugar — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:30:21 -0800

One advantage of the Twilight cast's overwhelming fame? That their smaller projects get the release and attention they normally wouldn't. This is the case for The Yellow Handkerchief, an independent drama starring Kristen Stewart, William Hurt, Maria Bello, and Eddie Redmayne.

Stewart has a big part as Martine, an insecure teen who impulsively takes off on the road with a stranger named Gordy (Eddie Redmayne), but the movie belongs to Hurt. He plays Brett, a recently released ex-con tortured by his past. Brett hitches a ride with Martine and Gordy toward Louisiana, and through a series of misadventures, the three of them become unlikely friends, unfurling Brett's history in the process. It's Hurt's acting and his character's story that make The Yellow Handkerchief a compelling character study while saving it from being a meandering mess. To hear why, just read more.

Stewart is at home as a beautiful outcast but she's out-acted at every turn by her costars. It's not that she's not working hard; it's just tough to dominate Hurt, who's such a quietly phenomenal actor. Redmayne is also impressive as Gordy, who's so socially awkward that he initially turns off his traveling companions. He manages to remain sympathetic to the audience, as does Brett, even when we don't know why he was imprisoned. Both men pull off characters who seem dangerous at first but slowly win you, and their onscreen conquests, over.

The film's other powerhouse is Bello, as Brett's ex May. Her relationship with Brett emerges first in Brett's flashbacks, until Martine and Gordy become interested enough in Brett to have him recount the rest of the narrative. Incidentally, that becomes a frustrating storytelling device, since the Brett/May plot is the best part of the movie. You realize you wanted to be watching their affair all along, and the time spent with Martine and Gordy feels wasted. Though those two eventually form a sweet bond, the movie tries to force a parallel between the younger couple's relationship and Brett and May's, which doesn't work. The older couple's story is so much more powerful and real.

Like I said, it's ultimately Hurt who keeps the movie from being just an eventful road trip. By the time the movie wraps itself up, you're so satisfied with the resolution that you forgive any missteps.

What Movies Have Jumped to the Top of Your Must-See List?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:30:00 -0800

Now that the Oscar nominees are all out on the table, it's time for all of us to spend the next five weeks cramming in as many recognized films as we possibly can. Yesterday Twitter was abuzz with New's Years resolution-style promises to see certain films; around Sugar HQ I heard The Blind Side, District 9 and A Serious Man mentioned more than a few times.

It's even tougher this year with 10 films in the best picture category, but it can still be done. So here's my question - which movies have jumped to the top of your must-see list (or Netflix queue, as the case may be)?

Are You Over All the Late Night Host Drama?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:30:12 -0800

For the past two weeks, we've been waiting for news of Conan O'Brien's exit deal with NBC, but it hasn't happened yet. I'm frustrated - I'm ready for this whole late night skirmish to be resolved. Though I was full of attention in the beginning, making sure to stay up later to watch what Conan, Jay, and even the Jimmys had to say, now I'm losing steam.

The latest rumors are that Will Ferrell's guest booking on Friday means it's definitely Conan's final show (since Tonight Show hosts traditionally have their first guest as their last), and that Conan and NBC are battling over his staff's severance packages. But I'm tired of hearing about rumors; now I just want facts and a resolution. What about you? Whatever team you're on, are you still interested in what's going on, or sick of hearing about it?

Photo courtesy of NBC

Buzz Interview: Five Minutes of Fun With Joel McHale

BuzzSugar — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:30:00 -0800

I had the pleasure of chatting with Mr. Joel McHale earlier this week at the NBC party during the Winter TCA. As expected, the funny man had plenty of quips to share about The Soup and Community, plus a few additional pearls of wisdom (?). Stay tuned for my interview with his costar Alison Brie later this week (which includes a lot more fun about Community), but for now I couldn't resist sharing a few of McHale's wacky and weird one-liners:

On The Soup's audience: "Young people watch it on Saturdays, old people watch it on Fridays."
On Community: "It is the time of my life. I look forward to going to work every day."
Does he actually watch all the shows featured on The Soup: "How in the hell could I watch that much television?"
Will Community get more guest stars besides Jack Black? "Yeah, sure, Ryan [Seacrest]'s coming on, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Obama's gonna come on, it's gonna be great. Bilbo Baggins - the real living one is coming on - the cast of New Moon . . . I know you ladies love the gawky vampires."
How much longer will he pull double duty? "I don't know. I have another year left in my contract. I don't know what the future holds as far as that's concerned. I love doing it, they're all my friends and I love them. I'm having a great time doing it and that's my plan at this point, is to keep doing that. So we'll see.
New Year's resolution? "To quit smoking. I don't smoke, but my resolution is to remain smokeless. My skin is like teriyaki beef jerky."

PCA Press Room: Mariah Talks Precious and That Other Acceptance Speech

BuzzSugar — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:37:21 -0800

After scoring the trophy for Favorite R & B Artist, Mariah Carey made her way back to the press room. I couldn't help but notice that she had an entourage helping her down the stairs (including husband Nick Cannon), but Mariah assured us, "I'm really nice, but people think I'm a diva because i walk around with 800 people." She also confessed to having a secret new year's resolution and joked that Lee Daniels is to blame for her buzzed-about speech at the Palm Springs Film Festival earlier this week. Here are more highlights:

On what's next:I loved, loved doing Precious. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life so I'm hoping to continue doing films.
On who would play her in a biopic: Me. That would be something I wouldn't let go because unless they tell the real story, it would be boring.
On whether or not she was tipsy at the Film Festival: Everybody in the club gettin' tipsy.
On how her speech was received: If people don't understand me and think I'm just some girl who stands by a microphone who sings "Hero", then they wont get me. But I have a sense of humor and that's what gets me through life.

Everybody's Fine: No They're Not

BuzzSugar — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:30:53 -0800

How cute is Robert De Niro in the trailer for Everybody's Fine? It's a rare treat to see the actor actor cuddling babies and lugging his suitcase around the country to visit his lovely but overly busy children. If only the movie were like that. It's the holidays, and I was kind of expecting to get a heartwarming family drama that reinforces how important relationships are, despite distance. That's not the case.

Everybody's Fine is a family drama, but with a series of depressing moments one after the other. De Niro plays patriarch and recent widower Frank Goode, the proud papa to kids played by Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, and Sam Rockwell. The grown children are now scattered across the country, successful in their careers but too swamped to make the trip home. On a lonely whim, Frank packs his bag and embarks on a journey to come to each of them.

The sweetness ends there, though. To see why I was disappointed by the movie, just read more.

It's not that the movie is supposed to be a dark lesson in learning how important you aren't to your kids; the children are meant to be loving, but they're busy covering up a dilemma with the fourth brother David, in trouble offscreen. This device is supposed to make us understand the siblings' reasoning for pushing their dad away. It doesn't.

When you're already feeling terrible for Frank for being so brusquely rejected after he's traveled so far (and against doctor's orders), things get even worse. A good deed he attempts goes unrealistically awry, two of his kids make him feel guilty for pushing them to work hard in their youth, and of course, a health scare threatens him. It doesn't stop there, either. When he's hit rock bottom and your sympathies are spent, Frank endures an intensely disturbing dream sequence.

The movie's series of unfortunate events is meant to be absolved when the family is finally reunited. But as a viewer, I felt so beaten down by the time it happens that the resolution isn't uplifting or redeeming at all. I wanted more from this, but the movie is an unnecessarily depressing experience that just leaves you bummed out.

Photos courtesy of Miramax

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.