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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:19:23 -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.

Gilmore Girls - Season Seven
Oh, Gilmore Girls, how we miss you! Say what you will about the final season of this fun, heartwarming, silly CW show, I will always look back on the series fondly, even if the final episode was a little rushed and abrupt. This six-disc set includes all 22 episodes of the seventh season, from "The Long Morrow" to "I'm a Kayak, Hear Me Roar," through to "Bon Voyage" (tear!). As is often the case with GG DVD sets, there are no commentary tracks and slim pickins in the special features department. In fact, there's just one: a behind-the-scenes featurette. So, if you need to round out your GG DVD collection, today's the day. Sigh.

Three more new releases, so read more

Paris, Je T'Aime
Paris, Je T'Aime is a collection of 20 different five-minute films all focusing on Paris. The various writers, directors, and actors involved provide an eclectic grouping of voices and techniques. Some of the directors include Gérard Depardieu, Gus Van Sant, and Wes Craven, while Maggie Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Steve Buscemi, Juliette Binoche, and Willem Dafoe are among the many actors lending their talents. It's like a collection of short stories about Paris vividly brought to life.

Ocean's Thirteen
Neither groundbreaking nor the worst movie ever, this third installment of the Ocean's series finds the regular assortment of handsome men (Clooney, Damon, Pitt, Cheadle, etc. etc.) planning yet another casino heist - this time aided by the dashing Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). Also, this time the crew is banding together to take down a seedy high roller, appropriately played by Al Pacino. Special features include a set tour, deleted scenes, and a Vegas documentary.

Shrek the Third
Another third chapter in a series that didn't necessarily require more movies, Shrek the Third couldn't possibly live up to the adorable success of the first movie, but it's cute and watchable nonetheless. If nothing else, I could watch that little Puss in Boots for hours and still be hopelessly enchanted by him and his big eyes. This time around, Shrek and Fiona are happily married and looking toward parenthood when Fiona's father, King Harold, falls ill, and Shrek has to find Artie (voiced by Justin Timberlake) and drag him back to the kingdom as heir to the throne. Meanwhile, Fiona, Queen Lillian, and a few of the other ladies of the kingdom (a sleepy Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, etc.) kick some Prince Charming butt, proving that not all princesses need rescuing.

If you don't have the other Shreks and want them all at once, the trilogy is now on sale as well.

What's Your Favorite Summer Movie So Far?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 04:30:00 -0700

This week Ocean's Thirteen comes out so we'll have even more options when it comes to summer movies. But so far, between the super-spiders, pirates, ogres and surprise pregnancies, which is your favorite summer movie so far?

If you haven't seen these movies, which are you most excited to see?

Box Office: Pirates Still Over Getting Knocked Up

BuzzSugar — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 00:03:43 -0700

Though suffering a huge dip in sales (earning $43 million this weekend, down from $139 million the previous weekend), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End easily took the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend, though Judd Apatow's latest baby Knocked Up came in second place with a respectable $29 million. The budget for Knocked Up, by the way, was approximately $30 million, so I'd say they're off to a great start.

Shrek the Third held steady at No. 3, bringing in nearly as much as Knocked Up did. Curiously, Spider-Man 3 took the 5th place spot after the Kevin Costner thriller Mr. Brooks, so it looks like ol' Spidey is losing some steam. This Friday we'll see whether thirteen Vegas rollers can swindle Captain Jack Sparrow out of his box office place of honor.

Shrek Breaks His Own Box Office Records

BuzzSugar — Sun, 20 May 2007 23:30:35 -0700

While it's no "biggest opening weekend in box office history" like Spider-Man 3's was, Shrek did well for himself when Shrek the Third opened this weekend and raked in a whopping $122 million. This is the third-biggest opening in movie history, and the biggest opening for an animated film. It looks like kids still rule when it comes to box office hits, regardless of the so-so reviews the movie has received.

Spidey did well for himself as well, bringing in a cool $28.5 million, while horror flick 28 Weeks Later came in third place with just over $5 million. Disturbia continued to hold its own at 4th place while Georgia Rule followed behind, drawing in $3.49 million.

Shrek shouldn't get too comfy, however, since Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End opens this Memorial Day weekend, and it's likely to swab the deck with the giant green ogre. It's also likely to feature many more pirate-y puns like "swab the deck." Arrrrrre you ready for it?

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Shrek the Third: Pretty Good... For a Sequel

BuzzSugar — Fri, 18 May 2007 11:42:51 -0700

I'd actually expected really good things from Shrek the Third, but it turns out this is a case of the funniest bits being in the trailer. Sure, the movie succeeds in the way all Shrek movies do: there's plenty of kid humor (physical gags, farts, etc.) and adult humor (cultural references, puns galore, songs we recognize) all played out with colorful animated fairy tale characters. In this sense, Shrek the Third is perfectly satisfying as a family movie everyone can enjoy. But is it as good as the first Shrek movie was? Nah.

At the movie's start, Shrek and Fiona are filling in for the ailing king of Far, Far Away with the help of Puss in Boots, Donkey and Donkey's brood of half-donkeys/half-dragons. Shrek and Fiona find the job of running a kingdom not to their liking, so when the king reveals that there is another heir to the throne, Arthur (or Artie as the bullies at his high school know him), Shrek sets off to make Artie the new king. In the meantime, Prince Charming is still determined to be king and rallies all the fairy tale villains to help him storm the kingdom. This doesn't sit well with the princesses, however, who take matters into their own hands rather than waiting for their men to rescue them. That's not all there is to this movie, though, so read more

As usual, the characters are lovably hilarious in the ways we've come to expect, with my personal favorites being Puss in Boots and the Gingerbread Man (who gets some more screen time in this one, to my delight). Yet as for the story lines, everything feels slightly forced. The element of discovery is gone, as is any interesting story development, since Shrek and his previously unlikely friendships with Donkey and Puss have been fully established, and ways to up the ante now are becoming limited.

The writers did well to push the stories forward by having the happily married Fiona and Shrek on the fast track to starting a family. In addition, there are new takes on old things, like the princesses breaking free from convention which, small thing though it may seem to be, I truly appreciate. I grew up on the old kinds of fairy tales complete with ladies waiting to be rescued, and it's nice to see new material with a message of strength and independence rather than helplessness. Also, there's a new spin on the concept of fairy tale villains, which is refreshing, even if the villains' storyline ends abruptly and without real reason. So, while most of the movie feels like a stretch they don't need to be making, it's a cute movie featuring some endearing characters, which is really all kids ask for. And for all its adultish cleverness, the Shrek movies are still kids' movies.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Fergie Covers "Barracuda" for Shrek the Third

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 May 2007 04:45:01 -0700

Upon taking a listen to Fergie's cover of Heart's "Barracuda" for Shrek the Third (which opens this Friday, May 18, by the way), I'm a little perplexed. Fergie definitely rocks out, but the song sounds completely the same as the original "Barracuda," so I wonder why they didn't just use that one? You can hear both versions of the song to compare for yourself, so read more

Here's Fergie's version for Shrek the Third:

Here's the original, by Heart:

Side note: Might I point out the startling physical similarities, too, between Fergie and Shrek? Okay, I'm done.

Source

Soapbox: Enough With the Sequels Already!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 May 2007 09:03:25 -0700

Giddy from their record-breaking first weekend, the producers and studio execs behind Spider-Man 3 are falling over themselves with news and ideas for the next Spidey installments. Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chair Amy Pascal is claiming that "There'll be a fourth and a fifth and sixth and a seventh," and that "As many stories as Peter Parker has to tell, we'll do sequels." There are already rumors flying around about the villains that will be included in Spidey's fourth chapter: According to Cinematical, Spider-Man will have to face off with a man-sized lizard (called Lizard) along with Carnage the serial killer.

Sure, this sounds intriguing, but I'm still exhausted from this year's Spider-Man movie and the relentless onslaught of promotion that led up to its release. After this year they'll probably have to up the ante even more in that regard, which is virtually unfathomable. Also riding the sequel train is the Shrek series, the fourth of which may have just found a director. So, there's already buzz around a fourth movie when the third hasn't even hit theaters yet. Take a breather, guys!
For more of my sequels rant, read more

It gets tiring watching the same old characters year after year, regardless of what they're doing or how they're doing it. It even gets tiring for the people who play the same old characters, as Keria Knightley recently admitted. After the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie, she's just tired of doing it. Heck, I'm tired of her doing it! Enough is enough.

Sticking to something that has proven successful in the past makes sense sometimes, but there has to be a saturation point someday... right? What happened to original scripts? I want fresh faces and new characters!

Shrek the Third: New Trailer and Photos

BuzzSugar — Thu, 03 May 2007 23:38:42 -0700

While I know everyone is all excited about Spider-Man 3 right now, I'm loving the new trailer for one of my most anticipated summer movies: Shrek the Third. I'm not usually one for sequels (and even less for multiple sequels), but this trailer for the third Shrek installment actually makes it look - dare I say? - as good or better than its predecessors.

There are more clever jokes that will probably fly over kids' heads, puns galore, and that same big-sad-eye face that Puss in Boots makes which just kills me every time. Added to the mix are girl-power princesses, Donkey's pegasus-type offspring and some awesomely hilarious actors lending their voices (included: John Krasinski, Amy Poehler, Amy Sedaris and Justin Timberlake, to name just a few).

Catch Shrek in theaters May 18. To see the trailer and a gallery of photos, read more

View 13 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

What to TiVo: Friday

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:50:59 -0800

ABC has Shrek the Third, and is new with 20/20
CBS is new with Ghost Whisperer, Medium, and NUMB3RS
FOX has repeats of House and Bones
NBC is new with Law & Order and Dateline NBC
The CW is new with Smallville and has a repeat of America's Next Top Model
MTV has repeats of Southpark and Nitro Circus, and has Grindhouse Presents: Death Proof
TLC is new with Say Yes to the Dress and Happily Ever Faster
E! is new with The Soup
USA is new with Monk and White Collar
VH1 has repeats of For the Love of Ray Jay 2 and I Want to Work for Diddy 2
Late-night highlights include Kellan Lutz on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Viggo Mortensen on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Eva Mendes and Bon Jovi on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and Death Cab for Cutie on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Neil Patrick Harris and David Gray on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC