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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:30:00 -0800

There's a silver lining to TV shows going into reruns, and it's more time to watch movies! Happily, today there are a few highly-anticipated flicks, and I've gone through them to tell you What to Netflix. In addition to the three movies mentioned below, you can also catch Robert Pattinson's pre-Twilight dramedy How to Be.

Star Trek

This year's updated version of Star Trek turned the franchise on its head. With hot young things Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto in the beloved roles of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, the film completely changed the series' history so they could start over with a fresh new story.

It worked like gangbusters: the space-set action movie is clever, entertaining, and tons of fun. It manages to make a sex symbol out of a pointy-eared geek, whom I personally drooled over. The movie manages to pay respect to the original, so those fans are still happy, while pleasing folks who weren't fans of the first (like myself).

The DVD's got lots of extras, including deleted scenes, a special feature on casting and a gag reel.
95%

See two more movies releasing today when you read more.

Bruno

Sacha Baron Cohen's mockumentary follow up to 2006's wildly successful Borat, Bruno is more of the same: cringe-worthy setups that make for laughs. This time, though, the envelope that was pushed in the former is torn to pieces in the latter. It's not for the faint of heart or easily offended, but if you like Baron Cohen's humor, you'll appreciate the awkward-beyond-words situations.

I was torn - I wanted to laugh as hard as I did at Borat, but most of the time I was just wincing.

DVD extras include alternate and deleted scenes, as well as enhanced commentary.

67%

My Sister's Keeper

Need a good cry? Rent the tearjerker My Sister's Keeper. The drama stars Cameron Diaz as a mother presiding over her Leukemia-stricken daughter Kate, and the child they had in order to provide a kidney donor for Kate, Anna - who's played wonderfully by Abigail Breslin. When Anna sues her own parents for the rights to decide what to do with her own body, Diaz and her husband Jason Patric try to figure out what's really going with her.

I was definitely moved by the film, but you'd have to be made of stone not to, considering the subject matter. If you read the book, take heed: the ending in the film isn't exactly the same.

47%

Hollywood Halloween: 10 Costumes Inspired by This Year's Movies

BuzzSugar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:30:59 -0700

Still hunting for that perfect Halloween costume? Never fear, for I am willing to share some of my ideas with you, culled from this year's flicks. Everyone loves a good pop culture reference, and the best part is that these are super easy to put together last minute. From spooky to hilarious, there's a little something for everyone, so take a look.

View Slideshow ›

Star Trek to Re-Release in IMAX - Will You See It Again?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:30:00 -0700

This Friday, Paramount will re-release Star Trek in IMAX theaters for a two-week run. When the movie first opened, it only got a two-week IMAX run then as well, since IMAX theaters were needed for Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. More theaters didn't become available again "until Museum 2, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince were done with their consecutive runs."

IMAX or otherwise, Star Trek did extremely well for itself at the box office the first time around - do you think you'll watch it again? Or maybe for the first time? Or have you starred there, trekked that?

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

With 10 Slots, Should Star Trek Get a Best Picture Nomination?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:30:24 -0700

Now that the Academy will be selecting 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees instead of five, it opens up the possibility for certain films to be recognized that otherwise might be passed over. So far this year a few movies have resonated with critics and audiences alike, and perhaps none as much as Star Trek. Do you think Star Trek is worthy of a Best Picture nomination?

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Up Soars at the Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:15:14 -0700

Pixar's Up had a great weekend at the box office, coming in at No. 1 with a whopping $68.2 million. That makes Up the third biggest Pixar debut ever (out of ten) behind The Incredibles and Finding Nemo. It's also worth noting that Up's debut bested Wall-E, which opened last year to $63.1 million.

Interestingly, this particular box office win "validates Disney’s decision to let its Pixar unit put creativity before commerce. Some Wall Street analysts . . . had predicted the film would have a difficult time attracting children because of its geriatric action hero." Hurray for putting story first!

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian continued to do well and scored second place over the weekend. Drag Me to Hell debuted at No. 3 followed by Terminator Salvation and Star Trek.

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Box Office: Night at the Museum Beats Terminator!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:30:52 -0700

Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian blew Terminator Salvation out of the water over Memorial Day weekend, earning an estimated $70 million.

However, despite coming in second place, McG's effort to revive the popular sci-fi franchise is still a success, earning a solid $53.8 million. That's impressive considering Terminator's less-than-glowing reviews, as well as competition in the action-adventure genre from Star Trek, which came in third place.

Angels & Demons came in at No. 4 followed by Dance Flick which debuted at No. 5.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Box Office: Angels and Demons Is No. 1

BuzzSugar — Mon, 18 May 2009 07:15:54 -0700

The film adaptation of Dan Brown's bestselling novel, Angels and Demons starring Tom Hanks, is a global sensation after earning an estimated $104.3 million at the international box office over the weekend.

Here in the US the holy thriller swiped the top spot from Star Trek, which still performed strongly, coming in at No. 2 with an estimated $43 million domestically. According to Variety, positive word-of-mouth thanks to stellar reviews is probably the reason Star Trek continues to be quite the box office powerhouse.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and Obsessed rounded out the rest of the box office top five coming in third, fourth, and fifth respectively.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Should William Shatner Have Been in the New Star Trek?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:30:26 -0700

During the run-up to the premiere of J.J. Abrams's wildly successful Star Trek reboot, William Shatner was not shy about expressing how hurt he was to be left out of the movie.

Recently, two of the movie's writers said in an interview that there was a scene written for him originally. Ultimately, though, their idea didn't feel "organic" enough and they didn't end up using it.

Now that I've seen the movie I still can't decide if including Shatner would have been a good idea or not. On one hand, it's a nice nod to older fans and could have been an easy passing-of-the-torch gesture. On the other hand, if a scene doesn't work it doesn't work, and making a good movie was obviously the top priority for Abrams and his team.

What do you think? Should the new Star Trek filmmakers have found a way to include Shatner?

Source

IMAX Rip-Off: Does This Anger You?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:30:50 -0700

Funny man Aziz Ansari has stumbled upon an IMAX controversy and he is mad. Ansari discovered over the weekend that the IMAX experience you pay an extra $5 for doesn't necessarily mean you get the giant screen.

Witness his rage:

I went with a friend of mine to see Star Trek: The IMAX Experience at the AMC Theatre in Burbank today . . . HOWEVER, we get in the theatre and its just a slightly bigger than normal screen and NOT the usual standard huge 72 ft IMAX screen. I was very upset and apparently this problem is happening all over at Regal and AMC theatres.

Basically, the company has a fancy digital-projection system that fits onto regular screens. Ansari hilariously refers to this regular-sized screen you pay extra for as "BULLSH*T IMAX" and is urging a boycott of all things IMAX-related. One reporter, who analyzed this deception almost a year ago, has this to say about it: "I object when anyone claims that two patently different things are the same. Where I come from that's known as 'lying.'"

I never knew that I could pay five extra bucks and only get a regular-sized screen. What about you? Does this outrage you?

Source

Box Office: Trek Hits No. 1 at Warp Speed

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 May 2009 06:30:33 -0700

J.J. Abrams' reboot of Star Trek was a smash success this weekend with an estimated $76.5 million (including $4 million Thursday night), taking the top spot at the box office (though not surpassing X-Men Origins: Wolverine's opening weekend take of $85 million, as so many of you thought it would). This was "the biggest Trek opening yet, soaring past the previous high of Star Trek: First Contact, which started at $30.7 million or the equivalent of over $50 million adjusted for ticket price inflation."

Meanwhile Wolverine "wilted to an X-Men franchise low" in the wake of Star Trek, coming in at No. 2 with an estimated $27 million. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past took the third spot, followed by Obsessed and 17 Again in fourth and fifth place.

Sounds like good word of mouth quickly spread about Star Trek. Were you swayed by the stellar (ha, ha) reviews? Did you head out to see it?

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures