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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:30:51 -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 my selections below you can take home The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Tale of Despereaux, and Beverly Hills, 90210: Season 7.

Yes Man
I'm a little baffled as to why the DVD cover for Yes Man doesn't include Jim Carrey's costar, Zooey Deschanel. She's a major selling point for me! Anyway, this movie is actually pretty cute and a great choice if you're looking for some laid-back, feel-good entertainment at home.

The story follows divorced loan officer Carl (Carrey) who lives life turning down everything from invitations to parties to the loan requests he hears every day. One day Carl finds himself at a self-help-type meeting all about the power of saying "yes" to every opportunity and it completely turns his life around. While he's in the process of becoming a "yes man" he starts up a romance with the free-spirited Allison (Deschanel), and soon learns that there are some negatives to his new lifestyle.

Special features include "Downtime on the Set of Yes Man with Jim Carrey," and "Jim Carrey: Extreme Yes Man - The Outrageous Physical Stunts the Star Performs."

Two more up next so read more.

Doubt
If you're looking for some serious actors doing some serious work, look no further than Doubt. Adapted from a stage play, the movie follows Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), the principal of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, who becomes suspicious of the parish priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) when he takes a particular shine to one boy. Things get more complicated when a young nun named Sister James (Amy Adams) is pulled into the conflict and doesn't know who to believe. The movie also includes an excellent performance from Viola Davis.

Each main member of the ensemble cast - Streep, Seymour Hoffman, Adams, and Davis - earned an Oscar nomination for his/her work in this movie.

Special features include "Doubt: From Stage to Screen," "Scoring Doubt," and commentary with writer/director John Patrick Shanley.

Bedtime Stories
Directed by Hairspray's Adam Shankman, Bedtime Stories is about a handyman who tells his niece and nephew imaginative stories that start to come true. Whatever the kids come up with each evening he has to survive in real life, including a gumball rainstorm and being set on fire.

It's so cute-looking and I really like the idea of a kids' movie starring Adam Sandler. Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, and Russell Brand also pop up in the film.

Bonus features include deleted scenes and outtakes.

Box Office: The Day the Earth Earned a Lot of Money

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:30:45 -0800

The Day the Earth Stood Still may not have been a critical hit but it is now officially a box office success, earning $31 million over the weekend and topping Four Christmases, which slid into second place. Twilight, Bolt, and Australia followed in third, fourth, and fifth places respectively.

Meanwhile, Variety is reporting that smaller, independent films "delivered one of the best weekends ever for the specialty box office." Movies like Doubt, The Reader and Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino all enjoyed strong debuts, while movies like Milk and Frost/Nixon continue to draw good sized audiences in theaters.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

A Chat With My Boyfriend About the Day the Earth Stood Still

BuzzSugar — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:55:07 -0800

The last time I chatted with my boyfriend about movies here we discussed Brendan Fraser, mummies, and Yetis and it was a lot of fun. So, I recruited him again for The Day the Earth Stood Still, a remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic of the same name.

I had a feeling that despite a pretty neat-looking cast (Jennifer Connelly, Keanu Reeves, Kathy Bates, Will Smith's kid Jaden, Mad Men's Jon Hamm, and John Cleese - John Cleese!) this movie might not turn out to be all that great. My male companion was skeptical as well but we both agreed to keep an open mind going in. Now I'm here to report that we immediately came to the same conclusion upon exiting the theater: Lame.

To see our thoughts on the film, including a debate about seeing Brendan Fraser movies for the rest of your life versus Keanu Reeves movies, just read more.

Keanu Reeves plays the alien who comes to earth to warn humans to get it together or he'll blow them all up. He is cold and unfeeling. In other words, he is once again well cast. We talk about Reeves and more below, with the bold parts indicating my words and the regular type being his.

You've seen the original and liked it. Are you mad at the people who remade this movie?
Yeah, well the original was fresh and new at the time but this version is like beating a dead horse . . . just tired. It could have been great, but everything about it seems like a ripoff of other movies like Transformers, Matrix, etc. . . not to mention all the product placement. The save-the-planet message is kind of lost with all those corporate labels splashed around.

Does the original have such a hammy environmental message? Do people run around saying, "We can change! We're at the precipice!"
The original is all about the aliens being concerned about the destructive nuclear nature of mankind. It doesn't have any environmental message, just "stop blowing stuff up or we'll blow you up!" The current version seems more like Al Gore and Leo Dicaprio wrote the script.

OK, if you had to choose between only watching Keanu Reeves movies or only Brendan Fraser movies for the rest of your life, which would you pick?
Neither. I'd kill myself. Wait, if it was Point Break or School Ties over and over again, then maybe. Well, actually . . . no, I'd kill myself.

I'm tempted to lump this flick in with the likes of say, Independence Day, to give folks an idea of what they're in for, but honestly I don't think this movie is nearly as fun.
It is similar to Independence Day in that the supporting cast is pretty awesome, like Jon Hamm, James Fong, and John Cleese. But Independence Day is so much better because the main characters actually communicate with the audience, whereas Keanu is like Neo 2.0.

In the first one, is the main scientist a hot lady like Jennifer Connelly and does she have a little kid?
She lives in a boarding house and is a secretary or something, so it's an update to make her a scientist. And she's hot in the '50s pointy-boob way. Yes, she has a kid, and in that one, he blows it by telling the secretary's boyfriend (some government stooge) that he saw the alien go in the spaceship. In both the older version and this one, though, there's still that "my buddy, the alien" vibe.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

BuzzSugar at Comic-Con: Day One!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:43:25 -0700

Greetings from sunny San Diego! And I'm not kidding about the sunny: Though I'll be spending most of the weekend indoors, I at least got to bask in the rays (or, OK, sweat next to other sweaty people) while waiting in line for this morning's 20th Century Fox panels.

Frankly, it's been a pretty insane trip so far. The morning's big events (panels for Max Payne and The Day the Earth Stood Still and surprise appearance by Wolverine himself!) were delayed because of collapsing curtains and rods. I did have some time to wander the floor, as well as to catch a Disney panel where some of the studio's storyboard staff took us through the creation of a sequence from the upcoming Bolt, which looks like it could be pretty clever. You can check out some of my initial observations - and a whole lot of photos from the floor, including a super-geeky sequence with this year's special Comic-Con My Little Pony - if you read more.

The Dharma Initiative from Lost was on the floor recruiting for new members. They're giving an eligibility test in their booth, but it was already booked for most of today, so it'll be a while before I learn whether I'm fit for service.
On my "gotta do this before I leave" list: sit on the unicorn from Harold and Kumar (see gallery for picture of someone else doing this).
My personal favorite piece of swag so far: a replica copy for Dwight K. Schrute's organizational chart from The Office booth.
In terms of impressive floor displays, the Sci Fi network totally wins. That's their big, swirling purple thing in the photos below; every so often lights blink and twirl around it.

As for today's movie panels. . .

The ladies. . . they love the Keanu! At the panel for The Day the Earth Stood Still, he barely had to speak to get a fresh round of screeching and cheering. It was intense! From afar, he looked great with a bit of scruff. When the cameras got up close, however. . . not so much.
Jennifer Connelly was beautiful and incredibly well-spoken. About the movie she said that "at the core, it's about human spirit." Which is comforting because on the surface it kinda just looks like yet another remake.
And I'm really not sold on this particular remake, even after viewing a bunch of clips. Keanu plays a cold, emotionless alien guy, so, you know, he seems to get the job done easily. And when all the special effects are done, they might make the film more impressive because so far it doesn't have the "wow" factor.
Max Payne, on the other hand, I've decided might end up being one of the coolest action flicks of the year. It's based on a video game so it's, you know, incredibly violent. But visually, stylistically, it's really impressive. As the moderator put it, director John Moore is "a wonderful, wonderful visual storyteller."
Mila Kunis said she gets to "kick ass in five-inch heels."
Finally, Mark Wahlberg (another favorite among the ladies) equated doing the Comic-Con panel to doing a rock concert in Japan (because of all the screaming from said ladies). He said the cheering and such makes him "all warm in the pants." I believe that's a direct quote.

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Movie Preview: The Day the Earth Stood Still

BuzzSugar — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:15:10 -0700

The modern remake of the 1951 sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still attempts to update the older version, shifting its themes from Cold War political tension and the threat of human violence to the imminence of environmental retaliation from an abused Earth. Keanu Reeves, who plays the protagonist in this new version, explains:

The first one was borne out of the cold war and nuclear détente. Klaatu came and was saying cease and desist with your violence. If you can’t do it yourselves we’re going to do it. That was the film of that day. The version I was just working on, instead of being man against man, it’s more about man against nature. My Klaatu says that if the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the earth survives. I’m a friend to the earth.

The movie joins a few other recent films with possibly green messages. This one, with its apocalyptic setting, also stars Jennifer Connolly, Will Smith's kid Jaden, and Mad Men's Jon Hamm. I love most of the cast (though not all of it), but I don't know how I feel about the trailer for this one; it's just not pulling me in. The Day the Earth Stood Still opens December 12. To check out the trailer, read more.

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Buzz News Roundup, 1/16

BuzzSugar — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:31:56 -0800

The American Idol premiere was its lowest rated in four years, TV Week reports - but it still got more than 33 million viewers.
Variety has more details on Apple's new iTunes movie rental service.
Studios have canceled dozens of deals with producers as a result of the strike, writes The Hollywood Reporter.
While the Grammys and Oscars are in question, the NAACP Image Awards will go on as planned, the New York Times reports.
Forest Whitaker may star in Patriots, a post-Katrina sports drama directed by Tim Story, writes ComingSoon.
According to Billboard, Alicia Keys' album returns to its No. 1 spot on the charts, though the Juno soundtrack is up there, too, coming in as the No. 3 bestselling album in the country.
The Hollywood Reporter has news that Will Smith's son Jaden Smith will star in the sci-fi thriller The Day the Earth Stood Still.
According to ComingSoon, the director of 27 Dresses, Anne Fletcher, has signed on to direct Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy The Proposal.
The Decemberists' Colin Meloy will release a live solo album in April, Pitchfork reports.

Photo courtesy of Fox

Buzz News Roundup, 11/7

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:38:52 -0800

It may be "news" instead of news, but nonetheless, a source tells The New York Observer that Lindsay Lohan is in talks to guest-star on Ugly Betty.
It's official: PopSugar says The Eagles bested Britney Spears on the Billboard charts, thanks to a last-minute rule change that let the Eagles album be on the chart despite being sold only at Wal-Mart.
ComingSoon has news that Josh Lucas will star in Tell-Tale, the film adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart."
According to NME, Meat Loaf has canceled his Europe tour due to a cyst on his vocal cords - but he swears he's not retiring for good just yet.
Zap2It has news that Jennifer Connelly will join Keanu Reeves in the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Lalia Ali will host a teen makeover series called Student Body on the N, Variety reports.
Reuters reports that Mayor Michael Bloomberg will have a cameo in the Sex and the City movie.
According to a recent study, most people paid nothing for Radiohead's latest album, writes Billboard.
Rosie O'Donnell is in discussions with MSNBC to host a prime-time show, reports Zap2It.

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