BuzzSugar

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:30:00 -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 watch some very funny recorded improv comedy starring Amy Poehler when you rent The Upright Citizens Brigade: Asssscat!

The Kite Runner
If you enjoyed Khaled Hosseini's bestselling novel, you won't be disappointed by how closely the screen adaptation resembles the book in both plot and its ability to tear your feelings apart. I gave this warning in my review and will say it again: The Kite Runner is not for the faint of heart, and some of the most gut-wrenching scenes from the book are even harder to take visually.

That said, there is much to appreciate about this story, which follows two young boys growing up in Afghanistan before and after the Taliban come to power. The relationship between the two friends is beautifully explored, as tense political events unfold around them. When one of the boys stands mutely aside while his best friend is brutalized, the decision sets off a series of mostly agonizing events and haunts him the rest of his life. In the end, however, it's a tale of love and redemption. Special features include commentary from Khaled Hosseini and the filmmakers.

Two more titles to go - one spooky, one that will take you back in time - so read more.

Party of Five: The Complete Third Season
Check out Matthew Fox's hair on that cover. Amazing. I know it's hard to get beyond Lost and Scream and The Ghost Whisperer, but once upon a time, these stars were on a little drama called Party of Five as a family of orphaned Salinger siblings who raise themselves (or is it . . . each other?).

Season Three was a turning point for most of the characters. Charlie's (Matthew Fox) girlfriend and family nanny gets caught plagiarizing a paper for her PhD, Kate (Jennifer Love Hewitt) reveals to boyfriend Bailey (Scott Wolf) that she wants to remain a virgin, Bailey turns into an alcoholic, and sister Julia (Neve Campbell) spends a lot of time dealing with her guilt after a friend's suicide. This is a great addition to your Party of Five collection and it's a fun journey back through the fashions and style of the '90s.

The Mist
Perhaps you missed the late November release of this spooky Stephen King film, since it's sometimes hard to get in the holiday spirit and see a scary movie at the same time. If that's the case, be sure to add The Mist to your queue this week, as it's pretty much everything one could want out of a scary movie.

The movie follows local townspeople trapped in a supermarket by a thick and deadly fog. While it's spooky to wonder what, exactly, in that mist is killing people, the really scary stuff comes from the way the group deals with the threat, bringing up all kinds of topics around End of Days. Marcia Gay Harden is particularly creepy as the town's religious fanatic Mrs. Carmody.

The special two-disc set includes commentary by writer/director Frank Darabont, deleted scenes, the behind the scenes webisodes, and the complete film in black and white.

The Kite Runner: Poignant But Brutal

BuzzSugar — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:28:32 -0800

Logically, I understand that The Kite Runner is a beautiful, stirring work of storytelling. It's a tender homage to the power of brotherhood and forgiveness. It's a song of redemption. Having read the arresting novel by Khaled Hosseini, I knew all this going into the screening. I also knew that the movie, like the book, might emotionally wreck me. And it did.

At its heart, The Kite Runner is about the enduring strength of love between men - brothers, friends, fathers and sons. The sweet relationship between Afghani best friends Amir and Hassan is the focus of the film, made somewhat complicated by the class differences between the two boys. Amir is the son of a wealthy intellectual from whom he consistently seeks approval and praise. Hassan is the son of Amir's father's servant. This is at times uncomfortable, but it doesn't deplete the tremendously innocent and emotional bond the two boys share.

Indeed, the most extraordinary thing about this relationship is the very image of purity it presents. It takes me back to childhood friendships I remember having, but it's also separate from my experience because of the simplicity of the boys' lives. Movie watching for them is a huge treat, not a given. Amir can read while Hassan cannot, so Amir reads Hassan's favorite stories to him. Their favorite activity is competitive kite flying. The beauty of this boyhood connection often moved me to tears. Yet the story doesn't remain innocent for long. To find out what I mean, read more.

Amir witnesses Hassan being brutalized by bullies, and does nothing to stop it. This event causes a shift in the boys' friendship, and Amir's guilt haunts him his entire life. Amir moves to the U.S. with his father and eventually marries a woman, though they are unable to have children. When Amir learns that Hassan and his wife were killed by the Taliban, and that Hassan's young son has been taken in - and regularly brutatlized - by a Taliban leader, he travels back to his homeland, determined to save the child.

Here's what I don't get: For whom, exactly, was this movie made? Those who have read the book well understand the emotional meat grinder the story will put them through. I myself thought I would be prepared for some of the more vicious scenes, thinking that nothing could be worse than those conjured up by my imagination. Unfortunately, the opposite is true: I now have the vivid memories of these scenes, clear images of, say, a woman being beaten to death by stoning, that continue to haunt and nauseate me. These pictures are not easily chased away, and at times they arise unbidden.

The movie is well done in many technical regards. The screenplay adaptation is an efficient consolidation of an expansive story, and the performances - especially on the parts of the two little boys - are deeply affecting. The underlying message is ultimately one of love and forgiveness, but is it worth it to go through so much to understand that message? I suppose peoples' thresholds for this sort of thing vary from person to person, so I'll let you decide for yourself. Just consider yourself - and your tear ducts - warned.

Buzz Gift Guide: Go, Daddy-O

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:28:33 -0800

Looking for ways to beef up your dad's entertainment arsenal? Check out today's holiday gift guide, as full of daddy love as this week's episode of Heroes was.

What man hasn't dreamed of being James Bond? Indulge your dad's slick, shoot-em-up fantasies with the Ultimate James Bond Collector's Set, which includes all 21 films to date plus a full disc of special features for each, including deleted scenes and interviews.

Well, I don't know about your dad, but mine is a huge Ken Burns fan, and no Ken Burns documentary collection is complete without The War, Burns' exploration of the effects of the Second World War on not just the soldiers fighting abroad, but average American families here at home.

My dad is also a big fan of author Khaled Hosseini's bestselling novel The Kite Runner, and he recently enjoyed Hosseini's newer release A Thousand Splendid Suns. And, if your dad enjoys the book version of The Kite Runner, then you can take him to see the upcoming film adaptation.

Another dadly gift is the DVD set Neil Young: Under Review 1976-2006, a documentary chronicling the second half of Neil Young's musical career. There is also another documentary that reviews Young's earlier years as a musician, from 1966 to 1975.

Buzz News Roundup, 10/5

BuzzSugar — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:59:04 -0700

HBO has renewed "Tell Me You Love Me" and picked up pilots about a medical research facility and a biker gang, Zap2it reports.
Warner Bros. has bought a Todd Phillips script titled Hangover all about "three pals who lose the groom at his Vegas bachelor party, 40 hours before the wedding," writes Variety.
Yahoo Music has news that the Sex Pistols may not be able to swear during their upcoming reunion tour.
"30 Rock" is getting more big-name guest stars, USA Today reports, including Al Gore, David Schwimmer, Steve Buscemi and Meredith Vieira.
The release date for The Kite Runner has been pushed to December as families fear possible backlash against the film's child actors, reports E! Online.
Variety reports that Warren Beatty will be awarded this year's Lifetime Achievement award from AFI.
Comedy Central has picked up a pop-culture debate series with Lewis Black as the moderator, and the Futon Critic has the details.
A show written and directed by Tim Robbins might be coming to Showtime, writes the Hollywood Reporter.

Photo courtesy of HBO

Fall Movie Preview: Heartstrings, Yanked

BuzzSugar — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:30:31 -0700

We may not be getting the crisp fall weather just yet, but we are getting previews for tons of movies opening in the fall. In preparation for this autumn and winter at the theaters, I've broken up the lengthy list of upcoming movies into many small themes for my Fall Movie Preview series. This way, you'll be in the know when the chillier months roll around, bringing a whole new crop of new films. Today I'm bringing you three movies that may just jerk at the tears and yank at the heartstrings.

The Kite Runner
The trailer for this movie is already enough to start me crying, especially since I've read the moving novel on which it's based. The story follows two childhood best friends: Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. Before Amir and his father flee to America, the boys' friendship is tested by a moment when Amir falls silent as Hassan is brutally beaten. Settled in California as an adult, this moment haunts Amir until he learns of Hassan's death at the hands of the Taliban, and returns to his homeland to search for Hassan's young son. It sounds bleak (and it kind of is), but there's a lot of beauty in this story as well. The Kite Runner opens November 2.

For two more emotional rollercoasters, read more

P.S. I Love You
P.S. I Love You is also based on a novel and stars Hilary Swank as Holly, a young widow who discovers that her husband wrote out messages for her just before he died. Some of the notes include unusual requests, and before long, Holly and her girlfriends (played by Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon, pictured) are going on a string of adventures that Holly's late husband planned for her. I think this premise actually sounds cute, and I like Hilary Swank so I'll be interested to see how it all comes together when P.S. I Love You opens December 21. And now I have that Beatles song in my head.

Things We Lost in the Fire
The trailer for Things We Lost in the Fire, starring Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro and a bunch of adorable children, seems to show the whole story of love, loss and redemption, but I'm still curious to see the film when it comes out October 27. Berry plays Audrey who loses her husband (Duchovny) to a senseless crime. Del Toro is her husband's best friend who is also a heroin addict. He moves in with Audrey and her kids, and then he most likely becomes an irreplaceable member of the family. Awww...

Kite Runner photo source
Other images source

First Look: The Kite Runner

BuzzSugar — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:42:55 -0700

The new trailer for The Kite Runner has just been released, and it's already making me feel emotional. Having read the powerful novel by Khaled Hosseini, I've been waiting with a mixture of hope and fear for the movie version, directed by Marc Foster (Monster's Ball, Stranger Than Fiction, Finding Neverland). By the looks of the trailer, however, it looks like Foster might just be doing the book justice.

The story follows two childhood best friends: Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. Before Amir and his father flee to America, the boys' friendship is tested by a moment when Amir falls silent as Hassan is brutally beaten. Settled in California as an adult, this moment haunts Amir until he learns of Hassan's death at the hands of the Taliban, and returns to his homeland to search for Hassan's young son.

Opening November 2, you have plenty of time to read the book if you haven't already. To watch the trailer, read more

Poster art courtesy of Paramount Vantage