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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Tuesday means that new DVD releases hit up Netflix, so I've checked out the offerings to let you know which movies deserve a spot on your queue.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Though last year's Transformers was a fun surprise hit, I thought this Summer's sequel failed to deliver the same laughs or thrills. Reprising their roles are leading-man-in-training Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox as long-distance couple Sam and Mikaela when Sam goes off to college, only to be followed by his robot-taming legacy.

It's Decepticons vs. the Autobots again, and many things blow up - but I'd rent this only if you're a fan of thin plots, deafening explosions, and Megan Fox's body parts.

The special features include a behind-the-scenes feature chronicling the making of the film with cast interviews and a retrospective of the Transformers toys to celebrate their 25th anniversary.

19%

See two more new releases when you read more.

Chéri

Michelle Pfeiffer stars as a courtesan and older lover of Rupert Friend in the romantic drama Chéri. Set in the 1920s (before the term "cougar" was coined and it was just known as awesome), the movie mostly focuses on Friend's character after his relationship with Pfeiffer is over, who "educated him in the ways of love." Yowza. Stephen Frears directs (who also directed Pfeiffer in the classic Dangerous Liaisons), and Kathy Bates has a role as Friend's meddling mother. The DVD includes deleted scenes and a making-of featurette.

53%

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Amy Poehler

SNL's been a pretty bleak place this season, and I partially blame the exits of Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph. Fortunately, this DVD of Amy's best moments on the show comes out today, and I for one can't wait to cue it up to see her impersonating the likes of Dakota Fanning and Nancy Grace. There are also skits with my favorite Poehler characters, the one-legged, flatulent Amber, Bronx Beat's Betty Caruso, along with a highlight reel of her best Weekend Update moments. Also, it must be noted that this Best of DVD is one of the few devoted to a former female cast member; only Gilda Radner, Molly Shannon, and Cheri Oteri share the honor.

Box Office: Bruno Has the Last Laugh

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:15:28 -0700

It was an odd little lineup of possibilities at the box office over the weekend: a racy and squirm-inducing adult comedy, an animated prehistoric adventure for kids', some robot cars, slick gangsters, teens with crushes, some family drama, a proposal, a hangover and more. The racy comedy, Bruno, took in the most in box office sales for the weekend with $30.4 million, though Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (in its second weekend) was close behind with $28.5 million. Bruno also experienced a 39% drop from Friday to Saturday, "indicating that most fans turned out on opening day."

Still, co-chair/co-CEO of Media Rights Capitol (which financed and produced the film) Modi Wiczyk is pleased with the opening weekend results: "Not bad for a movie that doesn't have talking robots."

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen continues to transform everything in its path into dollar signs, coming in third place not far behind Ice Age with $24 million. Public Enemies and The Proposal took the fourth and fifth spots respectively.

Photo courtesy of Universal Studios

Ice Age 3 and Transformers 2 Fight to Be No. 1 at the Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:30:09 -0700

Both Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen had stellar holiday weekends at the box office, with Ice Age taking in a record amount internationally for an animated movie and Transformers becoming "the year's domestic B.O. champ." The dinosaurs just edged out the robots, however, as Ice Age took in an estimated $67.5 million over the five day holiday weekend and Transformers ended up with $65 million. At the end of the weekend, both movies claimed the same total for the normal three-day weekend take: $42.5 million. Still, Transformers is now officially the most profitable movie of 2009:

Revenge of the Fallen lit up the holiday box office frame by becoming the highest-grossing pic of the year, with a domestic cume of $293.5 million in its 12th day in release. The only film to have amassed a higher gross in such a short time is The Dark Knight.

Johnny Depp's gangster movie Public Enemies opened last Wednesday and brought in $41 million domestically over its first five days, landing in third place at the box office. The Proposal and The Hangover took fourth and fifth place respectively.

Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Transformers Has a Massive Opening Weekend

BuzzSugar — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:30:22 -0700

Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen earned a five-day opening gross of $201.2 million, easily taking the top spot at the weekend's box office. The sequel nearly beat the best five-day opening of all time, The Dark Knight, which earned $203.8 million. Second place went to The Proposal, followed by The Hangover in the third spot.

Pixar's Up came in at No. 4 and became the year's highest grossing movie. Finally, My Sister's Keeper starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin had a modest debut, earned about $12 million and coming in at No. 5.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Does Michael Bay's Portrayal of Women Bug You?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:15:51 -0700

It's no secret that Michael Bay loves to put extremely sexy women in his movies. When it comes to the Transformers movies, though, the gratuitous way he shoots Megan Fox seems a bit over-the-top, even for him.

Bay recently told reporters that it's "for the young boys" and Fox says says the treatment of women as sexual objects in film is part of what must be done "if you want to make movies that people want to see."

So does Bay's portrayal of women ever bother you? Or is it just good sexy fun?

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Transformers 2: Schlock and Awe

BuzzSugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:30:13 -0700

The truth is, no matter what I or anyone else says about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, audiences around the globe will flock to see it. I mean, duh - it's big, it's shiny, it goes boom, and it has boobs. It's just what the doctor ordered for audiences looking for some good old-fashioned Hollywood escapism just when it's getting too hot to use our brains. That's all fine and good, and to be honest, I don't blame audiences. Star Trek got this Summer off to an outstanding start, but many of the big-budget movies that followed have failed to deliver a similar thrill ride. We're thirsting for fun at the movies again!

So the question of reviewing Mr. Bay's film by normal movie standards becomes an interesting one. Is there a compelling, science-fiction plot to add some storytelling to the explosions? That would be a no. Are the characters filled out in such a way that you care about them? No, in fact, I find them incredibly annoying. Is it funny? Well, not even a robot humping Megan Fox's leg, or a lingering shot of John Turturro's crotch could get my audience full of tweens laughing much. But let's face it, there are plenty of inane, unfunny movies that are still fun to watch thanks to the special effects. And yet, despite all the hype, the action sequences in this particular movie are better described as "bludgeoning" than "awe-inspiring." So here we go, just read more.

First, the plot description: Autobots are good and Decepticons are bad. Decepticons want to destroy the sun or some such and the Autobots like the humans even though some humans are jerks to them. Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox are back as Sam Witwicky and Mikaela, two lovesick kids struggling to keep their romance going long-distance as Sam attends an East Coast college.

Honestly, the college scenes are the best, most hilarious part of the movie. And I mean that half-sarcastically, half-sincerely. For one thing, he's in college for two whole days before he has to go to Egypt to save the world. In that amount of time, he manages to befriend an obnoxious and fast-talking (everyone talks so fast in this movie!) roommate, he gets entangled with every young boy's fantasy blond coed (to the dismay of Mikaela), and he has a total meltdown in his first class. Oh, and Sam's mom eats pot brownies and goes completely insane.

It's two and a half hours of merciless silliness that would be sort of "ha-ha, what is going on in this movie?!" funny if it weren't so loud and visually incoherent. I waited and waited for a slow, lingering shot of a fully formed Transformer glimmering and sparkling in the sun so we could gawk at its scale and coolness. I wanted so badly to see a Transformer come out with a newer, cooler weapon than we've ever seen before and use it in a creative and interesting way mid-battle.

Alas, Michael Bay has no time for that (he only gave himself two and a half hours), and in effect the robots are like trash heaps that roll and tumble across the screen at a rate that makes you want to pop an Advil. You know what Bay does feel the need to present in slow motion? You guessed it! Megan Fox's mega-tanned boobs, butt, and lips. I guess I wish he would have spent some time on Josh Duhamel's chest - at least that would have given me something fun to look at.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Movie Preview: New Transformers 2 Trailer

BuzzSugar — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:00:55 -0700

OK, folks, prepare yourself for another look at Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The first trailer was full of explosions, but this time around, we get a look at more of what you might call "the plot," with Sam heading off to college and starting to see creepy symbols in the middle of lectures.

That said, there are still explosions. There's Megan Fox being hot. There's Shia LaBeouf being intense - and understandably so, since big, scary robots seem to want something that's physically inside his brain. It's about what you'd expect from this franchise, I'd say. The movie hits theaters June 24, and to watch the new trailer, just read more.

Source

Are You Excited For the Transformers Sequel?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:30:53 -0800

The Transformers sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, is sure to be one of the biggest Summer blockbusters of 2009. Opening June 26, the plot of the Michael Bay-directed action flick is this: "Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to protect humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle."

Check out the trailer below and tell me: Are you stoked to see Sam, Optimus Prime, and the rest zooming and crashing and blowing stuff up on screen again? Or not so much?

Source

The Super Bowl Movie Spots: Transformers 2, Year One and More

BuzzSugar — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:45:35 -0800

It was like movie preview-palooza during the Super Bowl this year with spots airing for Transformers 2, Star Trek, G.I. Joe, Angels and Demons, Monsters vs. Aliens, Land of the Lost and Pixar's Up. Did you catch them all? Which one did you like the most?

I was more impressed with the preview for G.I. Joe than I thought I would be and the spots for Up and Monsters vs. Aliens are adorable. I think my favorite, though, is the one for the Judd Apatow-produced comedy Year One starring Jack Black, Michael Cera and Paul Rudd. There's a longer preview for it that came online over the weekend which you can check out after the jump.

Care to check out these TV spots again? Just read more.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Angels and Demons

Star Trek

G.I. Joe

Land of the Lost

Year One (2-minute preview)

Pixar's Up

Monsters vs. Aliens 3-D spot

Source, Angels and Demons photo courtesy of Sony Pictures, and Star Trek photo courtesy of Paramount

Link Time! 12/30

BuzzSugar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:45:54 -0800

Ten entertainment Davids who deserve kudos this year. - The TV Addict
Time to vote on what was the worst of 2008 TV (including "Worst Claire Wig": Claire Bennet of Heroes or Claire Littleton of Lost). - Watch With Kristin
Nine of the least-wanted TV neighbors. - TV Squad
Check out some first images from the next Transformers movie. - Cinematical
Did you see any of these 20 great concerts of '08? - Stereogum
Oooh - Whitney Port talks about The City and drops a bit of a Hills scoop. - Popwatch
Speaking of which, relive the year in Hills drama! - PopSugar
Hear Grizzly Bear remixing Feist's "My Moon My Man." - You Ain't No Picasso