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Harry Potter Works Its Magic on the Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:30:25 -0700

It may be darker than ever, but Harry Potter still brings the magic at the box office. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince worked its wizardry on audiences to the tune of nearly $160 million for its first five days in the theater, with $79.5 million of that coming over the weekend.

That's not quite as strong as the five-day opening for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen last month (that movie pulled in $201.2 million in its first five days), but it's the best tally yet for a Harry Potter movie.

The other big story of this weekend's box office is the fall of Bruno. Last weekend's box office winner pulled in just $8.4 million this week, finishing in fourth place. That put it behind second-place Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, which brought in $17.7 million. Transformers kept up the pace with a third-place tally of $13.8 million.

In indie news, 500 Days of Summer had a solid debut with almost $840,000 from just 27 theaters. It'll be interesting to see how that movie holds up when it expands into many more theaters this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

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

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.

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Transformers 3 Coming July of . . . Some Year

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:30:09 -0700

Transformers fans were all a-flutter earlier this week with the news that Paramount has set the date for the third movie: July 1, 2011. Though neither Shia LaBeouf nor director Michael Bay was confirmed for the third movie (and there's still no writer), apparently "Paramount insiders . . . said the studio wanted to claim the date before a competitor did, considering that the 2011 summer release calendar is filling up."

But if you ask Michael Bay, there's no need to worry about 2011 competition - Transformers 3 won't be ready by then! Bay has responded to the release date news with the following:

Wait a minute! I said I was taking off a year from Transformers. Paramount made a mistake in dating Transformers 3 - they asked me on the phone - I said yes to July 4 - but for 2012 - whoops! Not 2011!!! That would mean I would have to start prep in September. No way. My brain needs a break from fighting robots.

There's something a little bit satisfying about Michael Bay getting somewhat punked by his own studio. But I digress. It's probably best for Transformers 3 to avoid the Summer of 2011, as Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America, and Spider-Man 4 are all scheduled to release then. And for now we still have to get through the second Transformers movie, opening this June 26, which many of you are totally stoked to see.

Photo courtesy of Paramount

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

Do You Think Shia Should Take More Non-Action Roles?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:30:48 -0700

As Eagle Eye approaches, I got to thinking that the only thing young Shia LaBeouf has been up to since hitting the big time has been action movies. The former Even Stevens cutie got a huge break in the Summer blockbuster Transformers, acted alongside film legends in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, moved on to Eagle Eye, and has been working on the second Transformers movie all Summer.

If there are things going "boom!" Shia's there. But maybe he should try another drama (like A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) or something in which he's not sweating and running from enemies. What do you think? Do you like him in action flicks and should he stick with them?

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Buzz Gift Guide: Boy Cuz

BuzzSugar — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:30:00 -0800

If you're shopping for the boy cousins this season, check out these suggestions in today's holiday gift guide.

Without even knowing your boy cousin's age or interests, the Transformers DVD is a fairly safe bet. With all the special features, it actually is more than meets the eye.

As with the brotherly gift guide, your boy cousins might like to read the Jon Krakauer book Into the Wild, on which the Sean Penn film is based. Also, check out the soundtrack to this movie, featuring some really good music by Eddie Vedder.

And if your cousin is a Lost fan, take a look at the Dharma bar ware, available on ABC's website. It's a little something to remind him of the island until Lost returns (or maybe doesn't) in Feburary.

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:30:00 -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.

Transformers
The summer's loud, raucus, action-packed robot movie is finally available for consumption on DVD, complete with all the special feature trimmings. In addition to the story of the Autobots vs. the Decepticons, the DVD boasts such extras as a featurette in which Steven Spielberg discusses his love for the franchise, a peek into how the actors were selected for their roles, a look at the military training Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson endured for their roles, a full exploration of how the film came to fruition from initial storyboards to special effects, and much, much more.

A few more new titles to add to your queue, so read more

The Hoax
This DVD is one of my October must-have items because it's one of the smartest, most absorbing movies of the year. Richard Gere plays author Clifford Irving whose false biography of the mysterious Howard Hughes is eagerly believed by his publishers - at first. But soon the weight of having to keep up his charade starts to get the best of Irving. Based on a true story and directed by Lasse Hallstrom, the movie is at times sad or funny, and always riveting.

A Mighty Heart
This film is very thoughtful, respectful and superbly done, but it will also rip out your heart and throw it into a meat grinder. Angelina Jolie turns in a heart-wrenching performance as Mariane Pearl whose journalist husband goes missing in Pakistan in 2002. She soon learns that he has been kidnapped by terrorists and she enters a long, grueling process of chasing down fruitless leads and dealing with infuriating red tape. This is not an easy movie to watch, but it is also an inspiring story of one woman's strength.

Planet Terror
Now, several weeks later, we have the second of the Grindhouse features on DVD. Planet Terror finds Rose McGowan with a gun for a leg, battling crazy zombies. Special features of the 2-disc set include audio commentary by Robert Rodriguez, a peek at how McGowan's leg-gun was fashioned on a low budget, something called "The Badass Babes of Planet Terror," and a featurette about the stunts in the film, among others. Oh, and you also have the option to watch the movie with the "Audience Screening Track."

Box Office: Transformers Pummel Their Way to No. 1

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 07:30:00 -0700

Unsurprisingly, Transformers took the No. 1 spot at the box office over the July 4th weekend. Having opened on Tuesday July 3, ticket sales easily broke Tuesday box office records and then went on to rope in summertime moviegoers the rest of the weekend, taking $152 million over the course of its 6 1/2-day opening, and approximately $67 million for just the weekend. The movie just barely beat out 2002's Spider-Man as the highest-grossing 7-day opening of any non-sequel.

In second place was Pixar's Ratatouille with $29 million and Live Free or Die Hard came up at No. 3 with $17.4 million. In fourth place with $10.4 for the weekend was License to Wed, and Evan Almighty took a respectable $8 million at No. 5.

Opening this Wednesday, of course, is the little wizard that could, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Surely Potter and friends can work some magic on these box office numbers.

J.J. Abrams' Cloverfield... If That Is Your Real Name

BuzzSugar — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:30:09 -0700

Certain film blogs are abuzz with reports that a mysterious teaser trailer for a movie called Cloverfield was shown before some press screenings of Transformers. Apparently the trailer showed a bunch of teens partying and an explosion followed by the Statue of Liberty head falling into the street and then the release date comes up on the screen: January 18, 2008. Filmed all shaky handheld camera-style, it's rumored to be a kind of monster movie, or as Cinematical posits, "basically The Blair Witch Project meets the Godzilla remake."

Yet, details are sketchy and even the title is shrouded in secrecy, with many people believing Cloverfield to be a fake title. Firstly, there was the speculation that this project is actually Stephen King's Dark Tower movie that J.J. Abrams is working on, rumored to be operating under the title Cloverfield, but that was quickly denied by King's people. Now Ain'tItCool is claiming to know a few facts about the movie: Matt Reeves, former writer on "Felicity" and writer/director of The Pallbearer is directing, while J.J. Abrams' own production company, Bad Robot is helping to produce.

Also, one of the movie's writers (Drew Godard) has collaborated with Abrams on "Lost," leading to this highly intriguing speculation which I think would be pretty damn cool: Perhaps the movie will be some kind of companion piece to "Lost." January 18 is around when the next season of "Lost" is starting up... Just saying.