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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:30:16 -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 also take home the fourth season of Entourage, as well as season five of One Tree Hill (you know, the one where they leap ahead in time and everyone owns a business or is a famous writer or something). Also, Morgan Spurlock's documentary Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? is out on DVD along with another great indie film, Son of Rambow.

What Happens in Vegas
This comedy starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz didn't do so hot with critics when it first came out, but I found myself charmed by it, despite how staggeringly absurd it is at times.

Two opposites (Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher) are forced to live together in matrimony so they can collect a large sum of money they accidentally won together in Las Vegas. Not only do the leads have a surprising amount of chemistry (well, I didn't expect any,
so. . .) but two supporting actors, the droll Lake Bell and The Daily Show's Rob Corddry, anchor the ridiculous moments with superb comic timing. All in all, it's a decent choice for your at-home enjoyment.

Special features include commentary from the director and a featurette titled "Sitting Down With Cameron and Ashton."

Two more up next so read more.

Heroes: Season Two
It's no secret that season two of NBC's Heroes isn't my favorite, due mostly to its slow pacing, cluttered plots, and overabundance of random new superheroes. But as we round the corner toward the long-awaited premiere of season three, you might just find yourself needing a little refresher (also, this season ended ages ago). So here it is, in all its perplexing, sometimes frustrating glory: season two!

I live for the special features that come with my favorite TV-on-DVD selections, and this one is no different. There's an alternate ending to the season (cool!), followed by an "inside the alternate ending" feature (even cooler!) titled "What If Peter Didn't Catch the Vial?," a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the third season premiere episode (yes!) and of course audio commentaries with cast and crew. Can you tell I'm excited?

Redbelt
I had to go see this film when I attended the Tribeca Film Festival this year because it boasts the insane combination of one of my favorite actors ever (Chiwetel Ejiofor) with one of my favorite actresses (Emily Mortimer) and a writer/director who I think of as a visionary (David Mamet). And for the most part, I was not disappointed.

In Redbelt, Ejiofor plays the powerful and controlled mixed-martial arts instructor Mike Terry who vows to stay far away from the competitive circuit. But when a series of coincidences occur and Terry finds himself in financial peril, he returns to the ring for one last time. Alice Braga (I Am Legend) beautifully plays Terry's wife, Sondra, and Mortimer plays an anxious stranger who learns important lessons of her own from Terry's MMA instruction. I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this movie, which is to say, I loved it - up until the end, when I kinda hated it. I still think it's a worthwhile rental, especially for any Mamet fan.

Box Office: Indiana Whips the Competition

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 May 2008 07:00:00 -0700

Traditionally, Memorial Day weekend is very kind to Summer blockbusters, and this year was no exception for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. According to Variety, the return of the Steven Spielberg franchise was his biggest movie opening ever, hauling in an estimated $126 million over the four-day holiday.

While these results are a career high for Spielberg, the film itself did not break any box office records related to this holiday weekend or any other long weekend openings.

Disney's The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian dropped to second place followed by Iron Man. The fourth spot went to What Happens in Vegas, which continues to perform well, followed by Made of Honor at No. 5 and Baby Mama at No. 6.

John Cusack's War Inc. - also starring Hillary Duff - opened in limited release and did not make the top 10.

Photos courtesy of Paramount

Caption It: Which Caption Should Win?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:45:10 -0700

This week's Caption It comes from What Happens in Vegas and has loads of comedic potential. You definitely gave me some laugh out loud moments with your entries, which are all awesome.

Thanks to all of you for pitching in, but we can only choose one winner! Here are the finalists:

Frustrated by his failed attempts to cross-breed humans and slot machines in the laboratory, Dr. Wango decided to try it the old-fashioned way.
Warning: Too many drinks may lead to awkward sexual advancements on casino machines.
No, no, no, Ashton! That's where the COINS go!
"I need this cash to make Dude, Where's my OTHER Car?

It's your turn to vote: Which caption should win?

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Narnia's Prince Gallops Away With the Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 May 2008 08:15:21 -0700

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian handily won the top stop at the box office over the weekend, though it failed to bring in as much as the first Narnia film did in 2005.

In the "yikes" department, Speed Racer (already struggling at the box office) dropped from third place to fourth, only earning an estimated $7.6 million this weekend. Iron Man continued to set records, holding strong at second place while What Happens in Vegas took third. In fact, Iron Man was the first film to earn over $200 million at the domestic box office this year, according to Variety. Baby Mama closed out the top five.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney

Caption It!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:30:30 -0700

Welcome to the Caption It game on BuzzSugar! Every other Wednesday, I'll post a photo still from a TV show or movie here and challenge you to think of the most hilarious caption possible. I'll announce the finalists the following Tuesday, and you'll get to vote for the best caption; the winner will get a fabulous BuzzSugar T-shirt!

Last week's Caption It brought out some amazing entries! You were so creative about coming up with fun captions for Patrick's fun mini-kilt. The winning caption literally made me laugh out loud:

In a bold career move, Patrick Dempsey will be leaving Grey's Anatomy to take on the role of Blair Waldorf's newest rival on Gossip Girl.

Congrats to legaleagle! Little J should be scared.

Now it's time for this week's challenge from the Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz romcom, What Happens in Vegas:

Leave your captions in the comment space below before 5 p.m. PST on Monday, May 19 to be considered for a spot in the voting round. Have fun! To see a photo of the BuzzSugar T-shirt, just read more.

The BuzzSugar t-shirt

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Box Office: Iron Man Continues to Soar

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:30:32 -0700

Update: As of this afternoon, What Happens in Vegas beat out Speed Racer for the No. 2 spot at the box office, Variety reports.

It will come as no surprise to the majority of movie critics who screened Speed Racer that the highly anticipated Wachowski brothers' flick had a disappointing opening weekend.

Not only did Speed Racer fail to knock Iron Man out of the top spot (the Marvel action hero brought in another $50 million over the weekend), but it's still unclear if the film can truly claim second place as What Happens in Vegas is hot on its trail in what Variety is calling a "photo finish." Vegas only earned an estimated $200,000 less than Speed Racer and both films are currently hovering around the $20 million mark.

In addition to poor reviews, another problem Speed Racer had is that it seemed to only appeal to kids, and filmmakers were shooting for a broader audience. An executive for the film told Hollywood Reporter, "What's hurting us is that the picture is playing very young." The Hollywood Reporter article also points out that if this is the case, then they'll have a hard time when even more competition heads to the theaters next weekend in the form of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Made of Honor fell to fourth place followed by Baby Mama to round out the top five.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

What Happens in Vegas: Sometimes the Formula Works

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:30:06 -0700

Perhaps it's because last week's Made of Honor left me with sub-zero expectations for this genre but whatever the reason, I really liked What Happens in Vegas. Sure, it's cheesy, there's a ton of overacting and absurd coincidences, but there's also a strange charm to this movie. And while I never thought there might be real chemistry between Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz, two actors who I think have become like robots trying way too hard to impersonate human beings with their exaggerated goggle-eyes and faux indignation, there is, actually, something there between them.

These two leads are also seriously aided by an engaging, well-paced (if a little silly) plot that rarely drags, and supporting actors like Lake Bell (whose droll humor is great in small doses here, as opposed to the leading lady roles like the one she had in Over Her Dead Body) and The Daily Show's solid comedian Rob Corddry, both of whom help anchor the ridiculous moments with dashes of sarcasm and superb comic timing. It's one of those times when I just want to give the casting director a kiss for taking this project from so-so to a pretty good time. For more of my take on What Happens in Vegas, read more.

Jack Fuller (Kutcher) and Joy McNally (Diaz) both live in New York City, but they're worlds apart. Joy is a high-strung trader on Wall Street while Jack is a lazy schlub who "works" for his dad's company. When Joy is dumped by her fiance and Jack gets fired by his dad for the last time, the two set off for Las Vegas to unwind with their respective best friends (Bell and Corddry). In a classic opposites-attract situation, they spend a wild night together, ending in drunken nuptials. Hungover the next day, they sheepishly decide to annul the marriage, but when Jack uses Joy's quarter in a slot machine and wins three million dollars, they enter into a legal battle over who should get the money.

Back in New York, the two are faced with a bitter judge who decides to grant the divorce only after they've lived together for six months and tried to make the marriage work. If they prove that they've tried, after the six months they will be able to get divorced and each will get half of the Vegas winnings. If either one slips up, however, the other one will receive the full amount of money. Of course, the unlikely lovebirds fight tooth and nail to one-up each other in their shared apartment and then attempt to sabotage each other's chances for receiving the entire amount, all the while growing fond of each other.

Though the initial big action takes place in Las Vegas, the majority of the story is set in New York, and the pacing of the film benefits greatly from these two giant, fast-paced cities where there's never really any time to get bogged down in lame attempts at sentimentality. In some romcoms, it's these long, drawn-out cheesy moments that choke the life out of something that might have just been lighthearted and sweet. It's hard to feel satisfied after those movies because it's like they strained to achieve something and didn't quite make it. After this movie, though, I felt satisfied and better yet - I felt uplifted.

To see the trailer and more videos from What Happens in Vegas check out movies.ivillage.com.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Which Upcoming Comedy Are You Most Interested in Seeing?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:30:55 -0700

As we ease out of the stark wintertime, which is often a sluggish time for great movie releases, we've got some fun-looking lighthearted fare coming out in the near future. Which comedy do you most want to see?

Note: I'm leaving off the Sex and the City movie because: a) it would win the poll, and b) I don't consider it a straightforward comedy like these, especially what with all the death talk.

New What Happens in Vegas Trailer Is . . . Almost Kinda Funny

BuzzSugar — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:37:33 -0700

To be honest, I'd sort of brushed aside the Ashton Kutcher-Cameron Diaz rom-com What Happens in Vegas because from the trailer it struck me as vapid and charmless. This new trailer, however, is slightly better, I must admit. Diaz tiredly steps back into her kooky-goofball-hot-girl shoes as Joy, a woman who takes off for Las Vegas in a post-breakup getaway. There she meets Jack (Kutcher) and the two spend a wild night together that ends with their nuptials, which, of course they regret the morning after. Then, when one of them wins a jackpot using the other's quarter, as the plot description goes, the "unhappy pair try to undermine each other and get their hands on the money - falling in love along the way." Yeah.

It's not going to be thoughtful and poignant, but it also doesn't look that bad. The movie opens May 9. To check out the new trailer, read more.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Cameron and Ashton Know When to Hold 'Em

BuzzSugar — Wed, 16 May 2007 11:47:30 -0700

It was only a matter of time, really, before goofy Cameron Diaz and goofier Ashton Kutcher got together for a romantic comedy. The two are in talks to do What Happens in Vegas, and not unlike Lucky You, I have an inkling that this will be chock full of "roll the dice and take a chance in love" puns.

Variety has a plot description:

Set in Sin City, story revolves around two people who discover they've gotten married following a night of debauchery, with one of them winning a huge jackpot after playing the other's quarter. Unhappy pair try to undermine each other and get their hands on the money -- falling in love along the way.

The article continues to say that neither actor has definitely signed a deal, so Variety may be bluffing on this one.

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