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Sundance Review: Death in Love

BuzzSugar — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:00:22 -0800

Ugh. Where to begin with the list of atrocities the Sundance film Death in Love manages to accomplish? Preposterously wooden dialog? Check. Gratuitously violent sexuality? Check. Quick cuts to the grotesque torturing and dismembering of concentration camp detainees meant to "shock" the audience? Check. A collection of gratingly obnoxious characters, none of whom gives us any reason whatsoever to sympathize with them? Check, check, check.

This film may as well be titled Psychopathic Murderers, Mating. About a third of the way into the movie I was mentally pleading for it to have something - anything - redeeming about it. Then the sole redeeming factor entered the film, and that factor's name is Adam Brody. And sure, I like him well enough, but when Adam Brody is the one thing about a movie that doesn't entirely make you want to vomit, it's a bad sign. It's time to walk away.

The movie starts and ends with shrill, anguished screaming. Not just a few shrieks but the kind of prolonged screaming that makes you want to kill someone, just to make it stop. There's then a way-too-long montage set to music that alternates between images of various women having sex with a man and these same women's bodies being ripped apart or otherwise mangled in experiments. Awesome, right? Yeah, read more.

The plot is structured around the story of the Mother (Jacqueline Bisset), a woman who saves her own life by seducing the Nazi doctor performing experiments on concentration camp detainees. After becoming his pet, she generally turns into a bad person, eventually marries an American and moves to New York where she raises two boys and terrorizes them into having supremely messed up issues with women. The story then mainly follows one of the sons (played with a lot of whining by Josh Lucas) - his struggle to come to terms with being 40, his work problems, his relationship issues, his hatred toward his mother, and so on and on.

None of it matters, though. There's little point to this steaming pile of mess. It's bleak, it's violent, it's gratuitously disgusting, and for what? There's no real moral. We hate each and every one of these cruel, self-absorbed characters (with the possible exception of the other son, an emotionally stunted yet gifted pianist played by Lukas Haas), and when there's no reason to care about the characters in a movie, it feels a lot like a waste of time. The story's heart is coldly and apathetically cut out, and we're forced to watch and call it "art."

Bottom line: There is no need to ever see this movie.

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Live From Sundance, Part III

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 05:30:51 -0800

Yesterday I proved to myself that I really could spend an entire day watching movies and not get tired of it. In fact, it started to work like a drug - the more films I took in, the more I wanted to watch. So, maybe it's a good thing that I leave Park City today! Check out my third collection of thoughts on this year's Sundance Film Festival:

Watching four movies in a row on Tuesday, I really got to see the good (The Last Word), the bad (Sleepwalking) and the very, very ugly (Death in Love) - along with the kinda pretty good (The Deal). More to come on all of these soon, but just know that I haven't ever wanted to walk out of a movie so much as I wanted to leave Death in Love. On a brighter note, I got to see The Last Word starring Wes Bentley, Winona Ryder, and Ray Romano, which will likely prove one of the success stories from this year's festival.
Saw Charlize Theron at the premiere of Sleepwalking, and she is a beautiful giantess. She gave a few speeches about the film (which she produced and stars in) and she seemed so down-to-earth, I almost felt badly for disliking her movie so much.

Season One of Bored to Death: Yay or Nay?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0800

This week marked the finale of Bored to Death's debut season, and I'm wondering what you all thought of the show. It took me a few episodes to warm up to the comedy, but my love for Jason Schwartzman can't be stopped.

We already know that Bored to Death will be back for a second season, but what do you think of the first - yay or nay?

Zach Galifianakis - Love Him or Leave Him?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:30:00 -0800

What is up with the Zach Galifianakis fame train?! After this Summer's The Hangover, I keep hearing his name. He's already invaded Sunday nights on HBO's Bored to Death, and he has a slew of upcoming films, including a comedy with Robert Downey Jr. and a dramedy opposite Amy Adams. Now, he's reportedly picking up an animated film credit, too, lending his voice to Humpty Dumpty in the Shrek spinoff Puss in Boots.

Could Galifianakis be the next Will Ferrell? Seems like a worthy successor to me - then again, you already knew that I'm a fan of his. Tell me how you feel: love him or leave him?

Former Fixer-Upper of DJ AM Is For Sale

CasaSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:30 -0800

The former Beverly Hills home of the late DJ AM has been listed for $3.8 million. The 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath midcentury home is private and gated with both canyon and city views. It boasts "rich mahogany floors, custom built-in theater, Crestron system, and flat-screen TVs throughout, two-sided fireplace, office, large kitchen with stainless steel appliances and carrerra marble countertops," according to the listing.

AM purchased the property for $1.9 million in the Spring of 2007, and made some wonderful changes to it before his death. I love how he landscaped the pool with grass and slate tiles to complement its prismatic shape and chime in on its modern aesthetic. When he bought the property there were also some awful Ionic columns out front, which were completely amiss with the midcentury architecture, and it looks like he replaced them with something simple or just covered them up with shrubbery. He also added one and one-half bathrooms. He modernized the two-sided fireplace in the living room and had a custom built-in theater built above it. And I suspect he installed a television which rises from the foot of bed. It's unfortunate that he wasn't able to see the profits of his terrific renovations.

To look at photos from before and after he renovated, read more.

Before:

View 4 Photos ›

After:

View 5 Photos ›

Mad Men, "The Grown Ups": This Week's 5 Maddest Moments

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:30:10 -0800

Did you hear it? That was the sound of the Mad Men implosion, as the death of JFK on November 22, 1963, rocked the country and the lives of the show's characters. This season has been building up to the events of this episode, which felt more intense, more important, than next week's finale can possibly be. If there's an episode that has defined the third season so thoroughly, it's this one, "The Grown Ups."

Ready to talk? See this week's five maddest moments when you read more.

Death of a President: The timeline of the show has made it clear that John F. Kennedy's assassination is coming, but like those who experienced it, there was no way to prepare for it emotionally. So where is everyone when JFK is shot? Peggy is having a "nooner" with Duck, Betty is at home, Pete and Harry are talking work, and Roger's daughter Margaret is having a fitting on the eve of her wedding.
One wedding and a funeral: The show must go on, Roger decides, and Margaret's wedding still happens on Saturday night, with far fewer guests in attendance. I understand why they didn't cancel it, but as Joan remarks, "Poor thing." Margaret overcomes her marriage jitters and fit over Jane's extravagant gift and presence in her life, only to agree to be married the day after the President's shooting. That's pretty rough.
Downgrade: Pete is demoted so thoroughly at Sterling Cooper that he leaves work and tells Trudie he's been fired at first. Like Betty, the fact that he's already going through something jarring when JFK is shot only escalates his personal situation, and he stays at home with Trudie instead of going to Margaret's wedding. Shaken as well, Trudie tells Pete to start gathering his clients in preparation to leave the company. Pete seems shattered, and again, I enjoyed Vincent Kartheiser's nuanced performance of one of the show's most complicated characters.
Where's the love: A wedding and a violent event prompt everyone to re-evaluate their romantic relationships; particularly Don and Betty (their kiss at the wedding proves to be only passionate from one side) and Joan and Roger. That Roger calls Joan, just happy that she's home, says so much about his feelings for her.
The Proposal: "What is going on?" Betty asks both Don and Henry, distraught about the country's events, but that's exactly how I felt when Henry tells her in her car that he'll marry her if she leaves Don. Last week, when she got advice against divorcing him, I thought there was no way they'd split up, but now that Betty has this viable option, I'm actually scared they may divorce. As screwed up as their marriage is, their being together is one of the show's fixtures. Their separation would be like Sterling Cooper going out of business. But Betty sees things as having "no point" now, and she tells Don that she no longer loves him. I don't know what to think! Is it a coincidence that she was wearing a pink twinset like Jackie the day JFK is shot? Hadn't she just "lost" her husband in last week's episode when she discovers that Don is really Dick Whitman? In any case, it's completely disconcerting to see Don, sitting in his bedroom at the end, broken by Betty's dramatic disclosure of her lack of feelings for him.

Everyone keeps saying variations on how everything will be fine, it will all be OK, but we know from experience with this show that nothing is going to be fine. Whatever is to come, I'm so impressed by this episode; in the future, this will be the episode that you remember when you think of this season.

What do you think will happen with Pete, Roger and Joan, the Drapers? Will Betty take Henry up on his offer? And to talk more about the show later, join the Mad Men group in the community.

Photo courtesy of AMC

The Vampire Diaries "Haunted": The Good, The Bad and The Bloody

BuzzSugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Sorry for the hyperbole, but I'm pretty sure this week's episode of The Vampire Diaries, "Haunted," is the best one of the season so far. The Halloween setting is perfect for playing out Vicki's vampiric transition, Bonnie's exploration of her mysterious genealogical history, and the exposing of "The Council."

There's plenty to talk about, so let's chat about the good, the bad, and the bloody (spoilers aplenty ahead!) when you read more.

The Good

So much is good this week, but the episode belongs to Vicki, who's having issues turning into a vamp - which also provides us with more exposition on the mythology of The Vampire Diaries as well as Stefan's personal journey as a bloodsucker. However, Vicki isn't long for even the undead world, and her story ends both abruptly and shockingly (more on that later).
I love this show's balance of humor and intrigue, which Damon and The Council storyline provides this week. Damon overhears Tyler's parents, the Lockwoods, discussing the search they're on, just after he's noticed that Logan's murder hasn't shown up in the papers. I loved the tête-à-tête between Damon and Mrs. Lockwood at the restaurant; it doesn't take much booze to get the woman blabbing, and soon Damon knows that she's trying to procure vervain (which I finally googled; apparently it's a variant of verbena) and that she not only knows about the vampires in town, she's hunting them.
I want to know more about Bonnie, and her glamorous, witchy Grams. I still can't believe Whitley is playing someone's grandmother. Aside from having the scoop on the family and being a witch herself, she teaches Occult at the University. How cool is she? Oh, and Bonnie's great-great-great-great grandmother, Emily Bennett? We've seen her before.
I've said it a couple times recently, but I love a good Halloween episode. The costumes are priceless: Vicki goes as a vampire, Tyler's a character from 300, and Mrs. Lockwood channels Daisy Buchanan, someone Damon would certainly recognize.

The Bad

Not much bad to report this week, except for one gripe. Coffee as a vampire's secret to blending in with humans? Pretty silly. "It's the caffeine," Stefan says with a straight face. At least he didn't complain about Starbucks.

The Bloody

The Hunger rules Vicki's life as a vampire, and all she wants to do is feed . . . and see Jeremy and Matt. First she takes a love bite out of Jeremy's lip, and then, in a desperate fight, chomps right into Elena's exposed shoulder (so that's why she needed a sexy costume). Her attack on Elena pushes Stefan to stake her, killing her immediately. I literally gasped, then held my mouth open for a good five minutes as I watched this all play out. I'm still pretty stunned.

Lastly, are we witnessing Damon's evolution? His encounters with Elena this week take a major detour; she lashes out at him for being responsible for Vicki, Jeremy being in danger, and finally, Vicki's death, angering him until he tells her, "You need to leave." This would normally be a threat from Damon, but there's another dimension to it; is the man who insists he'd kill anyone, anytime, telling Elena to go because he wants her to be safe? Is he forming feelings for her? The climax of this really occurs in the final moments, when Elena begs Stefan to erase Jeremy's memory. Explaining that his human-free diet won't allow him to do it correctly, we hear a voice volunteer. "I can do it." It's almost seductive, and Elena lets him - though she doesn't say thank you, on principle, but I felt like she wanted to.

What do you think - were you surprised to see Vicki exit so soon? I was hoping to see more of her development as a vampire, but her death evoked so much more of an emotional reaction from the characters (and me) that I can't imagine it another way. And if you want to talk more about the show, join Hooked on Vampire Diaries in the Buzz Community!

Photos courtesy of The CW

This Is It: A Worthy Final Farewell

BuzzSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Making a tribute film after the death of an icon is a difficult undertaking - how do you do justice to his or her life without making it feel overblown? But the new Michael Jackson documentary, This Is It manages to strike that balance. The anticipation for its limited release has been building for more than a month now when early ticket purchases broke sales records, and most of you said you wanted to see the film as well. I was worried about how the doc would measure up to the hype, but I'm satisfied with the final product.

This Is it follows Jackson in his final days preparing for his sold-out tour. MJ emerges dressed in a button-down, shades on, and with director Kenny Ortega at his right hand, as we get a front row seat at the rehearsals. It proves to be an intimate look at the performer who, even at 50, still had a fiery passion for his craft. Most of us will enjoy witnessing it here on the big screen, while others may leave the theater feeling even more disappointed about never getting to see the live show. To see what I mean, read more.

MJ fan or not, you can't see this film without feeling awestruck by his dramatic flair as an artist. His voice is still on point, and his every movement on stage is punctuated by a flick of the wrist or a kick - it's like the music surges inside him and he has to stream it out through his fingertips. He still had the magic only weeks before his death.

While Jackson's dance skills may be a given, I was actually taken aback by how hands on he was in all facets of his tour. This is It shows him working on everything from green screen films to teaching choreography to attending band rehearsals. These sneak peeks provide surprisingly funny moments, but one of the loud-and-clear messages of the film is that Jackson did this for his fans. All of the popular favorites are included - "Billie Jean," "Smooth Criminal," and "Thriller," of course. Jackson knew that's what the audience wanted, and he was happy to give it to us - while wearing his signature sparkly gold pants and a fedora.

The doc does have its drawbacks; some of the footage starts to feel stale midway through, and the film feels too long at nearly two hours. Still, I understand why the editors didn't cut anything in honor of Jackson's memory. Each song was important to him and he wanted listeners to hear his message. (He even speaks on his concern for environmental causes in the film). Before the closing credits, Jackson says he wants to "remind the world that love is important" - and even after his death, he manages to do so by leaving us with memories of a man who never stopped loving his fans or the music.

What Do Your Grandparents Mean to You?

DearSugar — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:00:00 -0700

This morning, Leonardo DiCaprio is mourning the death of his grandmother, who passed away at 93 in her native Germany. Apparently Leo is close to heartbroken, which comes as no surprise, because they had always been very close.

As we all know, death is one of life's natural progressions, and for many people, losing a grandparents is their first experience with loss. The relationship one has with her grandparents can vary drastically from person to person. Some fear the elderly, while others completely relate. Some grew up with their grandparents acting as their parents, and other people barely know them at all. I've always been fascinated by my grandparents. I consider them a wealth of knowledge, and I could happily listen for hours to their stories about the good old days and how they met and fell in love. Do you, or did you, feel the same way about your grandparents? I'm curious, so tell me what they mean to you!

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Amelia: Never Really Takes Flight

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:30:00 -0700

I love the way a biopic makes me feel - like I'm treated to a back-in-time look at an amazing life. They're epic, and that's why I'm willing to sit through the slow moments (and often for more than two hours) for the payoff. This is the experience I hoped for from Amelia, directed by Mira Nair and starring Hilary Swank as the pioneering aviator who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

There's plenty of opportunity for grandness, even though Nair chose not to focus much on the circumstances of Earhart's disappearance during her flight around the world. Earhart had an extraordinary life, eschewing social conventions for her gender and never giving up her one true love: flying.

Unfortunately, Amelia misses the epic mark and lands instead somewhere in the mediocre, underusing its cast's talents and history's treasury. However, it's not an altogether unpleasant journey, so to see my thoughts on the film, just read more.

First, the film is beautiful - Mira Nair knows how to shoot a gorgeous scene (she was behind the richly-styled films Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake), and she really takes advantage of the oceans, the landscapes of jungles, beaches, and moors. Much of it is seen through Amelia's eyes as she's soaring over it, and occasionally you feel the same freedom in flying that she so desires.

Along with the scenery, the minor success the film does achieve is ascribed to Hilary Swank's acting. I was expecting the two-time Oscar winner to be fantastic, and she didn't let me down. From transforming her looks to match the androgynous icon's to altering her voice to a Katherine Hepburn-ish gravel, she captures the pre-feminist aviatrix in all her glory.

The problem is that intriguing parts of Earhart's life are introduced but merely glossed over. For instance, Earhart's marriage to publisher George Putnam (played by Richard Gere) is complicated by the fact that she carries on an affair with Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). However, this affair is only briefly touched on (they meet, they kiss, it's suddenly over). For his part, Ewan McGregor is given little more than a cameo role, which is an unsatisfying tease for any fan of the actor.

While I'm on unsatisfying, if you've ever been fascinated by the mysterious circumstances of Earhart's death (she disappeared over the Pacific on a round-the-world-flight), you'll get no gratification here. Understandably, there's no speculation about what happened, but there's no closure either.

That seemed justified, because when this project was announced, it was reported that Nair wouldn't focus on the mystery, but Earhart's remarkable life instead. Unfortunately, there's not enough focus on that remarkable life to do the woman's memory justice.

Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight