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Your Contact Lenses Could Make You Blind

FitSugar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Many of you rely on your contact lenses in order to help you see, but your lenses could end up taking away your vision. What an ugly irony. The problem starts with a simple single cell microorganism - acanthamoeba.

Acanthamoeba is one of the most common types of protozoan that live in soil and fresh water. They can be found in city tap water, so if you rinse your lens case in water from the sink, this amoeba can be transferred to your contact lenses and then to your eye. These protozoan can live and multiply in both your contact case and your eyes, and can go back and forth between the two because commercial contact lens solution can't kill them. Once they're in your eyes, they can cause a painful infection known as amoebic keratitis, which can lead to blindness. The prevalence of this infection has increased because so many people wear contact lenses now.

The lenses that you wear for a year or two were found to contain the most pathogenic (disease-causing) strains of acanthamoeba. The ones that you keep for a month or two weeks contained fewer, and the daily lenses contained no acanthamoeba. Talk to your eye doctor about the kinds of contact lenses you wear to see which would be the healthiest for your eyes. Scientists are on the move trying to develop a contact lens solution that can kill this nasty amoeba, but for now, it's recommended that you don't rinse your lens case in tap water.

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Blindness: See It Or Skip It?

PopSugarUK — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

This year's Cannes Film Festival opened with the premiere of Blindness, starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Gael Garcia Bernal. The movie's out on November 21 in the UK, and I'd love to know what you think of the trailer - so, will you see it? Or will you skip it? Let me know your thoughts...

Chihuahua's Bark Is Loud at the Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:30:31 -0700

You know, the reviews for Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua were not as bad as I thought they might be, so that coupled with the fact that it's a family film meant that the movie about little talking dogs took the No. 1 spot at the box office over the weekend. The top dogs brought in a seriously impressive $29 million. That's about the same amount that Eagle Eye earned last weekend. This weekend, the Shia LaBeouf action-thriller came in second place.

Meanwhile, some smaller movies (a.k.a. "specialty films") also did well. Both Bill Maher's documentary Religulous and Anne Hathaway's Rachel Getting Married had terrific opening weekends. This was especially striking as "three of the new wide releases didn’t even crack the top 10 chart," including Flash of Genius, Blindness, and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

Finally, both Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Appaloosa enjoyed solid debuts, coming in third and fifth respectively. Lots of options this weekend! Which one did you see? (And come on, you can admit it if it was the chihuahua movie - this is a safe place.)

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Blindness: To See, a Brutal Gift

BuzzSugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:30:08 -0700

I saw Blindness by myself, with nothing to occupy me on the way home but a copy of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Bad idea. This movie requires a funny friend or mindless magazine afterward to decompress. I don't shy away from depressing films, but Blindness is one of the bleakest things I've ever seen on screen. At times bleaker even than Babel or Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. But cheery isn't really an option when portraying a dystopia plagued by a mysterious epidemic "immune to bureaucracy."

Based on the novel by Nobel laureate Jose Saramago and directed by Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardner), this apocalyptic allegory is imperfect but powerful. Reminiscent of Children of Men and old zombie flicks, Blindness begins with a man going blind while driving. His eye doctor (Mark Ruffalo) is puzzled by the affliction, in which eyesight is obscured by white rather than cloaked in dark. But soon the doctor is also rendered blind by the contagion, so read more.

To prevent an epidemic, the blind are quarantined - first by the handful then by the hundreds - in an abandoned sanitarium. Apart from the viewers, the only person who can see what filth results when a bunch of newly blind people are essentially abandoned by their government is the doctor's wife (Julianne Moore), who retains her sight but keeps it a secret. As food rations become scarce and the conditions more squalid, the ward devolves into a sinister, Lord of the Flies-like atmosphere ruled by an opportunistic villain (Gael Garcia Bernal).

Painted in a washed-out palette, the horror is heightened by the fact that as viewers, we're prevented from getting our bearings. Some of the techniques are predictable but effective - interludes of white between scenes, an overall jumbled tone - while others are downright arresting. We never learn the characters' names, and the nameless setting - shot in Sao Paolo, Tokyo, and Toronto - is beautiful and disorienting.

But Meirelles also draws attention to our sightedness by making us witness some sickeningly ugly truths - actions that you can imagine unfolding in such a dystopia but that are very difficult to watch nonetheless. (The people next to me walked out during a particularly disturbing scene.) The horrors are not without a message - to me, how hunger and suffering can drive people to immoral ends - but I certainly didn't leave the theater feeling good. Though I haven't read Saramago's novel, I'd imagine that message of Blindness is better made through literary allegory than a hyperrealistic film. But depending on your movie tolerance, Blindness is worth seeing for both its beauty and its brutality.

Photos courtesy of Miramax

Judge Natalie Is In Session At Cannes: Day 1

PopSugarUK — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:00:00 -0700

Natalie Portman clocked in for her first day of judiciary duty yesterday at the Cannes Film Festival, where she's one of nine judges. At the opening press conference her fellow judge Sean Penn spoke about the US Presidential Race, revealing he's not backing a particular candidate, but Natalie wouldn't be drawn on who she'd be voting for – unlike in our interview where she voiced her support for Hillary Clinton.

But back to the festival – the opening premiere was for Blindness, starring Julianne Moore and Gael Garcia Bernal, and the stars walked the red carpet alongside guests Cate Blanchett, Eva Longoria, Mischa Barton, Faye Dunaway and Dennis Hopper. One thing I adore about Cannes is the requirement that the photographers dress up, it just adds that extra bit of class to the events (and the resulting red carpet photos). Gorgeous! Stay tuned for more news from the festival as it continues.

To see lots more photos from the first day of the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, just read more

View 25 Photos ›

Images include: Julianne Moore, Eva Longoria, Aishwarya Rai, Natalie Portman, Sam Riley, Cate Blanchett, Faye Dunaway, Gillian Anderson, Devon Aoki, Gael Garcia Bernal, Sean Penn, Danny Glover.

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Teaser Trailer for Blindness With Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo

BuzzSugar — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:31:17 -0700

Don't be fooled by the chipper, easy-breezy morning routine at the beginning of this teaser trailer for Blindness - it gets scary. Really scary. Based on the novel by Portuguese Nobel prize winner Jose Saramago, Blindness is an apocalyptic thriller in which an entire town - save one doctor's wife - succumbs to a blindness epidemic.

The cast is fantastic: Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcia Bernal and Sandra Oh, among others. Just watching this teaser trailer gave me chills, so I'm a little afraid of the final full-length movie. Then again, I have until October 3 to build up some courage. Have you read this book? You can check out the teaser trailer if you read more.

Link Time! 6/5

BuzzSugar — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:01:50 -0700

According to Cinematical, Mark Ruffalo is replacing Daniel Craig in the movie Blindness (which I told you about back when Craig was first cast and I was giddy over the news).
Stereogum recounts the bizarre saga of the dude who thinks Arcade Fire stole his basketball when the band played at UC Berkeley. Arcade Fire denies the charges.
According to PopCandy, BJ Novack (Ryan on "The Office") was a prankster in high school, recording fake audio tours for the Boston Museum of the Fine Arts.
The Movie Blog thinks casting a magician to play a magician is a good idea, referring specifically to Criss "Mindfreak" Angel who has been cast in Mandrake the Magician, based on a Depression-era comic strip. Well, he's certainly comical.
I Guess I'm Floating finds Wilco's explanation for selling its songs to a VW campaign.
CHUD (Cinematic Happenings Under Development) has a source who heard something about a remake of Meatballs.
TV With MeeVee reviews the "Heroes" 360 Experience.
Earvolution says the Strokes' Albert Hammond Jr. is writing a play.

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Dreamy-Eyed Daniel Craig Considers Blindness

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 13:06:45 -0700

I always love an excuse to write about Daniel Craig - it means looking for photos of him, after all - but this news is particularly cool. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the James Bond actor is in talks to star in Blindness, a movie based on the Jose Saramago novel of the same name.

Julianne Moore is also being considered, which is interesting, since the premise reminds me a bit of Children of Men. According to the HR, "the story chronicles an epidemic of blindness that sweeps through an unnamed contemporary city." The only person left with the sense of sight is a doctor's wife and, thankfully, the filmgoers. The film will be directed by Fernando Meirelles, whose resume includes such captivating movies as The Constant Gardener and City of God. I haven't read Blindness, but now I really want to. If you have, tell me what you think.

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The Blind Side: An Unexpected Delight

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:30:42 -0800

It's not that the trailer for The Blind Side isn't compelling; the problem is that it combines Sandra Bullock's twangiest, most-over-the top lines with a heartrending song, which makes it seem schlocky. That's exactly what I expected from the movie, but I have to admit that I was wrong - to my surprise, I found it to be a sentimental gem that's actually quite restrained.

The Blind Side is the true story (based on Michael Lewis's book) of NFL player Michael Oher, who grew up in Memphis's projects with his drug-addicted mother and landed in and out of foster homes. He ended up in a fancy private school and in the home of a wealthy family, the Touhys, led by tough-talking Leigh Anne (Bullock). The weaving of Michael's newfound life in the movie is effective, with sweet bits of humor and just enough emotion.

To see what I liked about the film, just read more.

The movie is full of many surprises: first, it looks like it's going to be mainly about football, but it's not all sports. There is proper attention given to Michael's life before he's taken in and the development of the relationships between the Touhy family members and Michael.

Another nice thing is how smoothly Bullock slides into her role. It's not just her wardrobe and hair that transforms her into the high-maintenance Southern matriarch; her manner as the tough mom who's not completely comfortable showing emotion is very natural - not what I'd expect from the laid-back actress.

Quinton Aaron is also impressive as a sad-eyed orphan turned well-adjusted student and son over the course of the movie. It's not an incredibly complex performance, but his teddy bear presence is irresistible. The supporting players are equally as enjoyable: Tim McGraw, whom I didn't expect much from, is charming, while the Touhy children win you over with their affection for their new brother. The late addition of Kathy Bates (whose role is basically an extended cameo) is hardly needed to bolster the movie, but she adds a nice touch as well.

At two hours and six minutes, the movie is a little too long; director John Lee Hancock seemed intent on fitting in nearly every detail of Michael's journey. Then again, at the end you're rewarded with the payoff: footage and photos of the real-life Touhys and Michael. It's an emotionally satisfying ending to a movie that makes no apologies for being so uplifting.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Do You Have Bamboo Blinds?

CasaSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:19:02 -0700

Bamboo blinds are an ideal way to give your home privacy without blocking out all of the light. I also love their rich, brown hue, and that they're made of a sustainable material. In any case, Spencer and Heidi seem pretty happy to be in the presence of these blinds. Do you have any? If you're on the hunt for some, try Pearl River.

Photo courtesy of MTV