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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:15:49 -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. Check out this week's picks!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Critics panned X-Men Origins: Wolverine when it first came out in theaters - and it got a rough start when an early version leaked online - but that didn't stop it from hitting it big at the box office.

The film, which serves as a prequel for X-Men favorite Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), gives us a peek at the mutant's childhood, his first love, and his brother Victor (Liev Schreiber). Overall, it's entertaining and fun, even though the storyline is hard to follow. Add to that a cast that includes Taylor Kitsch and Ryan Reynolds, and you have a movie that's easy on the eyes for what it lacks in substance - the perfect requisites for at-home viewing.

Special features include a segment called "The Roots of Wolverine" with Len Wein (co-creator of Wolverine) and Stan Lee (co-creator of the X-Men).

36%

Two more up next so read more.

Easy Virtue
Jessica Biel takes on Noel Coward in this big-screen adaptation of his 1920s-set play. Biel plays Larita, a feisty American race-car driver who is thrust into the world of upper-crust, uber-traditional English society when she marries a British man (Ben Barnes). Ultimately I felt like Biel just couldn't hold her own against acting veterans like Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth who portray her in-laws, and the film fizzled at the box office. But still, Easy Virtue is full of enough witty lines and gorgeous scenery to make it a pleasant weekend rental.

50%

Grey's Anatomy: Season Five

Get caught up on the most recent season of Grey's before the big premiere on September 24. It delivers another dose of dramadey at its finest as Meredith and Derek work on their relationship and Christina finds love with a new doctor at Seattle Grace. The show loses some of its focus mid-season, particularly when Izzie's hallucinations start taking a turn for the awkward, but it finds its way back again for the heartbreaking season finale.

Season five also showcased some superb acting, scoring Emmy nods for Chandra Wilson and Sandra Oh. DVD extras include unaired scenes, outtakes, and an interview with Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Easy Virtue: Sparkling Cast Can't Help the Center Star

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:30:30 -0700

Easy Virtue, a film adaptation of Noel Coward's jazzy 1920s-set play, pits the old traditions of Europe's landowning gentry against the brash modernity that America had come to symbolize. The old guard is represented by a wealthy British family led by the brittle matriarch Mrs. Whittaker (Kristin Scott Thomas). When her son, John Whittaker (Ben Barnes), marries a sexy race car driver named Larita (Jessica Biel) several years his elder, the entire family is thrown into a tizzy.

Once Biel's character arrives at the Whittaker home she's meant to represent a vibrant and mesmerizing new way of doing things that is utterly offensive to this family so steeped in tradition. But alas, Ms. Biel doesn't quite have what it takes to hold down the center of a film like this and the whole endeavor suffers. To see why, read more.

The cast includes the kind of immensely talented actors who can take on the old-fashioned, quick and witty dialogue with one hand tied behind their backs. Biel tries to keep up and at times she succeeds, but most of the time she simply appears to be swimming upstream. As you might expect, Kristin Scott Thomas deliciously inhabits her icy character with ease and delivers each line as a stinging backhanded compliment. Colin Firth plays her long-suffering husband still hurting from memories of war, and delivers an incredibly funny yet soulful performance. Even Ben Barnes, who is handsome but stiff in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, displays pizzazz as the prodigal son returning home.

As the movie clicks along, though, more and more is asked of Biel as she navigates the cruel and ruthless landmines set out for her by her new mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, and she's not quite able to rise to the occasion. As the tone shifts in the final act from a comedy of manners to a darker drama, the talented ensemble cast does all it can to prop the movie up, but the center can't hold in the end.

Photos courtesy of Sony Picture Classics

Jessica Has Nothing But Love For Justin's SNL Jokes

Molly — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Jessica Biel hit the red carpet at a screening of Easy Virtue in NYC last night. Earlier in the day, Justin Timberlake enjoyed a little down time at a driving range in Manhattan. Both Jessica and Justin made appearances on SNL over the weekend, but it was his performance that has people talking. Jessica had nothing but glowing feelings about his show, saying to Extra, "I think he killed. I think he just killed it. So good…[Also] I loved the short, the digital short. And I loved the immigrant sketch." Sounds like Jessica agrees with most of you that there's nothing to be offended about from JT's Britney comment or the rest of his funny appearance on the show.

To see more of JT golfing and Jessica just read more.

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Images include: Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, Ben Barnes

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Pop Preview: Easy Virtue

PopSugarUK — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:00:00 -0800

Jessica Biel steals the show as glamourous and intelligent Larita in Easy Virtue, a 1920s romantic comedy based on Noel Coward's play. After a whirlwind romance in America, Larita has married young earnest John (Ben Barnes), and when the couple arrive at the Whittakers' stately country house it's time for Larita to face her in-laws. Mrs Whittaker (Kristin Scott Thomas) is certainly not impressed to have an American for a daughter-in-law, while a withdrawn Mr Whittaker (Colin Firth) does his best to keep out of the way. We watch as Larita goes from trying to fit in to trying to wrest control of the situation, and her marriage, from her overbearing mother-in-law.

The tension between Larita and Mrs Whittaker creates a lot of the laughs in the film, as each tries to outdo the other through a series of verbal bouts and one-up-manship. There is also a more serious side to the film, especially evident in the figure of Mr Whittaker, a man who has withdrawn from life after the Great War. As the film develops we learn more about not only his past, but also Larita's previous controversial life. The battle between the two main female characters to win John also takes a more dramatic turn when the Whittakers' true situation is revealed.

To see what else I thought, plus more images from the film and the trailer, read more.

Easy Virtue really evokes the 1920s, from the fashion to the attitudes to the music. First off, the costumes are gorgeous, particularly Jessica's array of shimmering dresses and smart shirts, and boy does she have the figure to pull off those outfits. Music wise, the wonderful composer Marius de Vries cheekily mixes authentic songs from the period with contemporary tunes given a Cole Porter-esque arrangement (this version of "Sex Bomb" has to be heard to be believed!). It's an interesting device, as is the use of the cast's own singing voices (Jessica is surprisingly good), but it doesn't really live up to de Vries' fantastic work on Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet.

Although Jessica dominates as admirable Larita, Kristin Scott Thomas is fantastic as the disapproving in-law. Colin Firth gives an understated yet powerful performance as the emotionally scarred veteran, but is a bit too youthful and modern to be entirely believable as John's dad and Mrs Whittaker's husband. His tango with Larita is the scene of the film for me. Ben Barnes is perfect as out-of-his-depth John, all youthful exuberance and naivety, while John's sisters (Kimberley Nixon and Katherine Parkinson) are suitably annoying characters: perhaps a bit too annoying in parts!

For all the tiny niggles I have about the film, overall it is a hugely enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half. I was expecting an entirely light-hearted movie full of witty repartee and silliness, but I was even more pleased that this fun was countered by more serious undertones and more complex characters and relationships than the trailer perhaps suggests. Kris Marshall deserves a mention for his brilliant turn as the butler and Charlotte Riley (who plays John's childhood companion) is one to watch for the future. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you plan to watch the film, which is released in UK cinemas today. I'd certainly recommend it!

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Colin Joins Jessica and Ben to Show London Their Easy Virtue

PopSugarUK — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0700

Following their appearance at the Rome Film Festival, Jessica Biel and Ben Barnes were joined by Colin Firth and their other costars Kris Marshall, Charlotte Riley and Kimberley Nixon for the gala screening of Easy Virtue at the London Film Festival last night. Director Stephan Elliot even brought the chihuahua along for the ride! As well as appearing on our screens from 7 November, Jessica is currently on our newsstands too on the cover of Marie Claire, where she says she feels "sort of ridiculous" posing for photographers. Looks like you've got the smile perfected to me, Jess. My girl Bella UK wants to know what you think of her makeup look: do you love it or hate it?

We've got loads more pictures from the premiere so just read more.

View 15 Photos ›

Check out even more coverage of the premiere at InStyle UK.

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Getting Older Isn't as Easy as It Looks For Jessica Biel

PopSugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:00:00 -0700

Jessica Biel dressed up for the second night in a row, this time for a screening of Easy Virtue at the London Film Festival last night. She got more creative with her hair and makeup and apparently her appearance isn't something Jessica takes lightly. In the December issue of British Marie Claire, Jessica opens up about aging, plastic surgery as well as marriage and kids. Check out the revealing quotes by clicking here.

To see more photos of Jessica and her costars, just read more.

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Jessica Hits Rome Sans Her Usual Italian Travel Partner

Molly — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 07:05:27 -0700

Jessica Biel took to the red carpet at the Rome Film Festival yesterday going from her businesswoman press conference look before a glamorous wardrobe change. Jessica didn't bother to do much with her hair or makeup, but she let the dress do the talking at the premiere of Easy Virtue with her costar Ben Barnes. This isn't the first time Jessica has visited Italy this Fall - she and JT had a romantic vacation in the city, which got people talking about wedding bells around the corner. Justin didn't make it on this trip, but seeing as they actually started attending events together maybe some day they'll pose on the red carpet side by side.

To see a lot more photos from the premiere just read more.

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Jessica and Ben are Easily Elegant in Rome

PopSugarUK — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0700

Jessica Biel walked the red carpet in Rome with costar Ben Barnes yesterday, ahead of their appearance on our shores this evening for the UK premiere of Easy Virtue at the London Film Festival. The pair also joined the director of the film for a press conference earlier in the day, with Jess showing us how to do smart chic as well as gorgeous glamour. As there was no sign of her usual companion when in Rome, Justin Timberlake, I'm not holding my breath that he'll be visiting us either, but Ben will surely bring his manjoyment factor to London. Fingers crossed for Colin Firth too!

To see more pictures of Jessica and Ben on the red carpet read more.

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Win a Pair Of Exclusive Tickets To Easy Virtue!!

PopSugarUK — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:48:07 -0700

Calling all UK-based TeamSugar members! In addition to our current competition where you can win a year of films, we've got another fab London Film Festival giveaway for you!

We've teamed up with Pathe to give away a pair of tickets to a special LFF screening of Easy Virtue. The witty film, set in the 1920s, explores the culture clash between dusty English aristocrats and a brash, bohemian American (Jessica Biel), who marries into the Whittaker family (Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ben Barnes). It's released nationwide on 7th Nov, but we're offering one lucky winner the chance to attend an exclusive LFF preview screening at 8.45pm on Wed. 29th Oct.

All you have to do to be in with a chance is leave a comment before midnight (GMT) on Mon. 27 Oct. One winner will be selected at random. You need to be a TeamSugar member to enter, so if you're not already one and want to enter you MUST register for an account now. One entry per person; all repeat entries will be ignored.

You must be prepared to travel to London on 29th October for an 8.45pm start at the Rich Mix Cinema. Travel and accommodation are not included.

You must be logged in to TeamSugar to make a comment.

For terms and conditions read more

Closing date is midnight (GMT) on Monday 27 October, 2008

Terms & Conditions:

1. Winners must be able to attend the event for a 20:45 start on Wednesday 29th October 2008 at Rich Mix Cinema, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA. Names will be on the door.
2. Winners must be 18 yrs and over. Winners will need ID to provide proof of their age.
3. No alternative prize will be offered if the winner is unavailable to attend.
4. The prize is offered by PopSugarUK with thanks to Pathe.
5. Any equipment with capability to record audio or video may be requested to be handed-in at entrance to the Event. The Promoter takes no responsibility for any damage or loss to the equipment arising from the storage of such equipment.
6. The winners must notify PopSugarUK if they are unable to attend the Prize event.
7. One entry per TeamSugar member.
8. The winning entry will be drawn at random on 28 October, 2008.

Good luck!

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Families Are Kooky! Previews for Smother and Easy Virtue

BuzzSugar — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:34:25 -0700

These two movies might take place in completely different countries and time periods, but the Monster-in-Law/Meet the Parents/isn't-family-wacky overtones are the same. If there's anything to take away from the trailers for Smother and Easy Virtue it's "beware the in-laws!"

We've been keeping an eye on Easy Virtue for a while now, seeing as it's Jessica Biel's (as a bright blonde?) first big leading lady role in a comedy - a British comedy that takes place in the 1920s, no less. The movie, based on Noel Coward's play, follows an American divorcee, Larita (Biel), who travels to England to meet her new in-laws, having spontaneously married a young Englishman (Ben Barnes). Unfortunately, Larita's new mother-in-law is not too fond of Americans, and regards Larita specifically as a woman of "easy virtue." No U.S. release date yet, but Easy Virtue opens in the UK Nov. 7.

Coming back to present day, the trailer for Smother makes me laugh. To find out why, read more.

In Smother, Dax Shepard (who reminds me of Zach Braff more than a little here) stars as average guy Noah Cooper, whose wife (Liv Tyler) is anxious to make some babies. When Noah's wacky mother (Diane Keaton, whose manic tendencies come in handy here) comes to live with them for a while, Noah begins to have second thoughts about becoming a father. The movie (which has a really adorable poster) apparently opens in limited release next Friday, Sept. 26.

Check out these mother-knows-best trailers below.

Easy Virtue

Easy Virtue Trailer | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Smother

'Smother' Theatrical Trailer @ Yahoo! Video

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