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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:30:15 -0800

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 the selections below you can also take home Battlestar Galactica: Season Four and Righteous Kill.

Pineapple Express
You guys, Pineapple Express is not just a stoner movie, OK? James Franco was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work! This is award-worthy stuff! I kid, I kid. But it is funny to me that Franco is up for a serious award for playing a pot dealer who has lines like, "Pandora can't go back into the box - he only comes out."

This movie was a lot of fun to see in the theaters and as a DVD it will probably get the most play in dorm rooms, frat houses, and 20-something apartments across the nation. Seth Rogen and James Franco are a match made in stoner heaven, but be warned: The movie is actually pretty graphically violent (just a heads-up if that's a buzzkill for you).

Special features include an extended version of the film, commentary with the filmmakers and cast, and of course, the gag reel.

Three more up next so read more.

The Wackness
The Wackness first premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival and quickly charmed audiences. I myself was smitten when I later saw the movie at the Tribeca Film Festival. Starring Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, Olivia Thirlby and, briefly, Mary-Kate Olsen, it's a quirky story of young love on the Upper East Side in 1994.

I highly recommend this movie (despite that one cringe-inducing moment). In fact, like Pineapple Express, The Wackness features a whole lot of pot smoking, so today's What to Netflix is practically a themed movie night!

Special features include a featurette entitled "Keeping it Real: A Day in the Life of Writer/Director Jonathan Levine," behind-the-scenes footage, and deleted scenes.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl: Season One
Showtime's Secret Diary of a Call Girl, is sly and slick, pulling back the curtain on the world of sex-for-money in London and leaving you feeling like the ultimate insider. The show stars Billie Piper as Belle, a high-class hooker - and the alter ego of Hannah, an everyday gal who prefers jeans and books to corsets and stilettos. There's not as much sex in the show as you would initially assume but there is a lot of charm. If you missed the first season of this show when it was on the air, now's the time to catch up.

DVD extras include a featurette titled "Billie Piper - Coming to America."

The Tudors: Season Two
Hey, ye olde Tudors fans! Season two is now out on DVD, which is fun because I prefer to watch this show in one big clump rather than week-to-week. Jonathan Rhys Meyers returns as the young King of England who gets down to business divorcing the queen in order to make room for the ambitious Anne Boleyn. In this season the historical period known as the Reformation is ushered in, as King Henry looks to break from the Catholic church and faces resistance from his own court - not to mention Pope Paul III, played by the wonderfully chilling Peter O'Toole.

Special features include a featurette on the descendants of Henry, a premiere episode of This American Life: Season 2, and photo galleries.

Top Talker Competition and Wackness Winners!

PopSugarUK — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 05:39:42 -0700

It's time to update you all on our recent competition winners, and remind you of our Top Talker competition for September!

August's Top Talker winner was macneil who expressed herself in 123 comments - Well done macneil! She has a PopSugar T-shirt winging its way to her right now.

Hot on macneil's heels were mayfairgirl, bigestivediscuit, Advah and ilanac13 who contributed a great deal of fun reading for me in the month of August.

September's competition is well under way as it's the 9th now, so get commenting and you could be next to win a PopSugar tee!

Meanwhile our The Wackness competition winners were: GLB67, Kallman, swwonder, hailebop and cher1981 - congratulations to all five of you, a "Sometimes It's Right To Do The Wrong Things" tee and book of the film are making its way to your door as I type this!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered, congrats to all the winners, and keep your eyes peeled for our next exciting competition! And remember - every comment you make pushes you further towards being our Top Talker for September!

Win Dope The Wackness Goodies!

PopSugarUK — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:07:45 -0700

Calling all UK-based TeamSugar members!

It's no secret that The Wackness (out August 29) is one of my favourite films of the summer, and now I have a couple of film-related goodies for you to win! Five lucky TeamSugar members will win a limited edition t-shirt printed with a quote from the movie – "Sometimes it's right to do the wrong things" – of which only 100 have been made, as well as the novelisation of the film!

All you have to do to be in with a chance is leave a comment before midnight (BST) on Thursday 4th September. 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.

Prizes can be shipped to UK destinations ONLY.

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

For terms and conditions read more

Closing date is midnight (BST) on Thursday 4 September, 2008

Terms & Conditions:

1. Prize draw is open to UK residents only.
2. Competition prize includes one book, a novelisation of The Wackness and one limited edition t-shirt.
3. One entry per TeamSugar member.
4. The 5 winning UK residents will be drawn at random on 4 September, 2008.

Good luck!

Mary-Kate Talks Movies, Moving On and Making Out

PopSugarUK — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Mary-Kate Olsen is currently promoting The Wackness, a movie she fleetingly but memorably appears in alongside Sir Ben Kingsley, Olivia Thirlby and Josh Peck. We caught up with the diminutive starlet and asked her about her experiences of filming the movie, her decision to step away from her child-star roots and making out with Sir Ben Kingsley. Here's what she told us:

How did you get involved in The Wackness?
I read the script, enjoyed it, auditioned and I got the part. I go through the same process pretty much every time I want to do a role. I then met with Jonathan Levine and we clicked. He is such a great guy and a very talented director and I was excited about working with him.
Had you seen any of his previous films?
I had seen All the Boys Love Mandy Lane; I thought it was done really well and when I then found out that Sir Ben Kingsley was attached I was sure that appearing in The Wackness was a good decision. Jonathan has such an easy style, he has a great way of talking and supporting you at the same time and he loves watching people do their work and that is a really refreshing feeling.
Sir Ben's three times your age and you have a pretty passionate kiss in the film. What was that experience like?
It was sort of surreal. He is very professional and he made me feel really comfortable and it was pretty cool. He is one of the most talented people that I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with so I kissed him quite happily.

To read what Mary-Kate had to say about her character in the movie, her memories of 1994 and breaking away from her child-star roots, just read more

Your character Union is pretty wild and out there. Did that part of her character attract you to the role?
I really liked Union – she is young and free-spirited. She is only in two or three scenes and I thought it was the perfect part for me to play. She was fun to play a bit exotic doing things like walking into a bar a bit tipsy and acting out was fun.
You were eight years old in 1994, when the film is set. Do you remember it at all?
A bit of 1994... it was a different opinion and point of view of the period that I had, [compared to] the one in the film. That was when I was in elementary school!
Was it a considered decision of yours to take a role in a more adult film, in comparison to the ones you made with your twin Ashley?
I was never challenged when it came to acting when I was younger and I sort of just did whatever was given to me without asking questions. I didn't really understand why I enjoyed it or why I did it and I guess I wasn't quite sure about it anymore. I made the decision to take acting seriously after high school. When I was in my Freshman year at college (at NYU) I took some acting classes and found that I fell in love with acting again. Then I got a new agent and manager, who have been sending me different scripts to read. I’m lucky that I’m about to do films like The Wackness and I had a great experience making this film.

The Wackness comes out in the UK today (August 29), and make sure you enter our competition to win a novelisation of the movie and a limited edition t-shirt!

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Pop Preview: The Wackness

PopSugarUK — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0700

NB: I was lucky enough to catch a screening of this indie movie back in early June, and was so taken with it that I posted the preview for you back then. The movie's coming out this Friday, so here's a reminder / rundown of what I thought of it!

First things first: The Wackness is dope. Yes, brush up on your '90s lingo because the next big indie film is set in the sweltering New York summer of 1994! It follows adorable "most unpopular of the popular" teen Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) as he lives out his last summer before college – selling pot, falling in love, finding an unlikely best friend and trying to sort out his parents' problems. The movie's not out until August 29 (UK), but I liked last night's preview so much that I had to post about it now!

The soundtrack is absolutely awesome – from the cheesy yet oh-so-summer strains of Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, to the classic hip hop of Notorious B.I.G and Nas. After last night I know that 90s hip hop and all those rediscovered classics will be the soundtrack to my summer! The film is visually gorgeous too – being set in NYC doesn't hurt it of course – but the cinematography is beautiful and sets the chilled tone of the film.

For more of my thoughts on the movie including some on Mary Kate Olsen, Juno's Olivia Thirlby and Sir Ben Kingsley, and a gorgeous gallery from the film just read more

After Juno we all know Olivia Thirlby is coolness personified, and in this movie she's also great as Stephanie – the object of Luke's affections – and brings more layers to the table than perhaps her lines or the character gives her. Thirlby is a class act. Mary-Kate Olsen pops up in a couple of scenes, and I really liked her carefree performance - although what's with her and the drug-related TV / movies – Weeds and The Wackness? Anyhow, she was really fun and likeable (with some great Beverly Hills 90210 references).

Sir Ben Kingsley has a lot of fun as Dr. Squires (Stephanie's stepdad), a guy at the same breaking point as Luke but at a completely different stage of his life. Their friendship is ultimately believable and, although I wanted Luke to walk away from this weird old guy, I also cared enough to want Dr Squires to sort himself out.

The stand-out, however, was Josh Peck as Luke – he's definitely one to watch in the future. He played the awkwardness / bravado that teens struggle to balance so beautifully, occasionally cutting through any front his character was pulling with a subtle yet heartbreaking flash of hurt or confusion in his eyes. Having watched him exaggerate and pratfall (in that way kids' sitcoms demand) for years in Drake And Josh I was really impressed with his understated performance.

I think you can tell I loved it. Although it's a bit of a cop-out to compare it to Juno (as it's really not like that movie at all) I loved it in a similar way and I just hope it has some of the same success. The Wackness is a film with a massive heart and really deserves to do well.

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PopSugar UK's Must Haves For August

PopSugarUK — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I'm looking forward to the DVD release of a couple of awesome TV shows this month, as well as the TV premiere of a top show's second series. I'm also excited about an eagerly-awaited book and album, and a fantastic film is hitting the big screen too. To see what I'm adding to my shopping cart and watching on the big and small screens this August just hit "Start."
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Original NES, Pagers, MixTapes? So Not The Wackness

GeekSugar — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:00:51 -0700

Yo, if you consider yourself any kind of Vintage Geek fan, then get thee to a theater to see The Wackness.

Needless to say, I agree with Buzz's glowing review of the movie, but sitting in the theater, what was I cooing over more? The proliferation of mix tapes (I told you they were mad hot), the declaration of being loyal to cassettes, the boomboxes and - wait for it - blowing into a Nintendo game.

Young entrepreneur Luke Shapiro also rocks, oh yes, a pager, and constant headphones. Even though the movie takes place a mere fourteen years ago, it's the tech stuff that really gives the movie its nostalgic sheen. Basically, it's the dopiness.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Ben Brings The Wackness To Britain

PopSugarUK — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0700

Sir Ben Kingsley attended a screening of The Wackess in London this week, kicking off promotion on this side of the pond for the awesome indie movie that's out on August 29. As you know, I have a lot of love for this film set in the hot New York summer of 1994, which is currently on limited release in the US and slowly opening in more cities as the weeks go on. Ben was accompanied by his supportive wife Daniela at the London screening, but I think it would be fantastic if we get a glimpse at his co-stars Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby and Mary-Kate Olsen on our shores too in the coming weeks!

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Stefan Reimschuessel/BigPicturesPhoto.com

Deface the Internet for The Wackness Graffiti Throw Down

GeekSugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:00:21 -0700

I can't wait to check out The Wackness to see what kind of 1994-era tech they might have, but the movie is giving us something else to do with its online Graffiti Throwdown contest!

To promote the film, Brickfish has teamed with Sony to sponsor a contest that challenges participants to create their best web graffiti and title the piece "The Wackness." I've always shied away from making real graffiti, it being illegal and all, but I am more than happy to indulge my inner riff-raff, especially including the grand prize - a Sony Bravia home theater system!

Link Time! 7/15

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:30:30 -0700

FilmExperience asks: If you could weekend at the beach with any movie character, who would it be? (Their pick: Madison the mermaid from Splash.)
The TV Addict has audio from chatting with Wentworth Miller and Sarah Wayne Callies at yesterday's TCA Prison Break-fast.
Popwatch's Annie Barrett laments the fact that movies she'd like to see in the theater don't stick around the theaters long enough for her to see them and she wants to start a chain of Theaters for the Lazy.
Vulture wonders whether Kids or The Wackness is more authentically 1994.
Stereogum has the new Radiohead video for "House of Cards," which makes my eyeballs hurt a little bit.
TV Squad reveals that there's a campaign afoot to save The Mole - and the show's own producers are waging it.
Cinematical marvels at the insane anticipation and hype surrounding The Dark Knight - among geeks and non-geeks alike.
Calling all fans of The Smiths: Take BellaSugar's new "Beauty Product or Morrissey Song?" quiz!

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