BuzzSugar

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:30:32 -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 my selections below you can now add Bottle Shock and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa to your queue.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno
I still smile when I think about this movie starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks because it's so silly and raunchy and yet manages to be somewhat heartwarming. But it should come with a serious warning: This is pretty graphic stuff so you should avoid watching with say, a boss, or a brother, or even maybe your roommate's boyfriend. It's a series of really awkward movie moments just waiting to happen. It's also hysterically funny in parts, though, so don't hesitate to add this one to your queue.

The special features both frighten and intrigue me. They include deleted scenes; a "making of" featurette; something called "Money Shots Webisodes"; outtakes, ad-libs and bloopers; and "Seth vs. Justin: Battle for Improvisational Supremacy."

Two more up next, just read more.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Juno has been playing on HBO a lot these days and I've been flipping to it during commercial breaks for little bits of Michael Cera goodness. Well, I'm just about Juno-ed out now, so I'm glad the adorable Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is finally out on DVD. I may be a little biased because I read the book but the movie is also super-duper cute due to Cera and his awesome co-star Kat Dennings. Good music, good actors, boys and girls having crushes on each other - what's not to love?

Special features include outtakes, deleted scenes, "Middle Management" music video by Bishop Allen, and "A Nick & Norah Puppet Show" by Kat Dennings.

The Secret Life of Bees
Zack and Miri, Nick & Nora, and now Bees?! Clearly I won't be hanging out with other humans this weekend because my couch and I are booked. This screen adaptation of the beloved bestseller is a satisfying tale of female friendship that might not be getting a lot of awards or attention, but will touch your heart nonetheless. The movie's dreamy cast includes Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, and Queen Latifah. I'm glad it's finally time to watch this again at home.

Special features include the director's extended cut, eight deleted scenes, and lots of featurettes including one titled "Adaptation: Bringing the Secret Life of Bees to the Big Screen."

Should the Zack and Miri Title Change For Wal-Mart?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:30:24 -0800

Yay: The Zack and Miri Make a Porno DVD will hit shelves next Tuesday, Feb. 3! But on Wal-Mart's shelves the title may look a little bit different. Wal-Mart requested that director Kevin Smith change the title on the DVD covers so the word "porno" isn't there, and Smith has agreed to do it. Here's more:

Smith said Weinstein Co., which released the film Oct. 31, has complied with Wal-Mart's request and created new DVD covers for the retailer, but the director worries that some unsuspecting customers will be fooled when they see the shortened title.

[Smith said,] "I mean, at least with the word 'porno' in the title, you can kind of give people a warning about what they're in for."

That's a good point, really - is it actually doing anyone a service to take the word "porno" out of the title? Or is it understandable that Wal-Mart would want the DVD cover to not include that word?

Photo courtesy of The Weinstein Company

Box Office: Madagascar Wins Lion's Share of the Bucks

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:30:09 -0800

The animated sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa was a big hit with audiences over the weekend, earning a whopping $63.5 million. In fact, it set some records and "narrowly scored the best opening of the year for a family toon, as well as the seventh best bow of all time." Madagascar 2 just barely surpassed Wall-E which brought in $63 million its opening weekend.

In the No. 2 spot came the Paul Rudd comedy Role Models that exceeded expectations with an estimated $19.3 million. High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Changeling, and Zack and Miri Make a Porno rounded out the top five followed by Soul Men, which opened at No. 6.

Picture courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Caption It: Which Caption Should Win?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:30:59 -0800

Thanks for all the great caption suggestions for this week's image from Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

Ready to vote on a winner? Here are your finalists. . .

"Why can't we get this baby to smile?"
"That's perfect you guys. You're doing it better, but take the hockey stick, just in case!"
Girl With Stick: "Waaaaait a minute. . . 'An Inside Look At Hockey Moms' ISN'T about sports, is it?"
Caution Wet Floor Sign: "I really hope that this is water because the guy beside me is a little too excited."

Source

Box Office: High School Musical 3 Is Still No. 1

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:30:41 -0800

Those whippersnappers have once again snapped up the box office crown. Over the Halloween weekend, High School Musical 3 got top marks at the box office for the second weekend in a row, this time bringing in just over $15 million. According to Variety, this pushed "its worldwide total to an estimated $146.8 million after 10 days in release."

Kevin Smith's raunchy comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno debuted at No. 2, just barely beating out Saw V with each movie raking in something in the $10 million range. Opening nationwide over the weekend, Clint Eastwood's Changeling nabbed the fourth spot with an estimated $9.4 million. Per location, however, Changeling is the big winner, with an "average of $5,085, the best of any film in the top 10 chart." The Haunting of Molly Hartley rounded out the top five with approximately $6 million over its opening week.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Zack and Miri Make a Porno: Shockingly. . . Sweet

BuzzSugar — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:15:08 -0700

Don't get me wrong: Zack and Miri Make a Porno is extremely disgusting at times. But I expected that. I didn't expect it to be quite so sweet or touching (in the emotional way, gutter mind). I'm a huge Kevin Smith fan (as you may have noticed from my Comic-Con coverage of him), and this latest product of his dirty, dirty mind does not disappoint. It's one part sex jokes, one part sweetness and eight parts F-bombs. It's certainly not for everyone and it's not going to go down in history as a cinematic tour de force, but it is hilarious and raunchy and oddly sweet.

Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) have been best friends since childhood, and now they room together in a Pittsburgh apartment. They're not the most ambitious pair, and when they run out of money, they need to come up with some fast cash in order to pay the rent and bills. Thus, they decide to make a porno. Their friend Delaney (Craig Robinson, just as funny as he is on The Office) helps with casting, and soon four more (including real-life ladies from the world of adult entertainment, Traci Lords and Katie Morgan) join the project and the group is on its way to making a pornographic movie. But things get a little complicated (see? I could have used the word "sticky," but I didn't because that would have been gross) when these two just-friends decide to have sex together on camera. The main joke seems to be that pesky things like emotions and love get in the way of great, entertaining porn. For more on why I so enjoyed this movie, read more.

As I said, I like Kevin Smith's stuff in general, but this movie is on a different level, due in large part to the outrageously endearing lead duo. And here is an example of a male-female, lifelong friendship that honestly rings true, as opposed to other attempts like, say, the absurd relationship at the heart of Made of Honor. Seth Rogen seems like a guy you might legitimately be friends with, and it's so easy to relate to the funny and kinda weird Elizabeth Banks. They're just so dang lovable! So it stands to reason that in the movie, they would love each other.

Smith gives a lot of credit to Judd Apatow for having paved the road for mainstream acceptance of this style of comedic movies, films that theoretically could be called romantic comedies, but with humor so raunchy you gag a little sometimes. And it's true: With the success of comedies like 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, audiences have been exposed (har-dee-har) to this kind of humor in an appealing way and with likable actors like Steve Carell and Seth Rogen. But I actually think Smith is even better at this than Apatow is. His stories are set in places like New Jersey and Pittsburgh, for Pete's sake. There's just something beautifully unkempt and down-to-earth about these characters, and this somehow makes the funny funnier, the dirty dirtier, and the sweetness that much sweeter.

Photos courtesy of The Weinstein Company

Watch, Pass, TiVo or Rent: Zack and Miri Make a Porno

BuzzSugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:30:25 -0700

Kevin Smith's upcoming movie Zack and Miri Make a Porno has seen its fair share of controversy. First, Smith had to fight for an R-rating instead of NC-17, and then the movie poster was changed to stick figures after the original one was deemed too racy.

But all this controversy is probably a good thing for this comedy starring Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks as friends who try their hand at adult filmmaking when money gets tight.

From what I've seen of the previews, it looks pretty funny. But it will also be crass and likely cringe-inducing and I know Smith's shtick isn't for everyone. So I'm curious if you'll head to theaters over the weekend to see this with a live audience or do you prefer for these kinds of comedies to come out on DVD and watch with friends? Or maybe you have no desire to see Seth Rogen make a porno at all?

Source

Caption It!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:30:39 -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!

First, congrats to sushibananas for winning last week's challenge with the following:

"Nigel Barker instructs his model, "Remember, you are a fish. Be the fish. I'm gonna feed the fish. And 1. . .2. . .3!"

This week's challenge comes from the upcoming comedy just begging for a caption, Zack and Miri Make a Porno:

Leave your captions in the comment space below before 5 p.m. PDT on Monday, Nov. 3, 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

Source

Do Red-Band Trailers Make a Movie More Appealing?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:30:04 -0700

I'll admit that I can be susceptible to the appeal of a red-band trailer (a trailer made for mature audiences, often including profanity or racy content) when it comes to certain movies. For instance, when I saw that Kevin Smith's upcoming comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno had a red-band trailer, I was super excited. It's not so much about shock value as it is the chance to see what this movie, in all its raunchy Smith glory, is truly going to be like.

But not all of these trailers have that effect on me. I haven't been rushing to watch the red-band trailer for the little indie flick Good Dick, for example.

I think the first red-band trailer I was interested in was for Superbad last year. Nowadays it's becoming an increasingly popular tactic, as marketers look to generate buzz with a little online provocation. Do you find that the appeal of a movie goes up with these trailers?

New Zack and Miri Make a Porno Trailer: So Wrong It's Right!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:30:33 -0700

So here it is: the "red-band" - aka "super inappropriate for work, especially if the sound is on" - version of the trailer for Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno, one of the 13 movies I'm most excited to see this Fall. There's actually not too much in there all of us adults haven't heard before in a Rogen flick (you know, a lot of f-bombs and explicit language used to describe both male and female genitalia). And since Smith fought hard for and won the right to give this movie an R rating instead of NC-17, we know the movie will never get all that crass.

Still, it's . . . about making a porno. So you'll probably laugh a lot when you see this but will feel pretty dirty afterward. In addition to learning that best friends and roommates Zack and Miri (Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) are having trouble making the rent, we meet some of the other cast members, including the scene-stealing Craig Robinson as their friend who auditions women for the porno and a character played by Traci Lords named "Bubbles" who has an interesting, uh, trick.

Like I said: totally unsuitable for work (unless of course you work in porn), or with kids around, or even puppies and kittens peeking over your shoulder. It is dir-tay and I thought twice before posting - but then I felt inspired by the words of young Silver on 90210 who waxed philosophically that it's a blogger's duty to make trouble. The movie's set to hit theaters on Halloween. To check out the trailer just read more.

Source