BuzzSugar -- Entertainment hourly.

Spike Lee vs. the Coen Bros: Valid Point or Unfair Characterization?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:30:15 -0700

The folks covering Cannes over at Cinematical highlighted some statements made by director Spike Lee about certain directors. I was specifically struck by the comment he made about Joel and Ethan Coen (who just won a batch of Oscars for No Country for Old Men):

I always treat life and death with respect, but most people don't. . . Look, I love the Coen brothers; we all studied at NYU. But they treat life like a joke. Ha ha ha. A joke. It's like, "Look how they killed that guy! Look how blood squirts out the side of his head!" I see things different than that.

While it may not be the fairest charge leveled against the Coen Brothers, I do think a discussion about the role of violence in filmmaking (and other forms of entertainment) is one that needs to take place and Lee has a point when he implies that no one is willing to ask the hard questions. Do you agree with what Spike Lee is saying or do you think it's an unfair bin to toss the Coens into?Source

Spike Lee vs. the Coen Bros: Valid Point or Unfair Characterization?

Valid. It's important to question the use of violence, especially in Coen Bros. movies

Unfair. The Coens take a creative and nuanced approach to violence, unlike most.

Other (I'll tell you below)

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:30:00 -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. In addition to the titles below, family-friendly flicks Bee Movie and August Rush are available as well.

No Country for Old Men
If you haven't heard about No Country for Old Men, the staggering, Oscar-winning adaptation of Cormic McCarthy's novel, you might well be living under a rock. Not for those looking for warm fuzzies, this is the Coen Brothers at their best: entertaining, dark, and thought-provoking. Javier Bardem (um, how scary is he on that DVD cover?) won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Anton Chigurh, a demented serial killer whose evilness will haunt you for days. The film also stars Josh Brolin as a man on the run from Chigurh and Tommy Lee Jones a local sheriff on both of their trails.

Though the film's ending is obscure and has left many scratching their heads, I really thought it worked and I was completely entranced by the suspenseful cat-and-mouse plot. If you haven't yet seen this darn-near-perfect flick, now is your chance. Special features include a featurette about the making of the movie and one titled "Diary of A Country Sheriff."

One more release starring a beloved comedian if you

BuzzSugar's Must-Haves for March

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:30:26 -0800

March is that kind of in-between month that's still chilly enough to require some cozy movie nights, but also shows the promise of warm Spring and bouncing down the sidewalk, listening to good music. My March must-haves allow for all kinds of weather. To check out what I'm reading, watching and listening to this month, press "Start."

Box Office: Semi-Pro Semi-Beats Out Competition

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:30:00 -0800

Despite earning the top spot at the box office, the predictable laughs in Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro only earned $15.3 million over the weekend. This is considered a disappointing sum, especially compared to opening weekends of other Ferrell films like Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory. Variety reports that this underwhelming performance by the basketball comedy may have been due to mediocre reviews and an R-rating.

Vantage Point was only bumped down one spot to No. 2 over the weekend followed by The Spiderwick Chronicles at No. 3. The adaptation of Buzz Book Club's February selection The Other Boleyn Girl took the fourth spot earning an estimated $8.3 million. Penelope starring Reese Witherspoon and Christina Ricci also opened this weekend coming in at No. 8 behind Jumper, Step Up 2 The Streets, and Fool's Gold.

Filling out the top ten were Oscar-nominated films No Country for Old Men and Juno.

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema

Which Oscar-Winning Film Do You Want to See Next?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:30:00 -0800

Well, the results are in, and we now have movies that will forever be known as Oscar-winning. A lot of you said you go see the films once they're nominated, but if you didn't get to all of them before Sunday's show, maybe now's the time. Some people were so smitten with Marion Cotillard's acceptance speech that they want to rush out to see La Vie En Rose for her performance. Others want to check out There Will Be Blood so they know why everyone is talking about milkshakes. What about you? Which Oscar-winner is next on your list of must-sees?Source

Which Oscar-Winning Film Do You Want to See Next?

Ratatouille — It looks so cute!

La Vie En Rose — I have to see what everyone's talking about.

No Country For Old Men — It may be bleak, but Oscar loved it.

There Will Be Blood — I need to know what the deal with this milkshake is.

Juno — Backlash, smacklash.

Michael Clayton — Gotta see if Tilda Swinton deserved that surprise win.

Other (tell me below)

Box Office: Vantage Point Thrills Audiences

BuzzSugar — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:30:00 -0800

The star-studded cast of Vantage Point enjoyed the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend earning an estimated $24 million. The biggest weekend of the year for Hollywood also helped Academy Award-nominated films, giving movies like No Country For Old Men a significant boost at the box office, Variety reports.

Jumper came in at No. 2, followed by The Spiderwick Chronicles in the third spot. The silly-funny Be Kind Rewind came in at No. 7 followed by Juno, which took in another $4.1 million this weekend. Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins slid in at No. 9 and There Will Be Blood rounded out the top 10.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

What Do You Think About the Best Picture?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:58:21 -0800

Big night for the Coen family — No Country for Old Men won for Best Picture! The movie beat out Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, and There Will Be Blood. What do you think of this win?Source

What Do You Think About the Best Picture?

Agree

Disagree

I'm indifferent

What Do You Think About the Best Directors?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:51:09 -0800

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen won an Oscar for Best Director! Looks like they each received their own statue and don't have to share. They beat out Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Jason Reitman for Juno, Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton and Paul Thomas Anderson There Will Be Blood. What do you think about this win?Source

What Do You Think About the Best Directors?

Agree

Disagree

I'm indifferent

What Do You Think About the Best Adapted Screenplay?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 18:54:17 -0800

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen just won Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country for Old Men! They beat out adaptations for Atonement, Away from Her, There Will Be Blood and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. What do you think about this win?Photos courtesy of Miramax

What Do You Think About the Best Adapted Screenplay?

Agree

Disagree

I'm indifferent

Best Picture Breakdown: No Country For Old Men

BuzzSugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:30:04 -0800

The wait is almost over for the 2008 Oscars, which will air on Sunday night. This week, I've been breaking down the five contenders for Best Picture, giving you the scoop on why each film could win and why it might not stand a chance. I've already examined There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton, Atonement, and Juno. Today, I'm looking at the final nominee in the category, No Country For Old Men.

For this film, the Coen Bros. toned down their usual quirkiness to create a stark, spare thriller that creates an overwhelming feeling of dread. Adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name, the movie tells the story of a crazed killer, a man on the run, and a sheriff who desperately wants to intervene before the worst happens. It's won the most awards of any nominated movie this season by far, and it seems to be the presumptive favorite heading into Sunday's awards. But is it a sure thing? To see how I think the movie will fare in the Best Picture race, just

BAFTA Honors Atonement, La Vie en rose and Shia Labeouf

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:30:00 -0800

While we were busy handing out Grammys last night, the folks across the pond held their own star-studded award ceremony: the BAFTA Awards. In keeping with many of the awards ceremonies thus far, Atonement and No Country for Old Men were warmly recognized, though the picture with the most wins was La Vie en rose. Marion Cotillard was reportedly "visibly shocked" to receive the Leading Actress award.

Atonement took top honors with the Best Picture award, though the Coen Bros. nabbed the prize for Best Director. Diablo Cody took home the award for her Juno screenplay, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly won for Adapted Screenplay. Many of the acting awards were to be expected (Javier Bardem, Daniel Day-Lewis), though Tilda Swinton's win against Cate Blanchett and Samantha Morton was a bit of a surprise.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, however, the Orange Rising Star Award — which is decided by the public — was given to Shia Labeouf. He was up against Sienna Miller, Ellen Page, Tom Riley and Tang Wei. Shia was not present to claim his award.

To see a full listing of this year's BAFTA recipients, including The Bourne Ultimatum and The Golden Compass,

Link Time! 1/29

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:31:29 -0800

Cinematical found the poster and some behind-the-scenes footage from the next James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace.
Check out Stereogum for the new Erykah Badu video for "Honey."
Speaking of music videos, Spinner makes me happy by premiering the new Mountain Goats video.
TV Filter has the video of Craig Ferguson taking his citizenship test.
Meanwhile, YouAintNoPicasso has an MP3 of Belle and Sebastian covering David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
Television Without Pity wonders: Why isn't Victor Garber more famous?
Pop Candy wants to know what random TV shows you've discovered during the strike.
Popwatch learned a whole load of information about No Country for Old Men, straight from the Coen Bros.' mouths.
Give Me My Remote has the new strike video that's making the rounds, starring Josh Radnor.
Desperate for Desperate Housewives, TV with MeeVee has turned to Amas De Casa Desperadas.

Announcing the 2008 Oscar Nominations!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:16:51 -0800

No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood led the field this morning when the Oscar nominations were announced in Hollywood. Each film snagged eight nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

After it raked in a huge number of Golden Globe nominations, Atonement made less of a splash here, scoring nods for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress but largely getting shut out of other major categories.

Juno and Michael Clayton are the other two films that will compete for Best Picture when the awards are presented Feb. 24. Juno scored a total of four nominations, while Michael Clayton nabbed seven. To see the full list of nominees, just

BAFTA Noms Announced; Atonement Once Again Most Beloved

BuzzSugar — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:42:58 -0800

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced the 2008 nominations, which largely mirror the Globe noms — though there's (unsurprisingly) even more love for Atonement on the other side of the pond. The romantic Joe Wright-directed drama leads the nominations with a whopping 14, while No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood each nabbed nine. La Vie en Rose is another favorite, as is The Bourne Ultimatum, which is one of the few major departures from other recent award nominations.

The acting categories are filled with familiar names (Clooney, McAvoy, Knightley, Cotillard, Bardem, Blanchett, etc.), though there are a few new additions, like Samantha Morton (Control) and Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men). And apparently the German film The Lives of Others, which took home the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film last year is now eligible for a BAFTA award, and has a good chance of winning one with five nominations.

To check out the full list of BAFTA Award nominees,

Announcing the Winners: The 2008 Golden Globe Awards

BuzzSugar — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:52:23 -0800

The dramatically scaled-back Golden Globe Awards spread things around Sunday night, with Atonement, Sweeney Todd, No Country for Old Men, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly each taking home two awards.

Atonement and Sweeney Todd nabbed the night's biggest prizes, for the Best Dramatic Picture and Best Musical or Comedy Picture; Atonement also won for Best Original Score, while Johnny Depp won the Best Actor: Comedy or Musical prize. Diving Bell took home awards for Best Foreign Language Picture and Best Director for Julian Schnabel. No Country won the Best Screenplay award, and Javier Bardem was recognized for Best Supporting Actor.

In the television categories, Mad Men and Extras won the series awards. To see the complete list of winners, just

No Country, Juno Take Top Honors at Critics' Choice Awards

BuzzSugar — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:59:47 -0800

No Country for Old Men was named best picture and Juno took home the award for best comedy Monday night at the 13th annual Critics' Choice Awards.

No Country also picked up awards for directors Joel and Ethan Coen and star Javier Bardem, who won the Best Supporting Actor category. Juno, meanwhile, got a second award for its screenwriter, Diablo Cody.

Daniel Day-Lewis, Julie Christie, and Amy Ryan were among the other big winners in the acting categories. To see the full list of winners, just

Into the Wild Leads Screen Actors Guild Nominations

BuzzSugar — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:35:27 -0800

Nominations were announced today for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the only major awards ceremony guaranteed to still happen now that the writers' strike is threatening the Golden Globes. Into the Wild dominated the film side with four nominations, followed by No Country for Old Men and Michael Clayton with three each.

On the TV side, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty, and Mad Men were among the recognized series. To see the full list of nominees, just

Atonement Leads Golden Globe Nominations

BuzzSugar — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:49:17 -0800

Atonement came up big this morning when the nominations for the Golden Globe Awards were announced in Hollywood. The film snagged seven nominations — three for the acting of stars James McAvoy,
Keira Knightley, and Saoirse Ronan and four more for Best Dramatic Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Score.

Also getting a lot of attention from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association: Charlie Wilson's War, which snagged five nominations, including Best Musical or Comedy and acting nominations for Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Sweeney Todd, Michael Clayton, and No Country for Old Men were close behind with four nominations each.

In the television categories, cable series got a lot of love, including new shows Californication, Damages, and Mad Men.

I'll be back with my complete thoughts later today, but for now, you can check out all the nominees if you

No Country for Old Men: Nor the Faint of Heart

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 08:30:50 -0800

The Coen Brothers' repertoire is filled with some of the most accomplished films of the past two decades: O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink, to name a few. But it is their latest film that most successfully emulates their greatest critical achievement, Fargo. I daresay No Country for Old Men might be even better. It's no secret that the Oscar bees have been buzzing around this film for a while and you can believe the hype — this movie really is that good. I officially predict it will be nominated for Best Picture, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin will be nominated for Best Actor, and Tommy Lee Jones might just snag a win for Best Supporting.

So what makes this movie so good? Exactly what made Fargo so compelling: an incredible plot (based on Cormac McCarthy's novel), sharp screenwriting, superb acting, and an insane amount of suspense. Seriously, I don't know if I've been so scared at a non-horror movie since The Silence of the Lambs. And just like that movie, No Country for Old Men works because the terror is believable. To find out what is so terrifying

Box Office: Bee Movie Buzzes to the Top

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:30:00 -0800

In round two of American Gangster vs. Bee Movie at the box office, the bees buzzed their way to the top. Bee Movie brought in an estimated $26 million in its second weekend, flip-flopping last week's results by edging out American Gangster's $24.3 million.

None of the weekend's new releases came close to challenging those two. Fred Claus brought in about $19.2 million to finish in third place, while Lions for Lambs was a very distant fourth with just $6.7 million. I suppose a lot of people must have agreed with those of you who said you don't necessarily enjoy contemporary political movies. Interestingly, the audience for Lions for Lambs skewed old, with two-thirds of its viewers over age 35.

Possibly the best news this weekend comes for No Country for Old Men. The Coen brothers' Western opened in just 28 theaters around the country, but it still brought in $1.2 million and finished at No. 14 for the weekend. It expands to more theaters this Friday and will be in wide release after Thanksgiving.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Fall Movie Preview: The Westerns

BuzzSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 07:30:00 -0700

We may not be getting the crisp fall weather just yet, but we are getting previews for tons of movies opening in the fall. In preparation for this autumn and winter at the theaters, I've broken up the lengthy list of upcoming movies into many small themes for my Fall Movie Preview series. This way, you'll be in the know when the chillier months roll around, bringing a whole new crop of new films. Today I'm focusing on a curious surge of new takes on an old genre: the Western.

The Assasination of Jesse James by That Coward Robert Ford
The title kind of says it all, huh? Brad Pitt stars as Jesse James in this story about Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) who "joins Jesse James's gang, only to become resentful of the legendary outlaw and hatch a plan to kill the fastest gun in the West." The trailer on the movie's website doesn't give a whole lot away, but this movie had me at "Western" and "Brad Pitt."

Giddyup! Two more dusty, gritty Westerns when you

The 2007 Cannes Palme D'Or Award Goes to...

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 12:20:20 -0700

The 2007 Cannes Film Festival has concluded with the dispensing of the festival's top award, the Palme D'Or, to Cristian Mungiu's (pictured) 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, a drama that Variety describes as "a stark, trenchant drama about a woman's experiences receiving an abortion in the waning days of Romania's communist era."

Taking second place (the Grand Prix) was The Mourning Forest, "an ultra-arty, arid and slow French-Japanese co-production that had viewers and critics streaming for the exits early." Gus Van Sant, whose Elephant took the Palme D'Or in 2003, was awarded the third place prize for his Paranoid Park, a drama about a teenager trying to cope with having accidentally caused someone's death.

The biggest surprise according to many critics is that the Coen Brothers latest, No Country for Old Men, failed to bring home any of the top honors though it was predicted to be a festival favorite. Based on the Cormac McCarthy novel, the film's description sounds like classic Coen Brothers fare: "Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande." You can currently check out five clips of the wry, dusty movie and decide for yourself if it was robbed of Cannes awards.

Source