PopSugar

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:30:19 -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!

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
I admittedly wasn't a fan of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past when it came out in theaters, but it may be worth considering if you're in the mood for a romantic comedy that doesn't make you think too much. The premise: When playboy Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) attends his brother's wedding, he runs into his first love Jenny (Jennifer Garner), setting off a Christmas Carol-like chain of events, complete with ghosts. Yes, the plot's contrived and Connor is incredibly smarmy, but I enjoyed the supporting cast of characters, especially Emma Stone as an 80's ghost with a bad perm and Michael Douglas as Connor's Lothario uncle.

27%

Two more up next, so read more.

Observe and Report
Observe and Report follows a self-important, semi-delusional mall security cop (Seth Rogen) who flips out when he realizes he may not become a police officer - or win over the makeup counter girl of his dreams (Anna Faris). When I first reviewed it, I was surprised by how dark the film turned out to be for a Rogen and Faris comedy. Still, it does have a few laugh-worthy moments, and Rogen fans will probably want to add this to their must-see list.

51%

Lymelife
Set in the 1970s, Lymelife is an ensemble drama that follows two families in a Long Island neighborhood dealing with a Lyme disease scare. It boasts a decent ensemble cast, including Cynthia Nixon, Alec Baldwin, and Timothy Hutton, but Rory Culkin (yes, Macaulay's brother) is the heart of the film as a 15-year-old struggling in the midst of messed-up chaos. (Emma Roberts also turns in a memorable performance as his crush.) The reviews were mixed when the film released in theaters, but if twisted suburbia is your thing (i.e., American Beauty or The Ice Storm), then Lymelife is worth checking out. Bonus material includes an alternate ending.

54%

Caption It: Which Caption Should Win?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 05:30:44 -0700

Thanks for pitching in your funny ideas for this week's challenge from Observe and Report:

They were all pretty funny but we can only choose one winner! Here are your finalists:

Seth: "My other personality thinks he's Bill Cosby, hence the sweater. Don't worry these pills will make him go away."
Anna: "Ohhh cool."
"Here take these. They're called 'Sandler' pills - the more you take the less funny your movies become."
Anna: "See? It says right here, 'side effects may include constipation, irritability, and impaired judgment' . . . so really, it's not your fault you're wearing that ridiculous sweater!"
Seth: "Hey! I haven't taken any of the pills yet!"
Anna: ". . . and you STILL haven't been able to get the child proof cap open?"

Time to vote!

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Box Office: Miley's Big Weekend

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:30:18 -0700

Buzz readers are a savvy bunch and correctly predicted that Miley Cyrus's latest movie would debut at No. 1 over the weekend. Ms. Cyrus is a major force to be reckoned with at the box office, as this is her second blockbuster - and she's still a kid!

Hannah Montana: The Movie earned an estimated $34 million, zooming right by Fast and Furious which came in second.

Seth Rogen's dark comedy Observe and Report came in lower than expected at No. 4, behind Monsters vs. Aliens. Knowing rounded out the top five.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Observe and Report: The (Very) Dark Side of Being a Mall Cop

BuzzSugar — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:30:51 -0700

With its ambling plot, oddball characters and sudden bursts of violence, Observe and Report is a weird little movie. I chuckled a lot and was shocked a few times, but I wouldn't necessarily say that it's an uproariously funny comedy. I'm not sure what it is, actually.

In the story, mall cop Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) considers himself tough and important but when incidents occur at his mall - like a flasher terrorizing women in the parking lot, or someone robbing a store - the police are called in and Ronnie's job suddenly seems inconsequential by comparison. He applies to become a police officer and in the meantime pursues Brandi (Anna Faris), the shallow, blond party girl who works at a cosmetics counter and who clearly has no interest in Ronnie. The thing about Ronnie, though, is that he doesn't quite see the reality of things, so when he finally realizes that he might not be police officer material and Brandi doesn't consider him her boyfriend, he kinda loses it. Can he ever earn the respect of everyone around him? I won't say what happens but I will share more thoughts if you read more.

It's not a particularly well-told story, as the narrative wanders from point to point and we watch our lead character merely go from delusional fantasy to blind rage and back again. Sure, his outrageous behavior is funny - particularly in the setting of a sleepy suburban mall - but it's still hard to care about him all that much. It feels a bit like we're rooting for him out of some kind of obligation.

Rogen does a fine job in this kind of role - the schlubbier-than-average guy with a humorously unrealistic view of himself and his place in the world. Rogen fans will most likely enjoy this performance and this movie that revolves entirely around him, but in his ever-lengthening résumé, I have a feeling Observe and Report will not stand out as one of his best. His costars - especially Anna Faris and Celia Weston - give their all to this film and they succeed in bringing blasts of (often inappropriate) fun.

As I left the screening I overheard a conversation about how "uncreative" the movie is, and while I wouldn't go that far, I would say that some parts seem lazy. Certain gags are dragged out for a long time, I think to make them funnier, but the result is something that just feels draggy. And other scenes are quite funny but so dark or bleak that I ended up just feeling sad. It's extremely vulgar and violent, and definitely not for everyone's taste, but if you do like this sort of thing then it's worth seeing this someday just to see all these funny people interact.

Warner Bros.

Caption It!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:30:28 -0700

Welcome to the Caption It game on BuzzSugar! Every 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!

At the time I wrote this post, Advah's funny caption was leading the poll for last week's challenge:

Girl: ". . . and then, that girl who's a junior falls in love with a vampire
called Edward, and he's, like, totally hot! Isn't it the GREATEST story
EVER?"
Nathan (thinking): "I know, Joss, I feel old too. . . ."

Now on to this week's photo from Observe and Report starring Seth Rogen and Anna Faris:

Leave your captions in the comment space below before 5 p.m. PDT on Monday, April 13, to be considered for a spot in the voting round. Have fun!

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Will You See or Skip These April Movies?

PopSugarUK — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:30:00 -0700

Comedy, action, drama and animation all hit our UK cinema screens this month. I'd love to know which films you're excited about, and which you'll avoid, so take my slideshow poll and tell me if you plan to see or skip each film.

Source

View Slideshow ›

Movie Preview: Observe and Report

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:30:09 -0800

First of all, major warning: After the jump is a red-band trailer, which means it's really NSFW (unless your workplace is cool with sex scenes, swearing and snorting coke in which case. . . your workplace is awesome). Anyway, this is what some folks on the Web are referring to as the (way) darker Paul Blart because Observe and Report, starring Seth Rogen and Anna Faris, is also about mall cops. But that's pretty much where the similarities end. In comparison to Blart, this movie looks more twisted, more insane, and far more violent than its box office-busting doppelganger.

But back to Anna Faris - she is hilarious in this trailer and is a major reason why I want to see the movie. Also, the funniest trailer line in recent memory (which is, again, super NSFW) for my money comes at 1:29.

Behold the trailer for Observe and Report after the jump. Just read more.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Seth Rogen Signs On to Play Mall Cop, Apatow's Circle Expands

BuzzSugar — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:30:48 -0800

This is what impresses me about Judd Apatow's little circle of support: he genuinely seems interested in making friends with funny people and collaborating with these friends to make new funny things. Director Jody Hill unveiled his tae kwon do comedy The Foot Fist Way at the 2006 Sundance Festival, and Apatow apparently loved the film and befriended Hill. He invited Hill to the set of Knocked Up where he and Seth Rogen also became friends.

Now, Hill has written a comedy about a mall cop and Rogen is just the guy for the job. Titled Observe and Report, the movie will focus on "Ronnie Barnhardt, a deluded, self-important head of mall security who squares off in a turf war against the local cops." It sounds like it won't be a huge departure for Rogen after his role as the bumbling cop in Superbad.

Judging by the trailer for The Foot Fist Way (which is of the red-band variety, so it includes some NSFW language), I can easily see why Apatow was drawn to it and why he befriended Hill. And now, two years later, we have another bawdy comedy to look forward to. This is how the funny grows, if you're in with The Apatow.

Source

Signs of Autism Appear in Second Half of First Year

babysugar — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:02:42 -0800

Parental observation may be an inaccurate way to gauge the early signs of autism. For years, doctors have relied on moms and dads to provide them with information regarding dwindling social interaction in tots' first two years of life. But a new study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry may have doctors searching elsewhere for accurate reports.

California researchers have found that behavioral signs of autism – lack of smiling, eye contact, and vocalization – are not present at birth but begin to emerge at 6 months. At that point, rather than slowing development, as researchers previously thought, tots who went on to be diagnosed with autism actually began regressing. According to the study, parents did not observe such regressions. In fact, most later claimed that their wee ones exhibited the signs from birth. The researchers said:

[The] results suggest that behavioral signs of autism are not present at birth, as once suggested by Kanner, but emerge over time through a process of diminishment of key social communication behaviors. More children may present with a regressive course than previously thought, but parent report methods do not capture this phenomenon well.

How carefully do you note your child's social development milestones?

Running Is Not Bad For Your Knees, but Running Shoes Might Be

FitSugar — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:00:20 -0800

When it comes to running and your body, there's both good news and bad news. The good news is that running doesn't cause arthritis in the knees, and the bad news is your running shoes could be the source of many injuries. Let's begin on the brighter side.

Ongoing research, tracking runners and non-runners over a couple of decades, has found that runners do not suffer arthritis in their knees at a higher rate than their more sedentary counterparts. The even better news is that it looks like high-impact activities like running may actually help the cartilage remain healthy. Here's how researcher James Fries and Time explain the phenomenon:

Because cartilage - the soft connective tissue that surrounds the bones in joints - does not have arteries that deliver blood, it relies on the pumping action generated by movement to get its regular dose of oxygen and nutrients. "When you bear weight, [the joint] squishes out fluid, and when you release weight, it sucks in fluid," says Fries, explaining why a daily run or any other workout is useful for maintaining healthy cartilage.

I like the image of the cartilage lining my knees joints working like a sponge. On the heels of this good news comes the research about running shoes. Learn more when you continue reading.