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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:30:25 -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. Also out this week: The Great Buck Howard, Monk: Season Seven, and Psych: Season Three.

Watchmen
Do you guys remember when it was all Watchmen hype, all the time? It seems like that went on forever and then finally the movie, based on the critically acclaimed comic book series by Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore, hit theaters. And it was fun, especially for those of us who had read the book. Director Zack Snyder made a faithful adaptation, which has its benefits and drawbacks. Visually it is a feast for the eyes, especially the opening sequence, and I think it's definitely worth taking home if you didn't catch it on the big screen. The cast is pretty cool, too, and includes Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, and Patrick Wilson.

There are lots of DVD extras, like a director's cut of the film (186 minutes) on some versions, a featurette titled "The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics," and webisodes.

64%

Two more DVDS to check out if you read more.

Coraline
In my opinion, this stop-motion animated adaptation of Neil Gaiman's book is one of the better movies to hit theaters so far this year. It's clear that the filmmakers embarked on a painstakingly careful process to bring this strange and sometimes scary story to the big screen.

Dakota Fanning voices Coraline, a little girl who discovers an alternate version of her life - a way better and more interesting version. But when her "Other Mother" (voiced by Teri Hatcher) tries to keep her forever, Coraline must dig deep and tap into her bravery to get back home. It's immensely entertaining and I highly recommend adding this to your queue!

Special features include a featurette in which director and screenwriter Henry Selick and Coraline author Neil Gaiman take fans deeper into the intricacies of Coraline's worlds, deleted scenes, and a special making-of featurette.

88%

Pushing Daisies: Season Two
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm so bummed that ABC let this whimsical gem of a show go. Thankfully the DVD is out now so you can keep it with you forevermore. Pushing Daisies will live on in our DVD collections and our hearts!

Special features in this second season DVD set include "The Master Pie Maker" (a peek inside the mind of creator Bryan Fuller), "From Oven to Table" (bringing a script idea to life), "Secret Sweet Ingredients" (spotlight on composer Jim Dooley), and "Add a Little Magic" (a look at the show's visual effects).

Pushing Daisies Rundown: Episode 13, "Kerplunk"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:30:59 -0700

I think I need a hug. The last episode of Pushing Daisies is about as solid a finale as possible, considering that nobody knew it was a finale at the time. It has a story that brings most of the major characters together and a massive reveal at the end - and even the last-minute bit of closure seemed to fit. "For endings, as it is known, are where we begin," we'll chat about this episode when you read more.

I wrote last week about my mixed feelings about the return of Pushing Daisies, especially knowing there wouldn't be much wrapped up at the end. But "Kerplunk" makes it all worthwhile. Not only is it a solid episode, it ends on a note of hope. While I knew it was unlikely - especially with a comic book on the way - I feared the show would end with a rushed Chuck/Ned kiss. But what we get in this episode is so much better. Chuck makes herself known to the aunts, and while we don't get to see the reaction, that final sweep through Coeur d'Coeurs shows that it's ultimately happy. It's "the promise of a new family, brought about by the words 'I'm alive.'" And while I so wish we could have seen that family thrive, I'm surprisingly satisfied just knowing it exists.

Even better, the moment of Chuck's big reveal is completely earned. We see young Lily and Vivian - Lily by turns annoyed with and protective of her little sister, born with a hole in her heart - and their journey to becoming the Darling Mermaid Darlings. And at the hands of a vindictive former (well, apparently current) swimming rival, Vivian learns the truth about Chuck, Lily, and Charles Charles at long last. It's impressive to see Vivian - normally so gentle, she wants fresh lilacs in their swimming contract - hurl something against a wall, and even more impressive for her to seriously consider living without her sister. Well, for a second anyway, since the moment of her breakdown is also exactly the moment Chuck turns up at their door.

Chuck's story in this episode is fascinating - and not one I saw coming. The whole time she's been alive again, she's gone to great lengths to make sure the aunts are happy. But it turns out a full-blown European tour isn't the kind of happy she wants them to be, because she'd miss them too much if they weren't nearby. She nearly sabotages their return performance - something, it should be noted, that would certainly not make them happy - when Ned makes his confession: Ned fears he'd be less important if Chuck and her aunts could reunite. But that's selfish; if he truly loves Chuck, he should let her love the ones she loves (presumably under close supervision, of course).

Some other thoughts:

Great Lily quote, and one that could only ever be uttered on this show: "Don't sign my name to that 'Sorry a shark ate your b*tch of a sister' letter."
Emerson and Olive's matching sweatsuits are amazing, as is Olive's crime moll voice in the interrogation scene.
Wilson Cruz! As a synchronized swimmer! That's inspired.
Amazing that Ned has a picture of Chuck and her aunts still sitting on his old instamatic camera. Actually, just amazing that Ned still has his instamatic camera.

So let's talk about the final moments. Penny comes back to Emerson! The aunts go to Europe! Olive embraces Randy and his sack of pasta and opens a mac-and-cheese shop called The Intrepid Cow! It's all so happy and bouncy and sweet, complete with Digby bounding through yellow fields. It's unfortunate the show couldn't wrap up the stories with Chuck's father and Ned's father on TV - I'm especially curious to learn more about Ned's dad, because I have some theories - but I suppose that's what the comic is for. And with an ending like this, I can wait. What about you?

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

TV Tonight: The Pushing Daisies Series Finale

BuzzSugar — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 10:30:38 -0700

Goodbye, fair pie-maker. Goodbye, alive again girl named Chuck. Goodbye, snarky, shady PI and singing itty-bitty waitress. Tonight's the night that Pushing Daisies comes to a close.

It's still a bummer that ABC let this whimsical gem of a show go - but in all honesty, I can't say I'm surprised. From the beginning, it seemed like the kind of show that was going to break my heart, destined for critical acclaim, a niche audience, and premature cancellation. In fact, looking back, the true miracle seems to be that we got two seasons out of it at all, even if they were both shortened (one by the writers' strike and one by ABC's axe).

Tonight's episode, "Kerplunk," wasn't filmed as a finale and doesn't feel like one, but it does have plenty of satisfying moments, especially where the aunts are concerned: They become a central part of the episode's investigation when one of their former swimming rivals goes down at the hands of a shark during a performance. And with a comic book on the way, I'm just glad we'll be able to see more of Ned, Chuck, Emerson, and Olive in any form.

Will you be watching tonight? For a preview of what's to come, just read more.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros

Pushing Daisies Rundown: Episode 12, "Water and Power"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:30:29 -0700

This week's episode of Pushing Daisies - well, really the whole series, but this episode in particular - is about the silly things we do for love. In this installment, it's level-headed, eye-rolling Emerson who falls head over heels into stupidity when a case leads him to his daughter's mother. Olive, meanwhile, makes some questionable relationship decisions of her own about how to proceed with Randy Mann. To chat about this episode, read more.

Love really must be a powerful thing if even Emerson Cod can fall victim to it. Beneath that hardened exterior, Emerson's been a fool for beautiful and mysterious women ever since he willingly got himself in trouble as a child just so he could sit in the office of his lovely principal. More recently, there was Lila, of whom he probably should have been suspicious from the start considering she met him in the middle of a con job. She was supposed to steal the "dam ruby" but ended up with Emerson's heart instead - and, eventually, his Penny. She comes back into Emerson's life in this episode as a suspect once more, this time not just as a thief but as a murderer of the dam ruby's owner. What I loved about this story is how the whole crew gets involved: Chuck, Ned, Olive, and even Randy Mann turn out to help Emerson, who they fear is blinded by "Lilaberry juice." And in many ways, the hero of the whole operation turns out to be Simone, who pulls Emerson away from a rushing flood just in time to save his life and the ruby. For a moment, Emerson even looks redeemed: the killer isn't Lila after all.

But Emerson still falls victim to the "maneating, shape-shifting grifter" who mothered his child. I couldn't believe he would give Lila his keys without walking over to make sure Penny was in the car first, but I guess that's what Lilaberry juice will do. He's expecting to see a little girl with braces; he instead just sees a doll. Luckily - in an ending that felt a little tacked on; I wonder if it was added later when the producers knew they were only getting a few more episodes? - Lil Gumshoe is getting published after all, so maybe Penny will find her way back on her own.

Meanwhile, just as Ned and Chuck are feeling all schmoopy about Olive and Randy, Olive cuts him off. She's not ready to plunge into a real relationship - and even as Ned is convincing her that a rebound is exactly what she needs, Randy's telling her he doesn't want to be her second-best. Ultimately, she confesses everything: that she did want to use him, that he's a difficult person, that she doesn't want to get him caught up in her issues. But before they can work out a real solution, Randy leans in for a kiss - and that seems like a good answer for now.

Some other thoughts:

Though it ultimately gets them discovered in Lila's trunk, the conversation Ned and Chuck have about the nature of love is precious. Chuck's been saying their love is "hardy" (Ned chuckles because he hears "heart-y"), but she really means their love is hard. Why love at all? Chuck wonders. It just leaves people with more to lose. Ned gives a perfectly Ned-ish answer: "Why love something? Because we can."
Olive on her relationship hangups: "I'm that girl in high school who's afraid of real relationships, so she's attracted to guys in college. Or Canada."
How funny was it to hear Jim Dale narrate "dam" over and over again?
Emerson on Lila's shifty eyes: "She's lied so much in her life, her eyes are like that permanently."

How did "Water and Power" work for you? Have you braced yourself for next week's finale?

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros

Pushing Daisies Rundown: Episode 11, "Window Dressed to Kill"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:30:46 -0700

Welcome back, Pushing Daisies fans! It's been a long time since this beloved show went off the air, and while it's sad that the final episodes are airing in what may be the worst time slot on television, I'm just relieved that they're airing at all.

This episode picks up with Ned holding fast to his promise from the last episode to stop using his powers - not for good, not for evil, not even to un-rot the fruit for his pies. But can he hold out when there's a whole world in need of his powers? Meanwhile, we get a glimpse of young Olive and her daddy issues (go figure), and that helps to bring the Chuck-Olive-Ned love triangle to some delightfully awkward new heights. Ready to chat about it? Just read more.

There's no denying that Ned and Chuck have a magical romance. But what if what Ned really wants is a hand to hold (without a glove)? He gets a taste of what that might be like in this episode, as he pretends to be Olive's fiance in an effort to please her childhood kidnappers/surrogate fathers. (Only in the world of Pushing Daisies would such characters even exist!) Apparently she's been writing them letters about the man she loves for years; she just neglected to mention that he doesn't love her back. And now, not far removed from Ned's confusing "I wouldn't say never" moment, the two of them are acting like lovers. Ned takes pains to point out it's temporary, once again breaking Olive's heart (but opening up the opportunity for her to make a real connection with Randy Mann). But maybe he enjoyed "trying on" this relationship more than he thought? Even after assuring Chuck that he only wants to be with her, he glances out at Olive and Randy effortlessly clasping hands and feels a pang of jealousy. Maybe Ned could be swayed by the chance to kiss someone without a layer of plastic wrap between them.

Then again, maybe not. Because Ned's the kind of guy who does the right thing, even when "the right thing" is waking up Randy Mann's dead rhino. Ned has a power, and while keeping it under wraps is an interesting experiment, it's destined to be temporary. As Randy says, who wants to be a "super-tall, clumsy guy" like Clark Kent when Superman is only a quick change in a phone booth away? By the end of the episode, Ned's back to the status quo of waking the dead and saving rotten fruit.

But before that, it's fun to watch Emerson and Chuck try to solve a crime the good, old-fashioned way. Chuck's not a half-bad detective, and in the end, Ned's abilities only confirm their hunch about who's killing off the Dicker's window dressers. Dick Dicker seemed a little off from the start, but as usual, the resolution of the case is beside the point; it's just fun to see all the twists and turns Daisies takes to get there.

Some other thoughts:

Who would neglect a child as adorable as Olive Snook? Her inadvertent kidnappers were right to tell Olive's parents what they were missing - even if it did land them in jail.
Speaking of Olive, love her reenacting the water tower moment on a Pie Hole cherry light and reading Double Negative: What You Shouldn't Not Know in an effort to suss out Ned's true feelings.
How sweet is the kiss that transfers Chuck's lipstick to her glove and then to Ned's cheek?
On Olive's list of things you try on: "You try on your best friend's bra and you smile on the inside cause yours are bigger and better."
I could really go for a slice of Pearway to Heaven.

Did it feel good to be back in the world of Daisies? And what would you like to see resolved in the next couple of episodes?

TV Tonight: Pushing Daisies

BuzzSugar — Sat, 30 May 2009 10:30:52 -0700

The TV landscape has looked a little less colorful since December. A little less whimsical. A little less fun. That's because Pushing Daisies last aired Dec. 17, and it's been a drab, pie-less world since then.

But! At long last, Daisies returns tonight with the first of its final three episodes. Yes, writing "final three episodes" still breaks my heart a little, but I'm just glad we'll get to see the conclusion of this lovely show on television at all.

When we left off, Ned's father issues were about to get a lot more complicated, as it seemed his dad had started hanging around the Pie Hole. And last we heard, he'd sworn off using his powers - whether for good or for evil. So I'm curious to see where things pick up tonight with "Window Dressed to Kill," which finds Chuck getting recruited onto Emerson's crime-busting team. Also, there's singing from Kristin Chenoweth, which is always a delight, and while this scene with her song may be a bit spoilery, it just made me all the more excited to watch tonight. Tell me: Are you coming back to see how Daisies wraps up?

Report: Final Pushing Daisies Episodes to Air Starting May 30

BuzzSugar — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:30:46 -0700

Could we finally get to see the end of Pushing Daisies on TV after all? When ABC canceled the show in November, it left three episodes unscheduled - and until now, it seemed we'd either have to wait till July for the DVD or book a flight to LA for the Paley Festival this month to see them. But now there's a report that ABC will air the final three episodes on Saturday nights starting May 30.

ABC hasn't confirmed the report just yet, but the schedule is supposed to be announced this week. And it would make some sense, as it would allow ABC to air the episodes - as Saturday night filler, granted, but still! - before the DVD hits stores.

My fingers are crossed that this news is true. Daisies might not have had a huge audience, but its following is awfully loyal. ABC's left us hanging for a while on this one (can you believe the most recent episode aired in December?), but I hope they let Daisies finish out its run on TV. And besides, if that goes well, wouldn't it be great to get to see the rest of Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone, too? OK, now my hopes are probably too high. But anyway, what are your thoughts on Daisies potentially wrapping up on Saturdays?

Link Time! 3/12

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:30:36 -0700

Some hints/spoilers about the end of Pushing Daisies. - Give Me My Remote
The outtakes of Ricky Gervais's appearance on Sesame Street are tickling us, Elmo. - Popwatch
Huh. Apparently the Pinocchio special anniversary DVD is pretty fantastic. - Cinematical
10 memorable TV cameos by pop stars. - TV.com
Check out a brand-new scene from Monsters vs. Aliens. - MTV Movies Blog
Check out some Kill Bill-inspired home decor. - CasaSugar
Here's a sneak peek from the Hold Steady's forthcoming live album/DVD combo. - Stereogum
Try a few of these recession tips that some celebrity chefs recently shared with Oprah. - YumSugar
Here's a way to watch SXSW movies without being in Austin. - Pop Candy

Fringe, Big Love, The Hills, and More Get Slots at Paley Festival

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:30:26 -0800

What do The Hills, Fringe, and The Mentalist have in common? They've all been honored with spots at this year's Paley Television Festival in Los Angeles.

This year's lineup for the festival seems like an especially eclectic group of shows - there's reality, there's online (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog), there's drama (Big Love), and there's even something we haven't seen yet: On April 19, the festival will screen the final three as-yet-unaired episodes of Pushing Daisies.

One thing missing from this year's lineup is any tribute to a classic or cult TV show, like last year's Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion. I suppose it's possible that some of the original Beverly Hills 90210 cast members will show up for the 90210 event, but the focus definitely seems to be on the new class.

The festival runs from April 10-23 in Los Angeles. Would any of these shows get you to go? To see the full lineup, just read more.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Friday, April 10, with Danny DeVito, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, and more.

90210 - Saturday, April 11, with panelists to be announced.

True Blood - Monday, April 13, with Alan Ball, Ryan Kwanten, Steven Moyer, Anna Paquin, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wessley, and more.

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog - Tuesday, April 14, with Felicia Day, Nathan Fillion, Jed Whedon, Joss Whedon, and Zack Whedon.

Dollhouse - Wednesday, April 15, with Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku, Enver Gjoka, Fran Kranz, Dichen Lachman, Harry Lennix, Tahmoh Penikett, and Olivia Williams.

The Big Bang Theory - Thursday, April 16, with Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, and more.

The Mentalist - Friday, April 17, with Simon Baker, Bruno Heller, Tim Kang, Chris Long, Amanda Righetti, Robin Tunney, Owain Yeoman, and more.

Desperate Housewives - Saturday, April 18, with panelists to be announced.

Pushing Daisies screening - Sunday, April 19, with Bryan Fuller.

Battlestar Galactica/Caprica - Monday, April 20, with David Eick, Ronald D. Moore, and more.

The Hills - Tuesday, April 21, with Tony DiSanto, Adam DiVello, Liz Gateley, Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge, Spencer Pratt, and more.

Big Love - Wednesday, April 22, with Ginnifer Goodwin, Bill Paxton, Chloe Sevigny, Harry Dean Stanton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and more.

Fringe - Thursday, April 23, with Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Anna Torv, and more.

Swingtown celebration - Friday, April 24, with Mike Kelley, Alan Poul, and more.

Fringe photo courtesy of Fox, The Hills photo courtesy of MTV, and Big Love photo courtesy of HBO

Pushing Daisies Fans: Would You Want a Movie?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 07:30:21 -0800

The latest in TV-to-movie rumors is that Pushing Daisies might make it to the big screen - after, of course, the last episode finally airs this Summer. That last episode apparently won't resolve every plotline on the show, but according to Kristin Chenoweth, Bryan Fuller has an idea for a movie that would. Here's more:

"It would wrap up a lot of the unanswered questions that people will have once they finally air our final episodes," the singer-actress told TVGuide.com. . . If the movie goes ahead, Chenoweth says she's in - and she believes her Daisies castmates would be as well. "I'm sure that Bryan Fuller wouldn't do it without the six main characters," she said. "Paul Reubens was a big part of it - we have certain guest stars that are standouts that we'd want back. But he has such a great idea for it. . . We all want to."

Intriguing! What do you think of this? Could the vibrant, whimsical world of Pushing Daisies work on the big screen? Or should everyone just leave it to go off the air gracefully?