The fifth season of HBO’s Girls aired its two-part finale this past weekend, and rather than feeling like a show that had run its course, it demonstrated a renewed creative potential. Although Girls has remained a reliably interesting show for its duration, the last two seasons suffered from an occasional lack of direction. It wasn’t …
All good things must come to an end. It’s a well-worn adage that everyone knows and has to come to terms with at one point or another. It’s funny sometimes that we can detect when something is nearing its conclusion without succinctly knowing the end date yet to be etched in stone. It forces us …
Amy Schumer already cemented her place on my year’s favorite entertainment list when she managed to loosely remake 12 Angry Men for the fourth episode of Inside Amy Schumer, but not satisfied with owning television, Schumer decides to revive the romantic comedy for 2015. Lazy writing has cursed the genre for much of the last few decades and studios have responded in kind by not pursuing that market with the gusto they used to.
More Amy Schumer? Yes, please! It seems like the comedian is finding more fans in the movie world as her comedy Trainwreck is set to open in theaters this summer, but that hasn’t stopped her from bagging another project with one of the top comedy directors working today. The Hollywood Reporter broke on Friday that …
We’re just a week removed from The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and already people are moving on to talk about the next one. Captain America: Civil War is the next chapter (after Ant-Man) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and this one, (really, you guys) is the one you’ve been waiting for, not the one …
Hollywood’s response to the general public’s calls for more gender diversity and strong representations of women in film has been to simply remind the world that women can play with the boys too, from female Ghostbusters to female superheroes to now female football fans. Laura Dern is now producing a comedy about “obsessive female football …
Maladies Written and directed by Carter USA, 2012 Somehow, the most inexplicable thing about Maladies is that it’s being released around the United States for release; considering the film’s deliberately experimental and impenetrable quality, this is no easy feat to achieve. But the overriding question upon watching Maladies is as follows: who is this movie …
Girls Season 3, Episode 10: “Role-Play” Written by Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow Directed by Jesse Peretz Airs Sundays at 10 PM on HBO All the tension building up from Adam (Adam Driver) getting a part in a Broadway play to Hannah’s (Lena Dunham) mom’s offhanded comment about “keeping the job, not the guy” last week …
Disney live-action films of the 1990s are often remembered for all the wrong reasons. It was the era of smart-mouthed kids, remakes of old TV shows (Inspector Gadget, George of the Jungle), The Mighty Ducks sequels, and other sports movies trying to recreate the success of The Mighty Ducks. Looking over the ‘90s, it is …
Girls, Season 3, Episode 7: “Beach House” Written by Jenni Konner, Lena Dunham, and Judd Apatow Directed by Jesse Peretz Airs Sundays at 10 PM on HBO Girls continues its focus on character relationships by taking a break from its ongoing plot to show Hannah (Lena Dunham), Marnie (Allison Williams), Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet), and Jessa’s (Jemima …
Girls, Season 3, Episode 4, “Dead Inside” Written by Judd Apatow and Lena Dunham Directed by Jesse Peretz Airs Sundays at 10pm (EST) on HBO Like last week’s episode which focused mainly on Hannah’s (Lena Dunham) 25th birthday party, “Dead Inside” takes another big moment in her life and uses it as a lens …
This is the End Directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg USA, 2013 Seth Rogen, more than most comic leading men of his generation, always seems to end up playing himself, for good or ill. From Knocked Up to Pineapple Express to even The Green Hornet, it’s hard …
Girls, Season 2, Episode 7: “Video Games” Written by Bruce Eric Kaplan and Lena Dunham Directed by Richard Shephard Original air date: February 24, 2013 In an episode totally in the spirit of season 1’s “The Return”, this week’s episode of Girls sees Jessa and Hannah take a little trip to the countryside to meet with …
This is 40 Directed by Judd Apatow Written by Judd Apatow USA, 2012 Over the past decade, Judd Apatow the writer has made a calculated effort to mature himself, while Judd Apatow the producer indulges in his childish side. The films he’s directed have gotten progressively less raunchy and more introspective, as he’s explored unexpected …
*Disclaimer: the following is based on and an expansion of an article written by Peter Howell, the Toronto Star Movie Critic. It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a film of the lowest common denominator adds nothing to the institution of cinema. But as profiteers like Adam Sandler have already understood, when money speaks, truth is …
It’s that time of year again: film festival season. As the weather is getting hotter, so are the lineups of some of the world’s most notorious festivals. This week Tribeca has announcement much news about their Documentary Competition and Viewpoints lineups, along with the big headline of the film festival’s opening. Staying safe and mainstream, …
Recently we posted an article announcing that Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann would be reprising their roles from Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up, in a spin off to the hit comedy. Apatow confirmed that the movie would not be a prequel nor a sequel, but instead a stand-alone film. The question that remains now is, whether …
For those who were craving some more from 2007’s wacky romantic comedy Knocked Up that starred Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen as not so star-crossed lovers, will be delighted that The Wrap is confirming Judd Apatow will bring his signature humor back with a spin off comedy of sorts starring Leslie Mann & Paul Rudd. …
Cult Cinema: Volume 7 Good comedy is a mix of the familiar, the unexpected, and the shocking. Which is an elaborate way of saying that ending a knock-knock joke with a line about killing a baby is a sure way to get a laugh. Try it some time. At work. So, it’s no surprise that …
MJ Documentary? The King of Pop continues to be incredibly lucrative, even in death. The latest posthumous venture concerns the “…rights to the approximately 80 hours of high-definition, full dress rehearsal footage captured by AEG Entertainment, the company behind Jackson’s concert series.” It’s the rehearsal footage for the “This Is It” series of 50 live …
Originally Posted in Creative Loafing. 2009 is already halfway over, and the fall movie season (with all the originality and Oscar-bait it has to offer) is just around the corner. What follows is my list of the 25 films I’m most interested in seeing in the second half of 2009. Read all the way to …
Cult Cinema: Volume 7 Good comedy is a mix of the familiar, the unexpected, and the shocking. Which is an elaborate way of saying that ending a knock-knock joke with a line about killing a baby is a sure way to get a laugh. Try it some time. At work. So, it’s no surprise that …