Road trips movies are inevitably about the forces that pull us apart and/or draw us together. Boundaries, from writer-director Shana Feste, uses this vehicle to look at three generations of a family in need of both distance and reunion. Laura (Vera Farminga) has a problem setting limits, as is seen in the fact that she… [Read More]
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare in Modern L.A.
This is a decent adaptation and abridgment of the play. (Bear in mind that purists will rarely be happy with adapting the Bard.)
Tully – A Bit of Help to Find Happiness
When writer Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman collaborate (as they did earlier in Juno and Young Adult) the result is always an interesting bit of social philosophy set within the institution of family. Tully is their latest work, with a special emphasis on the trial and meaning of motherhood in today’s world.
Isle of Dogs – It’s Cute, but It Has a Bite
This is one of the great examples of having a film that entertains well and at the same time goads our minds into active thought. It is very much like a cross-cultural extended parable.
Finding Your Feet – Never Too Late for a New Beginning
On the surface, this looks like a date night movie for the Leisure World set. But the wisdom the film imparts can be absorbed by people of any age.
Sorry, Ricky Gervais: Humanity Still Needs a Cure
i genuinely dig Ricky Gervais plenty, and i’m thankful for The Office, like, for sure i appreciate his iconoclastic approach to comedy; i relate to his atheism, tho i’m not an atheist myself, as you’ll gather below however, i noticed him make a move in his recent Netflix comedy special, Ricky Gervais: Humanity, that i’d… [Read More]
The Holy Fool of ABC’s The Middle (or: What Would Sue Heck Do?)
not sure if you watch ABC’s The Middle; if not, you might consider it it’s just a family sitcom, but a pretty good one, especially if you watch with your kids, which is how we do it and how it’s intended, i’d say it’s in its 9th (and final) season, so i’ve been thinking a bit… [Read More]
Lady Bird – Discovering a Best Self
I saw this film on Thanksgiving weekend, and it was amazingly appropriate. So much of our time is spent being oblivious to the many things we have because we so often focus on the things we do not have. That is very much Lady Bird’s experience with the world.
Dying Laughing: 1on1 with Jim O’Heir (MIDDLE MAN)
For full audio of our interview with Jim, stream below: While he’s perhaps best known for his role as perennial nice guy Jerry Gurgich from Parks and Recreation, actor Jim O’Heir finally gets to usurp those expectations in the dark comedy, Middle Man. Written and directed by Ned Crowley, Middle Man tells the story of… [Read More]
I Do… Until I Don’t: Is Marriage Dead?
I Do… Until I Don’t follows a filmmaker named Vivian (played by Dolly Wells), as she’s making a documentary about marriage and its challenges. She focuses her film on three dysfunctional couples – Lake Bell and Ed Helms, who are trying to have a baby, Amber Heard and Wyatt Cenac, who have more of an… [Read More]
