Mad Men Review: "The Other Woman" (Episode 5.11)
Even the least savvy of consumers can tell you that advertising, ultimately, is about selling something. read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsChernobyl Diaries
About five years ago, Oren Peli took a moderately clever idea and executed it moderately well, giving birth to the unlikely and lucrative Paranormal Activity franchise. Now, for his first feature screenplay credit since (no, he did not write Paranormal 2 or 3), Peli has a better concept, one with broader scope and even more potential for quality chills. And he hasn’t a clue what to do with it.... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsAwake Review: "Turtles All The Way Down" (Episode 1.13)
When NBC announced that Awake would only receive one thirteen-episode season, I’ll admit to being pretty disappointed. Awake is, in my opinion, the best drama to come out the 2011-12 season on television, and one of the finest NBC dramas in years. The pilot was one of the best examples of great television this year I can think of, and besides a few missteps, Awake has been compelling throughout its short run. read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsMoonrise Kingdom
After seven features, a Wes Anderson production is unmistakable: white, upper-middle-class dysfunctional families deadpanning wry dialogue amid meticulous mise-en-scène to an eclectic soundtrack. read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsThe Intouchables
As crowd-pleasing as it is irreverent, France’s box-office smash The Intouchables, about a quadriplegic aristocrat and his ex-con caretaker, arrives stateside with an American remake already in the works. Don’t miss this opportunity to see the original, though, as some of the comedy drama’s racier elements are likely to be tamed for audiences sensitive to issues of class, race and disability.... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsThe Do-Deca-Pentathlon
If the works of Jay and Mark Duplass boast a visual trademark, that trademark would be the “punch zoom.” In pertinent moments throughout all the Duplass films, starting with their mumblecore debut The Puffy Chair, the camera quickly zooms in on characters—like, well, a punch—shifting the focus from big to small, from macro to micro. Many moviegoers consider this stylistic staple a literal punchline for their offbeat humor, but it seems to function more as a symbol of what they’re devoted to as filmmakers: the eschewing of big, impersonal narratives for small, intimate stories that hone in on the simple... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsMen in Black III
The evolution of the comic book movie in recent years has led to an increasing focus on grounding them in as much reality as possible. In that respect, Men in Black III, like the rest of the series, is a refreshing throwback, in that it fully embraces its roots with open tentacles, creating a goofy and cartoonish world in which aliens of all shapes and sizes lurk around every corner... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsModern Family Review: "Baby on Board" (Episode 3.24)
The final episode of Modern Family’s third season had a number of surprises for viewers, not the least of which was an added element of pathos with Mitchell’s and Cam’s struggles to adopt a second child.... read more
Found in: TV, ReviewsDana Buoy: Summer Bodies
Akron/Family percussionist Dana Janssen did that by-now routine thing where he took a break from his freak-folk-experimental-rock band to go into the Thailand jungles with a sampler and come home and sit through a hurricane and produce a love album under the name Dana Buoy (conceivably but not actually because he floated around in a lot of rain during this time). The resulting album Summer Bodies warrants more scrutiny than its routine origins suggest. Despite the attention given to the album’s tropical origins and influences, the disc largely is (and largely is its best as) a synth-pop record. One... read more
Found in: Music, ReviewsOslo, August 31st
Somber, thoughtful, elegiac, Oslo, August 31st asks why life is worth living when it’s been squandered. It’s not as if the main character, Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie), has had the most difficult life. On the contrary, he’s from a well-to-do family and has frittered away his time clubbing and doing drugs. At the age of 34, he’s given a new chance as he’s on the verge of being released from a drug rehabilitation center.... read more
Found in: Movies, Reviews
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