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TIFF Journal: Bad Education (2019)

Jason Gorber — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 15:00:36 +0000

Director Cory Finley takes the good will from his 2017 debut Thoroughbreds and ups the ante even further. Bad Education is a bleak, comical, and surprisingly effective film about a high school finance scandal. Writer/co-producer Mike Makowsky’s screenplay is remarkable both for its deft construction and for how close the writer is to the events...

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The Addams Family (2019) Review: Not Creepy, Not Kooky, Not Mysterious Nor Spooky

Deirdre Crimmins — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 16:00:11 +0000

With well-established source material and a pedigreed duo of directors, The Addams Family should have been an easy win. Somehow, it never comes together into a coherent family film. Directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon are the pair behind the hilarious and astonishingly socially progressive Sausage Party. They might not seem like a natural choice...

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Ma Review: Don’t Make Her Drink Alone

Deirdre Crimmins — Fri, 31 May 2019 12:00:57 +0000

Ma is a rare gem of a horror film. Its cast is award-winning and its premise is promising, but despite this pedigree it never takes itself too seriously. Maggie and her mom Erica (Diana Silvers and Academy Award nominee Juliette Lewis) are moving back to mom’s hometown after a divorce. We get hints through their...

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Weekend Roundtable: Worst Movies by 2018 Oscar Nominees

Josh Zyber — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 20:00:34 +0000

When Oscar season comes around, we like to play a little game where we remember that not all of the celebrated actors and directors have had spotless track records for quality entertainment. Let’s look back at some of the worst movies made by this year’s batch of Oscar nominees. Specifically, we have our eyes on...

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2018 Golden Globe Winners

Josh Zyber — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 06:00:11 +0000

The Golden Globe Awards traditionally have a reputation as the biggest party in Hollywood, where celebrities often get sloppy drunk and everybody has a fun time. Coming off the turmoil of the past year, however, it’s little surprise that pretty much no one in the entertainment industry felt comfortable letting loose this time. The somber...

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‘I, Tonya’ Review: To Die For, Too

Philip Brown — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 17:00:38 +0000

Every winter, we’re treated to a parade of bio-pics about famous faces who made a mark on American culture. You know, your Abraham Lincolns and so forth. Tonya Harding wasn’t exactly an obvious choice to be added to the pantheon of award bait bios. Her legacy is a pop culture punchline at best, and that’s...

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‘Minions’ Review: Meh, It’s Fine

Philip Brown — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 19:00:57 +0000

The ‘Despicable Me’ franchise might not have been perfect, but it produced some animated icons in the bumbling Minions. Sporting a simple design and sputtering out cute gibberish, the Minions were perfectly calculated to tickle children and sell plush toys, and dammit they deserved the attention. It should come as no surprise that the Minions...

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‘Spy’ Review: The Name’s McCarthy, Melissa McCarthy

Philip Brown — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 19:00:21 +0000

Ever since she stole ‘Bridesmaids’ away from a cast too good for that to be easy, Hollywood has struggled to find a movie worthy of Melissa McCarthy’s sudden stardom. After a bunch of financially successful but not particularly good attempts, ‘Spy’ comes as something between a pleasant surprise and a relief. It’s no groundbreaking masterpiece...

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‘Bad Words’ Review: Bad Bateman, Good Director?

Philip Brown — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 13:00:51 +0000

If ‘Bad Words’ had been released in the early 1990s starring Bill Murray, it probably would have been a big mainstream hit. Twenty years later starring and directed by Jason Bateman, it’s now a small indie that should be a modest success. That’s not the same as saying that it’s bad, just a sign of...

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Now Playing: ‘Way’ Good

Bryan Kluger — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 19:00:03 +0000

Hot off their Oscar win for ‘The Descendants‘, screenwriters Jim Rash and Nat Faxon hop into the director’s chair for the first time with the incredible summer flick ‘The Way, Way Back’. The comedy duo pulls triple duty on this film, serving as directors, writers and actors. That’s no easy feat, but they pull it...

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Sundance Journal: ‘Liberal Arts’

Aaron Peck — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:00:34 +0000

‘How I Met Your Mother’ star Josh Radnor made his directorial debut at Sundance last year with ‘happythankyoumoreplease‘. He’s back this year with a more mature, more refined effort, ‘Liberal Arts’. Coming-of-age stories are a dime a dozen at film festivals. With that said, I’ve never seen a coming-of-age movie quite like ‘Liberal Arts’. It...

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‘Lost’ in Thought: Across the Sea

Josh Zyber — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:00:16 +0000

“Every question I answer will simply lead to another question,” she says. You ain’t kiddin’, lady! After I had expressed some mild disappointment that last week’s episode of ‘Lost’ didn’t address any of the show’s big mythological topics, this week’s episode gives us nothing but mythology. ‘Across the Sea’ is the long-rumored all-Jacob, all-Man in...

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