Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 12th, 2015
“Writers are a ridiculous class of people who make everything about themselves.”
For many, the current face — and oft-naked body — of “writers who make everything about themselves” is Lena Dunham, the creator/star/writer/director of HBO's Girls. The equal-parts brilliant and maddening quarter-life crisis comedy became one of the most polarizing shows on TV over its first two seasons, as self-involved heroine Hannah Horvath sought love and a career as a writer in NYC. At the start of season 3, Hannah has both of those things...which is why I'm astounded — and, frankly, pretty impressed — that she remains as egotistical as ever.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 9th, 2015
Even though in this documentary we may not get to experience T-Rexes chasing after unfortunate paleontologists while running amuck in a theme park, Dinosaur 13 still manages to be an engaging adventure from start to finish. This is a film that reaches out to all the young kids inside all of us who while growing up dreamed about what life was like when dinosaurs once ruled the world. It taps into that adventurous bug that was once inside all of us as kids about exploring and discovering worlds that have not yet been discovered and creatures that now can only survive in our imaginations
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 6th, 2015
The most remarkable thing about Looking might be how thoroughly unremarkable it is. This is a double-edged sword for HBO's dramedy, which follows the love lives of three gay friends living in modern-day San Francisco. The series sidesteps the headline-grabbing sensationalism that accompanies many other shows that prominently feature gay characters. (Looking at you, Ryan Murphy.) On the other hand, Looking is often low-key to the point that it bypasses being funny or particularly entertaining. What the series does have on its side is a naturalistic tone that makes the show more engrossing and immersive as the first season progresses.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 1st, 2015
What if two radio guys sat around and made up a movie on the air? In this case it actually wasn't radio guys, because they weren't broadcasters, but podcasters. I guess the fine distinction between broad and pod is that pod goes out to the world through the internet. It's kind of like Indie radio. Kevin Smith is a very indie guy and even calls his podcast a smodcast. Smith and his buddy, producer Scott Mosier, were doing their smodcast and talking about a post on GumTree.uk about roommate advertisements. It evolved into crazy talk about what might happen.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on December 23rd, 2014
“Life is always a tightrope or a featherbed. Give me the tightrope.”
Edith Wharton was born into the “featherbeds” of New York’s high society, and some of her most famous books — “The Age of Innocence”, “The House of Mirth” — are set among the well-to-do elite. But this dry, informative documentary — which focuses on her work as a designer, world traveler, and philanthropist — makes the case that Wharton chose the “tightrope.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 18th, 2014
“Everybody's sad or angry or lying or cheating.”
That seems to be the state of the four adult Altman children even before they are thrust back together following the death of the family patriarch. This Is Where I Leave You has all the makings of a great dysfunctional dramedy. It has a terrific cast and is based on the very popular book by Jonathan Tropper, who wrote the screenplay. Yet the movie comes up well short of delivering on its promise. Despite some strong acting, a handful of funny beats, and a passing similarity to another ensemble movie where characters who were formerly close are brought back together by a funeral, this movie is less Big Chill and more “Big Shrill.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 16th, 2014
“You know what the sad thing is? We’re a good team.”
Up until they teamed up to star in The Skeleton Twins, there was nothing sad about the team of Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. Regardless of how you feel about the quality of Saturday Night Live in recent years, Wiig (the only cast member to earn an Oscar nomination — for co-writing Bridesmaids — while still appearing on the show) and Hader (with "Stefon" and a laundry list of impressions that ranged from Alan Alda to Al Pacino) were clear standouts. So you'd expect their first post-SNL big-screen team up to be a laugh riot. That's not exactly the case.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on December 15th, 2014
“Screw you, it's 'Merry Christmas!'”
A decent chunk of Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special is devoted to taking back the most wonderful time of the year from anyone who insists on saying “Happy Holidays” instead of daring to utter the C-word. The wildly successful comic certainly knows his audience, and the live crowd here eats up Dunham's assault on rampant political correctness. My feelings on this particular DVD release, on the other hand, are closer to “Bah, humbug!
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on December 11th, 2014
Stop me if you've heard this one before: single gal(s) looking for love — among other things — in the big city. On television, the trope dates back to the days of Laverne & Shirley and continues with more contemporary entries like Sex and the City and Girls. It's an effective, well-worn story hook that has now gotten a funny, tremendously weird spin thanks to Comedy Central's Broad City.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on December 9th, 2014
“I wish...”
There's no shortage of wishing (not to mention pining, longing, yearning, etc.) in some of our most beloved fairy tales. Into the Woods — the Tony-winning Broadway musical created by Stephen Sondheim and frequent collaborator James Lapine — illustrates what happens when certain characters get their storybook ending. Since there's a big, shiny Disney adaptation on the way, it made sense for Image Entertainment to offer a performance of the stage show on Blu-ray. However, I wish...some more effort had been put into this release.
