If you don’t mind a bit of obtuse surrealism, check out This is Not a Time to Lie, a three-minute animated short from China’s Lei Lei that follows its main character on a trippy journey through a lush geometric landscape. None of it, from the poetic narration to the almost frantic animation, has a discernible point,…
Entertainment news round-up for March 30
Twilight actor Patrick Brennan will join the cast of ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for two upcoming episodes. The actor, who played Liam in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, will play Blackout, a villain with the power to suck the energy from everything around him. “It’s just rare to have a character that’s [this] interesting,” he told…
Entertainment news round-up for March 12
90’s rom-com hit Pretty Woman is making its way to Broadway. The film’s screenwriters, Marshall and J.F. Lawton, are set to pen the book of the musical, with Paula Wagner on board to produce. The production does not yet have a composer, lyricist, or director. For more information on the show, click here. Japan’s Tezuka Productions has…
Critic touched and amazed by ‘The Wind Rises’
I am appalled that The Wind Rises did not take home the Oscar for Best Animated Picture. It makes Frozen look like a straight-to-DVD castoff. A beautiful farewell from Hayao Miyazaki, it is utterly magical – and in a way that eschews Disney’s heavy-handedness in favor of a much gentler, realer approach. The film presents…
Critic delights in Allen’s ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’
Given the recent success of Blue Jasmine – namely, Cate Blanchett’s Best Actress Oscar win – I decided to revisit another of Woody Allen’s films that features women in plum roles: Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Released in 2008, it’s one of Allen’s best, with a light, fresh tone that still hits all the expected cynical notes….
Entertainment news round-up for March 11
CBS will air an unprecedented number of original programming hours this summer. The lineup will include seven total hours of original programming, three of which will air on Sunday. The schedule consists of four dramas and thrice-weekly series Big Brother. For more on CBS’ summer lineup, click here. Broadway actress Laura Benanti is slated to host…
Short film round-up
For anyone who plays video games (or, in my case, enjoys watching other people play video games), Let’s Play Nomad X is for you. A three-minute short from Kristian Andrews, the film follows a “Let’s Play” reviewer who simultaneously reviews his favorite 90’s computer game and reveals the tale of how he lost his true…
Entertainment news round up for March 8
The Hunger Games producer Nina Jacobson is on board for an adaptation of Donna Tartt’s novel The Goldfinch, which was published last fall and still ranks second on the New York Times bestseller list. The story follows a boy who loses his mother in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and absconds with Fabritius’ painting “The…
Critic deems ‘Brick’ a true modern classic
Rian Johnson’s Brick is, to my mind, the very definition of a modern classic – not only because it’s fantastic, but also because it dares to combine the old and the new in a smart, sexy, and stylish way. A neo-noir story dropped smack into a contemporary setting, Brick is an effortlessly engaging visual and aural delight. Released in…
Entertainment news round-up for March 6
Idris Elba is in final talks to join the cast of Disney’s animated The Jungle Book reboot, directed by Jon Favreau. Elba would voice Shere Khan the tiger. Elba has recently been seen in Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom and Thor: The Dark World. For more on The Jungle Book and on Elba’s other projects, click here. FX…
Short film round-up
For something a little off-kilter, take a look at Cockatoo, an 11-minute short from Australian filmmaker Matthew Jenkin that explores heartbreak and closure. The film follows a man who makes a desperate attempt to get over his previous relationship by hiring an actress from the Reality Dreams agency to play his ex-girlfriend for a few hours….
Short film round-up
If you’re fond of twist endings, check out The Ride, a six-minute short from Timothy Melville that operates like a romantic drama until the very last minute. Benjamin Rigby stars as a young man waiting on his road trip buddies who runs into his ex-girlfriend. An awkward reconnection ensues, and he offers to take her home….
Critic revels in ‘The Raid: Redemption’
The Raid: Redemption is gorgeous. It’s one hour and 41 minutes of pure, unadulterated violence. I loved every blood-soaked second of it. Before I begin to wax too poetic about the film, I feel that it is my duty as a critic to make a few unfortunate admissions about it: the plot is unimaginative, the dialogue…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 28
Platinum Dunes, Mandalay Pictures and Universal have selected Dutch filmmaker Diederik Van Rooijen to direct a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Plot details for the remake have not yet been released. Van Rooijen is best known for his film Taped. For more information on the project, click here. The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes has signed on to direct…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 27
Netflix has acquired exclusive streaming rights to The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life, an Oscar-nominated documentary short about pianist and Holocaust survivor Alice Herz-Sommer. The film will be available April 1. It’s subject, believed to have been the oldest-living Holocaust survivor, died on Sunday at the age of 110. To read more on…
Short film round-up
For something that is at once charmingly fantastical and deeply relatable, check out I Am Tom Moody, a seven-minute animated short from Ainslie Henderson. The film follows a young amateur entertainer struggling with the conflicting voices in his head, one plagued by insecurity and the other aggressively negative. The stop-motion animation is masterfully done, and the…
Critic delighted by ‘Frances Ha’
While I frequently say that I want to be Greta Gerwig when I grow up, I certainly don’t aspire to be anything like the woman she portrays in Frances Ha – that is to say, a complete and utter mess. It’s a testament to Gerwig’s abilities and charm that such a character is not only tolerable but downright…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 22
NBC has ordered 13 episodes of Shades of Blue, a crime drama starring and executive produced by Jennifer Lopez. Lopez will play a single mother and detective working undercover for the FBI’s anti-corruption task force. The show will premiere during the 2015-16 TV season. For more information on the project, click here. Academy Award-winning costume designer…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 17
Netflix has confirmed that Orange Is the New Black will return on June 6. The streaming video service confirmed the date in a bonus blurb at the end of the second season of House of Cards. For more information and a teaser for the new episodes, click here. Beetlejuice actor Michael Keaton told MTV News that he and director…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 18
Napoleon Dynamite actor John Heder is set to star in Fox’s new half-hour comedy pilot, entitled Here’s Your Damn Family. Heder will star as a thirty-something living with his mother whose life is upended when she gets married to a man with three teenage children. For more information on the series, click here. The Departed screenwriter William Monahan…
Short film round-up
For something that’s a little silly but is nonetheless entertaining, take a look at The Wolf of Valentine’s Day, a three-minute parody short from Nathan Moore that sends up Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street by placing it in the dog-eat-dog world of chocolates and greeting cards. It’s in trailer format, giving Moore the opportunity to hit all…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 13
Netflix will air the final season of animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, thanks to a new deal with Disney/ABC TV Group and Lucasfilm. The 13-episode season will premiere on the site on March 7th, along with all previous episodes of the show. “Star Wars is one of the most iconic franchises of all time…
Critic floored by ‘Blue Jasmine’
I loved Blue Jasmine, but I will not be able to watch it again for quite some time. Though it is wildly entertaining and impeccably made, it is not a particularly easy film to sit through, with its harsh tone and difficult subject matter. Nevertheless, it is a stunning addition to Woody Allen’s already impressive oeuvre….
Short film round-up
If you’ve seen Spike Jonze’s Her, you’ll definitely want to check out Her: Love In The Modern Age, Lance Bangs’ documentary short that chronicles some of the reactions to the movie. The 15-minute film takes a look at love in the modern age through the eyes of various actors, writers, musicians, and culture experts, including Olivia Wilde,…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 8
A new study conducted by the Journal of Management Inquiry suggests that while actresses in their 20s earn more than their male counterparts, the ratio reverses once they hit their mid-30s. “While the difference is fairly small, it’s indicative of the other side of the double standard,” said one of the study’s authors, Notre Dame…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 6
Longtime Oscars sponsors Coca-Cola and Hyundai have dropped their support of the event, for reasons undisclosed. PepsiCo and General Motors will take their places. Other advertisers set to appear during the March 2 telecast are Johnson & Johnson, AARP, American Express, Mars, McDonald’s, Samsung, Sprint, and Unilever. For more information, click here. Evangeline Lilly is…
