Benjamin Arcand’s five-and-a-half-minute Wackatdooo feels like an elaborate The Aristocats throwback with a sinister twist. It centers on an anthropomorphic, music- and wine-loving cat whose passion for raucous partying takes its toll – though it never gets him down for long. The silent short’s score is swell, and the animation is a fun throwback to the classics. Check it out…
Short film round-up
Seth Boyden’s one-minute B.O.T., created as part of CalArts’ 48 Hour Film Festival, has a cute gimmick but doesn’t quite hit its mark. The short follows the story of a robot and an astronaut looking for life on an unnamed planet. While the animation could have benefited from additional time, any roughness can be excused by the…
Entertainment news round-up for Oct. 25
Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to Will Eubank and Philip Gawthorne’s script World Breaker. The plot follows a Scottish warlord and his sons who must protect their castle from an invading army. Eubank recently directed and co-wrote sci-fi flick The Signal, which premiered at Sundance, and Gawthorne is a frequent writer for BBC series. To read more on World Breaker, click here….
Short film round-up
Move over, Morgan Freeman – there’s a new God in town, and his name is Nick Offerman. In Eric Kissack’s nine-minute The Gunfighter, Offerman plays an omniscient narrator of a Western scene whose speech can be heard by the characters he’s describing. Kissack mixes lowbrow gags and highbrow meta-humor to great effect, and Offerman’s narration…
Short film round-up
Although Hello World :) clocks in at 21 minutes, it feels like directors Rafaël Mathé and Etienne Larragueta tried to cram too much into too short a film. Each individual component of the cyberhacker piece is interesting and incredibly detailed, but when combined, we never get to a chance to fully engage with any of them. The result…
Short film round-up
Although Finnish filmmaker Mikko Löppönen’s nine-minute short L4ST doesn’t have much in the way of dialogue or plot or character development, it is an incredible atmospheric thrill ride. Based loosely on video game The Last of Us, the film follows two survivors trying to live through a zombie apocalypse. The short’s biggest strength is its…
Entertainment news round-up for Sept. 26
The Office vet Angela Kinsey is set for a recurring role on TBS’ new comedy series Your Family or Mine. Kinsey’s role was played by Elizabeth Ellis in the pilot. Other actors in the cast include Richard Dreyfuss and JoBeth Williams. For more on the show, click here. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has okayed the restricted use of…
Critic finds “Guardians of the Galaxy” a pleasant counterpoint to heavier superhero fare
Guardians of the Galaxy is the perfect reminder of what a good summer blockbuster should be like: witty, charming, full of heart, and above all else, fun. What’s more, it manages to be all these things without pandering to the lowest common denominator, instead keeping the jokes smart and the pace lightning-fast. Directed by James…
Short film round-up
Alan Rickman stars in Dust, a delightfully creepy seven-minute short about a man and his obsession. It’s difficult to say much without giving anything away, but suffice it to say that writer/directors Ben Ockrent & Jake Russell do a wonderful job showcasing both Rickman’s talent and their own skill at creating an atmosphere. To see the film,…
Entertainment news round-up for Oct. 27
In a stunning change of course, Regal Cinemas has entertained the notion of going from being one of the biggest buyers in the movie theater acquisition market to potentially being sold. “We’re all excited about the years 2015, 2016 and I’m going to be aggressive and say even 2017,” said Regal CEO Amy Miles. “I think that (in the)…
Short film round-up
There’s a Man in the Woods might just be my favorite short of the year so far. The four-minute animated film from Cal Arts student tells the tale of a teacher whose life is destroyed when a rumor told by a selfish child wrecks his reputation. The images are rough and dark, and when paired with…
Short film round-up
For something with wit and style in spades, check out Writer’s Block, a five-minute short from Tom Gran and Martin Woolley set in a prison for criminally lousy writers. It’s an exercise in meta-storytelling that uses well-known cliches in a fresh new way, and it’s packed with clever sight gags and expert puns. What’s more,…
Entertainment news round-up April 11
Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner says that the show’s upcoming mini-season will be action-packed. “The episodes are dense,” he said. ““After realizing that I needed two premieres and two finales, it changed the pacing of every other episode. These episodes are more focused on the main characters than ever before — and I’ve got a lot…
Short film round-up
For a delightfully whimsical and slightly melancholy treat, take a look at Cicada Princess, a seven-minute short from Mauchi Baiocchi that blends nature and fantasy to stunning effect. Using remarkably detailed puppetry, Baiocchi presents the life cycle of the cicada as a Cinderella story, narrated beautifully by the always excellent Stephen Fry. It’s a gorgeous little…
Entertainment news round-up for Jan. 26
The Directors Guild gave this year’s top prize to Alfonso Cuaron for his sci-fi thriller Gravity. The award was presented at the organization’s 66th DGA Awards ceremony at the Century Plaza Hotel on Saturday. “This is truly an honor and I’m humbled by it,” Cuaron said in his acceptance speech. “I still have this teen…
Short film round-up
For a sweetly melancholic treat, take a look at Reflections, a five-minute animated short from Bosmat Agayoff & Alon Ziv. It’s a sad little coming-of-age story that’s told through the eyes of a man named “Barnie,” whose desire to stay young is illustrated by the childish reflection that taunts him from various reflective surfaces. The sharp 2D…
Entertainment news round-up for Oct. 22
Stephen Lang is set to reprise his role as Colonel Quaritch in future Avatar sequels, despite his character’s apparent death in the first film. Also returning to the franchise is Sam Worthington, who recently revealed that the movie will begin shooting in October of next year. Director James Cameron has already selected screenwriters for all three sequels,…
‘The Incredible Shrinking Man’ remake in the works
By Amanda Ack, Film Critic MGM is developing a reboot of the 1957 film The Incredible Shrinking Man, based on Richard Matheson’s classic sci-fi novel The Shrinking Man. Matheson and his son, Richard Matheson Jr., are set to co-write the screenplay. For more information on the project, click here.
Robert Downey Jr. options ‘Black Mirror’ episode
By Amanda Ack, Film Critic Warner Bros. has acquired the film rights to an episode of British sci-fi television series Black Mirror. Robert Downey Jr. is set to produce the picture. For more information on the project, click here.
‘Impossible’ director to direct sci-fi film
By Amanda Ack The Impossible director Juan Antonio Bayona has signed on to helm an as-yet-untitled sci-fi feature for Warner Bros. The film’s screenplay will be written by Eric Roth, who won an Oscar for his screenwriting work on Forrest Gump. For more information on the project, click here.
In Theaters: In Time
This film is definitely one that will get you thinking, and that will inspire plenty of controversial socio-economical related banter and discussion to get you all the way back to your car in the parking lot, and to occupy your drive home too.
