Showtime just ordered a second season of its newest “quirky/awful protagonist” series House of Lies. Well, congrats, I suppose, to the writers and producers, the cast and crew, the executives and transpo guys. You have a job for at least another year. And the network has what passes for a hit these days on television. But I wonder if this “quirky/awful protagonist” business—practically patented by Showtime with series like Weeds, Californication, and Nurse Jackie—is starting to fray around the edges, turning from something fresh and interesting into something curdled and coarse. Maybe it’s just over-exposure; these protagonists seem to be turning up everywhere, not just in these half hour cable “comedies” but in feature films as well. At what point do we go from thinking, “Wow, I’ve never seen a character like this before! As the lead! How delicious!” to thinking, “I just want to have a nice cup of tea and make it go away.” For me, I think, that turning point has happened. I’m done. I love you, Don Cheadle—I love you even more, Kristen Bell—but I’m done. Continue reading
Movies
323 posts
On Tuesday night, I saw The Vow (so you don’t have to) courtesy of Gilt City Chicago. They offered a free cocktail hour and free popcorn before the movie. Below are some of my thoughts.
Highlights include:
- The backside of a naked Channing Tatum (I might not like his face, but from the neck down, he does have a nice body)
- An argument about cilantro in the first 5 minutes of the movie
- A shot that was clearly an outtake made it to the final cut (Rachel McAdams spits food in her hair during a date scene)
- Free wine and popcorn (it counts even if it wasn’t part of the movie right?)
So, for some reason no one has been able to explain, they’ve decided to launch another Spider-Man franchise exactly five years after the last one puttered around, dangled in our consciousness for exactly one summer, was deemed substandard, and went to live out the rest of its days in the $3.99 DVD bin at an FYE in some mall in Paramus, NJ. Continue reading
Justin Timberlake is still acting or something; Showtime doesn’t want to win any awards; Kanye gets Middle Eastern; Random co-stars picked out of a hat, or a genius coupling; and Newt Gingrich wants to get pretty for you guys! Continue reading
Sean Penn,
We knew you when
You were a Bad Boy, At Close Range.
Madonna’s toy in Shanghai Surprise.
Now you’re a bored, retired Goth rock star
Looking for an ex-Nazi war criminal
To a David Byrne soundtrack.
I AM NOT A HIPSTER (the movie) from Destin Daniel Cretton on Vimeo.
Sundance already known for embracing the best indie films residing deep down in every be-specked, intellectual, film artist who has something new and on the cusp of greatness to say with verve! and simplicity! can now add the deconstruction of the enigmatic, if not wholly, absolutely infuriating, hipster. Continue reading
Well, here we go. This is something. Now, if you’re going to do an ensemble movie and you’re not striving to be Woody Allen, because yawr, King Ensemble, or taking the low road and attempting to be Gary Marshall, he of the abominable movie turd monsters, Valentine’s Day, and its sizable tumor of a sister, New Year’s Eve, than perhaps you want to keep it small and manageable with a movie about six friends, their kids, and some other perfunctory love crap thrown in. Could a monkey make this movie? Maybe. Will it be good? Depends. Continue reading
Remember 2004 when Kate Hudson was that plucky, scowly, little rosy cheeked spawn-of-Hawn cherub? Yes, her movies were a cutesy explosion of sweatpants and Häagen-Dazs girly fluff-porn. Yeah, well, fast forward eight years to a horrible economy, and an Emma Stone and Jessica Chastain world later, and Kate here is still flopping around holding on to that rom-com branch for all she’s worth. Continue reading
It’s time once again for everyone’s favorite frivolous awards circle-jerk: The Golden Globes! Ricky Gervais is hosting once again. Because controversy. Or whatever. Morgan Freeman will receive the Cecil B. DeMille award this evening. If you ask me, they’re fifteen to twenty years late with that one. But you didn’t ask me, so give big daddy one second to swallow a couple of numb-numb pills. Okay. Pour yourself a drink, and make it fancy–maybe put it in a real glass instead of a plastic tumbler–because tonight we drink with the stars!
There are two things any connoisseur wants in a box set, completeness and quality. The Bond 50th anniversary box set gives both like never before. Aptly named Bond 50 this set brings together for the first time all 22 Bond films and brings them in high definition Blu-ray. Continue reading