The penultimate episode of Parenthood is in the curious position of both needing to tie up outstanding stories in time for the finale, while also not really having very much in the way of outstanding stories to tie up. The result is an episode that is emotionally if not narratively satisfying; an episode that in…
Jason Reitman, of Thank You for Smoking and Juno, brings us his latest comment on modern society: Men, Women, and Children. This film follows the lives of several teenagers and their parents, befitting the title. It focuses on the constraints of our technological world, loss of human connection, with an overarching theme of insignificance. The…
Dan Gilroy makes his directorial debut with Nightcrawler, which he also penned, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. A gripping psychological thriller, Nightcrawler follows Louis Bloom (Gyllenhall), a persistent young man eager to break into the world of L.A. crime journalism. Having first screened on the Toronto International Film Festival, Nightcrawler claims a Halloween release date, a fitting…
Jennifer Kent wrote and directed the Australian horror film, The Babadook. Based on the short film, also by Kent, The Babadook rose to critical acclaim after being premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. This is Kent’s debut feature film, drawing inspiration from early horror, fairy tales, and magic. Kent puts a hand-crafted twist on a…
Jean-Marc Vallee directs the biographical film written by Nick Hornby, Wild. This film is based on the memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, written by Cheryl Strayed. Vallee’s Dallas Buyers Club last year elicited two Oscar-winning performances, setting a high standard for Reese Witherspoon in the lead role and Laura…
Tim Burton has given us gothic classics that will last us throughout our lives. From the spook-inducing and gorgeously crafted Nightmare Before Christmas, to the satire of suburbia and tale of acceptance of Edward Scissorhands, he's produced and influenced a multitude of works that started strong. However, in recent years it has become more a…
“I might very easily, as they say, lose my mind one day” purrs Glenn Close with casual conviction. It’s a humorous, but ultimately unsettling way to open a play. “A Delicate Balance” may not be Edward Albee’s most famous work, but it is likely the hardest to look in the eye. Glenn Close and John…
If there’s one thing that Netflix has proven, it’s that original programming for streaming services cannot be ordinary. Instead of pumping out run of the mill big-network dramas, we instead are treated to shows such as Lilyhammer, Orange is the New Black, and House of Cards. These high-class dramas currently outshine nearly anything else on…
The 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The kudos honor the best performances by actors and casts in motion pictures and television from the last year. Check out our live blog below with our reactions to the winners, ceremony, and what it all means for the Oscars.…
Wow. Let’s just all take a minute to consider “Curtain Call,” which is an astoundingly, thuddingly bad conclusion to a season that, while not great, wasn’t necessarily a disaster. Well, leave it to Ryan Murphy to rewrite history at the eleventh hour. “Curtain Call” is awful: tone deaf, flat, boring, ridiculous—take your pick. It is…
