Screen
Chap-hazard
Die Antwoord, a South African rave-rap group composed of rappers Ninja and Yolandi Vi$$er, are what some would call an “acquired taste” and others would call “Oh God, no! What is that? Kill it with fire.” If you haven’t seen images of the band, please tell those of ...
Liveaction Oscar shorts a big deal
Start small. That’s the guiding dictum for everything from biological evolution to filmmaking. The live-action shorts that mark the start of most directors’ careers rarely see the light of day outside of specialized festivals; that is, except for the lucky bunch ...
Remake worth watching
Most of the big laughs in 21 Jump Street arrive in the first half, but take a moment to consider that phrase “big laughs.” What was the last stupid Hollywood comedy — good-stupid, not stupid-stupid — to offer actual, audible big laughs? Heartily raunchy and rather ...
Circular logic
Writer/director Rian Johnson is fantastic at making pretty good movies. 2005’s Brick was a slyly conceived yarn that took 1940s private dick dialogue and plot and affixed them to a modern high-school setting, with middling effect. 2008’s The Brothers Bloom was a ...
Rom-com surprise
There´s a reason Bridesmaids isn’t called The Bridesmaid. Kristen Wiig, the star and co-writer (along with Annie Mumolo) of director Paul Feig’s comedy, has a self-effacing streak running right alongside her deadly deadpan streak...
reel to reel | Week of Oct. 27, 2011
50/50 Though it’s a cancer film, the tender and funny 50/50 addresses its subject with a refreshing lack of melodrama. Based on the true story of Will Reiser, a comedy writer, the movie follows Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who gets diagnosed with the C-word. ...
Ferrell-in-training
The alcoholic son of an alcoholic, sales manager Nick Porter was born in a Raymond Carver short story called “Why Don’t You Dance?” published in the 1981 Carver collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. The story, which takes place at a yard sale among...
An icon under the microscope
There`s a scene in the gripping documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work guaranteed to complicate whatever feelings you have about the movie’s turbulent subject. Rivers, who says in the film that she’d knock out her own teeth if she could get a dentures ...
Check out some hot briefs
Outside of the unspeakable fame and groupies, the best part of being a movie critic is getting a peek at stuff you may otherwise never see. One of my favorite annual traditions is checking out what the Academy felt were little films worthy of a little guy made of ...
‘Howl’ is arty and difficult, and exactly right for the Sundance...
PARK CITY, Utah — We were not even four hours into Sundance John Cooper-style...
