NETFIX: 5 Hysterical Black Comedies You Won’t See Coming

July 20, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Lists, Netfix Tagged Four Lions, Netfix, Netflix, Sightseers, The Trip to Italy, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Wetlands Leave a comment

The great thing about Netflix is that it gives you a lot of TV and movie watching options. The bad thing about Netflix is that it gives you…a lot of TV and movie watching options. To cut down on your Netflix search and discover time, Netfix aims to ease the process of parsing the good from the bad. The great from the not so great. From action films to foreign dramas, we’re raked the catalogs to offer only the finest that the preeminent streaming service has to offer. So settle in, get your remotes ready and prepare for the red wave of Netfix to wash over you.
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Amy Schumer and Judd Apatow Talk TRAINWRECK

July 17, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews Tagged Amy Schumer, Interviews, Judd Apatow, SXSW 2015, Trainwreck 2 Comments

*This is a reprint of our 2015 SXSW coverage.

2015 is shaping up to be the year of the great rom-com as Judd Apatow‘s Trainwreck is the third great romantic comedy or romantic comedy drama (or romantic dramedy) that I’ve seen this year – the other two being Adult Beginners and Sleeping With Other People. A portion of our SXSW review states: Read More

Out in Theaters: TRAINWRECK

July 17, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Collin Quinn, Dave Attell, Evan Brinkman, Ezra Miller, John Cena, LeBron James, Noman Lloyd, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Tilda Swinton, Trainwreck 2 Comments

*This is a reprint of our 2015 SXSW review

Take it from the effervescently crass mouth of Amy Schumer, “The title was always Trainwreck. Trainwreck or Cum Dumpster.” Oh Amy, you are such just so…you. From talk radio appearances to gross-out Twitter posts, the Schum has crafted her image on being unapologetically, oh-so-adorably crude and in the context of Trainwreck, it’s miraculous to take in. At last night’s premiere, when an audience member inundated her with compliments, she barked, “Stop trying to fuck me.” She has swiftly become the epitome of 21st century feminism-as-middle finger; the crème de la crème of vagina jokes and reverse slut shaming that will melt the lipstick off housewives and zap the calories off your finger sandwiches with her gloriously nasty one-liners and hysterically sexual non-sequiturs. Read More

Out in Theaters: THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT

July 17, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Billy Crudup, Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Out in Theaters, Reviews, The Stanford Prison Experiment, Tim Talbott, Tye Sheridan Leave a comment

*This is a reprint of our 2015 Sundance review.

Things came in twos at this year’s Sundance Film Festival with a pair of Cobie Smulders’ features competing against one another for the Dramatic Competition prize, a set of unexpected pregnancy comedy/dramas, Tye Sheridans (who actually was showcased in three films: Last Days in the Desert, Entertainment and this film we’re in the midst of reviewing) and, most notably, a duo of 1960-70s social psychology experiment films. One of which, The Experimenter told the story of Stanley Milgram, administer of increasing electrical shocks and student of peer pressure. The feature starred Peter Sarsgaard and was met with middling reviews. Read More

Talking with Matthew Heineman of CARTEL LAND

July 16, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews Tagged Cartel Lands, Interviews, Matthew Heineman, Seattle International Film Festival 1 Comment

With unprecedented access to an evolving cartel v. vigilante situation on the US-Mexican border, director Matthew Heineman found himself on the front lines of a war that’s been brewing for decades in Cartel Lands. Told through the lens of two vigilante group leaders, Dr. José Manuel Mireles of the Mexican Autodefensas and Tim “Nailer” Foley of the US Cartel Resistance force. Both men arm themselves and work outside the confines of the state and Heineman finds himself in close quarters with these outlaws, probing their victories and defeat. His ultimate victory is in leaving the door open for his audience to assess for themselves what is right and what is wrong. Read More

Documentary Dossier: THE LOOK OF SILENCE

July 16, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Documentaries, Out in Theaters Tagged Adi Rukun, Best of 2015, Documentaries, Joshua Oppenheimer, Out in Theaters, Reviews, The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence Leave a comment

*This is a reprint of our 2015 SXSW review.

In psychology class, you learn about the concept of diffusion of responsibility, a sociopathic event that explains that when more people are present or complicit in an unfavorable event, the less personally responsible that group will feel for its outcome. The public murder of Kitty Genovese – in which a woman was stabbed to death in NYC but not one neighbor alerted the police – is a tragic true-to-life example of this but no piece of fiction or nonfiction has better captured the ghastly phenomenon than Joshua Oppenheimer‘s The Look of Silence. Read More

Out in Theaters: MR. HOLMES

July 15, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Bill Condon, Conan Doyle, Ian McKellan, Laura Linner, Milo Parker, Mr. Holmes, Out in Theaters, Reviews, SIFF 2015 Leave a comment

Film originally seen at Seattle International Film Festival ’15.

Sir Ian McKellan extends a touch of majesty to just about any role he sinks his teeth into, whether that be a Middle Earth wizard or a Brotherhood metal mutant. Lending his commanding British timbre to Conan Doyle’s most esteemed literary creation, super sleuth Sherlock Holmes, Sir McKellan is extended an opportunity to tap into an established icon at an unprecedented juncture: Mr. Holmes as an aged, forgetful retiree. Read More

Talking with Natalia Tena of 10,000 KM

July 10, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews Tagged 10000 KM, Carlos Marques-Marcet, Interviews, Natalia Tena 1 Comment

Natalia Tena has crafted a career out of playing odd tertiary characters. From playing Tonks in the Harry Potter films to giving life to Osha in Game of Thrones, she’s known for her involvement with geek culture mainstays. But strip away the fluctuating neon hair and the dirty Wildling face and Tena is a true beauty and a massive talent – a fact proven by her absolutely knockout performance in Carlos Marques-Marcet’s superb 10,000 KM [review here]. Read More

Talking With Carlos Marques-Marcet of 10,000 KM

July 10, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews Tagged 10000 KM, Carlos Marques-Marcet, Interviews

After premiering at SXSW 2014 to rave reviews, Carlos Marques-Marcet‘s 10,000 KM has gone on to win the hearts and minds of festival filmgoers the world over. With a wide-spread limited release platform that sees 10,000 KM opening in 11 cities across the U.S. – a statistic that executive producer Pau Brunet called, “Pretty much a major release for this kind of movie,” With its weekend release to domestic theaters from New York to San Francisco, we’ve dredged up this year-old interview, one that’s aged like a fine wine. Read More

Out in Theaters: SELF/LESS

July 9, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Antonio Pinto, Ben Kingsley, Brendan Galvin, Dudu Aram, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Ryan Reynolds, Self/Less, Tarsem Singh Leave a comment

Tarsem Singh is an tough cookie to crack. On the one hand, he’s hailed as a visionary director; a masterful craftsman of colorful aesthetics and esoteric tone. And yet, his catalog of works is filled with laudable, though often graceless, misfires. From 2000’s J Lo-starrer The Cell to sword ‘n’ sandals CGI-fest Immortals (which seemed little more than 300-lite) and onward to his recent Snow White comedy Mirror Mirror, Singh hardly has one entry in his portfolio to unequivocally celebrate. Nor has he really delivered a true stinker. That trend continues in 2015 with a thinking man’s actioner that forgot the thinking man aspect with Self/Less.