A diplomat’s grand-daughter tags along on a trip from the US to her native Russia to see where she comes from. As she goes on the run, a group of criminals claims her kidnapping. A joint USA/Russia task force must find her before it becomes an international political incident.
Tag Archives: Comedy
All About Nina (2018)
Eva Vives’ drama comedy about a fracture comedienne is one of the most honest and engaging dramas of the year, and “All About Nina” is a success mainly because of Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s stellar performance. Winstead is one of the most underrated and overlooked actresses of modern cinema. She’s mostly been relegated to playing supporting characters and final girls most of her career, but given the right material she’s shone in roles that should have earned her awards notice. She was immense in “Smashed” and she’s remarkable in “All About Nina.”
Eighth Grade (2018)
Bo Burnham’s coming of age drama comedy “Eighth Grade” is an impressive debut that’s managed to tap in to the point in life where we’re transitioning in to a very difficult period of puberty and adolescence. Everyone remembers their time in eighth grade, and like John Hughes, he explores a period of youth that is very much modern, and speaks to today’s teens. Burnham sets a light on the age of self discovery and the time where we’re learning about what we are as people.
Mae West: Between the Covers
In this first episode of the third season of the SoundCloud podcast “The Online Movie Show,” film historian Michael Michaud provides rare insight into the off-screen world of the woman who changed the face of movie comedy: the one and only Mae West!
The episode can be heard here.
The Bootleg Files: Anderson’s Own Gang Comedy
BOOTLEG FILES 654: “Anderson’s Own Gang Comedy” (1926 fan film inspired on the Our Gang series).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Partially-lost film with no perceived commercial value.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
For every Hollywood franchise that gets screen time at the multiplex, it seems there are an endless number of fan films created by overenthusiastic movie lovers who want to be part of cinematic fun. But fans films are not a recent phenomenon. Indeed, the earliest known fan film was made back in 1926, and it was also part of a strange trend that brought a mix of filmmaking and hucksterism to small town America.
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The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)
Eli Roth has always been a better horror fan and film lover than actual filmmaker, and he’s proven it time and time again. After the embarrassing bomb that was “Death Wish,” I had hope that “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” would be a win and Roth would kind of re-invent himself. While not as awful as “Death Wish,” Roth proves once again he’s not too good at handling tone, pacing, and general direction. Without the thick icing of blood, grue, and torture to cover up the thinly layered cake that is “The House with a Clock in Its Walls,” Roth once again proves he’s a filmmaker that has so much to learn, and so much evolving to do.
Beauty Shop (2005) [Blu-Ray]
The spin off for the “Barbershop” movie is a good idea on paper. On paper. I mean Queen Latifah is better at acting than Ice Cube, so it seemed like a slam dunk. The attempted launch of a new series within the “Barbershop” franchise is not only one big misfire, but it’s dead on arrival from minute one. “Beauty Shop” isn’t a prequel, or a sequel, but mainly just a movie that’s set in the universe of “Barbershop.” When we see Gina Norris from “Barbershop 2” again, she’s working at an upscale salon in Atlanta and she has a picture of the gang from Calvin’s shop hanging on her mirror. Beyond that there isn’t much at all to “Beauty Shop.”