Tag Archives: tv guide

REVIEW: True Love (and Good Filmmaking) Goes Awry in All Good Things

All Good Things , Andrew Jarecki’s feature follow-up to his dark family scrapbook Capturing the Friedmans , has got a whopper story, two magnetic leads, and a killer case of the directorial bends. Where Friedmans , a documentary, derived athletic momentum from its balance of gold mine material and Jarecki’s skillful dedication to ambiguity, All Good Things seems to cast around inside its story of a rebel heir and the bluebloody tragedy his life becomes. It tries on this angle and that tempo, but never finds a confident design for its content or its characters. I want to say it’s the kind of thing a director can miss by a millimeter, but Jarecki’s telling of the Robert Durst story flails too far off course, too often, to retain the viewer’s good faith.

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REVIEW: True Love (and Good Filmmaking) Goes Awry in All Good Things

5 Great Performances Oscar is Bound to Overlook in 2010

If you’ve been keeping up with the Oscar Index, you’ll know that 2010 is like pretty much any other year in the history of awards-season: A handful of talent breaks out early, shifts position throughout the fall, then settles into a mostly predictable nominee bracket by the end of January. It used to annoy me, but the reality is that the system Hollywood wants is the system Hollywood gets. But at least we can dream, no?

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5 Great Performances Oscar is Bound to Overlook in 2010

REVIEW: Black Swan Takes Its Own Hifalutin’ Hokum Way Too Seriously

Darren Aronofsky’s ballerina-crackup drama Black Swan opens with a dream sequence in which a wispy-boned young woman twirls and flutters to the strains of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. She dabs at the stage with her dainty pink shoes, the stage lights shining through her all-too-translucent tutu. Suddenly, a figure appears from the darkness — why, it’s a handsome male dancer dressed all in black! He looks really nice, not scary at all, but wouldn’t you know it? Suddenly, he turns into a swaggering black swan, flapping his arms all masculine-like and threatening to take our little cygnet — who we now can see is Natalie Portman — doggy-style. What ever could this dream mean? One thing’s for sure: It ain’t about dancing poultry.

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REVIEW: Black Swan Takes Its Own Hifalutin’ Hokum Way Too Seriously

Trailer: Megashark Vs. Crocosaurus…Vs. Steve Urkel?

One day, God-willing, there will be an amazing DVD consisting entirely of previews for Boa vs. Python , the almighty Sharktopus and every other Megalodon/Mega-Python/Gateroid direct to video creature feature of the last five years. Hopefully with commentaries. But for now, we’ll take these trailers one at a time and give thanks when a new one brightens an otherwise drab week. That brings me to Megashark vs. Crocosaurus which features the two title characters battling it out as well as a grown up Jaleel White (that is, Steve Urkel from Family Matters ) flexing some pretty hefty acting muscles.

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Trailer: Megashark Vs. Crocosaurus…Vs. Steve Urkel?

P. Diddy Demands to Appear in a SNL Sketch This Weekend

While some celebrities have killed off their digital selves in support of World AIDS Day , P. Diddy — or is it just Diddy now? Or Diddy Dirty Money? — has taken to the social networking site to voice his displeasure with the fact that NBC hasn’t asked him to appear in a sketch during the Robert De Niro-hosted Saturday Night Live this weekend. Get ready for a torrent of capital letters, friends!

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P. Diddy Demands to Appear in a SNL Sketch This Weekend

The Walking Dead: Will Writing Staffs Become Extinct if The Walking Dead Works?

That’s one way to produce a television series. On Tuesday night , it was reported by Deadline that Walking Dead executive producer Frank Darabont had fired his writing staff ahead of the already-ordered season two, and was considering replacing them with freelancers. Well, and his own blood, sweat and zombie-tears. After all, based on the show credits, Darabont has already written or co-written every one of The Walking Dead episodes this fall. Which makes you wonder: Will his decision lead other showrunners to take such action?

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The Walking Dead: Will Writing Staffs Become Extinct if The Walking Dead Works?

‘Hobbit Race War,’ and 7 Other Stories You’ll Be Talking About Today

Also in today’s edition of The Broadsheet: Jackass 3.5 is streaming your way soon… DreamWorks goes boy-hunting… John Waters kicks off list-season… Bad sex isn’t really bad sex… and more…

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‘Hobbit Race War,’ and 7 Other Stories You’ll Be Talking About Today

True Grit: A Revenge Movie for the Whole Family?

Sure, the trailers portray the Coen Brothers’ True Grit as a foreboding revenge piece “from the directors of No Country for Old Men ,” but the duo says that the PG-13 movie is actually modeled after Treasure Island and other adventure films they saw as kids. They also claim the film is tonally different than anything they’ve done before, and fits perfectly with a holiday release date. So perhaps a Western-revenge tale you can take your daughter to has finally arrived. Review embargo breaks today, so stay tuned…[ USA Today ]

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True Grit: A Revenge Movie for the Whole Family?

Will Dancing with the Stars Top Itself with New Cast Member Lindsay Lohan?

It would take a lot to outdo this season of Dancing with the Stars , which packed all the angst of a glitter-tinged midterm election . But a new report suggests that Lindsay Lohan, the actress whose name is unfortunately almost an anagram of “Linda Lovelace,” may be in the running to field screams and whoops from Bruno Tonioli on season twelve of DWTS . Chilling? Kind of. Thrillingly ridiculous? Bien sur!

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Will Dancing with the Stars Top Itself with New Cast Member Lindsay Lohan?

Exclusive: Meet Glee’s Newest Recruit

Glee ‘s Coach Beiste is beefing up her team ahead of the Feb. 6 Super Bowl episode. Sources confirm to me exclusively that relative newcomer Kody Batchelor will guest-star in the gridiron-themed episode as Strando, a potentially recurring new football player at McKinley High.

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Exclusive: Meet Glee’s Newest Recruit