Robert Carlyle has proven to be an astonishing actor from his memorable work in The Full Monty, Trainspotting, and California Solo. Though The Legend of Barney Thomson allows the actor to return to his Trainspotting-esque wildness, it’s unfortunate that his first attempt at directing a feature film isn’t quite so flawless.
By: Addison Wylie You’ve got to hand it to Josh Lawson. He quickly informs movie goers of his invisible boundaries in his dark comedy The Little Death. There’s no second guessing. The problem is he sets the tone with a sour scene starring a belle, her beau, and her rape fantasy proposal. The Little Death prominently displays sexual fetishes – some you’ve heard of, some you haven’t heard of, some you wish you never heard of…
By: Trevor Jeffery Kristen Wiig should keep doing her thing, because it’s definitely working for her, and Welcome to Me shows it. Shira Piven’s Welcome to Me introduces itself masterfully: five minutes in and you know Alice Klieg (Wiig), her recently-unmedicated illness, and you have a good idea of how her life up to now has been. And, how someone like her winning $86 million can have negative consequences. Alice throws money around like most…
By: Addison Wylie In an attempt to be complementary, but at the same time seem unintentionally inconsiderate, I enjoyed Life of Crime because it lacked a notable visionary’s presence. It didn’t feel the need to impress the audience with any sort of pizazz. It has a solid story, an array of interesting people ranging from low-lifes to the pompous rich, and a good time period to reference through lavish art direction and a sensational score….
By: Addison Wylie “Oh boy. We’re really in ‘it’ now,” I thought as I watched Jon S. Baird’s crackpot dark comedy about decrepit Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson fighting for a promotion and doing anything he can to guarantee the position. If he has to backstab, manipulate, and cause scenes, he’ll gleefully do so. Baird, who wrote and adapted the screenplay from Irvine Welsh’s book of the same name, is just as game as Robertson when…
By: Addison Wylie At first, it’s a riddle to figure out what actor Jason Bateman would gain from directing a dark comedy and playing the film’s anti-hero. After watching Bad Words, it’s clear to me why the film would be an enticing challenge. It’s a chance to go against the grain of Bateman’s nice guy image to whom he’s been typecast for multiple times. Not to mention a chance for the actor to not conform…
By: Addison Wylie The Brass Teapot wants to be a rags-to-riches fairytale with an offbeat, darker tone. Director Ramaa Mosley along with Tim Macy’s screenplay, however, don’t want to fully commit to a twisted vicinity for fear they’ll lose their quirky image and potential likability. Even though the film doesn’t take huge risks, it still manages to find a way to be consistently appealing. Alice and John (played by Juno Temple and Michael Angarano) are…
By: Addison Wylie Comedian/Writer/Director Bobcat Goldthwait has this incredible ability to use film as a way to call out an elephant in the room. When he does, no one lifts a finger to interject. It’s because with World’s Greatest Dad and now with his latest angry opus God Bless America, he’s writing about topics and nitpicks that have crossed out minds but the subjects are either too awkward or too nitpicky that we end up…