Triangle of Sadness pitches itself as a sophisticated comedy with “biting” satire about elitist attitudes during class wars. However, the jabs made by writer/director Ruben Östlund are nothing more than the filmmaker taking hackneyed swings at low-hanging fruit for a really, really long time.
The Good Boss offers a mannered approach to the self-destructive character study; separating it from similar company pitched in a much more frantic, anxiety-inducing tone (Nose to Tail, Uncut Gems).
Official Competition is very obvious in the ways it satirizes the film industry and its pretentious egos. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not funny.
The drop in quality between Judd Apatow’s comedy The Bubble and his previous effort The King of Staten Island is staggering, confusing, and disappointing. The King of Staten Island was, in my opinion, the best movie of 2020. While The Bubble is in contention to be the worst movie of 2022.
The police have always been fertile territory for mockery; from the bumbling cop who always misses the crime to the surly “good cop” who gets shot two days before retirement. In the last decade, however, that mockery has become problematized in and of itself, whether by people who think that the police should be above reproach or people who think that making light of the police normalizes their brutality. As such, police satire needs to walk a…
Lake Michigan Monster is an irreverently humorous riff on z-budget monster movies of the 1950s, complete with shoestring special effects, deliberately tacky plotlines, and unusual characters. A bizarre product of writer/director Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Lake Michigan Monster arrives at a time of great need for strong laughs at a brisk and breezy running time.
Meet London Logo (Julia Faye West), an arrogant heiress who has somehow found fame for being present. At one time, her elegance was popular. But now, she clings on to any shred of attention by releasing music, an autobiography, and rebooting an on-air partnership with partygoer Rochelle Ritzy (Shelli Boone). The pressure for relevance stems from her fear of being pushed out by trendy, big-bootied celebrity, Kristy Kim (Candace Kita). As journalist Diana Smelt-Marlin (Kate…
Mister America could be the “nichiest” project ever made and, yes, I’m including Kevin Smith’s upcoming Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. But more importantly, Mister America is the level of Trump era satire we’ve been waiting for.
Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) has recently dodged being typecast as timid characters, but he leans back into those traits to headline The Art of Self-Defense.
