HollywoodandFine.com A few years back, a practice known as “bum fights” – in which young adults would pay homeless men to brawl with each other, then post videos on the Internet – shocked sentient adults for its cruelty, callousness and what it said about the breakdown of the social contract. …
HollywoodandFine.com Back in the days when he was still funny, Jay Leno used to have a routine about why an appreciation for the Three Stooges was a uniquely male phenomenon. It was dead-on. To that list of gender-specific entertainment geared to men, I’d add the willingness to watch and laugh …
HollywoodandFine.com Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” is the year’s most powerful film, an arthouse masterpiece which demands to be seen – and which will punch mainstream audiences in the gut. McQueen may be the most distinctive filmmaker to emerge since Quentin Tarantino. But while this film deals with similar …
HollywoodandFine.com Aubrey Plaza’s deadpan affect would seem to have limited comic potential. And yet, as she’s shown in the past (in “Safety Not Guaranteed”) and now with “The To Do List,” she’s really a minimalist who knows how to do a lot with a little. A sex comedy with heart, …
HollywoodandFine.com You probably have to be in the right mood to appreciate “Sightseers” – a mood that involves dark thoughts, perseverance and a grisly sense of humor. If you ever imagine gruesome deaths befalling people who annoy you in the course of your day – people you may not even …
I try to love Wes Anderson. Really. I do. Give me “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” any day, or “Rushmore;” even “The Royal Tenenbaums.” But his latest twee tableau shortchanges story and character development (oy vey – is the point arrested development again?). The retro comedy waves a banner of cleverness, …