Season Two of A Series of Unfortunate Events Excels In Production Design But Struggles With Tone

Heading into he ten-episode long season two of Series of Unfortunate Events, my big question for this TV show was how they would juggle the programs previously established heavily comedic tone with the darker books they were about to adapt. Just like Harry Potter, those Series of Unfortunate Events books got more complex and bleak as they went on and trying to merge that aesthetic with the joke-heavy Wes Anderson meets Tim Burton style of the show was gonna be a tricky proposition. Interestingly, having now seen the entire second season (which took me nearly two months to complete because I'm the worst binge watcher ever), I'm not sure if they did fully succeed in organically merging the two tones of these individual properties, but they did manage to make an entertaining second season nonetheless.

Downsizing Is Small On Narrative Ambitions Or Anything Really Remarkable To Speak Of

There's not much going on here in Downsizing. Despite labeling itself a "social satire", there's not much in the way of actual satire transpiring in Alexander Payne's latest motion picture. There isn't all that much comedy either and what does show up to generate yuks is just awkward and forced (the majority of the jokes received, from the audience at my screening, the kind of forced light chuckles a parent might use to laugh at a young child's incoherent knock-knock joke). So what is there in this movie, what exactly is going on in Downsizing? There's...a chance for Christoph Waltz to play someone that isn't a bad guy in an American movie? That's good! OK, that's one thing that happens in Downsizing...

Final 2014 Oscars Predictions

I must say, the announcement of the nominations for this years Academy Awards ceremony really took a spring out of my step. While it was great to see notable filmmakers like Wes Anderson and Richard Linklater receive long overdue recognition in the Best Director category, the lack of nominations for excellent people like Gillian Flynn, David Oyelowo, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ava Duvernay, and of course, a movie like The LEGO Movie just helped reinforce how out of touch the Oscars are with recognizing truly great cinema.

Neil Patrick Harris Is Hosting The Oscars!!!

You were creeped out by him in Gone Girl, you were even more creeped out by him in The Smurfs, and you were dazzled by him in pretty much anything else he's ever done (iincludingGone Girl, while Smurfs I can take or leave).

But now Neil Patrick Harris is hosting the Oscars according to Deadline!

Did Ben Affleck Kill His Wife In The Trailer For Gone Girl?

Three years ago, The Social Network hit theaters and changed this particular moviegoers life forever. It was one of those movies that's just so amazingly well made, it never fails to boggle your mind. The following year, the director of that fantastic movie, David Fincher, handled a new interpretation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and then took a three year break that ends with this falls Gone Girl. Here's the newest trailer for that new movie.

Chef Review

It must be said that Jon Favreau has probably has had the most unexpected career trajectory in Hollywood except for maybe Neil Patrick Harris. Who would have thought the dude who played a recurring character on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command would end up directing the best Christmas (Elf) and Superhero (Iron Man) movies of all-time? Of course, he's had his struggles, with him squaring off against Marvel Studios over the direction of Iron Man 2 and Cowboys and Aliens becoming a major financial failure.

A Million Ways To Die In The West Review

Frontier Follies Find Fairly Average  Venture

Seth Macfarlane comedy adheres to two different principles; turning the mundane into its most exaggerated form, or taking something zany and bringing it down to Earth. The latter was brought to terrific life in Ted, while the former coheres the humor in A Million Ways To Die In The West. The film takes all the cliches of both western movies and actual frontier life and ratchets them up to their most violent and sexual extremes. For some comedians, this movie would be stepping out of their comfort zones in a big way, while for Macfarlane it feels disappointing he couldn't conjure up something more memorable right on the heels of Ted.