Articles tagged with comedy

The title of Bill Maher's film (directed by Larry Charles) makes the message clear: religion is ridiculous. Lest I be accused of bias in this review, allow me to clarify that yes, to a certain extent I agree. In the 21st century, as the palpable truths of archaeological and scientific discoveries increasingly contradict the abstract truth of word on paper, it's hard for 16% of us to believe the latter over the former. 16%, as Maher tells us, are those Americans who identify with no...

The latest brainchild of Superbad writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Pineapple Express fits comfortably into the canon of classic stoner-buddy comedies which revel in the misadventures and male comraderie associated with the illegal herb. Like previous entries such as Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke, a summary of the plot reads like either a "what if" story thought up while stoned or one of those...

This review is rather late in coming, so I feel it's fair to discuss the critical reception of Get Smart. Most reviewers have dismissed this film, basing much of their arguments on its dissimilarity with the old Don Adams TV show. (By the way, for you kids my age who didn't stay up for "Get Smart" on Nick at Nite, you'll remember Don Adams as the voice of Inspector Gadget.) And true, Get Smart the film lands somewhere between True Lies and Spy...

Will Smith, whose career I worried was in jeopardy between Wild Wild West (1999) and i, Robot (2004), returns with another $100+ million blockbuster in Hancock, a mere seven months after  the hit I Am Legend. Both are very good choices for the man who might just be our last true action hero (as the careers of Vin Diesel and The Rock continue to idle and superhero movies increasingly cast "real" actors); horror-actioners and superhero flicks...

The will to survive, to prove oneself and to have access to great powers distiguishing one from all others in an already competitive and saturated world differs in degree amongst people, or say, animals. Kung Fu Panda is one such tale of a panda who's willingness to prove himself worthy of acclaim won him Shifu's belief.

Kung Fu Panda is an ordinary story of a panda who is the son of a noodle restaurant owner. His father has a lot of dreams for him in the noodle business, but...

Jason Reitman's Juno is the latest in a series of "indie" films whose independence I sincerely doubt. Fox Searchlight, supposedly 20th Century Fox's distribution wing for independent films, seems to have actually put money into the production of the film. It is a distinction which may seem trivial, but then again there's not much in the world of movie criticism which doesn't seem trivial under a closer inspection.

It is also a distinction...

It takes a little bit of testicular fortitude to admit that I’ve long been a fan of Kevin Smith. I’m embarrassed not because I think his movies are bad, but because being a fan of a director with a cult following makes people give you a weird look and use hurtful words like “fanboy.” Yes, I’ve seen An Evening With Kevin Smith. Yes, I saw Jersey Girl in the theaters. Yes, I enjoy Mallrats. But I have not yet paid to belong to his online message board, which I think is the measure of...

Everyone wants to believe that there’s something that sets them apart from all the other assistant shop-keepers and undergarment salesmen in the world, and Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price) has something. He’s twelfth in line to a dukedom… This is the premise of Kind Hearts and Coronets, a movie most famous for having Alec Guinness in eight roles (as the rest of the family), but as much as I respect Sir Alec, it is so much more than that.

Louis’s mother, herself...