Tag: comedy
Interviewing Todd Montesi: A Comic’s Take on Film
With the prevalence of professional (and professional-looking) videos on YouTube and other platforms that showcase comedians doing their thing, it’s a challenge to find a creator generating content that stands out from a cinematic perspective. One of those individuals, however, is making a sizable dent in that virtual bubble, and that person is Todd Montesi.…
Interviewing Madeline Wise: ‘Crashing,’ Trumpisms and a Troupe of One’s Own
There’s nothing “actorly” about Madeline Wise’s film and TV performances, despite her extensive theatrical training and stage-smart knowhow. In fact, this talented, creative thespian is so natural onscreen in shows such as HBO’s Crashing (2017-present)—for which she most recently did a six-episode arc—and web series such as the Adam Goldman-written-and-directed Whatever This Is. (2013) that…
Fourteen Amazing Films You Might Have Missed in 2017
2017 was a pretty good year for American film. Sure, there were plenty of head scratchers, disappointments, and outright train wrecks, but that’s for another column. (Which will be called “Head Scratchers, Disappointments & Outright Train Wrecks” – it’s all about the ampersand.) Today, we celebrate the minor gems. “Minor” only in the sense that…
David Michôd’s War Machine works well as cautionary tale, not as satire
War is Hell, but War Machine is frustrating. David Michôd’s somewhat-satire of the Obama era’s continued efforts in the Afghanistan insurgency is far from a spirited successor to Dr. Stangelove; it’s more a nuanced look at the sobering complexities of the war through the eyes of fictional general Glen McMahon, based in part on Gen.…
Zach Braff’s lazy remake of ‘Going in Style’
This will be the second consecutive piece I have written for Curnblog which begins by referencing an earlier piece I have written for Curnblog. That may well indicate that I have written too many things for Curnblog, or perhaps that I have just run out of ideas. But if I have run out of ideas,…