Despite being wildly popular in the UK, Alan Partridge – the clueless radio host played for decades by British comedian Steve Coogan – still has little more than a small cult following among U.S. audiences. The movie, Alan Partridge, likely won’t broaden the appeal here, but is still a welcome treat for longtime fans.
If the first-time series Ray Donovan had premiered on the oft-buzzed about HBO or even AMC, it likely would have gotten a lot more attention. Instead, this Showtime drama starring Live Schreiber and John Voight (in his best role in decades), remains one of the best new shows flying under the radar.
The indie drama Adult World certainly has its share of faults: one-dimensional characters, a phoned in performance from its one marque star (John Cusack) and a whiny, self-entitled main character that’s has you almost rooting for her failure. But somehow, despite all of these obstacles, director Scott Coffey still manages to turn in a film that is charming and oddly satisfying despite – or thanks – to its quirks.
Hitler and the Nazis is an incredibly detailed look into the rise of power of Adolf Hitler, and it does so in a fashion that provides viewers with the full story. Rather than focusing on the beer hall putsch or World War II, Hitler and the Nazis goes from the beginning until the end.
This is your opportunity to see this stellar British TV drama, originally aired here on BBC America, before it gets bastardized and watered-down with predictable clichés for U.S. audience with an American remake. This original focuses on a British coastal town where an 11-year-old boy is found murdered on the beach.
This Cartoon Network DVD release collects 16 episodes from a variety of seasons. Fan-favorites (James Baxter the Horse, Another Give More Short Graybles are present), while a number of other inclusions (Sky Witch, Beyond This Earthly Realm, and Blood Under the Skin) provide further story line and character motivations.
Eastbound & Down went out with a bang for its final (fourth) season. The main characters – Kenny, April, and Stevie – have their final hurrah as Jon Reep (Jed Forney), Ken Marino (Guy Young), and Tim Heidecker (Gene) all make their presence felt. At the crux of this season has to be the struggle that Kenny has regarding his past (Major League Baseball), his present (children with April), and…
Knight of Badassdom, the latest horror comedy from Joe Lynch, has all the hallmarks of a cult classic: metal music, roleplaying games that conjure up demons and plenty of stoner laughs.
Aram Garriga’s absorbing documentary American Jesus is one of the few religious documentaries in recent memory that manages to even-handedly offer a glimpse at the uniqueness of Christianity in the U.S. without taking a clear side praising or condemning the way these groups choose to worship.
Musicians are notoriously a sensitive group. Even more so when it comes to poking fun at their own legacy. So it was particularly admirable of longtime cult rocker Graham Parker to play himself in 2012’s This Is 40, a film where Paul Rudd’s character is losing money because his record label banked on the failed notion that there was still an audience for Parker and his longtime band The Rumors.
Every TV series creator’s hope is that their show gets picked up by a network. But how bummed do you think the creators of Rogue were when they found out their solidly impressive cop series was getting picked up by DirecTV. Rogue centers on Grace Travis (Thandie Newton), who plays a detective going undercover with a crime boss to ultimately solve the murder of her young son. Newton…
Bikini Kill frontwoman Kathleen Hanna has always been an interesting figure, but it wasn’t until the release of this documentary about her that you realize just how important a cultural figure she was. In the early 90’s, first through a zine she co-founded and later with her band, she was one of the main founders of the Riot Grrrl movement which gave a much needed jolt to contemporary…
We have not reviewed many web series because the quality of the average show is so spotty. The Louise Log is a show that relies on the situational comedy of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Each clip (we are reviewing “How To Get What You Want”, Episode #36) allows for a further expansion of the motivations and desires of the main characters while allowing the humor to shine through early…
Shit got real in season three of Games of Thrones. You know those annoying friends who have already read the books and would not shut up about “The Red Wedding” scene. Well, turns out they didn’t over sell this story line, for once. In the second to last episode in season three, just out on DVD, hell was definitely unleased at the wedding of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey,…
Despite what appears to be another “poor pitiful me, I’m rich but bored” comedy/drama, Afternoon Delight is surprisingly good. Helmed by Jill Soloway (who snagged the 2013 Sundance Best Director award), the film follows Rachel (played by Step brothers’ Kathryn Hahn), a stay at home mom, married to a tech entrepreneur Jeff (How I met Your Mother’s Josh Radnor), living in LA;s trendy Silver Lake. Rachel has slew…
It’s a bit surprising this indie romantic comedy didn’t get bigger buzz on its initial outing. The leads (Justin Long and Evan Rachel Wood), while not exactly major box office draws are still pretty big names for a small budget film, and the story is quirky without being overly odd and sweetly romantic enough to have broad appeal. Long (who also wrote the screenplay and produced) plays Sam, a young…
Despite the massive build up to the debut episode, the HBO series Treme never really managed to catch on with viewers like some of the other appointment-TV shows the network has offered up over the past decade. Part of this can be attributed to the impossible to achieve expectations that had been saddled on the show and its creator David Simon, with fans and critics expecting…
Young Detective Dee Rise of the Sea Dragon is a 2013 film that works as a predecessor to Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, and provides fans of the initial film with ample backstory and a plot that is at least as alluring as the first film. Mark Chao (Dee Renjie) and Carina Lau (Wu Zetian) step into their previous role, while the cast is further bolstered…
The Following is one of the hottest shows on TV, looking to reinvigorate the cat-and-mouse, criminal and lawman genre utilizing hints of crime fiction, police procedural, and mystery genres. The absolutely star-studded cast (Kevin Bacon, James Purefoy, Natalie Zea) took to the air early in 2013, and have captured a considerable viewer share throughout its initial 15-episode run. The dynamic that is present between the serial killer Joe Carroll (Purefoy)…
Jack Kerouac is a difficult author to transfer to the big screen, but Big Sur is a title that imbues the silver screen with the inimitable Kerouac style. The title benefits from accurate scenery, language, and overall zeitgeist captured during the feature. Big Sur focuses on Kerouac’s life in the months immediately following the success of On the Road. Rather than bask in his success, Kerouac attempts…