One of the best-kept secrets on television right now is FX's achingly funny, ruthlessly witty spy satire Archer, which will return for a fifth season of thirteen episodes next month. The show has consistently surprised and delighted with state-of-the-art animation, hilarious plot-lines and inspired guest actors (check out season 3's "The Man from Jupiter," featuring Burt Reynolds, if you don't believe me).
When House of Cards became a huge hit back in February, receiving nine Emmy nods (winning three) at this year's ceremony, I was one of the few entertainment writers to remain unhappy with the show. I found the first season of Netflix's political drama to be more plodding than menacing, and I wasn't a fan of Kevin Spacey's despicably corrupt US Representative Frank Underwood. Hopefully, the upcoming second season will yield improvements in writing and some much-needed depth for Spacey's scheming protagonist.
Between James McAvoy's dirty crime drama Filth earlier this year and Jude Law's upcoming Dom Hemingway, good actors gone bad (hilariously, spectacularly bad) are having a moment.
With Batman vs. Superman still dominating the blogosphere despite a far-off 2015 release date, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment can successfully claim to have wrestled the media spotlight away from their competitor, Marvel Studios. With the studio steadily building towards a much-demanded Justice League movie, more news is emerging almost weekly about potential additions to the DC Cinematic Universe.
Deceptively marketed as a breezy romantic comedy, Drinking Buddies would be more aptly described as a movie about the complexities and compromises of relationships, the little things that are instrumental in making partnerships work. Credit writer-director Joe Swanberg for giving his strong cast the freedom to explore the weighty ideas his film's simple set-up brings bubbling to the surface, like infidelity, loneliness and immaturity.
As a great lover of legal thrillers, I feel a significant measure of confidence in saying that my excitement for the upcoming film Reasonable Doubt is justified. Opening in January, the film boasts two stellar lead actors, Dominic Cooper and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as a seriously intriguing hook.
A second-rate melodrama masquerading as a pulse-pounding tale of survival, Hours is one of the most relentlessly tedious films of the year. It might be more aptly named Days, for the amount of time it seems to take to crawl from its opening to closing credits. Set mostly during the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Hours inexplicably attempts to relate the terror and uncertainty felt by those in the storm's path by keeping its protagonist confined almost entirely to a quiet, abandoned hospital. It's far from a winning formula, despite a strong performance from the late, lamented Paul Walker.
This is starting to get ridiculous. The summer of 2015 was already gearing up to be the most crowded summer for cinema in recent memory, but major studios just keep adding more films to the pile. Bourne 5, a currently untitled sequel to last year's The Bourne Legacy as well as a second spin-off from the successful Bourne trilogy, has been scheduled by Universal Pictures to debut on August 14th, 2015.
Whatever you may think of Lena Dunham, there's no denying the seemingly ubiquitous presence of her award-winning HBO dramedy Girls. The show exploded on entertainment websites social media when it premiered last April, while also garnering widespread critical acclaim. Girls earned five Emmy nods for its freshman run in 2012 then another five at this year's ceremony. The show's real victory, however, was how quickly it became water-cooler talk with its unconventionally raw, often uncomfortable portrayal of modern women navigating relationships in New York City.
It is with great sadness that we bring you news that Paul Walker, best known for his role as Brian O'Conner in Universal's Fast & Furious series, has died at the age of 40. The actor was involved in a car accident earlier today in Santa Clarita, California and waspronounced dead at the scene.
