Category Archives: Comedy

American Hustle review

Directed by David O. Russell, written by Russell and Eric Singer Russell likes to tell his stories on an edge. That's what I like about him and his movies. It feels like his tales could fly apart at any minute, become total, unwatchable messes, but he always manages to keep it together just this side…Read More

Philomena review

Directed by Stephen FrearsWritten by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, based on a book by Martin SixsmithWhen Philomena Lee (Judi Dench) was a teenager (Sophie Kennedy Clark) in Ireland, she got pregnant. For her sins, the nuns at the Roscrea convent made her work in the laundries, seven days a week for four years, and…Read More

Enough Said review

Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener | On Demand Holofcener is the writer-director of a number of awkwardly funny American indie films. To call them comedies, or romantic comedies, is too reductive. They're independent films, and tend to avoid easy catagorization, but centre on urban relationships, about women and men and their friendships and love…Read More

Don Jon review

Written and directed by Joseph Gordon-LevittFull marks to a first time feature filmmaker who writes and stars. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, already a performer with cred in blockbuster (The Dark Knight Rises, Looper) and indie ((500) Days of Summer) films, now can count director among his abilities. And he starts smart, with this fairly modest character study.…Read More

The World’s End review

Directed by Edgar Wright | Written by Wright and Simon Pegg | 109 min | On Demand You nerds know this: The World's End is the third and final film in Wright's Cornetto Trilogy, all made with buddies Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The thematic thread is pretty thin, but basically these three British guys…Read More

In A World… review

Written and directed by Lake BellA lovely indie from writer/director/actor Lake Bell, In A World... manages to make a few very coherent and political points about women in Hollywood while telling a feather-light story set in the moribund romantic comedy genre. When you think about it, achieving all that is kind of a wonder.Bell is…Read More

The To Do List review

Written and directed by Maggie CareyOh, the damage to my own innocence from having given up 100 minutes of my life with Tom Cruise and Shelley Long in 1983's Losin' It. The movie belonged to a genre of teen comedy that has very happily gone the way of the dodo: the devirginizing romp. Oh, it still comes…Read More

Blue Jasmine review

Written and directed by Woody AllenJasmine is actually Jeanette. Somewhere along the way she changed it, because Jeanette didn't have the requisite flair. Jasmine married up, to Hal, a New York one-percenter if there ever was one. Except Hal is crook and when he's arrested, the lawyers take everything. Jasmine, desperate, heads to San Francisco…Read More

The Way, Way Back review

Written and Directed by Nat Faxon and Jim RashBeing 14 is no fun for most of us. There's this diabolical combination of feeling like you know everything about the world, it's all crystal clear in your pubescent brain, and feeling totally adrift and uncertain, especially around the opposite sex. Meanwhile, what you understand of adult…Read More

Much Ado About Nothing review

Directed by Joss Whedon Adapted for the screen by Whedon from the William Shakespeare play For those who have been suffering from heat exhaustion or the pummelling that accompanies seeing large-budget action movies every week through the summer, this is for you. Delivered by one of those self-same blockbuster directors—though it's pretty hard to imagine…Read More