Whatever you do, don’t call Mr. Roosevelt quirky. Thrift shop dresses are quirky. Ironic coffee shop wall art is quirky. This comedy is not. What could have been an ordinary, boilerplate indie rom-com of the SXSW ilk, is a solid feature debut with lively personality and perspective from Noel Wells.
Dino-Ray Ramos
All articles written by Dino-Ray Ramos.
David Flebotte’s Showtime series I’m Dying Up Here attempts to put its finger on the pulse of the comedy world and does an admirable job of itwith the jokes, snark, and riffing. But the humor is merely a vehicle to show the emotional relationship between the characters, the pleasure and pain of dream-chasing, and the catharsis of comedy.
Aaron Katz’s celeb murder mystery gives eerie vibes throughout, but as the film rolls along, the story loosens its grasp on the audience and makes for an ending that is simply satisfying rather than shocking.
The winners of SXSW’s Jury and Special Awards have been unveiled. Saturday Night Live cast member Sasheer Zamata announced the winners at a special ceremony at the Paramount Theatre in Austin. Ana Asensio’s psychological thriller Most Beautiful Island nabbed the top award in the Narrative Feature Competition while the captivating prison doc The Work earned the award for Documentary Feature Competition.
A genre mash-up of 28 Days Later, The Raid, and Office Space, Mayhem is a non-stop gnarly ride of tortuous blood-soaked fights driven by rage — and it is unbelievably awesome.
Evan Katz tackles very heady material in this pulpy noir and although it entertains (to a certain extent) and is stacked with a phenomenal roster of actors, the film tends to become over-involved and twisted within itself.
The film garnered acclaim at Sundance and turned the volume up a few of notches when it came to the conversation about identity politics. Now, with the new upcoming television adaptation, director Justin Simien plans to put the volume on blast with a series that allows the characters more room to grow with nuance and complexity that was originally planted with firm roots in the original film.
The adaptation of Greg Sestero’s non-fiction book of the same name tells the story of the author’s friendship with filmmaker and actor (if you want to call him that) Tommy Wiseau, the man responsible for bringing The Room into our lives — which is considered to be “the worst movie of all time.”
From beginning to end this is Charlize Theron’s shining moment as an action star. She’s like James Bond, but a lot cooler. Instead of shaken martinis, she guzzles down vodka on eyes and instead of nifty gadgets, she beats guys with everyday items like hoses, hotplates and house keys.
The cast for Disney’s forthcoming live-action adaptation of Dumbo is slowly taking shape. The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Danny DeVito is in talks to star in the film directed by Tim Burton about the beloved big-eared circus elephant, the Tracking Board has confirmed.
True to form, Ryan Reynolds took to Twitter today and dropped a puzzling message written in domino dots that, when deciphered, announced that Atlanta star Zazie Beetz would be taking on the coveted role of mercenary Domino in Deadpool 2.
The 24th SXSW Film Festival is stacked with 125 films including the opening night film, Terrence Malick’s Song to Song as well as Edgar Wright’s highly anticipated Baby Driver. Still, there’s a whole lot to sort through. That’s why the Tracking Board has done the work for you and created a list of films and programs that should be on your must-see list if you’re headed to Austin for the fest.
Hugh Jackman looking to get into the driver’s seat for Michael Mann’s Ferrari and the story of Roe v. Wade is heading for the big screen. Plus, a round-up of the day’s top entertainment news stories from around the web.
Jordan Vogt-Roberts-directed Kong: Skull Island shoots down all preconceived notions of a “reimagining” and delivers a wildly entertaining adventure that is equal parts action-packed, silly, and fantastically bonkers.
Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling’s Neil Armstrong film gets a release date and Riverdale gets greenlit for a second season. Plus, a round-up of the day’s top entertainment news stories from around the web.
Orange is the New Black actress Laverne Cox is taking her on-screen prison experience to the female buddy cop comedy The Trustee. The ABC pilot will be produced by Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman’s Brownstone Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.
A new season of Gilmore Girls may be on the horizon at Netflix and a trio of actors added to Peter Jackson-produced adaptation of Mortal Engines. Plus, a round-up of the day’s top entertainment news stories from around the web.
Although a visual marvel, this opulent live-action interpretation of the Disney classic doesn’t capture the magic of the original animated feature. Despite a handful of drawbacks, there is a deeper meaning that can get eclipsed by the ornate fanciness and the movie does a good job of putting it front and center.
The Academy Awards’ Best Picture gaffe turned out to be the trending topic of the evening, but the real story isn’t this embarrassing moment in Oscars history (although it did make for great television). The real story is that Moonlight won.
Watching Get Out was like watching an episode of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror in that it gave us a story that felt fictitious enough to entertain, but real enough to freak us out. Peele cleverly uses the horror genre to craft a film that is a delightfully demented mashup of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Everyone seems to be suffering from La La Land fatigue, but it hasn’t necessarily paved the way for Moonlight to take the lead in the Oscar race because everyone is focused on turning their backs on the musical spectacular, so now is the better time than any to give the case of why Moonlight should win…and why it won’t.
Fifty Shades Darker is the latest serving of the bland relationship adventures of the overwhelmingly basic Anastasia Steele and her painfully dull billionaire beau Christian Grey. As expected, the movie is terrible on all fronts — not “so bad that it’s good” terrible, but “I wish this franchise never existed” terrible.
If you didn’t get enough brutal bone-crushing action and inimitable gunfight choreography in the first John Wick, then John Wick: Chapter 2 will quench that thirst for more violent bloodlust and good ol’ fashioned stone-faced Keanu Reeves acting.
The Brandon Sanderson-penned sci-fi novella Snapshot has been acquired by MGM. Broken Road Productions (Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse) and Entertainment 360 (Office Christmas Party) are set to produce.
The 1992 sports comedy White Men Can’t Jump is set to get a 21st-century makeover courtesy of Kenya Barris. The Black-ish creator is teaming with Los Angeles Clippers player Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil of the Carolina Panthers to develop a remake of the 20th Century Fox classic.
The rights to the upcoming YA novel Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu have landed at Amy Poehler and Brooke Posch’s production company Paper Kite. The book is slated to be released later this year on September 19 by Roaring Book Press.
ABC has handed out its first drama pilot of the season to a yet-to-be-titled project starring Reba McEntire from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry. This will mark a reunion between Cherry and the Disney-owned network.
The 10-novel series based on the life of mob daughter Lucky Santangelo by the late, great Jackie Collins is about to get the silver screen treatment. Universal Pictures recently acquired the books and are planning on making it into a trilogy with Monumental and Working Title.
*UPDATED* We’re less than two weeks away from the Academy Awards and with five wins at this year’s BAFTA Awards, La La Land still remains the Oscar favorite. Surprisingly, it’s biggest competitor, Moonlight didn’t nab any trophies at the ceremony, while a couple of other surprises have thrown things off course in some categories.
After garnering critical acclaim and early Oscar buzz at Sundance, Nate Parker was having a moment — a really good moment. But when his past rape allegations surfaced, his life took a sharp left turn and turned his once lauded cinematic triumph into a difficult movie-going experience.
