Seeing Stars at the 2015 Critics Choice TV Awards
Wow. Now that I know that so many of my absolute favorite TV/movie stars are showing up for the Critics Choice TV Awards on Sunday, May 31 at 8pm ET/5pm PT, I’m really excited about attending. I mean, Charlize Theron, who was absolutely transcendent in Mad Max: Fury Road, is showing up to present a…
Warby Parker Saves the Day…And Frankie Feldman’s Bacon
By Lisa Johnson Mandell This is my beloved Australian Labradoodle puppy Frankie Feldman
Help Me Decide on the Critics Choice Television Awards
Well, the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) just announced nominations for the 5th annual Critics Choice Television Awards, which will be broadcast live on A&E from the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, May 31, 2015 (8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT). I’ve already got my dress picked out, but my decisions on the shows and actors I vote for are not so…
HOT PURSUIT Review
The casting and concept are pregnant with potential: Proven comedic actresses Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara paired in a cop buddy comedy. What could go wrong? Plenty, apparently, and I blame the sheer and utter misfire of Hot Pursuit on director Anne Fletcher and screenwriters David Feeney and John Quaintance. Couldn’t they have at least tried a little? It…
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON Review — An Entertaining Slug Fest
By Lisa Johnson Mandell Bam! Crash! Boom! (snide comment from Tony Stark) Pow! Kablooie! That pretty much sums up the plot of Avengers: Age of Ultron. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching. Millions of people are going to see it no matter what I say, and let me reassure them that they will be entertained. They’ll…
THE AGE OF ADELINE Review — Tears for Fears
By Lisa Johnson Mandell Get out your tissues and your waterproof mascara: The next great romantic tear jerker has arrived. Seriously, I’m predicting The Age of Adeline is going to go rank among the best-loved romantic movies of all time, right up there with An Affair to Remember, Somewhere in Time and The Notebook. The premise is a simple one, and you can see…
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD Review
I can’t think of a better time in the past decade or two for those or us who love smaller, quality, plot-driven films filled with esteemed actors who can almost effortlessly wring tears from a thoughtful audience. A few week’s ago we were treated to Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds in Woman in Gold. Last week it…
MAGGIE Review: Close, But No Cigar
By Lisa Johnson Mandell From international body building champ to cyborg to Governor of California to zombie slayer, I challenge you to find anyone who has had a weirder career trajectory than Arnold Schwarzenegger. In light of that, it would appear that putting him in the indie zombie pic Maggie would be gratuitous stunt casting, meant…
I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS Review: Could be a Sleeper Hit
I almost feel as if I should disqualify myself from reviewing this film because of a conflict of interest. It’s darn near impossible for me to be objective about a movie that was shot in a house I know and love, and features two dear friends. Add that to the fact that my Mom resembles…
EX MACHINA Review
By James Mandell So who inherits the Earth after us? Cockroaches? Hmmm, no opposable thumbs–problem. Likely answer: Self-sufficient AI’s. It’s an easy logic leap. We could eventually create independently thinking/learning machines, tireless super-brains that simply push us aside as antiquated evolutionary flotsam, without so much as a wink to ol’ Charlie D. Just the sort…
