Archive for July, 2011

Cowboys and Aliens is one of four movies I reviewed over at TWoP this week, along with Life in a Day, Crazy, Stupid, Love and the best of the bunch, Attack the Block.  Follow the links below to read just why the combination of James Bond and Indiana Jones isn’t enough to make this high-concept genre mash-up fly.

Attack the Block: 5 Reasons Why It’s Better than Super 8
Cowboys and Aliens
: Not So Tall In the Saddle
Crazy, Stupid, Love: How to Be a Playa
Life in a Day: Around the World in 90 Minutes
I Want My DVD
TV on DVD
Man Vs. Space Creature
Comic-Con: The Big Movie News

I didn’t love Miranda July’s acclaimed debut Me and You and Everyone We Know, but I did like it — it’s got its own unique rhythm and vision of the world that’s alternately annoying and captivating.  I had the same experience watching her sophomore effort, The Future, which I reviewed over at Film Journal International.  Read my review here.

But is Captain America that hero?  Find out in my just-posted review over at TWoP.  Links to the rest of the week’s content — including reviews of <i>A Little Help</i> and <i>Another Earth</i> — are below.

Captain America: A Real American Hero
Another Earth: Crisis on Infinite (Okay, Just One) Earths
A Little Help: Jenna Fischer Gets Out of <i>The Office</i>
Retro Comic Book Movies
A Guide to Marvel Studio’s Easter Eggs
I Want My DVD
TV on DVD
Who’s Who in Marvel’s World War II
The Most Successful Singers-Turned-Actors

Much like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 will dominate the box office this weekend, the movie was the main subject of my TWoP posts this week, culminating in my review of the final chapter in the eight-film franchise.  Follow the links below to indulge in Pottermania for one last time.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2: This Is The End, My Only Friend
Winnie the Pooh: A Welcome Return to the Hundred Acre Wood
Beyond Winnie the Pooh: Other Classic Disney Characters That Deserve a Comeback
Harry Potter: The Best & Worst of the Franchise
Harry Potter: Spin-Offs We’d Like to See
Harry Potter: A Farewell Tour of Hogwarts
San Diego Comic-Con 2011: A Movie Geek’s Guide to What’s Worth Waiting in Line For
I Want My DVD
I Want My VOD
TV on DVD
Eureka: Chicken Soup for the SyFy Soul

A review of the new comedy Horrible Bosses kicks off this week’s round-up of TWoP content.  Follow the links below to read each story.

Horrible Bosses: Ad-Libbing 9 to 5, What a Way to Make a Living
Horrible Bosses: The Cast’s Most Horrible Jobs
Going to (Robert) California: James Spader’s Creepiest Performances Before The Office
Zookeeper: 5 Other Blue Collar Roles Kevin James Should Play
I Want My DVD
TV on DVD

Project Nim, James Marsh’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning documentary Man on Wire, is another well-told account of a lost slice of ’70s social history–this one about the chimpanzee Nim Chimpskee, who was at the center of a research project to determine whether a chimp could be raised to communicate like a human.  As the movie illustrates, neither the case study, nor Nim’s life, had a happy ending.  Read my review over at Film Journal.

Some thoughts on two very different movies currently playing in theaters.

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This week’s Television Without Pity round-up includes reviews of Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Larry Crowne, two DVD columns and a glimpse at the courses offered at Tom Hanks University.  Follow the links below.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Oh, the Humanity!
Larry Crowne: A Pop Quiz of a Review
I Want My DVD
TV on DVD
When The Third Time Really Is the Charm
What to Study at Tom Hanks U
Season 2 Casting Suggestions for Game of Thrones