Reviews
SXSW Review: DMZ Creates a Compelling New World, But Only Feels Like the Beginning of the Story
This review is part of our coverage of the 2022 SXSW Film Festival. The Pitch: The timing of DMZ is maybe not the greatest, depending on whether or not you’re up for engaging with a story about urban warfare at a time when that sort of literal real-life horror is headline news. But the new HBO Max original series, based on the DC comics series and executive produced by Ava DuVernay, still stands out for its compelling premise and dynamic cast, despite a few issues largely stemming from its format. New World Order: When we first meet Alma Ortega (Rosario Dawson) in the not-too-distant future, she’s working as a medic in an intake facility for those who have tried illegally to enter the United States of America — not to be confused with the Free States of America, because seven years ago, a ...
SXSW Review: WeCrashed Is Too Long, But Nails the Daffy Rhythms of the WeWork Scandal
The Pitch: How far can a startup run on vibes alone? Turns out, it’s however far $47 billion gets you, at least in the smoke-and-mirrors valuations of VC culture. After all, that’s the magic number WeWork CEO Adam Neumann (Jared Leto) and his kooky wife/chief branding officer Rebekah Neumann (nee Paltrow; yes, she’s Gwyneth’s cousin, played by Anne Hathaway) used to fool Wall Street for nearly a decade into thinking they were the next great world-changing startup. But within a year’s time, WeWork’s value plummeted, the Neumanns left in disgrace — though not without a $2 billion golden parachute — and the buzziest company in America became a punchline. What led to such a precipitous fall? That’s the question WeCrashed, Apple TV+’s latest push for the startup-grifter boom (after Netflix...
SXSW Review: Hulu’s The Girl From Plainville Is an Introspective Drama Uninterested in Excuses
The Pitch: Series co-creators Liz Hannah and Patrick Macmanus keep the true-crime story wave going with The Girl From Plainville, an eight-part limited series based on the “texting suicide case.” In 2014, Conrad Roy III died by suicide in Mattapoisett, Massachussets — this tragedy eventually garnered national attention as investigators learned of the role that the teen’s girlfriend, Michelle Carter, played in his death. Roy’s and Carter’s motivations were previously explored in Erin Lee Carr’s 2019 documentary, I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter – and, of course, in all the preceding media coverage of the groundbreaking case. But The Girl From Plainville uses artistic license to venture deeper into the minds of these adolescents, and track how a chance meeting in Flor...
Greta Van Fleet Kick Off 2022 Tour in Michigan: Recap + Setlist
Greta Van Fleet opened their “Dreams in Gold” tour in Kalamazoo on Thursday (March 10th), kicking off the run in their homeland of Michigan with the first of five dates in the state. With support from the Rival Sons and Velveteers, Greta Van Fleet left the Wings Event Center with a distinct taste of rock and a night to remember. First, The Velveteers took to the stage, opening with “Motel #27.” The Colorado trio, led by singer Demi Demitro, set the mood for an energetic evening; Demitro thrashed appropriately as she sang about a hazy and uneasy world of loving. Next was Long Beach, California’s Rival Sons, who also held their own in a competition of which opener could wow fans the quickest. For those unfamiliar with the five-piece, they are old enough to have a few grays, and cool enough t...
Human Resources Review: An Overly Raunchy, Occasionally Thoughtful Big Mouth Spin-Off
The Pitch: Five seasons into the Netflix animated comedy Big Mouth comes Human Resources, a spin-off dedicated to exploring the workplace antics of Big Mouth’s hormone monsters. Not only does the show feature familiar Big Mouth hormone monsters Maury (voiced by Nick Kroll) and Connie (voiced by Maya Rudolph), as well as The Shame Wizard (voiced by David Thewlis), Love Bugs, and Anxiety Mosquitos, Human Resources also introduces dozens of new characters, including a “Logic Rock” named Pete (voiced by Randall Park), Petra the Ambition Gremlin (voiced by Rosie Perez), and many other fantastical creatures that represent the complex emotions of human beings. Rather than dwell on the pubescent confusion of adolescence, the creatures of Human Resources serve humans of all ages, and throughout the...
Ryan Reynolds Is Really, Really Reynolds-y In Netflix’s The Adam Project: Review
The Pitch: The Adam Project is centered on the kind of question asked during job interviews and looming existential crises: “What would you say to your younger self, should you have the chance?” But in the case of Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds), that’s not why he’s traveled back from the year 2050 to the present. Adult Adam’s on a quest to find his wife Laura (Zoe Saldana), a fellow time traveler in the program controlled by the duplicitous Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener). Unfortunately, he doesn’t quite hit the time period he was looking for, instead blundering across his pre-teen present-day self (Walker Scobell), a plucky but troubled kid coping with the recent death of his scientist father Louis (Mark Ruffalo), school bullies, and other indignities of growing up. While initially reluctant to...
The Boys Presents: Diabolical Offers Wild Superpowered Raunch As We Wait for Season 3 — Review
The Pitch: Animated spinoff anthologies for popular nerd properties are all the rage, it seems; hot off the back of Star Wars Visions a mere few months ago, Prime Video’s hit superhero satire The Boys gets one in the form of The Boys Presents: Diabolical. Taking inspiration, presumably, from their other blood-soaked comic book adaptation Invincible, here we’ve got eight distinct stories, with eight distinct animation styles, telling stories in and around the show’s world of corporate-sponsored (and created) superheroes, and the intestine-strewn trails they leave in their wake. Across eight Adult Swim-sized stories, the anthology peeks into the following tales of superpowered mayhem: Advertisement • A Tex Avery-style silent caper with a Vought scientist chasing down...
Euphoria’s Season 2 Finale Was a Mess, and Not Even the Fun Kind
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 2 finale of Euphoria, “All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name.”] Euphoria hive, this is a dark time. Today, we truly have no other choice but to put our eye gems away and ask ourselves — what was that?! The Euphoria Season 2 finale, which aired February 27th on HBO, finally brought this chaotic, discourse-filled era to a nearly disastrous close. The episode was a dumpster fire of pacing issues and lacked the signature style that makes the show fun to watch in the face of absurdity. It’s almost impressive that the hour managed to both be overstuffed and completely devoid of any cohesion at the same time. It was the epitome of, “Go girl, give us nothing.” Advertisement Related Video Since its return on Ja...
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak Kick Off Silk Sonic Las Vegas Residency: Recap + Setlist
Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak) began their Las Vegas residency on Friday (February 25th), transforming the Dolby Live theater at Park MGM into a seventies disco. The superduo — whose live appearances have thus far been limited to awards shows — threw what might just be the sexiest dance party Sin City has ever seen. The mood for “An Evening With Silk Sonic” was set from the get-go, as wisps of fog spilled out from under a red velvet curtain while guests settled into their seats. When the venue went dark, signaling the start of the show, the crowd roared in unison. Two screens on opposite sides of the stage flashed images of Silk Sonic sipping cocktails in a tropical setting with flowery button-up shirts, while a giant disco ball hung high above the seats. As the curtain lifted,...
Clairo Brings the Intimacy of Sling to Radio City Music Hall: Review, Setlist + Photos
Clairo’s 2021 sophomore album Sling is an album of closeness, immediacy, and contemplation; it is turned inward, but the moments that burst out do so like snowfall, and even the warmest, brightest choices are dripped in a haze, like you just woke up and the sun is shining through the corner of your window. So, hearing it performed live in the 6,000-capacity Radio City Music Hall on Thursday night (February 24th) is a little strange. The whimsy and intimacy of Sling almost suggests it should be performed in a cozy cabin somewhere in the woods, but Clairo’s remarkable rise to stardom has proven that the upgrade in venue size is deserved. Considering that Clairo’s debut album Immunity came out only six months before the pandemic began, as well as the fact that her biggest single to date, “Sof...
With Love Sux, Avril Lavigne Cements Pop-Punk Legacy
For 20 years now, Avril Lavigne has swung a pendulum between her two rock personas: playful, vaguely punkish pop (see: “Sk8er Boi,” “Girlfriend” and “Here’s to Never Growing Up”) and self-serious alternative (“My Happy Ending,” “Nobody’s Home” and that unfortunate collaboration with Chad Kroeger in 2013). Yet despite regular attempts to shift her sound — 2019’s Head Above Water was a collection of glossy pop ballads fit for Demi Lovato or Kelly Clarkson — Lavigne’s legacy appears forever tethered to the pop-punk moment of the early ‘00s. To casual listeners, she’ll always be the teenager in the necktie, tank top and heavy eyeliner skateboarding to the mall. Yet the Canadian singer has never released a true-blue pop-punk album. Her colossal debut, 2002’s Let Go, was more Michelle Branch tha...
Dog Review: Channing Tatum and His Canine Co-Star Anchor a Surprisingly Emotional Road Trip Tale
The Pitch: Let’s begin this review with what the dog lovers want to know first. Spoiler alert: Nothing bad happens to the dog. There’s some minor peril, and the climax of the film is tough to watch. But no Marley and Me-esque tragedy lurks in the final act. At the end of the film, the dog is fine. With that out of the way, let’s talk about Dog, the often-charming road trip dramedy that marks Channing Tatum‘s (co)-directing debut, starring Tatum alongside a trio of Belgian Malinoises for a darker and more emotionally affecting film than you might expect from its marketing. What the Trailers Don’t Mention: All the advertising for Dog sells a pretty authentic version of the film as a whole: Former Army Ranger Jackson Briggs (Tatum) gets tasked with a new mission: Bring a former Army Ranger do...
