The Playlist

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

Review: At Its Best, Harmless 'Hunky Dory' Is Just That

By William Goss
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March 21, 2013 7:03 PM
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Reviews

It’s the summer of 1976, and between a conservative school administration and an unrelenting drought, things are beyond dry for Wales’ scrappier teens. It’s little wonder that they flock to the more permissive Miss Mae (Minnie Driver) and her glam-rock interpretation of Shakespeare’s "The Tempest" for the school play. Alas, "Hunky Dory" primarily concerns itself with familiar extracurricular woes and offers up much ado about nothing instead of a more rollicking or romantic coming-of-age story.

By Drew Taylor
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March 15, 2013 8:58 AM
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2 Comments

Reviews

There's a certain amount of winky irreverence built into "I Give It A Year," based on its title alone, which is something that people snarl, usually at the weddings of people who they feel are fundamentally incompatible. The title suggests that, while it might appear to be a bouncy romantic comedy, it has some seriously acidic undertones. This sensation is solidified once you know that Dan Mazer, one of Sacha Baron Cohen's confederates and a co-writer on both "Borat" and "Bruno," wrote and directed "I Give It A Year." Maybe it's the "Cabin in the Woods" of romantic comedies – something that simultaneously deconstructs the genre while celebrating it (and ultimately elevating it to the next plateau). Unfortunately, "I Give It A Year" is a woefully inept, unfunny, unsexy romantic comedy that falls into all the pitfalls and clichés that it willingly tries to avoid.

By Tess Hofmann
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February 8, 2013 10:20 AM
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1 Comment

News

“I Give It A Year” drops today in the U.K., and while U.S. distribution still hasn’t been secured, the rom-com’s SXSW stateside premiere in March should guarantee that someone picks it up. Witha cast of US-friendly faces including Rose Byrne, Anna Faris, Minnie Driver and Simon Baker, plus one of the most seriously promising rom-com trailers of its genre in years -- it seems like a no brainer. But on the off chance that a U.S. release is delayed, we can probably just piece together the teasers that keep coming out and get something close to a feature film.

By William Goss
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March 11, 2012 3:43 PM
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Reviews

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 10, 2011 6:52 AM
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This indie project has been kicking around for a while, and was first announced almost exactly a year ago with a cast made up of David Duchovny, Robin Wright, Josh Brolin, Hopper Penn, Jason Schwartzman and Robert Schwartzman. Well, the film "Goats" is now finally ready to move forward in front of cameras, and only one man remains standing from that initial lineup.