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Daynah BurnettFeatures
The Best Big Screen Eye Candy of 2007When flipping through my mental catalog of the year's films, certain scenes stand out. This past year offered a veritable feast of visual goodies. [4 January 2008] Unkept Promises: Most Disappointing Films of 2006If it's easy to get excited about a new film, it's just as easy to feel disenchanted with the results. Looking over 2006, there were lots of unkept promises. [8 January 2007] Too Disturbing: After Dark Horrorfest, 17-19 November 2006Women remain the victims of choice. This cliché indicates a lack of imagination visible throughout the festival's themes, characters, and plots. [27 November 2006] Reviews
Temple GrandinTemple Grandin's frequently standard plotting can't repress Claire Danes' fearless, captivating, and intimate performance. [5 February 2010] 
La La Land: Series PremiereLa La Land is not nearly as smart or edgy as Da Ali G Show, as it offers none of the social commentary, cultural criticism or broad pathos that Borat or Bruno mustered, even in their lowest low-brow moments. [25 January 2010] 
Dexter: Season Four PremiereWhile Dexter’s criminal “hobby” is a potent metaphor for those aspects of manhood suppressed by domestication, he is rarely emasculated or empowered. He’s simply absent. [27 September 2009] 
Bored to Death: Series PremiereBored to Death indulges a decidedly male fantasy for New York creative intellectualism in the same way Entourage does for Hollywood’s struggling actors-turned-stars. [18 September 2009] 
Community: Series PremiereBefore you can say "The Breakfast Club," Community begins challenging stereotypes while also arguing that community college is one of the great equalizers. [17 September 2009] 
Weeds: Season Five PremiereI want to laugh at Weeds, but its constant oscillation between vilification and victimization of its female characters leaves me frustrated. [8 June 2009] Modern Toss: Series PremiereModern Toss feels like the television equivalent of browsing the funny pages of a college newspaper trying quite hard to be "edgy." [17 March 2009] 
Lost: Season Five PremiereAs the fifth season begins, the structural fluidity that makes Lost so exciting and unusual has been pushed to the forefront. That's right: we're officially talking time travel. [28 January 2009] The Two CoreysWatching the The Two Coreys is a bit like looking up my high school boyfriend on Facebook. [22 June 2008] LostWhile I still maintain that this season of Lost, commenced with a lurch, I'm pleased to report that it closed out plain better than ever. [3 June 2008] 
Run, Fatboy, RunDavid Schwimmer's achingly formulaic Run, Fatboy, Run is centered on commitment-phobe Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg). [28 March 2008] LostSometime between Hurley's car chase and Naomi's resurrection, it occurred to me that I'm never going to get satisfactory answers to Lost's fast-accumulating questions. [7 February 2008] 
JunoA movie about a 16-year-old girl's unplanned pregnancy, Juno manages to avoid any significant emotional depths, despite its plainly complex subject. [5 December 2007] 
Tooth and NailTooth and Nail's scary setting seems based in a real world scenario, but is also plainly drawn from previous films. [15 November 2007] 
The OfficeNext came a series of sitcom-ish moments that read like the white board from the writers' room. [11 October 2007] CarpoolersCarpoolers looks hell-bent on sorting out that pesky battle of the sexes business, using the toaster to hammer it home. [9 October 2007] 
Dirty Sexy MoneyAs if to fend off our confusion, when the Darlings get together, they lay around drinking single malt scotch and spout expository dialogue at one another. [3 October 2007] 
StardustWhat Stardust wields in star power, it lacks in original, or even interesting, storytelling. [10 August 2007] 
Louis C.K. - ShamelessLouis C.K. is miserable. In his HBO stand-up comedy special, Shameless, he complains relentlessly about everything with ire. [11 July 2007] 
License to Wed (2007)Everything about License to Wed so completely contaminates its talent that I may never be able to enjoy The Office again. [3 July 2007] 
Ratatouille (2007)The exuberant voice performances in Ratatouille immerse the audience in its world, one enhanced by richly-colored, sophisticated animation and a lively score. [29 June 2007] 
Flight of the ConchordsThough the show occasionally lapses into the "cringe comedy" mode, made popular by The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm, Flight of the Conchords is also quite sweet. [21 June 2007] 
Surfs Up (2007)Surf's Up offers nuanced and energetic penguins, as well as top-notch CGI. [8 June 2007] Creature ComfortsThough the show doesn't exactly suffer for its sanitized inclinations, it's too willing to settle for obvious gags. [4 June 2007] 
Once (2006)Once celebrates the complexity of artistry and relationships, using methods as remarkably simple as they are effective. [1 June 2007] 
LostAfter Season Three's finale, Lost and I have made up now, and it looks like we're working towards a real future together. Finally. [31 May 2007] 
The OfficeThe Office offers someone we can always laugh at: Michael (Steve Carell), arguably the most sympathetic asshole on television, ever. [23 May 2007] 
Hot Fuzz (2007)Hot Fuzz is all about the guys. And who needs girls when you have guns? [24 April 2007] 
TMNT (2007)The CGI allows the Turtles to have facial expressions, though here these mostly range from angsty to angstier. [23 March 2007] RainesFor all its good ideas, Raines is overwhelmed by Jeff Goldblum's characterization -- both familiar and strange. [15 March 2007] 
Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006)Like the onset of hormones, Cam Archer's Wild Tigers I have Known mixes a heady swirl of daydreams and stripped-down self-awareness. [7 March 2007] 
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)Where other "kids' films" might instruct or condescend, Bridge to Terabithia treats children like what they will eventually become: grown-ups. [21 February 2007] 
Lost: Season Three: Return from HiatusAfter watching Lost's grand return on 7 February, I feel like I'm the one who's been tricked by Sawyer's Star Wars con. [12 February 2007] Scrubs: My MusicalWhile I can appreciate Scrubs' adventurous spirit, this catastrophe can only be described as an indulgent, sloppy waste of time. [24 January 2007] 
The Knights of Prosperity / In Case of EmergencySo here's the pitches I imagine occurred for ABC's new sitcoms: What if Danny Ocean looked and acted like Homer Simpson and not George Clooney? Or, what if the high school valedictorian ended up a masseuse at Korean "massage" parlor? [10 January 2007] 
Charlottes Web (2006)Surprise! There is nothing even remotely offensive or ironic or postmodern about Charlotte's Web. [14 December 2006] 
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)Jack Black. I feel like I never knew the guy. [22 November 2006] 
Flushed Away (2006)Droll and unfortunately titled, Flushed Away marks a point of no return for British animated films. [8 November 2006] 
Windy City Heat (2006)Perry boasts a killer DeNiro impression, insisting that "people magnetize towards my look." That look? Balding, overweight, fanny-packed with questionable hygiene. [10 October 2006] 
LostSometimes -- when I'm buying the Lost-companion novel Bad Twin or navigating the perplexing websites of the Dharma Project's sponsor The Hanso Corporation -- I think if Lost were my boyfriend, we'd have to break up. [3 October 2006] KidnappedRather than manipulate our established fears by way of the threat to personal security, this show asks us to examine what makes us individuals in the first place. [20 September 2006] 
Studio 60 on the Sunset StripStudio 60 on the Sunset Strip plays a lot like a lip-glossed The West Wing. Not a bad thing necessarily, but not a radical rethinking of primetime TV either. [18 September 2006] VanishedEven aside from Agent Kelton's personal angst, Vanished is weighed down by clichés. [28 August 2006] 
Queer Duck: The Movie (2006)Queer Duck's gayness cannot be suppressed, not even by a chesty show tune-singing diva or a homophobic evangelist. [11 August 2006] 
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)Even as Sheryl and Grandpa try to soothe little Olive, her father's "refuse to lose" credo creates a mountain of expectation. [26 July 2006] Only Human (Seres Queridos) (2004)A kooky romantic comedy directed by a married couple -- Dominic Harari and Teresa Pelegri -- Only Human is also an increase-the-peace allegory. [12 July 2006] 
Strangers with Candy: The Complete SeriesNot only does the humor hold up with amazing buoyancy, but it also remains edgier and more topical than most current programming on basic cable TV. [5 July 2006] Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (2005)Lian Lunson's concert documentary, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, works against itself, with too many gushing tributes and not enough Cohen. [30 June 2006] Strangers with Candy (2006)Jerri Blank repeatedly acts like a feral white trash child, a sort of spiteful id. [28 June 2006]
Strangers with Candy: The Complete SeriesNot only does the humor hold up with amazing buoyancy, but it also remains edgier and more topical than most current programming on basic cable TV. [26 June 2006] 
The Puffy Chair (2006)The road trip then becomes an occasion for an extended game of relationship chicken: is Josh going to grow up and commit or is Emily going to accept him and stop criticizing? [2 June 2006] 
ScrubsAlthough Scrubs' consistency is somehow comforting, it also runs the risk of monotony by giving audiences exactly they expect week after week. [1 January 1995] 
The Puffy Chair (2006)The road trip then becomes an occasion for an extended game of relationship chicken: is Josh going to grow up and commit or is Emily going to accept him and stop criticizing?" |
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