The Promising Black Comedy in ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
Witty dialogue tempers the cynical take on the human condition in The Banshees of Inisherin, which promises more black comedy from filmmaker Martin McDonagh.
black comedy
Sci-Fi Thriller ‘Severance’ Paints Sublime and Subversive Art
More than just corporate propaganda, the subversive artworks in Severance hold a strange place in Lumon Industries’ ideological fabric.
Why ‘Jackass’ (Still) Works
Jackass was originally for early aughts audiences. Now 20 years and multiple blows to the head, heart, and extremities later, that moment has proven to be damn near immortal.
The Guilty Pleasure of Chelsea Summers’ Monstrous ‘A Certain Hunger’
Easy to summarize but difficult to, um, flesh out, Chelsea G. Summers’ A Certain Hunger is, without a doubt, the Great American Female Serial Killer Novel.
Riley Stearns’ ‘The Art of Self-Defense’ Is a Knockout Black Comedy
If director Riley Stearns sometimes loses his thematic bearings, he never forgets to deliver large, violent doses of comedy in The Art of Self-Defense.
‘Smoking Kills’ Revels in the Many Joys to Be Found in Death
Antoine Laurain's Smoking Kills is provocative and funny, but its meditations remain consistently mature.
‘Woman at 1,000 Degrees’ Sharply Demonstrates Trauma’s Deep Roots
Woman at 1,000 Degrees relies on black comedy and tragedy to examine the generation "razed to the ground" by World War II.
Winning ‘Game Night’ Is Dumb Fun
Directors Daley and Goldstein seem to be pulling their punches a bit, but there's still enough dark comedy here to keep things interesting.
Like Real Life ‘Election’ Is Dark, Hilarious, and Cringe-worthy
Alexander Payne's 1999 cult black comedy about high school politics is ripe for a revisit, and Criterion is up to the task.
’The Ferryman’: Ephemeral Ideas, Eternal Tragedies
Staggeringly multi-layered, dangerously fast-paced and rich in characterizations, dialogue and context, Jez Butterworth's new hit about a family during the time of Ireland's the Troubles leaves the audience breathless, sweaty and tearful, in a nightmarish, dry-heaving haze.
‘Foxtrot’ Is a ‘Catch-22’ for Our Time
Samuel Maoz's philosophical black comedy is a triptych of surrealism laced with insights about warfare and grief that are both timeless and timely.
‘Men & Chicken’ Is as Enjoyable as It Is Absurd
Anders Thomas Jensen's latest film delivers a genre-bending story, a dark sense of humour, and a delightful cast of oddballs.
