Emmy Analysis: Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

By Abe Friedtanzer

Lukita Maxwell and Jason Segel in "Shrinking," now streaming on Apple TV+.

Isn’t this supposed to be a comedy category? Yes, two of the shows with a questionable genre distinction -- Barry and The Bear – are represented here, but all five men chose relatively serious fare as their episode submissions. Before we dig in, let’s start with a mention of the three eligible nominees from last year who didn’t make the cut this time around. Donald Glover, a past winner of this category, had his last shot for Atlanta, and Steve Martin missed out on a repeat bid for season two of Only Murders in the Building. Most lamentably, Nicholas Hoult was somehow not selected for The Great. How that’s possible is beyond me, but fortunately the five men who did make the cut are all worthwhile…

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Venice 2023: "The Killer" and "Hit Man"

by Elisa Giudici

Venice's most sought-after job this year? The sicario. Professional assassins are trending. Today David Fincher's The Killer and Richard Linklater's Hit Man. 

THE KILLER by David Fincher
The real mystery here is whether The Killer's lack of ambition stems from production during the COVID years and a tight schedule due to Michael Fassbender's busy agenda, or if Fincher simply wanted to have fun. While it may not be a masterpiece or top tier Fincher, The Killer is still a thriller directed by Fincher, a master of the form.

This time, Fincher designs the movie around the protagonist's voiceover, setting the rhythm for the entire story and influencing the cinematography and editing choices...

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Woof! It's another 'First & Last' game.

Can you guess the movie from its first and last shot? 

The answer once you scroll down is after the jump...

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TV Review – ‘Breeders’ Returns for a Great Final Season

By Abe Friedtanzer

It’s rare to find a truly endearing comedy that deals well with the nuances of parenting and deftly handles dramatic moments in a compelling way. I’d argue there are two vastly underappreciated such shows, Trying from Apple TV+ and Breeders from FX. The former was renewed for a fourth season almost a year ago, and the fourth and final season of the latter is officially here. If you haven’t seen either, now is the time to check them out, and I would highly recommend starting with the lovely Breeders, which you can find on Hulu.

Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard star as parents who are struggling to stay afloat. Their disciplinary strategies aren’t always the same...

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Review: Come on, "Barbie," let's go party!

by Cláudio Alves

What does it mean to sell out? Some would decry Greta Gerwig's move from mid-budget indies to big studio fare as a modern example. This line of thought posits the director's fourth film, Barbie, as capitulation to the tyranny of big bucks, no more than a glorified toy commercial for "vacuous, hypersexualized dolls." But when you're actually watching Gerwig's movie, it's difficult to take the pink oddity as proof evident of any sacrifice of vision or integrity for the sake of profit. Barbie's too ambitious a creation - in terms of text, tone, performance, audiovisual stylings galore - to support such dismissive readings.

From beginning to end, the summer's biggest comedy bursts at the seams with ideas, saturated with the clear intent of a creative mind given free rein. It glows with the kind of resources seldomly bestowed upon women directors. That doesn't mean the picture's perfect, exempt from criticism, or its enthusiasm is without drawbacks. But, even if Gerwig can't quite have her cake and eat it too, she manages to share a personal, goofy, deeply idiosyncratic proto-existentialist dream with her audience. Better yet, she does it with the attitude of a kid, their favorite toy in hand, eyes widening at the playtime possibilities before them…

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