1. David Rakoff, a frequent This American Life contributor and the author of the Thurber Prize for American Humor-winning essay collection Half Empty, has died at only 47 years old. Read a brief but touching obituary at The Awl.
2. Your daily Olympics Closing Ceremony gossip update: In addition to yesterday’s … Read More
One of our favorite movies of the year, Sarah Polley’s heartbreaking Take This Waltz, hits theaters this Friday (but, heads up, you can watch it on demand right effing now, and should). In it, Michelle Williams plays a writer who jeopardizes her seemingly happy marriage when she falls for the handsome fellow down the street. Thinking back on the movie, we couldn’t help but muse that Williams seems an actress particularly unlucky in love on screen; in fact, she’s one of many actors who seem to have made a specialty of playing characters who are perpetually getting screwed, romantically speaking. After the jump, we take a look at the unlucky cinematic love lives of Williams and nine of her contemporaries (to keep it simple, we stuck with modern actors). Some spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk, etc.; agree, disagree, and add your own nominees in the comments. … Read More
Our favorite of this week’s new theatrical releases is Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Lorene Scafaria’s end-of-the-world comedy that deftly transcends what could have been a one-joke premise, turning instead unexpectedly poignant and moving. The key to that transition is the surprisingly effective romantic subplot between stars Steve Carell and Keira Knightley — and yes, we were as skeptical as you when that element of the picture began to reveal itself. But this is one of those cases where seemingly mismatched stars pair up well on-screen. Others haven’t been quite so lucky. After the jump, we remember a few of the cinema’s less believable movie couples. … Read More
[Editor's note: Your devoted Flavorwire team is taking Memorial Day off, but we've left you with some of our favorite summer-related features that you may have missed the first time around. This post originally ran April 20, 2012. Enjoy!]
Y’know, there was once a time when the phrase “summer movies” was confined to describing movies that came out in, I dunno, the summer. But over the past few years, as studios have continued to make the pursuit of tentpole blockbusters their primary financial goal, the season’s starting pistol keeps going off earlier and earlier, and with the Entertainment Weekly summer movie preview showing up last week (yep, pre-Tax Day), alongside the impending release of The Avengers next Friday, we can either shake our calendar-clenching fists at these upstart kids, or just go along with it and present our summer movie preview now. Thus, after the jump, we present the ten big summer movies we’re most looking forward to, in order of release; agree, disagree, or add your own in the comments. … Read More
Every Friday here at Flavorwire, we like to gather up the week’s new movie trailers, give them a look-see, and rank them from worst to best — while taking a guess or two about what they might tell us (or hide from us) about the movies they’re promoting. We’ve got seven new ones for you this week — including a couple of titles from that festival, plus new stuff from Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell, Blake Lively, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Robert Pattinson, and Tyler Perry. Check ‘em all out after the jump, and share your thoughts in the comments. … Read More
We had no idea everyone was so interested in seeing the first film appearances of your favorite stars when we posted our video essay “And Introducing…” a month ago, but the damn thing up and went viral, so as with anything movie-related that does well, there has to be a sequel. After the jump, you’ll find 30-plus more famous faces in their first feature films, all in just about three minutes. Enjoy! … Read More
Last night, Will Ferrell donned his burgundy suit, pasted on the familiar mustache, and dropped in on Conan O’Brien’s TBS show to play a little jazz flute, insult the host, and make an announcement: “As of 0900 Mountain Time, Paramount Pictures and myself, Ronald Joseph Aaron Burgundy, have come to terms on a sequel to Anchorman.” Ferrell’s announcement was greeted with cheers in the studio and equally enthusiastic response on the Internet, where the long-gestating project had been presumed dead for a good couple of years. After the jump, we’ll take a look at Anchorman 2‘s long journey to fruition. … Read More
Just about every major movie that comes out these days — and not just the family fare — ends up producing some kind of commemorative doll. Same with any platinum-selling pop star. But have you ever noticed how little these Barbie-like creations tend to resemble their subjects? Well, so has Noel Cruz, an artist who repaints the dolls so that they uncannily recreate the faces of celebrities and their characters. See a perfectly preserved mid-’80s Madonna, Angelina Jolie at her steamiest, and even Harry Potter, after the jump. Then, make sure you visit Cruz’s website to check out more of his work. … Read More
Welcome to “Trailer Park,” our regular Friday feature where we collect the week’s new trailers all in one place and do a little “judging a book by its cover,” ranking them from worst to best and taking our best guess at what they may be hiding. We’ve got eight new trailers for your Friday viewing enjoyment; check ‘em all out after the jump. … Read More
Earlier today an interesting little rumor started by a sharp-eyed New York Post reader started to make the Internet rounds. The claim? That former Office star Steve Carell made “an unexpected, unannounced cameo” in last week’s “Trivia” episode as a member of The Queerenstein Bears team. While the dude in the screenshot accompanying… Read More
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