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10 Movies You Never Knew Were Also TV Shows

By Jason Bailey on

‘Tis the season for adapting movies into television shows: A&E made a big splash with its Psycho prequel series Bates Motel, NBC has its Hannibal Lecter series Hannibal on deck for an April 4 debut, and Amazon has just announced its order for a pilot episode of Zombieland, based on the 2009 Jesse Eisenberg/Woody Harrelson movie. With all this activity stewing in the movie-to-TV pipeline, let’s not forget one important fact: with only a few exceptions, most TV shows based on motion pictures sink without a trace. Don’t believe us? Here are ten movie-to-TV adaptations that you probably didn’t know… Read More

Film

The Saddest Comedies Ever Made

By Jason Bailey on

As we move into Thanksgiving week, DVD players and cable networks across the land will be cuing up our favorite turkey day movie, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. One of its viewers may very well be Flavorwire favorite Emma Stone, who recently told Entertainment Weekly that Planes is the movie that made her want to be an actor — specifically, Steve Martin’s late-night motel “Chatty Cathy” tirade. Miss Stone explains, “You go from laughing hilariously at Steve Martin to your heart breaking for John Candy in that one scene, and that was, I think, the first time that I saw that you could do both.” Planes, Trains wasn’t the first movie to prove that you could “do both” — i.e., mesh the funny and the sad with equal effectiveness. But it’s one of the best, and after the jump, we’ll take a look at that and a few other very sad comedies. … Read More

Film

The 10 Grumpiest Movies Ever Made

By Jason Bailey on

Fresh from his spirited/baffling two-act with an empty chair at last month’s Republican National Convention, Clint Eastwood is back in theaters this week with Trouble with the Curve, in which he apparently plays an old school baseball scout who’s had it up to here with you damn kids and your money-ballin’ and whatnot. “A computer can’t tell if a kid’s got instincts,” he growls in the trailer, in the general direction of poor Matthew Lillard, playing the obligatory role of the smug young hotshot who must be shown what’s-what by the old pro.

Yep, Clint’s in full-on old coot mode in Trouble with the Curve, the last example of what’s best defined as a “grumpy old man” movie — in which a gent of advanced age grunts and snarls and yells at the whippersnappers, and usually ends up demonstrating how it’s done (whatever each movie’s “it” may be). After the jump, ten more movies that want you to get the hell of their lawn. … Read More

Film

10 Utterly Unconvincing Movie Couples

By Jason Bailey on

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

Film

Flavorpill’s Guide to Movies You Need to Stream This Week

By Jason Bailey on

Welcome to Flavorpill’s streaming movie guide, in which we help you sift through the scores of movies streaming on Netflix, Hulu, and other services to find the best of the recently available, freshly relevant, or soon to expire. This week, we’ve got Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Walter Matthau, Orson Welles, Dustin Hoffman, a Gus Van Sant classic, a serious turn by Will Ferrell, documentaries on sheepherding and gay politicians, and some much-needed levity from the MST3K crew. Check them all out after the jump, and follow the title links to watch them right now. … Read More