Blogcritics Author: Daniel J. Stasiewski

DVD Review: Justice League - The New Frontier

Daniel J. Stasiewski — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:56:12 EST

An animated essential.
If there is anyone out there from Warner Bros. reading this, I have a request: please, please, please release Justice League: The New Frontier in theaters. I don't want to live in a world where an animated film the caliber of this latest DC Universe release is simply called a direct-to-video movie.A period animated film set in what was a dead...

DVD Review: Margot at the Wedding

Daniel J. Stasiewski — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:03:25 EST

A feel bad family comedy.
Noah Baumbach's characters have always been slightly maladjusted, but they never felt unreal. Margot at the Wedding changes that. In his latest film, he transplants characters from a Todd Solondz film into a movie that is too dramatic, tonally, when compared to its characters. One of those characters is Margot (Nicole Kidman), a writer from...

TV Review: Bernard and Doris

Daniel J. Stasiewski — Fri, 8 Feb 2008 22:15:18 EST

Where's the beef?
While watching Bernard and Doris I waited for the other shoe to drop. Hell, I was even waiting for a glass to be thrown. I was waiting for any hint of drama, but there was no drama to be had. Thus is the problem with Bob Balaban's telefilm about the relationship between billionaire philanthropist Doris Duke and her butler and caregiver...

DVD Review: Slings & Arrows - The Complete Collection

Daniel J. Stasiewski — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 21:05:07 EST

The show's the thing.
A seemingly ill-conceived festival re-branding campaign in season two of the three-season behind-the-scenes theater series Slings & Arrows uses lines from bad reviews to connect with a new audience. One such review reads “...theater has never made television looks so good.” Well, in the case of this Canadian TV import, I can...

Making Oscar Night Interesting (Again)

Daniel J. Stasiewski — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:14:21 EST

One month of status quo to go...
At this point in the Oscar race, post-nomination announcement and post-guild awards, the dust starts to settle. We've heard from the critics groups and seen live shows like the Broadcast Film Critics Association's Critics Choice Awards. Now, it starts to get boring.Boring isn't something most of the people concerned with Oscar are...

DVD Review: Quiet City/Dance Party, USA Set

Daniel J. Stasiewski — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:34:24 EST

Remarkable indies.
I used to do monthly interviews with indie filmmakers. Dance Party, USA is the type of indie I would seek out -- small, rough around the edges, poignant, and lacking pretense. That's how I like my indies. But this review isn't going to focus on Dance Party, USA, which is part of a two-disc DVD set featuring work by director Aaron Katz. ...

TV Review: Reno 911! Season Five Premiere

Daniel J. Stasiewski — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:50:12 EST

This show will not jump the shark!
The premiere episodes of Reno 911! are declarations to the fans. This show will not jump the shark! It can't jump the shark! It is full of characters so inept that the show couldn't jump the shark even if it tried. And it tries.Season five of Comedy Central's Cops parody opens with Lt. Jim Dangle (Thomas Lennon) jumping a small...

DVD Review: Smiley Face

Daniel J. Stasiewski — Mon, 7 Jan 2008 12:52:11 EST

A burnt-out stoner comedy.
Smiley Face, from director Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin), may be the first stoner comedy I've seen where I actually felt sorry for the pothead protagonist. The film is funny to be sure, with Anna Faris (Scary Movie) taking on the role of the cannabis connoisseur. But even the filmmakers, who in the behind-the-scenes DVD feature confess that...

Movie Review: Romance & Cigarettes

Daniel J. Stasiewski — Mon, 7 Jan 2008 12:06:39 EST

The Honeymooners, the musical.
It's easy to see why John Turturro's long-shelved movie musical Romance & Cigarettes never got a major theatrical release. This working-class battle of the sexes doesn't even bother to sugarcoat the relationships between characters when they break into pop songs from the '60s and '70s. Sex, love and sad, funny truths come...

DVD Review: The Heartbreak Kid

Daniel J. Stasiewski — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 00:53:51 EST

As unfunny as it wants to be.
The R-rated DVD of The Heartbreak Kid begins with an ominous introduction to the film: “This film has been edited for content.” I'm not sure what that refers to considering there isn't an unrated DVD, but I know whatever was cut from this version of the film didn't make it any better. The Heartbreak Kid stars Ben Stiller...