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California Literary Review

Humor

Who’s Laughing Now? – Film and TV Comedy in 2011

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December 31st, 2011

And so the clock has run out on 2011. We had some major comedy misfires on the big screen, and relied a lot more than usual on television for laughs. What’s going on here?

Ross Noble and Friends, Cranleigh Arts Centre, England

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December 16th, 2011

It showcased all of Noble’s best points: the delight in the ludicrous, the ideas tripping over each other to get out and the revelling in how foolish he may look to an audience. And of course The Voice.

The Weekly Listicle Is Rated NC-17

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December 2nd, 2011

Censors save the NC-17 rating for extra special cases, and in practice it feels like much less artificial than, say, PG-13. Something about these films transcended the extremely liberal boundaries of the R rating, and in most cases the reasons are still apparent.

The Weekly Listicle: Some Movies Are About Things

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October 14th, 2011

At last, the long-rumored prequel/remake of John Carpenter’s 1982 masterpiece The Thing infects theaters across the country. And I mean that in a good way, because I still hope it will be entertaining, despite persistent pangs of common sense. The trailer, at least, sold it as a pretty faithful re-shooting of the original, though no [...]

The Weekly Listicle: The Art Of The Heist

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August 12th, 2011

This week, I join forces with Brett Davinger to chronicle some of the best heists, rip-offs, and holdups ever put on screen. So just sit quietly and keep your hands away from the phone, where we can see them. This won’t take long.

Trailer Watch: Brett Ratner’s Tower Heist

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August 2nd, 2011

How does Tower Heist look to all you out there? Will it be in-your-face fun from the director of Rush Hour or on-the-nose crud from the director of X-Men: The Last Stand?

Book Review: The Craigslist Murders by Brenda Cullerton

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July 26th, 2011

An interior “desecrator” who despises the bored super-rich housewives who can afford her services, she lives amongst people for whom money has dissolved away the real world, and takes her revenge by smashing their heads in with the poker which she carries wrapped in a yoga mat.

I Am NOT An Animal! (But I Play One In The Movies)

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May 27th, 2011

Putting animal antics into movies is a perennially popular way to cobble up a goofball family comedy on short notice. This is a distinctly separate practice than merely animating creatures from scratch, which has produced its own wonderful results in the past. Nowadays, however, the line between the two is blurring at an alarming rate, so much so that it scarcely seems worth the trouble of getting real animals to be in live-action movies at all. The increasing intrusion of computer generated animal behavior is really beginning to mar the magic.

The Weekly Listicle: Three Rings Of Circus Movie Mayhem!

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April 22nd, 2011

The circus is a complicated enterprise, and its symbolic value in storytelling has many faces. It may tell of freedom and the charm of living as a nomad and artist. It may speak to the weariness of the road, and the ability of a lifestyle to trap those who do not know how to break free. It may celebrate the solidarity of those cast out from society. Or in the end, it may simply deal with the hideous antics of clowns. In any form, the circus plays upon the most fundamental feelings of wonder and fear, and makes children of us all once again.

Valentine’s Day Fallout, Chapter Two: Love Most Peculiar in My Dog Tulip

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February 15th, 2011

It is difficult to describe the feeling that My Dog Tulip leaves in one’s heart once the lights come up. The best answer is that you will probably feel several, which may contradict one another. That, and not really the questionable content, is what makes it a love story for grown-ups.

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