Posts Tagged ‘dysfunctional family’
 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Toronto Film Festival Reviews: “Mothering Sunday,” “Petite Maman” & “All My Puny Sorrows”

  MOTHERING SUNDAY (Sony Classics – Nov 19):  Eva Husson’s film, adapted by Alice Birch from a Graham Swift novel, has many of the rote trappings of prestige costume drama.  We’re back in the English co...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW: “August: Osage County”

  The writer/producer/director John Wells made his reputation as the showrunner of ER, and he’s known as one of the most consistent, professional producers in the network business, with impeccable shows like The Wes...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Toronto 2014 Review: “This Is Where I Leave You”

  THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU (Warners) – Opens September 19 – Worth A Ticket Jonathan Tropper’s very successful day job is writing seriocomic novels about families and romance that are distinguished by the...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Season Premiere Review: “Shameless”

  SHAMELESS:  Sunday 9PM on Showtime The Gallagher family is undergoing transitions as Season 4 of Showtime’s SHAMELESS begins, and the tone is considerably less rambunctious than in previous seasons.  That’s...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Premiere Review: “Animal Kingdom”

  ANIMAL KINGDOM:  Tuesday 9PM on TNT ANIMAL KINGDOM has been a key part of TNT’s rebranding as a hipper TV destination than the home of Major Crimes and The Last Ship, and tonight’s Season 2 premiere promised...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Ray Donovan”

  Replacing a show’s creator with a new showrunner isn’t the preferred way for a series to proceed, but the change did some good for Season 3 of RAY DONOVAN, although tonight’s season finale didn’t ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Sundance Film Festival Reviews: “Wildlife” & “The Tale”

  WILDLIFE (no distrib):  If you’ve ever felt sorry for youngsters who are cordoned off from their parents’ difficult relationships, and then blindsided by the consequences, Paul Dano’s directing debut a...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY SUNDANCE FILM REVIEW: “Hellion”

  Of all the films in this year’s US Dramatic Competition at Sundance, Kat Candler’s HELLION was the one that most closely matched what’s become a festival template: Aggressively shaky handheld camerawork...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Pilot + 1 Review: “The Family”

  THE FAMILY:  Sunday 9PM on ABC Previously… on THE FAMILY:  Ten years after his disappearance and presumed death, a now-teen Adam Warren (Liam James) appears, freshly escaped from what he describes as a decade spe...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “The Real O’Neals”

  THE REAL O’NEALS:  Tuesday 8:30PM on ABC – Change the Channel Whatever its other ailments, over the past few years ABC has had an extraordinary run of diverse, smart family sitcoms,–an area where other...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Finding Carter”

  In its second season, MTV’s FINDING CARTER made a disappointingly dim argument for sustaining itself beyond its initial premise.  The series remains well-acted, and it has its emotionally pursuasive moments, but i...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Midseason Premiere Review: “Dallas”

  DALLAS:  Monday 9PM on TNT As TNT pushes its action-oriented “Boom” branding campaign (successfully with The Last Ship, not so much with Murder In the First nor apparently the new Legends), DALLAS seems more...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Toronto Film Festival Reviews: “If Beale Street Could Talk” & “Ben Is Back”

  IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (Annapurna – November 30):  Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to Moonlight received a rapturous standing ovation at its Toronto premiere, and it’s unquestionably a beautiful piece of ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Pilot + 1 Review: “The Millers”

  THE MILLERS:  Thursday 8:30PM on CBS Previously… on THE MILLERS:  When Tom and Carol Miller (Beau Bridges and Margo Martindale) unexpectedly split up after decades of marriage, Carol went to live with son Nathan ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Premiere Review: “Ray Donovan”

  RAY DONOVAN:  Sunday 9PM on Showtime It’s a bit surprising that RAY DONOVAN has been a steady performer for Showtime, considering that its tone tends toward the glum and monotonous, but next to Homeland, it’...
by Mitch Salem