That's our blog

January 9, 2018 ? This Woody Allen-like black and white comedy about a successful comedy writer who suddenly runs into trouble in his personal and professional life was being pushed for awards before being pulled back due to sexual misconduct allegations against its writer, director and star, Louis C.K.

It is actually not a bad movie, but it will always be overshadowed by the controversy that led to its premiere being canceled.

Louis C.K. stars as Glen, a comedy writer who agrees to take on an additional TV series in the fall, to the dismay of his business partner, Paula (played by Edie Falco of �Bullets over Broadway�) who fears there won't be enough time write, shoot and air the series before the fall. It turns out she is right.

He might have been able to do it, but his personal life starts falling apart at the same time. He begins worrying about his 17-year-old daughter, China (Chlo� Grace Moretz of �Clouds of Sils Maria�) who can talk him into anything, like skipping school and taking a charter jet to Florida, and then taking a trip to Paris as part of a group headed by a famous writer and actor, Leslie Goodwin (John Malkovich of �Deepwater Horizon�) who is 50 years her senior and who has a reputation for bedding younger women.

Glen and China meet Goodwin at a party held by Grace Cullen (Rose Byrne of �Spy�). I Love You, Daddy Review is a great admirer of Goodwin's work, and he plays down the rumors about Goodwin's reputation about younger women, but then changes his mind when Goodwin takes an interest in his daughter, especially when she talks about going to Paris with him.

Glen gets conflicting advice from women over what to do about his daughter. His friend Maggie (Pamela Adlon) advises him to be strict and set boundaries. Grace Cullen advises him to let China do her own thing, since she is going to turn 18 soon anyway. Glen lets China go to Paris with Goodwin, but he regrets it later.

When Glen decides to take Maggie's advice and tell China that she can't see Goodwin again, it is too late. She moves out of the house, gets a job and starts living on her own. At the same time, Glen, distracted by personal problems seems to be adrift and unhappy. He questions everything about his life and the choices he has made.

Glen shows up at an Emmy Awards ceremony and talks with Goodwin, Paula and Ralph (Charlie Day of �Pacific Rim�) who used to hang around his office all the time. Now, Glen, who was once a powerful show business insider, is an outsider, both in show business and in the life of his daughter. He seems quite sad. There?s No Way Louis C.K.?s New Movie Can Happen Now ending of the film is not quite this downbeat. This film rates a C+.

Looking at this film in the light of recent revelations, some scenes take on a creepier tone. Several women have said that Louis C.K. masturbated in their presence. In light of this, probably the most creepy scene in this movie is just before Grace Cullen enters Glen's office for the first time. Ralph starts make motions with his hand in his groin area suggesting masturbation. He continues doing this in the presence of Paula.

Another creepy scene has China trying to seduce Goodwin. He is lying on the couch and she is on top of him, straddling him. Although Goodwin refuses to go along with this overture, and nothing else happens between them, this is a creepy scene. If this was a Woody Allen movie, it would even be creepier. There?s No Way Louis C.K.?s New Movie Can Happen Now in this movie is like a Lolita character, played in a very sexy, suggestive way.

The sadness of Glen's character near the end of this movie, being an outsider, no longer invited to awards ceremonies is somewhat like Louis C.K.'s current situation. He has had a sudden, dramatic fall from grace. Up until November of 2017, he was riding high. This film was abandoned by the studio just as it was about to be released. Now, Louis C.K. is persona non grata in show business. Maybe he'll make a comeback some day. But right now, things look grim.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

If yet another rom-com with a popular white suburban upper middle class kid questioning his sexuality is what you were looking for this Pride Month, Alex Strangelove has you covered. But even then, you should probably just go watch Love, Simon again instead. A so-so teen comedy (if you don?t like LGBTQ people?and I hope that?s a big ?if?), it feels forced and lacks the heart, introspection, and diversity of Greg Berlanti?s superior alternative from earlier this year. By contrast, Craig Johnson?s Alex Strangelove reads like a movie for straight kids, rather than queer storytelling or even simply kind storytelling about a queer kid.

Alex Truelove (Daniel Doheny) is a high school senior with a pretty good life. His parents seem to care about him, he has his own wildly popular web show that combines the animal kingdom with a high school version of TMZ, and he?s dating his best friend, Claire (Madeline Weinstein). They get together when Claire?s mother is hospitalized due to an unspecified and unidentifiable illness, which sends her in and out of the hospital as the plot requires. But Claire and Alex haven?t had sex yet, and after she matter of factly calls him on it in front of her friends, he starts questioning his sexuality. Alex then meets outsider kid Elliot (Antonio Marziale) at a party, and as their friendship progresses, Alex?s feelings become harder to ignore.

Alex Strangelove is at its best during the real moments of connection between best friends/romantic couple Alex and Claire, like when they take care of each other or share hopes and successes. Even as Alex struggles with what they mean to each other, it?s clear that there?s a lot of love there. Beyond that, the confrontations Alex has with Claire and Elliot are honest and specific, which makes them ring true. While there is a standard rom-com plot, the real star here is friendship, which endures quite a bit. Unfortunately, the rest of Alex?s friends are either jerks or never particularly developed, seemingly only necessary for a weird subplot involving an illegal psychotropic frog.

Like other LGBTQ movies set in the present, Alex Strangelove struggles to justify its own existence. Even Claire asks what Alex is so confused about since her cousin came out at 12. Indeed, as the movie itself falls into the trap of making all of its LGBTQ romance chaste. Much is made of the concept that when you?re with the right person, all the ?sex stuff? simply ?falls into place.? The hetero sex scenes are typical teen movie stuff, and while Netflix movies aren?t rated, this would likely be PG-13.

Yet other than one brief makeout scene and a final kiss that turns into a hug, we don?t get to see the theme carried through with everything ?falling into place,? for Alex with a guy.

The movie?s understanding of sexuality itself is pretty lacking, with one kid explaining what poly is (really?) as though straight people don?t participate, and Alex?s other best friend Dell (Daniel Zolghadri) has the kind of rant your racist uncle might go on at Thanksgiving dinner, all about how no one is just a boy or a girl, or straight anymore. And speaking of Dell, he?s meant to be a beloved sidekick but is saddled with most of the bad behavior, from exposing himself in an attempt to prove Alex is straight to harassing a gender nonconforming kid for no discernable reason.

In its worst moments, Alex Strangelove plays into a lot of stereotypes about gay men, like that they?re high maintenance, good dressers, effeminate. Even more dangerously, a NAMBLA joke from (who else?) Alex?s best friend Dell plays up the false conservative narrative that there is a connection between homosexuality and pedophilia. In addition to the obvious damage that misconceptions like these can do, it?s just bad storytelling. Characters come to life with specificity and depth, something that is missing every time Alex Strangelove falls back on stereotypes.

To the movie?s credit, other characters correct one or two of Dell?s missteps, and Alex genuinely considers bisexuality. There are still far too few empowering portrayals of sexuality outside the gay/straight binary.

The dialogue is a chore, even compared to other teen movies, and the teens pin-pong back and forth between being painfully realistic and so pretentious that they drink Amaro, an Italian digestive. There?s a gulf between the age of the characters and the mindset of the writing. ThanosTV is notable for being the queerest yet, and the most accepting, but Alex Strangelovedoesn?t fit that model.

The movie seems to be structured to make Alex?s sexuality a surprise or a reveal. But Alex Strangelove sacrifices a better connection to its lead in order to do so. It?s odd to hear him tell Claire about how he?s wrestled with years of internal dialogue that we?ve never heard, in spite of being privy to his inner thoughts on other topics. It would?ve been stronger to see him struggle with those confused parts of himself rather than hiding them until the 11th hour.

The movie?s ending leaves a lot of loose ends. After all the fraught conversations about where he and Claire will go to college, we never actually find out where he got in or chooses to go. The tension with his parents, particularly his father, remains unresolved, and there is never even a scene where he comes out to them or chooses to keep that part of his life a secret. Similarly, Claire?s mom?s mystery illness is unaddressed. Perhaps most egregiously, there?s no indication as to whether the primary relationship of the movie, the friendship between Alex and Claire, endures through college and Alex?s coming out.

Alex Strangelove shows promise when it?s earnest and specific, but unfortunately that?s not enough. Queer kids deserve movies that see them as real, full characters, with personalities and motivations of their own?not backwards stereotypes.

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The sci-fi-themed horror tale "Phoenix Forgotten" (Cinelou) includes little objectionable material, other than some salty language in the dialogue. Yet the lack of any positive seasoning makes this reasonably wholesome dish (for grown-ups, at least) dull to the taste.

Largely as barren as the Arizona desert in which much of its action is set, the movie follows the efforts of Phoenix-bred filmmaker Sophie (Florence Hartigan) to make a documentary about the 1997 disappearance of her older brother, Josh (Luke Spencer Roberts).

In the immediate aftermath of the real-life, and widely reported, UFO sighting known as the "Phoenix Lights," Josh and two friends, Ashley (Chelsea Lopez) and Mark (Justin Matthews), set off for the wilderness in search of clues about that event. Though they vanished without a trace, a video camera with a cassette tape in it was discovered in their abandoned car.

Between Sophie's rough cuts and the playback of the missing trio's film, the tired "found footage" conceit is brought to bear. But even the immediacy ideally produced by that device could not alter the fact that the virtually bloodless proceedings in director and co-writer Justin Barber's feature debut -- penned with T.S. Nowlin -- fail to intrigue.

The imagery that crops up along the way to a partial explanation of what befell the pals includes the prophet Ezekiel's vision of interlocking wheels recorded in the first chapter of the Old Testament book named for him.

Any connection to scriptural faith is lacking, however. Instead, the "wheels within wheels" serve merely as a prop meant to establish a tenuous connection to the ancient past such as that sought in Erich von Daniken's 1968 volume, "Chariots of the Gods?" While Phoenix Forgotten Review , the use of this motif is in no way disrespectful.

Some parents may feel that the absence of gore -- apart from the sight of some ravaged wildlife -- makes "Phoenix Forgotten" acceptable for mature adolescents despite the vulgar vocabulary into which the characters sometimes lapse, especially when frightened.

The film contains at least one use of profanity and a milder oath, frequent crude and occasional crass language and unsettling images of dead animals. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

?Phoenix Forgotten? Review ? Variety is on the staff of Catholic News Service.

The Austin Chronicle , though mostly harmless, sci-fi-themed horror tale in which, 20 years after they disappeared, the now-grown younger sister (Florence Hartigan) of one of a trio of teens (Luke Spencer Roberts, Chelsea Lopez and Justin Matthews) who vanished without a trace in the Arizona desert explores the connection between that event and a well-publicized (real-life) UFO sighting over the skies of Phoenix that took place shortly before. With the protagonist making a documentary about her search, and her subjects having left a videocassette tape of their activities behind, the tired "found footage" conceit is brought to bear. But even the immediacy ideally produced by that device could not alter the fact that the virtually bloodless proceedings in director and co-writer Justin Barber's feature debut fail to intrigue. Some parents may feel that the absence of gore -- apart from the sight of some ravaged wildlife -- makes the film acceptable for mature adolescents despite the vulgar vocabulary into which the characters sometimes lapse, especially when frightened. At least one use of profanity and a milder oath, frequent crude and occasional crass language, unsettling images of dead animals. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

"Phoenix Forgotten" (Cinelou) -- Catholic News Service classification, A-III -- adults. Motion Picture Association of America rating, PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

With 2011?s Like Crazy, writer-director Drake Doremus announced himself as a skilled observer of the heart-swelling highs and soul-crushing lows of being in a relationship. Specifically in that film, the minute intricacies of being in a long-distance relationship played out by Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin. It picked up the grand jury prize at Sundance and while the buzz didn?t translate at the box office, it led to Doremus landing a string of starry follow-ups.

While Breathe In, which paired Jones with Guy Pearce, was a moderate critical success, with each ensuing film, Doremus?s star started to fade. Despite a splashy premiere at the Venice film festival and a cast headed up by Kristen Stewart, Equals was a misfire and the following year saw a muted reaction at Sundance to Nicholas Hoult in Newness, later dumped with little fanfare on Netflix.

In his latest, premiering at the Tribeca film festival, Doremus returns to themes that he is now become synonymous with. Like his previous projects, it?s an examination of modern romance and like 2015?s Equals, there?s an added sci-fi bent. In the near future, synthetic humans have become commonplace additions to society. While https://www.thanostv.org/movie/zoe-2018 , making drinks and cutting grass, one company has mastered a higher class of robot, virtually indistinguishable from the humans around them. Zoe (L�a Seydoux) works in this lab alongside designer Cole (Ewan McGregor) and the two share a light workplace flirtation.

But underneath the surface lies a secret, something that prevents Zoe and Cole from progressing any further. When Zoe takes a compatibility test at work to check who would make a match for her, Cole is forced to tell her the truth: Zoe isn?t human. With Zoe now aware of who and what she is, so comes a re-examination of the world around her and her place within it. While initially Cole tries to fight his attraction to her, he soon relents and the pair forge ahead into uncharted territory.

There?s an ever-expanding subgenre of films that imagine a future where dating and relationships have been irrevocably affected by technology. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Marjorie Prime, Her, The Lobster and Black Mirror?s Hang the DJ all existed in this heightened territory and all managed to find identifiable truths wrapped up in fantastical packaging. The world created within Zoe exists alongside these, not too dissimilar to the one we?re in now but with a clear, profound difference. Given the rise of AI and, more specifically, the rise of AI aimed at decreasing loneliness, there?s a timeliness to the events that take place in Zoe.

The company at the center of the story creates a range of products that feel a mere modification away from many that are being developed at the moment. There?s a pleasingly casual nature to the way that tech is embedded within the story. While some exposition is a bit clumsy, the world feels mostly well-constructed and easy to believe. It?s not hard to see the appeal of an aesthetically pleasing partner who, as the employees keep reminding us, will never break your heart or leave you. The characters here are weathered by heartbreak, tired of disappointment and looking for something or someone to believe in.

Doremus, and screenwriter Richard Greenberg, have packed their film with intriguing questions. How much of tech is biased by its creator? Is compatibility able to be predicted through an algorithm? How much perfection does one really want in a partner? But while the script?s early observations are delivered with subtlety, as the film progresses others are given a more heavy-handed touch. One of the products in the film is a pill that mimics the sensation of falling in love so couples either take it to briefly recapture their early romance or strangers take it for a more intense sexual high. As with Doremus?s last film Newness, this world of easily accessible casual sex becomes emotionally destructive but the script doesn?t get much further than that hardly earth-shattering conclusion. Although it does allow us to see a robo-brothel with a strange, underwhelming cameo from Christina Aguilera as an android of the night.

One of the bigger problems here is how easy it becomes to compare Zoe with better, richer films of its ilk. The social commentary feels somewhat shallow compared to the perceptive nature of Her or Eternal Sunshine or even a number of episodes of Black Mirror. It?s so stylishly made that one wishes the world on screen could have housed a more emotionally complex story to match.

At its core, there?s a strong, haunted performance from McGregor playing a man wearing his heart and his emotional baggage on full display and at times, he has a naturalistic flirtatious rapport with a striking Seydoux. Yet the film demands so much investment in their relationship that when events lurch into rockier territory, the shift is so sudden that it?s difficult to really feel what is required. There?s also an underused Rashida Jones as McGregor?s understanding ex, a somewhat meaningless role for Theo James as a curious experiment and a campy turn from Miranda Otto as a madam.

Zoe is an attractively made yet dour and often shallow look at love that muddles along when it should be searing a hole. It?s an impressive shell that needs a bigger heart.

On ne va pas s?�tendre sur ce cinqui�me opus de la franchise. Si le premier TAXI avait le m�rite de la nouveaut�, avec ce petit c�t� franchouillard faisant du second degr� sur l?amour des bagnoles made in USA, et aussi celui d?avoir fait conna�tre Marion Cotillard dans ses premi�res oeuvres, ce TAXI 5 frise le palmar�s en terme de m�diocrit�!

Entre le vomi, le scato et le mauvais go�t pur et simple (sans doute un hommage aux com�dies am�ricaines qui aiment en abuser), TAXI 5 nous offre aussi des dialogues indigents, des gags foireux en veux-tu en voil�, des r�flexions machistes en pleine crise Weinstein (la comparaison des filles et des bagnoles a fait long feu) et un sc�nario inexistant. M�me les sc�nes d?action sont quelconques.

Cinopsis plus � Frank Gastambide (LA SURFACE DE REPARATION) qui est derri�re la cam�ra, devant aussi et surtout au sc�nario? enfin, comme il n? Cinopsis en a pas, ce dernier point se discute. La seule chose � faire serait d?�viter de perdre son argent en salle mais l?on sait qu?h�las, ce TAXI 5 risque en plus de faire des entr�es.

Et si l?on en croit le m�chant italien du film qui jette � Sylvain Marot un ?on se reverra? � Cinopsis du film, on risque m�me d?avoir un Taxi 6.

Cinopsis /uploads/2018/01/la-surface-de-reparation.jpg?fit=300,126&ssl=1" alt="Taxi 5 2018">

On ne va pas s?�tendre sur ce cinqui�me opus de la franchise. Si le premier TAXI avait le m�rite de la nouveaut�, avec ce petit c�t� franchouillard faisant du second degr� sur l?amour des bagnoles made in USA, et aussi celui d?avoir fait conna�tre Marion Cotillard dans ses premi�res oeuvres, ce TAXI 5 frise le palmar�s en terme de m�diocrit�!

Entre le vomi, le scato et le mauvais go�t pur et simple (sans doute un hommage aux com�dies am�ricaines qui aiment en abuser), TAXI 5 nous offre aussi des dialogues indigents, des gags foireux en veux-tu en voil�, des r�flexions machistes en pleine crise Weinstein (la comparaison des filles et des bagnoles a fait long feu) et un sc�nario inexistant. M�me les sc�nes d? Cinopsis .

Que demander de plus � Frank Gastambide (LA SURFACE DE REPARATION) qui est derri�re la cam�ra, devant aussi et surtout au sc�nario? Cinopsis , comme il n?y en a pas, ce dernier point se discute. La seule chose � faire serait d?�viter de perdre son argent en salle mais l?on sait qu?h�las, ce TAXI 5 risque en plus de faire des entr�es.

Et si l?on en croit le m�chant italien du film qui jette � Sylvain Marot un ?on se reverra? � la fin du film, on risque m�me d?avoir un Taxi 6.