Review: ‘The Stand In’ pits Drew Barrymore against Drew Barrymore.

The Stand In

When ordered to serve a year in rehab, actress Candy (Drew Barrymore) hires her on-set stand-in to take her place. The unassuming woman flips the script and steals her identity, career and boyfriend in this hilarious comedy about trading places.

Drew Barrymore gets to play two polar opposite roles. Candy Black is character number one. For sure a nod to Drew’s vast collection of lovable characters over the years but with a seriously jaded mean streak. And perhaps also a not-so-hidden, tongue-in-cheek riff on Melissa McCarthy, who gets named dropped immediately in the best way possible. For Barrymore’s character Candy, 5 years after a breakdown on set, she is another person. Her sadness has consumed her. She is a recluse who is court-ordered to go to rehab for 90 days. Frankly, she has other plans. Her second character is the titular role. Paula is seemingly lovely, sweet, and bright, but now also out of a job until she gets an auspicious call to get back on the horse for Candy. Both women get the opportunity to reshape who they are… for better or for worse. You think you know where this story is going, but you’re in for a big surprise.

When they play the same scenes it’s an excellent dynamic. Watching Drew commit to these two women is really fun. You’re constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. It makes for a heightened watch. It becomes unexpectedly dark. Drew is actually scary to watch. The marketing is doing a disservice to the film. There is so much more to The Stand In than the trailer offers viewers. I hope they can appreciate what comes their way.

It is definitely an interesting commentary on fame and notoriety. There are innumerable moments that will make you cringe but you have to ride them out. The Stand In makes fun of itself in a thoughtful way. The cameos are aplenty and each person is given the opportunity to highlight the trappings of Hollywood with their dialogue. I think that’s what I appreciated most. The dark honesty is what sticks with me as the credits rolled. The entire success hangs on Barrymore’s ability to play two characters we’ve never seen from her before. Congratulations to director Jaime Babbitt for helping a film that’s much deeper than an audience is expecting.

In Select Theaters, On Demand, and on Digital December 11, 2020

‘Office Christmas Party’ Indoor Sleigh Ride Game Now Available to Play!

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Take an indoor sleigh ride with TJ Miller!

Play the game here!

In Office Christmas Party, when the CEO (Jennifer Aniston) tries to close her hard-partying brother’s branch, he (T.J. Miller) and his Chief Technical Officer (Jason Bateman) must rally their co-workers and host an epic office Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client and close a sale that will save their jobs and that everyone in the family can enjoy because everyone likes parties that include creative ideas from http://www.jumpersjungle.com/south-gate/ .

The latest comedy from directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck (Blades of Glory) co-stars Kate McKinnon, Olivia MunnJillian Bell, Rob Corddry, Vanessa Bayer, Randall Park, Sam Richardson, Jamie Chung, and Courtney B. Vance in the funniest movie of the holiday season.

Office Christmas Party is in theatres on December 9th 

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Official Website: http://www.officechristmasparty.com/

Review: ‘Deadpool’

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Actor Ryan Reynolds has been passionate about bringing Marvel icon Deadpool to the big screen ever since his failed portrayal as Wade Wilson in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine and, after much demand, Reynolds got his wish. The actor, along with director Tim Miller, have created one of the most faithful adaptations of a comic book hero ever to grace the silver screen. Get your chimichanga’s ready cause the “Merc with the Mouth” is about to blow your mind.

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Ryan Reynolds plays Wade Wilson, a mercenary who spends most of his time extorting bad people and hanging out with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), a call girl and the love of his life. After finding out he’s been diagnosed with cancer, Wade consents to a top secret program run by Ajax (Ed Skein), a deranged scientist who uses torture to unearth the dormant mutant gene in his human subjects, a gene in which he hopes to cure Wade’s cancer and turn him into a super soldier. The experiment ultimately leave Wilson with accelerated healing powers, but also leaves him badly scarred in the process. In an attempt to right the wrong that has been done to him, Wilson becomes the anti-hero known as Deadpool and unleashes his brand of justice on all of those associated with the program. When Ajax makes things even more personal and goes after Vanessa, Deadpool enlists the help of his best friend Weasel (T.J. Miller) and X-Men Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) to rescue Vanessa and hurt a lot of people…really, really bad.

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Deadpool is a labor of love and you can tell that everyone involved truly gave everything they have to make this a near perfect action comedy. Director Tim Miller sits back and manages the filming and trusts his actors to bring out the absolute best in their characters. Ryan Reynolds is absolutely superb as the titular character. Reynolds quick delivery and dry sense of humor make him perfect for the role and he delivers a portrayal of Deadpool that fans will embrace with roaring applause. The supporting cast of T.J. Miller, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skein, Brianna Hildebrand and others are each rather enjoyable, but let’s be honest here, this is Reynolds’ movie and the film lives and dies with his performance.

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Overall, Deadpool is not a film for everyone, especially not for children! The language and violence and graphic nudity will make it a hard sell for some as well, but the film is an absolute blast and one that will entertain those who are not easily offended. I can honestly say, as a Deadpool comic fan, that this is the film fans have been waiting for and they won’t be disappointed.

Stars:

4 1/2 out of 5

After credit scene?

Yes! 2 of them, so stay thru the credits til the lights come up!

Trailer:

Deadpool Wishes You a Merry Christmas with a Brand New Trailer! *NSFW*

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20th Century Fox has released the brand new trailer for the upcoming Deadpool movie and we have it for you below!

Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, Deadpool tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.

The movie also stars Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano and Brianna Hildebrand and is directed by Tim Miller

Deadpool opens in theaters February 12, 2016

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New ‘Deadpool’ Photos Released!

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20th Century Fox has released three new Deadpool photos in this months Empire magazine and we have them for you below!

Based upon Marvel Comics most unconventional anti-hero, Deadpool tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.

Along with Ryan Reynolds, the film also stars T.J. Miller as Weasel, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Morena Baccarin as Copycat and Ed Skrein as Ajax. Tim Miller is directing the movie from a script by Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

Deadpool hits theaters on February 12, 2016.

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HBO Releases Second Trailer for Silicon Valley Season 2

SiliconValleyBar640HBO has revealed the second trailer for Silicon Valley Season 2 which you can check out below.

The show was created by Mike Judge (Beavis and Butthead) and stars Thomas Middleditch (The Campaign), T.J. Miller (Transformers 4), Zach Woods (The Other Guys), Kumail Nanjiani (Sex Tape), Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks), Josh Brener (The Internship), Amanda Crew (Charlie St. Cloud), Matt Ross (Magic City) and Jimmy O. Yang.

A comedy partially inspired by Mike Judge’s own experiences as a Silicon Valley engineer in the late 1980s takes a look into the high-tech gold rush of modern Silicon Valley, where the people most qualified to succeed are the least capable of handling success.

The show returns with ten all new episodes beginning Sunday, April 12 at 10pm ET/PT following the season premiere of Game of Thrones and followed by the season premiere of Veep!

Michael’s Review: ‘Big Hero 6’- Big Family Fun!

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As a comic book reader and lover, I am ashamed to say I knew next to nothing about Marvel’s Big Hero 6 past a few sporadic reads here and there. The characters were always enjoyable and kept my interest, but it never lead to anything more than a mild fondness, so when I heard there would be a Big Hero 6 I can’t say I was anything more than intrigued. The first Disney animated film to feature Marvel Comics characters since the acquisition in 2009, the characters seemed ripe for an animated romp onto the big screen, but detail changes to core characters left many fans holding their breath and hoping that the animation pioneers wouldn’t turn their beloved characters into nothing more than second rate acts for their theme parks upon the films release. I am here to calm some of those fears and tell you that Big Hero 6 is a lot of fun! Read More →