Tag: Olivia Wilde

SXSW 2019 Review: ‘Booksmart’

by MCDave

It’s been over a decade since Jonah Hill and Michael Cera helped set the bar for teen comedies in Greg Mottola’s Superbad. And in a lot of ways, Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut feature Booksmart takes a similar vulgar-laden approach but infuses it with a refreshing female perspective that gives the film its own sense of identity. We’re all well aware of Wilde’s onscreen abilities but behind the camera and in tandem with the underrated talents of co-stars Kaitlyn Dever (Short Term 12) and Beanie Feldstein (Lady Bird), Booksmart serves as a fearlessly funny and welcome addition to the 2019 SXSW festival lineup.

It’s the day before graduation and best friends Amy (Dever) and Molly (Feldstein) are up to their usual shenanigans as they head to their last day of high school ever. But it’s here that the inseparable pair are reminded of their years-long failures, where Amy is still yet to be intimate with a female after “coming out” during sophomore year, and Molly’s all-work and no-play approach to being the Valedictorian hasn’t actually separated her college prospects from most other classmates. Yet, for these forever friends, tonight is different. Tonight is their final chance to live it up with no regrets before they embark on their separate futures.

Booksmart has no issues ushering in the laughs thanks to a well-used R-Rating filled with female masturbation jokes and other irreverent raunchiness. Refusing to masquerade as anything more than a female-centric buddy comedy, its easy to ignore the film’s disregard for purposeful character development. Instead, we’re guided down a hysterical series of obstacles and resolutions that unfold in an eerie familiar fashion. This direct parallel to the events in Superbad mildly spoils the onslaught of hilarity that ensues, but there’s enough laughter throughout to erase the unpleasantry. And much like elder comedy’s everlasting effect on the careers of Hill and Cera, don’t be shocked if Booksmart becomes a similar vessel that helps launch Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein into the mainstream. There’s something to be said for the film’s wading in familiar waters, but Olivia Wilde’s unapologetically racy and laugh-filled debut still stands as a winning comedic effort from this year’s festival lineup.

GRADE: 3.5/5

https://youtu.be/Uhd3lo_IWJc

SXSW Movie Review: Win It All

by MCDave

Joe Swanberg has been a staple in the indie film community as a writer, director and actor for the better part of a decade. His pinnacle of success came in the form of Drinking Buddies, a 2013 dramedy in which a pair of brewery co-workers, Jake Johnson and Olivia Wilde, wonder if their flirtatious behavior will ever develop into something more. Swanberg makes his return to SXSW this year for the world premiere of his newest collaboration with co-writer and star, Jake Johnson, in the indie dram, Win It All.

Eddie Garrett (Johnson) works odd jobs throughout the week to fund his late night gambling addiction at an illegal basement casino. But when a loan shark from his past returns with a simple proposition, Eddie agrees to watch a duffel bag while he goes to jail for 6 months. However, Eddie’s curiosity gets the better of him as he searches through the bag’s contents only to discover a huge collection of money. Things go south quickly when he burns through an insurmountable sum of the money and receives a surprising call that the loan shark is getting out of jail early due to a clerical error.

There’s humor, tenderness and conviction embroiled all throughout Joe Swanberg’s latest work. Jake Johnson is clearly the heart and soul of the feature, and the star of The New Girl delivers with a knockout performance. Addiction is a disease and it becomes painful to witness Eddie Garrett’s relapses into darkness, but Johnson does such a fantastic job of creating an affable and kind-hearted character that the audience becomes invested in his quest for a changed lifestyle. Win It All relies on organic humor to keep its story engaging and it does so effectively, even through all of the monotonous casino scenes where we see Eddie experience his ups and downs with the luck of the cards. In conjunction with Jake Johnson’s exceptional turn, performances from co-stars Joe Lo Truglio and Aislinn Derbez, who plays Eddie’s love interest in the film, can’t go unnoticed. It’s a complete team effort as Joe Swanberg’s direction continues to progress as well, making Win It All a new career best for the indie filmmaker.

GRADE: 3.5/5

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Watch The First Trailer For Spike Jonze’s ‘Her’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: It’s weird, sure, but it’s also very intriguing.

Yep, it’s the very first trailer for Spike Jonze’s upcoming sci-fi romance, Her. The film tells the story of Theodore Twombly, a heartbroken writer who gets a second chance at love after getting a new, intelligent computer.

The film is very much a Spike Jonze project. The cinematography is gorgeous, performances look down to Earth and believable, and the plot is extremely odd, yet remarkably cute. I’d never heard of Her before today, but after seeing this first trailer, it’s most definitely a film on my watch list.

Her stars Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Rooney Mara, and Olivia Wilde, and hits theatres (in a limited release) on November 20th.

Set in Los Angeles, slightly in the future, “her” follows Theodore Twombly, a complex, soulful man who makes his living writing touching, personal letters for other people. Heartbroken after the end of a long relationship, he becomes intrigued with a new, advanced operating system, which promises to be an intuitive entity in its own right, individual to each user. Upon initiating it, he is delighted to meet “Samantha,” a bright, female voice, who is insightful, sensitive and surprisingly funny. As her needs and desires grow, in tandem with his own, their friendship deepens into an eventual love for each other. From the unique perspective of Oscar-nominated filmmaker Spike Jonze comes an original love story that explores the evolving nature—and the risks—of intimacy in the modern world.

Watch The First Trailer For Ron Howard’s ‘Rush’

by Derek Kraneveldt

The first trailer for Ron Howard’s Rush has just been released online. I’d never heard of the movie before today, but damn does it look cool! Rush follows the true story of two rival Formula 1 drivers on their journey to become champions. Then there’s a serious crash, which looks to change everything.

Rush stars Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Natalie Dormer, and Olivia Wilde. Watch the trailer below, and let us know what you think!


 

Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing, RUSH portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the world has ever witnessed—handsome English playboy James Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Niki Lauda.  Taking us into their personal lives on and off the track, RUSH follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error.

SXSW 2013: Olivia Wilde Reveals She Would Love To Play Wonder Woman

by GeekscapeStaff

We caught up with Olivia Wilde at SXSW yesterday and she revealed to us that she’s a huge Wonder Woman fan. She’s been a fan favorite for the role for awhile now and the actress enthusiastically stated that she would love to play the role in Warner Bros. upcoming Justice League film. Hell, she even did the pose. Should we just start the petition now?