Comedy Archives - From | The | Balcony

Downsizing (2017)

Bill Clark — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 22:42:23 +0000

Movies as crushingly misguided and poorly-executed as Downsizing make me want to paraphrase Roger Ebert’s legendary review of 1994’s North. “I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it.” “I have no idea why [Alexander Payne], or anyone else, wanted to make this story into a… Continue reading

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The Disaster Artist (2017)

Bill Clark — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 01:09:18 +0000

Connoisseurs of bad movie viewing know the best ones think they’re good movies. That’s why you can keep your Sharknado and basically any self-knowing impostor. Those films know they’re bad and can only hope the viewer plays along. 2003’s The Room, now a cult sensation that still enjoys midnight screenings… Continue reading

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The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

Bill Clark — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 18:13:50 +0000

Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is as timeless as stories come because its themes are universal and forever. Greed, lack of awareness of the consequences of our actions, and redemption are ubiquitous. It’s impossible to read or watch A Christmas Carol and not want to do something charitable or even… Continue reading

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Lady Bird (2017)

Bill Clark — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 17:47:00 +0000

The coming-of-age comedy sub-genre has been quietly shimmying back into style the past few years. It seemed for a while like filmmakers had conceded that no one was up for trying to top – or even equal – John Hughes, but after last year’s fantastic The Edge of Seventeen and… Continue reading

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Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

Bill Clark — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 01:11:12 +0000

Kingsman: The Secret Service emerged as one of the biggest surprises of 2015; an astute and self-aware roast of the spy movie genre (read: Bond movies) that delivered almost incomprehensible carnage with sly wit and likeable characters. Easier said than done. Most importantly, it didn’t take itself remotely seriously and,… Continue reading

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Bad Santa 2 (2016)

Bill Clark — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 15:14:46 +0000

If nothing else, Bad Santa 2 certainly carries on the spirit of 2003’s Bad Santa. While the material isn’t near as fresh or well-written as it was thirteen years ago, the film still delivers the kind of rapid-fire insult humor and anti-Christmas vibe that propelled the original to cult status.… Continue reading

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Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)

Bill Clark — Thu, 19 May 2016 17:30:58 +0000

2014’s Neighbors was a pleasant surprise. It was raunchy and edgy without ever being mean-spirited or unpleasant. Not an easy task for a movie-going public that continually wants to see the bar raised on how far comedies are willing to go. As popular as the film was, it seems highly… Continue reading

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How To Be Single (2016)

Bill Clark — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 13:46:59 +0000

Longtime readers of the site are familiar with how often it’s lamented that seemingly no one can get the romantic comedy right. There’s practically a ticker tape parade when someone does, and the most recent wait continues with the confused and sloppy How To Be Single. Billed as Valentine’s Day… Continue reading

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Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Bill Clark — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 15:32:47 +0000

Of all the troubling things about the Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar! – and there are plenty to choose from – the most problematic is that it’s barely a movie at all, but rather a serious of loosely stitched together sketches of wildly varying quality. Known for some of the most creative and… Continue reading

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Anomalisa (2015)

Bill Clark — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 13:49:47 +0000

No one adapts the minutiae of human interaction better than writer/director Charlie Kaufman. The mundane and feelings of alienation have been constant themes in all of his films, and they once again take center stage in his latest, Anomalisa. Shot completely using stop-motion animation, set in about three locations, and spending… Continue reading

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