Caryn James

Michael Douglas, Kitsch and Depth: Soderbergh's 'Behind the Candelabra'

Caryn James — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:45:23 GMT

Despite the earnest pr spin surrounding it, Behind the Candelabra invites us to laugh at - not always with - the grinning, gaudy Vegas spectacle that is Liberace. But Michael Douglas'...

Seth and Stefon's Big SNL Wedding, and Iran's Reply to Argo (Video)

Caryn James — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:35:08 GMT

Stefon -- the guide to New York's hottest, most twisted clubs - was never my favorite Bill Hader character, but he grew on me. And since last night's SNL was Hader's last, it was inevitable that...

Watch Ben Affleck and Bill Hader's SNL Promo

Caryn James — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:10:56 GMT

Before Ben Affleck became Mr. Big-Time-Oscar-Winning-Director ... oh, never mind, that is so not his persona even now. Here he is in a promo for the season finale of SNL, proving he still has his...

Good and Bad Surprises in Baz Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby'

Caryn James — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:26:16 GMT

Novel? What novel? I went into Baz Luhrmann's 3-D, Jay Z-soundtracked The Great Gatsby assuming that the kindest, smartest approach would be to forget there was ever a book behind it....

Two Other Gatsbys, Two Better Nicks

Caryn James — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:24:12 GMT

The Great Gatsby is both irresistible to filmmakers and notoriously hard to adapt. All that color and glamour comes crashing up against the eloquence of Fitzgerald's prose and the ineffability of...

Watch Comedy From Obama, O'Brien, Spielberg at the White House Correspondents Dinner

Caryn James — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:59:00 GMT

This year's White House Correspondents' Dinner gave us a few insights about comedy: President Obama has killer comic timing. We knew that, but just listen to his delivery of some lines...

Underrated At the Tribeca Film Festival : 'Almost Christmas'

Caryn James — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:02:00 GMT

The new film from Phil Morrison (the director of Junebug) has not been embraced by most critics at the Tribeca Film Festival (actually, most of them hated it) but I so disagree. Almost Christmas is...

Tribeca Review: 'The Patience Stone' Is a Closing-Weekend Standout

Caryn James — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:15:00 GMT

As the Tribeca Film Festival heads into its final weekend, there's still time to catch one of this year's best films: The Patience Stone, Atiq Rahimi's eloquent drama about an Afghan woman in a...

'The Reluctant Fundamentalist': Mira Nair's Mirror of American-Pakistani Relations

Caryn James — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:25:47 GMT

In a Lahore cafe, the Pakistan-born, Princeton-educated hero of Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist tells an American reporter about his reaction to the World Trade Center attacks. Changez...

Francois Ozon's Psychological Cat-and-Mouse, 'In the House'

Caryn James — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:00 GMT

The name of the school that is so central in Francois Ozon's sharp, enticing In the House says a lot: it's the Lycee Gustave Flaubert, where all sorts of sentimental educations will play out. But...

Brandon Cronenberg's 'Antiviral' and What We Know About Fame

Caryn James — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:01:00 GMT

Paris Hilton is all but forgotten, the word "Kardashian" long ago became a late-night comedy punchline, and it's hard to remember a high-profile political campaign that did not turn on a ...

Who Is Ben Affleck in Terrence Malick's 'To the Wonder'?

Caryn James — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:16:01 GMT

Like all Terrence Malick's films, To the Wonder is art at its purest. This impressionistic take on a man (Ben Affleck) as he goes through a major relationship with Maria (Olga Kurylenko) and a...

Black Comedy Gem, 'It's A Disaster'

Caryn James — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:15:00 GMT

An offbeat little gem of a black-comedy, It's a Disaster is the kind of film that plays much better than it sounds like it should. It's another end-of-the-world (maybe) ensemble piece, but the deft...

'Mad Men' Event: What Do Betty and Megan Really Think of Each of Each Other?

Caryn James — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:30:01 GMT

What do the ex and the current Mrs. Don Drapers have to say to each other? I'm not sure, but I know how to find out: join me on April 24th at the 92nd St. Y for a conversation with Mad Men creator...

Melissa McCarthy Gives Physical Comedy a Good Name On SNL (Video)

Caryn James — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 15:12:54 GMT

Even if you're not a fan of physical comedy - and I'm usually not - the brilliant Melissa McCarthy makes it hilarious and sophisticated. She began her latest SNL hosting gig by entering on...

Danny Boyle's 'Trance': James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson and Twisted Memories

Caryn James — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:10:00 GMT

Playing a sophisticated London auctioneer, James McAvoy gazes into the camera with cool, nerveless clarity as his voiceover gives us the inside tricks of protecting and stealing a painting. This...

Watch Jimmy Fallon and Jay Leno's Duet 'Tonight,' About 'Tonight' (UPDATED)

Caryn James — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 05:59:59 GMT

Here, ironically enough, is the ultimate proof that Jimmy Fallon should take over for Jay Leno: a congenial duet between the two men commiserating about the media flap and speculation that Fallon...

Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper in 'The Place Beyond the Pines'

Caryn James — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:20:00 GMT

Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond the Pines is a giant ambitious triptych -- Ryan Gosling dominates the first part, Bradley Cooper the second, and two younger actors when the story leaps ahead...

'Room 237,' Kubrick Fanatics And a Bonus Recommendation

Caryn James — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:15:00 GMT

The rapturous responses to Room 237 that came out of the Sundance Film festival seem wildly overstated, but understandable. This modest, entertaining, and at times visually clever documentary about...

Al Pacino, 'Phil Spector,' and Media Justice

Caryn James — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 01:12:34 GMT

The gigantic frizzed-out wig on Al Pacino's head might be enough to make you curious about Phil Spector, the new HBO drama written and directed by David Mamet. In a multitude of wigs as...

Watch Ricky Gervais' Hilariously Awful Music Video, 'Equality Street'

Caryn James — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 22:31:49 GMT

Shot in gloriously pretentious black and white, 'Equality Street' is the official music video from David Brent -- Ricky Gervais' crazily un-self-aware character from The Office -- and Dom ...

Ricky Gervais Returns as David Brent in 'The Office Revisited' (Video)

Caryn James — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 22:01:04 GMT

It has been a decade since Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's original version of The Office ended its brief but brilliant run. Now Gervais has brought David Brent back in The Office Revisited,...

Timeliest DVD: Nanni Moretti's 'We Have A Pope'

Caryn James — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:08:31 GMT

Why is this pope hiding in the bushes? The first comic conceit in Nanni Moretti's delightful and touching 2011 film We Have A Pope (Habemus Papam) is that no one wants to be pope, especially the...

Justin Timberlake's All-Star, All-Good SNL (Video)

Caryn James — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:13:42 GMT

Justin Timberlake was totally aware of the high expectations for his hosting gig on SNL - "Thank you, Internet," he said during the monologue - but there was no need to worry. He was so on,...

Stephen Colbert Asks James Franco, 'Are You a Fraud?'

Caryn James — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:06:13 GMT

James Franco has taken on one of his most mainstream roles in the new Disney film, 'Oz the Great and Powerful'; nothing is more mainstream than Disney. (You can read my review here.) But his entire...