Ben Stiller And Adam Scott Teaming On Apple TV+ Thriller Series 'Severence'

The rate which new Apple TV+ projects with A-list stars are being announced is quickly measuring up to Netflix, and that's just how it'll be from now on. Both sides will continue to try and one-up the other, but it's Apple who have landed a major blow with the signing of Ben Stiller and Adam Scott for the new series, Severence.

Variety reports Stiller will direct Scott in the Apple TV+ series, Severence, a workplace thriller about a man who works at Lumen Industries, a company attempting to take work/life balance to a new level. Scott will play Mark, an employee with a dark past trying to put himself back together. Sounds kinda lame, but with Scott and still involved it should be interesting, or at least a little bit funny.  Dan Erickson will act as writer and exec-producer.

For Stiller, he's been spending less time in front of the camera than behind it, directing the acclaimed Showtime series Escape from Dannemora. Scott is an old hand on the small-screen with shows such as Party Down, Parks & Rec, and most recently HBO's Big Little Lies. 

Stiller has directed Scott before in 2013's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I always thought they could easily play brothers and it would be a missed opportunity if something like that doesn't happen. Maybe Stiller can cameo in his own show?

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'Plus One' Trailer: Jack Quaid And Maya Erskine Endure The Summer Wedding Season

There comes a time in your single life when it seems like every one of your friends is getting hitched. Even the one who previously would be your wingman in the club has found someone, and every weekend will be filled with you playing guest at somebody's wedding. With the arrival of summer that annoyingly busy time of year is here, and the new comedy Plus One uses wedding season as the backdrop for a light and familiar romantic comedy led by a pair of rising stars.

Plus One stars PEN15 creator and star Maya Erskine as Alice and The Boys' Jack Quaid as her pal Ben, who decide teaming up is the best way to endure the intolerable string of weddings on the horizon. In true rom-com fashion, their ambivalence towards love and attempts to hook up with wedding guests is all just a cover for their true feelings. We know where this is probably headed but with Erskine and Quaid it should be fun getting there.

The film is exec-produced by Ben Stiller, who probably would've starred in this movie twenty years ago, and directed by duo Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer, who previously worked with Erskine on episodes of PEN15.

Also starring Finn Wittrock, Ed Begley Jr., Jon Bass, Emma Bell, and Beck Bennett, Plus One hits theaters and VOD on June 14th.

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'Escape At Dannemora' Trailer: Benicio Del Toro & Paul Dano Lead Ben Stiller's Crazy-But-True Crime Series

If you followed the reports on the 2015 Dannemora prison escape by convicted murders David Sweat and Richard Matt, then you know the stranger than fiction story is the stuff Hollywood loves. And so it wasn't surprising when the story was to be adapted for the small screen as a Showtime event series. The unexpected part was that it would be directed entirely by Ben Stiller, in what now looks to be a potentially Emmy-winning effort, thanks in part to his tremendous cast.

Benicio Del Toro, Paul Dano, and an unrecognizable Patricia Arquette star in Escape at Dannemora, and the first trailer for the 8-episode series looks pretty great. On June 6th 2015, convicted murders David Sweat (Dano) and Richard Matt (Del Toro) broke out of the Clinton Correctional Fictional, aided by married prison employee Joyce Mitchell (Arquette) who was having an affair with both men in exchange for the possible murder of her husband. She helped provide the tools for their escape, which led to a 20-day manhunt for them throughout upstate New York.

Still not only directed the series but is exec-producer, yet if you watch the trailer you'd never know it. His name isn't being used to sell this series, which is interesting, but when you have a cast like this and a story everybody is still excited to learn about I guess there isn't much need.

Escape at Dannemora hits Showtime on November 18th.

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Review: 'The Meyerowitz' Stories' Starring Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, & Elizabeth Marvel

Noah Baumbach doing family dysfunction? What else is there left for him to possibly say after building his career on the poison-tongued Squid and the Whale and Margot at the Wedding? But The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is a slight change in course. Looser, lighter, and episodic, it should make for one of Netflix's most easily accessible films, ironically, right alongside Adam Sandler's reprehensible-but-popular comedies the streaming service has exclusive rights to. Chances are, fans of those movies will drift over to 'Meyerowitz' at the sight of Sandler's name, and come away stunned that it's one of those rare occasions when he's not farting to get a laugh.  Baumbach has pulled a terrific performance out of him, as he routinely does with all of his casts.

Sandler is Danny, one of three children to Harold (Dustin Hoffman), a self-important Manhattan sculptor who believes his work has gone unappreciated for far too long. His children have largely grown up in his shadow, and have each paid the price for it in different ways. Danny has musical talent, shown in his occasional piano sessions with his daughter Eliza (Grace Van Patten), but was never encouraged to pursue it. Now he's unemployed, separated from his wife, and adrift. Jean (Elizabeth Marvel, a marvel in her own right), Danny half-sister, is basically invisible. Frumpy and with a bland Xerox job (she's basically a photocopy herself), Jean rarely speaks unless spoken to, so used to being ignored by her father and tolerated by her half-brothers. Jean and Danny hear constant praise of Matthew (Ben Stiller), the "successful" child, who has moved far away and actually made money at his career. There's something to be said about needing to move thousands of miles away to L.A. to do it, though. Perhaps his siblings should have taken a hint?

There's also something to be said about staying close to home, and Baumbach tries to make this as much about loving your family's quirks as hating them for it.  When Matthew returns home for a retrospective of Harold's career (it's a group show, which Harold resents), all of the past baggage comes rising to the surface. Not just the resentment they have for Harold, whose presence stifled them all in different ways, but also between the siblings who coped with it without regard for anybody else.

It's not an unfamiliar premise, and Baumbach doesn't try to break the mold here. His dense, talky pompous narrative will be familiar not only to him, but to followers of Woody Allen. His dialogue is frequently peppered with pop culture references and clever asides, but it lacks the snap of The Squid and the Whale, Greenberg, or the excellent While We're Young. As a fan of the more naturalistic vibrant style Baumbach has taken since Frances Ha, it's a little disappointing to see him step backwards in such a bland way. Visually it's set up in rather rote, anonymous fashion, taking on the static look of a stageplay, with locales that hardly leap off the page.

Baumbach's films are mostly performance-driven, anyway, and he get a couple of terrific performances from Sandler and Marvel. I think it's time we stop making excuses for Sandler by referencing Punch-Drunk Love and Reign Over Me as proof he's really a good dramatic actor. Yes, he is, but mostly he prefers to make Ridiculous 6 or Pixels. That's on him. But it IS good to see him really act again, making us feel something for the slacker Danny, whose pent-up anger comes out in strangely-timed bursts (not unlike Punch-Drunk Love). What also shines through is Danny's love and concern for his daughter and his half-siblings, even when they don't show him the same courtesy. Elizabeth Marvel has a tendency to play really strong women (check her out in House of Cards, also on Netflix), so it's uncomfortable at first to see her as the mousy, introverted Jean. She makes the most out of a character that is largely marginalized in the movie, just as Jean is marginalized within the Meyerowitz clan. Her chapter emerges almost as an "Oh yeah, we forgot about Jean", and even when it does it doesn't reveal as much about her as the other chapters do her brothers. It's disappointing to see such focus on the males in the family, especially since Stiller's Matthew is so forgettable, but Marvel quietly steals each opportunity she gets.

The Meyerowitz Stories isn't Baumbach's sharpest examination of defective family dynamics, but unlike some of his other movies it won't make you want to disown everyone you know.

Rating: 3 out of 5

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Review: 'Brad's Status', Ben Stiller Shines In Observant Midlife Crisis Comedy

"The world hated me, and the feeling was mutual", laments Brad Sloane (Ben Stiller) at one point in Mike White's dramedy, Brad's Status. Well damn, that's the kind of observation you might expect from somebody who has been beaten down by life, not an upper-middle class guy who runs his own non-profit, lives in a reasonable Sacramento home, has a beautiful wife Melanie (Jenna Fischer) and a son Troy (Austin Abrams) who may be getting into Harvard. So what's Brad's deal? Well, it's his status as a rung below his old college buddies who are firmly part of the 1%. Compared to them, he feels like a failure.

Woe is the white man, see how he struggles.

Brad's Status pretty much begs for you to hate it, and hate Brad, who doesn't realize how good he has it. He's got everything a normal, sane person could ever hope for, but the combination of boredom, midlife crisis, and Troy's college admissions has him going over the sum total of his life. All of Brad's pals are hugely successful, meaning they're rich. Nick (played by White himself) is a successful filmmaker whose $9M home is featured in magazines; Billy (Jemaine Clement) sold his tech company and retired at 40 to a far off island where he lives with two young women; Jason (Luke Wilson) married into wealth and runs his own successful hedge fund; and Craig (Michael Sheen) is a political pundit with close ties to the White House. They make Brad's poor little non-profit operation seem sad by comparison.

The film follows Brad and Troy during a trip to Boston to check out colleges, with Harvard at the top of the list. But really, this is about Brad and his moping...moping about money, his marriage, and eyeing everyone around him with jealousy. That extends to his son, who he looks at with a mixture of pride and envy. Envy that Troy may find greater success than he ever did, while at the same time Brad goes overboard in trying to impress his son. Brad's Status isn't exactly funny in the way most Stiller movies are. It finds nuggets of humor within the minor life observations White reveals about Brad, like that for all of his jealousy, he'd call on his friends in a heartbeat if their success could help him. He has a tendency to daydream about the awesome lives everyone but him is leading, like a really pathetic Walter Mitty.

Brad's stunning lack of self-awareness, and Stiller's pitch-perfect portrayal of it (think Greenberg, only softer), is what keeps the film enjoyable. It's hard not to laugh when the ever tone-deaf Brad whines that white guys are getting the short end of the stick at Harvard because they aren't foreigners with sob stories, or legacy kids. Taken at face value, Brad' Status would be intolerable and Mike White ripped for telling such an elitist's tale of perceived persecution. But White's not an idiot, and our chagrin is reflected in the young people Brad encounters. Troy is repeatedly put off by his father's antics, but the best scene of the entire movie is when college student Anaya (Shazi Raza), who longs to follow in Brad's footsteps, calls him out on his privileged bullshit. As he unloads on her about how tough he's had it, she doesn't buy it for a second. "Do you actually know anybody who is poor?", she asks as Brad gets defensive at her assertion, without really answering her question. Of course he doesn't. He's so busy competing with his friends that he's totally lost perspective on the world around him.

A different movie might have Brad learning some kind of lesson at this point. Maybe come to grips with how life has worn down the ideals he once held. But I applaud White for not taking Brad's Status down that route, which often leads to false sentimentality. We get the point. We don't need it spelled out for us or sweetened for easy digestion.

Rating: 3 out of 5



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'The Meyerowitz Stories' Trailer: Adam Sandler & Ben Stiller Are Dysfunctional Siblings

It's funny that whenever Adam Sandler makes a movie that isn't outwardly grotesque like Ridiculous 6, we trip over ourselves to sing his praises. "He can be so talented when he wants to!" Yeah, okay...so why doesn't he want to? I find myself beginning every post about Sandler's dramatic efforts by reminding everyone how good he was in Punch Drunk Love, when that has absolutely no bearing on what he's doing right now. And what Sandler has right now is Noah Baumbach's The Meyerowitz Stories, which has been earning strong reviews since Cannes, including some strong buzz for Sandler's performance.

The latest trailer follows up on the previously-released teaser, but it doesn't reveal much more. The film finds Sandler surrounded by Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Grace Van Patten, Adam Driver, Candice Bergen, Judd Hirsch, Elizabeth Marvel, and Rebecca Miller, in a story that tracks the dysfunctional Meyerowitz clan. Here's the synopsis:

From writer/director Noah Baumbach, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is the emotional and comic intergenerational tale of adult siblings (Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, and Elizabeth Marvel) contending with the long shadow their strong-willed father (Dustin Hoffman) has cast over their lives.

The Meyerowitz Stories hits theaters and Netflix on October 13th.

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Ben Stiller's A Jealous Dad In First Trailer For 'Brad's Status'

We've had our share of Bad Moms-type movies now, right? And that's great; it's about time the ladies had their chance to show they can be just as screwed up as us guys. But have we gone too far the other way now? Are sad, kinda pathetic Dad movies like Brad's Status what we have to look forward to?

The first trailer for Mike White's film is here, and it stars Ben Stiller as the titular Brad. He's a father who isn't at all happy with his life, especially when compared to his more successful friends, played by Jemaine Clement, Michael Sheen, and Luke Wilson. While accompanying his son on a college trip, Brad is forced to reflect on his life, and when confronted by his old friends he must reevaluate whether he truly was unsuccessful, or actually pretty happy.

I think you know where this goes, and if you don't the trailer guides you through it the whole way. This looks like an addendum to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, a film that I liked a lot more than others did. And despite my displeasure for this trailer, I think this could actually turn out to be a pretty great film. Stiller has long since nailed the disillusionment that comes with middle age, and Mike White has done tremendous work on films such as The Good Girl (which seems like it treads similar ground from a different angle), School of Rock, and Beatriz at Dinner.

Also starring Jenna Fischer and Austin Abrams, Brad's Status will be released by Amazon Studios on September 15th.

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Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, & Benicio Del Toro Will 'Escape From Clinton Correctional'

You may not remember the names Richard Matt and David Sweat, but chances are you remember what they did. For three weeks in the summer of 2015 they had the entire nation on the edge of their seats after the two convicted murderers escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility, leading to a nationwide manhunt. The way they escaped was about as cinematic as it gets, and so were the other details leading up to their flight from justice, which is why their story is becoming an event series with a pretty great cast.

Ben Stiller will direct and star alongside Benicio Del Toro and Patricia Arquette in Showtime's Escape from Clinton Correctional. Working from a script by Ray Donovan writers Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin, the series will follow how Matt (Del Toro) and Sweat (Stiller) dug themselves a tunnel from their prison cells ala The Shawshank Redemption. Meanwhile, Arquette will play prison employee Joyce Mitchell, who helped them escape because she wanted Richard to kill her husband, but then backed out at the last second.

Compelling stuff and should be an interesting display of Stiller's abilities behind the camera. I'm curious to see how this is played, whether it goes for outright drama or if some of the story's quirkier elements will be given the spotlight. Either way, it's another feather in Showtime's cap.

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Ben Stiller To Star In Mike White's Comedy, 'Brad's Status'

If the name Mike White is at all familiar to you it's probably because of his work as a screenwriter on films such as School of Rock, Freaks and Geeks, Orange County, HBO's Enlightened, and Jennifer Aniston's dramatic breakthrough in The Good Girl. In some of those projects he's crossed paths with Ben Stiller, who came up around the same time and runs in many of the same comedic circles. Well now they're set to officially team-up for the first time in the comedy, Brad's Status.

Stiller is set to star in the film which White will direct from his own screenplay about a man "who despite a good career and happy family, is obsessed with the better fortunes of his old friends from school. While escorting his son on an East Coast tour of colleges, Brad is forced to confront his friends and his feelings of failure – with hilarious and poignant results."

This sounds like the perfect vehicle for Stiller and touches on some of the same themes as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which most hated but I thought was enjoyable enough. The plan is to begin filming in September. [Variety]

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Noah Baumbach Shooting New Film With Ben Stiller, Emma Thompson, Adam Sandler, And Dustin Hoffman

While J.J. Abrams gets props for being so darn secretive about everything, Noah Baumbach is pretty good at it, too. He shot Mistress America and Frances Ha pretty much without telling anybody about it, and now he's gone ahead and done it again. According to The Film Stage, Baumbach has quietly begun production on Yen Din Ka Kissa (which means The Story of the Day in Hindi), which will reunite him with Greenberg and While We're Young star, Ben Stiller.

Also starring in the film are Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Adam Sandler, and possibly Grace Van Patten, an interesting mix to say the least. The story apparently centers on an estranged New York family coming together in preparation of artist & patriarch Harold’s career retrospective.”  Thompson opened up a little about it in USA Today, saying her character is a "dreadful, passive-aggressive alcoholic". They also refer to the title as The Meyerowitz Stories, which sounds like a much easier sell. 

This one seems pretty fresh, so expect more details to arrive at some point; probably not from Baumbach, though! It's clear he wants to keep this one firmly under wraps until closer to release. 

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Review: 'Zoolander No. 2' Starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, And Penelope Cruz

One of the many charms of Ben Stiller's 2001 fashion world satire Zoolander was its humble-ish beginnings. The idiotic supermodel was created as a joke for a fashion show, and grew wildly from there. The movie itself took some time to finds its feet on the runway, but not only proved to be a hit but arguably Stiller's most enduring, most quotable comedy. It had fun poking at celebrity culture and the quirks of the "incredibly good-looking" people of the world. And apparently everything Stiller had to say about those people was said 15 years ago, because the unnecessary, mostly unfunny sequel Zoolander No. 2 is about as fresh as Cross Colours and Starter jackets.

The best, most inspired ideas come early on, and were sadly given away by the plethora of trailers and promos. A harrowing chase through Rome's city streets finds Justin Bieber at the business end of an assassin's gun, but before he dies he stops long enough for one last selfie. It's the kind of silly, self-deprecating joke that made the original film a cult favorite, but moments like this are few and far between. A flurry of news reports from pretty much every TV journalist on the planet fills us in on Derek Zoolander's misadventures since we last saw him. The dopey model's wife (Stiller's actual wife, Christine Taylor) was killed by the collapse of the Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can’t Read Good and Who Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too, which was built on flimsy model materials because he's...well, a dope. Also caught in the destruction was Zoolander's narcissistic buddy, Hansel (Owen Wilson), whose face bears such a "hideous" scar he's gone off into hiding. Zoolander has been living as a hermit(crab) in the frozen tundra of New Jersey ever since, until Billy Zane (Billy Zane!!!) comes walking back into his life with a mission to find out who is killing pop stars.

The original movie was delightfully absurd, taking place in a world where Zoolander's "Blue Steel" look could stop bullets, daggers, and people right in their tracks. Stiller cranks that ridiculousness up to a new level but in the process leaves behind the digs at the industry which was its strength; in favor of goofy spy movie that has more in common with Austin Powers. Zoolander joins with Hansel (who has been living in the desert as part of a polyamorous commune with Kiefer Sutherland) and a sexy agent (Penelope Cruz) from INTERPOL's fashion division to find the murderer, while at the same time reconnecting with his estranged son, Derek Jr. It turns out Zoolander's son is overweight, and a painful gag about whether or not this makes him a bad kid goes on for an interminable length of time.

The stupid murder plot keeps getting in the way of a much better storyline perfectly suited for knocking our superficial culture. Zoolander and Hansel have been out of the game for years and are now seen as relics, and their embarrassing attempts to fit back in provide some of the film's most pointed and hilarious scenes. Their first runway show back ends in utter disaster at the hands of trendy designer Don Atari (an intentionally intolerable Kyle Mooney) and gender-neutral model "All" played by a cat-like Benedict Cumberbatch. While the "All" gag doesn't work, it's at least somewhat inspired, which can't be said about much else.  Will Ferrell as the returning villain Mugatu and Kristen Wiig as the Donna Versace-esque Alexanya Atoz help liven things up a little, but not even they can help Zoolander No. 2 be anything more than out of style.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

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Relax And Enjoy The New Trailer For 'Zoolander 2'

What happens when the prettiest people on the planet (apparently that includes Justin Bieber??) start getting killed? Why, you turn to Derek Zoolander to figure out whose got such a grudge. Zoolander No. 2 brings Blue Steel back for more fashion world hijinks, and the latest trailer has just hit the runway.

Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell return, along with new additions Penelope Cruz,  Kristen Wiig, and Benedict Cumberbatch, but are they enough to make this a better sequel than Anchorman 2 turned out to be? Fifteen years have passed since Zoolander, and there wasn't exactly a vocal outcry for a sequel, making this kind of a risky gamble. Let's not forget how resistant to the idea Paramount was for a long time, so if this film doesn't do well there certainly won't be a third.

Zoolander 2 opens February 12th.

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Zoolander Tracks Down A Killer In The International 'Zoolander No. 2' Trailer

While it may have taken more than 14 years for a Zoolander sequel and there didn't seem to be any particular demand for one, apparently that wasn't the case. The release of last week's trailer was watched more than 52 million times, an incredible number that makes it the most viewed ever for a comedy. Does that mean 52 million people are going to turn out to see Ben Stiller goof on the modeling world? Not likely, but it shows there is an enthusiasm to see what kind of trouble Derek Zoolander can get his pretty face into next.

And right on cue a new international trailer for Zoolander No. 2 has been released, and it offers up more of the supermodel's spy mission alongside his former enemy Hansel (Owen Wilson) and ex-swimsuit model Valentina, played by Penelope Cruz. Somebody's been killing the world's most beautiful pop stars (including Justin Bieber, Usher, and more) and apparently Zoolander is the one who can track down the killer. Sound far-fetched? What did you expect?

Zoolander No. 2 hits theaters on February 12th 2016 and co-stars Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

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New Trailer for 'Zoolander No. 2' Has the Creepiest Benedict Cumberbatch Ever

Supermodels have always been the butt of jokes and Zoolander took that to a new level back in 2001. Ben Stiller did such a great job satirizing the entire modeling industry that there didn't seem to be a need for a sequel, despite the film becoming an instantly quotable cult classic. But now that sequel, officially titled Zoolander No. 2, is here and it turns out there's still plenty of jokes left to be made about the "ridiculously good looking".

So what kind of trouble has Derek Zoolander and his infamous "Blue Steel" got into this time? Well, he's officially an old man in the modeling world, but he'll need to put that aside and team with his former rival Hansel (Owen Wilson) to stop whoever is trying to kill all the pretty people....including Justin Bieber.  The trailer is full of great one-liners and an appearance by Benedict Cumberbatch that may leave his fans scarred for life.  Penelope Cruz plays an Interpol agent on the case, and as Hansel puts it, "she's hot", so of course they instantly trust her.

Expect tons of cameos and appearances by Will Ferrell as Mugatu, Kristen Wiig, Christine Taylor, Billy Zane, and more. Zoolander No. 2 opens February 2nd 2016.

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Ben Stiller is freaking stupid in the first 'Zoolander 2' Trailer

What do Stephen Hawking and dufus supermodel Derek Zoolander have in common? Well, they're both humans...and that's about where the similarities end. Over the weekend the first teaser trailer for Ben Stiller's Zoolander 2 leaked and was quickly taken down. But now it's back in official form, signaling the return of the ridiculously good-looking one.

There doesn't appear to be any actual footage in this teaser, just some odd narration by Hawking (presumably?) leading up to a contentious exchange between him and Zoolander, who can't seem to figure out the title of his own movie. It's a worthy but not especially funny introduction to just how stupid Zoolander can be, but it doesn't do much to convince that this was a necessary sequel.

The original film came out back in 2001 and while there was some clamor from fans for a follow-up, Paramount Pictures was reluctant for obvious reasons. Zoolander was hardly a smash success, and comedy sequels rarely perform as well as their predecessors. This one is directed by Justin Theroux (from HBO's The Leftovers and writer of Tropic Thunder) and brings back Owen Wilson as Hansel, Will Ferrell as Mugatu, Christine Taylor, and Billy Zane. Cameos abound, of course, with appearances expected from Kristen Wiig, Olivia Munn, Penelope Cruz, Justin Bieber, and super-couple Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. As for the plot, that much is being kept a secret but rumors are it has to do with a rival modeling agency looking to take Zoolander and Hansel out.

Zoolander 2 opens February 12th.


'Zoolander 2' - Teaser tráiler V.O. (HD) by El Séptimo Arte

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New Trailer for 'Ex Machina' Plus a Dance-Off with Noah Baumbach's 'While We're Young'

Expanding into wide release this weekend is Alex Garland's brilliant sci-fi film, Ex Machina, and if you read my review you know I think it was one of the year's best. Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander, it's essentially a three-hander about a young programmer enlisted by his eccentric tech-genius boss to perform the Turing Test on a sexy A.I. named Ava. It's a thinking man's movie, very big on ideas, but also has moments of tremendous levity. Those aren't quite so prevalent in the new trailer released today, however they become clear in the other video the folks at A24 dropped.

The studio wants you to pull a double feature this weekend by checking out Ex Machina and Noah Baumbach's While We're Young (also very good), so they've mashed up this footage from the films' big dance numbers. Both are hilarious on their own but are somehow even funnier this way, and I could watch Naomi Watts take a stab at hip-hop all day. Finally, you can check out Oscar Isaac and co-star Sonoyo Mizuno's moves as they were intended.  Gleeson's astonished look is priceless.


Ex Machina Official Trailer #2 (2015) - Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac Movie HD by MovieClips

Here's the While We're Young x Ex Machina dance-off you didn't know you needed.
Posted by A24 on Thursday, April 16, 2015

That Dance Scene.
★★★★★ - Total Film ★★★★ - Empire ★★★★ - Sunday Times Culture ★★★★ - Metro ★★★★ - The Times ★★★★ - Telegraph ★★★★ - Grazia ★★★★ - Independent ★★★★ - The Sun ★★★★ - Daily MailEx Machina - In Cinemas Now
Posted by Ex Machina on Monday, January 26, 2015

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Meet the Son of Derek Zoolander in New Image from 'Zoolander 2'

While it's a given that Zoolander 2 will feature an entire catwalk full of ridiculously good-looking models and celebrities, it will also feature something unexpected: the spawn of Zoolander.  Ben Stiller revealed today an image of himself alongside Cyrus Arnold, who will be playing Zoolander's son. Clearly, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Wonder if sonny boy has a "Blue Steel" pose to call his own?

Additional plot details remain scarce and Stiller is doing his best to keep it that way. We can assume fatherhood is going to play a big part of it, though. It will also likely have something to do with the return of Will Ferrell's Mugatu, and the arrival of Kristen Wiig as Alexanya Atoz. Penelope Cruz is also part of the cast along with Stiller's wife, Christine Taylor.

Directed by Justin Theroux, Zoolander 2 hits the runway on February 12th 2016.

Meet @cyrusarnold. Son of Derek. #Zoolander2

A photo posted by Ben Stiller (@benstiller) on Apr 13, 2015 at 3:18am PDT

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Win Tickets to see Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts in ' While We're Young'

Contest Monday folks! We have five chances to win free tickets to see Noah Baumbach's critically acclaimed film While We're Young  starring Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts. Here's the official synopsis:

Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts are Josh and Cornelia Srebnick, happily married middle-aged members of New York's creative class.  They tried to start a family and were unable to — and have decided they’re okay with that. But as Josh labors over the umpteenth edit of his cerebral new film, it’s plain that he has hit a dry patch and that something is still missing.

Enter Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried), a free-spirited young couple, who are spontaneous and untethered, ready to drop everything in pursuit of their next passion — retro board games one day, acquiring a pet chicken the next. For Josh, it’s as if a door has opened back to his youth — or a youth he wishes he once had. It’s not long before the restless forty-somethings, Josh and Cornelia, throw aside friends their own age — including Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz in a sly supporting role — to trail after these young hipsters who seem so plugged in, so uninhibited, so Brooklyn cool. “Before we met,” Josh admits to Jamie, “the only two feelings I had left were wistful and disdainful.” But is this new inspiration enough to sustain collaboration and friendship with a couple twenty years their junior?

The passes are for any time during the entire run of engagement at the Landmark Bethesda Row. We are going to choose five winners at random. To qualify you just need to send an email to punchdrunkcritics@gmail.com with the following things:
- Full Name
- Preferred Reply Email Address
- What age do you think people try to start reclaiming their youth? (There's no wrong answer)

Want to make sure it's worth seeing? Check out Travis's stellar review right here! Good luck everyone, we'll be choosing winners at the end of the day today so get your entries in now!

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Review: Noah Baumbach's 'While We're Young' starring Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, and Adam Driver

At this point Noah Baumbach has, with a scalpel-like precision, explored the edgy contours of marriage in The Squid and the Whale, crafted a scathing portrayal of middle-aged anger in Greenberg, and skirted the frivolous troubles of twenty-somethings in Frances Ha. It can be argued that none of these movies, for all their pointed and notable commentary on life, are especially appealing to audiences. Baumbach has never been the type to reach out in that way; to seek the warm embrace of mainstream acceptance. So it's interesting and to everyone's benefit that his latest film, While We're Young, which touches on themes present in all of the previously mentioned films, is his funniest and most appealing yet.

The title says it all and yet doesn't nearly encompass everything Baumbach hits upon.  Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts are Josh and Cornelia, a childless married couple who feel they may have let life pass them by in just about every way imaginable. He's a documentary filmmaker with one hit to his credit, but has been struggling with the same, rather droll film for years. She's a producer who works with her father (Charles Grodin), a famous documentarian and the inspiration for Josh's career. Josh and Cornelia aren't in trouble; they love one another completely but their marriage isn't really going anywhere. There's no excitement, no progress, and it doesn't help that their best friends (Maria Dizzia and The Beastie Boys' Adam Horovitz have started having kids. Invites to "come and see the baby" are about all the excitement they have to look forward to.

Their lives are given a kick start when Josh makes quick friends with Jamie (Adam Driver), a young hipster jack-of-all-trades who admires his work and wants to follow in the same footsteps. He's married to Darcy (Amanda Seyfried), who makes doing nothing seem really cool. She makes her own ice cream and drags Cornelia to hip-hop dance classes (I'll watch Naomi Watts dance rather than Step Up any day), but she basically makes doing nothing seem cool. Jamie and Darcy make everything seem cool, which fascinates the older couple. Jamie has a fascination with all of the things Josh loved growing up, making him seem hip by association. Soon Josh is wearing the same clothes and talking like Jamie, while Cornelia is similarly invigorated. Their marriage also finds a spark it hasn't had since they were young.

While Baumbach could have just left it there as a simple look at an older couple's newfound vigor, which in itself is full of some pretty big laughs, he takes it in another interesting direction. Josh is a traditionalist who believes documentary filmmaking should emerge organically from a deeply personal place. He loves to quote Jean-Luc Godard who said ""Fiction is about me, documentary is about you", without recognizing the irony that his long-developing project clearly isn't very personal. But Jamie is young, and unafraid to use whatever means are necessary to launch his own filmmaking career. Some of the choices he makes put his friendship with Josh to the test. Josh isn't known for working well with others, but when Jamie asks for help he can't refuse. It doesn't take long for him to realize that their approaches are very very different. Jamie plays a bit loose with the true meaning of what a documentary is, which drives Josh up a wall and sends him on a crusade to prove the young kid wrong. So who's right on this score? Is it the old school or the new school? Baumbach plays it down the middle, refusing to rip the youth for their ambition and reality TV/IPod upbringing. At the same time he shows no patience for guys like Josh who wasted their opportunity and now feel as if they are owed something.

Baumbach's funniest moments come when he examines nostalgia that has been reborn to a whole new generation. "I remember when this song was just considered bad,” Josh says when Jamie plays 'Eye of the Tiger' to get inspired. There are numerous little asides like that which simply work, aided by great performances by all involved. Stiller seems to do his best work when paired up with Baumbach, and hopefully it's a lasting union. Watts has always been one of the best-rounded actresses around and this may be her best part in years. Driver continues to shine and it's easy to see why every top filmmaker has been dying to work with him. Somehow he makes Jamie someone we can understand and even root for even when his motives get a bit murky. The only one who gets short shrift is Seyfried, and that's just because Darcy's character isn't fleshed out as the others are. If there's a small quibble it's that some audiences will zone out when the discussion turns to the "right" way to make a documentary. Those in the know will appreciate that it's handled with some care, but others will be looking for the next gag about old age.

While We're Young is easily Baumbach's finest, most understanding film yet. We're seeing a director who has learned and evolved from his prior efforts, delivering one of the year's best films as a result. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

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Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson Hit the Runway to Announce 'Zoolander 2' for 2016

For years Ben Stiller has been chatting up his hopes to return to the fashion world with Zoolander 2, but the sequel has been off and on for years. But last fall some definite movement took place when Penelope Cruz suddenly joined the cast, although still nothing had been made official. Well all of that ended today as Stiller and Owen Wilson hit the Valentino runway in character for Paris Fashion Week to announce that Zoolander 2 is happening.

Paramount Pictures has made official a February 12th 2016 release date for the sequel which will see most of the major cast returning. Owen Wilson is back as Derek Zoolander's rival/friend Hansel, Christine Taylor as his girlfriend Matilda, and Will Ferrell as villain Mugatu. Justin Theroux, who had a small role in the first film, will step behind the camera as director.

Expect plenty of news on Zoolander 2 in the coming days as production will need to begin soon.

A video posted by Man Repeller (@manrepeller) on Mar 10, 2015 at 7:05am PDT

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