09 April
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THUNDER FORCE Writer/Director: Ben FalconeStarring: Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Bobby Cannavale, Jason Bateman, Melissa Leo, Pom Klementieff, Taylor Mosby The pairing of real-life besties Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer should be a superhero dream team, yet their new film Thunder Force is a full-fledge super mess. We learn through some opening narration and comic book style graphics that interstellar cosmic waves struck Earth in 1983 giving certain people superpowers. They were named Miscreants as they used their powers for evil. As a young girl Emily vowed to become a scientist and give people powers to fight off the miscreants. She was best friends with LydiaRead More →

22 February
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GAME NIGHT Directors: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Sharon Horgan, Billy Magnussen, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, Jesse Plemons, Danny Huston When I think of game night, I think of a rousing game of Settlers of Catan with friends where I inevitably never seem to get the right resources and lose to my husband. Cocktails may be flowing, but that wouldn’t make for a lively movie. Lucky for us, it never reaches the height of what occurs in Game Night. Serious gamers Max (Bateman) and Annie (McAdams) met at trivia night at their local bar and fell in loveRead More →

08 December
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OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY Directors: Josh Gordon, Will Speck Starring: Jennifer Aniston, T.J. Miller, Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, Kate McKinnon, Vanessa Bayer, Courtney B. Vance, Randall Park For as many funny people that appear in Office Christmas Party, it sure felt very unfunny and a big waste of everyone’s talents. T.J. Miller stars as Clay Vanstone who is the head of the Chicago branch of his family business, Zenotek. He’s a huge fan of Christmas and is looking forward to the annual office Christmas party and Secret Santa gift exchange. He starts to get bummed out when he senses a sad vibe around the office. HisRead More →

16 June
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber Starring: Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Danielle Nicolet, Amy Ryan, Jason Bateman, Aaron Paul, Ryan Hansen I feel like Kevin Hart has just resigned himself to doing buddy comedies in the same way Liam Neeson has taken on the vengeful action flicks. You basically know what to expect going into each one as the only difference is the co-star. With Central Intelligence Kevin Hart plays Calvin Joyner who was the All-American class president, prom king, and was voted most likely to succeed in high school. Twenty years have passed and now he’s an accountant who feels like he was meantRead More →

04 March
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ZOOTOPIA Director: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Jenny Slate, Idris Elba, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Tommy Chong, J.K. Simmons, Octavia Spencer Every year I look forward to the new movie from the Walt Disney Animation Studios. It’s as if you are guaranteed a good time at the movies. Their new film, Zootopia, is no different. The idea of predator and prey living in harmony where anyone can be anything seems to be the ideal image for a young bunny named Judy Hopps (Goodwin). Ever since she was a little bunny she was bound and determined to be a copRead More →

Twin Cities Live
20 September
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TWIN CITIES LIVE September 19, 2014         It was a page to screen adaptation day on Twin Cities Live. I believe this is one of my longest segments, and it’s also one of my favorites. Enjoy! 1. THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU, Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Corey Stoll, Adam Driver 2. THE MAZE RUNNER, Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter 3. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern Here’s the video: Video courtesy of Twin Cities Live/KSTP You can find all of my past segments HERE. As always, thank you so muchRead More →

19 September
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THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU Director: Shawn Levy Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stoll, Adam Driver, Jane Fonda, Rose Byrne, Dax Sheperd, Connie Britton, Kathryn Hahn, Abigail Spencer, Timothy Olyphant, Ben Schwartz I must admit that I have a soft spot for these types of family ensemble stories. Two films in my top ten, American Beauty and The Ice Storm, both center on dysfunctional families. This is Where I Leave You takes a lighter approach than both of those films. It’s even lighter than last year’s August: Osage County, which has a similar premise. For Judd Altman (Bateman), when it rains it pours.Read More →

29 May
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THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU Director: Shawn Levy Starring: Jane Fonda, Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stoll, Adam Driver, Connie Britton, Kathryn Hahn, Rose Byrne, Dax Shepard, Timothy Olyphant, Debra Monk It’s become a joke with my parents that I love movies about dysfunctional families. As an actor, I’m always drawn to those types of large ensemble dramas as there are rich characters for the actors to play with. I was immediately drawn to This is Where I Leave You when I first saw the cast list and a publicity photo in Entertainment Weekly. Jane Fonda, Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stoll, Adam Driver,Read More →

21 March
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BAD WORDS Director: Jason Bateman Starring: Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Allison Janney, Rohan Chand, Phillip Baker Hall, Ben Falcone I sometimes wonder what drives actors and directors to certain projects. I then wonder if I’m maybe missing something. Am I in a bad mood? Why am I not laughing? Such is the case when it came to Bad Words. Jason Bateman is one of those child stars that actually transitioned pretty well into working as an adult in the business. He will always be Michael Bluth to me after his four seasons on “Arrested Development”. For his big screen directorial debut, he chose this scriptRead More →