REVIEW: Dave Made a Maze [2017]

“It’s bigger than it looks” The premise is silly: stunted artist who’s never finished a project in his life finds inspiration through cardboard boxes and their ability to be molded into a literal labyrinth he’s already erected virtually inside his mind to ensure he will never fail (or succeed) since such a final verdict only comes with completion. So bogged down in existential dread—and made to endure it while girlfriend Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) is out-of-town for a much-needed reprieve from his slacker-infused excuses—Dave (Nick Thune) allows its weight to…

Read More

REVIEW: In a World … [2013]

“The whole thing’s based on the Prussian War” I remember seeing Lake Bell for the first time on the criminally underrated HBO show “How to Make It in America” and thinking, “this is a real person.” She was slightly awkward, somewhat unconventionally attractive, and far from the ditzy, interchangeably dull girls mainstream entertainment loves to shove down our throats ad nauseum. Bell’s Rachel was headstrong, successful, charmingly flakey, and ultimately the kind of woman you’d believe could find herself at the center of a love triangle. What I couldn’t have…

Read More