A charming shell of a picture with not much substance at its center, “Adult Life Skills” makes a run at several interesting themes and tropes yet veers away from each before any contact is made. An arrested development recipe with dashes of grief processing thrown in for flavor, the cinematic stew doesn’t ever come together, largely owing to half-baked character and narrative work. And while a deft directorial touch and magnificent performances elevate the material, it’s all in the service of a story whose dots just don’t connect.

Continue reading ‘Adult Life Skills’: Jodie Whittaker’s Outstanding Performance Elevates The Otherwise Thinly-Plotted Film [Review] at The Playlist.

Film fans have no doubt seen the premise of an adult living in their parents’ basement, unable to cope with the outside world and mature into a responsible human before. But this time, the story stars Jodie Whittaker, who makes little movies with her thumbs (yep, you read that right), and doesn’t live in her mom’s basement, instead choosing a shed in the backyard, in the film “Adult Life Skills.”

In the trailer for the film, we meet Anna, an adult living in her mom’s shed that is desperately trying to avoid life after the death of her brother.

Continue reading ‘Adult Life Skills’ Trailer: ‘Doctor Who’ Star Jodie Whittaker Attempts To Grow Up & Stop Making Thumb Videos at The Playlist.

The upcoming 11th “series” of the rebooted “Doctor Who” has a much larger focus on it than previous series have had. Not only is this the introduction of yet another actor taking the role of the Doctor. This time, for the first time in the almost-six decades of history of ‘Who,’ the lead character is played by a female, in this case, Jodie Whittaker. And in a new interview with Digital Spy, we find out that this was not a difficult decision for the producers at all.

Continue reading New ‘Doctor Who’ Showrunner Made A Female Doctor A “Condition” Of His Hiring at The Playlist.

There’s a lot of speculation and hype surrounding the upcoming 11th season of “Doctor Who.” As is the case in the series, we have a brand new actor playing the role of the good Doctor. However, for the first time, the lead isn’t a man. That’s right, “Doctor Who” is becoming inclusive by hiring actress Jodie Whittaker as the latest in a long line of Doctors. And while we don’t get much in the first trailer for the upcoming season, there’s plenty for Whovians to get excited about.

Continue reading ‘Doctor Who’ Season 11 SDCC Trailer: Here’s Your First Taste Of Jodie Whittaker As The New Female Doctor at The Playlist.

We’ve been waiting a while for Paddy Considine to get back behind the camera following his excellent and underrated BAFTA-Award winning “Tyrannosaur.” Well, the time has finally arrived as he’s pulling off triple duty writing, directing, and starring in “Journeyman.”

Also featuring Jodie Whittaker (“One Day”), Faraz Ayub (“Honor”), Tony Pitts (“War Horse”) and Paul Popplewell (“’71”), beneath the boxing drama surface of the movie lies the story of a pugilist who has to rebuild his entire life after suffering a traumatic brain injury in the ring.

Continue reading ‘Journeyman’ Trailer: Paddy Considine Fights For His Life at The Playlist.

If you’ve been anywhere near the Internet recently, you’ve no doubt read that BBC fan favorite “Doctor Who” has cast Jodie Whittaker to play the thirteenth Doctor, making her the first woman to ever play the protagonist in the show’s 54-year history. The Doctor, an alien who regenerates as another humanoid being instead of dying, has “coincidentally” reappeared as a white man for the show’s duration. Whittaker, of “Broadchurch” and “Attack the Block” fame, will take on the historical mantle of first female Doctor when the show debuts its 11th season next year.

Continue reading Male Nerd Entitlement And The Threat of (Fictional) Women at The Playlist.

By now you know that in an inspired casting move, the BBC has cast Jodie Whittaker as the iconic Doctor in the upcoming season of “Doctor Who.” There’s been much ballyhoo over the fact that Whittaker will be the first female Doctor, and the actress is certainly feeling the attention.

“It feels completely overwhelming; as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you’re told you can and can’t be,” she said in a statement (via BBC).

Continue reading Jodie Whittaker Is The New ‘Doctor Who’ at The Playlist.

Review: Watchable But Forgettable 'Black Sea' Starring Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn & Scoot McNairy

Continue reading Review: Watchable But Forgettable ‘Black Sea’ Starring Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn & Scoot McNairy at The Playlist.

The film opens with what seems to be a dismissal of any attempt at “greater meaning” with Gabriel Byrne’s voiceover narration as the Reaper himself making digs at ponderous philosophical questions of the world.

Continue reading IFFBoston ’10: ‘Perrier’s Bounty’ An Average Comic Thriller With Some Laughs, Few Highlights at The Playlist.

Continue reading Trailer: ‘Perrier’s Bounty’ With Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson & Jim Broadbent, Film Arrives May 14 at The Playlist.

We were wondering when in blazes Steven Soderbergh was going to team-up with David Holmes again, the cocktail electronic producer behind the excellent and grossly underrated score to the the ‘Oceans 11-13’ series. And while Soderbergh did use almost half a dozen Holmes tracks in “The Girlfriend Experience,” no original score was to be found (instead that gig went to Morecheeba musician Ross Godfrey who did a great job on the otherwise distant and aloof film).

Continue reading David Holmes To Score Cillian Murphy Irish Gangster Comedy, ‘Perrier’s Bounty’ at The Playlist.