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The term "underrated" can be a bit nebulous in its definition, and that's especially the case when referring to art forms like films. Some people might say it refers to movies that received lukewarm responses from audiences despite deserving far more love. Others could suggest the term applies to great movies that not enough people have seen or even heard about. For our purposes here, we're going to take a little from column A and a little from column B to create something of a primer on great, underrated crime thrillers.

Of course, that leads us to having to define what exactly counts as a crime thriller. At its most basic (and obvious), a crime thriller -- a subset of the much larger thriller genre of which there are plenty of exquisite examples -- is an emotionally propulsive story with a criminal act at its center. Audiences are witness to...

Quick LinksGrosse Pointe Garden Society Season 1, Episode 2 Answers a Big QuestionGrosse Pointe Garden Society Digs Its Characters Into Deeper HolesGrosse Pointe Garden Society Episode 2 Confirms the Show's Love Triangle

The following contains major spoilers from Grosse Pointe Garden Society Season 1, Episode 2, "Pests," which debuted Sunday, March 2 on NBC. It also contains discussion of harm to animals and a mention of abortion.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society Season 1, Episode 2, "Pests" makes the NBC murder mystery even bigger and more interesting. What should happen by any sane standard doesn't, and what viewers absolutely don't want to happen does. Of course, that's by design, because things can't be solved so easily or there wouldn't be a TV show. But this dark comedy series is certainly off to a strong start.

"Pests" easily picks up all of the many storylines that were established in the series premiere, which is a feat in and of itself.

If there was a Guinness World Record for the most jacked-up Santa in a big-budget, Hollywood-financed, holiday-themed action-comedy, Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) would win hands down and biceps curled for his committed portrayal of Father Christmas in Jake Kasdan's otherwise disposable, forgettable Red One. Simmons' Crossfit-loving, hyper-trophied Santa not only unironically loves those fading odes to crass commercialism, American shopping malls but also works out obsessively in his private gym back at the North Pole, relying on his personal security guard and nominal head of Elf (Enforcement Logistics and Fortification), Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), to spot him when he goes big on bench-pressing free weights....

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Red One arrives with a lot of bad press. Every movie Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson makes with the word “red” in them has been tracked for being a bloated mess. The superstar made Red Notice in 2021 with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, which was a lot more fun than many give it credit for. For all its faults, that film eventually found a sweet spot for genre audiences to enjoy.

Now, Johnson is back with Red One, which is so relentlessly lackluster and uninspired that I wondered if it was a cruel holiday prank meant to ruin our Christmas spirit. Red One is like his family film Tooth Fairy on steroids and off its Ritalin. The film has the same endless “knock the one-liners” out-of-the-park energy as the film has a laugh track.

The Rock and Chris Evans in Red One (2024) | Image via

Amazon MGM Studios Related My Old Ass...

For a single sequence in the middle of Red One, a new Christmas-themed caper simultaneously aimed at all audiences and none at all, the movie snaps to life, as if jolting out of a narcotized haze. Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), a longtime security man for none other than Santa Claus...

Sigourney Weaver and David Duchovny’s star power wasn’t enough to stop one of Jake Kasdan’s movies all but disappearing for a while.

This weekend, director Jake Kasdan’s new film, the megabudget festive flick Red One, is in cinemas. He’s also linked with directing a Jumanji film for the third time, and also is one of the filmmakers announced as making a new Lego movie.

Across his career, he’s made Zero Effect, Orange County, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Bad Teacher, Sex Tape, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level. That’s just as a feature director, with a whole bunch of television stuff as well.

Yet in the midst of his run of films, he also brought Sigourney Weaver and David Duchovny in 2006, for a low budget independent film called The TV Set. If you’re in the UK in particular,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has re-elected producer Janet Yang as president for a third term.

In addition, several people were elected to board officer positions, including Lesley Barber, Vice President; DeVon Franklin, Vice President; Donna Gigliotti, Vice President/Treasurer; Lynette Howell Taylor, Vice President and Howard A. Rodman, Vice President/Secretary.

“I am thrilled to have Janet return as Academy President for a third term to continue our great work of the past two years,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer. “I also am so pleased to welcome this year’s incredible slate of dedicated board officers. I look forward to collaborating with our officers and governors to advance the Academy’s mission, serve our global membership, celebrate the work of our international filmmaking community, continue to ensure the financial health of the Academy, and broaden our reach and impact within the industry.”

It’s Yang’s sixth year as a Governor-at-Large,...

In a election that was clearly less contentious than the current one for U.S. president, producer Janet Yang was re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the organization’s Board of Governors. This will be her third consecutive term and comes as no surprise since AMPAS presidents generally are re-elected each year of a possible four single terms as long as they have not been termed out on the Board itself.

Also elected to officer positions by the Board were first-timer Lesley Barber, Vice President; DeVon Franklin, Vice President; Donna Gigliotti, Vice President/Treasurer; Lynette Howell-Taylor, Vice President; and Howard A. Rodman, Vice President/Secretary.

“I am thrilled to have Janet return as Academy President for a third term to continue our great work of the past two years,...

Mystery TV shows have always captivated audiences with their intricate plots and compelling characters who are unraveling enigmas. Since 2020, the genre has seen many fantastic new series that push the boundaries of whodunits with psychological drama, science fiction and dark comedy. Some feature clich murder mysteries in new ways, and others have creative premises based on other kinds of journeys for answers.

One of the standout mystery series in recent years is The Watcher. The show invites the viewers to guess the identity of the stalker and question the motives of every character, creating an eerie atmosphere. Similarly, Sugar is a disappearance mystery in which the protagonist private investigator seemingly can't trust anyone. In contrast with these more realistic shows, Severance is an example of a mystery series that takes a dystopian sci-fi approach. Together, these shows exemplify the versatility and enduring appeal of the mystery genre in contemporary television.

Oscar-nominated actor Ryan O’Neal, who came to prominence on TV’s “Peyton Place” and became a top star of the 1970s in films including “Love Story,” “What’s Up, Doc?,” “Paper Moon” and “Barry Lyndon,” died Friday, his son Patrick said on Instagram. He was 82.

O’Neal was diagnosed with chronic leukemia in 2001 and with prostate cancer in 2012.

“Ryan was a very generous man who has always been there to help his loved ones for decade upon decade,” his son wrote. “My dad was 82, and lived a kick ass life. I hope the first thing he brags about in Heaven is how he sparred 2 rounds with Joe Frazier in 1966, on national TV, with Muhammad Ali doing the commentary, and went toe to toe with Smokin’ Joe.”

In later years, O’Neal’s acting work often took a backseat to media coverage on his personal travails, involving his combative relationship with longtime companion Farrah Fawcett,...

Janet Yang has been re-elected as president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Her second-term re-election was made by the Academy’s board of governors who additionally elected a number of officer positions for 2023-2024.

Yang is an Emmy-winning producer with credits on projects including “The Joy Luck Club,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “Zero Effect,” “High Crimes,” “Dark Matter,” “Shanghai Calling” and “Over the Moon.” She climbed to her success in Hollywood after working under Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy who helped show her the ropes at Amblin.

“I’ve felt like an outsider many times throughout my life,” Yang said this year at the Oscars. “It’s wonderful to have a sense of belonging, and terrible not to … If I can help open the door for other women and people of color, I’m thrilled.

Since 2002, she has been a member of the Academy’s...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday that its Board of Governors has re-elected producer Janet Yang as president of the organization. Members elected new people to fill the majority of officer positions as well, with only Lynette Howell Taylor and Kim Taylor-Coleman returning to their posts.

CEO Bill Kramer, who started his role around the same time as Yang last year, said in a statement, “I am thrilled to welcome this year’s board officers. Under Janet’s esteemed leadership, these dedicated governors will guide the Academy’s ongoing efforts to elevate the work of our global membership and film community, highlight our industry’s rich history, foster meaningful dialogue, and continue to build equity and inclusion in every aspect of our organization.”

Yang will now be in her second term as president, and her fifth year as a Governor-at-Large, having made history as the first Asian-American,...

Janet Yang has been re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the organization’s Board of Governors.

The producer will be serving her second consecutive one-year term and was widely expected to take the reins once again. Presidents can serve up to four consecutive one-year terms as long as they are eligible, and Yang is only in her fifth year as a Governor-at-Large and thus conceivably could run again in 2024 and 2025. AMPAS presidents almost always are re-elected without much controversy.

Board officers also were elected, and it will be a group with a lot of new faces compared to 2022. The lineup is as follows:

Bonnie Arnold, Vice President

Howard Berger, Vice President

Brooke Breton, Vice President

Tom Dufffield, Vice President/Treasurer

DeVon Franklin, Vice President

Lynette Howell Taylor,...

At their Tuesday board meeting, as expected the Academy Board of Governors elected producer Janet Yang president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Yang begins her first term as president and her second term as a Governor-at-Large, a position for which she was nominated by the sitting Academy President David Rubin and elected by the Board of Governors.

Donna Gigliotti, Larry Karaszewski, David Linde, Isis Mussenden, and Wynn Thomas were re-elected as Board of Governor officers. It will be the first officer stint for Teri E. Dorman, 2020 Oscar show co-producer Lynette Howell Taylor, and Kim Taylor-Coleman.

Yang’s producing credits include “The Joy Luck Club,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “Zero Effect,” “High Crimes,” “Dark Matter,” “Shanghai Calling” and the Oscar-nominated animated feature “Over the Moon.” She won an Emmy for the HBO film “Indictment: The McMartin Trial.” A member of the Academy’s Producers Branch since...

Producer Janet Yang has been elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the organization’s Board of Governors at a meeting held Tuesday.

She replaces David Rubin, who has served as president for the past three years but has termed out because he has reached the end of the maximum number of years he can serve on the board without taking a hiatus, per Academy rules.

Related Story A Tuesday Wish For The Film Academy: Elect A Great Communicator Related Story Watch For The Curve In This Year's Film Awards Season Related Story Peter Bart: Movie Academy Members Weigh Policy Shifts That May Push Hollywood Back Into The Culture Wars

Yang’s victory comes as no surprise since she had been the key name floated for the position in recent weeks and was honored at the Academy Museum earlier this summer.

“Janet is a tremendously...

Production underway in Los Angeles on Nisha Ganatra’s Late Night follow-up.

Eddie Izzard, Bill Pullman and Us DJ Diplo have joined the comedy Covers from Focus Features and Working Title, the next film by Late Night director Nisha Ganatra.

Production is currently underway in Los Angeles. The new arrivals join previously announced Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross and Ice Cube in the film, which takes place against the backdrop of the Hollywood music scene. Flora Greeson wrote the screenplay.

Izzard’s multi-pronged career of stand-up comedy, writing and political activism has encompassed many films, among them Victoria & Abdul, Valkyrie,...

Simon Brew Jan 16, 2018

It's become a surprise commercial and critical hit - so what has the new Jumanji film got right?

Spoilers lie ahead for Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle.

Over the weekend, I was back at my local multiplex to see the quite wonderful Coco. On the way in, I saw the manager of said picture palace, and we had a bit of a chat. He’s a friendly man, and just the kind of manager you want: always checks that everyone’s okay, is there if anything goes wrong.

He’s also good for a bit of insider chat, too. And we got talking about Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle.

I don’t think I was alone in inwardly sighing when I first learned of a reboot/sequel to Jumanji. I don’t hold massive affection for the original (although I thought Zathura was great), but still enjoyed it.

[[tmz:video id="0_hkfk3hvo"]] Two-time gold medal winner Maurice Greene says drug testing past samples could Ruin track & field ... 'cause the sport can't handle a constant barrage of doping scandals. Usain Bolt was stripped of a gold medal this week when it was revealed a teammate tested positive for a banned substance ... from a sample that was taken in 2008 and recently retested. We talked with Green -- one of the premier sprinters in U.S. history -- who said...

Kirsten Howard Nov 4, 2016

Sony has pushed The Dark Tower back into Jumanji's summer release date, which means the film will now be seasonal fare.

Filming is now underway on the new Jumanji movie - a sequel to the original film, which as you probably remember starred the late and great Robin Williams. This time, the cast is being led by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan.

See related Star Wars: Rogue One - what we know so far Star Wars: Rogue One - upcoming villains rumour round-up Star Wars: upcoming UK movie release dates calendar

But Sony's big release date reshuffle this week is having a knock-on effect, as Nikolaj Arcel’s adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower has shifted from its February 17th, 2017 release date back to July 28th, 2017 and, as a result, the Jumanji sequel has been knocked all...

A couple weeks ago it was announced that Dwayne Johnson had joined the upcoming Jumanji reboot currently in development. A lot of fans of the original film — like myself — expressed concern over the remake because of Robin Williams and the incredible performance he gave. In a recent post on Instagram, Johnson addresses these concerns and also offers up some details on the film. The actor and producer says:

“And the #Jumanji magic begins.Excellent meeting with our director Jake Kasdan, producer Matt Tolmach, and our @SevenBucksProd team to work on our new re-imagining of this amazing story.I felt like in order to craft something cool we should begin where it all started. Award winning writer Chris Van Allsburg’s source material of Jumanji. Chris also wrote The Polar Express (later adapted by Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks) and has a very special & magical way of storytelling.I’m feelin...

Just a few days ago, it was rumored that Central Intelligence stars Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart were up for roles in the remake of Jumanji, and now one half of that duo has officially joined the cast. Johnson posted the following message on Instagram confirming his involvement with the movie:

It's Official: Love this script! Big movie news that me and my canine gal Shang are excited to share;) To produce, create and deliver original properties to fans like HBO's #ballers to this summer's #CentralIntelligence is one of the best parts of my job. But to take great properties that are beloved worldwide like #Baywatch and #Rampage and have the opportunity reimagine their stories in dope new ways to a whole new generation is truly an honor. It's official. We'll produce and deliver to a whole new generation a title that I love and is one of my all...

It’s been confirmed that the upcoming Jumanji remake will be helmed by the guy who also directed Sex Tape — Jake Kasdan.

Kasdan’s career sways smoothly between movies, including Zero Effect, Friends with Kids, and Bad Teacher, and sitcom TV series such as New Girl, Californication, Ben and Kate, Fresh off the Boat, and others.

At first blush, I wouldn’t really say that he looks like the perfect match for Jumanji (taking into consideration his filmography which consists of more comedic productions), but maybe the idea of him directing the remake will grow on me.

Jumanji is set to hit the big screens on December 25th, 2016.

It's happening, people! Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's classic graphic novel series, Preacher, is officially underway under the direction of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the duo behind Pineapple Express and the script for Superbad. Rogen took to Twitter to announce the news, offering a shot of a filled-out clapperboard with Preacher graphics adorning it. It's great news for one of the most highly anticipated television events currently in production, and there's the added benefit of a second, more minor reveal concerning the forthcoming pilot, as the "Camera" line notes that the great cinematographer Bill Pope will be shooting the pilot for Rogen and Goldberg. [caption id="attachment_427863" align="alignright" width="247"] Image via Vertigo/DC/caption] For those who don't know the name, Pope has been one of the most inventive and distinct directors of photography to work regularly in Hollywood over the last three decades or so. He shoots regularly for Sam Raimi, Edgar Wright,...

With my background in blogging taking me pretty close to the world of comic books, I’ve known about Tony Lee and his witty little novel Dodge & Twist for some time. Lee’s big idea was to cook up a sequel to Oliver Twist that saw the Oliver and The Artful Dodger growing up apart and then reuniting for some action-adventure fun.

This basic notion is exactly the same for the film Dodge & Twist. Is this just a coincidence? Lee says not. He posted to his website about how he met Ahmet Zappa, one of the movie’s producers, back in 2007.

But I can say, definitively, that the story similarities are actually pretty slim. I can say this because I’ve read both. They start from the same place – which comes from Dickens in any case, so neither can lay claim to it – and then go off in very different directions.

Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) used to love to fuck. Having hooked up in college, they would screw in her dorm, in his car, in the library stacks, even behind a tree. Ten years, two kids and one marriage later, that spark has apparently vanished, prompting the desperate couple to film a comprehensive reenactment of “The Joy of Sex” in a bid to get it back. However, this being 2014, their exploits have been filmed with an iPad and not on a video camera, allowing the file to handily vanish into the little-understood Cloud for storage. As a radio DJ, Jay has an unlikely amount of iPads at his disposal and hands them off to friends and family once he’s done with them, and as a mommy blogger, Annie is dreadfully worried that their three-hour lovemaking session might be seen by anyone they’ve given a device, including her wholesome new employer, Hank...

Opening this weekend is the comedy Sex Tape. Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel play a married couple who film a sex tape to spice up their love life. Their video is accidentally uploaded to “the cloud,” which sends the couple through a series of hijinks to prevent everyone they know from seeing the video. Ellie Kemper, Rob Corddry, and Rob Lowe co-star in director Jake Kasdan‘s follow-up to Bad Teacher. For more on the film, watch the regular or red-band trailer. At the recent Los Angeles press day I landed an exclusive video interview with Jake Kasdan. After spending some time talking about Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, we talked about making Sex Tape, working with Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz, the evolution of the story from script to screen, his first cut, the relatively new pattern in Hollywood of showing cooperative couples rather than combative or contradictory ones,...

Trailer Simon Brew 1 Apr 2014 - 06:25

Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz star in Sex Tape. Here's a rude trailer for it...

Once upon a time, the upcoming comedy Sex Tape was one of the movies slated to open against the adaptation of 50 Shades Of Grey. However, the team behind the adaptation of E L James' novel clearly blinked first when faced with the might of Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz.

It certainly could be fun this one. Jake Kasdan is behind the camera (having previously directed Zero Effect, Bad Teacher and Walk Hard), and we've got a red band trailer for the film here. As such, you're only allowed to watch this if you don't mind a little bit of rudeness, and a drug reference. Don't say we didn't warn you...

Sex Tape arrives in UK cinemas in September, following its UK bow in July.

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Whatever Halle Berry's taking ... it's working like a charm -- the 47-year-old stepped out last night for the first time since giving birth to her Second kid ... looking like someone half her age.Halle was at the Acapulco Film Festival in Mexico ... but her bod was the real show.Halle and fiance Olivier Martinez welcomed son Maceo in October ... which is crazy enough considering Halle's age ... but even crazier because the pregnancy had Zero effect on her physique.

Before digging into early-to-mid August's disc highlights, I'd like to set the Way Back Machine to two weeks ago and point out some eclectic late-July gems we missed, such as Twilight Time's exquisite Blu-ray edition of Walter Hill's 1978 neo-noir "The Driver," Olive Films' unexpected release of Anthony Mann's 1958 brazen, quasi-hicksploitation melodrama "God's Little Acre," and the Warner Archive re-release of 1998's eccentrically funny "Zero Effect," starring Ben Stiller and Bill Pullman as a socially stunted private investigator. From Europe, Raro Video lived up to their name with a rare trilogy of gritty moralist thrillers in "Fernando di Leo: The Italian Crime Collection (Volume 2)," Music Box Films stressed us out with the terrifically icy German thriller "The Silence," and sci-fi didn't get more provocative than the erotic Lithuanian curiosity "Vanishing Waves" (which Artsploitation lovingly packaged as a two-dvd set that includes director Kristina Buozyte's feature debut "The.

Columbia Pictures is developing Bad Teacher 2, to be directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Justin Malen, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, President of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of Production for the studio. Jimmy Miller, Jake Kasdan, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky will produce the film, and Melvin Mar will executive produce. The project is being developed for Cameron Diaz to star in the film but no deal is yet set with the actress.

Commenting on the announcement, Minghella said:

“Bad Teacher was a hit not just in North America, but throughout the world. We’re excited that Jake will be returning to develop and helm the sequel. We love Justin’s take on the material – it hits all the notes that made the first film such a breakthrough hit and also takes the characters in a new direction that is fresh and fun.”

When it...

Columbia Pictures is developing Bad Teacher 2, to be directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Justin Malen, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, President of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of Production for the studio. Jimmy Miller, Jake Kasdan, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky will produce the film, and Melvin Mar will executive produce. The project is being developed for Cameron Diaz to star in the film but no deal is yet set with the actress.

Commenting on the announcement, Hannah Minghella had this to say.

"Bad Teacher was a hit not just in North America, but throughout the world. We're excited that Jake will be returning to develop and helm the sequel. We love Justin's take on the material - it hits all the notes that made the first film such a breakthrough hit and also takes the characters in a new direction that is fresh and fun.

It’s nice to see that with yet another incarnation of Sherlock Holmes, we’re at least giving more than the usual, casual nod to the original work. Oh sure, any Sherlock you’ve seen has most of the traits down, and is bound to offer up a Sherlock that is at least “a quirky old bean,” but CBS‘ Elementary goes for broke in delivering the most honest translation of genius as its own damage we’ve seen since The Zero Effect, and who saw that anyway?

Jonny Lee Miller is thus far very nearly perfect as a Holmes who isn’t just observant in the extreme, but who has a mind that closes as many doors as it opens. Now in the United States, after a stint in rehab, Sherlock finds himself with a special sort of “recovery” babysitter named Watson (Lucy Liu). Said babysitter comes to watch over...

Actor and director Jennifer Westfeldt is getting used to living in the shadow of her partner, Jon Hamm, who plays Mad Men's Don Draper. Now, with her new film tipped to become this year's Bridesmaids, she talks about fame, the growing strength of women in the movies, and the lure of motherhood

Ten minutes into our interview, Jennifer Westfeldt is scrolling excitedly through her iPhone looking for pictures of her dog to show me. It's an alsatian cross, weighs four stone, and in the photo she clicks to the dog is sprawled on the lap of Jon Hamm, who has been Westfeldt's partner for 14 years. Hamm's face, the unmistakable square jawline of Don Draper in Mad Men, is currently one of the most recognisable on the planet, but when Westfeldt zooms to a close-up it is the dog's features she dwells on: "She is such a beauty, isn't she?...

Ryan O’Neal is back in the headlines. He’s kicking cancer in its face. Again. O’Neal was diagnosed with stage IV prostate cancer yesterday. It took the man less than 24 hours to beat that shit down to a “stage 2″ with a “sunny” prognosis.

We shall see. Ryan O’Neal is, despite his boyish Irish looks, a bit of a bad ass. After all, he had the stones to taunt Mr. Toole in Barry Lyndon, something 7 out of 10 sane men would not do. That’s a scientific fact right there.

He’s also got a pretty solid rap sheet when it comes to beating the law, too. In honor of O’Neal winning over prostate cancer, here’s a retrospective on his short but outstanding career in crime film.

First came The Thief Who Came To Dinner. 1973 was to Ryan O’Neal what ’99 was for Jude Law: His...

The concept of masculinity has been called into question repeatedly over the past decade, and now with men turning to old-fashioned ideals and “Mad Men” re-runs for any sort of guidance, a new book-to-film adaptation, “Man Made,” aims to achieve some answers.

EW reports filmmaker Shawn Levy (“Real Steel”) will produce the film, while Jake Kasdan (“Bad Teacher”) is slated to direct. The project is based off author Joel Stein's non-fiction book of the same name (out in May), and follows an upcoming father who examines his ability to teach his future son proper masculine values. He then sets out to physically and mentally test himself for this purpose, by “riding along on a shift with firefighters, taking on an Mma fighter, going through Marine basic training, and consulting with various tough guys about what it means to be a modern American male.”

It marks an unexpected move for Levy,...

Jake Kasan directs Cameron Diaz in the hilarious comedy Bad Teacher, in stores this week

Bad Teacher Blu-ray + DVD combo pack, Blu-ray, and DVD are available in stores now. Jake Kasdan directs this hilarious hit comedy starring Cameron Diaz as Elizabeth, a drunk and disorderly educator hoping to land the sugar daddy of her dreams.

We recently caught up with Jake Kasdan to chat about this release, wet spots, and his hit series New Girl. Check out our conversation below.

Out of all the teacher movies made in the past couple of decades, Bad Teacher reminds me most of 1984's Teachers, with Nick Nolte. Why was that left off Elizabeth's personal collection of Educator-based VHS tapes that she uses for her curriculum?

Jake Kasdan: Part of it was...We wanted to look at the most ridiculous things she could be showing in class. Which is a slightly different criteria.

After flopping commercially with the stellar cult favorites Zero Effect, The TV Set, and Walk Hard, director Jake Kasdan finally scored a big commercial hit with Bad Teacher (Sony), a ribald, hard-r-rated comedy distinguished by Cameron Diaz’s fearlessly committed performance as a proudly amoral gold-digger who sets her sights on exquisitely milquetoast new co-worker Justin Timberlake. It’s just too bad the filmmakers couldn’t think of anything for love interest Jason Segel to do beyond standing on the sidelines looking/being adorable… Actor Michael Rapaport made an unexpectedly moving directorial debut with Beats Rhymes & Life (Sony), a documentary ...

Phyllis Smith stars alongside Cameron Diaz in the hilarious comedy Bad Teacher, in stores October 18th

Coming to Blu-ray and DVD October 18th is director Jake Kasdan's hilarious summer comedy Bad Teacher, which stars Cameron Diaz as Elizabeth, a drunk and disorderly educator hoping to land the sugar daddy of her dreams. Appearing alongside Cameron Diaz is The Office's lovely Phyllis Smith, who plays an earnest, kindhearted fellow high school instructor that gets seduced by the wicked ways of the Bad Teacher.

We recently caught up with Phyllis to chat about her role in the movie, the fact that she has not yet seen the unrated director's cut, and her continuing role on Season 8 of The Office. She also let us in on her road to stardom as a comedic actress. Check out our conversation below.

When Bad Teacher hit theatrically, a lot of people felt Cameron Diaz...

I'm really excited to see that The Happy Poet is playing again in town tonight at Austin Film Society. Presented in part by Texas Independent Film Network and Screen Door Cinema, Paul Gordon's comedic tale brings us a man with a dream, a hot dog stand, and a desire to provide near-vegetarian fare to the world. Heartfelt and funny and filled with local talent, The Happy Poet is one of my favorite movies of recent years, and with the explosion of the food-truck phenomenon, a must-see film. And if you miss the Afs screening, it'll play in San Marcos on Sept. 28.

On Sunday, Cine Las Americas has a free screening of Un Mundo Maravilloso (A Wonderful World) at Takoba. This 2006 satire from Mexico juxtaposes poverty and political ambition -- the Minister of Economy declares the end of poverty just as a homeless drunkard stumbles on the scene. 

Geoff Marslett...

Chicago – If you’re going to be bad, be bad. But this is mainstream Hollywood “product,” starring Cameron Diaz, and while the concept of the new film “Bad Teacher” had promise, it eventually fell down on the weight of happy resolutions and the worse mortal sin for a comedy…it was dull.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

Director Jake Kasdan, who has been much more interesting in previous films (”Zero Effect,” “Orange County,” “The TV Set”) gets bogged down with a passive aggressive script, by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, and wastes a pretty talented comic cast. The ensemble gamely tries to deliver some wooden material and despite some individual moments, can’t deliver the overall goodness of the “badness.”

Cameron Diaz is middle school teacher Elizabeth Halsey, who is leaving her job at the John Adams academy, somewhere in Illinois (near Chicago, but never spelled out). She is off to marry her rich...

Here's a riddle for you: What do you call a shitty film peppered with a profanity every 62 seconds featuring the insanely hot body of Cameron Diaz? You call it a shitty movie, dumbass. Don't be so dim, because you're playing right into the hands of Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, the screenwriters of Bad Teacher and the massive brain trust behind the script for Jack Black's Year One. You can almost tell exactly what happened with their screenplay for Bad Teacher, too. It was a terrible, unfunny overly-broad comedy script, and after it was rejected by half a dozen studios, someone got the bright idea to add curse words. It's still a juvenile script, only now it has adult words, essentially a lazy Adam Sandler movie with cusses.

The only thing saving Bad Teacher from another comedic experience as execrable as Year One is the winsome performance of a...

I had high hopes for Bad Teacher. I have always had a thing for dark comedies. It didn’t hurt that director Jake Kasdan (Zero Effect, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) was helming this project. I imagined something like “Bad Santa”, but with a female lead. As you recall “Bad Santa” starred Billy Bob Thorton in possibly his best role. He was an irredeemable alcoholic thief who poses as Santa to rob various malls. That movie took no prisoners and was not afraid to wallow in the muck. Bad Teacher falls short of these lofty goals, but does provide some laughs. Cameron Diaz stars in basically the Thorton role as Elizabeth Halsey, a teacher at John Adams Middle School. To say that Elizabeth is a nasty piece work would be an understatement. She couldn’t care less about her students, doesn’t bond with any of the other teachers...

I had high hopes for Bad Teacher. I have always had a thing for dark comedies. It didn’t hurt that director Jake Kasdan (Zero Effect, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) was helming this project. I imagined something like “Bad Santa”, but with a female lead. As you recall “Bad Santa” starred Billy Bob Thorton in possibly his best role. He was an irredeemable alcoholic thief who poses as Santa to rob various malls. That movie took no prisoners and was not afraid to wallow in the muck. Bad Teacher falls short of these lofty goals, but does provide some laughs. Cameron Diaz stars in basically the Thorton role as Elizabeth Halsey, a teacher at John Adams Middle School. To say that Elizabeth is a nasty piece work would be an understatement. She couldn’t care less about her students, doesn’t bond with any of the other teachers...

I had high hopes for Bad Teacher. I have always had a thing for dark comedies. It didn’t hurt that director Jake Kasdan (Zero Effect, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) was helming this project. I imagined something like “Bad Santa”, but with a female lead. As you recall “Bad Santa” starred Billy Bob Thorton in possibly his best role. He was an irredeemable alcoholic thief who poses as Santa to rob various malls. That movie took no prisoners and was not afraid to wallow in the muck. Bad Teacher falls short of these lofty goals, but does provide some laughs. Cameron Diaz stars in basically the Thorton role as Elizabeth Halsey, a teacher at John Adams Middle School. To say that Elizabeth is a nasty piece work would be an understatement. She couldn’t care less about her students, doesn’t bond with any of the other teachers...

We’ve teamed up with MSN FilmFan to discuss the films opening this weekend. We’d love to hear your input on what you’re most interested in seeing and why.

This weekend, Pixar's Cars 2 and possible-Cameron-Diaz-career-revivial Bad Teacher open. Right now, both films are sitting in the tight-roping position of the 50% range on Rotten Tomatoes; considering the wide success of Cars, this isn't a good sign for future sequels. But, then again, there's been no less than three sequels to Pirates Of The Caribbean and it was just announced that On Stranger Tides (33% on Tomatometer) is currently sitting at a worldwide gross of $960,013,548. Bad Teacher director Jake Kasdan has had some cult hits on his hands (Orange County, Zero Effect) and directed a few episodes of Freaks and Geeks, so you already know what I plan on seeing this weekend.

Read more on Discussion: Will Cars 2 run...

Director Jake Kasdan has been the most recently active member of a very prominent showbiz family, going back to directing the early Ben Stiller movie Zero Effect , followed by stints directing Judd Apatow-produced shows "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared." His last movie was Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story , starring John C. Reilly, which may not have gotten much of an audience in theatres, but if you ask any music buff who's seen it, it's likely to be one of their favorite movies in their DVD collection. Now he's at the helm of Bad Teacher , the new R-rated Cameron Diaz comedy that has her playing Elizabeth Halsey, the title character who just wants to make enough money that she can get a boob job and marry a wealthy guy that can get her away from those...

Today we have two new TV spots feature international trailer and 14 hi-res photos from the upcoming summer comedy Bad Teacher, which arrives in theaters across the country on June 24.

Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake

Cameron Diaz plays foul-mouthed, ruthless, and inappropriate teacher Elizabeth. She drinks, she gets high, and she can’t wait to marry her meal ticket and get out of her bogus day job. When she’s dumped by her fiancé, she sets her plan in motion to win over a rich, handsome substitute (Justin Timberlake) – competing for his affections with an overly energetic colleague, Amy (Lucy Punch). When Elizabeth also finds herself fighting off the advances of a sarcastic, irreverent gym teacher (Jason Segel), the consequences of her wild and outrageous schemes give her students, her coworkers, and even herself an education like no other.

Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz, Bad Teacher (2011)

Bad Teacher is directed by Jake Kasdan (Zero Effect,...

With Cannes Film Festival wrapping up last month, the only big cinematic event this month is pure, unadulterated blockbuster entertainment. The biggest and most promising of the summer blockbusters get released this June, as well as a few limited release gems. Check out what we are anticipating below and matinees to see on the next page.

See:

10. Green Lantern (Martin Campbell; June 17th)

Synopsis: When he’s granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, test pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) becomes the first human to earn membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe. His mission: to combat an enemy called Parallax, which threatens to destroy the universe’s balance of power.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: While the animation looks not much better than a video-game cut-scene, and Reynolds is extremely awkward in his CG-suit, I have an ounce of...

You probably didn't see "Zero Effect" when it was released way back in 1998. But you should have--it's one of the most terminally underrated pictures of the last couple of decades, a fearsomely smart, funny, touching rejig of the Sherlock Holmes archetype, with a career best performance from Bill Pullman, and tremendous support from Ben Stiller, Kim Dickens and Ryan O'Neal. And writer-director Jake Kasdan made it when he was only 23. Sure, nepotism might have played some part in getting Kasdan there--his father is Lawrence Kasdan, writer of "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and…...

Chicago – It’s the most wonderful time of the year as moviegoers shake off the doldrums of winter weather, awards season snoozers, and a truly horrendous first trimester of 2011 and finally get to see something blow up for their hard-earned dollars. There’s something about the warm months of the year that allows for critical faculties to fall away as we relax and simply embrace cinematic chaos. What will we get out of Summer 2011? What are the movies that look the most promising? Let us guide the way.

The Tree of Life

Photo credit: Fox Searchlight

Want the bad news first? This could be a brutal summer. Going over the schedule from May through August allows for very few potential highlights. It’s a season crowded with sequels to movies that weren’t really that good in the first place or that were good enough that we don’t really need to repeat it.