On paper, a career in the movie trailer voiceover business doesn’t suggest much by way of glamor, and in truth, In a World…, the feature directing, writing, and producing debut of the multifaceted Lake Bell, doesn’t little to shake that perception. Instead, Bell’s film builds a lived-in and authentic world where people ruthlessly vie for coveted gigs which appear so minor from a distance that their ability to inspire cutthroat competition is almost puzzling; it also happens to absurdly engaging and very, very funny, but the punchlines feel natural, unfussy, and not at all dependent on getting the audience to laugh at the misery and humiliation of the characters on…
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G-S-T Review…jOBS
Joshua Michael Stern’s Jobs has one question to answer, and one question only: can the towering genius of the late Steve Jobs be adequately embodied by Michael Kelso on the big screen? Every critic reviewing the film will inevitably struggle to utter, “yes”, if only because no one wants to risk their credibility by going to bat for an Ashton Kutcher performance. But, miracle of miracles, he’s actually pretty good, good enough at least to warrant real praise instead of yawning skepticism or begrudging acceptance, but not necessarily good enough to raise Jobs above the sub-standard, thoroughly muddled biopic Stern crafts around his lead’s portrayal of Apple’s driven, visionary, and utterly ruthless…