Posts Tagged Mike White
if you’re missing Enlightened with Mike White and Laura Dern, watch YEAR OF THE DOG
Posted by Amy Steele in DVD on January 3, 2014
Year of the Dog [2007]
Starring: Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Peter Saarsgard, John C. Reilly
Written and directed by: Mike White
now available on Netflix instant
In this touching and surprisingly sensitive film, an emotionally distant woman who has been living her life in a paint-by-numbers manner, suddenly, through a tragic event, begins to learn to let go and live by her own choices and for her own happiness. She has been one of those satisfied people all along. You know the type: okay job, decent car, a few friends, dinner and television at night, a beloved pet for company. An adequate, predictable, ordinary existence.
For years Peggy has held in her true feelings (theatrically-trained Molly Shannon shows enormous depth and range in this role) and suddenly explodes when her dog dies from poison. She looks the other way at work when her boss is inappropriate; she takes it from her uptight sister-in-law (a wonderfully over-the-top neurotic, yuppie Dern) and generally never makes waves.
Now Peggy exhibits all signs of the classic late bloomer. It is not too late for her to lead the life she’s always wanted to lead. She attacks her gun-toting neighbor (John C. Reilly), espouses the benefits of vegetarianism to her niece and adopts every dog in the pound. She also develops a friendship with a dog trainer (Saarsgard) and finds there’s more to her life than going to work every day. White has written an illuminating film about loneliness, desperation and the need to belong. It is a lovely, rewarding little treasure.
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STEELE Picks: Best Television Series of 2013
Posted by Amy Steele in TV on December 15, 2013
Enlightened
created by: Laura Dern, Mike White
starring: Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Mike White, Sarah Burns, Luke Wilson
Orange is the New Black
created by: Jenji Kohan
based on the memoir by: Piper Kerman
starring: Taylor Schilling, Danielle Brooks, Taryn Manning, Kate Mulgrew, Uzo Aduba, Laverne Cox, Alysia Reiner, Laura Prepon, Dascha Polanco, Jason Biggs, Matt McGorry
House of Cards
starring: Kevin Spacey, Michael Gill, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Constance Zimmer, Corey Stoll
Mad Men
created by: Matthew Weiner
starring: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, John Slattery, January Jones, Aaron Staton, Kiernan Shipka, Christina Hendricks
Reign
created by:Laurie McCarthy, Stephanie Sengupta
starring: Adelaide Kane, Megan Follows, Torrance Coombs, Toby Regbo, Caitlin Stasey
Top of the Lake
written by: Jane Campion, Gerard Lee
directed by: Jane Campion
starring: Elisabeth Moss, Thomas M. Wright, Peter Mullan, Holly Hunter
GIRLS
created by: Lena Dunham
starring: Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet
Downton Abbey
created by: Julian Fellowes
starring: Hugh Bonneville, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Joanne Froggatt, Rob James-Collier, Maggie Smith
Treme
created by: Eric Overmyer, David Simon
starring: Khandi Alexander, Melissa Leo, Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce, Kim Dickens, Steve Zahn, India Ennenga, Lucia Micarelli
The Carrie Diaries
starring: AnnaSophia Robb, Austin Butler, Katie Findlay
Call the Midwife
created by: Heidi Thomas
starring: Jessica Raine, Bryony Hannah, Helen George, Vanessa Redgrave, Judy Parfitt
The Mindy Project
created by: Mindy Kaling
starring: Mindy Kaling, Chris Messina, Ed Weeks
Trophy Wife
created by: Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins
starring: Malin Akerman, Bradley Whitford, Marcia Gay Harden, Michaela Watkins, Natalie Morales, Bailee Madison, Ryan Lee, Albert Tsai
The Fall
created by: Allan Cubitt
starring: Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, Niamh McGrady, John Lynch
Justified
starring: Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Erica Tazel
VEEP
created by: Armando Iannucci
starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale
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About Me
covering mostly music and books. focus on alternative/indie and women in music, literature and the arts. feminist. vegan. mostly alternative, a bit bohemian. Masters in journalism from Boston University. BA from Simmons College.
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Based on a work at entertainmentrealm.comCopyright © 2009. All writing, unless otherwise noted, by Amy Steele.
