The Progress-Index, Petersburg, Va., February 15 - 21, 2015 but the picture really is Swank’s show. ››› (R: AS, N, P, V) (Also on Blu-ray and On Demand)
7
BY JAY BOBBIN
“DUMB AND DUMBER TO”
“ST. VINCENT”
“GAME OF THRONES: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON”
Two decades later, the not particularly bright Lloyd and Harry – played again by Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels – reunite, as do the actors with writerdirectors Bobby and Peter Farrelly – in this sequel that suggests the stars wore the roles better 20 years earlier. The fellows set out to locate the daughter Harry didn’t know he had, since he needs a kidney from her ... but that serious undercurrent doesn’t stop the duo from generating their trademark mayhem. Laurie Holden (“The Walking Dead”), Kathleen Turner and Rob Riggle also are in the cast. ›› (PG-13: AS, N, P) (Also on Blu-ray and On Demand)
Bill Murray earned some of his best film reviews to date for writer-director Theodore Melfi’s seriocomic tale, casting him as the unlikely, very rough-around-the-edges guardian of a young neighbor (newcomer Jaeden Lieberher) whose single mother (Melissa McCarthy) has a demanding work schedule. With added insight from a pregnant stripper (Naomi Watts), the youngster learns a lot about life ... and about the vice-ridden fellow who’s minding him. Terrence Howard, Chris O’Dowd and Nate Corddry also appear, but Murray pretty much owns the movie. DVD extras: deleted scenes; interview with Murray. ››› (PG-13: AS, P) (Also on Blu-ray and On Demand)
The enormously popular HBO saga continues with this round, which begins with more wedding-related treachery that Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) is blamed for – with his own family members even turning against him. As Jon Snow (Kit Harington) attempts to warn others of an imminent attack by Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds), Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) tries to get an army ready. Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clark and Aidan Gillen also star in the George R.R. Martin-inspired series. DVD extras: four “making-of” documentaries; audio commentary by cast and crew members; deleted and extended scenes. ››› (Not rated: AS, N, V) (Also on Blu-ray)
“THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING” One of 2014’s most acclaimed movies, this superb drama detailing the relationship of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and his thenwife Jane – both put to a major test by his debilitating physical condition – is up for five Oscars including best picture, actor (Eddie Redmayne, who earned a Golden Globe Award for his performance) and actress (Felicity Jones). Hawking applies himself even more to his work, becoming a global icon for his accomplishments against very visible odds. Director James Marsh’s visualization of Jane’s memoir also features Charlie Cox, Emily Watson and David Thewlis. ›››› (PG-13: AS) (Also on Blu-ray and On Demand) “THE INTERVIEW” It was being released ... then it wasn’t being released ... then it was released on a limited basis. Finally, the controversial Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy gets its widest distribution to date, courtesy of home video.
Jim Carrey
“THE EQUALIZER” ››› The two stars play a television journalist and his producer, whose mission to interview North Korea’s leader (Randall Park, “Fresh Off the Boat”) lands them an unexpected, related assignment from the CIA. Lizzy Caplan (“Masters of Sex”) also stars, and a number of famous faces turn up in cameos. ››› (R: AS, P, V) (Also on Blu-ray)
“GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY” ››› “TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES” ››› (COURTESY OF HOME MEDIA MAGAZINE)
“DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES” ›››
“THE HOMESMAN” Tommy Lee Jones is the director, coscreenwriter and top-billed star of this frontier drama, based on a Glendon Swarthout novel ... but fellow Oscar winner Hilary Swank has the biggest showcase as an unhappy spinster who tries to change her destiny by transporting several troubled woman (Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter) to a care facility. Jones plays a man she saves from a lynching, then forces him to help with the journey. Meryl Streep – Gummer’s mother – John Lithgow, James Spader, Tim Blake Nelson and Hailee Steinfeld also appear,
(UPCOMING RELEASES)
“HORRIBLE BOSSES 2” (Feb. 24) “BIG HERO 6” (Feb. 24) “THE ITALIAN AMERICANS” (Feb. 24) “SONS OF ANARCHY: SEASON SEVEN” (Feb. 24) “WHIPLASH” (Feb. 24) “THE CAPTIVE” (March 3)
Insult comedy gets new life on ‘The Jack and Triumph Show’
Picture Don Rickles as a bowtied puppet Rottweiler with a cigar dangling from his his mouth and you have a handle on the co-star of the new comedy series “The Jack and Triumph Show.” The series, which premieres Friday, Feb. 20, as part of the Adult Swim programming block on Cartoon Network, stars Jack McBrayer (“30 Rock”) as Jack, a former child star of a “Lassie”-type series that ran in the 1980s and ‘90s. After the series was canceled, his canine co-star Triumph spiraled downward into trouble and brought Jack along with him. Now 15 years later, Jack has gotten away from show business and cleaned up his life. Then Triumph shows up on his doorstep. The series is shot in multi-camera format, offering a mix of scripted scenes and remotes like those the character did on shows ranging from “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” to the Westminster Dog Show. At a recent gathering of TV critics in Pasadena, Calif., series creator and writer Robert Smigel (“Saturday Night Live,” “Conan”) as Triumph broke up the crowd at a post-lunch Q&A session with a slew of often profane jokes directed at the audience, proving that insult comedy is still indeed alive. “People kind of make an assumption that Triumph just rushes up to people in these remotes and assaults them,” Smigel
Jason Bateman
Family Viewing Ratings AS Adult situations
P Profanity
BY GEORGE DICKIE
Jack McBrayer (left) and Robert Smigel
“TAMMY” ›› “LET’S BE COPS” ››› “22 JUMP STREET” ››› “INTO THE STORM” ››› “IF I STAY” ››› “THE NOVEMBER MAN” ›››
explains. “I actually always ask people in advance before we put the camera in their face, ‘Do you guys mind if we hurt your feelings?’ ” “It’s just something I’ve never wanted to be, like, an assault comedian,” he continues. “I didn’t start that way. I wrote sketches for a zillion years, and this is just a character that came up, you know, 15 years into my career, or 12 years, and just evolved and became bigger than, you know, the rest of my career pretty much. ... But I don’t take pleasure in hitting people who don’t want to be hit.” Of course, filming scenes with a hand puppet can be challenging, given some of the awkward positions Smigel and McBrayer are required to put themselves in. “I don’t know exactly how that show ‘Alf ’ ... technically did it,” McBrayer says, “but I imagine we’re doing some of those same things. Like sometimes Robert is, like, hiding behind a table, and so I’m sitting, straddling this 50-someyear-old man and going, ‘Triumph, you ate all the cake.’ ” “A variety of unnatural positions,” Smigel adds. “And anybody should know that for all the abuse I’m unleashing on people, I’m placing a lot of it on myself by degrading myself.”
V
Violence
N Nudity
GV Graphic Violence
In Focus “The Interview,” www.netflix.com In case you missed it when it was released on a handful of VOD platforms around Christmas, you can now catch Seth Rogen’s controversial comedy about an assassination plot against North Korean dictator Kim Jung-un on the popular online streaming site Netflix. James Franco and Rogen star as the host and producer of a popular celebrity tabloid show that has an unlikely fan, Kim (Randall Park), with whom they land an interview. The CIA then recruits the duo into assisting them in eliminating the despot. “The Throwaways,” www. crackle.com/c/the-throwaways Originally set for release in December but delayed by the cyberattack on Sony Pictures, this original thriller stars Sam Huntington (“Being Human”) as a notorious hacker who
is captured by the CIA and given an ultimatum: work for them or spend the rest of his life in prison. He agrees and then finds himself on a dangerous mission with a group of misfit spies. James Caan (“The Godfather”), Kevin Dillon (“Entourage”) and Katie McGrath (“Merlin”) also star for executive producer Jeremy Renner. “What’s Your Emergency,” www.stage17.tv/series/whatsyour-emergency-0 “Ugly Betty” co-star Michael Urie and Stage 17 Productions come forth with this new comedy that considers what happens when idiots are put in crisis situations, in this case running a 911 call center in the very real town of Hell, Mich. Directed by Urie and written by Ryan Spahn and Halley Feiffer, the series features an ensemble cast of New York stage veterans, including Debra Monk, Sierra Boggess and Reed Birney.