Review: Scream '22

By Glenn Dunks

Movies made predominantly out of a requirement for fan service can go one of a few ways. They can give audiences just what they wanted (as we’ve seen with some MCU movies), they can give audiences what they didn’t know they needed (as we’ve seen with some MCU movies), or they can be a complete and utter dog’s breakfast (as we’ve seen with some MCU movies).

The Scream franchise isn’t as long-running or as mythologized as iconic horror brands like Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre or A Nightmare on Elm Street. But what it does have that those series do not is a consistent core—both in characters (Sidney, Gale and Dewey) and tone (comically meta slasher)—that has remained unwavering across 25 years and five individual movies. Fan service here then is actually quite tricky...

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Tues Top Ten: "Friends" Episodes

Jose here. Ten years ago today (May 6th, 2004) television as we knew it passed away as Friends came to its end after ten landmark seasons.

The show redefined what Thursdays on NBC were all about and made huge stars out of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt Le Blanc and David Schwimmer. It also pretty much set the standard for what would become “the” multicamera sitcom rules.

On a more personal note, I was obsessed with this show as a teenager, having only caught up with it through syndication. I officially joined the “live” watching only during the fifth season and by the time the show ended, I understood what it was like to “lose” something you grew up with. I’m still mourning the loss of Friends and that other show about New Yorkers that ended its run the same year.  I’m sure you all have your favorite episodes, but whenever I think of me as a kid watching episode after episode after school, these are the ten I’d gladly take with me to Central Perk.

TOP TEN "FRIENDS" EPISODES 

10) The One with Phoebe’s Wedding (S10E12)

Why It’s Here: Everything that can go wrong, goes wrong as Phoebe prepares to walk the aisle and marry Mike (Paul Rudd). Her stepdad stabs a man in prison and Joey has to fill his shoes, while Chandler and Ross fight over who gets to replace one of Mike’s best men. Monica gets fired as wedding planner and a blizzard arrives forcing the gang to improvise...all leading to one of the most magical moments in the series.

MVF: Ross and his sidekick Chappy the dog.

Could it Be Any More Quotable?:

Joey: Friends, family, dog, thank you all for being here to witness this blessed event. The cold has now spread to my special place, so I'm gonna do the short version of this.

nine more greats after the jump...

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Tribeca: Courteney Cox Delivers a Dud in 'Just Before I Go'

Glenn reporting from Tribeca

Oh Courteney!

Courteney Cox looms large in my personal history as a central figure in two long running franchises (Friends and Scream) that played a major role in my teenage (and further) life. So it takes a lot for me to dislike something Courteney Cox does so violently as I did her directorial debut Just Before I Go. I went in to her new film intrigued and with some mild expectations that she’d be able to transfer the strange, often very dark humor of her current TBS sitcom Cougar Town into something somewhat funny. This new film’s elements of suicide, homophobia, racism, and other eye-raising topics certainly lend themselves to a wicked, taboo-pushing comedy, but what she and screenwriter David Flebotte have delivered instead is one of the most offensive pieces of trash to have come out in quite some time. [more...]

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