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Will Ferrell And Julia Louis-Dreyfus Make The Perfect Pair In Downhill

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4 years ago

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For any feature, walking the tightrope of drama and comedy is never an easy thing to do. Too many movies get lost trying to maintain the balance between the two genres either finding themselves incapable of properly capturing both spectrum of emotion simultaneously or instead losing the audience to tone mismanagement. Downhill, directed by Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, sometimes stumbles into the latter pitfall but thanks to a pair of experienced leads it manages to barely stay on the rope long enough to tell a story of love and trust. 

Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus star as Pete and Bille Staunton, a married couple on a family ski trip in the Alps. When confronted by a lunchtime avalanche scare Pete bolts for safety, only stopping to grab his phone, leaving his family and their bowls of soup to fend for themselves. While the threat dissipates in a matter of seconds, Pete’s decision creates a rift in the family unit that threatens to tear them apart before vacation’s end. 

A remake of the 2014 film Force Majeure, Downhill attempts to differentiate itself with two of the biggest faces of the old guard of comedy. While the film’s leads are at their best performance wise (more on that later), their presence manages to do more harm than good at times. The writing and direction doesn’t do them any favors either, and the two are in conflict with each other during the film’s pivotal moments. During my screening, there were a handful of emotional moments cut short thanks to a quick reaction shot with unclear intent.

It’s unfortunate because after a couple of years of so-so sequels and films best left forgotten, Will Ferrell returns to a style of acting that he hasn’t showcased since 2010’s Everything Must Go. Don’t worry you’ll still get a few of the Ferrell classics, belligerent drunkenness and shouting make their necessary appearances, but it’s the quieter moments that get you invested. Ferrell portrays Pete with a somber distance. A man who knows but won’t admit he’s made a mistake; one who sees happiness is just around the corner, and yet he can never quite reach it due to forces within himself he won’t confront. It’s a portrayal of fatherhood that Ferrell should continue to take chances on again in the future. 

Ferrell’s performance is a return to form of sorts, but Louis-Dreyfus goes beat-for-beat with him managing to best him more times than not. She embodies Billie’s sense of devastation and distrust with equal parts rage and shakiness. It’s a more showy part than Ferrell’s Pete and Louis-Dreyfus doesn’t back down. Her ability to deliver on the script’s weightiest moments resonants, and when she is given the chance to let loose it’s an emotional avalanche that can overwhelm.

We also get a couple of highlight supporting performances from Miranda Otto as a sexually explicit hotel liaison and Zach Woods as Pete’s friend who is living a #lifewithnoagenda. The former is the more ridiculous of the two, but both act as springboards to tempt and discourage Pete and Billie with what they could be missing out on in life. 

At 90 minutes, Downhill is a satisfactory dramedy buoyed by leads who are pushing themselves out of their comfort zone for the benefit of the audience. While the film may not be making the best use of these performances, it works to show that we should give “comedy” actors more chances to spread their wings.

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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9 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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12 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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12 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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