A24 A-to-Z: #24. "The End of the Tour" (2015)

Scene from The End of the Tour

In case you didn't know, A24 is one of the great purveyors of modern cinema. Since 2013, the studio has found a way to innovate independent cinema by turning each release into an event. As a result, A24 A-to-Z will be an ongoing series that looks at every release from the studio by analyzing its production history, release, criticisms, and any awards attention that it might've received. Join me on a quest to explore the modern heroes of cinema by exploring every hit and miss that comes with that magnificent logo. They may not all be great, but they more than make A24 what it is and what it will hopefully continue to be for ears to come.

Review: "The End of the Tour" is an Entertaining Form of Writer's Therapy

Left to right: Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel

In the realm of movies and TV, there are few stories as immediately compelling to writers as that of the frustrated writer. It's become a trope to make stories that are essentially about the process and overcoming personal and mental anguish just to find your self worth. That is why they should be more grating than their lovingly crafted payoffs suggest. However, films like Adaptation., American Splendor, and Stranger Than Fiction choose to disagree. In the case of director James Ponsoldt's biggest film to date The End of the Tour, it's not so much about understanding the craft, but understanding the feeling of self-worth. It's a subject that doesn't get breached much elsewhere, but is given a great comical and somber effect in a film that succeeds in making the mundane into something far more fascinating than the 5 W's would ever allow.

Check Out This Year's Nominees for The Spirit Awards

Scene from Anomalisa

As November has dwindled down, it's time to start looking ahead to the big awards season. While we're in the middle of a barrage of great films coming out, there hasn't been really any focus yet - largely because there hasn't been any major awards show yet. Today marks the announcement of the 31st Annual Independent Spirit Awards nominations, which is set on commemorating the best in independent cinema from the past year. While the Golden Globes are likely to be more of an indicator of The Academy Awards to come, there's no denying that the general impact of The Spirit Awards has grown over the past decade; even almost unanimously tying with the 2013 Oscar winners. What lies in store for this year's line-up? There's a few great surprises, of which likely will tell us of the films that we'll be discussing about for the next few months.

The First Trailer for "The End of the Tour" Promises to Go Deep

Left to right: Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel

Among the current directors that are out there making movies, I find director James Ponsoldt to be one of the more interesting. Starting with his excellent debut Smashed, he created complicated characters without much of a budget or spectacle and elevated the form to something far more interesting with a story about a recovering alcoholic. His follow-up was the even better The Spectacular Now, which may have been the young adult equivalent of Smashed, but found him coming into his own form with a heartfelt love story. With his latest, he ditches alcoholism, at least directly, and chooses to focus on the life of writer David Foster Wallace with Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel in tow. How does the first trailer stack up?