The Kia hamsters are back–in fact they’ve gone way back as time travelers, infiltrating an 18th century opera house where they show a stiff bourgeoisie crowd “A New Way to Roll.” Carl Erik Rinsch of MJZ teamed with visual effects house Method and agency David&Goliath on this commercial which begins with all the grandeur and scale of an epic Hollywood period film. We see an orchestra, ballet dancers, an opera singer and, well, a slightly odd conductor.
As the opera music and vocals fill the air, the conductor unexpectedly takes the performance in a new direction when he introduces a Kia Soul. The vehicle rises up through the floor, taking everyone by surprise. The conductor then rips off his mask, revealing he’s a human-sized hamster. From there we reveal the other hamsters whose positivity and energy turn the opera house into an epic fusion of old and new worlds–complete with a laser light show, the latest dance trends, and an equally epic hamster stage dive. The hamsters do their thing to the beat of the electronic concert anthem, “In My Mind” remixed by Axwell, a member of the DJ trio Swedish House Mafia. (The original track is by Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl and features Georgi Kay.)
The spot highlights the emergence of electronic music, which has quickly found its way into the mainstream and some of today’s biggest musical acts. This, combined with a trend where young artists are increasingly incorporating classical music and instrumentation into their music, comes together to create a modern-day remix of new and old.
All of this inspires even the crustiest of the upper-crust opera crowd to set aside their inhibitions and discover their inner party animal, or inner hamster. As soon as everyone is on their feet and moving to the music, the hamsters realize their job is done. They get back into their trusty Soul, then take off into hyperspace and head for, well, whatever’s next.
Review: Director Tyler Spindel’s “Kinda Pregnant”
We have by now become accustomed to the lengths some movie characters will go to keep a good comedy lie going. But it's still a special kind of feat when Amy Schumer, playing a baby-mad single woman who fakes a baby bump in "Kinda Pregnant," is so desperate to maintain the fiction that she shoves a roast turkey up her dress.
You might be thinking: This is too ridiculous. The stuffing, alone. But if we bought "Some Like it Hot" and "Mrs. Doubtfire," I see no reason to quibble with the set-up of "Kinda Pregnant," a funny and often perceptive satire on motherhood, both real and pretend.
"Kinda Pregnant," which debuted Wednesday on Netflix, is a kinda throwback comedy. Like "40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Wedding Crashers," you can basically get the movie just from its title.
But like any good high-concept comedy, "Kinda Pregnant" is predominantly a far-fetched way for its star and co-writer, Schumer, to riff frankly on her chosen topic. Here, that's the wide gamut of pregnancy experience — the body changes, the gender reveal parties, the personal jealousies — all while mixing in a healthy amount of pseudo-pregnant pratfalls.
It's been a decade since Schumer was essentially launched as a movie star in the 2015 Judd Apatow-directed "Trainwreck." But "Kinda Pregnant," which Schumer wrote with Julie Paiva, almost as adeptly channels Schumer's comic voice — the one that made the sketch series "Inside Amy Schumer" so great.
The movie's opening flashes back to Lainey (Schumer) as a child playing with dolls and imagining herself a mother-to-be. So committed is she to the role that Lainey, in mock-labor, screams at her friend and then politely apologies: "Sorry, but the expectant mother often lashes out at her support system."
But as... Read More