The Ten

Director and co-screenwriter David Wain (“Wet Hot American Summer,” 25th CIFF) and co-screenwriter Ken Marino look to God for inspiration in the divinely irreverent THE TEN. Each based on one of the Ten Commandments, ten separate stories with overlapping characters and themes are framed by the morally-conflicted narrator (Paul Rudd), who gets his own screentime on a black soundstage with the famed tablets. From an idiotic skydiver-turned-superstar (a parody of “Thou shalt have no other god before me”), to a prankster doctor who kills his own patients (a spoof of “Thou shalt not kill”), to a capricious animation by Aaron Augenblick entitled “The Lying Rhino” (a perversion of “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor”), the imaginations of Wain and Marino hold nothing sacred in this hilariously sardonic film. The star-studded ensemble cast features Adam Brody, Jessica Alba, Winona Ryder, Liev Schreiber, and many more who collectively keep our faith in sinfully good comedy. – E.J.B.