Look, I’m clearly in the minority. I know that, but Marvel films are just kind-of soulless, “who gives a shit?” enterprises… Doctor Strange…Benedict Cumberpatch plays a humorless, uninteresting doctor that somehow develops the extremely interesting ability to travel through worlds, manipulate time, basically have God-like powers, etc. Although Doctor Strange the character may be the…
Author: Alabama Liberal
Movie Reviews: Knight of Cups, Jane Got Her Gun
I’ve been seriously slacking on movie reviews lately. Kicking off our “30 movie reviews in 30 minutes” extravaganza (in part to lift spirits after the electoral college refused to do the right thing) is a pair of Natalie Portman vehicles… Knight of Cups…What’s going on with Terrence Malick? One of the best directors of all…
Grading Trump’s Potential 2020 Challengers…
If Trump actually does become the 45th President of the United States (and I hope not, AuditTheVote), then he’ll become the least popular incoming President in history. His approval numbers are now more unfavorable than favorable, a rarity for a first-term president who hasn’t even taken office yet. The race for The White House will…
What Could Stop Trump From Becoming President? A List…
At this point, those of us desperate enough to stop Trump from becoming the 45th President of the United States—and we are legion—are focusing on getting the electorale college to vote for Hillary when they certify the results in December. Now it’s true that this has never happened before, but there’s plenty of good reason it should…
Why Bernie Sanders is to Blame for President Trump
In the week since Trump pulled off the most shocking Presidential victory since Harry Truman beat Dewey, the finger has been pointing in dozens of different directions at the same time with the deafening question “Who’s to blame?” And the answers are so varied, I’m beginning to wonder if secretly I’m to blame for it. Hillary’s campaign…
Sorry
Sorry our country elected Donald Trump. Sorry that “Thanksgiving” may be the last Thursday of the month, but “Sorry Day” is now the first Tuesday of it. Sorry America still has the electoral college system. Sorry that even though not one President from after 1888 to before 2000 lost the popular vote but won the…
Monday Morning Movie Reviewer: Deepwater Horizon
You might think you don’t want to watch a movie about the BP oil spill—of course, you’re probably not on Alabama Liberal if that’s you, but even if it is, you’ll be surprised. Personally, I refuse to buy gas at BP and any movie that shows exactly how corporations fuck-up to create environmental disasters is…
Monday Morning Movie Review: Under the Shadows
Every year, there’s at least one horror movie that capitalizes on this new trend of “personal horror” meaning films that are about a little more than slashing up teenagers and may explore more intimate fears like sex (It Follows), mothering (The Badabook), religion (The Witch), or dinner parties (The Invitation). “Under the Shadows” can now…
Monday Morning Movie Reviewer: The Accountant
A movie I wanted to like more than I did… What Works: Jon Bernthal, Anna Kendrick, John Lithgow, Jeffrey Tambor, J.K. Simmons, Jean Smart, and Ben Affleck? No movie with a cast this good—and all are lively here, doing what they can—can be all bad, and I would estimate that most of the film’s best moments…
Movie Review: Queen of Katwe
The Disney film about a young Ugandan girl (newcomer Madina Nalwanga as Phiona Mutesi) living in extreme poverty who gradually becomes a chess master. David Oyelowo plays her ultra-supportive coach and a (heavier than usual) Lupita N’yongo plays her more ambiguous mother. What Works: Director Mira Nair treats it more like an intimate play than a…
Movie Review: Masterminds
A forgettable heist film that–see, you already forgot this movie came out a month ago didn’t you? What Works: If you laugh at all during this “comedy” (starring Zach Galifi–you know who I mean–as an armored car driver who gets talked into a heist) it’ll probably be during the first third of the film, the…
Movie Review: Don’t Breathe
The one where three teenage burglars (Suburgatory’s Jane Levy among them) decide to break into a blind man’s (“Avatar” villain and professional badass Stephen Lang) house. And if robbing a blind man sounds bad on paper, just wait until you see the secrets this particular blind man is hiding… What Works: First-time film director Fede Alvarez must have…
Movie Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Just…enough What Works: For me, there is just not much to recommend here. I guess the few brief flashes of fun are mostly found on Eva Green’s cartoon campy face (which you’ve now seen in several other fantasies) and a handful of cool visuals, but mostly this is a huge wash. What Doesn’t: Other critics are saying…