It’s not that Craig Ferguson is a bad guy, it’s just that he’s not a very funny or interesting or interested guy. What I mean by interested is that he had a bad habit of having a very narrow focus, and diverting each interview to his “safe zone.” I don’t think I saw one person he interviewed where he…
Author: Alabama Liberal
Depressing Family Drama Review Day: “Child’s Pose” and “God’s Pocket”
Two downbeat family dramas that aren’t exactly must-watches… Child’s Pose…An easier film to admire than like, it’s about a grown son who kills a child in a vehicle accident and his protective mother who’s desperate to keep him out of jail. It’s a series of long, dialogue heavy scenes with very minimal action, but a…
TV Review: “The Colbert Report” Series Finale
It was sad to see him go, but I loved watching him leave. I have no idea why CBS chose the best satirist on television to succeed exhausted late night host David Letterman and thus deprive us of the sharpest, most hilarious, and unapologetically political talk show on television. Letterman usually looks like he’d rather…
Complicated Brothers Day: “Citizen Koch” and “Mistaken for Strangers”
Fraternal relationships can be complicated, and these two very different documentaries highlight the varying ways brothers can wreak havoc on each other (“Mistaken for Strangers”) or the outside world (the Koch Brothers retro-activism in “Citizen Koch”)… Mistaken for Strangers…Indie rockers The National are supposedly a big deal, and the lead singer invites his…ummmm…”competency challenged” younger brother to…
French Actor Review Day: “Jimmy P.” and “Venus in Fur”
Two films starring weird-looking French actor Mathieu Amalric (perhaps best known as the weird-looking lead villain in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace)… Venus in Fur…Sadly, I never got a chance to see the supposedly terrific Broadway play starring Hugh Dancy and Nina Arianda in the lead roles, but I better it was a…
Aging British Serio-Comic Film Review Day: “Alan Partridge,” and “A Long Way Down”
Two mediocre comedic films about serious subjects (workplace violence/hostage-taking and suicide) starring two aging British thespians that are still pretty solid. Of course, it’s a little less impressive that Steve Coogan is the best thing in his film since it’s really a semi-vanity vehicle he created… Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa…It takes Steve Coogan’s clueless radio…
TV Review: “The Newsroom” Series Finale
The under appreciated, wrongly-maligned Aaron Sorkin drama came to a close last night, and I might be the only reviewer in America sad to see it go. [“Newsroom” was a little too hard on voyeuristic/vulture-istic new media to get most blogs behind it, and old media felt pitifully defensive about the show telling them how…
Asian Armored Car Robbery Review Day: “Firestorm,” and “Metro Manila”
Two Asian films that center around robberies of armored trucks, but not all similar (sounding) films are created equal as one of these is bad and the other is arguably the most underrated movie I’ve seen this year. Firestorm…A movie about an obsessed detective (Andy Lau, who could play this role in his sleep and seems determined…
Missing Gems Review Day: “The Immigrant”
Every now and then a better-than-average movie slips through the cracks. I believe “The Immigrant” to be one of those movies… The Immigrant…It’s about—you guessed it—a European immigrant (Marion Cotillard, in a great performance) who comes to New York City in the early part of the 1900s and struggles to survive, quickly falling under the…
Unconventional Horror Review Day: “Knights of Badassery,” “Stage Fright,” and “Heatstroke”
Three unconventional horror films (two of them closer to comedies really) but are any of them really worth watching? Knights of Badassery…My favorite of the lot but still not a very good movie. It’s about a group of role playing fantasy geeks who accidentally summon a real demon that just so happens to take the…
Would-Be Serious Review Day: “Boys of Abu Ghraib” and “Stranger in Paradise
Two movies that want to be serious but really aren’t… Boys of Abu Ghraib…By far the more successful of the two but that isn’t saying much. It follows a soldier who becomes a new guard at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, and the movie does an admirable job of showing both sides of how that prison became…
Performers Review Day: “Leave the World Behind” and “La Bare”
Two documentaries about people who make their living up on a stage, and neither of them really worth watching… La Bare…This documentary about male strippers was directed by Magic Mike co-star (and True Blood alum) Joe Manganiello. The problem is that it feels less real than Magic Mike and Manganiello doesn’t push the people he interviews enough….
Move Review: The Hunger Games, Mockingjay Part 1
In a way, I think this film is better than the first two, but in another way I enjoyed it less. What Works: In theory, I love that a huge blockbuster film (essentially aimed at kids and teenagers) has the cojones to be about a propaganda war. It has real ideas percolating beneath the surface…