Is Sons of Anarchy a good show? Not really, but it sure is persistent. The series has had occasional flashes of greatness—season 2’s villain and aspects of seasons 4 and 5 were very strong—but this seventh and final season begins right after a series’ worst sixth-season which felt bloated even by Kurt Sutter’s standards. In…
Author: Alabama Liberal
Summer TV Round-Up: “Halt and Catch Fire,” “Gang Related,” “Longmire,” “Falling Skies”
Part 2 of 2 of summer TV shows that may have slipped underneath the radar… Halt and Catch Fire…I’ve seen every episode of every scripted show AMC has produced (meaning more “Rubicon” than that reality show about competitive arm wrestling), and it’s become clear that the network is in something of a creative rut these days….
TV Review: The Quality Collapse of “Tyrant”
I can’t believe it’s taken this long, but Alabama Liberal has to give out its first (that I can remember) mea culpa. I told everyone who would listen about what a great show “Tyrant” is and how everyone and their brother should watch it or else wish they had when it gets big in a…
Summer TV Round-Up: “Power,” “Vicious,” “Assets,” “Crossbones,” “Maron”
Summer TV is officially over and now it’s time to look back on the summer that was, including some shows that probably flew under most people’s radars…[Part 1 of 2] Starz’ “Power”…Starz decided to take a break from technically glorious but stuffy period pieces and make this “urban” “crime” “drama.” Now if you’re wondering…
TV Reviews: “Boardwalk Empire” is Back…But Do We Still Care?
I’ll keep this review brief since I suspect there’s not much fanfare for Boardwalk Empire’s fifth and final season. The season premiere felt like an afterthought and the final season is only 8 episodes vs. the series’ usual 12 episode order, so it’s safe to say that not even HBO will really miss this show….
Discover One of TV’s Hidden Treasures, “Nathan for You”
If you’re not watching Comedy Central’s “Nathan For You,” then do yourself a favor and catch up with it. This is one of the funniest shows on TV that seemingly no one has heard of, and that’s a shame because I haven’t watched an episode yet that didn’t have real, genuine belly laughs. The show…
Movie Review: “The Giver” When Other Critics Just Don’t Get It
It happens, sometimes critics are just flat-out wrong on a film. It’s rare, and it doesn’t happen a lot (sorry, but most movies they pan really do suck), but you can set your watch to the kind of movie it will happen to: it is almost always a mid-budget movie with some serious ambition that critics can…
Movie Review: What If
Most people have probably never heard of this Daniel Radcliffe-starring indie romantic comedy, and that’s because it narrowly falls through the cracks of most “on the radar” criteria. It’s too small to be considered a mainstream release, and the reviews aren’t good enough to make it an art house hit. Some might say you’re better…
Movie Review: “Let’s Be Cops”
This turd somehow became a surprise mini-hit this weekend, taking in almost as much as its tiny budget, and beating out Expendables 3 at the box office…hmmm, a Let’s Be Cops vs. Expendables 3 battle, talk about the land where dwarfs cast tall shadows. What Works: The idea of Jake Johnson (the poor man’s Oscar…
Movie Review: “Boyhood” The Next Contemporary Classic
If “Snowpiercer” is talked about by cult fans for years to come, then I can imagine “Boyhood” being talked about by film scholars for decades to come. The film springs from a deceptively simple “gimmick” of following the same cast for 12 years (director Richard Linklater worked on the cheap, and shot a couple scenes…
Movie Review: “Snowpiercer” The Next Cult Classic
It’s almost out of theaters now, but you can watch it on-demand. I still think it’s best viewed in a theater if you can find one. Regardless, something tells me this film will become a cult classic, and indie theaters might play the occasional screening every now and then. The Plot: In the near-future, the…
Movie Review: A Most Wanted Man
A difficult film to review since I’m a big fan of the John Le Carre spy novel its based on. Like most of Le Carre’s work, it’s not really a spy thriller (the action usually comes only at the very end), and works more as literary fiction than Jason Bourne. The plot is about a…
Movie Review: Lucy
I can remember having a good time with this film while I was in the theater, but can’t remember much about it even a few days later. Much like the drug Lucy takes, the early high doesn’t last long… What Works: Luc Besson hasn’t made many good movies over the course of his long career,…