A soft musical that might have you leaving the theater in a good mood, but doesn’t stay with you long afterwards. It’s about a frayed record label executive who’s watched his indie boutique turn corporate (Mark Ruffalo) and thinks Keira Knightley’s fresh voice will be his way back to…the middle? Along the way, we learn…
Author: Alabama Liberal
Movie Review: Planes: Fire and Rescue
Just because an animated movie is aimed squarely at kids, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t try. All of the best Disney and Pixar films know that, but the “Planes” franchise doesn’t seem to. This dated and half-assed sequel is even less inspired than the original, and you can’t help but feel it’s all a cynical cash-register…
Movie Review: Tammy
By now, there’s no point kicking this bomb—-which pretty much everyone in the country has already been forewarned about—-and the only thing I can tell you is to keep checking back today for reviews of more recent movies. What Works: Not much…Susan Sarandon adds an occasional dollop of flash as Tammy’s grandmother, Mark Duplass gives his…
Ranking the Seasons of “24”
Another season of “24” drew to a close last night, and although the reboot wasn’t quite as exciting as past seasons, I think most fans would rather have some form of 24 than nothing. But what about new fans who maybe are wondering which of the show’s first 8 seasons to watch or skip on…
TV Reviews: “Extant” Vs. “The Strain”
So two big-budget science fiction shows with “mainstream” appeal (meaning they aren’t some crappy Syfy channel shows for fanboys only) and major league talent involved debuted this week. However, not all things are equal… “Extant”…I had a hard time keeping my eyes open for the premiere of this soft, strangely Hallmark-feeling sci-fi conspiracy drama. CBS…
TV Reviews: “Orange is the New Black” is Better Than Ever
This review won’t be terribly long because the headline pretty much says it all: season 2 of “Orange is the New Black” is even better than the first one, which wasn’t too shabby to start with. The first season was strong, but suffered slightly from too many unwieldy subplots, gross out gags, and an over-reliance…
“Californication” Finally Says Goodbye
“Californication” might be the worst show that I’ve ever watched for 7 seasons, and never missed a second of (although usually caught up with On Demand months or even years later). Still, endings make me sentimental and I have to admit that there was always something weirdly soothing about this show. Like the combination of…
Why I Refuse to Watch “Transformers 4”
There won’t be a review for “Transformers 4: Revenge of the Fallen Extinction Dawning Dark Moons” or whatever it’s full horseshit title is. And the reason for that is because I won’t be seeing it. “Why’s that?”–you might ask. Well, it’s really because of some comments that the film’s notoriously awful director Michael Bay made,…
TV Reviews: “Rectify” vs. “The Leftovers”
Even in the summertime, it’s not all “Devious Maids,” “Mistresses,” and margaritas. There are a couple of semi-pretentious summertime angsty shows to hold us over to the Fall. However, not all angst is earned… “The Leftovers”…Something isn’t clicking for me and this show. Sure, I’ve only seen the pilot. Sure, you’ve always got to give…
Movie Review: Obvious Child
Otherwise known as the “abortion comedy” but that’s not really accurate. Yes, the main character—-a female comic played by Jenny Slate in a breakout performance—-does become accidentally pregnant, but that’s only one of the many subplots and winning things about this film. It’s more a gentle comedy about stumbling towards adulthood as it is an…
Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2
Real quick: Is it as good as the first one? No. Is it still at least pretty good? Yes. What Works: The first one felt more like a contemporary classic, and altogether more coherent with really clean scenes that work no matter how many times you see them. This one is a bit more scattershot,…
“Tyrant” Should Be Your New TV Obsession
It feels good to experience a great new TV show from the pilot onward. The same way it might mean more to invest in a company before the whole world knows about it, well, that’s roughly the way I feel when I watch a show like Breaking Bad or Arrested Development from the pilot episode the…
Movie Review: 22 Jump Street
I enjoyed the sly yuks of the first Jump Street movie, and this one is right at that level. If you had a good time with the first one at all, it’s hard to imagine you’ll leave disappointed. What Works: The best thing this subtly clever franchise has going for it is self-awareness. It seems…