Category Archives: Mindless Mondays

Is the Phenomenal Box Office of “Sound of Freedom” a Money Laundering Scheme?

In a Summer of movies that have largely “underperformed” (to put it charitably), there’s one movie that has exploded expectations so thoroughly, its box office graph looks more like the performance of Bernie Madoff’s hedge fund. Of course, I’m referring to the over 100-million (so far) grossing “Sound of Freedom.” Many box office prognosticators (or… Read More »

“The Blacklist” finale: Goodbye to a Great Character (On a Bad Show)

Like most “Blacklist” viewers, I had not actually seen the show in years. To be honest, I’m struggling to remember exactly when I stopped watching the series, but it was probably somewhere between the end of season 2 or 3. [I know I didn’t make it to Mr. Kaplan’s “turning” on Red–an event I’m only… Read More »

Reviewing, Grading, and Ranking the “Succession” Seasons From Worst to Best

I had planned to post this article right after the “Succession” series finale, but the bleak finale (combined with “Barry”‘s equally hopeless ending that aired right after it) was a little too harrowing to review immediately after it was over. I can’t say I’m entirely surprised that it ended in a depressing place (some of… Read More »

“Succession”‘s Apocalyptic Series Finale Made “Barry”‘s Look Upbeat, and Confirmed Kendall was Always Surrounded by Assholes

“Succession”‘s series finale was so bleak it made “Barry”‘s bruise-black finale (which aired right after it) look downright sunny in comparison. More than half of “Barry”‘s main cast was killed or wrongfully convicted for murder–with Hollywood even giving them the full villain treatment, which is probably worse than death for most of Barry’s limelight-obsessed characters–and… Read More »

Predictions for “Succession”‘s Series Finale

“Succession” is widely thought of as TV’s Best Drama (winning that very award the last two times it was up for it at the Emmys). There’s going to be a serious hole in quality to fill when it, “Barry,” and “Ted Lasso” all end over the next week. So let’s look at how it might… Read More »

Season Finale Reviews: “Schmigadoon,” “Lucky Hank,” “The Diplomat,” and “Rabbit Hole”

“Schmigadoon”…I loved the first season of what turned out to be one of the best TV series Apple+ had ever produced (no small thing on a platform rapidly becoming known for its high-quality), but was skeptical if it really needed a second season. It turns out that it probably didn’t, but the second season is… Read More »

All 2022 Movies Reviewed, Graded, and Ranked From Worst to Best

Note: More than ever, it would be truly impossible to watch all the movies that came out in a modern calendar year. I’ve seen well over two hundred 2022 movies, but there were still a dozen major ones I would’ve loved to have seen before finalizing this countdown–although, frankly, I doubt it would’ve made much… Read More »

TV Reviews: “You,” “Your Honor,” and “Mayor of Kingstown”

Although “You” remains the worst show I watch, it definitely had some competition with the completely unnecessary second season of “Your Honor.” Both had such lousy seasons, that it makes me question watching any more shows with variations of the word “you” in the title. “You”…Although I’m sure this isn’t actually the worst show on… Read More »

Actresses that Could Play Pauline Kael in Tarantino’s Final Film “The Movie Critic”

Rumors are flying that Quentin Tarantino’s final movie will be called “The Movie Critic,” and that it’s about Pauline Kael in the late-70’s, possibly about her experience going from movie critic to Paramount studio consultant (for a few months). None of this is confirmed, but if Quentin’s final movie really is about Pauline Kael (and… Read More »

“Groundhog Day” is the Best Romantic Comedy of All Time

On the (actual) 30th anniversary of “Groundhog Day,” Alabama Liberal talks about why it’s the rare romantic comedy that is actually funny and romantic. Also, why the movie’s unique character study and heady philosophical questions (is it actually a stealth Buddhist movie too?) make it not only one of the best movies of all time,… Read More »