First completed short film under the Alabama Liberal YouTube Channel (subscribe please), Playlist One Man Movies, movies made by one person, filmed in one day, from idea to finished film in one week, on a budget of no more than one dollar… Please watch, like, and comment
Category: Entertainment Editorial
Book Review: the Terrific “Movie Freak”
Great books about movies are rare, and books that manage to truly capture the feeling movies can give you (like Patton Oswalt’s “Silver Screen Fiend”) are even rarer. Yet Owen Gleiberman’s “Movie Freak” may be the best book about movies I’ve ever read, and is the best book ever written about the lure of films, as evidenced from the book’s…
Book Reviews: “The Girls,” “Barkskins,” and “Lily and the Octopus”
It may seem like a cop-out to praise all three of these very different books, but they take wildly divergent paths to being equally terrific… Barkskins by Annie Proulx…A big, bold, ambitious book that practically has “Great Novel” stamped on the book cover. It’s about two “barkskins” (tree cutters) who settle in New France and…
What Are the Most Fitting TV Shows to Watch On 4th of July?
These are not necessarily the most patriotic shows or even the most American ones, but the shows I like to think that represent a certain American-feeling that is appropriate for the 4th… Silicon Valley…What better than watching a bunch of intrepid explorers try—and sometimes fail—to create something great out of nothing? The spirit of innovation…
The Five Best TV Shows You’re Not Watching…
What are the best shows currently on television that don’t have “Game” or “Thrones” in the title? I’m glad you asked… 5. [Tie] Turn and Hell on Wheels…AMC’s two all-but-forgotten, mostly buzz-less historical dramas are in different places in their runs. “Turn” has finally realized its potential with its best season so far, and has discovered a…
“Banshee” Finale Review, and Ranking the Seasons
It was the end of times, and—as is so often the case with TV finales–it was the worst of times. Cinemax’s “Banshee” was one of the most consistently underrated shows on television, and in fact many readers of this article may not have even heard of the series, let alone watched it. I want to…
The 10 Most (and Least) Anticipated Movies of the Summer
It’s time for our Summer Movie preview, and as usual there’s at least ten movies I’ll not be looking forward to along with the good ones. The Least Anticipated Movies of the Summer Runner-Up: Captain America: Civil War…I know, I know, it’s gotten “great” reviews so far, but so did Captain America 2 and if anything my interest in…
Can “Game of Thrones” Save This Lackluster TV Year?
First off, let me say that I’m not in general one of those people that says “There’s nothing good on TV.” I find those people to be incredibly boring and really spoiled. There are now more than 100 basic cable channels each with their own handful of original series; plus great premium networks like HBO, Starz, Cinemax,…
How AMC Network Lost Their Most Loyal Viewer
It’s no exaggeration to say I was the most loyal viewer AMC network ever had. I watched literally every scripted original series they ever made (have you ever even heard of “Low Winter Sun?”) and at least some of their unscripted series like the great “The Pitch” and the more guilty-pleasure “Small Town Security.” When…
Book Reviews: The “Red Rising” Trilogy, “Golden Son,” and “Morning Star”
I’ve covered these books extensively before, but the final part of the trilogy came out recently, and it’s time to once again tell you about the best book series you’ve never heard of. I’m not sure why “Red Rising” hasn’t gotten the attention of “Hunger Games,” “Divergent,” “5th Wave,” “Legend,” or any of the other…
The Best Books of 2015…
What were the best books of 2015? Keep reading, and feel free to mention any you think I might’ve forgotten… Honorable Mentions: The Explorer’s Guild…I wouldn’t call it a particularly great book (I only gave it a “B” grade) but it is one of the most unusual and oddly old-fashioned books of last year, and…
Book Reviews: Under Tiberius, The Cartel, and The Winter Family
Three historical novels (well, kind-of in The Cartel’s case) that also happen to be among the very best novels of 2015. The periods depicted: the history of the drug war, the history of America’s war (Civil, Indian, and for Civilization itself), and the creation of the Jesus myth no less. Under Tiberius by Nick Tosches…Tosches…
Book Reviews: Explorer’s Guild, Zebulon Finch, Sword of Honor, Laurus, Man Who Spoke Snakish
I’ve got a certain soft spot for old-fashioned, epic adventure novels, although not all of them are created equal–as you’ll soon see… The Explorer’s Guild: Vol. 1 by John Baird and Kevin Costner…[Although who knows how much of it Costner actually wrote as this might be too long even for the director of notoriously overlong films.]…