Welp, Ellen Degeneres hosted the Oscars last night and was exactly how you’d expect: bland, tedious, indulging in long set pieces that promised only mild chuckles from the outset and barely delivered those in execution. I guess the Academy Awards do this every time they have a “risky” host (like Seth MacFarland last year) and…
Category: Entertainment Editorial
Why Paula Patton and Robin Thicke Should Stay Together
I love media and pop culture, but it’s not often I really get too invested in celebrity couplings. “Hollyweird” marriages aren’t built to last, and there’s no sense getting too attached to them, is the general thinking. Except that the marriage of Paula and Robin actually was. Theirs was a real, pre-fame relationship that’s been going strong…
Can the New “Late Night” Host Seth Meyers Please Let SNL Go?
We get it Seth, being on SNL as Weekend Update anchor and being the head writer on the show during an excruciatingly tedious period (when blandos like Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, and Fred Armisen reigned supreme) is the best thing that ever happened to you. We know that you looooooooved it there, and were seemingly going to…
Jimmy Fallon’s First “Tonight Show”…Great, If You Love Bland
I have a deep, dark secret. I have a secret that would make me such a social leper I can’t tell anyone about it. The truth is: I don’t like Jimmy Fallon. I know, I know, I know I’m supposed to. I know that Fallon’s too-genial, toothless brand of comedy is supposed to instantly endear him to…
Jay Leno’s Final “Tonight Show”
I’ve never been a big Jay Leno fan, and I actually found it hard to watch The Tonight Show the last few years as ole lazy-joke Leno made more or less the same 10 jokes every night (OJ’s guilty, Clinton likes sex, hyuk yuk yuk). I can’t say Jimmy Fallon is any better though, but…
Every 2013 Movie From Worst to Best!
165 movies were seen by me in 2013, and now it’s time to list what I thought of them all, below is the worst, the mediocre, and the absolute best of 2013! As always, just because two films share the same letter grade doesn’t mean they’re equal, and the rankings reflect how I would stack…
Every Movie I Watched in 2013 From Worst to Best!
165 movies were seen by me in 2013, and now it’s time to list what I thought of them all, below is the worst, the mediocre, and the absolute best of 2013! As always, just because two films share the same letter grade doesn’t mean they’re equal, and the rankings reflect how I would stack…
Oscar Nominations: Who Was Snubbed, Who Got Lucky, and Who Was Really Snubbed
Certain things enter into the collective culture, and it’s very hard to shake them. So when a lot of people say “Emma Thompson will be nominated for Saving Mr. Banks” for a performance that nobody really loves or “Inside Llewyn Davis will be nominated because the Coens are never not nominated” for a film that most people…
The Ten Best TV Characters of the Year
Last week we dealt with the worst, and now it’s time to face the best. I had to weed out several favorites who have made the list in multiple year’s past (like Parks and Rec’s great Leslie Knope) because their characters weren’t spun off in nearly enough new directions. I wanted to make way for…
The Ten W-O-R-S-T TV Characters of the Year!
It’s that time of the year again: time for insipid, arbitrary “best of” lists counting down things I liked in movies, TV, and books. Perhaps the most popular of these is my annual “Ten Best TV Characters” of the year, and I promise that’s coming…next week. But, for now, why not take a look at…
Pop Culture Battles, Book Reviews: Tampa Vs. The Execution of Noa P. Singleton
Today, reviews of two books centered around exceptionally devious women. Looks like over a year after Gone Girl, the influence of the treacherous Amy Dunne is still being felt. And now on with the show! Two books enter the thunder dome, only one book can leave… The Execution of Noa P. Singleton…What’s It About:…
Pop Culture Battles, Book Reviews: Red Moon vs. The Good Nurse
In order to be well-informed enough for my annual “Ten Best Books of the Year” list, I’ve been plowing through a hopelessly long reading list lately, and I thought I’d make it a little more fun by showcasing some pop culture battles. This week’s battle is between two “scary” books about monsters: a political allegory…
5 Reasons Why Sundance Channel’s “Dream School” is My Nightmare
The Sundance Channel recently wrapped their six-part series “Dream School,” which features 15 kids who either quit their last schools or were kicked out, and will attend The Dream School filled with celebrity teachers in hopes of graduating high school. [Or something like that, we learned last night that the big test they took didn’t…