It was a long, torturous journey for me as “The Americans” went from one of my favorite shows in season one to my most unlikely hate watch by season 5. Luckily, the sixth and final season was the best since season one, but I wasn’t entirely sold on the series finale. Ultimately, if you missed…
Category: Mindless Mondays
Movie Reviews: “Book Club” Vs. “Deadpool 2,” Vs. “I Feel Pretty” Vs. “Avengers 3”
For no real reason other than I was kind-of bored, I decided to just review all four of these movies against each other. Who will come out on top? It’s surprisingly difficult since they’re all pretty close in quality… Book Club…Judging by “50 Shades Freed,” a movie about 70-year-old women reading “50 Shades of Grey”…
By Shunning the Excellent “Roseanne” Reboot, Liberals Fall Into Another Trap
Dan and Roseanne Conner are fat. They are old. They are not genetically-blessed. They have never made more than lower-middle class wages. They are still working in their 60’s. They have severe health problems. And they live in an uncool city in a less-cool state that doesn’t touch an ocean. In other words, they are…
What “The Terror” Taught Me About Leadership: Franklin (Bush), Hickey (Trump), Little (Paul Ryan), and Crozier (Gore/Clinton)
For an in-depth review/recap of the finale, check out the article immediately below this one, but if you’re interested in learning how to apply the lessons of “The Terror” to your own life, this is the right place. Because while the show may seem entirely foreign to your everyday life, including your workplace–arctic setting, period setting, British…
TV Review: The 5 Saddest Moments on “The Terror” Finale
The easiest way to make sense of all the (emotional) carnage on last night’s finale of “The Terror” is just to list it… 5. “Close”…Last night’s arc of Lt. Little was one of the more devastating. Almost all of Crozier’s loyal officers are either dead (Tobias Menzies’s excellent Fitzjames, the senselessly murdered Lt. Irving who…
Movie Review: “First Reformed” is Terrific
For those lucky enough to see Paul Schrader’s “First Reformed” this past weekend (and it’s only in 4 theaters currently so it might take a while to reach you) you’ve seen the type of film Alabama Liberal might make if he stumbled onto a financier with lots of money and no immediate need to see…
Movie/TV Review: “Fahrenheit 451” (the Book) is More Relevant Today than Ever
Coming out only 4 years after George Orwell’s more famous “1984” was published, Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” isn’t given nearly as much credit as it deserves for predicting the future. Although a debate has raged about whether Huxley’s “Brave New World” or Orwell’s “1984” is the more prescient work, I actually think “Farenheit” deserves to be (at…
Movie Review: “Tully”
“Tully” is a movie that almost hit too close to home for me. The Charlize Theron character may be a little more similar to myself than I’d like to admit, and I can’t say that about the vast majority of parenting movies. What Works: For the majority of “Tully,” we watch quietly realistic scenes building towards…
TV Reviews: Why It’s So Troubling “Barry” Killed Off Two Interracial Couples
I mostly loved “Barry”‘s first season. The great Bill Hader delivered a career-best performance (no small feat for the genius behind the excellent “Documentary Now” parodies). Stephen Root displayed a crackling newfound ruthlessness that felt electric. And Henry Winkler was a delightful, easy “Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy” series contender as Gene Cousineau the…
Bad Movies Revisited: “Speed Racer”
Is “Speed Racer” really a bad movie? AL investigates this buried work and quickly revisits the often-misunderstood work of the Wachkowskis like the “Matrix” sequels and “Cloud Atlas”
The 5 Best TV Shows You’re Not Watching
What are the 5 best TV shows you may not be watching? Watch this and find out…
Quick Reviews: “Ready Player One” vs. “Rampage”
I watched these movies a while ago now, but thought about them so little that I forgot to review them. Not a great sign, but one is clearly better if you’re looking for dumb-assed blockbuster entertainment and can’t get tickets for “Infinity War,” “A Quiet Place,” “Deadpool 2,” “Pacific Rim 2,” damn there’s been a…
Movie Review: Beirut
Tony Gilroy’s cerebral, complex thriller is a perfect antidote for the Springtime blues. People used to talk about how dumb movies were in May and June, but Summer is now year-round which is why supposedly quieter months like February, March, and April have had Sci-Fi/Fantasy CGI-blockbusters opening nearly every weekend. “Beirut” is actually more at home opening…