Following up on my “Best of 2016” rankings, I didn’t post proper reviews of “Weiner” or “Hacksaw Ridge” before the listings in order to keep things a surprise. I thought I would expand a little bit on both… Hacksaw Ridge: It’s true that I may stand alone among critics in listing this as one of…
Category: Mindless Mondays
Oscar Predictions: Who Will Be Nominated…AND Win
Note: I can usually predict about 4 out of 5 nominees and 2/3rds of winners, for whatever that’s worth in your Oscar betting pool. The rankings are how sure I am they’ll be nominated (so the 4th or 5th placers may very well not make the cut) and the top choice is who I think will…
The Reason White Racists Love FX’s “Atlanta”
Opening Defense: I know the pushback I’ll most likely receive is “but wait–black people love ‘Atlanta’ too.” Sure, but this year saw a variety of black-starring and created TV shows from “Loosely Exactly Nicole” to “Insecure” to “Luke Cage” to “Queen Sugar” and none of them received the universal adoration from white critics that “Atlanta” did….
Every 2016 Movie From Worst to Best
It’s a proud Alabama Liberal tradition to rank all of a completed year’s movies from worst to best—beat that paid-critics with your limited “Top 10” lists—and as always there’s just a few qualifiers: 1. Just because movies share the same letter grade (like a C grade) doesn’t mean they’re equal, and the rankings reflect which movies of…
The 10 Best TV Shows of 2016
You’ve seen the Best (and Worst) Characters, and the Best Scenes or Episodes, but still, there can be only one true list of the year’s 10 Best TV Shows… Honorable Mention: “Real Time with Bill Maher” is about to become the most important voice for “The Resistance.” Let’s quit kidding ourselves that Trumpers will ever listen to…
The Best TV Scenes or Episodes of 2016
Note: This is a combination of TV episodes, scenes, moments, shots, or whatever you want to call it. This is not to be confused with “The Best TV series of 2016” which ranks an entire season, and will be posted shortly… Honorable Mention: “The Good Wife” Iowa episode…”The Good Wife” gave us a lot of good…
The BEST TV Characters of 2016
People Vs. OJ…Veep…Westworld…The Night Of… Best Self: Campbell Scott as himself in “Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll”…Having a celebrity play themselves rarely leads to anything other than smiles or a soft chuckle, but “Sex” gave Scott his most interesting role since “Roger Dodger,” as a manipulative, hilarious genius trying to stage a Hamilton-rip-off. He has only…
The WORST TV Characters of 2016
Note: As always, these are bad characters in otherwise good shows. There has to be a certain element of “ruining a good series” present, otherwise I could just list participants at an RNC debate… Have to Include It: The “Sand Snakes” and Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) in “Game of Thrones”…Actually, they didn’t get on my nerves so much,…
Movie Review: Why “Loving” Succeeds
People know my feelings on interracial relationships and Hollywood’s usually dismal representation of them. And so they may look at the headline of this article and say “Really? ‘Loving’ is better than ‘Moonlight’ and a lot better than ’13th?’ We knew you were going to love it, but you honestly think it’s better than any…
Movie Review: Why “Moonlight” Mostly Succeeds
“Moonlight” is about a young, gay boy growing up in Miami around a scene of drug dealers and drug addicts. Some have nicknamed it “Brokeback in the Hood” but that may take away from just what kind-of movie it is and how little actual homosexual content is in it. What Works: Mahershala Ali continues his great…
Movie Review: Why “13th” Mostly Fails
Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) seems to be building a solid career out of wildly-overrated civil-rights centric movies. But the same way “Selma” was a little too artificial and naggingly self-conscious of how important it is, “13th” never lets you forget that it’s supposed to be important, even as it’s actually kind-of a step backwards in how we talk…
Movie Review: The Arrival
Have you ever wanted to see an alien invasion film not much less soothing than a commercial for candles? “The Arrival” is your surest bet, and I know that sounds like a slam but it’s hands-down the most satisfying aliens movie in years. What Works: Every Fall for the last few years, there’s a “thinking person’s” sci-fi film…
Movie Reviews: Hologram for the King, How to be Single, Sing Street
Three very different 2016 comedies that kick off “7 reviews in 7 minutes” day… A Hologram for the King…A movie I loved because of the very things that may alienate some viewers: it’s quiet and non-flashy and the best moments happen so subtly that you may miss what really makes them work. Tom Hanks has been in…