Not nearly as good as the first one, not even close. It’s too similar in all the wrong ways, and I can see why the crowds didn’t turn up the way they did for the first one. [This sequel is a major box office disappointment.] What Works: It’s great to see Rosario Dawson back in…
Category: Mindless Mondays
Movie Review: The November Man
Just a cruddy and generic action movie that’s one of those “filmed and financed outside the U.S. with an aging action star” wanks that should have went straight to Red Box but because late August/early September has such ridiculously low competition they decided to release it in theaters. What Works: Pierce Brosnan hasn’t lost much…
Movie Review: Into the Storm
This is that “tornado” movie that opened a month ago and nobody much cares about now, but I had to sit through it which means I might as well review it… What Works: So the bar is set pretty low for tornado movies, as “Twister” may be the gold standard bearer for them and it’s…
TV Review: Sons of Anarchy’s Most Bloated Episode Yet
Is Sons of Anarchy a good show? Not really, but it sure is persistent. The series has had occasional flashes of greatness—season 2’s villain and aspects of seasons 4 and 5 were very strong—but this seventh and final season begins right after a series’ worst sixth-season which felt bloated even by Kurt Sutter’s standards. In…
Summer TV Round-Up: “Halt and Catch Fire,” “Gang Related,” “Longmire,” “Falling Skies”
Part 2 of 2 of summer TV shows that may have slipped underneath the radar… Halt and Catch Fire…I’ve seen every episode of every scripted show AMC has produced (meaning more “Rubicon” than that reality show about competitive arm wrestling), and it’s become clear that the network is in something of a creative rut these days….
TV Review: The Quality Collapse of “Tyrant”
I can’t believe it’s taken this long, but Alabama Liberal has to give out its first (that I can remember) mea culpa. I told everyone who would listen about what a great show “Tyrant” is and how everyone and their brother should watch it or else wish they had when it gets big in a…
Summer TV Round-Up: “Power,” “Vicious,” “Assets,” “Crossbones,” “Maron”
Summer TV is officially over and now it’s time to look back on the summer that was, including some shows that probably flew under most people’s radars…[Part 1 of 2] Starz’ “Power”…Starz decided to take a break from technically glorious but stuffy period pieces and make this “urban” “crime” “drama.” Now if you’re wondering…
TV Reviews: “Boardwalk Empire” is Back…But Do We Still Care?
I’ll keep this review brief since I suspect there’s not much fanfare for Boardwalk Empire’s fifth and final season. The season premiere felt like an afterthought and the final season is only 8 episodes vs. the series’ usual 12 episode order, so it’s safe to say that not even HBO will really miss this show….
Discover One of TV’s Hidden Treasures, “Nathan for You”
If you’re not watching Comedy Central’s “Nathan For You,” then do yourself a favor and catch up with it. This is one of the funniest shows on TV that seemingly no one has heard of, and that’s a shame because I haven’t watched an episode yet that didn’t have real, genuine belly laughs. The show…
Movie Review: “The Giver” When Other Critics Just Don’t Get It
It happens, sometimes critics are just flat-out wrong on a film. It’s rare, and it doesn’t happen a lot (sorry, but most movies they pan really do suck), but you can set your watch to the kind of movie it will happen to: it is almost always a mid-budget movie with some serious ambition that critics can…
Movie Review: What If
Most people have probably never heard of this Daniel Radcliffe-starring indie romantic comedy, and that’s because it narrowly falls through the cracks of most “on the radar” criteria. It’s too small to be considered a mainstream release, and the reviews aren’t good enough to make it an art house hit. Some might say you’re better…
Movie Review: “Let’s Be Cops”
This turd somehow became a surprise mini-hit this weekend, taking in almost as much as its tiny budget, and beating out Expendables 3 at the box office…hmmm, a Let’s Be Cops vs. Expendables 3 battle, talk about the land where dwarfs cast tall shadows. What Works: The idea of Jake Johnson (the poor man’s Oscar…
Movie Review: “Boyhood” The Next Contemporary Classic
If “Snowpiercer” is talked about by cult fans for years to come, then I can imagine “Boyhood” being talked about by film scholars for decades to come. The film springs from a deceptively simple “gimmick” of following the same cast for 12 years (director Richard Linklater worked on the cheap, and shot a couple scenes…