Who Will Win Best Actor… 5. Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”…I’m sure he’s just thrilled to be nominated, and he should be considering this should’ve gone to Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, or Christian Bale 4. Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”…This film has a lot of people who absolutely love it, but I’m not sure a…
Category: Mindless Mondays
When Will George RR Martin Finish all “Game of Thrones” Books?
AL attempts to answer the biggest question in books: when will George RR Martin finish BOTH of the remaining “Game of Thrones” books? And he has a pretty troubling answer…
Ranking and Grading “The Good Place” Seasons
A quick, spoiler-free review about “The Good Place” series finale: it was nearly perfect. After a somewhat sluggish start to this season (probably too many episodes were devoted to the experiment), the last handful of episodes have been excellent, soulful, thought provoking, character-rich, heartbreaking, romantic, funny, moving, and true. Although the finale tricked us somewhat…
Most (and Least) Anticipated Movies of 2020
Ten Movies I’m Not Looking Forward to Runner-Up: “Halloween Kills”…Although the 2018 “Halloween” was fine, there was something implied that it would be the end of the saga and that was most of the reason it worked…as an ending. Now there are at least two more “Halloweens” coming, and it’s beginning to feel like poor…
TV Shows I’m Looking Forward to in 2020
One show I’m not looking forward to: “American Crime Story: Impeachment” …I have no idea why Ryan Murphy decided to stop work on a Hurricane Katrina-themed season (which would’ve been excellent) to rehash a “scandal” that was already ridiculously overblown. The first two “Crime” stories centered around murders…this is about the world’s costliest blowjob, still…
All 2019 Movies Ranked from Worst to Best
2019 was an interesting year…the last of a decade no one will likely have great fondness for (movie-wise or otherwise), the year’s movies trended towards overlong opuses from master directors and largely forgettable blockbusters we haven’t seen in this volume since the mid-90s. With Disney snapping up Fox (which made my pick for the year’s…
Who Will Be Nominated (and Who Should Be) for Oscars
Best Supporting Actress Who Should Be Nominated 5. Mindy Kaling in “Late Night” …People always talk about how comedy is routinely snubbed, and yet never do anything about it. Why not change that by honoring Mindy’s best performance to date? [Especially in the less competitive supporting category.] 4. Lee Jung-eun in “Parasite” …Opinions vary wildly…
All “Star Wars” Ranked and Graded from Worst to Best
Tier 4…These are the “Star Wars” movies I think are flat-out bad, and have no redeeming qualities. The Worst: “The Force Awakens”…I know most people seemed to like this movie a lot more than I did, but its commercial and especially critical success is still mystifying to me. Everything that is wrong with the newest…
The Best Non-Fiction Books of the Year
10. “Imagination” by Jim Davies …”How does your imagination actually work?” This is a question I have never asked, and Jim Davies fascinating book is not only the best science book of the year, but surprisingly accessible even if Science isn’t your strongest subject. 9. “In the Dream House” by Carmen Maria Machado …There were…
The Best Fiction Books of the Year
Embarrassing note on number 10: I would’ve loved to have included Pierce Brown’s “Dark Age” and Erin Morgenstern’s “The Starless Sea” in this countdown, but I wasn’t able to finish them in time. However, since I’m fairly confident at least one would’ve been included, it didn’t feel right to exclude them completely. 9. [tie] “My…
Best TV Shows of 2019
Runner-Ups: I didn’t want to count TV movies, although HBO had a trio of great ones in “Brexit,” “OG,” and especially the return of “Deadwood.” Also, “Crashing,” “On Becoming a God in Central Florida,” and especially “Veep”‘s final season were all worth watching. 10. “The Righteous Gemstones” …Given the outrageously over-the-top nature of televangelists, it…
My Favorite TV Episodes or Moments of 2019
Runner-Up: I wasn’t a fan of “True Detective”‘s third season overall, but the final episode (resolving the mystery…without the main detective knowing it) was excellent. Mahershala Ali’s dementia-suffering detective having a flashback to where he disappeared into the Vietnamese jungle is one of my favorite shots of the year. 10. Walton Goggins and Edi Patterson…
The BEST TV Characters of 2019
Best Group: “The Good Place”…This series may be a victim of its own success, as there was simply no way I could pick just one or two characters to list here. Conscientious Chidi (William Jackson Harper) grew smoother and more relaxed in the final season, Eleanor (Kristen Bell) found new layers of management skills and…