A limp, uninspired comedy that wants so badly to be “outrageous” but grows progressively lamer and tamer the more it keeps going. What Works: [crickets]…uhhh…well, if you’ve ever wondered what Jennifer Aniston might look like in a platinum stripper wig and black spandex, the first ten minutes will be decent for you to watch. Still,…
Category: Mindless Mondays
Movie Reviews: Planes
A direct and blatant rip-off of Pixar’s Cars except now with planes (and a few cars for good measure). Similar to Turbo in that only hardcore animation fans or families that desperately want something to do with their kids will really find value in it. What Works: The idea of a race around the world…
TV Reviews: Finales of “True Blood” and “Whodunnit”
Two shamefully bad shows that have grown into the ultimate guilty pleasures. True Blood in that it was a once-promising show that has devolved into a parody of itself. And Whodunnit in that it is probably the single worst show I have ever watched from start to finish…yet I found unexplainable enjoyment in it the…
HBO’s Summer Docs, Part II…Casting By, First Comes Love, Pussy Riot, and Cheshire Murders
I felt reviewing a whopping eight documentaries in one post would have been too much, so now the B-team documentaries of HBO’s Summer Documentary series… The Cheshire Murders…I honestly don’t even get why they made this movie. I’m not trying to be funny or snarky, but I watched the whole thing thinking “What’s the…
HBO’S Summer Docs: Americans in Bed, Gasland II, Love Marilyn, and Gideon’s Army
Another Summer, another series from HBO to make Mondays go by a little faster. I can’t say this is my favorite collection of docs, as most of them have been only so-so, but it’s nice to know that HBO maintains their commitment to this series. Americans in Bed…Last night’s addition to the list has…
Monday Morning Movie Review: Elysium (in IMAX)
Months ago I tapped this film as my most anticipated for the summer. It seemed to be the rare blockbuster that was remotely concerned with the world we live in, and it turns out that that’s true…to a point. Even if Elysium ultimately falls a little short of expectations, it’s still one of the absolute…
TV Review: Clear History
HBO debuted this Larry David-starring TV movie on Saturday night in hopes of placating Curb Your Enthusiasm fans who have been waiting two years for another season (if there will even be another one). I can’t say it’s an entirely successful substitute although I really love the idea of David branching out into different plots and directions….
Movie Review: 2 Guns
A textbook example of how expectations can alter your experience at the movies. I think this movie looked like generic junk a couple months——-hell, a couple weeks before it opened. And then the buzz got progressively better a few days before it opened (reviews were actually good, there were rumored to be interesting twists, Paula Patton had…
Movie Review: The Wolverine
To say that this Wolverine is vastly better than the first standalone film for him is the ultimate backhanded compliment. I’m only saying this movie is good (not great) but judging by all the lackluster superhero/comic-book movies clogging up theaters in the last couple years, that just might be good enough. What Works: The Wolverine…
Mom Joke: The Golfer
A golfer was involved in a terrible car crash and was rushed to the hospital. Just before he was put under, the surgeon popped in to see him. “I have some good news and some bad news,” says the surgeon. “The bad news is that I have to remove your right arm!” “Oh God no!” cries…
TV Review: Premieres of “Breaking Bad,” “Low Winter Sun,” and “Talking Bad”
Breaking Bad has now been so excellent for so long, that it’s become easy to take it for granted. Tonight’s episode was an alive, full-blooded reminder of why you shouldn’t. [Spoilers ahead…and potentially huge spoilers in just the first scene that showed a future version of Walt…well, just watch it.] In the mid-season cliffhanger from…
The 5 Seasons of Breaking Bad Mirror the 5 Stages of Dying
I thought I might share an observation I’ve noticed about the five seasons. The main plot of the show: a mild-mannered, brilliant (and perpetually under appreciated) high school chemistry teacher gets cancer and begins cooking a purified form of crystal meth (to provide for his family once he’s gone, to pay for his medical bills,…
TV Review: Hell On Wheels
TV’s only true Western is back in style last night with a Saturday night third season premiere that almost no one watched because it was Saturday night. [Although I like that AMC is thinking outside the box, and that I could have a show to watch if I’m ever at home or bored on a Saturday.] The…