I was a passionate defender of HBO’s much maligned drama The Newsroom last year, and I’m sure I will be again now that the new reviews are in and they aren’t any better than last year. Of course, the key difference between now and then is that this single episode didn’t grab me the way…
Category: Mindless Mondays
TV Review: The Bridge
FX unveiled their new series The Bridge tonight and although it’s never fair to judge a serialized drama on the basis of its pilot episode alone, I feel ambivalent about this show already. It’s really too early to tell if it’ll deliver or not, but two big things gave me pause in the pilot episode….
Movie Review: The Heat
I love the idea of a female buddy cop comedy, but I kept wanting to like this film more than I did. There are some surprising sideways laughs (nearly all of which were probably improved by Melissa McCarthy) but it’s not as funny as you might think, and I forgot most of this movie a…
Movie Review: White House Down
If I were only going to see one White House-taken-over-by-terrorists movie this year, it would be this one. It is better than G.I. Joe 2 and Olympus Has Fallen but I realize that’s not saying much and may be the definition of “back-handed compliment.” And, naturally, it’s the least commercially successful of the three… What…
Movie Review: The Lone Ranger
Apparently, no one really cares much for The Lone Ranger, judging by this weekend’s dismal box office performance. The question is more why Disney thought they would since Westerns have never been huge blockbusters, “big budget genre bending Westerns” (Cowboys and Aliens, Wild Wild West) are more commonly known as “Flops,” and they haven’t had…
TV Review: Family Tree
Christopher Guest’s gentile, no-great-shakes comedy series ended its first season last night on HBO and I’d say the first eight episodes of this show were a mixed affair. It’s no secret that Christopher Guest comedies are more for subtle chuckles than belly laughs, and his first ongoing TV show is no different. Of course, his…
TV Reviews: Mad Men, Veep, Ray Donovan, and Hannibal
3 season finales and a season premiere… Mad Men…The show ended its sixth season with more of a reflective door slam (firing) than a bang (death, as some rumored). It wasn’t as elegantly existential as last year’s finale (the one that finished with “You Only Live Twice” playing over Don being asked if he…
Movie Review: World War Z
So Brad Pitt finally has a big, fat tentpole picture and it turned out to be a surprise hit instead of the sure-fire flop everyone thought it would be. Hooray, right?! Well, not exactly…the movie is only so-so, and I’m afraid that it’s box office performance (the biggest of Pitt’s storied career) will inspire him…
Alabama Apocalypse
Since the Apocalypse is all the rage in pop culture right now… A senior citizen in Alabama was overheard saying “When the end of the world comes, I hope to be in Alabama.“ When asked why, he replied, “I’d rather be in Alabama ’cause every thang in Alabama happens 20 years later than in…
Movie Review: Monsters University
Before I saw this prequel to Monsters Inc. I was pretty sure it would be a mildly diverting, mostly formulaic cash-grab that really only exists because the original movie was such a merchandising hit. [The once inspired Pixar now seems primarily driven by selling toys, as evidenced by this and Cars 2.] And I was…
NBC’s “Hannibal” is Horror Done Right
The first season of NBC’s unexpectedly excellent adaptation of the Hannibal Lecter character winds to a close tonight. And for the many, many people who aren’t watching this series (I haven’t gotten a single person into it…so far), you’re really missing out. The series is closest to the Manhunter movie (the very first Hannibal Lecter…
Movie Review: Man of Steel
Before I saw this movie, I would have bet money it was going to be really, really good. The trailer for it is fantastic, and promised a darker, richer Superman than what we’re used to. The truth is, we’ve never had a flat-out, unequivocally great Superman movie (all those people that didn’t like Bryan Singer’s…
Movie Review: “This is the End” One of the Absolute Best Films of the Year
I don’t think 2013 has been a very good year for movies so far. I can count the number of films I would rate a B+ or better on one hand. And then along comes “This is the End” (worth noting: it was Alabama Liberal’s number 2 pick for the most promising films of summer)…