I want to start by saying that this film is very good. I want to start by saying that because the majority of the review will consist of how it isn’t great and may be a slight disappointment if (like me) you loved Ben Affleck’s last two movies: Gone Baby Gone and The Town. What Works: The…
Category: Mindless Mondays
TV Reviews: The Walking Dead, and Arrow
Not a ton of new shows to grade this week (that I didn’t already grade on Thursday) but I thought I would throw up some quick reviews on the CW’s new Arrow and AMC’s return of Walking Dead. Arrow…This just isn’t really my kind of show. Sure, I like superheroes well enough but the CW…
Monday Morning Movie Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower
This is the best film about high school I’ve seen in years. I have to admit, it’s not my absolute favorite genre (I feel like it’s just not that interesting, and has been fully explored), but this film works not by finding an entirely revolutionary angle—–it explores some of the same tropes as other high…
Movie Review: Frankenweenie
This latest bomb from Tim Burton is an original movie that I wish I had liked more than I did. I was rooting for it, I really was, but it never quite grabbed me the way I had hoped. I think the film’s young target audience (it is made for children) will probably hate it….
Monday Morning Movie Review: Looper
A very strong, wholly original film with a terrific first third and a pretty good final act. What Works: From start to finish, this movie is showing you inventive, wildly original things you haven’t quite seen before. I particularly loved the first third of it, which keeps constantly inventing and playing with the rules in its highly…
Mom Jokes: Wrong Pills
My wife told me to go out and get some of those pills that will assist me to get an erection. You should have seen her face when I came back and gave her some diet pills. I’m now looking for a place to live…
TV Reviews: “Nashville,” “Chicago Fire,” and a Very Special Episode of “Sons of Anarchy”
Nashville…A good show that people are mistaking for a great show. The pilot was fine…f-i-n-e, not terrific like a lot of the hyperbolic praise suggests. The best thing in it is Hayden Panettiere, playing the up and coming country star that’s a little less wholesome than her red-state image suggests. [Think Carrie Underwood if she…
Movie Review: “Taken 2” A Depressing Cash-Grab Sequel
Of all the types of movies that are out there that I don’t particularly like (horror movies revolving around torture more than suspense, romantic comedies where only genetically engineered mannequins are allowed love, Bollywood) I think the most depressing may be the Cash Grab Sequel. This is a type of movie that can be in…
Mom Jokes: Other People’s Thoughts
Joke Subtitle: The Pastor’s Ass The Pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won. The Pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the race again and it won again. The local paper read: PASTOR’S ASS OUT FRONT The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he…
TV Reviews: 666 Park Avenue, Revenge, Person of Interest, Made in Jersey, and Fringe
Another week of fall premieres. Some old shows coming back, some new shows just getting started, let’s dive right in… 666 Park Avenue…This will definitely be one of those shows you should only review after a few episodes. However, last night was the premiere and I haven’t seen any others, so I have to work…
Movie Review: For a Good Time Call
This movie is about two antagonistic roommates (Lauren Miller and Ari Graynor) who gradually start a phone sex hotline (Graynor’s character already works for one, but gets cut out of the majority of the profits) and become friends. If that sounds pretty straightforward, it is, but the movie keeps finding ways to surprise you. What…
Movie Reviewer: Ten Years
Another movie that was dumped into theaters and either quickly forgotten or ignored. In fact, I doubt many readers have even heard of this film (the release never went wide). It’s about a, you guessed it, ten year high school reunion and a whole slew of under appreciated young actors star as people who haven’t…
Monday Morning Movie Reviewer: The Words
All right, so this opened a hell of a lot longer than this weekend, but sometimes the timing just doesn’t work out (there’s been a big review every week for the last few) and it’s best to hold a lesser-seen (i.e. forgotten) movie back a while. Anyway, The Words is about a struggling writer (Bradley…