Recently, I’ve grown exhausted “defending” the new season of Arrested Development. Sure, the show has always been an acquired taste that will confuse the New Girl-crowd and fully alienate most of the people that think The Big Bang Theory is a hoot and a holler. [This is a really smart show about mostly wacky people…
Movie Review: The Way Way Back
This movie desperately wants to be the next Little Miss Sunshine but I really don’t think it is. It’s set during the summer vacation of a very lonely and introverted kid——and it is a testament to this kid’s lack of charisma or presence that I honestly cannot remember his name or the actor who played…
Movie Review: The Bling Ring
Sofia Coppolla’s detached yet intriguing movie based on a real-life ring of kids who broke into celebrity homes and stole expensive crap from them that they didn’t even know was missing. What Works: There’s something audacious about watching shallow young thieves break into the homes of shallow young celebrities and steal items of such conspicuous…
Movie Review: Before Midnight
The ending to Richard Linklater’s excellent indie trilogy also happens to be the most realistically romantic movie I’ve seen in years. What Works: 18 years ago, Ethan Hawke’s Jesse met Julie Delpy’s Celeste on a train in Before Sunrise and the two twentysomethings talked, felt a deep connection, and made love. 9 years ago, the…
Movie Review: Upstream Color
Since this weekend only saw the release of R.I.P.D. and Reds 2 (neither of which I think people are exactly clamoring for a review of) I decided to focus on some smaller indies I watched a couple weeks ago but haven’t gotten around to reviewing… Note: This is Shane Carruth’s follow-up to the huge cult…
Movie Review: Girl Most Likely
This is Kristen Wiig’s big follow-up to Bridesmaids (the fluke runaway hit that critics loved beyond reason) and it’s a flop. I actually didn’t hate the movie, but plenty of critics did. It has an abysmal 15 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes (for an indie film, that’s as rough as it gets) and I know it won’t…
Emmy Nominations–The Best Surprises and Worst Snubs
There’s been a lot of grumbling about the new Emmy nominations and there are a litany of the usual complaints. “They honor too many of the same old shows!” Yeah, but when the same old shows are Homeland, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad, they kind-of have to. These are critically beloved dramas that deserve their…
Larger Editorial: Why, Sadly, George Zimmerman is a Symbol of Our Times
By now, everyone and their brother has weighed in on the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman “incident” (or hate crime, depending on your perspective) and I wrote more than a couple articles about it all those months ago when it was just getting started. Since then, Zimmerman has been officially acquitted, the stand your ground law isn’t…
Fast Food Critic: Watermelon Oreos
For a limited time only, Oreo is releasing these beauties, which use a golden (vanilla wafer) oreo cookie instead of a chocolate one and a pink and green filling twisted into the shape of the inside of a watermelon. While You’re Eating Them: They’re basically a Starburst sandwiched in-between two Teddy Grahams. After You’re Done:…
Cancelled Shows Return: 666 Park Avenue, Zero Hour, and Do No Harm
Perhaps “return” is the wrong word, but several shows that were cancelled during the regular TV season are now having their “leftover” episodes burned off. Do the new episodes make me wish they weren’t gone too soon? Not exactly… 666 Park Avenue…Before it Got Yanked: This was a so-so show at best. The two main…
“TV” Review: Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” is Quietly Sensational
Netflix’s newest original series is also a triumph. Just after I got the bad taste of Hemlock Grove out of my mouth (more on that travesty down the road) I gave this occasionally indulgent, potentially alienating series a real shot and I found that each episode got better, deeper, funnier, and more touching. It starts…
Movie Review: Despicable Me 2
I think the original Despicable Me was only so-so but I would say that it is more of a B movie and this one is closer to a C+ if that gives you some sense of scale. What Works: Ummm…well, if you had a good time with the first one you’ll probably only check your…
Movie Reviews: Grown Ups 2
This is a sequel to (arguably) the worst Adam Sandler comedy ever, had a trailer that seemed to be even less promising, and is my pick for the least anticipated movie of the summer. To say I was going into this one with high hopes would have Pinocchio calling me a lying sack of shit….