“Vikings: Valhalla”…As a long-suffering “fan” of the original “Vikings,” I kept watching all six seasons years after most people had given up. So I wasn’t totally thrilled to see Netflix revive the “Vikings” brand, and in a way where changes are so minimal, they’re practically non-existent. Fans of the original will recognize some very familiar…
Actually, Killing Putin will PREVENT Nuclear War
Cowardly pundits in the America media seem obsessed with the idea that angering Putin in any way would lead to nuclear war, and are determined to flex their inner-Neville Chamberlains in order to pretend this situation in Ukraine can end well if all we all just give Putin everything he wants or tip-toe around him…
Appeasement Doesn’t Work, but Decapitation Does
Appeasement doesn’t work, and Alabama Liberal has real doubts about counter-insurgency, but cutting off the head of the snake (a terrorist group, a criminal cartel, or rogue state) actually is incredibly effective.
The Real “Fake News,” is that Trump is Still “Extremely Popular” Within the Republican Party
Some commentary I’ve picked up over the last year: “Alabama Liberal, you said [in a February 2021 video] that Trump’s base would quietly leave him just like W. Bush’s fanatics left him, but that hasn’t happened at all. Were you spectacularly wrong or what?” …Myself: “Not at all, and it’s actually happening faster than I…
Oscar Nominations: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Per usual, there were some notable snubs and some long-shot heartbreaker snubs that Alabama Liberal was holding out hope for. However, an unusually strong Best Picture category almost makes up for it… The Good When was the last time that the two best films of the year were actually nominated for Best Picture? Well, that’s…
Episode 90–Year of the Tiger: Biden, Year 2
What does the year ahead hold for Biden’s Presidency and the upcoming senate races? Alabama Liberal offers a guess, and then takes a deep dive into why Biden’s poll numbers have been dropping (often for contradictory reasons), the illusion that Democrats are “blowing it,” the madman on the loose that is Donald Trump, why the…
ALL 2021 Movies Ranked and Graded
Quick Note: Better late than never, Alabama Liberal was so far behind on his annual movies countdown that I wasn’t able to post it on New Year’s Day (a tradition) but nearly a month later. My apologies, but I think you’ll agree that 2021 was a pretty good year for movies, and hopefully find several…
TV Reviews: “Ozark” Season 4 (Part 1) and “The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window”
I’ve made a New Year’s resolution to include more TV and Film reviews this year (they were almost completely absent from this site in 2021). Luckily, Netflix had a pair of buzz-worthy shows in January that almost everyone on Earth has already seen and weighed in on. However, they were both improperly reviewed on Rotten…
Episode 89–National Response Scenario 6: Toxic Industrial Chemicals
In his long-awaited 89th episode (and the end of the quintet of episodes around large, often-ignored issues), Alabama Liberal looks at the enormous difference between how CoVid is treated and how toxic industrial chemicals polluting humanity are treated. Many questions are asked like: Why don’t people care more about “Forever Chemicals” in their bloodstream? Do…
Best TV Shows of 2021
Note: One thing I noticed about the TV shows I selected as the “Best of the Year” are that setting plays a huge role in almost all of them. I can’t remember a time I’ve done this annual list, and the distinctive locations of each series were so central to them; that’s even true of…
Best TV Moments (or Episodes) of 2021
A few honorable mentions: I almost included Evan Peters’s shocking death in “Mare of Easttown,” but felt conflicted; while that was certainly the most shocking murder of 2021 TV, I just felt too bad for his character (one of my favorites) to really include it as a “Best” moment. Likewise, I enjoyed “Yellowstone”‘s no-fuss, no-muss…
The BEST TV Characters of 2021
I had a hard time narrowing the list down this year, and I rewrote it a few times before finally deciding to exclude a handful of favorites. The toughest cuts included: Mandy Patinkin’s wacky-yet-earnest judge in the fourth season of “The Good Fight,” Kate Winslet’s dogged detective in “Mare of Easttown,” Anthony Mackie’s soaring arc…
Ranking and Grading ALL Seasons of “Dexter”
Here’s hoping against hope Showtime won’t greenlight some God-awful Harrison spinoff, and this actually will be all the seasons of Dexter there are. The seasons of Dexter are a little hard to properly rank since the series has two bad seasons, two terrific seasons, and five that are different variations of “pretty good.” It’s those…