The Central African Republican experienced a coup by rebels last week, as their president fled to Cameroon (although some reports say he didn’t stay there long and will eventually seek exile in Benin). And yet the media barely covered it. Although I can see where they might not have time to talk about it, what…
Movie Review: Spring Breakers
This is otherwise known as the movie where Disney “angels” (Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgins) fall. They, along with two anonymous and interchangeable white girls go on a drug and booze fueled Spring Break with a few of them (but not Gomez) participating in a robbery to get down there. The label of “Disney girls…
Movie Review: The Croods
This movie is exactly what you would expect. It won’t surprise or challenge you in any way, and nothing rocks the boat as it sails toward a big family-first finish that packs a message. And yet, I enjoyed it. Your kids will love it, and I’d much rather sit through this than the last Ice…
Movie Reviews: Admission
This movie opened and died in theaters this weekend, and I can’t really say people that chose to skip it were missing a lot. However, it’s a likable, solidly B-grade dramedy that won’t leave you feeling too ripped off if you’re one of the few who stumbled into a theater before it’s gone in two weeks….
TV Reviews: Al Pacino as “Phil Specter”
I was a big fan of the previous Al Pacino/HBO biopic pairing, You Don’t Know Jack, which taught me more about the life of the infamous Dr. Jack Kevorkian than a thousand features on CNN could. BUT, sadly, lightening doesn’t strike in this for instance. This “biopic” deals exclusively with the infamous record-producer/weirdo’s court case…
Petty Issues: Colorado Gunman is Now Muslim, Limbaugh is Now a Feminist, and Yet the World Keeps Spinning
Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss (yep, that’s a real name) said he’s not for gay marriage because “I’m not gay, so I’m not going to marry one.” Brilliant logic there Chambliss. In fact, I’m not a Hindu, so I don’t believe in Hindu marriage, I’m not an alien so I don’t believe in alien life, and…
Best Docs of 2012: House I Live In, Queen of Versailles, Imposter, Side by Side, Mansome, Ai Weiwei
Last Monday, I reviewed the majority of what the Academy Awards considered the best documentaries of 2012, and yet…I don’t think a one of them would have made my list. Only The Invisible War would even be close. So what would make the cut? Runner-Up: Mansome…Morgan Spurlock’s dissection of what makes a man in the…
TV Reviews: Bates Motel, Top of the Lake, and the Finale of Deception
Bates Motel…The latest evidence that people will tell any story as long as it’s not a new story. The idea that the teenage years of Psycho’s Norman Bates (a character that first became a part of pop culture in 1960…and hasn’t evolved or strengthened his reach on it since) would be fascinating to anyone has less to…
“The Good Wife” Only Portrays Black Women as Antagonists
The Good Wife is supposed to be set in Chicago (it’s really filmed in New York) and is a pretty realistic depiction of politics and power in that city. And yet…black recurring characters are few and far between, odd for a city that is known for having a strong base of African-American influence (Obama said…
TV Review: “Girls” vs. “Enlightened,” Why the Wrong One Gets All the Buzz
It’s an age-old question: girls vs. women, bubbly young girls vs. mature wizened women, HBO’s overrated but buzzy “Girls” vs. HBO’s underrated but struggling-to-avoid-cancellation “Enlightened,” about a woman trying to live a deeper, more meaningful life. As you can already tell, I’m firmly in the “Enlightened” camp, and yet things look pretty grim for the…
Movie Review: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
Honestly, there’s a part of me that feels so bad for this Steve Carell-Jim Carrey flop (that opened and died at the box office this weekend) that I’m tempted to take it easy on it. After all, it has some decent laughs, a pair of good supporting performances, and is clearly made with more heart…
Movie Review: Snitch
This movie came out a month ago, and so nobody probably cares about it at this point, and I can’t really blame them, but don’t despair, there are plenty of new articles coming today. What Works: This action-“drama” starring none other than The Rock (in his “serious actor” mode, which feels even more patently fake…
Why It’s a Mistake for MSNBC to Deep-Six Ed Shultz
Tonight, will be Ed Shultz’s last show in his 8 p.m. eastern weeknight time slot. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Ed is fired, as he’s moving to weekends in April, but there’s no question it’s a step down. Sure, Ed has framed it as a positive thing, and even said he volunteered for it. [I think the…