In addition to “Detachment,” I caught another independent movie getting a very limited release this weekend, but the big difference is that “Seeking Justice” feels like a studio film in every way. For one thing, it has a high-concept premise. For another, it’s actually an action film. And finally, it stars Nicolas Cage. I’m not…
Movie Review: “Detachment”…an Indie that Gets it Right on Education
Continuing our independent film day, let’s talk about “Detachment.” This is only the second film Tony Kaye has ever directed, serving as his loooooong awaited followup movie to 1998’s American History X (which saw Edward Norton give the best performance of his career as a neo-nazi gang leader), and this time he’s tackling another potentially…
Monday Morning Movie Review: Casa Di Ma Padre
This is the movie that’s otherwise known as “Will Ferrell’s Spanish language debut,” in which he plays a Mexican rancher in a love triangle with his brother for the sexy niece (Genesis Rodriguez) of a major drug trafficker. What Works: Okay, so this movie is a big-time gamble and even if you don’t think it’s…
Mom Jokes: Heaven
The nun teaching Sunday school was speaking to her class one morning and she asked the question, “When you die and go to Heaven, which part of your body goes first?” Suzy raised her hand and said, “I think it’s your hands, because when you pray, you hold your hands together in front of you…
Bubba’s Sex Tips: What the Hell to Do with an Alabama St. Patrick’s Day…
There are few holidays that aren’t controversial in Alabama. Think about it. Happy Halloween! “That’s for witches and devil worshippers.” Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! “You mean Robert E. Lee day.” Have a great black history month! “How come there’s no white history month?!” Even wishing someone a Happy Easter or any other religious…
Larger Editorials: Why Independents Don’t Matter, and Being a Moderate is Overrated
“Romney is the strongest to face Obama in the Fall, because he appeals the most to moderate voters.” This is a line of thinking so often repeated, that it’s just assumed as a given to be correct. I mean, surely the candidate who is most moderate would obviously appeal to independent voters, since, he’s in…
First Tornadoes, Now The Republican Presidential Race Heads to Alabama (Haven’t We Suffered Enough?)
First, a tornado shreds up the state. Then, Rick Santorum comes. Coincidence? Anyway, today is the Alabama (and Mississippi) primary. Few people think it’s even remotely possible for Mitt Romney to win…and everyone knows it won’t matter. Romney will lose the South, but win the race. He now has a third of the delegates he…
Entertainment Editorial: The Most Promising Pilots for This Fall
Okay, a quick word about the nature of pilots and pilot season before I list some of the ones that sound most promising. Just for those that don’t know, a TV “pilot” is the very first episode of a TV series. It’s what a network will watch, and then make a decision on to see…
TV Review: HBO’s Game Change (and a small one for “Exporting Raymond”)
I don’t give a damn what anyone says, HBO is THE best network on television, and many times I would take their documentaries/TV movies over what’s in theaters. And if you need further evidence then check out “Game Change,” their TV movie that premiered this Saturday night and was better than anything put into theaters…
Movie Review: A Thousand Words
Does anyone care about this movie? I don’t know, but I saw it and might as well review it. What Works: The movie’s plot is about a fast-talking, soulless literary agent who gets thrown for a loop when he can only speak a thousand words before dying. If it sounds like an old-school concept comedy…
Monday Morning Movie Review: Silent House
Okay, so…much like The Vow, we have a little bit of false advertising here. Unlike, The Vow, I actually think the movie this winds up being is stronger than the one advertised. This is a definite “See it.” What Works: This is advertised as “Elizabeth Olsen gets terrorized by random strangers in a house for…
Movie Review: The Vow
Yeah, I hated this movie. What Works: Channing Tatum proves that he definitely is ready to be considered for a decent movie role. I feel half-bad for this guy because he’s never been BAD in anything, yet he has starred in more shitty movies than one man should have to. Come on guys, let’s see…
Monday Morning Movie Review: Project X
More like “Project Pointless.” If you’ve ever seen a movie where a couple of teenage guys are real nerdy and decide to change it by throwing a wild ass house party, you’ve seen this movie. There’s not really a “plot” per say, and the characters are all arch-types we’ve seen in everything from Superbad to…