We now step firmly into genre work with two spooooky ghost stories, a rousing sci-fi adventure, and Salman Rushdie’s excellent meditation on Jinn as an allegory for terrorism. Two Years, Eight Months, and Twenty Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie…Terrific novel that starts a little slow, but builds up to a terrific conclusion as it becomes clear…
Book Reviews: Rogue Lawyer, Marauders, House of Wolfe, Other Son, and The Swimmer
It’s been way too long since I’ve done any book reviews, and—in keeping with a proud Alabama Liberal tradition of overkill—I’ve decided to do 24 of them in 24 hours. [Hey, why not clear 2015’s books out all in one day with a special promotion?] We begin with five “thrillers” (everything from spy to legal)…
Book Reviews: The Kind Worth Killing, The Hand That Feeds You, The Daylight Marriage
These are all domestic thrillers that had various tactics in exploring the age-old theme (well…since “Gone Girl” scored Harry Potter level sales anyway) of relationships gone bad. I’ll admit that some strategies work better than others. The Hand That Feeds You by A.J. Rich…Whereas “The Daylight Marriage” went for realism and “The Kind Worth Killing”…
Movie Review: Zootopia
The best of the lot, and that may not be saying much since I didn’t like any of the other movies reviewed today, but “Zootopia” actually is really good. What Works: Yet another example that the most quality big-studio films coming out these days are actually movies that are technically “for kids.” Between the simple pleasures…
Movie Review: Allegiant
The latest in the “Divergent” series is just killing time before the conclusion, and is yet another example in Hollywood’s questionable decision to keep splitting the final part of a Young Adult trilogy into two films. It’s never been necessary—from Twilight to Hunger Games—and it’s particularly obvious it’s not here, since we’re essentially watching half…
Movie Review: Gods of Egypt
Whew…this is just not the day for quality films. What Works: Egyptian mythology is a great jumping off point for a movie. We know too little about it and that should give it the thrill of the new if done right. Sadly, this is not an example of it being “done right.” I will say that every now…
Movie Review: The Brothers Grimsby
This movie is horrible. What Works…In Name Only: The magic of Sacha Baron Cohen mostly involves tricking unsuspecting people into revealing their prejudices (Borat, Bruno), and it actually works really well. But his scripted movies? Not so much. “The Dictator” was underwhelming but still worthy of your time. However, this spy comedy is nearly unwatchable. Most…
Hollywood Can Absolutely Do Something About Georgia’s Anti-LGBT Law
Since The Supreme Court has decided that marriage equality can be the law of the land, and anti-gay voices also lost their biggest advocate when Antonin Scalia died, it was only a matter of time before the Southeast decided to give up a losing battle and allow gay people to live equally right? Hell no!…
Bentley is Embarrassing but Not Nearly as Much as Other Republican Governors
What’s it like to be from a state where you might occasionally get mentioned in the national news for something positive? Other people probably see their home state trending on twitter and think “Cool, I can’t wait to see what it’s about!” But Alabamians know all too well it won’t be for something positive, and…
Episode 14–Are Doomed Campaigns Ponzi Schemes? Plus, “Election Industrial Complex”
We explore the growing “Election Industrial Complex” and how our elections have become a big business. And discuss some big questions like: are doomed political campaigns the new ponzi schemes? Is it wrong for politicians on a losing mission (cough, Bernie and Kasich, cough) to keep getting money for campaigns that can’t win? Is their…
Choosing Merrick Garland is a Brilliant Move on Obama’s Part
In the face of historically bull-headed Republican opposition, President Obama had one of two ways he could go: one was choosing the furthest, wackadoodle leftist judge you could ever imagine since he has no hope of getting any justice confirmed. It would be a triumphiant bone thrown to the restless base, but would really not…
Kasich Should Quit Now and Go Out on a High Note
John Kasich should quit. No, really, he’s done. Now that’s probably not an opener to an article you would expect about Kasich on a night when he won his first state of the primary season. But it’s exactly the kind-of thing you should expect and should be hearing, but probably haven’t heard since the media is desperate to keep…
Clinton and Trump are the Nominees, Get Over It
In an article written a few days ago, I said March 15th would definitively tell us who would win the primaries. People scoffed, and I’m not one to say “I told you so” but Alabama Liberal’s election predictions are usually better than the ones people are paying big money to get on other media outlets,…