Jeff "Jmunney" Malone's Self-Styled "Expert" Thoughts on Movies, TV, Music, and the Rest of Pop Culture
February 14, 2016
Television, What Won TV? Baskets, Childrens Hospital, Jane the Virgin, Man Seeking Woman, Saturday Night Live, SNL, Super Bowl Babies, The People vs. O.J. Simpson Leave a comment
In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.
Sunday – Super Bowl Babies
Monday – Jane the Virgin
Tuesday – The People vs. O.J. Simpson
Wednesday – Man Seeking Woman, Jesus Edition
Thursday – Baskets
Friday – Childrens Hospital
Saturday – Kanye vs. Kyle rap battle on SNL
February 13, 2016
Best in Film 2015, Best of 2015, Cinema, Television Best of 2015, Brooklyn, Creed, Furious 7, Krampus, Mad Max: Fury Road, Room, Sleeping with Other People, The Peanuts Movie, The Visit, Unfriended Leave a comment
I already posted my top 10 list, but wouldn’t you know it, there were plenty of other great movies. Here are three less than a baker’s dozen worth:
11. Mad Max: Fury Road – Charlize barks at the moon, giving us our most iconic image of 2015.
12. Krampus – The tricks are a treat, as is the teamwork among a dysfunctional family.
13. Creed – Adonis unapologetically forges ahead to be true to his identity and establish his family.
14. Sleeping with Other People – The question this time isn’t, “Can men and women be friends without wanting to sleep with each other?” but “Why wouldn’t they if they like each other enough?”
15. The Visit – Right at home on the corner of creepy and hilarious.
16. Brooklyn – Even when Eilis Lacey’s life is hard, there is so much love in her world.
17. Unfriended – The most formally ingenious movie in years, perhaps decades even.
18. The Peanuts Movie – Charlie Brown is preternaturally neurotic; ergo, this one’s a thinker.
19. Room – Tight corners promote empathy.
20. Furious 7 – The first F&F movie in which I actually remembered some of the plot aftewards.
February 13, 2016
Commercials, Sports, Super Bowl Commercials, Television Acura, AXE, Doritos, Paul Rudd, Super Bowl Babies, Super Bowl Commercials Leave a comment
The Super Bowl was 6 days ago. I am posting this list on a Saturday. The biggest trends this year were cinematic montages and Paul Rudd.
4. AXE, “Find Your Magic” – Inclusivity.
February 12, 2016
Television Abed x Rachel, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., April x Andy, Arrow, Bob x Linda, Bob's Burgers, Boy Meets World, Community, Cory x Topanga, Desmond x Penny, FitzSimmons, Frankie x Mike, Girl Meets World, Jeff x Annie, Lost, Mad Men, New Girl, Nick x Jess, Olicity, Parks and Recreation, Peggy x Stan, snowbarry, Suburgatory, Tessa x Ryan, The Flash, The Middle 1 Comment
Inspired by the latest AV Club Q&A and the upcoming Cupid Day, here are my favorite TV ships of all time. Generally, I only ship characters who legitimately could get together in-universe. Also, I prefer couplings that are actually healthy for the couples; pairings of folks who are wrong for each other can be entertaining, but rooting for them is something different than shipping (at least the kind that I practice). Organized by category, here are my top choices.
PROBABLY NOT GOING TO HAPPEN
-Barry-Caitlin, The Flash
February 11, 2016
Television, The Middle, The Middle Episode Reviews Film Friends and Fruit Pies, The Middle, The Middle 714, The Middle Season 7 Leave a comment
February 10, 2016
New Girl, New Girl Episode Reviews, Television New Girl, New Girl 506, New Girl Season 5, Reagan Leave a comment
Where the hell is Winston’s cherry? http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/02/10/new-girl-season-5-episode-6-recap-mega
February 10, 2016
Muppets (2015 TV Series), Muppets Episode Reviews, Television A Tail of Two Piggies, The Muppets, The Muppets 112, The Muppets on ABC, The Muppets Season 1, UnveilTheTail Leave a comment
Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Diapers http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/02/10/the-muppets-season-1-episode-12-recap-
February 7, 2016
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television bern your enthusiasm, Bernie Sanders, Can a bitch get a donut, Kevin Roberts, Larry David, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live 4112, Saturday Night Live Season 41, SNL, SNL Season 41, The 1975 1 Comment
SNL: Larry David, The 1975, Kate McKinnon
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in February 2016.
If you want to enjoy life, it is best to keep complaining to a minimum. But if you want to put on a good comedy show, you’re going to want to have some complaints. That is why Larry David is an ideal “SNL” host, even though he is the type of guy who hates hosting anything. That tension of constantly being bothered by the things that he is best at is the stuff that dreams, and memorable television, are made of. The fact that he also looks and sounds exactly like one of the major presidential candidates is just a bonus.
A Message from Ted Cruz – The show kicks off with “SNL” showing perhaps its strongest bite yet in this election cycle, with Taran Killam pulling no punches in his portrayal of Ted Cruz as the most odious human being ever. While this is admirably fearless, it is not the freshest angle. It kind of writes itself, honestly, what with his daughter refusing to hug him and tricking voters into believing that an opponent has dropped out of the race. Framing the greatest challenge of his campaign as overcoming the handicap of “Being Ted Cruz” is a neat enough trick, making for a cold opening that is more clever than surprising. B-
February 7, 2016
Television, What Won TV? Baskets, bern your enthusiasm, Childrens Hospital, Man Seeking Woman, Saturday Night Live, SNL, The Good Wife, The People vs. O.J. Simpson, The X-Files Leave a comment
In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.
Sunday – The Good Wife
Monday – The X-Files, with Rhys Darby astutely observing the ridiculousness of ties
Tuesday – The People vs. O.J. Simpson
Wednesday – Man Seeking Woman
Thursday – Baskets
Friday – Childrens Hospital
Saturday – bern your enthusiasm, and all of SNL really
February 6, 2016
Best of 2015, Best of TV 2015, Television 12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer, Bird Up, Bojack Horseman, Community, Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television, Inside Amy Schumer, Let's Find Out, Rick and Morty, The Eric Andre Show, Total Rickall Leave a comment
If you binge through this list, you will get a good sense of the televisual excellence of 2015. These selections lean heavily toward comedy, for two reasons: I watch more comedies than dramas, and comedies naturally distill their greatness more readily into individual episodes while dramas do so more naturally in multi-episode arcs. The top 5 are ranked below, while the rest are unranked and organized alphabetically by show.
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