Brick’s still not ready to give up the fight about library hours. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/05/12/the-middle-season-7-episode-23-recap-f
The Middle 7.23 – “Find My Hecks”
May 13, 2016
Television, The Middle, The Middle Episode Reviews Find My Hecks, The Middle, The Middle 723, The Middle Season 7 Leave a comment
New Girl 5.21/5.22: “Wedding Eve”/”Landing Gear”
May 11, 2016
New Girl, New Girl Episode Reviews, Television Landing Gear, New Girl, New Girl 521, New Girl 522, New Girl Season 5, Nick x Jess, Wedding Eve Leave a comment
SNL Recap May 7, 2016: Brie Larson/Alicia Keys
May 9, 2016
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Alicia Keys, Brie Larson, Church Chat, Church Lady, Dana Carvey, Dead Bopz, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live 4119, Saturday Night Live Season 41, SNL, SNL Season 41 Leave a comment
SNL: Alicia Keys, Brie Larson, Taran Killam (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in May 2016.
“SNL” has a tendency to book recently anointed Oscar winners and nominees as hosts. Last year, it was J.K. Simmons a few weeks before the ceremony, and Michael Keaton a couple months after. This season, it is Brie Larson’s turn, with the holiday serving as a tie-in to her award-winning role. It is a sound strategy, as that Academy recognition generally guarantees that these people can act. They do not necessarily have to be funny, so long as they fulfill their roles just as the writing asks them to. Brie proves herself perfectly capable, and the writing lives up to her level.
Church Chat – As Trump Judgment Day has finally come to pass, the cold opening for this episode would of course be political. But it is not the normal cable news parody. In a fit of inspiration, and a wink to the past, Dana Carvey drops by to revive his most prolific and iconic (solo) character. Church Lady’s tsk-tsking of the Donald makes perfect sense (she’s done it before), but her hectoring of Ted Cruz feels a little like kicking an ally while he’s down. Not that Enid Strict wouldn’t do that – it is just a slightly different mode for her. Anyway, it is nice to see an old favorite, but it is tricky for her to find some really good putdowns, as Trump is too cartoonish and Cruz is too pathetic. Not all is lost, though, as Trump’s mangling of Bible facts is chuckle-worthy (though standard issue) and Cruz’s resurrection as a demon – though it may not hit as hard as it might like – is a worthwhile experiment. B-
What Won TV? – May 1-May 7, 2016
May 9, 2016
Television, What Won TV? American Dad!, Dead Bopz, Inside Amy Schumer, Mr. Pickles, Saturday Night Live, Silicon Valley, SNL, The Grinder, The Middle, VICE 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 – Silicon Valley at its sharpest (but Mr. Pickles wins Scene of the Week for its dinner with a cannibal)
Monday – American Dad!
Tuesday – The Grinder
Wednesday – The MiddleThursday – Inside Amy Schumer gets the edge for taking the nanny sketch as far as it can stretch.
Friday – VICE
Saturday – SNL, esp. Dead Bopz
The Middle 7.22 – “Not Mother’s Day”
May 5, 2016
Television, The Middle, The Middle Episode Reviews Not Mother's Day, The Middle, The Middle 722, The Middle Season 7 Leave a comment
Now everything’s in Korean! http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/05/05/the-middle-season-7-episode-22-recap-t
New Girl 5.19/5.20: “Dress”/”Return to Sender”
May 4, 2016
New Girl, New Girl Episode Reviews, Television New Girl, New Girl 519, New Girl 520, New Girl Dress, New Girl Season 5, Return to Sender Leave a comment
Winston’s hot as hell. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/05/04/new-girl-season-5-episodes-19-and-20-r
What Won TV? – April 24-April 30, 2016
May 2, 2016
Television, What Won TV? black-ish, FitzSimmons, Inside Amy Schumer, Last Week Tonight, New Girl, Obama out, RuPaul's Drag Race, W. Kamau Bell, White House Correspondents Dinner 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 – An assist from Lin-Manuel Miranda gives Last Week Tonight the edge.
Monday – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Tuesday – New Girl, more the bachelorette party than the bachelor party (Although of course, the characters that won Tuesday – and the whole week – were FitzSimmons.)
Wednesday – black-ish
Thursday – Inside Amy Schumer – guns, trolls, Neeson (Don Cheadle)
Friday – W. Kamau Bell: Semi-Permanent Negro
Saturday – “Obama out.“
This Is a Movie Review: The Jungle Book (2016)
April 30, 2016
Cinema, Movie Reviews Oobie doo, The Jungle Book, The Jungle Book 2016 1 Comment
The live action (or really, differently animated) version of The Jungle Book is most notable for its technical accomplishments. All of the animals might be CGI creations, but they feel like living, breathing (albeit anthropomorphized) beings. Even their mouth movements appear natural. It may be a little uncanny valley-ish when the wolves are talking, but it is mostly cute.
The story is the same as what you already know, so what this iteration offers (besides the visuals) is a mighty fine cast. In that vein, Idris Elba’s menacing turn as Sheera Khan is almost unbearably intense. It is unsettling how much he is just a villain for the sake of being a villain. Sure, he has it out for Mowgli because the boy’s father burned his face, but Khan had been the aggressor in the first place. Perhaps his motivations can be explained by a thirst for power, but no matter how you slice it, this is not an antagonist handled with kid gloves.
I did not see it in 3D. There are a few moments during the end credits when animals are bouncing around, and it is clear that they are supposed to popping out of the screen. It would be nice to have the full effect there. Besides that, there is nothing during the actual body of the movie that looks like it is similarly attempting to be extra-dimensional. There might be more depth to the 3D version, but the spectacle works without it.
So, in conclusion, I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is hearing Christopher Walken sing “Oobie doo” over and over.
I give The Jungle Book 7 Human Tricks out of 10 Bear Necessities.
Watch And/Or Listen to This: Meg Myers’ “Motel” on Conan
April 30, 2016
Conan, Music, Television, Watch And/Or Listen to This Conan, Meg Myers, Motel Leave a comment
Where has Meg Myers been my whole life?
(P.S. I love the sneakers.)
The Middle 7.21: “The Lanai”
April 28, 2016
Television, The Middle, The Middle Episode Reviews The Lanai, The Middle, The Middle 721, The Middle Season 7 Leave a comment
Can Lexie wrote you a check for your sadness? http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/04/28/the-middle-season-7-episode-21-recap-t
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