“When?” “Before.” “Well the timing definitely checks out.” http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/02/17/new-girl-season-5-episode-7-recap-wig
New Girl 5.7 – “Wig”
February 17, 2016
New Girl, New Girl Episode Reviews, Television New Girl, New Girl 507, New Girl Season 5, Wig Leave a comment
This Is a (Quickie) Movie Review: Carol
February 14, 2016
Cinema, Movie Reviews Carol, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Todd Haynes 2 Comments
“We’re not ugly people,” Carol Aird pleadingly, but assuredly, insists to her husband during a custody fight that threatens to turn nasty. Carol is a thoroughly humanistic examination of the affair between a shopgirl and a housewife in 1952 New York, and the men in their life who struggle to understand them. It is about identity: the internal challenges to find your own and the external challenges to live it out. It mostly keeps it cool, in a manner that viewers who are not already fully attuned to director Todd Haynes’ restrained style might struggle to fully embrace. But when Cate Blanchett delivers the “ugly people” emphasis, Carol finds the winner’s circle.
This Is a (Quickie) Movie Review: 45 Years
February 14, 2016
Cinema, Movie Reviews 45 Years Leave a comment
If a film is about a decades-long marriage rocked by the revelation of long-held secrets, the natural expectation is that the marriage will fall apart. 45 Years is a little more complicated than that. Kate (Charlotte Rampling) is initially fine when the dead body of her husband Jeff’s (Tom Courtenay) ex-lover Katya is discovered. But tensions rise as the extent of Jeff and Katya’s relationship is revealed. It is never fully clear if Jeff has kept these secrets due to selfishness, embarrassment, deviousness, forgetfulness, or some combination of the above. Similarly, it is left ambiguous whether or not Kate can remain satisfied with their marriage amidst the dishonesty. Ergo, 45 Years works best as a showcase for the complications that Rampling can convey with gasps, furrowed brows, and heavy cheeks.
SNL Recap February 13, 2016: Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West
February 14, 2016
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Kanye Breath, Kanye West, Kyle Mooney, Melissa McCarthy, No Kanye's Left, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live 4113, Saturday Night Live Season 41, SNL Season 41 Leave a comment
SNL: Kanye West, Melissa McCarthy, Taran Killam (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in February 2016.
Melissa McCarthy is one of the most reliable “SNL” hosts of this decade. She always brings her A-game, making herself right at home at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. She has her critics who call her out for playing the same character over and over: brash, over-the-top, and painfully awkward. That can be a problem with a film career (though she usually brings more depth than her critics give her credit for), but in sketch comedy, it can easily be a winning formula. Frequent musical guest Kanye West is also reliable, but his is a reliable unreliability, in which the stage design and sound style will never be the same twice.
I Can’t Make You Love Me – Instead of the umpteenth debate sketch, the leadoff political sketch finds its angle via the electorate. Its take on what appeals to voters about Bernie over Hillary is a little shallow, but that is a small blemish, as that patter is just setup for the main thrust of the sketch: Hillary’s take on Bonnie Raitt. This is Kate McKinnon pulling off the same note of desperation she’s been hitting, but this time she is really complicating the question of whether or not Mrs. Clinton is cool. She tries so hard, which is cool because of the commitment but not cool because of the strain. There is some reference to how support of Hillary or lack thereof affects feminism, but this sketch is more astute about the much less complicated issue of whether or not Hillary is cooler than the drab, depressing Jeb Bush. B
What Won TV? – February 7-February 13, 2016
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
Best Film Performances of 2015
February 13, 2016
Best in Film 2015, Best of 2015, Cinema Alison Brie, Ex Machina, Oscar Isaac, Sleeping with Other People Leave a comment
Here is a rundown of the excellence in individual performances in films in 2015, starting with my choices for the 2 best and then the rest in alphabetical order. At the top are a fellow who talked and talked his way through a freaky-cerebral premise, and a lady who cracked her buoyant starting point into a heartbreakingly complicated interior.
Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina
Alison Brie, Sleeping with Other People
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Elizabeth Banks, Love & Mercy
Angela Bassett, Chi-Raq
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Josh Brolin, Sicario
Steve Carell, The Big Short
John Cusack, Chi-Raq
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Benicio Del Toro, Sicario
Robert De Niro, The Intern
Deanna Dunagan, The Visit
Joel Edgerton, Black Mass
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Walton Goggins, The Hateful Eight
O’Shea Jackson, Jr., Straight Outta Compton
Michal B. Jordan, Creed
Brie Larson, Room
Peter McRobbie, The Visit
Jason Mitchell, Straight Outta Compton
Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Seth Rogen, Steve Jobs
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Jason Segel, The End of the Tour
Phyllis Smith, Inside Out
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road
Lily Tomlin, Grandma
Stanley Tucci, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
Best Film Ensembles of 2015
February 13, 2016
Best in Film 2015, Best of 2015, Cinema Creed, Inside Out, Krampus, Spotlight, The Big Short, The Hateful Eight Leave a comment
When the folks who say the words and act out the movements flocked together, these were the groups who made the most thunder.
Best Films of 2015, 11-20
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.
Best Super Bowl 50 Commercials
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.
My Favorite TV Ships of All Time
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
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