Nick and Cece are basically the same person. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/01/20/new-girl-season-5-episode-3-recap-jury
New Girl 5.3 – “Jury Duty”
January 20, 2016
New Girl, New Girl Episode Reviews, Television Jury Duty, New Girl, New Girl 503, New Girl Season 5 Leave a comment
SNL Recap January 16, 2016: Adam Driver/Chris Stapleton
January 17, 2016
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Adam Driver, Chris Stapleton, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live 4110, Saturday Night Live Season 41, SNL, SNL Season 41, Social Puppeteering Leave a comment
SNL: Chris Stapleton, Adam Driver, Aidy Bryant
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in January 2016.
If “SNL” is going to book Adam Driver, then he is going to be called upon to do two things (assuming the writers are not suffering from temporary insanity): reference “Star Wars” and utilize his famous intensity. Surprisingly enough, the former is used sparingly; meanwhile, the latter is taken advantage of throughout the episode (which, depending on your opinion of the “SNL” team’s mental state, is either very much expected or totally shocking). This is the right decision. “Star Wars” is bigger than Driver (or any one person), and reliance upon intergalactic material could have been a distraction, but the character conviction he brings is comedy dynamite if deployed properly.
6th Republican Debate – The standard clown car jokes about the GOP field have mostly exhausted themselves, and Darrell Hammond’s legacy Trump impression is really the only performance here that has a strong enough default mode to run on autopilot. Thankfully, Ted Cruz gifted the comedy world a notorious moment with his “New York City values” comment. Instead of just repeating that jibe (which this sketch could very easily have gotten away with), Taran Killam’s Ted makes it just a little bit absurd by pairing it with “Seinfeld” references. Nothing groundbreaking, but enough to get by. B-
What Won TV? – January 10-January 16, 2016
January 17, 2016
Television, What Won TV? Idiotsitter, Jeopardy!, New Girl, The coin didn't flip, The Goldbergs, The Simpsons 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 Simpsons
Monday – Jeopardy!
Tuesday – New Girl
Wednesday – The Goldbergs proves once and for all that 2 dates in 1 night can’t be done!
Thursday – Idiotsitter
Friday – Jeopardy!
Saturday – Packers-Cardinals: the coin didn’t flip!
This Is a Movie Review: Concussion
January 17, 2016
Cinema, Movie Reviews Concussion Leave a comment
When tackling any real life story, a film must decide what not to include just as seriously as what it does include. In that vein, Concussion wisely focuses its investigation of the long-term ravages of football on the doctor who identified chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Bennet Omalu (played with the utmost nobility by Will Smith). On the other hand, when providing examples of former players who have succumbed to CTE, it does not know when to stop. The cautionary tale of Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster (David Morse), reduced from Steel City hero to homelessness, is powerful enough to establish the message for the whole movie. But then Concussion proceeds to show the same tragedy in the cases of Justin Strzelczyk, Andre Waters, and Dave Duerson, and the overall effect is more numbing than inflaming.
This is a shame, because otherwise the film actually manages to wring drama out of scenes dominated by examining medical slides. Omalu’s fight is so obviously right, and he is bolstered by esteemed colleagues (Albert Brooks, Alec Baldwin) and a supportive wife (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). His battle could be too virtuous to be dramatically interesting, except that it is very real and his opponent is so outrageously opposed to the truth. It may not be the zippiest of narratives, but it is certainly rousing in its conviction.
The Middle 7.12 – “Birds of a Feather”
January 14, 2016
Television, The Middle, The Middle Episode Reviews Birds of a Feather, The Middle, The Middle 712, The Middle Season 7 Leave a comment
Will salmonella ruin that wedding? http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/01/14/the-middle-season-7-episode-12-recap-b
Oscar Nominations Reactions
January 14, 2016
Awards Shows, Cinema, Oscars Oscar Nominations, Oscars Leave a comment
-Sad to see no “See You Again” in Best Song, but at least the correct song from 50 Shades of Grey was picked.
-This is the most spread out I can ever remember the field being, as expected. Carol, Star Wars, and Straight Outta Compton had to be pretty close to Best Picture noms. Also Sicario, amazingly. And Ex Machina, too.
–Room got more overall support than I was expecting. Lenny Abrahamson is your iconoclastic Director pick this year.
-Most of what I’m happy to see was expected or close to it, i.e., plenty of love for The Big Short, Stallone for Supporting, Mad Max for Costume.
-Denmark’s been doing well in Foreign Language Film this decade.
-Glad to see The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared for Makeup and Hair. I haven’t seen it, but it’s probably the best title of the year.
New Girl 5.2: “What About Fred?”
January 13, 2016
New Girl, New Girl Episode Reviews, Television Ferguson the Cat, Henry Winkler, Julie Hagerty, New Girl, New Girl 502, New Girl Season 5, Taran Killam, What About Fred? Leave a comment
Ferguson, clear Winston’s schedule. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/01/13/new-girl-season-5-episode-2-recap-what
What Won TV? – January 3-January 9, 2016
January 10, 2016
Television, What Won TV? Chardee MacDennis, Chardee MacDennis 2, Downton Abbey, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Jeopardy!, The Grinder, The Simpsons 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 Simpsons
Monday – Jeopardy!
Tuesday – The Grinder
Wednesday – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Thursday – Todd Margaret, again
Friday – Jeopardy!
Saturday – Pittsburgh-Cincinnati, the best episode of 2016 so far.
This Is a Movie Review: The Forest
January 9, 2016
Cinema, Movie Reviews Natalie Dormer, The Forest 1 Comment
Movies like The Forest make me upset that horror does not on the whole get the critical fair shake it deserves. It has a decent premise that it does not quite live up to, though it has plenty of interesting moments. For most genres, that translates to respectability and a Rotten Tomatoes score of approximately 60-75%, but for horror, it means dismissal and a Tomatometer as low as single digits. If the scares are not up to snuff, then neither is the praise.
The Forest is indeed not all that scary, but while it is disappointing, it has enough elements to make it worth watching. Suicidal thoughts, a disorienting location, repressed memories, paranoia, disturbing folklore, and ghosts exploiting all of the above make for a potent mix of anxiety. In a dual role as twin sisters, Natalie Dormer frequently adjusts her personalities, occasionally switching characteristics between the two. It is a tricky performance that requires the support of better editing and writing than is on display. Ultimately, The Forest does not know if it wants to be ambiguous or answer all its mysteries; it is too eager to be the former and too overstuffed to be the latter. Still, it manages to distinguish itself in a genre that usually settles for the same old tricks.
This Is a (Quickie) Movie Review: The Good Dinosaur
January 9, 2016
Cinema, Movie Reviews The Good Dinosaur Leave a comment
The Good Dinosaur is the most uncomfortably close Pixar has gotten to the uncanny valley since Cars. “Dinosaurs with self-aware intelligence living alongside feral humans” is not on quite the same level as organic transportation devices, but it is still a freaky mix of weird and familiar. As disorienting as this premise may be, embracing this weirdness more completely may have actually been to The Good Dinosaur’s benefit, because otherwise, it is a fairly standard journey back home adventure film. What does stand out are the digressive bursts of personality. Specifically, there is the (too-short) acid trip caused by fermented berries and a triceratops with various critters adorning its horns. Other than that, Sam Elliott as a papa T. Rex rounds out the highlights.
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