The world’s most fearsome podcast team unleashes its most tubular episode yet, diving deep into the mythos of those lean, green phenoms of yore, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. First, we check out the comic book where it all began, discussing how a black-and-white spoof aimed at adults became one of the most popular children’s […]
Read More “They’re Heroes In A Half-Shell, And They’re Green” (#76)Riots. Fires. Police violence. Ruinous bigotry. A cacophony of voices calling for justice for Black Americans. These are all very present in today’s newspaper headlines and social media feeds, and also set the scene for Spike Lee’s seminal modern classic Do The Right Thing, which is no less urgent in 2020 than it was upon […]
Read More “Sal’s Famous Pizzeria Is Here To Stay” (#75)Watched on the 52nd anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. This is an expanded version of my Letterboxd review from April 4, 2020.
Read More ‘King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis’There’s a lot of disagreement in the air these days, in case you haven’t noticed. The one thing everyone can agree on right now is that streaming entertainment is our lord and savior, a recently elevated equivalent to food, shelter, and oxygen in our current hierarchy of needs, and we need some goddamn more of […]
Read More What’s Good: 12 Netflix PicksThe Back To the Future trilogy offers solid blockbuster entertainment, but it’s a dangerous discussion piece — because the more you think about it, the less it holds up. The characters are paper thin, the plotting is both overly complex and underthought, and the central relationship in the series (between Doc Brown and Marty) starts […]
Read More “There’s Something Very Familiar About All This” (#74)The first Back To The Future is drenched in nostalgia — almost by design. Released in 1985, it captured filmmakers Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg’s obvious appreciation for the 1950s, depicted in the film as simple and mostly sweet, a sharp contrast to the noise and consumerism of the 1980s. Back To The Future isn’t […]
Read More “You’re Safe And Sound Now, Back In Good Old 1955” (#73)Another strong year at the movies means, once again, I can’t stop at ten. Top Ten lists are so limiting! And there are many films in this roster of 15 more that, for me, will be equally defining of the past year in film. We were fairly spoiled in 2019, not just in the quality […]
Read More The Best Of The Rest Of Film: 2019Hello, and welcome to the awards announcement you have not been waiting for, The Not-Oscars! My annual list of accolades is not the talk of the town during awards season. The nominees are not thrilled to be nominated… because they will never even hear about it! The winners would not like to thank the Academy […]
Read More Not-Oscars 2019A decade at the movies is serious business. When the 2010s began, Avatar had just opened in theaters. It went on to top the all-time box office and spawned the short-lived resurgence of 3D, a fad that has mostly died out (again). Netflix, then known for its DVD rental services, was just beginning to expand […]
Read More Best Of The Decade: 2010sHello. Thank you all for coming. We are gathered here today in remembrance of The Motion Picture. The Movies were born in March 1895. They lived a vibrant, storied life. It was not until 1927, at the age of 32, that they learned to speak. Soon after, they learned to sing, too. They became more […]
Read More The Tens: Best Of Film 2019Adam Sandler is a likable guy. I don’t know why. I avoid nearly every movie he’s in — usually, tepid broad comedies, always playing up the signature appeal that’s been his brand since Saturday Night Live. Sandler has gotten serious on us before, flexing dramatic muscles in films like Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Spanglish (2004), Funny […]
Read More In The Rough: ‘Uncut Gems’The upcoming Oscar race just got a lot more competitive.
Read More A Most Violent Year: ‘1917’ Sends 2019 Out With A Bang
REAL NOBODY 