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Movie Review: The Wolf of Wall Street
He's not really a wolf -- he's more like a hyena, a scavenger, a bottom-feeder. Why would you want to know his story? That's my takeaway from Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street. His name is...
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The Business of Twerk
Whenever I find myself in an awkward conversation with someone -- you know, the kind in which neither party has anything to say -- I turn to Miley Cyrus. The thing is, everyone has something to say...
View ArticleThe 13 Best TV Shows of 2013
The clock is counting down to 2014, which means it's time for another "best of" list. This was a very, very good year if you like very, very good television. New distribution methods, from binge...
View ArticleHit and Myth: Inside Llewyn Davis
What happens to a musician when desperation overshadows inspiration? The atmospheric new film Inside Llewyn Davis, written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, tracks a grieving folk singer-songwriter...
View ArticleRecipe for a Musical Holiday
This time of year is one that we all look forward to with spending time with loved ones and family, vacations, gifts, decorations and festive holiday light displays. We think of building snowmen, maybe...
View ArticleDuck Dynasty in the Face of 12 Years a Slave
The controversy over Phil Robertson's racist and homophobic comments is the stuff made for Entertainment Tonight and the 24-hour cable news networks. The Twittersphere (really?) has apparently gone...
View ArticleWhat the Duck: Justice or Lost Opportunity?
Officials of the A&E cable TV network have suspended the patriarch, Phil Robertson, of their surprisingly popular "reality" show, Duck Dynasty, for his comments in the January 2014 issue of GQ...
View ArticleBest Holiday Film: It's a Wonderful Life
If you haven’t seen It’s a Wonderful Life (or IaWL), I’m sure you’ve seen at least one holiday TV episode mimicking it’s storyline (however poorly). A hopeless hero(ine) gets a glimpse of what the...
View Article5 Reasons to Hate-Watch the Golden Globes
Awards shows are mostly pointless exercises in which millionaires give each other trophies to reward themselves for playing pretend. If I were to be awarded a Golden Globe, it would be for best...
View ArticleMy One (and Only) Duck Dynasty Post
I've never watched Duck Dynasty. I didn't even know Phil Robertson's name until the whole media melodrama unfolded recently. The most I knew about him was that he bore a striking resemblance to my...
View ArticleMark Wahlberg in Lone Survivor: The Rules of Engagement
Not all soldiers are heroes, but in Lone Survivor, director Peter Berg's film based on the book by Marcus Luttrell, heroism is in full display. The movie's three acts are well defined: first, the...
View ArticleHolding a Grudge
This begins with full disclosure. I'm friends with film producer Michael Ewing and director Peter Segal. In fact, we're working together on a movie project I wrote that they'll produce, if the...
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Cinefantastique Spotlight Podcast: Her
And, after all the paranormal activities and interstellar warfare and superhero histrionics and marooned astronauts and rampaging monsters and quasi-mythical heroes and super-powered teens (soooooo...
View ArticleIs 'Nikita' Going Out With A Bang Or A Whimper?
It's one thing to be angry when a favourite show gets cancelled. But when a favourite show gets cancelled in its prime, while it's on a roll, and is consistently killing it every week? Well, that's a...
View ArticleFilms for Understanding Family Over the Holidays
The holiday season is a time for merriment, togetherness, joy and expressions of love as well as the less fortunate flip sides: sadness, abandonment, disappointment and rage. As bad as it can get, the...
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Q&A With Claude VonStroke: American Dirtybird
For those who don't know, Claude VonStroke is the boss of the infamous ragtag Dirtybird records crew. Founded in San Francisco, born out of a series of free BBQ parties at Golden Gate Park, Dirtybird...
View ArticleTaylor Swift, Solidarity and the Myth of "Other Girls"
Despite her clean lyrics and lack of outrageous behavior, Taylor Swift has become one of the most controversial celebrities. Opinions about her music, relationships and "kiss and tell" behavior are...
View ArticleHall & Oates Are Genuine Rock Stars in My Book
Daryl Hall and John Oates of Hall & Oates When I was asked to write a short piece about Hall & Oates being inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame I thought, sure, I'm a long time fan,...
View ArticleAmerican Hustle -- a Mob Movie You Can Believe In
Where does fact end and fiction begin? In a Hollywood movie, or in a private life? American Hustle is both an example and an exploration of those murky mixes -- an imagined story based on real events,...
View Article2013: Music's Year of Living Dangerously
There's hardly an institution more hoary and suspect than the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. A barely-veiled excuse to further lionize and celebrate the past, the Hall of Fame to this point has mostly...
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