Why You're Wasting Time Binge Watching Shows Online
On a typical Saturday night around 9:00, "Shake it Off" is blaring from the room across the hall as your hall mates laugh, apply mascara and get ready for a girl's night out. You, however, find...
View ArticleEric Idle's Not The Messiah
No, no, no. Of course he's not the Messiah. That contraction would be grammatically incorrect, anyway. Rather, we're speaking of his - meaning "Idle's" in the possessive form - Not The Messiah (He's a...
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Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol Makes the Jump From Beloved Holiday Special to...
Here's a challenge for all of you Christmas trivia buffs out there: Name the first-ever animated holiday special produced especially for television. If you were thinking Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,...
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Exodus: Gods and Kings
"Exodus: Movement of Jah people! Oh-oh-oh, yea-eah!" chants Bob Marley. In his rousing three-minute song "Exodus" he presents a more spiritual feel for Moses than Ridley Scott's 154-minute, whitewashed...
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Live From the Marrakech Film Festival: Hollywood, Moroccan-style
You've been to Ouarzazate, Morocco -- at least visually -- even if you don't know it. Dubbed Morocco's Hollywood, it offers studios, soundstages and a variety of terrain that has made it irresistible...
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Mr. Buddy Guy: Blues Master, Mentor & Friend
When asked why I love Mr. Buddy Guy so much, I respond, "Because he's always smiling and making me laugh! How can you NOT like a man like that?" What kind of person would you be? The all-encompassing,...
View ArticleSneak Peak of Downton Abbey Season 5
We Downton Abbey fans are a needy bunch, aren't we? We just can't deal with the off season. We get cranky. Well, some of us do. If you are as addicted as I am, and if you have resisted the temptation...
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Actors' New Book Reveals Hidden Images of Old Hollywood
(photograph by Mark Tierney) Angela Cartwright grew up behind the scenes in Hollywood working with iconic film and television stars in legendary productions. So it seems fitting that The Sound of...
View ArticleJames Toback Vents on The Gambler Remake
Bewildered by many choices made in the new Mark Wahlberg film, The Gambler, a remake based on his quasi-autobiographical script with a nod to Dostoyevsky's short story, James Toback was not quiet about...
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The Best 2014 Mix by a Chick Who Doesn't Dig 'Chick Music'
photo credit: memegenerator.net Generally speaking, I am not a chick who listens to girly popular music. At age 14, my first concert was The Grateful Dead. I was the only chick there in a sea of...
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Anika Noni Rose Brings Back Disney's First Black Princess for a Special Sofia...
It was eight years ago tonight. The Los Angeles premiere of Dreamgirls. And while it seemed like all of Hollywood had turned out to catch the West Coast debut of this DreamWorks / Paramount...
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Peter Pan and the Roots of Racism
It seems trivial now. Amid the ugly roil of Ferguson, the choking brutality of our police forces, the I-can't-breath, serve-and-protect, hands-up-don't-shoot rhetoric of an increasingly angry protest...
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From Dexter to Drag: Michael C. Hall Talks Broadway, Playing Gay Characters...
From repressed funeral director on Six Feet Under to serial killer on Dexter, Michael C. Hall has the ability to warm his way into our hearts by portraying some of the most troubled individuals you...
View Article'Practice Makes Perfect', Says Jayme Karales
Jayme Karales is the author of the novel Disorderly and the limited-run comic book series The Extractor. In 2013 he was named editor-in-chief of the popular literary press ThatLitSite.com. Practice...
View ArticleAs a True 'Joan Ranger,' This Is Why I Don't Want to See Kathy Griffin on...
Can we talk? Earlier this week E! officially confirmed that Kathy Griffin will replace the late and great Joan Rivers on "Fashion Police." Though E! and the "Fashion Police" cast have publicly welcomed...
View ArticleNightcrawler: Why Jake Gylenhaal Deserves Best Actor
Nightcrawler is not a Mystery but it is a work of LA Noir, so I ran off to watch it in the theaters because I'm writing something LA Noir and, boy, was I not disappointed. It's one of the best movies...
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Soap Opera Update: "General Hospital," "Bold and the Beautiful," "Days of Our...
Anyone who thinks daytime dramas are on a down-slide, simply because only four of them remain, simply hasn't been paying attention of late. ABC's General Hospital and CBS' The Young and the Restless...
View ArticleRescuing Vivian Maier
Here's my favorite type of movie puzzle. In this 2014 American movie, a fascinating woman is absent, leaving behind nothing but mystery. A man searches for her, trying to uncover clues as to her true...
View ArticleReThink Review -- Exodus: Gods and Kings -- Whitewashing Gets Biblically Bizarre
Usually when a film depicting a story from the Bible is made, the main danger for a studio is angering religious groups who feel that the film is attacking their beliefs or strays too far from accepted...
View ArticleTo Celebrate Taylor Swift's 25th Birthday, Here are 25 Things to Love About Her
These days, it seems everyone loves Taylor Swift. Her newest album 1989 sold 1.3 million copies in its first week and, all around the world, Swifties rejoiced. She's been everywhere lately: on talk...
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