In the past 10-15 years, true-crime has become so popular with podcast, most notably Serial, that even a popular comedy series Only Murders in the Building works both as a criticism of the fans as well as a clever appreciation. What is it that makes us search for clues and think we know more thanContinue reading “True-Crime Sleuths Scrutinized In ‘They Called Him Mostly Harmless’”
Category Archives: TV Reviews
‘Suburban Screams’ Provides Little True-Crime Terror
When John Carpenter made Halloween almost 50 years ago, he and Debra Hill were tapping into the myth of the safety of suburbia. Originally titled The Babysitter Murders, it was an exploitation movie that they filmed fast and cheap, sometimes even filming without permits and everyone including Jamie Lee Curtis had more than one jobContinue reading “‘Suburban Screams’ Provides Little True-Crime Terror”
‘Bitconned’ Worth Its Weight
While watching Bitconned, the documentary on Netflix, about a cryptocurrency scam, I had to stop it to double-check I wasn’t watching a mockumentary. Everything about it seemed to preposterous to be based on a true-crime case. But it’s the real deal Holyfield. Centra Tech was a cryptocurrency formed in south Florida in the 2010s byContinue reading “‘Bitconned’ Worth Its Weight”
‘Lessons In Chemistry’ Serves A Dish That’s Worth Learning
There is one scene in the TV series Lessons in Chemistry that’s directed and acted in such a way, it’s so wonderful. Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson) bursts into the office of TV producer Walter Pine (Kevin Sussman), and begins to chide him for not providing an adequate school lunch for his daughter and suspecting thatContinue reading “‘Lessons In Chemistry’ Serves A Dish That’s Worth Learning”
Oscar’s Most Cringeworthy Moments
As glamourous and star-studded the Academy Awards can be, it doesn’t mean every year, things go off without a hitch. Part of the problem is that a producer has a radical idea that backfires in the worse way. Famed producer Allan Carr basically sunk his career 35 years ago when he opened with an actressContinue reading “Oscar’s Most Cringeworthy Moments”
‘Oppenheimer’ To Win Big, I Predict
With the Oscars being held on Sunday, March 10, I predict Oppenheimer to be the big movie to win. I’ve been watching the Oscars since the late 1980s and you begin to notice a few things. A lot of times, it’s a combination of excellence, critical favorites, popularity, a touch of how movies performed atContinue reading “‘Oppenheimer’ To Win Big, I Predict”
‘Get Gotti’ Great For Gangster Enthusiasts Yet Nothing New
John Gotti looked like he was out of Central Casting for an Italian Mafia crime boss. Before the 1970s, most of the bosses kept their identities or roles mostly hidden through fronts and legitimate businesses. Gangs and gangsters had existed in America for decades and even centuries. But a lot of them from the endContinue reading “‘Get Gotti’ Great For Gangster Enthusiasts Yet Nothing New”
Richard Lewis: Dark Prince Of Comedy
There’s a saying that’s it better to laugh than it is to cry. Richard Lewis lived a life where he turned his own personal pain and neurosis into comedy. Just like another famous comic named Richard (as in Richard Pryor), we laughed because he made us want to laugh. To call Lewis neurotic with hisContinue reading “Richard Lewis: Dark Prince Of Comedy”
How Spike Lee’s ‘Bamboozled’ Is His Bravest Movie With Social Commentary
Spike Lee is one of those filmmakers who isn’t afraid to make audiences mad. And that’s part of the reason I don’t like some of his movies. He seems to be too busy on his soapbox without being a storyteller. When his movies like Summer of Sam, Oldboy and Inside Man don’t focus much onContinue reading “How Spike Lee’s ‘Bamboozled’ Is His Bravest Movie With Social Commentary”
Sofia Vergara Glows In Netflix’s Uneven ‘Griselda’ Series
Sofia Vergara rose from obscurity as a character actor to a major comedic actress in the sitcom Modern Family where her role could’ve been a one-joke trope as the younger wife to Ed O’Neill’s character. But as the show became a big hit through the 2010s, Vergara saw her career rise. And Vergara was nominatedContinue reading “Sofia Vergara Glows In Netflix’s Uneven ‘Griselda’ Series”
Zane Says 