Recap: Fargo (S5, Ep5) — Staggered but Entertaining Episode Further Proves Dot’s Capability
Is this season of Fargo running in place a little? The show has a history of doing this sometimes—not every season of television can be this show’s second and third, […]
Recap: Fargo (S5, Ep4) — Two Tense Home Invasions Frame Another Great Episode
The truth is undoubtedly Fargo‘s largest overarching theme. The original movie and now every episode of the show opens with text that declares that we are watching something that actually […]
Review: Twenty Years Later, Mean Girls Adds Music but Remains as Quotable as Ever
Rosalind Wiseman’s Queen Bees and Wannabes was published in 2002, a non-fiction guide for parents on the cliques and exclusionary behavior teen girls engage in during their formative high school […]
Recap: Fargo (S5, Ep3) — Series’ Third Episode Takes Its Time Setting Up Conflicts
Oh, I missed this show so much. I don’t think I can properly articulate how much I missed it, but if I could interpret the feeling that the claustrophobic, nightmarish […]
Recap: Fargo (S5, Eps1&2) — Acclaimed Crime Series Returns in Strong Form After Extended Hiatus
I can’t properly articulate how badly I wanted Fargo to come back—and be good. After a disappointing, narratively messy fourth season and a subsequent three-year hiatus, I was itching for […]
Review: Maggie Moore(s) Uses a Coen-Like Approach to a Character-Driven Crime Drama
Borrowing heavily in tone and story from the Coen Brothers, but with a little less polish, writer Paul Bernbaum borrowed from a real-life event (the opening title card says something […]
Review: Jon Hamm Leans Into Comedy for Confess, Fletch, a Funny, Charming Take on the Classic Character
The world has been threatening to make a new Fletch movie (based on the comical mystery novels by Gregory McDonald) for many decades now (I remember Kevin Smith had one […]
Review: Top Gun: Maverick Features Impressive Flight Scenes But More Nostalgia Than Novelty
I recently had a wise person tell me that nostalgia is for those who are afraid to face the present, and I tend to agree with that. By that token, […]
Review: An Irish Romantic Comedy, Wild Mountain Thyme Brings Heart and Affection to its Unusual Characters
If you have trouble figuring out the century in which Wild Mountain Thyme takes place, I don’t think you’ll be alone. The latest film from writer/director John Patrick Shanley (Joe […]
Review: Clint Eastwood’s Style (and Politics) Put the Story of Richard Jewell Into Perspective
Like many of the films Clint Eastwood has directed in the last 10 years or so—since about Gran Torino on—his latest, Richard Jewell, is an expertly made movie with a […]
Review: Government’s Bad Acts Uncovered in The Report‘s Gripping Drama
In the history books, the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program will also be known by its simpler and far more loaded name: torture. The ill-advised program was created in the […]
Review: Lucy in the Sky‘s Glimpse of a Unique Psychology Over-Fictionalizes Real Life Events
Inspired by the 2007 events when astronaut Lisa Nowak drove nearly 1,000 miles to attack a rival for another astronaut’s affection, Lucy in the Sky attempts to dive into the […]