First episode impressions: ‘Alcatraz’ (TV review)
“Alcatraz” (8 p.m. Central Mondays on Fox) demonstrates that a show can be too high-concept, and also that how you present a show in your previews can influence how people view it.
‘Dating Rules from My Future Self’ makes web TV cool again (Review)
My top show of 2007 was a web series — “quarterlife” — and three of my top 10 of 2008 were web series, headlined by “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” I was even titling my year-end […]
First episode impressions: ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ (TV review)
“Napoleon Dynamite,” the 2004 movie, hit a sweet spot of comedy that no previous movie had even aimed for, let alone achieved. Not everyone understood why it was funny, but for those who did, it […]
All 22 episodes of ‘Angel’ Season 2 (2000-01), ranked
TV review: Angel Investigations moves into the Hyperion Hotel and the cast and mythology also expand.
David Fincher makes ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ better than it deserves to be (Movie review)
I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly but I’m not an avid follower of the book world, so I kind of got the impression that EW was forcing things in the wake of “Harry Potter” when it became obsessed […]
First episode impressions: ‘The Firm’ (TV review)
Even as NBC phases out the “Law & Order” franchise, it’s adding “The Firm” (premiered Sunday, continues at 9 p.m. Central Thursdays), a franchise that picks up from the John Grisham novel/movie.
Midseason TV preview: The momentum continues? (Commentary)
Fall 2011 served up so many good shows, and so few of them have been canceled, that it’s easy to overlook the midseason premieres. Yet the networks have found a few open slots. I have […]
Best TV decision in recent memory: ‘American Horror Story’ to start new yarn in Season 2 (Commentary)
I loved “American Horror Story” when it first started out, then kind of cooled on it toward the end of the season. It didn’t become flat-out bad, but it wasn’t as scary and surprising as when it […]
After ‘Slaves of the Republic,’ what story would you like to see adapted to ‘The Clone Wars’ next? (Comic book review)
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (7 p.m. Central Fridays on Cartoon Network) is currently in the midst of its first-ever adaptation from another medium: It has adapted the first two-thirds of Henry Gilroy’s 2008-09 six-issue Dark […]
John’s top 10 movies of 2011
As always, I start my top 10 movies of the year list with a disclaimer: Since I live in a small town, I haven’t seen well-reviewed films such as “The Descendants,” “Like Crazy” or “Young Adult” yet. When I do, […]