Once-great ‘Summerland’ suffers a fall in Season 2 (2005)
TV shows lost to history (Review): “Summerland” suffers a sophomore slump with inconsistent characterizations and stagnant storytelling.
Teen Drama
‘Summerland’ Season 1 (2004) a great beach watch
TV shows lost to history: Among TV shows not available for streaming or on disc, the star-studded “Summerland” might be the most widely remembered.
‘Dead of Summer’ camps out in familiar slasher territory
First episode impressions (TV review): This slick slasher doesn’t break new ground, but it’s entertaining.
‘Scream: The TV Series’ starts to reward loyal fans in Season 2
First episode impressions (TV review): Though still not an elite horror series, “Scream” continues to improve.
‘Paper Towns’ is ‘American Graffiti’ for a new generation … but it’s no ‘American Graffiti’ (Movie review)
On the surface, there’s a lot to like about “Paper Towns” (now available from Redbox), as a group of high school seniors goes on one last (or one FIRST, as the case may be) grand adventure before […]
‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ avoids ‘Fault in Our Stars’ melodrama, but feels too empty (Movie review)
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” (now available from Redbox) follows last year’s “The Fault in Our Stars” into the cancersploitation genre – a coming-of-age story with one or more terminal teenagers thrown in. The […]
Steinfeld steals show as ‘Barely Lethal’ blends high school and secret agent genres (Movie review)
First-time screenwriter John D’Arco and “Fanboys” director Kyle Newman mash up the high school and spy thriller genres in the light-hearted but fun “Barely Lethal,” which was originally supposed to be released in 2014 but just recently […]
Palladinos deliver a second great show with ‘Bunheads’ (2012-13)
One-season wonders (TV review): Lightning strikes twice for the Palladinos, but this show isn’t blessed with the long run of “Gilmore Girls.”
‘Scream: The TV Series’ tries out horror-satire hybrid on small screen
First episode impressions (TV review): Ghostface makes a transition to the small screen — more or less.
‘It Follows’ masterfully blends horror and coming-of-age genres (Movie review)
“It Follows,” the first great horror film of the year, mixes nightmare imagery with a poignant coming-of-age drama with a travelogue of economically depressed Detroit. The end result is something greater than the sum of its […]