Andrew Schulz says he didn't believe the media's portrayal of San Francisco. Surely a major American city can't be as filthy and out of control as the updates he sees on his smart phone and elsewhere. Exaggerations often camouflage the truth, and this could be yet another example, the 'Flagrant' podcaster figured. Call it Fake News on Steroids. And then he visited the California city for himself last month as part of his 'The Life' stand-up tour. Schulz posted a clip from that performance this...
Horror and dumb go together like peas and cah-rots, to paraphrase Forrest Gump. Think: There's a serial killer on the loose let's split up! The monster sure looks like it's dead. Let's drop our weapons! You know the drill. 'Abigal' is a different kind of dumb. The film's screenplay insults us at every turn. You can't help but question what's happening instead of letting go and having fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtAL2x58hns Young, talented Abigail (Alisha Weir, very good despite the...
Alan Ritchson has a funny way of promoting movies. The star behind 'Reacher' hits the big screen once more Friday with 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.' The Guy Ritchie romp, loosely based on true events, casts him as a World War II-era soldier battling the Nazi menace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvwDen1Wrx8 This is the perfect time for him to spread the word about the film and coax as many people to see it in theaters. Instead, he's spent the last few weeks attacking: Christians...
The Coens. The Russos. The Farrellys. The Duplasses. The Safdies. The Chinas? No, Paul and Benjamin China aren't in the rarified air of those famous directorial duos. Not even close. Still, the China Brothers' indie debut, 'Night Shift,' is so confident in its storytelling that you can't help but ask a simple question. What else do they have up their sleeves? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As0fOZt59bI A troubled woman named Gwen (Phoebe Tonkin) arrives at a just-north-of-seedy motel to tackle...
John Cusack is the anti-Michael Rapaport. The two actors see the current Middle East crisis from diametrically opposed positions. Rapaport of 'Beautiful Girls' fame is staunchly pro-Israel and attacks stars for not speaking out on behalf of the hostages held by Hamas. That's assuming they're still alive six months into its war with Israel. He also posed as an Oscars emcee to shame actors for their awards-season silence on the hostages' fate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5esBxX5YoI&t=26s And...
There's one reason we still know the name Molly Ringwald 30-plus years after her first burst of fame. John Hughes. Ringwald co-starred in the writer/director's 'The Breakfast Club' (1985) and headlined both 'Sixteen Candles' (1984) and 'Pretty in Pink' 1986), three seminal films from the Reagan Era. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRLQUGq8eE8 The now 56-year-old actress has been trashing the Hughes canon ever since. What makes it worse is that Hughes can no longer defend himself or his signature...
This critic spends more time watching YouTube than most streaming platforms. Video podcasts? Check. Cooking videos? Check. Sketch comedy? Check and Check. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI6iRxaNagM&t=35s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llWTcqtk4vY&t=53s It's often hard for Peacock and co. to compete and the aforementioned clips cost a fraction of what Hollywood produces. That's only one of the many problems facing Tinsel Town in 2024. News that Netflix is getting out of the so-called 'auteur'...
Katherine Maher's tenure as head of far-Left NPR is off to a rocky start. Maher ascended to the position last month, but two recent events have caused her considerable headaches. And one is all her fault. https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1777707967854391738 Last week, a veteran NPR editor exposed the outlet's extreme liberal bias for all to see. Uri Berliner took to the cyber-pages of The Free Press to lament NPR's inability to do its job. The blistering essay name-checked NPR's...
Bill Maher doesn't want comedians canceled for telling the 'wrong' joke. He's made that clear on both his 'Club Random' podcast and HBO's 'Real Time with Bill Maher.' Few entertainers, Left or Right, have been as relentless in attacking the woke mindset, the rocket fuel behind Cancel Culture. Maher makes a living by telling jokes that make us think, laugh and sometimes squirm. And while he understands some show biz types deserved permanent cancellation, like incarcerated movie mogul Harvey...
Confession: This critic loves movies where innocents scramble in the woods while something or someone hunts them down. Think of thrillers like 'Backcountry' or the sublime 'Alone' as prime examples. The plots are simple but effective. And who can't relate to a person thrust into a life-or-death challenge? It's like 'Squid Games' in Mother Nature. Yet 'Prey,' a German thriller now streaming on Netflix, might be among the worst of this guilty pleasure sub-genre. ...