Janice Burleson

The Coen Brothers at their best. If you liked True Grit and No Country For Old Men, you will enjoy this collection of darkly humorous and surprisingly emotional stories. The concept and execution are brilliant, the cinematography gorgeous, and the Coen Brothers are true wordsmiths when it comes to writing a screenplay. Each story is populated with memorable characters and the acting is top notch whether it’s from a recognizable star or a character actor.

Complex and very timely plot including computer hacking and international intrigue. The multi-national cast is excellent with Chris Hemsworth and Viola Davis as a bonus. Michael Mann directs iconic shootouts, the Director of Photography is one of the best, and the exotic locales add interest. This movie was sadly mis-marketed and buried in January. It deserves a second look.

Two comedy legends...great script and direction by John Hughes...funny and timeless. John Candy is touching and hilarious.

Visually stunning. Like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Violent, noir..a comic book come to life.

C’mon...this is a fun movie....”Bees!!!”, “Fat Guy in a little coat”.....good sales movie too. Ya gotta love Farley and Spade. Don’t overthink it...just enjoy it.

One of the best sports movies about the storied rivalry between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. A must for all baseball fans, especially Yankee fans.

Not just a great baseball movie...a great movie, period. Dialogue, directing and performances from the entire cast are top notch. It’s romantic, funny and just plain fun. Major chemistry between Susan Sarandon, Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins. Bonus: to quote Annie as she looks at Crash (Costner) “You’re gorgeous”...and he is.

One of the all time, great neo-noir trashy thrillers. It’s fun, erotic, filled with twists…it takes place in Florida AND it has Bill Murray as a sleazy attorney. What more could you want? It’s a guilty pleasure..Enjoy.

The show and it’s concept with Alex Trebek as host gets 5 stars. The recent controversy and the fact they have chosen Mayim Bialek as host for now, gets the show a much lower rating. Mike Richards may have made some dumb, juvenile comments on a podcast in 2014…but what Bialek espouses is so much more dangerous. Her anti vaxx stance ( which she is trying to back track on, even though she recently went on a speaking tour with an anti vaxxer); her hawking of an unproven brain supplement while touting how smart she is even though she got her degree in neuroscience yet never actually worked in the field; her implication that women who get sexually assaulted may contribute to their own problem by the way they dress because SHE dresses modestly etc are just the few of the things that should disqualify her as permanent host. She has also developed these weird flirty little camera techniques that are annoying as well as the fact that she rarely passes up an opportunity to remind viewers how smart she is. Blossom and Cat Cafe are horrible shows plus she was the least funny and most annoying character on Big Bang, especially those weird lesbian overtones every time she had a sleepover with the other female characters or referring to her “bestie” Penny. There has to be a better full time host out there. Makes you really appreciate how great Alex Trebek was as the host.

Wanted to like this because of Bob Odenkirk. So far I don’t care about any of the characters and there is little drama and fewer laughs. I’ll give it one more viewing next week and if it doesn’t improve I won’t stick with it. Just goes to show what great scripts were involved in making Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad such outstanding shows. Hanks critique of the mediocre students writing mirrors my critique of the pilot show.