Saturday, June 02, 2018

Revenge for Jolly! (2012)

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Revenge for Jolly! promises slightly more than it appears capable of delivering, but I am not sorry I watched it. It is less of a Shaun of t...
Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Chris Rock: Tambourine (2018)

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Perhaps 98% of the 530 "reviews" on this service blast Chris Rock's new show as "all," "completely," or ...
Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Helix: Seasons 1-2 (2015)

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Helix is quite good for a SyFy Original series, but I was not ready to say that until seeing the second season. Two-thirds of the first seas...

Mike Birbiglia: Thank God for Jokes (2017)

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In his Thank God for Jokes comedy show, Mike Birbiglia continues his laid-back, mild-mannered delivery style, which he attributes to his mot...

Chlorox, Ammonia and Coffee (2005)

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As a Minnesotan for my first 40 years, I love Scandinavian and dark comedy. This Norwegian film, however, is billed as a comedy and a "...

Todd Glass: Act Happy (2018)

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Todd Glass: Act Happy receives the lowest rating I have ever given a comedian -- and I am a very copacetic reviewer. That said, I think Todd...
Monday, January 22, 2018

Mike Birbiglia: What I Should Have Said Was Nothing: Tales From My Secret Public Journal (2008)

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Mike Birbiglia is almost too low-key; he riffs on his life's awkward moments and basically says "So, yeah..." and the magic ha...
Friday, December 15, 2017

Chewin' the Fat (1999)

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With three shows under its collective belt, this comedy team has put Scottish comedy on the map. This one-season show was my first introduct...

Darkest Hour (2017)

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I saw Darkest Hour previewed in Houston three days before it opened, and greatly enjoyed it. In a surprising benefit to the preview, the gre...
Thursday, November 23, 2017

DeRay Davis: How to Act Black (2017)

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It took me a bit to warm up to DeRay's comedy style, but he is funnier and even "blacker" than Dave Chappelle, and simply kine...

Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo (2017)

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I could not attend the Houston screening of this film, but was happy to find it promptly streaming via this service. Mission Control is a mu...
Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Brian Regan: Nunchucks and Flamethrowers (2017)

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It took 10 minutes to get into the swing of Brian Regan's comic stylings. (First he seemed bland but goofy, like a Mormon comic, then he...
Monday, October 30, 2017

Jack Whitehall: At Large (2017)

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I read others' reviews after watching this Netflix comedy special -- so this is why our subscription rates are going up? -- even the non...
Saturday, October 28, 2017

XIII: The Series

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XIII (pronounced Thirteen) starts out all Bourne-like: XIII is a lethal covert operative whose memory has been wiped -- how is this possible...
Saturday, October 21, 2017

Joe Rogan: Triggered (2016)

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As a natural comic, Joe Rogan is a force of nature. Now sporting a clean-shaven pate, he resembles an ebullient coach bellowing commentary t...
Thursday, October 19, 2017

Patton Oswalt: Annihilation (2017)

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Patton Oswalt running on all cylinders would be 4.5 stars or better every time, I imagine. Yet these are not normal times: Both Marc Maron a...

Marc Maron: Too Real (2017)

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I gave Marc Maron's Thinky Pain 3.5 stars and I have his series in my queue to watch. I give Too Real 4 stars because he is pretty good....
Monday, October 16, 2017

Come Fly With Me: Season 1 (2010)

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Come Fly With Me is the BBC's mockumentary version of A&E's Airline, complete with a perky soundtrack and a cast of characters f...

My Family: Seasons 1-7 (2000)

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I finally got my hands on the first disc of BBC's My Family. (I will update this review as always, however, Season 2 Disc 1 is currently...
Sunday, October 15, 2017

Son of the Beach: Seasons 1-2 (2000)

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I love parodies as a rule, even cheesy ones like Howard Stern's Son of the Beach. (Season 1 recently turned from Save to Add status.) In...

Gabriel Iglesias: I'm Sorry for What I Said When I Was Hungry (2016)

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Gabriel Iglesias ("I'm Not Fat, I'm Fluffy") is authentically funny, earthy, and has this huge chemistry with his audience...

Buddy Thunderstruck: Season 1 (2017)

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Buddy Thunderstruck looks to be Robot Chicken for the NASCAR/Dukes of Hazzard demographic. Buddy and his best friend whip his semitrailer ca...

Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile (2017)

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I just ran across Buddy Thunderstruck, a hilarious new stopmotion series with a NASCAR/Dukes of Hazzard theme. The Maybe Pile is Season 2: E...

Miss Sloane (2016)

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Jessica Chastain played the young CIA analyst who single-handedly determined "Where in the world is Osama Bin Laden" in Zero Dark ...
Friday, October 13, 2017

The Reluctant Saint (1962)

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The Reluctant Saint (1962), not to be confused with Reluctant Saint: Francis of Assisi (2003), is an acceptably produced Catholic movie from...
Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Dave Chappelle (2017)

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I am so glad to see Dave Chappelle back doing standup after a 10-year hiatus. He is a comic genius, and The Chappelle Show was inspired. I p...

Ralphie May: Unruly (2015)

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Ralphie May is a southern boy who graduated from Houston's class-act performing arts high school. He opened his second (and final) comed...

City in the Sky: Season 1 (2016)

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As I would expect from PBS, City in the Sky is a very well-produced, up-to-date, and informative documentary about air flight and the worldw...
Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Christina P: Mother Inferior (2017)

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Christina is original, imaginative in her edginess, relevant, and funny. She first discusses childbirth before launching into the generation...

The Saint (2017)

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This direct-to-DVD reboot of the story of Simon Templar (The Saint) held my interest well. (In fact, I tried multitasking, which I rarely do...
Monday, October 09, 2017

Ryan Hamilton: Happy Face (2017)

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This was my first exposure to Ryan Hamilton, who is quite a good comedian, esp. (or maybe because) he keeps it clean. (Happy Face refers to ...
Sunday, October 08, 2017

Alien Arrival (2017)

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Alien Arrival (aka Arrowhead) is based on the director's short film, which had a budget of $600. A crowdfunding campaign for the feature...

Kathleen Madigan: Bothering Jesus (2016)

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I like Kathleen Madigan, even though she might slap me when I say she has gotten more cherubic (and not in a waifish way); still, it works f...

Dark Matter: Seasons 1-3 (2015)

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I love Star Trek: Next Generation and Firefly (5 stars), but I really like Dark Matter (a solid 4 stars), and that is a hard mark for a scif...
Monday, October 02, 2017

Jerry Before Seinfeld (2017)

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Jerry returns to the stage that launched his career, telling jokes as comfortable as slippers while discussing his family origins and comedi...

The Confession Tapes (2017)

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I got a slow start with this series, and almost gave up on it, since I began watching it late at night, and much of the footage is scrappy s...

Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (2012)

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I finally binged on this show, watching both seasons in two days. It is hilarious, brilliantly written, and superbly acted! Chloe is evil --...

Steve Trevino: Relatable (2014)

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Steve Trevino shows us what's good and bad about Texas. (Please note that what's "bad about Texas" is actually "good ...
Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Victoria & Abdul (2017)

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I saw Victoria & Abdul at a preview the day before it opened and found it to be captivating. I try to catch anything from Stephen Frears...

Carrie Pilby (2017)

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I loved this movie when it came to streaming in June and I love it even more after watching it a second time. The lead actress "carries...
Monday, September 11, 2017

Are You Being Served? The Movie (1977)

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I have seen all of the original series (1972), but if this is the best they can do 5 years later, I dread seeing the follow-up series Are Yo...
Thursday, August 31, 2017

Love, American Style (1969)

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From the Cowsills' peppy theme song to the quirky skits sandwiched between each episode's trio of sketches, Love American Style feel...
Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Terra Nova: Season 1 (2011)

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Terra Nova is a pleasure to watch. The computer graphics are pretty good (except for ballistic perspective), and the family dynamics are a b...
Friday, August 25, 2017

Masterpiece: Worricker: Salting the Battlefield (2014)

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This third part in a trio of Johnny Worricker episodes is the best, with its spycraft and suspense building to a satisfying climax and denou...

Masterpiece: Worricker: Turks & Caicos (2014)

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Bill Nighy returns as the London spy version of Clint Eastwood in this second installment of the Johnny Worricker series from Masterpiece Co...
Thursday, August 24, 2017

Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution (2005)

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This BBC miniseries of 6 episodes (also available on DVD as Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State) is intelligently produced, using historical ph...
Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Lynne Koplitz: Hormonal Beast (2017)

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I gave up on this show a quarter of the way in because of the tired hormonal jokes, but later decided to finish watching to see if she got b...
Tuesday, August 22, 2017

The Illusionist (2006)

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I finally saw The Illusionist and enjoyed it very much. The art direction is excellent; the historicity looks quite good. (I'd say with ...

Masterpiece Contemporary: Page Eight (2011)

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Masterpiece Contemporary: Page Eight should be called Masterpiece: Worricker: Page Eight so that it can be searched or linked to the second ...
Saturday, August 19, 2017

Travelers: Season 1 (2016)

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Travelers is a smart, captivating series, but it is also edgy (warning to those who consider FBI agents cornering killers to be too stressfu...

Limitless: Season 1 (2015)

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Limitless has become one of my top 10 favorite TV shows. It combines the brilliance and panache of Lie to Me and The Blacklist with the pers...