Sandra Bullock has a cool (but flawed) approach to closing Hollywood’s gender gap

Sandra Bullock has a cool (but flawed) approach to closing Hollywood’s gender gap

Posted inFilms, Random Musings
It's no great secret that aside from a small handful of silver screen legends, Hollywood is not a place where older women thrive. There have been a slew of complaints about a lack of roles for older actresses -- and in Hollywood, "older" often means "not in your 20s," even for actresses like Anne Hathaway -- a battle cry that has been growing in recent years. While some (like Russell Crowe) say the fault is with the actresses, not the scripts, studies show that in Hollywood, men talk and women show skin. Vulture also took a look at some films and…
Preacher is coming to AMC, and I’m ecstatic

Preacher is coming to AMC, and I’m ecstatic

Posted inComics & Graphic Novels, Geek Stuff, Television
Preacher, the darkly irreverent and hilariously blasphemous comic series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, is coming to AMC next year. I couldn't be happier. AMC is on a ridiculous roll in recent years. They used to be focused on classic movies, then slowly started introducing original programming. In 2007, Mad Men debuted, and it marked the dawn of a new era. The channel would never be the same after that. (I wrote a book about Mad Men. You should check it out.) For me, the big breakout show was Breaking Bad, a show that grabbed me good and never…
X-Men: Days of Future Past is super great

X-Men: Days of Future Past is super great

Posted inFilms, Geek Stuff
This is. The last one, and my marathon is over. Happily, we're ending with a good 'en: X-Men: Days of Future Past What do you get when you mix a nonsensical script, high school level acting, dodgy made-for-TV special effects, and a ridiculously sluggish, sleep-inducing pace? Not Days of Future Past, which is neck and neck with X2 as the best of the seven-film X saga. I mean, what DOESN'T this thing get right? It opens with a bang, showcasing a grim dystopian future and wickedly creative use of mutie powers, plus gruesome mutie death. Logan is quickly sent back…
The Wolverine: The one that doesn’t suck (as much)

The Wolverine: The one that doesn’t suck (as much)

Posted inFilms, Geek Stuff
Another day, another X-movie. By now you should know the drill, so let's go: The Wolverine (unrated extended edition) Poor wittle Wulberine's heart is broken because he stabbed his crush to death, then a Quirky Asian Girl shows up and brings him to Japan, where he fights ninjas and sleeps with gorgeous women. This second Wolverine movie is a huge upgrade from the first insomuch as it's not a colossal pile of excrement. In fact, there is a lot to like here. Exploring the thread's of Jean's death was a good choice. Gettin into Logan's adventures in Japan was a…
X-Men: The Last Stand is way better than you think

X-Men: The Last Stand is way better than you think

Posted inFilms, Geek Stuff
I'm re-watching all the X movies in chronological order, but all you need to know is that I am going to talk about this movie: X-Men: The Last Stand Sometimes when you revisit a bunch of stuff you haven't seen in a while in a "re-examination" kind of way, your eyes are opened to things you hadn't seen before and your opinion changes. Other times, your existing views end up being reinforced with even greater strength. When it comes to X-Men: The Last Stand, it's the latter -- and that seems to put me in the minority The movie is…