News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

Yes, we like it; no, we don’t understand it

There’s a genre that we’ll call “whaaa(!?!) television.” Or, simply, “WTF TV.”
These are shows in which the characters have no idea what’s going on. Nor do the viewers. We kind of hope the writers do, but we’re never sure.
Reality is juggled, time is shifted, minds are bent. The result is both compelling and confusing; and now two such shows are arrived, almost simultaneously.
Hulu’s “Devs” will be March 5, so we’ll discuss it another time. It’s set among tech geniuses, so we expect them to be bending and shifting and such. But AMC’s “Dispatches From Elsewhere” (shown here) is another matter, it arrives Sunday (March 1), descending on four ordinary people. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 26, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Tip for Trump: First, see the movie

There really are some things that Donald Trump and I agree on. For instance:
1) We both feel Nancy O’Dell is attractive. (Only one of us, I should add hastily, has tried to lure her into breaking her marriage vows);
2) We both feel the Vietnam War was a mistake; and;
3) We were both surprised when “Parasite” (shown here) won the Academy Award for best picture. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 22, 2020
News and Quick Comments

At last: We can love Carrey’s ‘Kidding’

Some shows – like some people – make themselves difficult to love.
.Jim Carrey’s “Kidding” has been like that. It’s fresh and original, with a warm heart, weird humor and talented cast. But it keeps pushing viewers away, deflating any sense of hope.
Now, however, it has redeemed itself. The next episode (shown here, with Ariana Grande), at 10 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, is exceptionally good … and different. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Cable celebrates a long and lustful life

The long life and wondrous career of Kirk Douglas will be celebrated on Turner Classic Movies
.That will be March 5, with some of the best-known films at nighttime. It will be “Lust for Life” (shown here, 1956) at 5:45 p.m., “Paths of Glory” (1958) at 8 and “Spartacus” at 9:45.
Douglas died Feb. 5, after a life that was extraordinary in its length (103 years), its impact and how far he had leaped. His first memoir illusttrated that leap with its title: “The Ragman’s Son.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 11, 2020
News and Quick Comments

The Oscars: No host, no fun (at times) … but great music

My Oscar Day adventures began in the morning, long before “Parasite” (shown here) was named best picture.
I was in a movie theater, watching the pre-previews. (Yes, it’s my fault for getting there early.) Some onscreen idiot said the Academy Award ratings were up last year,  “and most people think it was because” the show had no host.
One small correction: Approximately NO ONE — or no reasonable human being — thinks that. In truth: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 10, 2020
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Red-carpet: Is EVERYONE an A?

Imagine a grading scale that goes all the way from A to … well, A-plus.
Imagine a 1-to-10 scale being replaced by … maybe a 9.9-to-10 scale.
That’s roughly what watching E’s red-carpet Osvasr coverage was like. Somehow, even Billie Eilish (shown here) — who seemed to be wearing her grandfather’s sweatsuit pajamas — was praised for bringing “a new era of fashion.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 10, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Super Bowl halftime: Craving in the closet

This is always a dilemma on Super Bowl Sunday: Should we stay and watch the game or go out to a “gentleman’s club” instead?
This time, fortunately, we could sort of do both.
At halftime of the Super Bowl, two nice ladies came out and performed. There was some pole dancing and some bellydancing; the cameras had a lot of well-planned booty shots. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 3, 2020