Reviews

I am a big fan of roasts, but TB12 roast was, to put it mildly, the worst roast I have ever seen. I'm totally OK w/ crude, even vulgar humor, but, this roast lacked originality; unless you find a constant stream of 'jokes' about Brady and his 'interactions' with his team mates funny. On top of that Kevin Hart is a terrible comedian. His 'shtick' was to periodically look at Brady and say 'Scr36w u Tom'. Wow, how clever is that?

In addition, Hart cannot be involved with anything without making it about race. His black people/white people comments were utterly lame and ,frankly, insulting.

A few highlights were provided by Nikki Glazer who delivered a knock-out joke about Gronk and crypto-currency; absolute killer. Jeff Ross was OK, but, he seemed to be off his usual game. Gronk was a total embarrassment. His act seemed to be how loud can he yell about Brady and the Patriot's locker room 'antics'. Not funny, at all.

Belichick and Kraft should, as the saying goes, not quit their day jobs although we were constantly reminded that Belichick doesn't have a job at this point.

Drew Bledsoe was probably the best of the non-professional roasters. Randy Moss looked like a guy who wandered in and since no one knew he was let him get in a few tepid digs at Brady.

I don't get Peyton Manning. He's a guy with limited talent who has parlayed this into (I'm guessing) a very lucrative career as an huckster and a quasi-football commentator.

Ben Affleck seemed utterly lost without a script and a director telling him what to do.

Will Farrell did his usual indignant, put-upon act. It is as tiring as it is not funny. He came on as Ron Burgandy. I would bet that Farrell came up with that name. That seems to be the kind of humor is is capable of. If his character in Anchorman had a normal name like, say, Stan Schlitz, it would have been, IMHO, way funnier, but, hey, Farrell is the one with all the accolades and the money and the fame.

The rest of the dais consisted of basically the comedians you might see on any night at your local Yuk-Yuks. Hopefully, we will never see them again at a televised roast.

Brady's rebuttal was 'I'm great, you're not. Scr#w U'; over and over again. Tiring and humiliating at the same time. He should sue who ever wrote this piece of crap for him.

So there it is. If you like un-purposeful, vulgarity for its own sake then you may find this humorous. If this isn't your cup of tea, then I suggest looking up some of the past roasts where crudeness comes with a healthy dose of humor and originality.

The Miracle Club is a superbly written and acted movie about life and how you manage it. With a stellar cast including Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Steven Rae, Maggie Smith and others, the story revolves around ordinary people who have carried around the baggage in their lives for way too long.

Set in Dublin in the 60's, three of the women are trying to secure a trip to Lourdes each hoping for their own miracle. As each of the woman focuses on their current situation. The Laura Linney character comes back to her home town and dredges up the long lost hurts that has been put aside for decades.

Once in Lourdes, they are confronted with the reality that miracles are a rarity and no amount of holy water and prayers will give them what they want.

What they do come to realize is that the real miracle is to be able to confront the past and move on with their lives. As they are leaving Lourdes, the priest who arranged the trip, tells them that the reason for coming to Lourdes was not for a miracle, but for the strength to continue their fight.

All in all, this movie brought home a powerful and poignant message without being over preachy or melodramatic. If you like heartfelt stories about real life issues, I think you will thoroughly enjoy this movie.

I really wanted to give this show a higher rating, but, the show lasted two years too long. Once one of the main characters dies, it went completely off the rails. There could have easily been two titles: The Good Wife (seasons 1-5) and The I'm No Better Than the Rest of the Back-stabbing. Egomaniacal Lawyers Wife (final 2 seasons). Too bad. The main character (Alicia Florek - played to perfection by Julianne Margulies) seemed to be above the fray early on, but, then she succumbed to the same afflictions that the remainder of the lawyers had, i.e., win above all else, crush anyone who gets in your way and never, ever let ethics be your North Star. I get that the acting was great and the story telling (at least when it didn't go too far over the top) was top-notch and the show built an incredible amount of tension and drama into each episode, but, at some point it crossed over into nothing more than a cliche-ridden court room piece.

What started out (at least for me) was an almost must-see program, became, tedious to the point that the only thing I found interesting was wondering what the weekly 'cliff-hanger' would be.

With a superb cast headed by Dustin Hoffman, Straight Time delivers an intimate portrait of a man consumed by his inability to function in normal society. When the movie starts, Hoffman is out on parole and eventually starts dating a clerk (Theresa Russell) from the employment agency. Employment is difficult for an ex-con plus the fact that the character is a loser who feels he is entitled to take what others work hard for. When the chance for a better life is presented to him (one, btw, that would include the gorgeous Russell) he reverts back to the only thing he knows. As can be expected, this movie does not end well which, in some regards, is a tribute to 70's/80's movie-making that refuses to cop out to a feel good ending.

All-in-all, if you like gritty, crime dramas this will do the trick.

As a side note, the cars that appear throughout many of the street scenes are a potpourri of unique colors and styles as opposed to the bland, copycat style that the automobile consumer is stuck with.

How can you go wrong with a movie in which Scrabble plays such a significant role? My answer is you simply can't.

SAN provides a glimpse into a family that seems unable to develop real relationships. Instead the father (Nighy) and son (Riley) mask their inabilities in a common goal to search for a lost family member.

While SAN is never much of a movie at all, it packs an emotional wallop that builds and builds until the final scene that is both gut-wrenching and somehow satisfying.

The performances are subtle yet spot on.

If you like low-key, non flashy movies, I think you will definitely enjoy this.

LAOTY is a phenomenal idea and one that I enjoy very much. I am an amateur artist and I have actually learned quite a bit from the various contestants. The host are wonderful especially the dry humor of Frank Skinner. A real bonus is Joan's recounting of the history of the sites where the competitions take place. It is like getting a bonus history lesson with an art lesson. My complaint, like many others, is that the judges have such a built-in prejudice that after the first episode, I was able to predict all but one of the winners. I am not a knuckle dragging cretin who despises art that is out of the mainstream, but some of the choices have been rather bizarre (I'm talking about Sam's 4x4 'landscape'). Personally, I would have liked to see three different judges for each episode. This would seem fairer to the artists who don't fit the 'criteria' of what the three regular judges are looking for. If I were an artist in the competition, it would be a difficult choice to paint what I want rather than what the judges prefer. Luckily all of the contestants seem to have the artistic conviction to not compromise themselves. Nonetheless, if you are an artist, like to see how art is created or just a fan of human nature this show will not disappoint you.