2014 Emmy Predictions: Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
[maxbutton id="3"] The Drama Supporting Actor is a category that comes down to the episode submissions, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The race comes down to the three contenders: Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones ("The Laws of Gods and Men"): Peter Dinklage won this category for the show's first season, with an episode that really…
Album Review: Adult Jazz, “Gist Is”
Debut albums are tricky things to assess. An artist’s first full-length is not a reliable litmus test for how their career will pan out, or in some cases, their artistic validity. But it’s the unique blend of hype and mystery that always makes debuts exciting to listen to. That lack of history combined with the…
Emmy Spotlight: Veep
If at any point this essay devolves into just a running list of one-liners, I apologize. But with a show as consistently, uproariously funny as Veep, it’s nigh impossible to resist the urge to simply revel in the wonderful blue humor of Armando Ianucci’s vulgarity-ridden zingers. In the hands of the talented ensemble that fills…
Emmy Spotlight: True Detective
Can you believe that we’re far enough past True Detective’s finale to have already arrived at the True Detective backlash? Neither can I, but here we are nonetheless. In the words of the ever-quotable Gawker Media, Nic Pizzolatto is a schmuck, and he probably also hates women? Pizzolatto mostly disregards that criticism, and mostly he…
Movie Review: The Giver
I first read Lois Lowry’s The Giver in eighth grade, at which time the YA classic was already ten years old. I have not read it since, and I purposely did not re-read it in advance of watching Philip Noyce’s film adaptation for this review. That said, the book had on me, like it did…
Creative Arts Emmys Live Blog
The Creative Arts Emmys are tonight! I will be live blogging the winners, my opinions, and what I think it means for the main ceremony! Check out our Emmy predictions here! [liveblog]
Emmy Spotlight: Silicon Valley
For people of a certain generation, the works of Mike Judge in general, and the film Office Space in particular, are something of a cultural milestone. In fact, Office Space has defined for me (and likely for you, too) my entire approach to corporate culture, and also the restaurant business, and frankly just what it…
Spoon – “They Want My Soul” Album Review
I was on Tumblr the other day when I saw this post called the "Anatomy of Music". It listed different genres and it gave the general (and very funny) structures of the songs that are associated with them. Indie music was comprised of banjo, twentysomething problems, faster banjo and it made me think of the…
2014 Emmy Predictions: Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series is a category with a lot of great performances, but one is pretty much a lock to win. With the episode submission "Ozymandias" and the buzz of the final season, last year's winner Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) is a near shoe-in for a win. However, the dark horse…
2014 Emmy Predictions: Guest Actress in a Drama Series
If you asked me two months ago who would win Guest Actress in a Drama Series, I would have put all my money on Allison Janney (Masters of Sex) for her masterful portrayal of a sexually frustrated housewife. However, after watching the tapes, it looks like there is another contender trying to stab her in…