I was referring to non-anonymous, traditional social media. But the point you seem to be alluding to is well-taken. A lot of the vibrant online communities I used to be a part of have collapsed, and I'm not sure that I have a great appreciation for what has risen up in their place, these contemporary online…

More and more, I question the wisdom of living a public life. Patton Oswalt is a famous individual, and worldwide exposure to the vitriol of others is an unfortunate hazard of his career path. But I do wonder why so many non-public figures subject themselves to this kind of exposure willingly. After a few years on the…

I think this point about car culture is important. There will always be little boys who love cars, but the values of younger generations in this country are shifting to reflect new ideals that cars as we've known them cannot satisfy. The car used to be a right of passage for American youth, an expression of freedom,…

Meh. Toy Story. Toy Story 3. Finding Nemo. Wall-E. Up. Ratatouille. Inside Out. These are all "kids movies," as well, but they're all vastly superior to anything within the Cars universe. As a child of the 90's, I loved Toy Story very deeply upon its release. However, the fact that I have aged and developed more…

I'm quite late to most reviews because I almost never watch anything at the pace of the average viewer in 2017. But I wanted to say that I find your comment to be among the most insightful here.

The uproar over every little social misstep Jerry Seinfeld makes is strange, isn't it? His show, the premise of his stand-up, is built around the notion that social norms can be confounding, and that he's not terribly comfortable with most of them. Hell, there's an entire episode of Seinfeld that derides "the kiss…

Agreed. I was deeply put off by the distinctly YA vibe I got from this trailer. Why take such a richly strange and mature story and plunge it into the sea of cliched and diminishing returns that is Young Adult adaptation? I mean, Jesus, do we need another movie about some exceptional child who saves the…

You're right, and I was probably unduly harsh in my criticism. Paul's compliments are, indeed, quite sincere, and it is genuinely moving to see him extend a handshake to a baker who has created something that he admires, and to watch that baker's face after they've received such a seal of approval. I just wish Paul…

What a fucking odd time to be alive, where the President of the United States of America can unironically offer such banal fanfic with a straight face, sound as if he's legitimately proud of himself for name-dropping a historical figure (o, the intellectual heft!), and not only will his each and every utterance of…

Here's the thing. For Chuck, it seems less that Jimmy didn't "work as hard," but that Jimmy was able to do it at all. Jimmy busted his ass to become a lawyer. He passed the bar. He worked out of the back of a goddamn nail salon. He's paid his dues. And Chuck himself admits in season 2 that nobody could ever accuse…

I'm not typically the target audience for cooking shows, competition shows, or general "reality" fare, but my wife recently got me hooked on The Great British Bake Off through Netflix, and this interview actually helped me understand why I find it so lovely and refreshing. There is something truly wonderful about its…

I'd welcome the return of Ian Malcolm, if only because 'Jurassic World' was just so… dull. I saw it once in theaters, and remember very little about it. Nothing from that movie sticks to the bones like even the smallest moments from the original film. It very much seems like the product of studio executives attempting…

Why not? The very thing that makes "the Jedi" what they are is the least interesting part about them. Moviegoers love the lightsabers, the telekineses, the acrobatics, etc. They love the superhero parts of the Force, but I imagine audiences can take or leave the religious dogma that Han rightly complained about in the…

'The Force Awakens' debuts in December of 2015, and despite generally positive reactions, fans are upset that it feels very much like a carbon copy of the first film.

I would agree with the others that it's worth playing on Wii U. I find few faults in the game's visual presentation, beyond the occasional low-res texture, and the art direction is magnificent and more than makes up for the Wii U's inability to reach contemporary heights of graphical fidelity. There are some…

I'm certainly among those who've enthusiastically trumpeted Bill Murray's latter day triumphs. Rushmore. Lost in Translation. The Life Aquatic. Broken Flowers. He really mastered that knowing, weary, vacant stare, and I still think its beautiful. But in the decade since then, it's mostly been mediocrities and very…

It's an interesting question. The Oscars traditionally reward movies that the majority of the viewing public has never seen, yet that same viewing public rabidly consumes Oscar-related coverage. In the last decade, the Golden Globes have really helped to celebrate "prestige" television. Now it feels embarrassing to…

It's not a full X-Men video game, but I will always go to bat for the SNES version of Wolverine: Adamantium Rage.

Well… considering that Trump doesn't pay taxes, how can the American people reasonably expect that he understands how taxes work? ;)

I think Donald Trump lives so much in a world of his own making that he has no idea of the work ahead of him as president. He'll delight in the pageantry of the office, and he'll love the attention it brings him, but he's going to be put off by the realization that he can't just do whatever he wants, that the country…