Jesus, I just wrote this in a reply to @avclub-f6f154417c4665861583f9b9c4afafa2:disqus. Seriously, it might as well be verbatim. I'll assume great minds and whatnot.

Yes, I'm looking forward to the new reviews. I watched The Shield en masse on DVD well after the show ended its run and it was one of the best TV experiences I've ever had. If you read the current S7 reviews, Hyden speaks briefly about comparisons with The Wire. I think both shows are great for very different reasons…

I've seen this before…

Like stepping on an infinite number of rakes, one grumbling step at a time?

Well done.

I watched an excellent PBS doc last night about convict leasing in the American South (i.e., continuing slavery by legal means, which eventually became illegal, after emancipation). You should watch it but not on a Thursday morning apparently.

No, X-Files Seasons 5-9 had just as much MOTW compared to the seasons you watched. Rather, it would be fair to say that the conspiracy arc got worse in the later seasons.

@avclub-da518aecddbf5c94588f53562012c452:disqus But Troy's a Jehovah's Witness!

Franco and Hathaway were an awesome pair. Who doesn't want to see a stoned guy trying his best to not act stoned so he can not care about hosting? Personally, I think Seinfeld or Gervgais should host EVERYTHING. Which now has me thinking that Larry David would be perfect for the job.

It's true, current workplace policies and many examples of recent case law emphasize an employer's duty to accommodate. Although heroin and alcohol addiction no doubt have had a toll on Weiland, the band is legally and minimally required to accommodate these addictions in such a way that Weiland can continue to carry…

I think it easy to argue in favor of some songs from Purple (Big Empty has emerged as a good tune) but I agree: the first two albums are pretty dated. Tiny Music is probably my favorite of theirs (i.e., I'd listen to about 75% of the album today) and there's some good stuff on No. 4 but I couldn't even tell you…

Why was it odd? It was literally STP with a new singer pretending to be Scott Weiland. Musically, the DeLeo brothers run the show. Turns out they're also in charge of HR, too.

Corgan's ego would never allow him to fire himself.

To follow up on @avclub-735dd629ab696e3a1bfcc0fe0d687bb1:disqus , Session 9 was released during a time when pretty much every film was expected to have a "twist". The Sixth Sense came out a couple years prior and it set off a completely ridiculous trend where movies became exclusively about the "twist". This created…

This is a perfect little gem for a Criterion release. Lots of movies use asylums as a setting but I'm not sure any have done it as well as Session 9. I think the story loses itself as things begin to climax (this is common in most of Brad Anderson's work) but there's a strong sense of mystery and dread that emanate…

Yeah, but instead of showing bullets entering heads, Die Hard 2 goes one step further and uses icicles instead. I think that's the complete opposite of cookie cutter.

Interesting fact that has long been in my mind's archive: Gene Siskel included Die Hard 2 in his Top 10 films for whatever year it was released. There may be an argument for this considering the title of the film (i.e., it's a parody of Die Hard, not a legitimate sequel). But you know, one's person's trash is…

I'm not sure the review and grade line up but I suspect this might be in the same realm as Nocturama, a decidedly (by me) transitional album, which inspired similarly blithe criticisms. In all fairness, Nocturama is not a strong album but it didn't merit being called "lazy". I reserve judgement for Push the Sky Away…

It's a good (not great) movie that could be blood brothers with The Assassination of Jesse James Blah Blah Blah. One scene that stands out is when Damon is lying next to Jude Law's corpse - objectively creepy and it's a stark demonstration of Ripley's sociopathic quality. While it may be slow paced, I remember being…

I was among the crowd who watched the X-Files pilot when it originally aired and was hooked instantly. I was 13 at the time and it was the first "adult" show that I watched religiously (my sister, who was 10 at the time, was a total fanatic, too). The show is very pulpy and it's a solid piece of entertainment pretty…