We all remember Ed O’Neill as Al Bundy from Married With Children. It’s an iconic role that he’ll never be able to shake no matter what he does for the rest of his life. After that series ended its 11-year run, he even attempted to get out of comedy and take more dramatic roles. I’m sure there was a deliberate intent to try to distance himself from Al. It’s not that he likely didn’t love playing the role. He just wanted to avoid getting forever typecast in the mold. Those efforts weren’t all that successful. But now he’s back where he belongs again in a pretty solid sit-com. He’s not playing Al Bundy any more, although you won’t have to look very hard to find some of Bundy in Jay from Modern Family.
Read More

When it comes to shows that simply sneak up on you and manage to suck you in, This Is Us would be a show I never saw coming nor expected to simply fall in love with.  As a show that is on network television, it stands toe to toe with the best that cable has to offer. But what is most surprising is that what sets this show apart from the rest of the pack isn’t a complex antihero or dragons; instead it is as simple as being a show that feels as anything I’ve seen on television in some time.  As the title would suggest This Is Us is simply about a family and the struggles and successes that come day to day, though as many of you can understand and relate, there is nothing simple about life and the constant hurdles that are thrown at us on a day to day basis.
Read More

To attempt to film in a single unbroken take is an ambitious move.  Alfred Hitchock did this with his film Rope, and though it’s an impressive achievement, it’s not one of his great films. What works against the film from the start is that it has to entertain its audience from start to finish, and that’s a difficult enough task for films that have well over 1000 different shots.  It’s a bold move, and it is what writer/director and camera operator Justin McConnell delivers us with his feature film Broken Mile.
Read More

“Book ’em, Danno.”

It’s been seven years since we started to hear that phrase again. Before 2010, it had been 30 years. Still it persisted in the modern lexicon along with the term Five-0, which is still shouted in high-crime areas in cities all over the country whenever a police presence is felt closing in on the bad guys. Hawaii Five-0 ended in 1980. That’s when Tom Selleck took over the sets and production crew on Hawaii to work as Magnum P.I. until 1988 when it all closed down for good — or did it?
Read More

The 12th season of Criminal Minds would be one of great change. Some were expected and some were not. There had been incidents behind the scenes that had drawn red flags among the cast. Thomas Gibson was known to have a temper and had been reprimanded for it in the past. But as the Season 12 shooting began, he crossed the line again by allegedly kicking a writer. It was the last straw, and he was quickly fired from the series. So while the season begins with his character, it only lasts a short time. This is also the first season without Shemar Moore as Derek. That exit was planned and dealt with at the end of the previous season.
Read More