Alabama Snake is crazy, but it also provides the kind of off-kilter insights into humanity one finds in the best of Southern folklore
Television
Arts Feature: Best TV Shows of 2020
We were driven indoors and told to stay there, so we turned to our screens for entertainment.
Television/Theater Review: “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” — Listening to the Lessons of the Blues
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a stellar artistic accomplishment, a blazingly powerful dramatic experience.
Television Review: “Selena: The Series” — Determined to Be “Nice”
The series’ inspirational message comes at a good time in our crisis-ridden country, but its focus on reassurance isn’t very dramatically compelling.
Television Interview: Talking with John Wilson, the Mastermind behind HBO’s “How to with John Wilson”
“I don’t want to show myself because I don’t think I’m very interesting to look at. The world is filled with so many other interesting things to look at.”
Television Review: “Animaniacs” Reboot — Out of Step
The new Animaniacs provides no good reason for reviving Yakko, Wakko, and Dot in the 21st century.
Television Review: “Paranormal” — Egyptian Ghost-busting
The spooky adventures in this Netflix/Egyptian produced series are entertaining enough to deserve a second season.
Television Review: “How To with John Wilson” — Fascinating Adventures on the Fly
In this brilliant series, documentary filmmaker John Wilson captures the absurdity of life in New York.
Film Review: “Borat II: Subsequent Moviefilm” — A Suitably Savage Satire
Sacha Baron Cohen uncovers enough destructive inanity in Borat II to justify the savagery of its satire of American ignorance.
Film Review: Toxicity Roulette — 1969, 2020, and “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
In the end, The Trial of the Chicago 7 strikes a reasonable balance between historical document and cinematic art.