Movie Scum

Back before the rise of hundreds of cable channels catering to every niche, no matter how small or stupid, and instant video options that put dozens (DOZENS!) of top movies only a click away, it seemed that we all were, more or less, on the same page for our entertainment input. Between the top TV shows which averaged more viewers than a few networks combined get now to the big box office films that were showed edited and punctuated with commercials, the world was a much simpler place. This weekend, as I read an article from The AV Club which kindly name dropped #pbf’s favorite film, Weekend at Bernie’s , along with its wretched sequel, I began to wonder how pervasive were films twenty years ago compared to now. It feels like everyone over the age of 25 has seen Weekend at Bernie’s or Die Hard simply because they were played ad nauseum on HBO or NBC. But it doesn’t seem as easy for a film to have that penetration anymore with so many different entertainment venues. I even beg...

Dexter has come to a close on Showtime. Breaking Bad is close to its final episode. In the current television landscape you no doubt will come across someone who loudly exclaims while covering their mouth with their hands after telling them you haven't seen their favorite TV show. Unless you are an unemployed mouth breather with government handouts at your whim, chances are you are working and being a productive member of society and thus, not able to take advantage of the plethora of ways to consume entertainment these days.

It isn’t often that the fifth film in a series is well received by a far amount of respectable critics. It is even less often when that series is at best a popcorn movie geared towards adolescent boys, street racers, and the six or seven fans of Paul Walker. But shockingly, I’ve heard a lot of buzz about Fast Five and that … well, it is actually pretty good. As in currently holding as 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes good. Admittedly, this may be a bit premature as currently there are only a few dozen reviews tallied up. But considering the harsh critical reaction to the previous four movies (52%, 36%, 35%, and 27% respectively), it looks pretty safe that Fast Five could end up on the “fresh” side of the fence. But why? I did not see the third or fourth movies strictly because they looked like car porn wrapped around a poor excuse for a plot with bad acting throughout. In fairness, the first two were as well. This film reportedly centers around the team including Vin Diesel and Wa...