The “Best of the Best” Are Pretty Bleak
The BBC recently polled 177 film critics from around the world and asked them what the “best” films of the 21st century are. They came up with a list of 100, naturally, and the results were pretty dispiriting. I mean that quite literally, by the way. The films I’m familiar with that made the list […]
Trio of Newcomers Can’t Topple Suicide Squad
You’d assume a so-called suicide squad wouldn’t last very long. I mean, an expiration date is sort of suggested by the name, right? People who take part in suicide missions understand that they’re probably not coming back. But Warner Brothers’ Suicide Squad is the exception. It keeps coming back … to No. 1. For the […]
The Olympics: Like Real Life, Only Better
Bad things happen. Even at the Olympics. Looking at this year’s games in Rio, you can point to any number of mistakes, accidents and bone-headed moves. Just ask Ryan Lochte. Or Al Trautwig. Or the technicians in charge of the Olympic diving pool. But sometimes, the Olympics transcend all that. They go beyond even their […]
Squad Crashes Sausage Party
It had all the makings of a great, late-summer shindig. The chips. The hot dog buns. The cute little baby carrots. Yes, every cast member was prepared to toast a victory for Sony’s Sausage Party. The wieners were gonna be winners. But wouldn’t you know it: Deadshot and his collection of cantankerous cohorts busted in […]
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our … What?
I was reading a Los Angeles Times interview with comedian Amy Schumer. She talked about a Twitter to-do from some weeks back, when fellow comedian Leslie Jones—one of the stars of the new Ghostbusters movie—was temporarily pushed off the service after being inundated with hateful, often racist tweets. “It was just so much hate at […]
Pokemon Go and the Hunt for Imagination
The mobile gaming app Pokémon Go crossed over 100 million downloads last week, and it’s still barreling through the culture like an armor-plated buffalo (which, frankly, would be a pretty cool Pokémon critter in itself). And now, since even your Great Aunt Edna is trying to catch ’em all, scholarly experts are popping out of […]
It’s Quinn for The Win: Suicide Squad Takes No. 1
Normally, the malevolent members of the Suicide Squad would be fine just stealing millions from poor, unsuspecting souls. After all, they’re bad guys. It’s what they do. This weekend, though, they made their money the old-fashioned way: They earned it. Suicide Squad rampaged to a massive $135.1 million (estimated, of course). That’s about $40 million […]
Born to Be Influenced by Media
I reviewed A&E’s Born This Way this week (the review will be posted later today). It’s a reality show that focuses on several young adults with Down syndrome, and a refreshing change from the many reality shows that are predicated on greed and selfishness and bad behavior. It’s a gentler program that, while not exactly […]
Bourne Does Boffo at Box Office
Maybe the movie should’ve been called The Bourne Treasury. Jason Bourne, which marked Matt Damon’s fourth turn as the character, topped the box office this week, gunning its way to an estimated $60 million in North America to finish well ahead of the pack. This new Bourne kicked poor Star Trek Beyond right out of […]
What a Pop Star’s Uber Ride Taught Me
We here at Plugged In have often talked about the unsettling fact that our tech can sometimes consume too much of our attention. But, the fact is, we don’t necessarily need the distractions of our smartphones or tablets to lose sight of what’s cool or beautiful or important in our lives. We’re pretty good at […]
