MAD MEN: SEASON 2, EPISODE 5

Break out the Camels and pour me a scotch. MAD MEN is back! It took 5 episodes for the show to get back on track. Tonight's spectacular writing, especially for Peggy, and its taut, charged acting make it a standout. -- Jeff SchultzCloser to the real MAD MEN. The acting and writing are the best … Continue reading MAD MEN: SEASON 2, EPISODE 5

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS

For chronic laughs and a stoner cold good time, climb on board the PINEAPPLE EXPRESS! Danny McBride steals every scene as the drug supplier. A comedy high! -- Alan YudmanPINEAPPLE is a lemon! This EXPRESS goes off the tracks early then crashes and burns! Too many tokin' montages, not enough laughs make this comedy seriously … Continue reading PINEAPPLE EXPRESS

STEP BROTHERS

BROTHER, can you Spare a laugh? There are plenty to go around in this STEPendously stupid, bracingly vulgar comedy -- the DUMB AND DUMBER of 2008, featuring the year's 2 best cameos: Maria Quiban and Will Farrell's balls. -- Jeff SchultzWhere theres a WILL there's a laugh! Step Brothers is one of the funniest movies … Continue reading STEP BROTHERS

MAD MEN: SEASON 2, EPISODE 4

Is this MAD MEN...or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? Decent writing and solid acting can't hide the fact this show is veering farther and farther away from its Madison Avenue roots. And when did Robert Morse's character become all but senile? -- Jeff SchultzMad Men should be called Father Doesnt Know Best-the show is a … Continue reading MAD MEN: SEASON 2, EPISODE 4

THE BANK JOB

BANK on this: Entertainment is JOB 1 in this British caper that's essentially Mission: Impossible meets The Departed. The movie's salacious topicality -- Princess Margaret getting it doggie-style --adds a titillating fillip to an otherwise standard but well done heist flick. -- Jeff SchultzA heist movie that is so much more, BANK does a great … Continue reading THE BANK JOB

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN (novel)

It's Terms of Endearment with a wagging tail. THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN is so shot through with dog love, so tenderly observed and lucidly written, it was hard to swallow -- because of the lump in my throat. Simply wonderful, but get out your handkerchiefs. -- Jeff SchultzDespite being a 4 hankie … Continue reading THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN (novel)

SPACED

Faced with SPACED, I wondered: Isn't the BBC filled with this kind of mildly pleasant witcom -- well-enough acted, but also talky and slow? I'm mystified by the show's reputation. -- Jeff SchultzSPACED is the anti-Friends. Characters are real, not prettied up. Smart homages to geekdom complete a well-written & acted sitcom. Hits the PEGG … Continue reading SPACED