The hook is bomb. And the payoff is huge. Netflix hit the jackpot with their latest romcom. You know how some movies are ideal to watch on a plane? You know how that’s usually an insult? Given the times we see living in it’s welcome. Some films are pure escapism and entertainment and that’s what you will find with Netflix’s latest, The Lovebirds. With Michael Showalter at the helm, it was no surprise I really dug this Netflix original. After all, Showalter directed 2 of my favorite films from the last 10 years with Hello, My Name is Doris and The Big Sick. He has a real... Read More

It was baby’s first protest. My daughter,  Harper, is 6, and didn’t quite understand why we were there but she knew it was important and it was for some guy who died. Kids have empathy so she was on board. It was really something to see. And her reaction to it was awesome. She somehow got it. And it wasn’t hard to grasp the importance and grace of the event. Downtown Davenport. A beautiful Saturday evening. The streets filled with people. It could’ve been any other Saturday night, pre-covid, in the summer, during a festival, or even just a nice evening with the streets... Read More

There’s a moment in Richmond Hill’s “Dearly Beloved” where you get Heidi Pedersen, Valeree Pieper AND Diane Greenwood on stage sparring and spewing some southern “hospitality” and for a moment you forget you are watching three local theatre icons and instead feel as if you are accidentally witnessing a real family feud.  Ultimately, that’s the goal of theatre: “to pretend with authority,” as actor Willem Dafoe says, and in most productions – amateur and professional – that is fleeting and is not a notion played on repeat. Lucky for Richmond Hill and Director John VanDeWoestyne,... Read More

Ever see 50 mics drop at once? Watch “The Shape of Water” and you will. Guillermo del Toro drops them all and probably secures his Oscar win. The man is genius. Period. I’ve always know that. You’ve always known that. After all, Pan’s Labryinth is one of the beautiful and important films of all time. But this is different. Very different… in every way. On paper, this Amazon monster-romance-horror-fantasy-heist (yes, it’s all those and more) seems an unlikely smash hit but on the screen it sizzles and inspires. “The Shape of Water” is the year’s... Read More

The lucky nominees of the 90th Annual Academy Awards will be announced Tuesday, January 23 at 7:22pm central time. Will The Shape of Water break a record? Will The Florida Project fail to secure a Best Picture nomination? Will Sebastian Stan slide into the Best Supporting Actor category at the last minute? It’s been one of the best years for film in a decade and I am positive there will snubs and surprises galore come Tuesday morning! How do I think it will all shake down? Let’s check it out….   BEST PICTURE Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri The Shape of Water The... Read More

Sunday, the Golden Globes will be awarded, with a ceremony hosted by Seth Meyers airing at 7 p.m. CST on NBC. You really never what the hell will happen with the Golden Globes. To quote three time host Ricky Gervais, the Golden Globes are “a bit louder, a bit drunker,” and it always shows, especially in the nominations. I always read the nominees with a plethora of WTF’s. This year is no different and this year is even harder to figure out. I sat down and did my best to sttay one step ahead and so… here are my predictions for Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards:   Best Picture... Read More

As if we’ve never said goodbye… With a twist. When we last saw our beloved Will & Grace, their kids were grown up and marrying each other. Naturally a reboot was expected to stay on course and reveal what’s happened to everyone, right? Wrong. What is revealed in a hysterical game of Heads Up – and one of the best openings in sitcom history – is that all of that nonsense was the product of one drunken Karen Walker and her wandering mind. Within seconds, the Will & Grace creators crossed that off the list of their viewers score cards and moved on. It was It... Read More

Vote for Hacker, He’s No Slacker When Khalil Hacker ran for class president his slogan was: “Vote for Hacker, he’s no Slacker”. As Hacker recalls, “The kids took that slogan and ran with it. In hallways, classes, buses, kids would chant “Vote for Hacker, he’s YOUR Slacker!” Khalil Slacker is the name he embraced and thus Slacker Productions was born. Slacker Productions is a YouTube channel which releases in-depth movie reviews, comical gaming videos, and miscellaneous videos related to films and the art of film-making. Hacker says, “It started as just... Read More

In looking back on the previous year, there are many good memories on stage for me to savor, particularly in regard to working with some very talented ensembles. As I grow older and more aware of the chaotic mess that is show business, I am more and more appreciative of the power and magic of an ensemble. An audience has no idea how difficult it is to find that spark but those of us on the inside know when it happens the process AND product will be exponentially better. 2016 afforded Quad City audiences plenty of opportunities to see these kind of vibrant ensembles and I would like to praise two... Read More

All hail Timothy Olyphant (and Netflix). Olyphant stars in a new Netflix original series called Santa Clarita Diet and it could not be more irreverent and at the same time appropriate. Irreverent because, in a time of intense turmoil, it’s nice to have something to turn to something that has absolutely nothing to do with anything. Appropriate because, in a time a time of intense turmoil, it’s nice to to turn to something that has absolutely nothing to do with anything. The story revolves around a Santa Clarita real estate couple: Olyphant’s pot-smoking, overly devoted, classic... Read More