DVD Review: Kurt Russell Is the King in John Carpenter’s “Elvis”
The 1979 biopic, Elvis, has finally found a home on DVD thanks to Shout! Factory. This made-for-TV movie was a huge success when it originally aired. There’s no question why:...
Posts Tagged: "Scott Malchus"
DVD Review: Take That, Beotch! “Bitch Slap” Arrives on DVD
Outrageous, over the top and a purely visceral experience, Bitch Slap is a throwback to the grindhouse pictures of the ’60s and ’70s, the kind of films that featured women...
Popdose Country! CD Reviews: Josh Turner “Haywire” and Easton Corbin, “Easton Corbin”
When offered the opportunity to review some country music for Popdose, I was excited. Our site does not have a bias against any particular genre (obviously), but it’s rather apparent...
DVD Review: Paul Giamatti as Paul Giamatti in “Cold Souls”
The latest entry into the category of Kaufman-esque surreal comedies, derived from the name of writer/director Charlie Kaufman, whose films include Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, is Sophie Barthes’s Cold...
Basement Songs: The Greg Kihn Band, “Jeopardy”
The first time I kissed a girl (other than a relative) was in the 7th grade at a birthday party. Mind you, this was innocent, spin the bottle kiss on...
Book Review: Tony DuShane’s “Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk”
“One lone pubic hair sprung from my baby smooth pelvis area. I didn’t even see it start to grow. It just made its appearance and told me more were coming....
DVD Review: Uma Thurman Takes On “Motherhood”
Writer-director Katherine Dieckmann’s new indie film, Motherhood, has the look and feel of an extended episode of Sex in the City, if Carrie Bradshaw settled down in an old apartment...
Adventures Through the Mines of Mellow Gold 52
In his latest edition of Adventures Through the Mines of Mellow Gold, Jason Hare explores the phenomena of "gentle rocking," brought to us by a Lebanese Canadian hunk in 1974....
Basement Songs: Kelly Clarkson, “Breakaway”
Sophie’s school held its annual father/daughter dance was last week, an event that we’ve attended for several years now. The two of us began our night with a pasta dinner...
TV on DVD: “FlashForward: Part One, Season One”
FlashForward began with a kick ass premise: On a regular day the entire world’s population simultaneously blacked out for 137 seconds. Those people who didn’t die in a car crash...
DVD review: Robert De Niro wants you to know that “Everybody’s Fine”
Robert De Niro stars in Everybody’s Fine, a remake of a 1990 Italian film starring Marcello Mastroianni. You can feel the sentimental influence from the earlier film all over this...
DVD Review: “Women in Trouble”
Women in Trouble is yet another L.A. ensemble movie in which various strangers intersect on one day and all lives are altered in some way. This film is unique in...
TV on DVD: “thirtysomething: The Complete Second Season”
purchase from Amazon: DVD Last year Shout! Factory released a fantastic box set of the first season of thirtysomething, the influential drama series that ran on ABC from fall 1987...
Basement Songs: Queen and David Bowie, “Under Pressure”
This year marks the fifth anniversary of my friend Matt’s death. He was my brother in every sense except for blood, and like siblings, we fought, had misunderstandings, hurt each...
DVD Reviews: A Slam Dunk and a Missed Layup—”More Than a Game” and “Hurricane Season”
With the NBA All Star Game behind us and March Madness just around the bend, two new DVD releases about basketball should keep all you round ball junkies appeased when...
Basement Songs: Eric Johnson, “Ah Via Musicom” (Flashback ’90)
Eric Johnson's Ah Via Musicom gets the Flashback '90 series in Scott Malchus' latest Basement Songs column....
DVD Review: “A Serious Man”
“Everything I thought was one way turns out to be another.” I don’t proclaim myself to be a huge fan of the work of Joel and Ethan Coen, the writer/director/producer...
Basement Songs: Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”
The email came on a Thursday morning, as I sat at my desk, waking up. My friend, Nancy, was running the Santa Monica half marathon in three days and she...
DVD Review: A Cast of Many and a New York Setting in “New York, I Love You”
I have never been to New York City, so I can not refute any of the criticisms I’ve read about New York, I Love You, a collection of short films...
TV on DVD: “Life on Mars” (The Original BBC Series)
Last year, both seasons of the original BBC series, Life on Mars, were released in the U.S. to little press, despite the fact that the show is considered one of...
Rock Court, Small Claims Division: The Romantics vs. John Mellencamp
All rise. The rules of this courtroom are simple. You will be presented with two songs, one by the plaintiff and one by the defendant. It is your task to...
Basement Songs: Reflections on a School Closing
Families lined up to wait fifteen minutes or more for spaghetti served from a large aluminum tin, salad and a choice of lemonade or iced tea. Outside, the California rain...
Basement Songs: Shawn Colvin, “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”
Pete’s Café and Bar is located on the corner of 4th and Main in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. It’s a trendy restaurant with nice large windows that look out on...
TV on DVD: “Glee, Vol. One: Road to Sectionals”
The first 13 episodes of Fox’s new hit musical series, Glee, released here in a 4 DVD set, are an entertaining, yet wildly inconsistent group of episodes that sees the...
Basement Songs: U2, “One”
You’ve watched the news footage, seen the photos and read the news tweets; you’ve heard the screams and pleas and shook your head at the ludicrous comments by idiots. Whenever...
Basement Songs: Bob Dylan, “‘Cross the Green Mountain”
I dread an empty house. When Julie and the kids are out of town, as they were the week before Christmas, our home is too quiet. No matter how many...
Mix Six: “The Myth of Santa (And Other Thoughts on Christmas)”
DOWNLOAD THE FULL MIX HERE By now, you’re thoroughly drenched in holiday music – with the vast majority of the songs celebrating Christmas. So why bother with yet another holiday-themed...
Basement Songs: Coldplay, “Reign of Love”
During the summer, when getting up to run at the crack of dawn didn’t mean donning four layers of clothes and a wool cap, I was able to run longer...
Basement Songs: The Rolling Stones, “Waiting on a Friend”
On a frigid winter’s night in December 1994, a group of friends met at some bar in Lakewood, Ohio, I think the name of the place was Around the Corner....
TV Review: “Men of a Certain Age”
Premiering tonight on TNT is the new dramedy series, Men of a Certain Age, which comes from Emmy winners Ray Romano and Mike Royce, one of the executive producers and...