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Melanie Mcfarland

Melanie Mcfarland

Salon

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With friends like Robert Durst's "The Jinx - Part Two" was probably inevitable

One of the oddest aspects of 2015's “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” is how badly Robert Durst wants to be known and understood....

latest 7

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Sometimes I would push away our audience": "The Sympathizer" director Park Chan-wook feels for us

South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook wants us to picture fireworks while watching “The Sympathizer.”  That image inspires his visual...

yesterday 9

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Hacks" returns with its funny ladies on the mountaintop, but questions the cost of the climb

On April 26, Vanessa Williams pulled a Beyoncé – or is it a Cher? – by dropping her first new single in 15 years without much fanfare, relying on...

previous day 8

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Drew Barrymore's interview with Kamala Harris was a cringefest. As for why that is, answers may vary

A couple of years ago Drew Barrymore posted an Instagram video of herself giddily strolling in a downpour, hair soaked and laughing...

wednesday 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

The Golden Divorce, "Alice & Jack" and why disconnected romances are our new modern love stories

Last week Gerry Turner and his wife Theresa Nist, whose competition-driven courtship was chronicled on the first ever edition of “The Golden...

19.04.2024 3

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"She knows her own destiny": Anna Sawai is her own savior in "Shōgun"

At some point last year, Anna Sawai struggled through an existential crisis. Proving that such paroxysms can descend on anyone at any time and...

17.04.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Manhunt" explores the "what if" aspect of Lincoln's assassination that impacts the present

While growing up, "Manhunt" creator Monica Beletsky wondered why the neighborhoods in her hometown of Philadelphia were so different from each other...

15.04.2024 8

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

HBO's "The Sympathizer" is an enthralling sift through identity, memory and Vietnam after the war

War blurs clean-cut reasoning despite the concrete "one versus another" description. "The Sympathizer" reminds us of this in its opening frames,...

15.04.2024 5

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, as seen on TV

Some of us have never known a time when O.J. Simpson wasn't onscreen somewhere or part of the cultural conversation. Starting in 1975, Simpson was the...

13.04.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Star Trek: Discovery" makes a case for Michael Burnham as the last great Starfleet captain

Michael Burnham's "Star Trek" journey was destined to be among the franchise's toughest and most complex. Some of us knew this from the moment...

10.04.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Giancarlo Esposito is serious about taking the lead in "Parish." In life, he's ready to lighten up

Giancarlo Esposito has a different energy about him these days. The shift may be subtle enough to evade someone sitting down to “Parish,” the new...

08.04.2024 20

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Regime" creator on a fitting end for Kate Winslet's dictator: "I feel like that could happen"

For a brief window of time — no more than a crack — it looked as if Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet) might get what was coming to her. The finale of...

08.04.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Mary & George" may be shallow, but it's also a lusty, wickedly fun gallop through history

Mary Villiers wasn’t born to power. She had to scheme her way there from the dirt, learning what she was up against on the way up. An early episode...

06.04.2024 50

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Diarra From Detroit" gives us everything we've been missing in the murder mystery genre

Last week Hulu canceled “Death and Other Details” which isn’t surprising considering what a derivative concept it was working with. Setting a...

03.04.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

With "Parish" Giancarlo Esposito is finally the lead. If only this vehicle were worthy of his talent

The shadow cast by “Breaking Bad” is inky, far-reaching and difficult, but not impossible, to escape. A few of “Parish” lead Giancarlo...

01.04.2024 4

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Can love on "The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live" turn our hatred for a villain into something else?

When the writers put their backs into it “The Walking Dead” can spin decent relationship tales. That’s easy to forget with all the marauders and...

29.03.2024 20

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"NOVA: A.I. Revolution" urges us consider the benefits—and the drawbacks—of artificial intelligence

Forty-six years ago, PBS' "NOVA" series debuted its first documentary about artificial intelligence. "The Mind Machines" featured many of the field's...

29.03.2024 20

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Aliens are hot right now!" So is Alan Tudyk, thanks to his astronomical appeal on "Resident Alien"

Awkwardness is human. It’s also Harry Vanderspeigle’s defining characteristic as a stranded extraterrestrial, making “Resident Alien” one of...

28.03.2024 4

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

In "The Truth Vs. Alex Jones" a historic court win does little to repair the damage done to us all

Some costs can only be fully understood through numbers. In chronicling the two defamation lawsuits brought against Alex Jones and his website,...

27.03.2024 3

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Pain don’t hurt": Is it even "Road House" without the bro-appeal of its philosophy?

Let’s recognize what a brave and daring act Doug Liman has undertaken in remaking “Road House” especially considering, and I am simply repeating...

26.03.2024 30

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Kristen Kish emerges victorious again on "Top Chef," this time as its host

One ingredient can change a dish's entire profile. That isn't what the producers of "Top Chef" wanted in choosing Kristen Kish to succeed Padma...

22.03.2024 5

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Is "3 Body Problem" brainy? Certainly. It's also divisive, depending on who's watching it

It doesn't take long to decide whether Netflix’s “3 Body Problem” is extraordinary or a disarranged travesty. That decision rests on a variety...

21.03.2024 7

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Stormy Daniels doc shows how disbelieving one woman can be a blueprint for our democracy under Trump

Throughout “Stormy” we’re shown the many ways Stormy Daniels has been co-opted to suit others’ purposes. To right-wing bullies, she’s a safe...

19.03.2024 4

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Manhunt" limps between a conspiracy thriller about hunting Lincoln's assassin and necessary history

Much like one of its secondary characters, "Manhunt" is a peculiar kind of double agent. Initially, it progresses as advertised: a conspiracy thriller...

15.03.2024 9

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Is a conversation between Chris Cuomo and Tucker Carlson really the cure we need?

At some point in our lives, all of us have shared polite verbal exchanges with people whose political, cultural and social views are diametrically...

13.03.2024 5

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

The 96th annual Oscars gave us what the movies promise and we need right now: a dose of fun

For the 96th Oscars, ABC’s host Jimmy Kimmel chose to pay tribute to the unforgettable work of Robert Opel, the man who streaked the 1974 Academy...

11.03.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"The Regime's" meme-worthy satire can't compare with Katie Britt or today's bad political actors

It took about two years for a scene in Oliver Hirschbiegel’s 2004 feature “Downfall” to become an internet meme Hall of Famer. You’ve probably...

11.03.2024 30

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Saturday Night Live" is "a bad thing for comedians" says journalist Seth Simons. He has a point

Over the nearly 50 years that “Saturday Night Live” has been on the air the headlines it generates take on a certain sameness. We search for signs...

10.03.2024 30

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

The 1980's "Shogun" didn't usher in a decade of Japanophilia by itself. But it played its part

If you want to believe one of the more dubious claims concerning the influence of the 1980 adaptation of “Shōgun,” Americans may thank the...

09.03.2024 20

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

How Jon Stewart's loss helps us listen on "The Daily Show"

You might have heard that President Joe Biden has been struggling to reach certain voters lately. It’s telling, though, that he hasn’t responded...

04.03.2024 8

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

What keeps "The Walking Dead" moving forward? Showrunner Scott Gimple insists "love is the fuel"

Scott Gimple extends his apologies to everyone who abandoned "The Walking Dead" after the bloody seventh season premiere. He also mourned the demise...

03.03.2024 4

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Twenty five years later, "Office Space" explains the Gen X worker's deflated spirit

Lately, I've encountered a slew of stories promising to decode the psychology of Gen Z workers. What motivates them? Which common assumptions about...

01.03.2024 3

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

How "Avatar: The Last Airbender" helps us contextualize the choice between Biden and Trump

Will the victor be the aging leader who can preserve only part of the Earth, or the one who is eager to burn it?

28.02.2024 3

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

In the age of dragon fantasies, FX's "Shōgun" defines what it means to be an event series

By the conclusion of FX’s “Shōgun,” we won't be talking about Cosmo Jarvis. He takes second billing to Hiroyuki Sanada, which is proper. It...

27.02.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

A post-strike SAG Awards lets it all hang out, partying like the Golden Globes used to

The Screen Actors Guild Awards aren't on most must-watch lists during Oscar season. Past telecasts ran on TNT and TBS, treated as temporary departures...

25.02.2024 8

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"The Traitors" and the lying liars who make it the reality treat of our time

Some reality shows take a season or two to become their best selves. Remember the first season of “Big Brother”? Unless you’re a superfan,...

25.02.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Wendy Williams won't be silenced yet

Three years ago Wendy Williams declared herself “the queen of ‘I don’t care.’” She was responding to a Los Angeles Times reporter asking if...

24.02.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

This "Avatar: The Last Airbender" coasts along by improving on M. Night Shyamalan's mess

Clenching is a respectable response to any announced adaptation of a beloved animated property, especially when Netflix is producing it. The company...

22.02.2024 7

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Nic Pizzolatto's "Night Country" ire reminds us some "True Detective" mysteries are easily solvable

In the wake of the “True Detective: Night Country” finale debates arose concerning two mysteries Issa López left unsolved, starting with the...

21.02.2024 8

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"True Detective: Night Country" leaves us in a place between the truth of crime and feminine mystery

Winter is a woman, stunning, just and cruel. She blankets the land in glitter to give the flowers and grass time to sleep. She slows decay and gives...

19.02.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Jon Stewart returns "The Daily Show" to old times. His successor may be a retrofit, too

By every metric that matters – standing ovations, media orgasms and, above all, Nielsen ratings – Jon Stewart’s return to “The Daily Show”...

18.02.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

How "The Holdovers" writer was inspired by Michelangelo to create a "broken" holy family

Years ago, while visiting Florence, Italy’s famed Uffizi gallery, screenwriter David Hemingson found himself captivated by the famed painting of the...

17.02.2024 5

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Bobi Wine, "The People's President," has a message for us: "Be inspired to defend your democracy"

A week before Bobi Wine and his wife Barbara Itungo Kyagulanyi received word that their documentary "Bobi Wine: The People's President" had been...

13.02.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

The children in "True Detective: Night Country" may be the ones who suffer the most

At first glance, a person can be forgiven for mistaking Ennis’ police department as a family operation upon meeting police chief Liz Danvers (Jodie...

12.02.2024 8

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Sorry, Swifties: Super Bowl LVIII belonged to Usher and Beyoncé

There’s a nice symmetry between last year’s Super Bowl reveal of an expectant Rihanna, and this year's, featuring a shirtless Usher doing his...

12.02.2024 10

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Will the "Swift Effect" raise Super Bowl ratings to new heights?

Mastercard calls it “The Swift Lift.” That has more of a ring to it than “The Swift Effect,” the more common term used to describe Taylor...

10.02.2024 4

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" proves that it's only a matter of time before we all become Larry David

Can I admit something? I never liked Elmo. “Sesame Street” isn’t to blame for that. The fault lies with my mummified heart, I guess, along with...

10.02.2024 7

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

How “Fast Car,” a 1988 hit, became the vehicle that travels between cultural divides in 2024

Consensus is the rarest gem in a time defined by division. If Tracy Chapman’s recent Grammys rendition of “Fast Car” struck an...

07.02.2024 8

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

In "True Detective: Night Country" it's better to ask questions than pray for answers from the dead

Women are more likely to believe in ghosts than men. Women also tend to be more religious, pray more frequently and believe in heaven. A few polls...

05.02.2024 6

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

Jon Stewart returns to "The Daily Show" as the voice of past generations. What about future ones?

Second time around . . . or Second Coming? Measuring the explosive ovation at the news of Jon Stewart’s once-a-week return to “The Daily Show”...

04.02.2024 7

Salon

Melanie Mcfarland

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