Sometimes it feels like franchises never end. There’s a bunch of films in the Fast and Furious series, the James Bond movies have been trucking along since 1962, and the MCU will end at roughly the same time that our sun goes supernova and wipes out all human life on our fragile planet. But franchises end. Consider the little-remembered Francis the Talking Mule series. Based on a 1946 novel, seven films were made during the 1950s about a mule in the Army that could talk. Presumably, they were profitable—for a while, anyway. As time went on, audiences either a) searched for new diversions in... Read More

Let’s say there’s this punk rock band. They’re not what you would call musically accomplished. Matter of fact, we have to wonder if they can even read music. All of their songs are short, probably two minutes or less. They don’t seem like much, truth be told. But we decide to check out their set, in some dirtbag club. We give them a shot, and it turns out to be a good call. Because despite being profane, juvenile, and simple, they’re great. Wildly entertaining. Huge energy. Fun as hell. Congratulations, we just saw Black Flag. The Dead Kennedys. The Sex Pistols. All... Read More