Doug's Summer TV Season Report Card by Doug Strassler

By Doug Strassler Ever the masochist, I made it my mission to take in as much summer TV as I could over the last four months. Though I didn't see all of the potential offerings, I did manage…

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 11:37am on September 2, 2011☆⚑

What Makes For a Good Ensemble Film? by Doug Strassler

By Doug Strassler Just like Mark did yesterday in his smart analysis of Tate Taylor's film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's The Help, I too have been thinking about many elements of this …

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 12:13pm on August 26, 2011☆⚑

Flashback: Concrete Blonde's "Joey" by Doug Strassler

By Doug Strassler I thought it was high time we take a trip down my musical memory lane and re-visit one of my all-time favorite songs. Do any of you out there remember the song "Joey," from…

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 2:18pm on August 19, 2011☆⚑

My Dream List of Lifetime Achievement Oscar Winners, Part Deux by Doug Strassler

By Doug Strassler Welcome to my second look at which overlooked film actors I believe to be overdue for a lifetime achievement Academy Award. For a look at the first entries on my list " and…

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 3:05pm on August 12, 2011☆⚑

My Dream List of Lifetime Achievement Oscar Winners, Part One by Doug Strassler

By Doug Strassler This week, the Academy announced the recipients of its annual honorary awards, and none other than Darth Vadar himself, James Earl Jones, is this year's winner. (The Jean H…

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 2:05pm on August 5, 2011☆⚑

Trailer Scaler: "New Year's Eve" by Doug Strassler

By Doug Strassler It's been said (mostly by me) that the current crop of ensemble romantic comedies, fueled in large part by Love Actually early last decade, are this generation's version of…

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 2:04pm on July 29, 2011☆⚑

Plumbing the Depths for the Next Reality Show Comeback by Doug Strassler

By Doug Strassler I don't know if you've noticed, but comedienne extraordinaire Roseanne has been doing a media gauntlet to promote her new reality " er, "unscripted" " show on Lifetime call…

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 11:40am on July 22, 2011☆⚑

Re-Digging in the Soundgarden of My Youth by Doug Strassler

By Doug Strassler I can finally say that I have completed the teenage experience. This is an odd sentence for someone mere days away from his 32nf birthday to say. What could I possibly mean…

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 11:13am on July 15, 2011☆⚑

What Will It Take for Ewan McGregor to Get an Oscar Nomination? by Doug Strassler

  By Doug Strassler Beginners, the new indie dramedy from Mike Mills, is a lot of things. It's an autobiographical look at loss, as the main character, an artist named Oliver (Ewan McGreg…

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 11:51am on July 8, 2011☆⚑

Critical Lessons I've Recently Learned by Doug Strassler

By Doug Strassler Believe it or not (and sometimes I still don’t), this column reaches a TON of people. And thanks to Facebook, Twitter and word of mouth, probably way more readers tha…

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 11:00am on June 24, 2011☆⚑

Food For Thought by Doug Strassler

By DOUG STRASSLER I have a problem. See, as an equal opportunity entertainment guy, I catch a lot. I watch a lot of movies, I listen to a lot of music, I see as many shows and concerts as th…

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 10:45am on July 30, 2010☆⚑

In Praise Of: Gary Cole by Doug Strassler

By DOUG STRASSLER In the past, many of the actors I have written about in this column have fallen under the label of "It's That Guy!," performers who may be recognizable but are not necessar…

SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 7:11am on July 16, 2010☆⚑