Author: Matt Morava

How important is context for a movie? Take “Casablanca.” Context isn’t critically important to the 1942 film. Oh, it might help if you understand the basics of WWII, Vichy France, the Nazis and where and what Czechoslovakia was. The same applies to Casablanca, Morocco. It’s still not critical. You know it’s a love story about …

The post Why ‘Blade Runner’ Ruled the ’80s appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

In honor of the 2024 Summer Olympics, let’s grade the year’s best and brightest TV shows on a medal-winning curve. Gold Medalists The gold medal shows could be in any order and I’ve switched them around over the year depending on my mood (sometimes “Penguin” is at the top, sometimes “Fallout”). \ “Expats” — Prime …

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In no particular order… ‘Fleabag’ & ‘Killing Eve’ — Phoebe Waller-Bridge The busy scribe might have stumbled lately with her work on the last Bond film and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” but she’s still a rising star. Yes, “Fleabag” and “Killing Eve” are epic, but you could also add the beloved “Crashing” …

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What is the quintessential 80s movie? We don’t mean the best movie from the 1980s. That’s a different category. What movie truly represents and sums up the ‘80s? The Breakfast Club (1985) — Possibly nothing captures the decade as well as this John Hughes teen classic. He gathered five kids representing five different social cliques …

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If this is the end of “Peak TV” it was hard to tell. We’ve already had a Q1 that blasted out amazing shows into our yearning eye holes. Seriously, this is a “Ten Best” list, and it’s not even May. We’ve got three more quarters of TV to look forward to with shows like “Squid Game,” …

The post The 10 Best TV Shows of 2024 (So Far) appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

The TV year started slowly, but it’s beginning to cook so let’s talk about what’s hot right now. Minor spoilers ahead … ‘Expats’ (Prime) This is a fantastic American drama starring Nicole Kidman as Margaret, an expat living in Hong Kong with her husband Clarke (Brian Tee) and three children when a tragedy strikes the …

The post Two Great New TV Shows to Watch (And One to Skip for Now) appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

My brother was over for the Bowl games last weekend, and the trailer for the upcoming movie “Civil War” sparked all kinds of discussion and debate. He argued that a Civil War wouldn’t be possible in the United States, adding there was no single issue that could divide the nation like slavery did back in …

The post Why ‘Civil War’ Will Be 2024’s Most Controversial Film appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

I have a high tolerance for sexually-charged art, and I forget not everyone feels the same way. When I managed an independent video store in my 20s it had a section in the back (behind a black curtain) for adult movies. Every few months a “Karen” type would grab one of the VHS boxes and …

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Sometimes “Best Of” lists can lock us into a format that misses smaller, but still great TV moments. ODDBALL SHOWS WORTH WATCHING ‘Blue Eye Samurai’ (Netflix) — I’m not a big anime fan, but for some reason (great story, fascinating animation) I liked “Blue Eye Samurai,” and I wasn’t the only one. ‘The Law According …

The post The Best of the Rest: 2023 TV Highlights Worth Revisiting appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.


It’s hard to believe another year of television has rolled on by. The season started out hot with a busy slate including “The Last of Us,” “Poker Face,” and “The Consultant” but petered out by year’s end. The HBO original “True Detective: Night Country” got pushed from a November to January 2024. so that left …

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