Cop shows are extremely unrealistic. In real life — and in shows produced by David Simon — criminal investigations usually last for weeks or months. There are no cathartic gunfights. Heck, most detectives never even fire their guns. And I’m sure there are sexy lady detectives, but I’m betting they don’t all wear expensive leather jackets to bloody crime scenes. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a little fantasy. The procedural genre gets a bad rap, but shows like Justified and Fringe follow the essential structure of the cop drama but make the format feel vibrant and distinctive. (The essential structure: “Cool, attractive, well-dressed law enforcement agent investigates colorful crime committed by eccentric guest-star criminal, and said crime somehow reflects thematically on the well-dressed law enforcement agent’s emotional journey.”) But there is one ridiculous trend in the modern cop drama that is unforgivable, partially because of its pure doofus impossibility, but mainly because it’s become an acceptable crutch for lazy writing. I am talking about the Cop Drama PowerPoint Presentation. READ FULL STORY »
How many times have you walked out of a dark theater, disappointed by the performance of a favorite actor who clearly phoned it in? Take, for instance, Anthony Hopkins. Sir Anthony Hopkins, actually. He is one of the greats. Most famous for playing Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, the Oscar winner was a protégé of Laurence Olivier, and 
