REFLECTION & REASON

It was exactly 30 years ago when Chris Rock first made me laugh. He walked into a fast food restaurant in the 1988 film "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" trying to buy ribs, and it was hilarious. Equally entertaining was his 1991 character "Pookie" in New Jack City. And how about his role in 1992's "Boomerang" or his many stand up specials? Iconic. "Bring the Pain" (1996) and "Bigger and Blacker" (1999) brought tears to my eyes. Chris Rock was the man. He made me holler! He was so clever, and witty. His voice was unique. His jokes were hysterical. And he continued to make fabulous HBO specials up until "Kill the Messenger" in 2008...and then he stopped. He was kinda off the radar for a bit. Still around, but not super "hot" while other guys like Chappelle and Kevin Hart were working their way up the comedic ranks. He was always great, but not always the most relevant cat in the comedy club. Admittedly, some o...

Thank you, Netflix! Having TWO new Dave Chappelle stand up comedy specials to watch and bring in the new year was an excellent, excellent idea! "Equanimity" and "The Bird Revelations" were everything I wanted them to be...and more. Dave Chappelle is wonderfully brilliant in both, and I appreciate him on new levels as a result. His voice, his perspectives, his sense of humour, his honesty, and of course his amazing comedic timing and creativity make him my favourite comedian of all times. I love and appreciate a lot of them. Bill Cosby (yes, still) and Eddie Murphy for what they represented in my childhood. Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, and the Wayans brothers for what they were to our generation growing up, and of course Kevin Hart and Dave for their relevance right now. Their commentary, right now. I so appreciated the rawness of these latest specials. Like many, I was obsessed with Chappelle's Show in the early 2000's and have watched those DVDs repea...

Dave Chappelle's making his highly anticipated post-SNL television comeback there, Neal Brennan has a stand-up comedy special circulating there now...and Netflix wins . Big time. I stumbled upon " 3 Mics " by accident, after watching Brennan's promotional interview with Charlemagne and the gang on the The Breakfast Club. His stand up special has been on Netflix for a little under three weeks now, and it's really, really good. I'm a fan of Brennan by default . In fact, any fan of the Dave Chappelle show (that Brennan co-wrote, co-produced, and directed with his best friend from 2003 to 2005) has already been predisposed to like his thought processes, and have already spent countless hours laughing at his comedy sketches and sense of humour . Repeatedly. For years. What else has Brennan written? He wrote for "Keenan and Kel," for "All That," for a show called "Singled Out," and of course also for the 1997 movie " Ha...

The latest installment in the Gilmore Girls saga, "A Year in the Life" was outstanding. Brilliant, even . I enjoyed every minute of the four-part series. What a great trend we've stumbled upon lately, thanks to our friends at Netflix: revisiting old television shows, bringing beloved characters up to the present time , and completing the circle. Unexpectedly. It's a nice treat. This particular special juuuust came out on November 25, and it definitely didn't disappoint. It was everything a Gilmore Girls fan could want, with all of the eccentric characterizations and Stars Hollowism's that you could dream of. It made me laugh, it almost made me cry (I was close, though!), and it for sure gave me all the warm and wonderful feelings of joy, and great soundtrack music that I came to expect from this program. If you didn't like the show originally, chances are you wouldn't appreciate the additional four episodes that we old school fans ...