College films come in all makes and models; some are crafted for teens preparing to head off on their first jaunt into higher learning, some exist to indulge in the stereotypes and tropes of the college experience, and others still try to bridge that gap between highbrow and lowbrow by meshing frat comedy with coming of age narrative. At Middleton does none of these things. Unlike Animal House, Old School, Van Wilder, and the countless other films that mimic them (and which they mimic themselves), Adam Rodgers’ story isn’t about kids going to college as much as it is about their parents taking them there. Which is to say that At Middleton is about the…
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G-S-T TV: American Horror Story: Coven (3.2 – 3.5)
Let’s play catch-up with Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, shall we? In just a scant four episodes (maybe not so scant if Coven measures to the same length as its forebears in American Horror Story canon), Ryan Murphy has treated us to nearly as much weird sex, regional creepiness, and explicit gore as what Asylum offered viewers; this isn’t a season that’s had to struggle much to find any footing, even if the most recent episode felt a tad unfulfilling (Zoe’s delightful chainsaw rampage notwithstanding). That’s just what happens when you give your season a sense of balance instead of yanking it every which-way possible. So where are we, five weeks after…
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G-S-T TV: American Horror Story: Coven (3.1, "Bitchcraft")
In one episode, American Horror Story: Coven (“season 3”, in typical television vernacular) has established a keener focus than was seen in the whole stretch of last year’s Asylum. That’s an achievement in and of itself; Asylum, unlike the series’ premiere installment, Murder House, went all over the place and brought the kitchen sink back with it. Aliens, Nazis, the devil, killer Santa clause, evil children, an Ed Gein-alike, Anne Frank (yes, Anne Frank), and all the joys of a clergy-backed nuthouse gave Asylum the sensation of weightless indecision. On first impression, the witchcentric Coven won’t have that problem in the slightest, though there’s always room for clutter. For now, we can all rest…