Laughing Matters — SCTV, “Ronco’s Shower in a Briefcase”
Sometimes comedy illuminates hard truths with a pointed urgency that other means can’t quite achieve. Sometimes comedy is just funny. This series of posts is mostly about the former instances, but the latter is valuable, too. One thing has been … Continue reading Laughing Matters — SCTV, “Ronco’s Shower in a Briefcase”
Then Playing — Those Who Wish Me Dead; The Hunt; Repast
Those Who Wish Me Dead (Taylor Sheridan, 2021). Taylor Sheridan’s second feature as a director builds on his oeuvre of Mountain West thrillers. In Those Who Wish Me Dead, Angelina Jolie plays Hannah Faber, a plays-by-her-own-rules somkejumper who’s been given … Continue reading Then Playing — Those Who Wish Me Dead; The Hunt; Repast
Now Playing — Eternals
For a variety of reasons, it was probably inevitable that Eternals would be the most ambitious film released to date under the Marvel Entertainment banner. While director Chloé Zhao hasn’t shown a penchant for David Lean–style epics to this point … Continue reading Now Playing — Eternals
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #275 to 273
275. The Del Fuegos, Boston, Mass. (1985) Circa 1985, it wasn’t considered cool — or all that acceptable, really — for a band to peddle their music for use in a commercial. Given that stigma, the Del Fuegos were beset … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #275 to 273
Outside Reading — Needless edition
Covid-19 killed my brother and sister a week apart. It didn’t have to happen. by Michele Genthon We are now in the phase of the COVID-19 pandemic where people are no longer dying of the infectious disease. For every one … Continue reading Outside Reading — Needless edition
This Week’s Model — Gang of Youths, “Tend the Garden”
“Tend the Garden,” the new single from Australian band Gang of Youths, pops into with strident assurance. There’s a tight little drum fill and then a luxuriant wash of synth lines. Lead singer David Le’aupepe almost immediately murmurs the opening … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Gang of Youths, “Tend the Garden”
Now Playing — Last Night in Soho
The protagonist of Last Night in Soho, Edgar Wright’s latest film, can be viewed as a surrogate for any number of filmmakers, including, just maybe, the one who presides over her story. Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) is a young woman from … Continue reading Now Playing — Last Night in Soho
Beers I Have Known — Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. I will admit that I sometimes took for granted that, following my return … Continue reading Beers I Have Known — Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
Then Playing — O Ebrio; Jeanne Eagels; Let Them All Talk
O Ébrio (Gilda de Abreu, 1946). This Brazilian film, the directorial debut of Gilda de Abreu, was a smash hit on its home turf at the time of its release. The film follows the shifting fortunes of Gilberto (Vicente Celestino), who … Continue reading Then Playing — O Ebrio; Jeanne Eagels; Let Them All Talk
Now Playing — The Harder They Fall
The Harder They Fall, the feature directorial debut of Jeymes Samuel, is awash in its influences, and that seems to be the point. The film is a mish-mash of Spaghetti Westerns, Sam Peckinpah, John Ford, and Howard Hawks, modernized with … Continue reading Now Playing — The Harder They Fall
Coffee for Two 