Then Playing — Plan B; This Is the Sea; Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World
Plan B (Natalie Morales, 2021). To invoke the movie algebra that feels inescapable in this instance, the second feature directed by Natalie Morales is Never Rarely Sometimes Always put into a polynomial equation with Booksmart to solve for the x … Continue reading Then Playing — Plan B; This Is the Sea; Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World
Now Playing — The Tomorrow War
In The Tomorrow War, Chris Pratt plays Dan Forester, a former military man who has settled into a cozy domestic life, teaching high school biology and hosting bustling holiday gatherings where he and his immediately family ignore all their guests … Continue reading Now Playing — The Tomorrow War
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #332 to #330
332. Echo & the Bunnymen, Crocodiles (1980) “It feels like there’s hundreds of bands in Liverpool,” Ian McCulloch proclaimed not long after the release of Crocodiles, the debut album by his band Echo & the Bunnymen. “There’s some okay ones, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #332 to #330
Outside Reading — Tomorrow They Say Is Independence Day edition
Birth Pangs: One Nation, Many Truths by Jennifer Schuessler Jennifer Schuessler looks forward and back to different Fourth of July celebrations, both the bicentennial of 1976 and the upcoming semiquincentennial arriving in five years. What the article is really about … Continue reading Outside Reading — Tomorrow They Say Is Independence Day edition
This Week’s Model — Izzy True, “Big Natural”
Izzy True is the name of the a band. Izzy True is also the handy creative alias of Izzy Lou Reidy, a creator who hails from upstate New York who contains multitudes. According to bio on their website, they are … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Izzy True, “Big Natural”
The Art of the Sell — The Long Goodbye movie poster
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. When high-powered director Robert Altman presided over an adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye, one of … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — The Long Goodbye movie poster
The New Releases Shelf — Blue Weekend
If the world is shutting down around you, might as well try to make some music. The English band Wolf Alice were ensconced in a Brussels studio when COVID-19 made European borders close as decisively as heavy steel doors. They … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Blue Weekend
Golden Words — The Dick Van Dyke Show, “Coast to Coast Big Mouth”
Since great television comedy always begins with the script, this series of posts considers the individual episodes that have claimed the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series over the years. According to Carl Reiner, the script … Continue reading Golden Words — The Dick Van Dyke Show, “Coast to Coast Big Mouth”
The Unwatchables — The Gentlemen
I remember going to the theater for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the feature film debut of Guy Ritchie. Its U.S. release was in the spring of 1999, when indie-inclined screens were still wallpapered with all manner of gruff, … Continue reading The Unwatchables — The Gentlemen
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #335 to #333
335. Yello, Stella (1985) Yello was down to a duo. Following the 1983 album Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess, founding member Carlos Perón split from the group to pursue a solo career. That left keyboardist and programmer Boris Blank … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #335 to #333
Coffee for Two 