Then Playing — Cold Pursuit; The Book of Henry; The Naked Spur
Cold Pursuit (Hans Petter Moland, 2019). Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland makes his English-language debut with a remake of one of his own previous features, presumably because the narrative framework was well-suite to the very-particular-set-of-skills era of Liam Neeson’s career. … Continue reading Then Playing — Cold Pursuit; The Book of Henry; The Naked Spur
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #540 to #537
540. Re-Flex, The Politics of Dancing (1983) Formed in Birmingham, England, in the early nineteen-eighties, Re-Flex was a band that wanted to have its chart success and simultaneously scoff as pop ate itself. With regular Roxy Music studio collaborator John … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #540 to #537
Outside Reading — Lessons Worth Learning edition
‘We’re in Disaster Mode’: Courage Inside a Brooklyn Hospital Confronting Coronavirus by Sheri Fink One of the frustrations I’ve felt over the coverage of the current health crisis steams from my perception that there hasn’t been enough attention paid to … Continue reading Outside Reading — Lessons Worth Learning edition
This Week’s Model — Billy Bragg, “Can’t Be There Today”
I think this bloke says it best: Stephen William Bragg has spent the last forty years, give or take, surveying a tumultuous world and making sense of what he sees through the grounded poetry of his lyrics, often accompanied by a trusty acoustic guitar. Politically astute, socially empathetic, and a whip-smart thinker, Bragg has a way of getting straight to the core of a problem and finding the emotional poignancy that resides there. As we all keep our distance for the greater good, Bragg expresses the melancholy that arises from all the missed events and commemorations. Like the bulk of … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Billy Bragg, “Can’t Be There Today”
The New Releases Shelf — Miss Anthropocene
Although it’s hardly a new debate, recent years have seen an uptick in snappish back and forth about the wisdom of separating artists from the art they create. Primarily driven, of course, by the near-constant lifting of heavy rocks to … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Miss Anthropocene
Then Playing — A Fantastic Woman; The Quiet Man; Blow the Man Down
A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio, 2017). Marina (Daniela Vega) is Chilean who works as a waitress and sometimes moonlights as a singer. She’s engaged in a romance with an older gentleman named Orlando (Francisco Reyes), who dies of a brain … Continue reading Then Playing — A Fantastic Woman; The Quiet Man; Blow the Man Down
Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Forty-Three
#43 — Mudbound (Dee Rees, 2017) Ten years is a long time, so it’s hardly remarkable to survey that length of time in a chunk of cinema history and discern major differences between the respective creative landscape and the starting … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 10s — Number Forty-Three
Then Playing — Gideon’s Army; They Drive By Night; Five Feet Apart
Gideon’s Army (Dawn Porter, 2013). This documentary examines the grueling, perpetually disheartening work undertaken by public defenders, vital contributors to the principle of equal justice that are severely undervalued. The prevailing storytelling scheme of the day calls for picking a … Continue reading Then Playing — Gideon’s Army; They Drive By Night; Five Feet Apart
College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #544 to #541
544. The Lords of the New Church, The Lords of the New Church (1982) “I think that first record was really built on pure adrenaline,” drummer Nick Turner said of The Lords of the New Church several years after its … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #544 to #541
Outside Reading — See You on the Other Side edition
She Finds Meaning in the Dark by Manohla Dargis In this strange, unsettled time, there are many who are facing far greater hardships than me and most of my friends. For this I am a grateful. But everyone’s context is … Continue reading Outside Reading — See You on the Other Side edition
