Twenty Performances, or Infinite Best
Following tradition, the epilogue to the countdown of the top films of the year brings me to a consideration of the most exemplary acting performances of the same span of time. If I’d been in possession of one of Actors Branch Academy Awards nominating ballots, knowing then what I know now, this is how I would have filled it out. BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE 1. Jason Segel, The End of the Tour 2. Michael B. Jordan, Creed 3. Matt Damon, The Martian 4. Steve Carell, The Big Short 5. Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight Besides Damon, I diverge pretty strongly … Continue reading Twenty Performances, or Infinite Best
Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number One
As I twirled words around in my head, seeking the right opening sentence to efficiently establish why I think The End of the Tour is the best film of 2015, I landed on an introductory declaration that felt exactly on target. It also seemed familiar, though. To be safe, I revisited my original review of James Ponsoldt’s understated triumph only to discover that I was about to inadvertently repeat myself, right down to the use of the adverb “devilishly.” I prefer to think that this means there’s an admirable consistency to my connection to the film, rather than the far less agreeable … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number One
My Writers: John Grisham
Let’s be real. When I return to this recurring feature, plucking a new author from the misty library of the already read that resides in my brain, I usually opt for a wordsmith who will confer some amount of coolness on me, in much the same way that the tomes that speak well of the reader usually have conspicuous placement on the household’s most prominent bookshelf. (For years, Richard Ben Cramer’s massive What It Takes was front and center in my collection, despite the inconvenient detail that I only made through about a third of its thousand-plus pages.) But I … Continue reading My Writers: John Grisham
Top 40 Smash Taps: “Don’t Ask Me Why”
Eurythmics might have been the most unorthodox act to claim comfortably regular residency on the pop charts in the nineteen-eighties, a time when the sudden, sizable influence of MTV already made things somewhat topsy-turvy. Of course, the music video channel contributed mightily to the U.K. duo’s rise, playing “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” so frequently that its single week at the top of the charts seems like a short-changing clerical error, at least until further scrutiny reveals that its path to the top was blocked by the Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” which held the #1 position for a remarkable … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Don’t Ask Me Why”
College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 235 – 233
235. U2, “Gloria” What hardly at risk of being relegated to the stations on the left end of the dial that stick with songs that praise Jesus, U2 tapped into their shared religious devotion significantly when working on their sophomore album, October. Really, it’s more accurate to describe it as largely shared devotion, since one quarter of the band’s roster wasn’t nearly as sanguine about filling their grooves with spiritually inclined material. Bassist Adam Clayton was reportedly uncomfortable with the new tack the group was taking, holding up “Gloria” as the prime example of the undesirable artistic drift. By some … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 235 – 233
From the Archive: The Darjeeling Limited
Usually I’d fill this space with some collection of observations about the film or the review, but I’m highly distracted today. So I’ll stick with just the older words. More than any other current director I can think of, Wes Anderson … Continue reading From the Archive: The Darjeeling Limited
One for Friday: Johnny Boy, “You Are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve”
With limited radio options and meager fiscal resources to boldly build my own collection when I was in high school, I relied on music writing to build my comprehension of the vast expanse of tuneful wonderment that existed outside of the Top 40. As a result, I was often more fascinated by lyrics, which could be excitedly quoted in reviews, than the actually combinations of instruments cranking out the rhythm and melody. My attention was also disproportionately captured by any song that had an elaborate title. Often unable to experience the tracks properly, I got a little charge from feeling … Continue reading One for Friday: Johnny Boy, “You Are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve”
Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number Two
I take great pleasure in the notion that George Miller finds takes the opportunities of caution presented to him by the entertainment industry and transforms them into wildly audacious cinematic creations. He did it nearly two decades ago when he parlayed his screenwriting and producing credits on the gentle hit Babe into more creative control, including the directing role, on its more ambitious, decidedly darker, and markedly beautiful sequel (which, of course, didn’t fare nearly as well at the box office). Now, with the studios’ seemingly unstoppable hunger for any project that carries even a hint of brand recognition and the possibility … Continue reading Top Ten Movies of 2015 — Number Two
My Misspent Youth: Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne
I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. In my dull snobbery, enhanced by an equally misguided tendency to dismiss anything viewed as too girly from my pop culture consideration, I was an unlikely reader for a series featuring She-Hulk, the unfortunately named cousin to Marvel’s signature green goliath hero. Introduced in a comic book with a 1980 cover date, She-Hulk was the titanic alter ego of Jessica Walters, previously unmentioned cousin of Bruce Banner. When her relative happened to be … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne
Abrams, Benson and Moorhead, Fosse, Jones, Roach
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (J.J. Abrams, 2015). As a piece of nostalgic reclamation, the latest “Episode” of the Star Wars saga does its job so efficiently that its hard to get overly enthused about it as cinema. In a strangely fitting turnabout, the film series that fundamentally changed the business of U.S. moviemaking has turned into a follower, adhering closely to the mighty Marvel model. There’s little indication that The Force Awakens is laying the groundwork for vaster, interconnected stories, but it’s all introduction and reassurance, a tapping of the baton before commanding the symphony to life. The sense of … Continue reading Abrams, Benson and Moorhead, Fosse, Jones, Roach
Coffee for Two 