August | 2014 | Jmunney's Blog

This Is A Movie Review: Boyhood

August 31, 2014

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews Leave a comment

I don’t know if the filming-over-11-years gimmick made this happen, or if it was just Richard Linklater’s sensibility, but Boyhood avoided just about every coming-of-age cliché it possibly could. And let’s be clear: the 11 years of filming was a gimmick. That’s not a knock – I love gimmicks. You just gotta commit to them. And the very nature of this gimmick required commitment.

There are so many moments in Mason Evans, Jr.’s boyhood that seem like they are heading towards the typical melodramatic formula of getting into trouble, followed by confrontations, and then tearful apologies. Take, for example, Mason drinking beer in his friend’s family cabin, or watching porn with his stepbrother. These are things that could get him into trouble, but instead, they are just things that happen. These moments are typical of most boys’ lives. What is important in portraying them is how each particular boy experiences them. This extended filmmaking technique proves to be a successful experiment in exploring these moments as they pertain to the meaning of growing up. A decade on one project has led to wonderfully internalized character work, resulting in one-of-a-kind performances from Ellar Coltrane (Mason), Patricia Arquette (Mason’s mom), Ethan Hawke (Mason, Sr.), and Lorelei Linklater (Mason’s sister). A-

What Won TV? – August 24-August 30, 2014

August 31, 2014

jmunney Television, What Won TV? Leave a comment

In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.

Sunday – Masters of Sex
Monday – Billy Eichner saved the 2014 Emmys.
Tuesday – Drunk History
Wednesday – The Meltdown Show with Jonah and Kumail
Thursday – You’re the Worst
Friday – U.S. Open early rounds
Saturday – U.S. Open

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 8/30/14

August 30, 2014

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
2. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
3. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
4. Demi Lovato ft. Cher Lloyd – “Really Don’t Care”
5. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
6. Magic! – “Rude”
7. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
8. Nico & Vinz – “Am I Wrong”
9. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
10. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
11. Kiesza – “Hideaway”
12. Sia – “Chandelier”
13. Coldplay – “A Sky Full of Stars”
14. Ed Sheeran – “Don’t”
15. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – “Black Widow”
16. American Authors – “Believer”
17. Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
18. Rita Ora – “I Will Never Let You Down”
19. Andy Grammer – “Back Home”
20. Train – “Angel in Blue Jeans”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Latch
3. Black Widow
4. Hideaway
5. Shake It Off
6. Stay With Me
7. Rather Be
8. Boom Clap
9. Don’t
10. Am I Wrong
11. I Will Never Let You Down
12. Really Don’t Care
13. Love Runs Out
14. A Sky Full of Stars
15. Angel in Blue Jeans
16. Rude
17. All About That Bass
18. Maps
19. Believer
20. Back Home

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 8/26/14

August 27, 2014

jmunney Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Music, Television Leave a comment

Each week, I check out FUSE’s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
2. Ariana Grande ft. Zedd – “Break Free”
3. Magic! – “Rude”
4. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
5. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
6. Sia – “Chandelier”
7. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – “Black Widow”
8. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
9. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
10. Becky G – “Shower”
11. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
12. Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
13. Nico & Vinz – “Am I Wrong”
14. Kongos – “Come With Me Now”
15. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch
16. Demi Lovato ft. Cher Lloyd – “Really Don’t Care”
17. Enrique Iglesias ft. Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno, and Sean Paul – “Bailando”
18. DJ Khaled ft. Chris Brown, August Alsina, Future, and Jeremih – “Hold You Down”
19. 5 Seconds of Summer – “Amnesia”
20. Coldplay – “A Sky Full of Stars”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Come With Me Now
3. Latch
4. Black Widow
5. Stay With Me
6. Break Free
7. Rather Be
8. Cool Kids
9. Boom Clap
10. Am I Wrong
11. Really Don’t Care
12. Love Runs Out
13. A Sky Full of Stars
14. Rude
15. All About That Bass
16. Maps
17. Bailando
18. Amnesia
19. Shower
20. Hold You Down

2014 Emmy Predictions and Preferences

August 25, 2014

jmunney Awards Shows, Emmys, Television Leave a comment

The 2014 Emmys are airing earlier than usual this year – tonight, August 25. (The nominees can be found here.) Here’s my rundown of who will most likely win, who should win, and who should have been nominated in most of the major categories:

Comedy Series
PREDICTION: Orange is the New Black
SHOULD WIN: Louie
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Review

Lead Actor, Comedy Series
PREDICTION: Ricky Gervais, Derek
SHOULD WIN: Louis C.K., Louie
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Andy Daly, Review

Lead Actress, Comedy Series
PREDICTION: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
SHOULD WIN: Julia Louis-Drefyus, Veep
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Ilana Glazer, Broad City

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series
PREDICTION: Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
SHOULD WIN: Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Danny Pudi, Community/Christopher Evan Welch, Silicon Valley

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series
PREDICTION: Kate Mulgrew, Orange is the New Black
SHOULD WIN: Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Alison Brie, Community/Toks Olagundoye, The Neighbors

Drama Series
PREDICTION: True Detective
SHOULD WIN: Mad Men
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Hannibal

Lead Actor, Drama Series
PREDICTION: Matthew McConaughey, True Detective
SHOULD WIN: Matthew McConaughey, True Detective
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen, Hannibal

Lead Actress, Drama Series
PREDICTION: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
SHOULD WIN: Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex (Caveat: I don’t watch most of these shows.)
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Supporting Actor, Drama Series
PREDICTION: Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
SHOULD WIN: I don’t watch any of these shows.
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Jordan Gavaris, Orphan Black

Supporting Actress, Drama Series
PREDICTION: Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
SHOULD WIN: The only show I watch here is Mad Men, and Joan didn’t have that much to do this season.
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Emily Bett Rickards, Arrow

Miniseries
PREDICTION: Fargo
SHOULD WIN: Fargo

TV Movie
PREDICTION: The Normal Heart

Lead Actor, Miniseries or Movie
PREDICTION: Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo
SHOULD WIN: Martin Freeman, Fargo

Lead Actress, Miniseries or Movie
PREDICTION: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven
SHOULD WIN: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Allison Tolman, Fargo (She submitted as Supporting even though she was the Lead.)

Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie
PREDICTION: Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart
SHOULD WIN: The only one I watched here was Fargo. Colin Hanks was pretty good.
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Bob Odenkirk, Fargo

Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie
PREDICTION: Allison Tolman, Fargo
SHOULD WIN: Allison Tolman, Fargo

For more Emmy info, check out this piece I wrote about a couple of the weirdest wins in Emmy history: http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/08/25/the_weirdest_wins_in_emmy_history

The Best of Don Pardo

August 24, 2014

jmunney Saturday Night Live, Television Leave a comment

Saturday Night Live announcer Don Pardo passed away August 18 at the age of 96. In memoriam, I wrote on Starpulse about some of his most memorable SNL moments:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/08/23/don_pardos_most_memorable_snl_moments

What Won TV? – August 17-August 23, 2014

August 24, 2014

jmunney Television, What Won TV? Leave a comment

Sunday – Masters of Sex
Monday – A sexy Whose Line is it Anyway?
Tuesday – If you didn’t like the season 2 finale of Nathan For You, then you must be a baby.
Wednesday – N/A
Thursday – Rectify
Friday – N/A
Saturday – Doctor Who

VMA’s 2014: Who Should Win?

August 24, 2014

jmunney Awards Shows, Music, Music Videos, Television, Video Music Awards Leave a comment

The 2014 VMA’s are airing tonight Sunday, August 24. (The nominees can be found here.) Predicting the winners is a crapshoot. Here’s who should win:

Video of the Year: Sia – “Chandelier”

Best Male Video: Pharrell Williams – “Happy”

Best Female Video: Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”

Artist to Watch: Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”

Best Pop Video: Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”

Best Rock Video: The Black Keys – “Fever”

Best Hip-Hop Video: Kanye West – “Black Skinhead”

MTV Clubland Award: DJ Snake and Lil’ Jon – “Turn Down For What”

Best Collaboration: Katy Perry ft. Juicy J – “Dark Horse”

Best Direction: OK Go – “The Writing’s on the Wall” (Directors: Damian Kulash, Aaron Duffy, and Bob Partington)

Best Choreography: Sia – “Chandelier” (Choreographer: Ryan Heffington)

Best Visual Effects: OK Go – “The Writing’s on the Wall” (Visual Effects: 1stAveMachine)

Best Art Direction: Arcade Fire – “Reflektor” (Art Director: Anastasia Masaro)

Best Editing: No opinion

Best Cinematography: Lana Del Rey – “West Coast” (Director of Photography: Evan Prosofsky)

Best Video with a Social Message: This category is very silly.

Best Lyric Video: I don’t watch lyric videos that often.

And check out this list I wrote for Starpulse of 10 classic music videos that did not win Video of the Year: http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2014/08/24/10_classic_music_videos_that_did_not_w

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 8/23/14

August 23, 2014

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – “Latch”
2. Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
3. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
4. Magic! – “Rude”
5. Demi Lovato ft. Cher Lloyd – “Really Don’t Care”
6. Nico & Vinz – “Am I Wrong”
7. OneRepublic – “Love Runs Out”
8. Maroon 5 – “Maps”
9. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
10. Sia – “Chandelier”
11. Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
12. Kiesza – “Hideaway”
13. Pharrell Williams ft. Miley Cyrus – “Come Get It Bae”
14. Coldplay – “A Sky Full of Stars”
15. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
16. Ed Sheeran – “Dont'”
17. Calvin Harris – “Summer”
18. American Authors – “Believer”
19. Rita Ora – “I Will Never Let You Down”
20. Andy Grammer – “Back Home”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Chandelier
2. Summer
3. Latch
4. Hideaway
5. Stay With Me
6. Rather Be
7. Come Get It Bae
8. Boom Clap
9. Don’t
10. Am I Wrong
11. Problem
12. I Will Never Let You Down
13. Love Runs Out
14. Really Don’t Care
15. A Sky Full of Stars
16. Rude
17. All About That Bass
18. Maps
19. Believer
20. Back Home

Best Episode of the Season: The Big Bang Theory Season 7

August 21, 2014

jmunney Best Episodes of the 2013-2014 Season, Best Episodes of the Season, Television, The Big Bang Theory Leave a comment

Season Analysis: While The Big Bang Theory will probably never stop undercutting itself by giving every episode the quickest, easiest conclusion, Season 7 did show off some of the strongest recognition yet of its best cast dynamics

“The Status Quo Combustion”
While it is not the worst offender on the dial and while it has gotten better in this regard, The Big Bang Theory is one of the most allergic-to-change shows on television. But it has always had a tendency to mix things up in its season finales, and Season 7 was no exception (as explicitly made clear in the episode title). The status quo has combusted before, and Sheldon has left the apartment before, and things have ultimately gone back to normal. But this time is different – the Big Bang writers have actually set themselves up in such a way that the changes must stick (at least somewhat) permanently. Raj actually did have sex with a girl he likes, Leonard and Penny are really getting married, Stuart’s comic book store actually did burn down, and Amy actually did suggest that she and Sheldon live together. This is all too much for Sheldon, but more so than ever before, the show he’s on is not following his example. Leonard and Penny ultimately decide to just let him leave town, and it is unclear just how this will be resolved, and when it comes to The Big Bang Theory, that uncertainty is thrilling.

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