January | 2015 | Jmunney's Blog

The Best Commercials of 2014

January 20, 2015

jmunney Best of 2014, Best of TV 2014, Commercials, Television Leave a comment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63b4O_2HCYM

1. AXE – “Make Love, Not War” – With this Super Bowl spot, the deodorant brand made a simple, but brilliant, pacifist statement, with a tribute to passion that avoided schmaltz by having an edge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAalGQ5LSpA

2. Totino’s – “Pizza Freaks Unite” – Ever since directing a series of spots for Old Spice, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim have had a significant effect on the commercial landscape. So whenever they are involved in a new ad, it is an event, as in this punk rock song featuring pizza freaks, pizza sax, vocal distortion, and a total lack of corporate b.s.

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 1/20/15

January 20, 2015

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. Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
2. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
3. Ariana Grande ft. The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder”
4. Hozier – “Take Me to Church”
5. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
6. Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
7. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
8. Meghan Trainor – “Lips Are Movin”
9. Selena Gomez – “The Heart Wants What It Wants”
10. Big Sean ft. E40 – “IDFWU”
11. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – “Heroes (We Could Be)”
12. Fall Out Boy – “Centuries”
13. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – “Blame”
14. Ella Henderson – “Ghost”
15. One Direction – “Night Changes”
16. Fifth Harmony – “Sledgehammer”
17. Mr. Probz – “Waves”
18. I LOVE MAKONNEN ft. Drake – “Tuesday (Remix)”
19. Rae Sremmurd – “No Type”
20. Beyoncé – “7/11”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Love Me Harder
2. Take Me to Church
3. Blank Space
4. Jealous
5. Ghost
6. Uptown Funk
7. Blame
8. Waves
9. Centuries
10. IDFWU
11. No Type
12. 7/11
13. I’m Not the Only One
14. Heroes (We Could Be)
15. The Heart Wants What It Wants
16. Tuesday (Remix)
17. Sledgehammer
18. Night Changes
19. Lips Are Movin
20. Thinking Out Loud

Mulaney 1.10 – “French Roast”

January 20, 2015

jmunney Mulaney, Mulaney Episode Reviews, Television Leave a comment

The first 5 minutes of Mulaney got cut off by football. Here’s my review: http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2015/01/19/mulaney-season-1-episode-10-recap-i-ma

SNL Recap January 17, 2015: Kevin Hart/Sia

January 19, 2015

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Kevin Hart, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 40, Sia, SNL, SNL Season 40 Leave a comment

SNL: Sia, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in January 2015.

The recurring sketch-lite Season 40 had its most original episode yet for the first show of 2015, with not a single repeat bit or character, save for Kate McKinnon’s Justin Bieber impression. The best seasons tend to have a decent mix of recurring and original material, so while it is nice to see the “SNL” team coming up with plenty of fresh ideas, they might be wearing themselves too much. Luckily, Kevin Hart was on hand to host for the second time, and there are not too many other comedians who can keep the energy level up like he can, and he did not disappoint in that department. Meanwhile, Sia provided the music, and as is her m.o., she brought out some guest accompaniment while she kept her face covered.

Martin Luther King – This visit from a ghostly MLK was a clever idea for running down how decades of progress or lack thereof may not have been exactly what the civil rights leader envisioned. Unfortunately, Kenan Thompson’s portrayal was not exactly as inspirational as the person he was playing. It is hard to say if a different actor could have pulled this off much better, as the problems lay mainly in the writing. This Dr. King, unlike the real deal, was not very imaginative about how the future might be different from his time. He could have been any random black guy from the 60’s. Pointing out how times have changed is usually good for a few solid chuckles, as this was, but it could have been more specific. B-

What Won TV? – January 11-January 17, 2015

January 18, 2015

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 – Mike Tyson Mysteries
Monday – Jeopardy!
Tuesday – Kroll Show (I’m not joking you.)
Wednesday – Chris Hardwick’s nipple rant @midnight
Thursday – I’m looking at Portlandia so hard right now.
Friday – The Eric Andre Show
Saturday – Kevin Hart making gun noises on SNL

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 1/17/15

January 17, 2015

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown 1 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. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
2. Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
3. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
4. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
5. Hozier – “Take Me to Church”
6. Selena Gomez – “The Heart Wants What It Wants”
7. Meghan Trainor – “Lips Are Movin”
8. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – “Heroes (We Could Be)”
9. Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
10. Maroon 5 – “Animals”
11. Ella Henderson – “Ghost”
12. Lilly Wood & Robin Schulz – “Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix)”
13. Fifth Harmony – “Sledgehammer”
14. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – “Blame”
15. Ingrid Michaelson – “Afterlife”
16. OneRepublic – “I Lived”
17. Hoodie Allen ft. Ed Sheeran – “All About It”
18. Mr. Probz – “Waves”
19. Matt Nathanson ft. Lolo – “Headphones”
20. Pitbull & Ne-Yo – “Time of Our Lives”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Take Me to Church
2. Blank Space
3. Jealous
4. Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix)
5. Blame
6. Waves
7. Ghost
8. Uptown Funk
9. I’m Not the Only One
10. Heroes (We Could Be)
11. Time of Our Lives
12. The Heart Wants What It Wants
13. Animals
14. Sledgehammer
15. Afterlife
16. I Lived
17. Lips Are Movin
18. Thinking Out Loud
19. All About It
20. Headphones On

The Middle 6.11: “A Quarry Story”

January 15, 2015

jmunney Television, The Middle, The Middle Episode Reviews Leave a comment

You wash spoons in the tub, knives and forks in the sink. http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2015/01/15/the-middle-season-6-episode-11-recap-a

New Girl 4.13: “Coming Out”

January 14, 2015

jmunney New Girl, New Girl Episode Reviews, Television Leave a comment

Turkey Robot, Black Robot, Robot Robot, Black Turkey. http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2015/01/14/new-girl-season-4-episode-13-recap-com

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 1/13/15

January 13, 2015

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. Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
2. Hozier – “Take Me to Church”
3. Maroon 5 – “Animals”
4. Tove Lo – “Habits (Stay High)”
5. Sam Smith – “I’m Not the Only One”
6. Ed Sheeran – “Don’t”
7. Ariana Grande ft. The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder”
8. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
9. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
10. Big Sean ft. E40 – “IDFWU”
11. I LOVE MAKONNEN ft. Drake – “Tuesday (Remix)”
12. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – “Blame”
13. Selena Gomez – “The Heart Wants What It Wants”
14. Meghan Trainor – “Lips Are Movin”
15. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
16. Beyoncé – “7/11”
17. Chris Brown ft. Usher and Rick Ross – “New Flame”
18. Mr. Probz – “Waves”
19. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – “Heroes (We Could Be)”
20. Fall Out Boy – “Centuries”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Love Me Harder
2. Take Me to Church
3. Jealous
4. Bang Bang
5. Blank Space
6. Habits (Stay High)
7. Uptown Funk
8. Blame
9. Waves
10. Centuries
11. IDFWU
12. 7/11
13. Don’t
14. I’m Not the Only One
15. The Heart Wants What It Wants
16. Heroes (We Could Be)
17. Tuesday (Remix)
18. Animals
19. Lips Are Movin
20. New Flame