Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of April 14, 2018

April 11, 2018

jmunney Billboard Charts, Billboard Hot Rock Songs, Music , , , Leave a comment

Each week, I check out the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart, and then I rearrange the top 25 based on my estimation of their quality. I used to rank all 25, now I just rank the cream of the crop.

Original Version
1. Imagine Dragons – “Whatever It Takes”
2. Imagine Dragons – “Thunder”
3. Imagine Dragons – “Believer”
4. Portugal. The Man – “Feel It Still”
5. Bad Wolves – “Zombie”
6. Foster the People – “Sit Next to Me”
7. Alice Merton – “No Roots”
8. Panic! at the Disco – “Say Amen (Saturday Night)”
9. Walk the Moon – “One Foot”
10. Five Finger Death Punch – “Gone Away”
11. lovelytheband – “Broken”
12. Portugal. The Man – “Live in the Moment”
13. Fleetwood Mac – “Dreams”
14. Muse – “Thought Contagion”
15. Panic! at the Disco – “(Fuck a) Silver Lining”
16. James Bay – “Wild Love”
17. Godsmack – “Bulletproof”
18. Three Days Grace – “The Mountain”
19. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – “You Worry Me”
20. Shinedown – “Devil”
21. Vance Joy – “Saturday Sun”
22. Breaking Benjamin – “Red Cold River”
23. Two Feet – “I Feel Like I’m Drowning”
24. Imagine Dragons – “Next to Me”
25. Dethklok – “Awaken”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. No Roots
2. Feel It Still
3. You Worry Me
4. I Feel Like I’m Drowning
5. Wild Love
6. Live in the Moment
7. Dreams
8. Thought Contagion

Billboard Hot 20 – Week of April 14, 2018

April 11, 2018

jmunney Billboard Charts, Billboard Hot 100, Music , , , , Leave a comment

Each week, I check out the Billboard Hot 100, and then I rearrange the top 20 based on my estimation of their quality. I used to rank all 20, now I just rank the cream of the crop.

Original Version
1. Drake – “God’s Plan”
2. Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line – “Meant to Be”
3. Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Psycho”
4. The Weeknd – “Call Out My Name”
5. Blocboy JB ft. Drake – “Look Alive”
6. Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey – “The Middle”
7. Ed Sheeran – “Perfect”
8. Bruno Mars and Cardi B – “Finesse”
9. Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown – “Freaky Friday”
10. Migos ft. Drake – “Walk It Talk It”
11. Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana”
12. Bazzi – “Mine”
13. Rich the Kid – “Plug Walk”
14. Camila Cabello – “Never Be the Same”
15. The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar – “Pray for Me”
16. Cardi B – “Be Careful”
17. Migos – “Stir Fry”
18. XXXTentacion – “Sad!”
19. Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “All the Stars”
20. Offset and Metro Boomin – “Ric Flair Drip”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Pray for Me
2. All the Stars
3. Havana
4. Never Be the Same
5. Call Out My Name

This Is a Movie Review: ‘Borg vs McEnroe’ Serves Up an Electrifyingly Tense Two-Biopics-in-One

April 11, 2018

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Julie Vrabelova/Neon

This review was originally posted on News Cult in April 2018.

Starring: Sverrir Gudnason, Shia LaBeouf, Stella Skarsgård, Tuva Novotny

Director: Janus Metz Pederson

Running Time: 107 Minutes

Rating: R for the F-Bombs of Athletic Frustration and Incidental Nudity

Release Date: April 13, 2018

A study in contrasts often makes for both thrilling athletics and fascinating cinema. Thus it makes sense that we now have a film chronicling the 1980 Wimbledon men’s final between the Swedish Björn Borg and the American John McEnroe, considered by many to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, tennis matches of all time. It is surprising, perhaps, that it has taken decades for Borg vs McEnroe to happen, though that is perhaps attributable to tennis not being as marquee as other sports. But it is also good that we have had to wait, as it has given us time to digest the moment. The end result is appropriately internationally flavored, with a Danish director, production support from multiple countries, and only about two cast members well-known in America.

As a major tennis fan, I can’t help but think about how dramatically different Borg vs McEnroe would have gone if today’s officiating technology were available. The Hawk-Eye system used at many tournaments is an exceptionally efficient method for confirming whether or not balls have landed in or out of bounds. Had it been around 40 years ago, it could have prevented McEnroe from developing his hothead reputation, much of which came from his disputes with the umpires about supposedly blown calls. He could have been vindicated, though perhaps he would have found something else to complain about. But because it all went down as it did, B v M sets up its titular rivalry in terms that could be an alternate title: “Ice-Borg vs. Superbrat.”

Instead of a traditional dramatization of a rivalry, Borg vs McEnore is really more a concurrent double biopic. The buildup over the course of the tournament to the championship match is interspersed with flashbacks that paint both competitors as outsiders fighting their way into a game that has historically been elitist and dismissive of outsiders. Borg (who displays a temper on par with McEnroe’s in his teenage years) is treated with insults by the sport’s upper crust; though he is embraced by fans after winning the four prior Wimbledons in a row, he still maintains a resolve of doing things his own way. McEnroe is the upstart attempting to break through, showing little concern for decorum at the tournament where it is valued more than anywhere else, and he is met with the boos to match his impishness. As Borg, Sverrir Gudnason is not asked to do much besides remain still and calm outside of the tennis scenes, but there is a world of action taking place within his eyes. Shia LaBeouf does not try to mimic McEnroe’s voice, but he does deploy his similar propensity for asshole outbursts.

B v M’s filmmaking techniques are unique among most sports biopics, and are practically avant-garde when compared to typical live televised athletics. Rarely does the camera focus merely on the ball landing on the court, one of the most essential aspects of the game, instead criss-crossing between the reactions of the two players as well as key figures in the stands. The editing is often frenetic, suggesting the whirlwind of emotions and pressure Borg and McEnroe are digesting throughout. The journey ends on a note of profound respect, their twinned stories appropriately subsumed within each other, leading into the expected epilogue that hits harder and deeper than most.

Borg vs McEnroe is Recommended If You Like: The filmmaking of Triumph of the Will, Rivalry Friendships

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Epic Tiebreaks

This Is a Movie Review: ‘The Rider’ Presents a Cowboy Who Cannot Imagine Life Outside the Rodeo

April 9, 2018

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , 1 Comment

CREDIT: Sony Pictures Classics

This review was originally published on News Cult in April 2018.

Starring: Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Cat Clifford, Lane Scott

Director: Chloé Zhao

Running Time: 105 Minutes

Rating: R for Mumbled Cowboy Profanity

Release Date: April 13, 2018 (Limited)

I’m not too familiar with the South Dakota rodeo scene, and I’m guessing that before she wrote and directed The Rider, Chloé Zhao wasn’t too familiar with it either. I make that assumption based on the fact that she grew up in China, a country that, as far as I know, is not noted for its rodeo culture. But if I had no idea about her background, I would have guessed that she in fact had grown up in the scene that her film portrays. The production notes recount how she immersed herself in the world of a group of Lakota cowboys, and that is clear from the results on screen. This is intimate, realist cinema, gently revealing profundity within a boy, his horses, and the land.

As Brady Blackburn, Lakota cowboy Brady Jandreau essentially plays himself: a rising rodeo star whose career is cut short, possibly permanently, by a fall that leaves him with a nasty head injury. (The entire cast basically themselves, in fact.) This makes his story more reflective than he ever intended his life to be, as he reckons with the consequences of not defining himself beyond anything other than a rodeo rider. If he is fundamentally a rider, but he cannot ride, then how can he even be? Many of the film’s shots are Jandreau looking off into the distance, as he delivers a perfectly fine example of face acting.

Where I think The Rider ultimately sets itself apart is its treatment of economic reality. Because Brady must give up the rodeo, he is forced to take a job as a grocery store stock boy. But this is not, as one might expect, cause for humiliation or depression. Ultimately the message of the film, at least as Brady is concerned, is: don’t give up. Any setback is an opportunity for him to keep his head up. Foolhardy though he may be, every decision he makes is so that he can get closer to getting back on the horse. When horses suffer an injury as debilitating as Brady’s, they are put to death out of mercy. Brady’s single-mindedness almost makes you wonder if that should also be an option for humans. But it is also inspiring to behold someone so sure about himself. Mostly, it is heartening to see someone’s story treated with such thorough, deep respect.

The Rider is Recommended If You Like: Realist cinema

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Ten Gallon Hats

SNL Review April 7, 2018: Chadwick Boseman/Cardi B

April 9, 2018

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Will Heath/NBC

My letter grades for each sketch and segment is below. My in-depth review is on NewsCult: http://newscult.com/snl-love-itkeep-itleave-chadwick-bosemancardi-b/

Outnumbered – C+

Chadwick Boseman’s Monologue – B-

Nike Pro-Chiller Leggings – C

Black Jeopardy – B+

Fertility Frontier Project – B

Aidy B – B-

Cardi B performs “Bodak Yellow”/”Bartier Cardi” – B

Weekend Update
The Jokes – B-
Mark Zuckerberg – C
Angel, Every Boxer’s Girlfriend From Every Boxing Movie Ever – B

Magic Mirror – B

Warehouse Fire – B

Cardi B performs “Be Careful” – B-

Restaurant Complaint – B-

The Game of Life: DACA Edition – B

Black Panther Screening – C

This Is a Movie Review: The Death of Stalin

April 6, 2018

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: IFC Films

When it comes right down to it, people are just people. This is the thought I have when watching the scene in The Death of Stalin in which a group of officials bumblingly drop the body of the dying Soviet Premier onto a bed. No matter how despotic things get, we are still beholden to our embarrassing physical realities. Alas, when the film starts to regularly show people shot in the head without a second thought, it is hard to remain Zen about the situation.

I saw Death of Stalin at the Alamo Drafthouse, and the pre-show programming included parts of the Monty Python’s Flying Circus episode “The Cycling Tour,” which features Michael Palin bungling his way into being the target of a Russian firing squad, who famously misfire at him from only a few feet away. As I prefer my gallows humor with plenty of goofiness, “The Cycling Tour” is definitely more comfort food for me than The Death of Stalin. That is not to say the latter is unsuccessful. I see what Armando Iannucci is doing, I acknowledge that he has met his goals, I laugh where I can, and then I move on, newly grateful that I live in a society that is not quite so dangerous as 1950s USSR.

I give The Death of Stalin 4 Impossible Promises out of 5 Buggings.

This Is a Movie Review: Three Teenage Girls Make a Sex Pact, But It is the Parents of ‘Blockers’ Who Are Behaving Badly

April 5, 2018

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , 2 Comments

CREDIT: Quantrell D. Colbert/Universal Pictures

This review was originally posted on News Cult in April 2018.

Starring: Leslie Mann, John Cena, Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan, Gideon Adlon

Director: Kay Cannon

Running Time: 102 Minutes

Rating: R for Girls Talking About Sex Without Any Shame, Butt Chugging and the Like, and a Concerning Amount of Drug Use

Release Date: April 6, 2018

What to do with a movie that has a really great message but that plays fast-and-loose with any sense of realism? You take the good, you take the bad – the facts of life! I didn’t go into this meaning to name-check a classic ’80s TV theme song, but as it popped into my head, it just felt remarkably right. At its core, and at its best, Blockers emphasizes the fact that teenage girls have sexual desires and treats that truth as matter-of-factly as it deserves to be treated. This isn’t some “girls can be gross, too!” twist on a “boys will be boys” classic. The sex here approached with maturity and it is often romantic. Any grossness in Blockers is due to insecurity or lapses in plausibility.

Have sex pacts ever occurred in real life? If so, I hope they are as supportive and sweetly motivated as the one in Blockers. On the occasion of her senior prom, Julie (Kathryn Newton) announces to her lifelong friends Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan) and Sam (Gideon Adlon) her intention to lose her virginity tonight to her boyfriend. Sensing an opportunity for a shared anniversary, Kayla and Sam declare that they are in as well. They may not be in as serious a relationship as Julie is, but they’ve got guys who they like well enough and who have the necessary equipment. But when Julie’s mom Lisa (Leslie Mann), Kayla’s dad Mitch (John Cena), and Sam’s dad Hunter (Ike Barinholtz) catch wind of the pact, they are not going to stand idly by as their girls become women.

It is distressing that these parents have such regressively protective attitudes, though it is encouraging that they are presented as the ones so clearly in the wrong. And what’s more, their motivations are more complicated than not trusting their daughters. Lisa is a single mom who has raised Julie alone her whole life. She is struggling through deep-seated separation anxiety, worrying that Julie getting closer to her boyfriend means she will attend college thousands of miles away, which means that she could disappear forever. Director Kay Cannon and her team of screenwriters handle this unflinchingly, and I wish they would have devoted even more time to it. Hunter, meanwhile, knows that Sam is gay and is worried that her friends are forcing her to do something she doesn’t really want to do. Originally introduced as a deadbeat screw-up, he ends up coming off as the most open-minded of the trio, though the film does lose focus a bit on that tack for the sake of gags. Mitch is really the only one who comes as the stereotypically overprotective parent, and though Cena does imbue him with a fair amount of sweetness, he feels out of place in what the film is ultimately saying.

Blockers’ message that teenage girls should be allowed to make their own sexual decisions, especially if they are with boys (or otherwise) who they like and respect, is indisputably valuable. While it may be underlined a little too obviously, perhaps it is a message that needs to be repeated. It is also heartening to see a group of supportive teenage female friends on screen. Julie, Kayla, and Sam have their stark differences, but their loyalty runs deep. That well of positivity offsets a bit the parents’ surplus of bad behavior, which stretches the bounds of credulity a bit too much. Seriously, Blockers, you’re plenty funny without having to resort to butt chugging beer. That is to say, this is a movie that is much more sure-footed when it comes to romance (somehow making licorice the perfect food for declaring love) than when it swerves into the territory of illegal behavior.

Blockers is Recommended If You Like: Superbad and other Judd Apatow productions, particularly if they feature insecure parents, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Clueless

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Sex Pacts

Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of April 7, 2018

April 3, 2018

jmunney Billboard Charts, Billboard Hot Rock Songs, Music , , , Leave a comment

Each week, I check out the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart, and then I rearrange the top 25 based on my estimation of their quality. I used to rank all 25, now I just rank the cream of the crop.

Original Version
1. Imagine Dragons – “Whatever It Takes”
2. Imagine Dragons – “Thunder”
3. Imagine Dragons – “Believer”
4. Portugal. The Man – “Feel It Still”
5. Panic! at the Disco – “Say Amen (Saturday Night)”
6. Bad Wolves – “Zombie”
7. Foster the People – “Sit Next to Me”
8. Alice Merton – “No Roots”
9. Walk the Moon – “One Foot”
10. Panic! at the Disco – “(Fuck a) Silver Lining”
11. Five Finger Death Punch – “Gone Away”
12. lonelytheband – “Broken”
13. Portugal. The Man – “Live in the Moment”
14. Fleetwood Mac – “Dreams”
15. James Bay – “Wild Love”
16. Muse – “Thought Contagion”
17. Three Days Grace – “The Mountain”
18. Breaking Benjamin – “Red Cold River”
19. Two Feet – “I Feel Like I’m Drowning”
20. NEEDTOBREATHE – “Bridges Burn”
21. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – “You Worry Me”
22. Shinedown – “Devil”
23. Imagine Dragons – “Next to Me”
24. The Killer – “Run for Cover”
25. Godsmack – “Bulletproof”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. No Roots
2. Feel It Still
3. You Worry Me
4. I Feel Like I’m Drowning
5. Wild Love
6. Live in the Moment
7. Dreams
8. Run for Cover
9. Thought Contagion

Billboard Hot 20 – Week of April 7, 2018

April 3, 2018

jmunney Billboard Charts, Billboard Hot 100, Music , , , Leave a comment

Each week, I check out the Billboard Hot 100, and then I rearrange the top 20 based on my estimation of their quality. I used to rank all 20, now I just rank the cream of the crop.

Original Version
1. Drake – “God’s Plan”
2. Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line – “Meant to Be”
3. Bruno Mars and Cardi B – “Finesse”
4. Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Psycho”
5. Ed Sheeran – “Perfect”
6. BlocBoy JB ft. Drake – “Look Alive”
7. Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey – “The Middle”
8. Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown – “Freaky Friday”
9. XXXTentacion – “Sad!”
10. Camila Cabello ft. Young Thugh – “Havana”
11. Bazzi – “Mine”
12. The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar – “Pray for Me”
13. Migos – “Stir Fry”
14. Camila Cabello – “Never Be the Same”
15. Migos ft. Drake – “Walk It Talk It”
16. Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “All the Stars”
17. Offset and Metro Boomin – “Ric Flair Drip”
18. Rich the Kid – “Plug Walk”
19. NF – “Let You Down”
20. Dua Lipa – “New Rules”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. New Rules
2. Pray for Me
3. All the Stars
4. Havana
5. Never Be the Same

This Is a Movie Review: Only the Most Hardened of Souls Should Trek Into the Stylistic Bloodbath of ‘You Were Never Really Here’

April 2, 2018

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , 1 Comment

CREDIT: Amazon Studios

This review was originally published on News Cult in April 2018.

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov, Alex Manette, John Doman, Judith Roberts

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Running Time: 89 Minutes

Rating: R for In-Your-Face Bloody Violence, Some Disturbing Behavior, and a Little Bit of Nudity

Release Date: April 6, 2018 (Limited)

As my moviegoing has evolved over the years, I have come to appreciate, even love, films that are more sensory experiences than narrative adventures. But that positivity does not extend to Lynne Ramsay’s latest, You Were Never Really Here. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Joe, a combat veteran suffering from PTSD, and the film seems to have adapted his mental state. The editing is jarring and cacophonous, which is an effective stylistic choice, but after a while it becomes exhausting.

Joe makes his living now as a specialist in the field of rescuing young girls from trafficking. His latest assignment is Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov), a state senator’s daughter who he seems to have a spiritual connection with, or at least that is how it plays out in this film’s dreamy environment. He saves her, but then they get separated, then a conspiracy that I cannot begin to make sense of is uncovered, people get shot in the head, he saves her again, more people get shot in the head. It is all a bloody mess, both literally and metaphorically. We the audience are all stuck in this with no room to breathe, just like Joe with his face under a plastic bag in the opening shot.

I appreciate the thoroughness and relentlessness that Ramsay has applied to this experience, but she is on a frequency that I am just not on. Phoenix reliably gives the kind of intense performance that makes you worried about his mental health, and that only adds to the despair. There is no grappling with the oppressiveness, nor is there much in the way of relief. The final scene does provide a notable exception, though, as it at first appears to underscore the endlessness of the violence, but it then pulls off a trick to suggest that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.

You Were Never Really Here is Recommended If You Like: Jacob’s Ladder, Stylization above all else

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 PTSD Flashbacks

Older Entries Newer Entries