Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of July 28, 2018

July 28, 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 of the top 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. Foster the People – “Sit Next to Me”
6. twenty one pilots – “Jumpsuit”
7. twenty one pilots – “Nico and the Niners”
8. lovelytheband – “Broken”
9. Bad Wolves – “Zombie”
10. Weezer – “Africa”
11. Panic! at the Disco – “High Hopes”
12. Panic! at the Disco – “Say Amen (Saturday Night)”
13. Imagine Dragons – “Natural”
14. John Mayer – “New Light”
15. Godsmack – “Bulletproof”
16. Two Feet – “I Feel Like I’m Drowning”
17. Florence + the Machine – “Hunger”
18. Bastille – “Quarter Past Midnight”
19. Panic! at the Disco – “Hey Look Ma, I Made It”
20. Shinedown – “Devil”
21. Greta van Fleet – “When the Curtain Falls”
22. Five Finger Death Punch – “Sham Pain”
23. Death Cab for Cutie – “Gold Rush”
24. Walk the Moon – “Kamikaze”
25. Gorillaz ft. George Benson – “Humility”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Feel It Still
2. I Feel Like I’m Drowning
3. Jumpsuit
4. When the Curtain Falls
5. New Light
6. Humility
7. Hunger

Billboard Hot 20 – Week of July 28, 2018

July 28, 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 – “In My Feelings”
2. Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin – “I Like It”
3. Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B – “Girls Like You”
4. Drake – “Nice for What”
5. Ella Mai – “Boo’d Up”
6. Juice WRLD – “Lucid Dreams”
7. Post Malone – “Better Now”
8. Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left to Cry”
9. Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Psycho”
10. Drake – “God’s Plan”
11. Ariana Grande – “God Is a Woman”
12. Taylor Swift – “Delicate”
13. Tyga ft. Offset – “Taste”
14. Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey – “The Middle”
15. XXXTentacion – “Sad!”
16. Lil Baby and Drake – “Yes Indeed”
17. Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line – “Meant to Be”
18. Marshmello and Anne-Marie – “Friends”
19. Ed Sheeran – “Perfect”
20. Drake – “Nonstop”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. No Tears Left to Cry
2. Boo’d Up
3. God Is a Woman

This Is a Movie Review: Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

July 28, 2018

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

CREDIT: Warner Bros. Animation

I give Teen Titans Go! To the Movies 4 out of 5 Doomsday Devices: https://uinterview.com/news/teen-titans-go-to-the-movies-movie-review-underdog-cartoon-heroes-show-the-rest-of-the-dc-universe-how-its-done/

Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of July 21, 2018

July 21, 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 of the top 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 Man”
5. Foster the People – “Sit Next to Me”
6. twenty one pilots – “Jumpsuit”
7. Bad Wolves – “Zombie”
8. lonelytheband – “Broken”
9. twenty one pilots – “Nico and the Niners”
10. Panic! at the Disco – “Say Amen (Saturday Night)”
11. Panic! at the Disco – “High Hopes”
12. Weezer – “Africa”
13. John Mayer – “New Light”
14. Godsmack – “Bulletproof”
15. Two Feet – “I Feel Like I’m Drowning”
16. Florence + the Machine – “Hunger”
17. Bastille – “Quarter Past Midnight”
18. Shinedown – “Devil”
19. Panic! at the Disco – “Hey Look Ma, I Made It”
20. Gorillaz ft. George Benson – “Humility”
21. Sir Sly – “& Run”
22. Five Finger Death Punch – “Sham Pain”
23. Green Day – “American Idiot”
24. Walk the Moon – “Kamikaze”
25. Death Cab for Cutie – “Gold Rush”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. American Idiot
2. Feel It Still
3. I Feel Like I’m Drowning
4. New Light
5. Jumpsuit
6. &Run
7. Humility
8. Hunger

Billboard Hot 20 – Week of July 21, 2018

July 21, 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 – “In My Feelings”
2. Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin – “I Like It”
3. Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B – “Girls Like You”
4. Drake – “Nice for What”
5. Ella Mai – “Boo’d Up”
6. Drake – “God’s Plan”
7. Juice WRLD – “Lucid Dreams”
8. Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left to Cry”
9. Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Psycho”
10. XXXTentacion – “Sad!”
11. Drake – “Nonstop”
12. Post Malone – “Better Now”
13. Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey – “The Middle”
14. Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line – “Meant to Be”
15. Taylor Swift – “Delicate”
16. Drake – “I’m Upset”
17. Lil Baby and Drake – “Yes Indeed”
18. Tyga ft. Offset – “Taste”
19. Bazzi – “Mine”
20. Marshmello and Anne-Marie – “Friends”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. No Tears Left to Cry
2. Boo’d Up

This Is a Movie Review: Unfriended: Dark Web

July 21, 2018

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

CREDIT: BH Tilt

Unfriended: Dark Web repeats the same format and many of the same methods as the first Unfriended, but the feelings it inspires are of a different breed. The original was a dark morality tale about some truly awful teenagers experiencing karmic justice. But the twenty-somethings in Dark Web all appear to be decent human beings, yet the fates they experience are even worse. It is a thoroughly cruel movie, though I hesitate to call it mean-spirited, as the type of sadistic evil it presents does exist in the real world, and it can therefore work as a bleak warning.

Once again, the action unspools via Skype conversation and other laptop applications. Instead of a vengeful ghost, the big bad this time is a network of criminal hackers. Their technical prowess strains credulity, though it might be a case of sufficiently advanced (fictional) technology appearing like magic to us. (It might have been a good idea to explain it a tad.) Standout features include the difficulty of communicating via sign language over a computer and a particularly fraught case of the dilemma of being forced to choose which of two loved ones gets to survive. Telling the entire story on a laptop screen is once again initially disorienting but then disarmingly natural. Overall, my reaction to Dark Web is much like my reaction to Phantom Thread: I appreciate how well-made it is, but the experience of watching it is just so unpleasant.

I give Unfriended: Dark Web 3 Trephinations out of 5 Facebook Messages.

This Is a Movie Review: ‘Blindspotting’ is a Little Messy, But It Has Plenty to Say About Violence and Gentrification

July 21, 2018

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

CREDIT: Ariel Nava/Lionsgate

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

Starring: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Ethan Embry

Director: Carlos López Estrada

Running Time: 95 Minutes

Rating: R for Confrontational Profanity and Intense Physical Violence

Release Date: July 20, 2018 (Limited)

Are we defined by the most extreme moments in our lives? Please, somebody, tell Blindspotting, because it would like to know!

Longtime friends and Oakland, California natives Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal star as longtime friends and Oakland, California natives Collin and Miles, respectively. They work together at a moving company, managed by Collin’s ex Val (Janina Gavankar). Collin is approaching the end of his probation, his jail stint the result of a violent incident that has forever seared itself on Val’s memory. A central question in Blindspotting is whether or not Val can ever look past Collin at his worst, and looming even wider is the question of whether or not Collin and Miles can look past the version of their hometown that they grew up in.

Gentrification has arrived for every urban area in this country with any hint of trendiness, and Miles could not be more opposed. Collin is more serene about the matter, perhaps because he has more intimate experience with the consequences of myopia. Development efforts may take away local color, but they also can make cities safer. Alas, they often just tuck the danger away into hidden corners, which Blindspotting does not turn its eyes away from. If only gentrification could clean up a population’s morality and make it more compassionate. It is a phenomenon that has its failings, but those failings do not call for as violent a reaction as Miles is predisposed towards. There is a lot of confrontation from all directions in this movie – the challenge is to cut through your blind spots and find the most useful message.

Blindspotting is Recommended If You Like: Daveed Diggs breaking big, Socially conscious sitcoms, Wayne Knight cameos

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Kwik Ways

This Is a Movie Review: ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,’ I Can (Mostly) Resist You

July 21, 2018

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

CREDIT: Jonathan Prime/Universal Studios

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

Starring: Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Alexa Davies, Jeremy Irvine, Hugh Skinner, Josh Dylan, Dominic Cooper, Andy García, Cher, Meryl Streep

Director: Ol Parker

Running Time: 114 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Some Spicy Dialogue

Release Date: July 20, 2018

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again wants us to care about how a young Donna Sheridan (Lily James) met the three possible fathers of her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). Or really, it just wants us to accept that as the framework around which some beautiful people frolic around a sunny Greek isle while singing the songs of ABBA … again! Audiences who already dig this sort of thing appear generally willing to accept whatever thin framework there is. (The setup in the present day, in which Sophie re-opening her late mom’s hotel is threatened by rain, is even thinner.) So it feels petty of me to call out Here We Go Again for its vaguely drawn backstories. But I wouldn’t call attention to them if the script didn’t also keep doing the same thing. Donna and her suitors keep on talking about the lives they are running away from, and if that motivation is so important, I just want to know the specifics. Or really, I think these characters want to tell us the specifics.

For certain audiences, those shortcomings won’t matter one lick, but for me, Here We Go Again never overcomes the inherent weirdness of a musical. But there is some fun to be had along the way that threatens to sweep up everyone in its path. Certainly, Christine Baranski’s tasty bons mot (“be still my beating vagina”) cannot be beat. Cinematographer Robert Yeoman really lets the colors pop, especially the oranges. And the final number, featuring the entire main cast, including Meryl Streep as a beyond-the-grave Donna and Cher as basically herself, really does manage to be irresistible. I don’t want to be a fuddy-duddy, so I will admit I enjoyed myself, but I must say it all feels rather fluffy and empty.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is Recommended If You Like: Singing and Dancing Along Without Asking Any Questions

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Waterloos

Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of July 14, 2018

July 14, 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 of the top 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. Foster the People – “Sit Next to Me”
6. Bad Wolves – “Zombie”
7. Panic! at the Disco – “Say Amen (Saturday Night)”
8. lovelytheband – “Broken”
9. Panic! at the Disco – “High Hopes”
10. Florence + the Machine – “Hunger”
11. Weezer – “Africa”
12. John Mayer – “New Light”
13. Guns N’ Roses – “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
14. Gorillaz ft. George Benson – “Humility”
15. Two Feet – “I Feel Like I’m Drowning”
16. Godsmack – “Bulletproof”
17. Guns N’ Roses – “Welcome to the Jungle”
18. Florence + the Machine – “Sky Full of Song”
19. Guns N’ Roses – “Paradise City”
20. Panic! at the Disco – “Hey Look Ma, I Made It”
21. Bastille – “Quarter Past Midnight”
22. Shinedown – “Devil”
23. Sir Sly – “&Run”
24. Panic! at the Disco – “Roaring 20s”
25. Florence + the Machine – “Big God”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Sweet Child O’ Mine
2. Paradise City
3. Feel It Still
4. Welcome to the Jungle
5. I Feel Like I’m Drowning
6. New Light
7. &Run
8. Humility
9. Big God
10. Sky Full of Song
11. Hunger
12. Africa

Billboard Hot 20 – Week of July 14, 2018

July 14, 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 – “Nice for What”
2. Drake – “Nonstop”
3. Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin – “I Like It”
4. Drake – “God’s Plan”
5. Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B – “Girls Like You”
6. Drake – “In My Feelings”
7. Drake – “I’m Upset”
8. Drake – “Emotionless”
9. Drake ft. Michael Jackson – “Don’t Matter to Me”
10. XXXTentacion – “Sad!”
11. Ella Mai – “Boo’d Up”
12. Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Psycho”
13. Drake – “Mob Ties”
14. Drake – “Elevate”
15. Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left to Cry”
16. Juice WRLD – “Lucid Dreams”
17. Drake – “Survival”
18. Drake – “Can’t Take a Joke”
19. Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey – “The Middle”
20. Drake ft. Jay-Z – “Talk Up”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. No Tears Left to Cry
2. Boo’d Up

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