Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Bacurau (Limited Theatrically) – A Brazilian film about weird goings-on.
–Extra Ordinary (Limited Theatrically) – Irish movie with ghosts and Will Forte.
–First Cow (Limited Theatrically) – Delicious! –Onward (Theatrically Nationwide)
–The Way Back (Theatrically Nationwide)
TV
–Women of Troy (Premieres March 10 on HBO) – Documentary about the 1980s USC women’s basketball team.
Music
-Phantogram, Ceremony
-U.S. Girls, Heavy Eyes
CREDIT: James Minchin/AMC/Sony Pictures Television
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Brahms: The Boy II (Theatrically Nationwide) – Boy, I don’t know if this’ll be any good, but I’m rooting for Katie Holmes.
–The Call of the Wild (Theatrically Nationwide) – Harrison Ford + (CGI) Dog = A Good Time?
–Emma. (Limited Theatrically)
TV
–Fresh Off the Boat Series Finale (February 21 on ABC)
–Better Call Saul Season 5 Premiere (February 23 on AMC)
Music
-Best Coast, Always Tomorrow
-Grimes, Miss_Anthrop0cene
If you want to see the story of a music group in feature film form, you’ve got plenty of rock biopics to choose from. But how many of them really capture the bands at their truest essence? Another common option to sate your musical desire is the talking head documentary, which has no illusions about its ability (or lack thereof) to recreate all those melodies and lyrics springing into being. But the oral tradition is an important one. What is passed down from storyteller to listener is transformed into something a little different in its journey from mouth to ear, but there is nevertheless quite a bit of magic in the mix, especially when you have first-hand witness accounts at the ready. Not everyone who was around when it happened was available for Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band, but there’s enough in this telling to convey the power of one of the most influential groups in rock music history.
If you’re a superfan of The Band, you might already know a fair amount of the details in Once Were Brothers, but you’ll probably enjoy getting to experience them all again anyway. If you’re a casual fan who doesn’t know a whole lot of the backstory (like myself), you’ll find plenty to engage with as you get to hear some fantastic tunes. And if you’re a bit of a Band newbie who wants to know more about inflection points in popular American music, I think you’ll find a lot to latch onto. As Bruce Springsteen claims at one point in the film, The Band’s lineup included “three of the greatest white singers in rock history.” To me, that sounds like the prelude to a story worthy of a deep-dive examination, and Once Were Brothers delivers on that promise.
Once Were Brothers is Recommended If You Like: Country rock, Roots rock, Southern rock, Folk rock
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Fantasy Island (Theatrically Nationwide) – I must watch every horror movie no matter how ridiculous.
–The Photograph (Theatrically Nationwide)
–A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (Streaming February 14 on Netflix) – I loved the last Shaun the Sheep movie!
TV
–Duncanville Series Premiere (February 16 on FOX) – Is this the next great animated FOX show?
–Good Girls Season 3 Premiere (February 16 on NBC)
–Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Season 7 Premiere (February 16 on HBO)
It’s been a few years since I’ve made an Albums of the Year list, but I really felt compelled to make one for 2019. Here are the audio compilations from the recent past that really made an impact on me:
14. Camila Cabello, Romance – Fun and bouncy.
13. Harry Styles, Fine Line – I like where Harry is headed. 12. Beck, Hyperspace – Reliable Beck. 11. Brittany Howard, Jaime – Great, big rockin’ voice goes solo. 10. The Black Keys, Let’s Rock – They never stopped rocking.
9. Ariana Grande, thank u, next – Lots of adventure from Ari. 8. Sleater-Kinney, The Center Won’t Hold – Band broke up, music’s still great. 7. Tyler, the Creator, IGOR – I feel so comfortable inside this album. 6. FKA Twigs, MAGDALENE – FKA reminds me of Bat for Lashes. 5. Vampire Weekend, Father of the Bride – Those Vampire Weekend guys have still got a hold on me. 4. Lana Del Rey, Norman Fucking Rockwell! – What a soundscape! 3. Billie Eilish, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Just plenty of fun. 2. Lizzo, Cuz I Love You – I love you, too!
1. The Chemical Brothers, No Geography – Apocalyptic concept album.
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Gretel & Hansel (Theatrically Nationwide) – Surprisingly solid!
TV
–Bojack Horseman Season 6 Part 2 (January 31 on Netflix) – What is this, a series finale?
-Puppy Bowl XVI (February 2 on Animal Planet)
-Super Bowl LIV (February 2 on FOX)
–The Masked Singer Season 3 Premiere (February 2 on FOX)
–Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 7 Premiere (February 6 on FOX)
The following are the singles that had enough of an impact on me in 2019 to make me go, “I’ll have to mark that one down for posterity.” A few of them were originally released before 2019, but they didn’t reach their full cultural impact until 2019. And for the first time in the decade or so since I’ve been doing this, I’ve got a repeat winner, as I also coronated Tove Lo in 2017.
1. Tove Lo – “Glad He’s Gone”: Such friendship, such storytelling. We are all so blessed to have Tove Lo in our lives.
2. Lana Del Rey – “Mariners Apartment Complex”: Four minutes of musical madness that feels like hours of bliss.
3. The Chemical Brothers – “Eve of Destruction”: If you think the world’s gone to hell, have a dance party!
4. Vampire Weekend – “Sunflower”: There have been multiple (good) songs named “Sunflower” the past few years; this is the one that’s most likely to make you feel like a sunflower waking up in the morning.
5. Lizzo -“Truth Hurts”: 100% that mix of references that clearly hold deep emotional resonance for Lizzo.
6. Gary Clark Jr. – “This Land”: Can tasty guitar solos solve racism? Can’t hurt.
7. Hozier – “Dinner and Diatribes”: A galloping piece of soulfulness.
8. Dua Lipa – “Swan Song”: An original track from Alita: Battle Angel, and clearly the sound of future sci-fi feminism.
9. Sara Bareilles – “Armor”: Listen to Sara Bareilles getting down with her jazzy bad self and the rest of us getting down with her!
10. Kimbra – “Lightyear”: Space wonder Kimbra has a message to beam down to us earthbound folks.
11. Shaed – “Thunder”: One of those indie rock “This is who we are!” statements of declaration.
12. Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy”: Billie sings about the joys of being devious, but by all accounts, her personal life is quite wholesome. I think that’s a great way to live.
13. Meg Myers – “Running Up That Hill”: I’m just glad that Kate Bush covers are on the radio in 2019.
14. Lana Del Rey – “Doin’ Time”: Is Lana the current Queen of Remix? She just knows how to summon the past into her modern legacy.
15. Tones and I – “Dance Monkey”: We can always use some monosyllabic shouts amidst the more word-like lyrics to convince us to get up there and bust a move.
16. Camila Cabello – “Cry for Me”: Sometimes you need to make an insistent demand for emotional connection to get the message across.
17. Lil Nas X – “Old Town Road”: The epitome of Gen Z’s total lack of recognition of genre constraints.
18. Absofacto – “Dissolve”: A little skitter-skatter of chillax rock.
19. Benny Blanco, Tainy, Selena Gomez, and J Balvin – “I Can’t Get Enough”: A pleasure moan produced into nugget-size song form.
20. Starcrawler – “Pet Sematary”: It really is the perfect unassailable opening guitar riff to kick off some opening credits, no matter which version.
2/15/20 UPDATE: In the spirit of comprehension, I may have overlooked a few songs that I loved enough to be top 20-worthy from a band that had already made the cut. So, to correct the record, some more-than-honorable mentions go to “MAH” and “Got to Keep On” by the Chemical Brothers.
TV
–Arrow Series Finale (January 28 on The CW)
–Miracle Workers: Dark Ages Season Premiere (January 28 on TBS)
–The Good Place Series Finale (January 30 on NBC)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
TV
–Medical Police Season 1 (January 10 on Netflix) – From the team behind Childrens Hospital!
-25th Annual Critics Choice Awards (January 12 on The CW)
–The New Pope Series Premiere (January 13 on HBO) – John Malkovich joins Jude Law in this sequel to The Young Pope.
–grown-ish Season 3 Premiere (January 16 on Freeform)
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