CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot
In the latest “Aunt Beth Tells Jeff to Watch…” mini-episode, Aunt Beth insists that Jeff finally get down with the Rose family and head to Schitt’s Creek.
That’s Auntertaiment Mini-Episode: Aunt Beth Tells Jeff to Watch ‘Schitt’s Creek’
April 12, 2020
Podcasts, That's Auntertainment Podcasts, Schitt's Creek, That's Auntertainment Leave a comment
Jeff’s Wacky SNL at Home Review: Tom Hanks/Chris Martin
April 12, 2020
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Chris Martin, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live at Home, Saturday Night Live Season 45, SNL, SNL At Home, SNL Season 45, Tom Hanks 2 Comments
CREDIT: NBC/YouTube Screenshot
Saturday Night Live Season 45 wasn’t meant to end early, after all. Social distancing restrictions might make a live broadcast a little difficult right now, but they haven’t diminished our capacity to create and consume comedy. Thus, we have our first ever “SNL at Home” episode. It’s all pre-recorded, but so was a significant portion of the 1984-85 season, and that was a great year!
Tom Hanks and Chris Martin are officially announced as the host and musical guest, and I see no reason not to include this episode towards the official all-time ledger. Erg, Hanks has now entered diamond status as a ten-time host!
On to the show, which begins with the cast quickly saying hi via Zoom and then goes into an at-home-ified opening montage. Meanwhile, I prepared for the show by running about 12 miles on Saturday morning, going to bed early, getting plenty of z’s, and then watching the sketches early on Sunday (as per usual). Bananas seem important in this era (and all the time), so I had one with my cereal for breakfast.
Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 4/10/20
April 10, 2020
Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Podcasts, Sports, Television American Dad!, Cate Blanchett, George St. Geegland, Gil Faizon, Insecure, Joel McHale, John Mulaney, Ken Jeong, Mrs. America, NBA Horse Challenge, Nick Kroll, Oh Hello, Oh Hello the P'dcast, Saturday Night Live, SNL, SNL At Home, The Darkest Timeline, The Darkest Timeline podcast, The New Abnormal, The Strokes, What We Do in the Shadows Leave a comment
CREDIT: FX/YouTube Screenshot
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
TV
–SNL at Home (April 11 on NBC) – A remotely produced new episode of Saturday Night Live.
–Insecure Season 4 Premiere (April 12 on HBO)
–Killing Eve Season 3 Premiere (April on AMC and BBC America)
-NBA HORSE Challenge (April 12 on ESPN)
–American Dad! Season 17 Premiere (April 13 on TBS) – Still one of the most consistent shows on the air!
–Mrs. America Series Premiere (April 15 on Hulu) – Starring Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly.
–What We Do in the Shadows Season 2 Premiere (April 15 on FX)
Music
-The Strokes, The New Abnormal
Podcasts
A couple of great-so-far podcasts have recently launched:
–The Darkest Timeline – Community co-stars Joel McHale and Ken Jeong answer your questions.
–Oh, Hello: the P’dcast – Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland have discovered a new medium in which to deliver their tuna.
Best TV Episodes of the 2010s
April 9, 2020
Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Television 30 Rock, American Dad!, Atlanta, Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Black Mirror, Bojack Horseman, Community, Inside Amy Schumer, Nathan for You, Review, Rick and Morty, TCGS, The Chris Gethard Show, The Eric Andre Show, The Last Man on Earth, Too Many Cooks, Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks The Return 1 Comment
CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots
In assembling my picks for the best TV episodes of the past decade, I noticed that I was leaning heavily on the comedy side. This was unsurprising, as I tend to watch more sitcoms than dramas. But the difference was even more pronounced than usual. I think that makes sense, because on average, comedies tend to be specifically designed on an episodic basis moreso than dramas.
I should also note that I did not limit shows to any prescribed maximum. You’ll notice that certain programs keep popping up, like Community and Nathan for You. They deserve it, as they’re the types of shows that revolutionized themselves on the regular.
So here are the television morsels from the 2010s that shine within the context of their full works and also stand brilliantly on their own.
‘Velvet Buzzsaw’: Something Killer This Way Arts
April 6, 2020
Cinema, Movie Reviews Alan Mandell, Billy Magnussen, Dan Gilroy, Daveed Diggs, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Malkovich, Natalia Dyer, Rene Russo, Tom Sturridge, Toni Collette, Velvet Buzzsaw, Zawe Ashton Leave a comment
CREDIT: Claudette Barius/Netflix
Not too long before I watched Velvet Buzzsaw, I discovered that its director, Dan Gilroy, has been married to one of its stars, Rene Russo, for nearly 30 years. I migh have previously known that fact, but I don’t think I knew about it as far back as Gilroy’s last film, 2014’s Nightcrawler, which also featured Russo acting quite excellently. Besides making movies together, they also have a daughter who’s already all grown up. I mention all this because I enjoy thinking about the familial background that can go into making a movie. And also, I find it more satisfying to think about the Gilroy-Russo family than I do to think about Velvet Buzzsaw. That’s not to say that Velvet Buzzsaw is bad, but rather, it’s just to say that I’m the type of person who generally finds it heartening to see even just a snapshot of any family life.
Anyway, it’s particularly interesting to think about this marriage in light of Russo’s death scene in Buzzsaw, which her husband wrote AND directed! Honestly, I think it’s the sign of a good relationship when you can orchestrate your spouse’s death onscreen but not do so in real life. It’s a pretty gnarly moment and probably the best realization of the movie’s concept of “killer art.” I got a real Wes Craven’s New Nightmare “art imitating life” vibe during Velvet Buzzsaw‘s first deadly set piece. It takes us a little while to get to all the moments of the paintings and pieces tearing up human flesh, but when they do happen, they’re impressively, lavishly staged. But I think I would have recommended getting to the gore a little more quickly, because before we get there, we don’t have much to latch on to, other than Jake Gyllenhaal (who, you may recall, was also previously directed by Gilroy in Nightcrawler) as a fellow named “Morf” lounging around naked with only a laptop to cover his naughty bits.
I give Velvet Buzzsaw 3 Thick Black Eyeglass Frames out of 5 Wax Families.
That’s Auntertainment! Mini-Episode: Karaoke Korner 3
April 5, 2020
Podcasts, That's Auntertainment karaoke, Podcasts, Queen, Saint Motel, That's Auntertainment, The Bangles Leave a comment
CREDIT: Queen Official/YouTube Screenshot
It’s time for another edition of “Karaoke Korner!” The artist selections this time have come from Jeff’s sister, Kaity. She would like him to choose the best karaoke songs from Saint Motel, The Bangles, and Queen.
Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 4/3/20
April 3, 2020
Entertainment To-Do List, Television Community, Jeopardy!, Jimmy Kimmel, Modern Family, The Good Fight, The Last O.G., Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Leave a comment
CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
TV
–Community on Netflix (Started streaming on April 1) – The greatest show of the 2010s is finally streaming on the biggest streamer around.
–Jeopardy! College Championship (April 6-17, Check local listings)
–The Last O.G. Season 3 Premiere (April 7 on TBS)
–Modern Family Series Finale (April 8 on ABC)
–Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Revival Premiere (April 8 on ABC) – Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel!
–The Good Fight Season 4 Premiere (April 9 on CBS All Access) – I’m still a few seasons behind, though.
Best Albums of the 2010s
April 2, 2020
Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Music A Seat at the Table, Audio Video Disco, Avicii, Awaken My Love!, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Best of the Decade, Beyoncé, Black Messiah, Blackstar, Brothers, Childish Gambino, Circuital, D'Angelo, D'Angelo & the Vanguard, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Disclosure, Duck Sauce, Justice, Kanye West, Lana del Rey, Lemonade, Lonerism, Lorde, Miguel, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, My Morning Jacket, No Geography, Norman Fucking Rockwell, Pure Heroine, Quack, Random Access Memories, Settle, Solange, St. Vincent, Strange Mercy, Tame Impala, The Black Keys, The Chemical Brothers, True, Wildheart 1 Comment
One of the big themes about entertainment in the past decade is the incomprehensible explosion of available content in every medium. While this may be a recent development in cinema and television, it’s been the case for music for centuries, or even millennia. Since humans have been banging on rocks and clapping their hands, really. Of course, it was a little more recent than that when recorded music became readily available.
This is all to say, I of course haven’t listened to every album of the past ten years that made its way onto SoundCloud or Spotify, or even all the Billboard chart-toppers. But I did listen to enough of them to be able to assemble a vibrant and varied soundtrack of my life in the 2010s. Here are the musical collections of the era that I just haven’t been able to stop pushing play on.
[4/2/20 2:00 PM UPDATE: This post originally mistakenly included Justice’s †, which came out in 2007.]
Political Documentary ‘Slay the Dragon’ Has an Important and Timely Message About Gerrymandering That We All Need to Hear
March 31, 2020
Cinema, Movie Reviews Barak Goodman, Chris Durrance, documentary, Gerrymandering, Katie Fahey, Slay the Dragon 1 Comment
CREDIT: Magnolia Pictures
Starring: Activists and Unaccountable Politicians
Directors: Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Politics as Usual
Release Date: April 3, 2020 (On Demand)
There’s a presidential election, as well as many other elections, happening in these here United States in the year 2020 AD. And there is also very real concern that not everyone who wants to cast a legitimate vote will be able to or that their voice will be counted the way that it is supposed to be in a democracy. A worldwide pandemic is certainly no help here, but there are other problems that have been around for much longer. One of the biggest issues, which the documentary Slay the Dragon would very much like us to be aware of, is gerrymandering. I’ve already seen this topic explained elsewhere plenty of times, but it’s useful to have it all detailed again in one feature-length package. Especially because 2020 is a census year and the next round of redistricting is scheduled to happen in the near future.
In case you haven’t been following this subject closely, gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating the boundaries of political borders for the purpose of gaining a political advantage that might not be what we citizens like to refer to as “fair.” In recent years, a bunch of oddly shaped districts have popped up with nicknames like “Goofy Kicking Donald Duck” that attempt to make some sense out of their geographic improbability. Gerrymandering has also resulted lately in Republicans gaining a majority of seats in certain state legislatures despite Democrats winning more votes in total statewide.
Slay the Dragon presents a number of folks in this fray who are very invested in changing the current system or keeping it just as it is, thank you very much. The most prominent change agent is 29-year-old activist Katie Fahey, who’s been pushing to ban gerrymandering in her native Michigan along with an initiative to institute a bipartisan redistricting commission tasked to work independently of the elected legislators. She’s a dogged, inspiring young person, and if you stick with her story, you might be able to stay sane as you attempt to hold onto the supposed fundamental principles of a representative democracy. She’s got a lot of doubters trying to shoo her away with bad faith arguments and weaponized cognitive dissonance. If she can remain resilient through it all, then the rest of us who also care about a genuine political system ought to be able to check out the diagnosis of this ongoing illness.
Slay the Dragon is Recommended If You Like: The promise of a system that works for everybody
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Ballot Initiatives
Thank You for Everything, (A) Shaun the Sheep (Movie: Farmageddon)!
March 30, 2020
Cinema, Movie Reviews A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Farmageddon, Richard Phelan, Shaun the Sheep Leave a comment
CREDIT: Chris Johnson/Netflix
Dear Shaun the Sheep,
Won’t you please my friend? After watching your first movie and now your new movie, Farmageddon (cool title, BTDubz), I feel like a lot of cool stuff happens when you’re around. But also, you keep everyone out of danger, even when danger appears to be imminent. It’s an ideal combination!
For now, I’ll satiate myself with watching your adventures and live vicariously through your already-friends. Like Lu-La! Please tell me this isn’t the last time you’ll ever hang out together. Maybe you can visit her on her home planet. I’m sure you can figure out a way to get there! I wasn’t even bothered by the fact that her presence inspired super-obvious homages to other famous space creature movies. They actually felt clever and not at all cliché! Also, I think I might start calling my own parents Ub-Do and Me-Ma.
Please let me know as soon as you can, Shaun!
Love,
jmunney
