Billboard Hot 20 – Week of January 13, 2018

January 9, 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. Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé – “Perfect”
2. Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana”
3. Post Malone ft. 21 Savage – “Rockstar”
4. Imagine Dragons – “Thunder”
5. G-Eazy ft. A$AP Rocky and Cardi B – “No Limit”
6. Halsey – “Bad at Love”
7. Sam Smith – “Too Good at Goodbyes”
8. Migos, Nicki Minaj, and Cardi B – “MotorSport”
9. Lil Pump – “Gucci Gang”
10. Cardi B – “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)”
11. Dua Lipa – “New Rules”
12. Portugal. The Man – “Feel It Still”
13. Ed Sheeran – “Shape of You”
14. Kendrick Lamar ft. Zacari – “Love.”
15. Demi Lovato – “Sorry Not Sorry”
16. Imagine Dragons – “Believer”
17. G-Eazy and Halsey – “Him & I”
18. NF – “Let You Down”
19. Cardi B ft. 21 Savage – “Bartier Cardi”
20. 6ix9ine – “Gummo”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. New Rules
2. Feel It Still
3. Havana
4. Love.

This Is a Movie Review: Insidious: The Last Key

January 4, 2018

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

CREDIT: Justin Lubin/Universal Pictures

This post was originally published on News Cult in January 2018.

Starring: Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, Josh Stewart, Caitlin Gerard, Spencer Locke, Kirk Acevedo, Bruce Davison, Javier Botet

Director: Adam Robitel

Running Time: 103 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Physical and Supernatural Abuse

Release Date: January 5, 2018

It’s taken four tries, but the Insidious franchise has finally figured out to focus an entire film on its best character. Before 2011, Lin Shaye was perhaps best known for her appearances in Farrelly brothers comedies (especially There’s Something About Mary), though she did have significant horror experience, with small but memorable roles in the likes of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. But then at the age of 67, she sauntered in as demonologist Elise Rainier, so sweet and loving but also so tapped into the darkness of the world – simply put, the role of a lifetime.

Alas, the first Insidious film ends with Elise’s death. Thankfully, however, this is the rare horror franchise resurrects its hero instead of its villain for the sequels. The series’ supernatural time-bending elements allowed her for her appearance in part 2, while the third and fourth entries have gone the prequel route. Chapter 3 introduced a new family into the series and allowed Shaye to take over as the lead about halfway through, while The Last Key wisely opts to put her front and center right from the start. I went into this film expecting to once again be in awe of Shaye, and that is exactly what happened.

The Last Key does in fact once again introduce a new family, but this time it is Elise’s own. She is called to investigate disturbances occurring in the house she grew up in Five Keys, New Mexico. The town name matches up with the m.o. of the film’s main demon in a manner that is a bit on-the-nose, but weird enough to be forgivable. Elise has been trying to forget this place ever since the horrible abuse her father laid upon her for violently disapproving of her supernatural skill set. It turns out that this house has been the locus of a cycle of abuse at the nexus of evil spirits and evil men. Could it be that the worst of humanity are just minions of the most insidious demons? Or is that already terrible people are the most susceptible to devilish manipulation? Or somewhere in between?

The Last Key employs several clever feints about what is ghostly and what is corporeal, playing around with our perceptions and those of Elise. At one point, our favorite demonologist explicitly states, “There are plenty of demons in this world who are very much alive.” Elise in many ways is psychologically equipped to deal with the most banal as well as the most fantastical forms of evil. I imagine there is a theoretical version of an Insidious film devoid of any ghosts or demons. It is perfectly fine that The Last Key is not that, but it is disappointing that it is ultimately about a rescue mission in The Further (the series’ supernatural realm), just like any other Insidious film.

The Last Key does not come anywhere close to establishing a new horror paradigm the way the first one did, but there are several small pleasures spread throughout in addition to Shaye’s expected excellence. The character design continues to be strikingly unique, with the main baddie having keys for fingers that he uses to bodily penetrate his human marks. He is played by Javier Botet, who has Marfan syndrome, giving him long and fine fingers that he has utilized for a fruitful career as supernatural creatures. The audio mix is just as memorable, though more discomforting. A whistle is frequently employed to indicate impending doom, which is a fun trick, but it is frequently so high-pitched that those with sensitive ears would be wise to wear muffs.

And of course I cannot conclude without mentioning Elise’s wacky assistants, who also get their most screen time yet in the series and successfully avoid being too much of a good thing: the nerdy, adorably awkward Specs (Leigh Whannell, who has written all four films and directed the third) and the deep-voiced, intense but harmless tinkerer Tucker (Angus Sampson). Ultimately, each Insidious film is about the power of family, and sometimes that family takes the form of the business partnership/close friendship between a seventysomething psychic and her two young male associates.

Insidious: The Last Key is Recommended If You Like: Septuagenarian Scream Queens, Horror Movies That Are More Heartwarming Than Scary

Grade: 2.75 out of 5 Psychics and Sidekicks

 

Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of January 6, 2018

January 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 – “Thunder”
2. Portugal. The Man – “Feel It Still”
3. Imagine Dragons – “Believer”
4. Imagine Dragons & Khalid – “Thunder”/”Young Drumb & Broke” (Medley)
5. Walk the Moon – “One Foot”
6. 30 Seconds to Mars – “Walk on Water”
7. Imagine Dragons – “Whatever It Takes”
8. Theory of a Deadman – “(Rx) Medicate”
9. Alice Merton – “No Roots”
10. Five Finger Death Punch – “Gone Away”
11. Bastille – “World Gone Mad”
12. Beck – “Up All Night”
13. Foo Fighters – “The Sky is a Neighborhood”
14. Foster the People – “Sit Next to Me”
15. Portugal. The Man – “Live in the Moment”
16. Vance Joy – “Lay It on Me”
17. Linkin Park – “One More Light”
18. U2 – “You’re the Best Thing About Me”
19. Skillet – “The Resistance”
20. Fall Out Boy – “Hold Me Tight or Don’t”
21. Asking Alexandria – “Into the Fire”
22. Gary Clark Jr. – “Come Together”
23. Royal Blood – “I Only Lie When I Love You”
24. Greta van Fleet – “Highway Tune”
25. Weezer – “Happy Hour”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. No Roots
2. Up All Night
3. Feel It Still
4. Highway Tune
5. The Sky is a Neighborhood
6. Live in the Moment
7. I Only Lie When I Love You
8. World Gone Mad
9. You’re the Best Thing About Me
10. Come Together
11. Happy Hour
12. Lay It on Me

Billboard Hot 20 – Week of January 6, 2018

January 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. Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé – “Perfect”
2. Post Malone ft. 21 Savage – “Rockstar”
3. Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana”
4. G-Eazy ft. A$AP Rocky and Cardi B – “No Limit”
5. Imagine Dragons – “Thunder”
6. Lil Pump – “Gucci Gang”
7. Migos, Nicki Minaj, and Cardi B – “MotorSport”
8. Sam Smith – “Too Good at Goodbyes”
9. Halsey – “Bad at Love”
10. Cardi B – “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)”
11. Kendrick Lamar ft. Zacari – “Love.”
12. Dua Lipa – “New Rules”
13. Mariah Carey – “All I Want for Christmas is You”
14. Cardi B ft. 21 Savage – “Cartier Bardi”
15. 6ix9ine – “Gummo”
16. Post Malone – “I Fall Apart”
17. NF – “Let You Down”
18. Khalid – “Young Dumb & Broke”
19. Ed Sheeran – “Shape of You”
20. Demi Lovato – “Sorry Not Sorry”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. New Rules
2. Havana
3. Young Dumb & Broke
4. Love.

2017: A Year at the Movies

January 1, 2018

jmunney A Year at the Movies, Cinema , , Leave a comment

2017 movies had me like… (Photo Credit: Kaity Malone)

(Included with the list of titles are grades, dates, showtimes, theatre locations, and folks I saw the movies with.)

Now that I see movies as part of my job, I was easily able to break my yearly moviegoing record by September. I hope to break it again in 2018, as I hope to go more often when it is not work-related.

1. Tower – B+ (1/4, 7:00 PM, Greenwich Lane Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
2. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – B (1/5, 6:45 PM, Regal E-Walk, New York, NY; myself)
3. Monster Trucks – C+ (1/7, 10:00 AM, E-Walk, New York, NY; Kaity Malone)
4. Bitter Harvest – C- (1/11, 4:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
5. The Bye Bye Man – B- (1/11, 7:30 PM, AMC Empire, New York, NY; myself)
6. I Am Not Your Negro – B (1/12, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
7. Silence – B+ (1/13, 6:50 PM, Regal Union Square, New York, NY; myself)
8. The Salesman – B (1/17, 3:00 PM, Cohen Media Group Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
9. Split – B+ (1/20, 7:55 PM, Regal Oxford Valley, Langhorne, PA; myself)
10. A Dog’s Purpose – C (1/23, 6:30 PM, E-Walk; myself)
11. The Space Between Us – C (1/25, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
12. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in RPX 3D – C (1/26, 7:00 PM, Regal United Artists Court Street, Brooklyn, NY; myself)
13. Fences – B+ (1/27, 9:15 PM, Court Street; myself)
14. Lion – B+ (1/28, 8:15 PM, Angelika Film Center, New York, NY; Kaity Malone)
15. John Wick: Chapter 2 – B (2/6, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
16. A Cure for Wellness – B- (2/8, 2:00 PM, Dolby 88 Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
17. The Great Wall – C+ (2/15, 6:30 PM, E-Walk; myself)
18. Logan – B+ (2/16, 5:00 PM, E-Walk; Rob Malone)
19. Get Out – B+ (2/24, 7:45 PM, Regal Battery Park, New York, NY; myself)
20. Before I Fall – B- (2/27, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
21. The Sense of an Ending – C- (3/1, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square, New York, NY; myself)
22. Wilson – B (3/2, 6:00 PM, Fox Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
23. Cézanne et Moi – C (3/6, 6:00 PM, Dolby 24 Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
24. Dean – B (3/9, 10:00 AM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
25. T2 Trainspotting – B (3/13, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
26. Their Finest – B (3/15, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
27. 3 Generations – C (3/16, 4:00 PM, Magno Screening; myself)
28. Life (2017) – C+ (3/22, 7:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
29. Free Fire – C+ (3/27, 6:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
30. Raw – B (3/30, 8:45 PM, Alamo Drafthouse, Brooklyn, NY; myself)
31. Born in China – C- (4/5, 4:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
32. Going in Style – C (4/5, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
33. The Lost City of Z – B (4/6, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
34. The Dinner – C (4/6, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
35. Rifftrax Live: Samurai Cop (4/13, 8:00 PM, Union Square; myself)
36. Beauty and the Beast (2017) – B- (4/14, 7:45 PM, AMC Neshaminy, Bensalem, PA; Bob and Sue Malone)
37. The Fate of the Furious – B- (4/15, 7:45 PM, Oxford Valley; myself)
38. The Promise – B- (4/17, 3:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
39. The Little Hours – B (4/19, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
40. Unforgettable – B- (4/19, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
41. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: Psychopaths – B- (4/21, 1:15 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea, New York, NY; myself)
42. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: “Last Exit” Shorts (4/23, 1:45 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; myself)
42a. Oh Damn – B
42b. Don’t Mess with Julie Whitfield – B-
42c. Cul-De-Sac – B-
42d. Retouch – B
42e. Buckets – B
42f. Baraka – B
43. Sleight – B- (4/24, 7:00 PM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
44. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: The Clapper – C+ (4/26, 3:00 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; Marissa Sblendorio)
45. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 – B (4/26, 6:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
46. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: The Circle – B- (4/27, 10:00 AM, Cinépolis Chelsea; Marissa Sblendorio)
47. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: Take Me – B+ (4/28, 12:15 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; myself)
48. 2017 Tribeca Film Festival: Copwatch – B- (4/29, 1:15 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; myself)
49. The Hero – B (5/3, 6:00 PM, Dolby 24 Screening Room; myself)
50. Lowriders – C+ (5/3, 8:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
51. The Wall (2017) – B- (5/4, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
52. Alien: Covenant – B+ (5/5, 5:30 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
53. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword – C+ (5/8, 11:00 AM, WB Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
54. Snatched – C (5/8, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; Marissa Sblendorio)
55. Everything, Everything – C+ (5/17, 7:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
56. Baywatch – C- (5/22, 6:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
57. Beatriz at Dinner – B (5/24, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
58. It Comes at Night – B+ (5/31, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
59. 3 Idiotas – B (5/31, 7:30 PM, AMC Loews 34th Street, New York, NY; myself)
60. Megan Leavey – B- (6/5, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
61. The Mummy (2017)- C- (6/6, 6:00 PM, Regal E-Walk; myself)
62. The Bad Batch – B+ (6/7, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
63. The Big Sick – A (6/12, 7:00 PM, Union Square; myself)
64. Lady Macbeth – A- (6/14, 4:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
65. 47 Meters Down – B- (6/14, 6:00 PM, E-Walk; Kaity Malone)
66. Brigsby Bear – B+ (6/14, 5:00 PM, Sony Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
67. Rifftrax Live: Summer Shorts Beach Party (6/15, 8:00 PM, Union Square; myself)
68. Okja – B+ (6/19, 6:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
69. The Beguiled (2017) – B+ (6/20, 10:00 AM, Bryant Park Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
70. War for the Planet of the Apes – B+ (6/21, 6:30 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; Rob Malone)
71. Baby Driver – B+ (6/22, 7:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
72. Despicable Me 3 – B- (6/26, 6:30 PM, E-Walk; myself)
73. A Ghost Story – C+ (6/28, 10:00 AM; Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
74. Spider-Man: Homecoming – B (6/28, 6:00 PM, AMC Kips Bay, New York, NY; Kaity Malone and Marissa Sblendorio)
75. The Book of Henry – C (6/29, 7:10 PM, Landmark Sunshine, New York, NY; myself)
76. Wonder Woman – A- (7/7, 7:00 PM, Union Square; myself)
77. Wish Upon – C (7/10, 7:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
78. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets – B+ (7/11, 10:00 AM, AMC Empire; myself)
79. Detroit – B+ (7/19, 4:00 PM, Light Iron, New York, NY; myself)
80. Dunkirk in IMAX 70MM – B+ (7/19, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
81. Whose Streets? – B (7/20, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
82. Atomic Blonde – B (7/24, 6:30 PM, AMC Empire; Rob Malone)
83. Wind River – B (7/25, 10:00 AM, Dolby 24 Screening Room; myself)
84. An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power – B- (7/25, 4:00 PM, Paramount Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
85. Ingrid Goes West – B (7/26, 6:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
86. Good Time – B (7/31, 4:00 PM, Digital Arts, New York, NY; myself)
87. The Dark Tower – D+ (8/2, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
88. Patti Cake$ – B- (8/3, 10:00 AM, Fox Screening Room; myself)
89. Birth of the Dragon – C- (8/3, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
90. Annabelle: Creation – B- (8/12, 8:15 PM, Oxford Valley; Walt Wojcik)
91. Logan Lucky – B+ (8/14, 6:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
92. Leap! – C (8/15, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
93. The Tiger Hunter – C- (8/16, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
94. Rifftrax Live: Doctor Who – The Five Doctors (8/17, 8:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
95. Close Encounters of the Third Kind – B+/A- (9/2, 9:40 PM, Oxford Valley; Walt Wojcik and Karl
96. Stronger – B (9/7, 10:00 AM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
97. Winning (2017) – C (9/7, 5:00 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; myself)
98. Tulip Fever – C (9/8, 7:40 PM, Angelika Film Center; myself)
99. Brad’s Status – B (9/10, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
100. Woodshock – D+ (9/12, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
101. Battle of the Sexes – B (9/13, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
102. Victoria & Abdul – A- (9/13, 6:00 PM, Bryant Park Screening Room; myself)
103. Kingsman: The Golden Circle – B- (9/14, 6:30 PM, AMC Empire; Marissa Sblendorio)
104. mother! – A- (9/16, 8:00 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea; Kaity Malone)
105. Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House – C- (9/18, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
106. The LEGO Ninjago Movie – B (9/19, 4:00 PM, WB Screening Room; myself)
107. Friend Request – C- (9/20, 7:00 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
108. Human Flow – B- (9/21, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
109. Zardoz – ??? (9/24, 9:30 PM, Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn; Rob Malone and Chadd Harbold; myself)
110. American Made – B+ (9/25, 6:30 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
111. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women – B+ (9/28, 10:00 AM, Dolby 24 Screening Room; myself)
112. Wonderstruck – B+ (9/28, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
113. My Little Pony: The Movie – C+ (10/1, 11:00 AM, AMC Empire; myself)
114. The Florida Project – B+ (10/2, 2:00 PM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
115. Marshall – B (10/4, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
116. The Killing of a Sacred Deer – B- (10/5, 7:00 PM, Soho House, New York, NY; myself)
117. Blade Runner 2049 – B+ (10/8, 1:30 PM, BAM Rose Cinemas, Brooklyn, NY; Rob Malone)
118. Breathe – C (10/9, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
119. The Foreigner – B- (10/9, 6:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
120. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) – B+ (10/10, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
121. Happy Death Day – B+ (10/10, 6:30 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
122. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – A- (10/11, 4:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
123. Only the Brave – C+ (10/16, 7:30 PM, AMC Empire; myself)
124. Novitiate – B+ (10/17, 6:00 PM, Sony Screening Room; myself)
125. All I See is You – C+ (10/18, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
126. The Snowman – D+ (10/18, 6:30 PM, AMC Loews 19th Street East, New York, NY; myself)
127. The Square – B (10/19, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
128. Thank You for Your Service – B- (10/23, 6:30 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
129. Suburbicon – C (10/24, 6:30 PM, Paramount Screening Room; myself)
130. Thelma – B+ (10/25, 10:00 AM, Soho House; myself)
131. Last Flag Flying – B (10/25, 6:00 PM, Digital Arts; myself)
132. Thor: Ragnarok – B (10/26, 6:00 PM, AMC Loews 34th Street; myself)
133. Blade of the Immortal – B (10/31, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
134. Lady Bird – A- (11/1, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
135. The Man Who Invented Christmas – C+ (11/2, 6:00 PM, Dolby 24 Screening Room; myself)
136. I Love You, Daddy (11/6, 3:00 PM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
137. Murder on the Orient Express (2017) – C+ (11/6, 6:30 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; Mike Stewart)
138. Daddy’s Home 2 – B- (11/7, 6:30 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
139. Darkest Hour – C+ (11/8, 10:00 AM, Bryant Park Screening Room; myself)
140. Call Me by Your Name – B (11/8, 8:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
141. Wonder – B (11/14, 10:00 AM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
142. IT (2017) – B+ (11/14, 7:15 PM, Union Square; myself)
143. I, Tonya – A- (11/15, 10:00 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
144. Justice League – C (11/15, 7:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
145. The Shape of Water – B+ (11/21, 6:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
146. Wonder Wheel – C- (11/27, 10:30 AM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
147. The Disaster Artist – A- (11/28, 7:00 PM, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Marissa Sblendorio)
148. Molly’s Game – B- (12/5, 2:00 PM, Magno Screening Room; myself)
149. Hostiles – C+ (12/6, 10:00 AM, Crosby Street Hotel Screening Room, New York, NY; myself)
150. The Post – B (12/6, 6:00 PM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
151. Happy End – C+ (12/7, 2:00 PM, Sony Screening Room; myself)
152. Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool – B (12/7, 5:00 PM, Sony Screening Room; myself)
153. Please Stand By – B (12/12, 10:00 AM, Dolby 88 Screening Room; myself)
154. Star Wars: The Last Jedi – A- (12/15, 3:45 PM, Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn; Rob Malone, Kaity Malone, and Erin McGill)
155. Phantom Thread – B (12/18, 6:00 PM, AMC Lincoln Square; myself)
156. Downsizing – B (12/19, 4:00 PM, Paramount Screening Room; myself)
157. All the Money in the World – B (12/20, 6:00 PM, Park Avenue Screening Room; myself)
158. Coco – B (12/27, 6:40 PM, Oxford Valley; myself while my family went to Darkest Hour)

Best Movies of 2017

December 31, 2017

jmunney Best in Film 2017, Best of 2017, Cinema , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

These movies are gooood

CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots

This ranking was originally posted on News Cult in December 2017.

There are several women-centric films on my 2017 best-of list, with multiple ladies and women appearing right there in the titles. As this has been the year of #MeToo, is this female presence a trend, or just a coincidence? My gut says the latter, as any year’s cinema is deep, wide, and collaborative, and therefore resulting from a multitude of sources. But fresh storytelling resonates with me (and with most critics, I believe), so it makes sense that those who have been previously silenced are highlighted among the best when they are finally able to tell their stories.

Great movies that didn’t quite make my list include Alien: Covenant, Blade Runner 2049, Detroit, The Florida Project, Get Out, Happy Death Day, Logan, Logan Lucky, Okja, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Victoria & Abdul, and War for the Planet of the Apes.

10. The Disaster Artist
James Franco finds his perfect passion project in revealing and gussying up the making of the best worst movie of all time. The ethos of the confused but accidentally brilliant The Room and its fandom are inherently infused in this mix of the conventional and the once-in-a-lifetime.

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Best TV Shows of 2017

December 30, 2017

jmunney Best of 2017, Best of TV 2017, Television , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT (Clockwise from Top Left): Michael Gibson/FXX; Showtime; AMC; Kelsey McNeal/ABC

This ranking was originally posted on News Cult in December 2017.

In recent past best-of-year lists, I have pointed out the impossibility of watching every single program that airs on television. The medium is now saturated to the point that not only could one average viewer be watching a completely different set of shows than another average viewer, but so could one professional critic be similarly disconnected to another critic. It naturally follows then that no best-of is any more “correct” than any other. But this has been the case all along. The value of such year-end curating is not a matter of accuracy, but of insight and personal style. Thus, I encourage readers to seek out as many best-of lists as they find edifying, from as diverse a group of critics as possible. Think of each as the best according to a particular palette. Here is my contribution to that cornucopia.

(Shows that were top 10-worthy this year that I didn’t have enough room for include Baskets, BoJack Horseman, The Carmichael Show, Legion, Rick and Morty, Riverdale, Silicon Valley, Speechless, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Young Pope, and You’re the Worst.)

10. Review (Comedy Central)
If this list were determined by density of entertainment value alone, the three-episode final season of Review would easily take the top spot. Andy Daly’s career-defining work as “life reviewer” Forrest MacNeil brought his combination of explosive hilarity and existential despair to its logical eternally continuous endpoint. Great series finales tend to be either ambiguous or definitive; Review’s is somehow both open-ended and forcefully conclusive.

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This Is a Movie Review: Coco

December 29, 2017

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

CREDIT: Disney/Pixar

Pixar managed to represent a pinnacle of cinematic creativity for so long because the majority of its films offered some form of storytelling that had never been told before, at least as much as that can be the case in a world where every possible story has already been told. At this point, it doesn’t look like Pixar is really trying to do that anymore (although Inside Out DID come out just two years ago). To be fair, it’s hard to keep that pace up indefinitely, so I don’t begrudge Coco for not being much more than an enjoyable story well-told. It has successfully wound its way into my heart, as I tend to react quite strongly to tales about our deceased loved ones remaining with us and looking over us from beyond. So when Miguel sings “Remember Me” to Coco, it’s striking and powerful. In general, I admire the attitude towards death embodied by the Day of the Dead. I don’t know how popular the traditions (like putting up photos of the deceased on the ofrenda) we see onscreen actually are in the real Mexico, but regardless of whether they are based on reality or made up for the film, they are appreciably sweet.

I give Coco 70 Blessings out of 100 Skeletons with No Conditions.

Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of January 3, 2018

December 29, 2017

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 – “Thunder”
2. Portugal. The Man – “Feel It Still”
3. Imagine Dragons – “Believer”
4. Walk the Moon – “One Foot”
5. The Revivalists – “Wish I Knew You”
6. Theory of a Deadman – “Rx (Medicate)”
7. 30 Seconds to Mars – “Walk on Water”
8. Imagine Dragons – “Whatever It Takes”
9. Alice Merton – “No Roots”
10. Foo Fighters – “The Sky is a Neighborhood”
11. Beck – “Up All Night”
12. Linkin Park – “One More Light”
13. Foster the People – “Sit Next to Me”
14. Bastille – “World Gone Mad”
15. The Decemberists – “Ben Franklin’s Song”
16. Portugal. The Man – “Live in the Moment”
17. U2 – “You’re the Best Thing About Me”
18. Vance Joy – “Lay It on Me”
19. Five Finger Death Punch – “Gone Away”
20. Fall Out Boy – “Hold Me Tight or Don’t”
21. Greta Van Fleet – “Highway Tune”
22. Gary Clark Jr. – “Come Together”
23. Royal Blood – “I Only Lie When I Love You”
24. Asking Alexandria – “Into the Fire”
25. Weezer – “Happy Hour”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. No Roots
2. Up All Night
3. Feel It Still
4. Highway Tune
5. The Sky is a Neighborhood
6. Live in the Moment
7. I Only Lie When I Love You
8. World Gone Mad
9. You’re the Best Thing About Me
10. Come Together
11. Happy Hour
12. Lay It on Me

Billboard Hot 20 – Week of January 3, 2018

December 29, 2017

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. Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé – “Perfect”
2. Post Malone ft. 21 Savage – “Rockstar”
3. Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana”
4. Lil Pump – “Gucci Gang”
5. G-Eazy ft. A$AP Rocky and Cardi B – “No Limit”
6. Imagine Dragons – “Thunder”
7. Migos, Nicki Minaj, and Cardi B – “MotorSport”
8. Sam Smith – “Too Good at Goodbyes”
9. Mariah Carey – “All I Want for Christmas is You”
10. Halsey – “Bad at Love”
11. Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran – “River”
12. Cardi B – “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)”
13. Dua Lipa – “New Rules”
14. 6ix9ine – “Gummo”
15. G-Eazy and Halsey – “Him & I”
16. Post Malone – “I Fall Apart”
17. Maroon 5 ft. SZA – “What Lovers Do”
18. NF – “Let You Down”
19. Gucci Mane ft. Migos – “I Get the Bag”
20. Portugal. The Man – “Feel It Still”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. New Rules
2. Feel It Still
3. Havana

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