I’m still ranking the best Super Bowl commercials. Click on the link!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://newscult.com/the-five-best-super-bowl-li-commercials/
Best Super Bowl 51 Commercials
February 6, 2017
Commercials, Sports, Super Bowl Commercials, Television A Cure for Wellness, Bai, Bud Light, Christopher Walken, Honda, Skittles, Spuds MacKenzie, Super Bowl 51, Super Bowl Commercials, Super Bowl LI Leave a comment
SNL Review February 4, 2017: Kristen Stewart/Alessia Cara
February 5, 2017
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Alessia Cara, Kristen Stewart, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live 4213, Saturday Night Live Season 42, SNL, SNL Season 42, Totino's Leave a comment
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “Kristen Stewart” Episode 1717 — Pictured: (l-r) Host Kristen Stewart, Vanessa Bayer during the “Totinos” sketch on January 31, 2017 — (Photo by: Rosalind O’Connor/NBC)
This review was originally posted on News Cult in February 2017.
Love It
Meet Cute – In this filmed piece, Kristen Stewart and Pete Davidson have the titular encounter at a coffee shop, and the unlikelihood of an immediate development into a relationship is examined, poked, and prodded. It is not really the case that in most cinematic meet-cutes someone fails to give out enough relevant information, but it is true that they are just too fast to truly be meaningful. So we should all relate to Pete’s struggle on a spiritual (not literal) level. Oh, and his confusion over how to spell Manhattan (it’s 2 T’s, not 2 D’s) is a marvelous detail.
When Robert Mugabe earns the big applause, as in the Oval Office Phone Calls cold open, you know you’ve got something … let’s call it “special.”
What Won TV? – January 29-February 4, 2017
February 5, 2017
Television, What Won TV? Australian Open, Baskets, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jane the Virgin, Man Seeking Woman, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Saturday Night Live, SNL Leave a comment
In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.
Sunday – How did we get an Australian Open ending like this in 2017?
Monday – Jane the Virgin
Tuesday – Marvel’s Patton Oswalt’s of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Wednesday – Woof Woof Cowabunga thanks for the great episode, Man Seeking Woman!
Thursday – Baskets
Friday – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Saturday – Saturday Night Live
This Is a Movie Review: The Space Between Us
February 3, 2017
Cinema, Movie Reviews Asa Butterfield, B.D. Wong, Britt Robertson, Carla Gugino, Gary Oldman, Peter Chesolm, The Space Between Us Leave a comment
This review was originally published on News Cult in 2017.
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, B.D. Wong
Director: Peter Chesolm
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Intense Re-Entry
Release Date: February 3, 2017
If an astronaut on her way to Mars turned out to have gotten pregnant just before departure, would your first thought be how mortified she must be of her irresponsibility? If you said yes, you might just be Gary Oldman in The Space Between Us. In the moment, that sentiment is a little disturbing and quite backwards. Eventually it becomes clear why Oldman – the man behind this Martian colonization effort – reacts this way, and it is somewhat reasonable but also still a little patronizing.
That lack of progressiveness also plagues Space’s vision of the future. Beyond the fact that travel to Mars is reasonably accessible, there is not much to distinguish this vision of Earth from the 2017 version. The only new technology appears to be the latest generation of tablets. To paraphrase Tom Servo: so… 30 years from now it’ll be 3 years from now? I guess that’s what you get when you hire the director of Hannah Montana: The Movie to try his hand at sci-fi. The Space Between Us is decidedly NOT the best of both worlds.
The dearth of futuristic imagination can partially be justified by the fact that Space mostly chooses to be a road trip film through the southwestern U.S. The deal here is that Asa Butterfield (Ender in Ender’s Game) is the Martian-born son of that pregnant astronaut, and he is visiting Earth for the first time after growing up for his first 16 years on the red planet. He is supposed to be held at NASA for observation to determine if his bones can handle the new atmosphere, but he is too in love to be contained by The Man.
So Butterfield and Britt Robertson (Hollywood’s current go-to for all-American gals) go on the run from Oldman and his team to discover the truth behind Butterfield’s origins and just to be free. There is actually a great germ of a story here about how love knows no bounds (and Butterfield plays the slightly alien fish-out-of-water quite naturally) but the implementation is rather plainly prosaic. Also, everyone is genuinely looking out for the best of our Martian child, and a major revelation that resolves every misunderstanding is held off unnaturally for the sake of driving conflict. But at least we know now how passionately Gary Oldman feels about going to Mars.
The Space Between Us is Recommended If You Like: Gary Oldman getting all worked up, Britt Robertson playing the girl next door, the Asa Butterfield Space Genre
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Space Colonies
Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of February 11, 2017
February 1, 2017
Billboard Charts, Billboard Hot Rock Songs, Music Billboard, Billboard Hot Rock Songs, Human, Rag'n'Bone Man 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.
Original Version
1. twenty one pilots – “Heathens”
2. twenty one pilots – “Ride”
3. Fitz and the Tantrums – “HandClap”
4. X Ambassadors – “Unsteady”
5. Kaleo – “Way Down We Go”
6. Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, & Imagine Dragons with Logic, Ty Dolla $ign ft. X Ambassadors – “Sucker for Pain”
7. John Mayer – “Love on the Weekend”
8. John Mayer – “Moving on and Getting Over”
9. The Lumineers – “Ophelia”
10. John Mayer – “You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me”
11. Zach Williams – “Chain Breaker”
12. John Mayer – “Changing”
13. Green Day – “Still Breathing”
14. The 1975 – “Somebody Else”
15. The Lumineers – “Cleopatra”
16. twenty one pilots – “Heavydirtysoul”
17. Judah & the Lion – “Take It All Back”
18. Rag’n’Bone Man – “Human”
19. Kings of Leon – “Waste a Moment”
20. “Not Easy”
21. Highly Suspect – “My Name is Human”
22. blink-182 – “She’s Out of Her Mind”
23. The xx – “On Hold”
24. NEEDTOBREATHE – “Testify”
25. The Revivalists – “Wish I Knew You”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Human
2. My Name Is Human
3. Way Down We Go
4. Unsteady
5. Heavydirtysoul
6. Somebody Else
7. On Hold
8. Ride
9. Ophelia
10. Heathens
11. Wish I Knew You
12. Waste a Moment
13. Cleopatra
14. Take It All Back
15. Still Breathing
16. You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me
17. HandClap
18. Moving on and Getting Over
19. She’s Out of Her Mind
20. Changing
21. Love on the Weekend
22. Not Easy
23. Sucker for Pain
24. Testify
25. Chain Breaker
Billboard Hot 20 – Week of February 11, 2017
February 1, 2017
Billboard Charts, Billboard Hot 100, Music Alessia Cara, Billboard, Billboard Hot 100, Scars to Your Beautiful 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.
Original Version
1. Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert – “Bad and Boujee”
2. Ed Sheeran – “Shape of You”
3. The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – “Closer”
4. Machine Gun Kelly x Camila Cabello – “Bad Things”
5. Zayn and Taylor Swift – “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)”
6. Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane – “Black Beatles”
7. Maroon 5 ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Don’t Wanna Know”
8. The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk – “Starboy”
9. Drake – “Fake Love”
10. Alessia Cara – “Scars to Your Beautiful”
11. Bruno Mars – “24K Magic”
12. Ariana Grande ft. Nicki Minaj – “Side to Side”
13. The Chainsmokers – “Paris”
14. Rihanna – “Love on the Brain”
15. Big Sean – “Bounce Back”
16. DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber – “Let Me Love You”
17. Aminé – “Caroline”
18. The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk – “I Feel It Coming”
19. Jon Bellion – “All Time Low”
20. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey ft. Zedd – “Starving”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Scars to Your Beautiful
2. Black Beatles
3. Starboy
4. Side to Side
5. I Feel It Coming
6. Love on the Brain
7. Closer
8. Shape of You
9. 24K Magic
10. Starving
11. Paris
12. Bad and Boujee
13. Bounce Back
14. I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)
15. All Time Low
16. Bad Things
17. Let Me Love You
18. Caroline
19. Fake Love
20. Don’t Wanna Know
This Is a Movie Review: I Am Not Your Negro
February 1, 2017
Cinema, Movie Reviews I Am Not Your Negro, James Baldwin, Raoul Peck, Samuel L. Jackson Leave a comment
This review was originally published on News Cult in 2017.
Narrator: Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Raoul Peck
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for a Little More Explicitness Than the Title
Release Date: February 3, 2017 (Limited)
Nobody wants a documentary entitled I Am Not Your Negro to still be timeless in 2017, but here we are. The film is based on Remember This House, a manuscript by Harlem Renaissance writer James Baldwin that remained unfinished at the time of his death in 1987. Samuel L. Jackson narrates Baldwin’s words, because when you want a voice to expound upon the legacy and persistence of racism in America, Sam is your man.
With its mix of archival news footage, still photography, and other various media clips (old movies to represent the American myth, game shows to represent capitalism), I Am Not Your Negro is not your typical cinematic experience. It plays more like a museum exhibit with a visual component. But please do not let the edutainment implication that description might inspire scare you away. I just want to make sure you know what you are in for. This is a vibrant, exciting experience, different though it may be.
But I do not want to discount the educational value. The film places Baldwin squarely in the context of the civil rights movement. He was an important figure right alongside Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, but he seems to be shunted off to a different historical pocket, perhaps because of his status as an artist. I fear that tendency is a grave mistake, especially in today’s climate.
Finally, dear viewers, pay particular attention to the scenes from Baldwin’s appearance on a 1968 episode of The Dick Cavett Show. Yale philosophy professor Paul Weiss shows up to challenge Baldwin’s perspective, and the resulting rhetorical scuffle is a powerful display of the importance of listening and insisting that voices be heard and ideals be put into action.
I Am Not Your Negro is Recommended If You Like: Staying Woke, the Harlem Renaissance, the Dulcet Tones of Samuel L. Jackson
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Artist-Activists
This Is a Movie Review: Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
January 30, 2017
Cinema, Movie Reviews Ever Anderson, Milla Jovovich, Paul W.S. Anderson, Resident Evil, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter Leave a comment
Every Resident Evil movie starts legitimately promising but then inevitably descends into an opaque mess. The Final Chapter is no exception. It kicks off with a prologue that establishes “this is what it’s all about, this has always been what it’s all about.” And we’re cooking! But then Alice just goes off and fights monsters. Obviously the monster battles are going to happen no matter what, but it would be nice if they were better informed by the purpose of the story. And if that cannot happen, at least don’t make things so drab, especially considering how vibrant the color palette can be in the other sequels.
I give Resident Evil: The Final Chapter 2 Acrobatics out of 5 Roadblocks.
For more of my thoughts on the Resident Evil series, click here!
This Is a Movie Review: Lion
January 29, 2017
Cinema, Movie Reviews Dev Patel, Garth Davis, Lion, Sunny Pawar Leave a comment
Why did Lion not get a full wide release right from the get-go? It’s an insanely inspiring true-life story about the triumph of the human spirit and love knowing no geographical bounds. This is the sort of story that people want to see! When you tell me, “Saroo Brierley got lost as a boy on a train in India and couldn’t find his way home, but 20 years later, after being adopted by an Australian couple, he finds his way back with the help of Google Earth,” what do I say? Just point and shoot! Well, don’t just point and shoot. Throw in some cinematic style as well, as we’ve already been inspired plenty of times. Like maybe include some flashbacks and subjective POV shots to indicate that Saroo’s family continues to walk alongside him even as they are no longer physically there. Yeah, that’ll do.
I give Lion 1 Tear for Fear, and 19 Tears for Joy.
This Is a Movie Review: Fences
January 29, 2017
Cinema, Movie Reviews Denzel Washington, Fences, Viola Davis 1 Comment
Every baseball stadium’s fence is unique. Some of them are harder to breach than others. I suppose we all put up different sorts of fences of varying difficulties in our own lives. Some of them are covered in ivy, sometimes we crash into them, sometimes we stand on top of them. If we break through them, no matter how we do it, and regardless of whether or not it is a good idea, it is usually at least somewhat painful.
Does it feel a little obtuse that this whole review is an extended baseball metaphor? Well that is pretty much the only way that garbageman/former Negro Leagues player Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) talks, and it is indeed maddening.
I give Fences 78 out of 100 … well, Fences.
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