This Is a Movie Review: Lights Out

July 24, 2016

jmunney Movie Reviews, Television 1 Comment

Lights Out

If you see Lights Out, do not be surprised if it is the most energetic movie crowd you have ever been a part of. The screams will be relentless, and the whoops will be boisterous. Generally, I do not let the crowd reaction influence my review too significantly, but the Lights Out crew is particularly instructive. This film is so in tune with the rhythm of horror reactions, and it manipulates them so thoroughly right down to the micro level. Jeers over characters making stupid decisions are immediately followed by cheers for their ingenious resourcefulness. Hardened horror vets often ask, “Why don’t characters just do [supposedly easy solution]?” Lights Out answers, “Let’s see what happens when they do. But for the record, it’s not easy, and there’s plenty more movie left to go.”

The premise – a villain that can only attack in the darkness – is a gracefully simple setup, though it does not necessarily portend innovative execution. At first glance, Lights Out looks like it is going to be a fairly straightforward genre exercise, just with above average spookiness and performances. But it ends up being filled with so many unusual, nearly confounding, decisions. It is like this from the get-go. Cinematic supernatural entities tend to reveal themselves gradually, but the presence of Diana – the darkness dweller – is immediately apparent. Arcs of characters coming to accept the presence of evil are compressed to one scene, if they are there at all.

Ultimately, Lights Out succeeds by combining the satisfaction of an understandable plot with the disturbing nature of a world in which everything feels just a little bit incomprehensible. There are several awkward line readings, and it is hard to tell how intentional they are, but regardless, the overall effect is unsettling. Furthermore, the twists are intensely surprising, but what truly sets this movie apart is what follows those twists: sudden, frankly manic shifts in emotion. In a way, this is a story of mental illness caused by ghosts instead of chemical imbalances. It only makes sense, then, that the ultimate explanation of Diana is prosaic but also supernatural, or corporeal but somehow also spectral. And so, Lights Out is a simple fright flick, but also a secret game-changer.

I give Lights Out 99 Surprises Out of 10 Smart Decisions That Seem Like Dumb Decisions.

Watch And/Or Listen to This: Eric Andre at the RNC

July 24, 2016

jmunney Television, The Eric André Show, Watch And/Or Listen to This , , , 1 Comment

“Black lives bladder.”

The Eric Andre Show returns August 5!

This Is a Movie Review: Captain Fantastic

July 20, 2016

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews Leave a comment

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Is the quest for utopia always a folly? It is hard to argue otherwise, considering the difficulty of convincing every member of a sufficiently large population to go along with the same grand unifying vision. But perhaps it can be achieved on a smaller scale, possibly with a family unit, as posited by Captain Fantastic. Viggo Mortensen plays the head of a brood living completely off the grid in the Pacific Northwest. He leads his six kids in rigorous physical and scholarly training, and for the most part they feel fulfilled.

When they must re-enter society for their mother’s funeral, their social shortcomings are brought into stark relief, but for all their eccentricities, they are more intellectually and emotionally capable than most of the people around them. They truly live up to their parents’ goal for them to be “philosopher-kings.” Eventually, compromises must be made to continue living alongside the rest of the world, and narratively speaking, they happen a little too quickly and cleanly. Captain Fantastic is a sort of utopian wish-fulfillment, but it is wish-fulfillment with conviction and a practical streak.

I give Captain Fantastic an 80% Satisfaction Rating on Noam Chomsky Day.

This Is a Movie Review: Ghostbusters (2016)

July 20, 2016

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , 2 Comments

ghostbusters2016

My overriding feeling after watching Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters is that I would have preferred a different movie with this same cast. The chemistry between the four leads is right on, and all the supporting roles are slotted just as they should be, but the whole thing feels reverse-engineered to fit into the framework of the classic it is rebooting (a tough task no matter how much talent is assembled). There are plenty of great laugh lines (either improvised or just well-timed), because Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones are so in tune with what their unique reaction to every situation should be. They could pull that trick off no matter what the kooky premise. But what they lack is deep-rooted conviction. For them, Ghostbusters does not feel like a necessity, but instead just a good idea. The former gets you a singular vision, the latter gets you a pleasant diversion.

I give Ghostbusters 6 “It’s Funny Enough to Justify Itself’s” out of 10 “It’s Unnecessary’s.”

Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of July 30, 2016

July 19, 2016

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 that top 25 based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. twenty one pilots – “Ride”
2. James Bay – “Let It Go”
3. twenty one pilots – “Heathens”
4. twenty one pilots – “Stressed Out”
5. X Ambassadors – “Unsteady”
6. Coldplay – “Hymn for the Weekend”
7. Disturbed – “The Sound of Silence”
8. Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, & Imagine Dragons with Logic, Ty Dolla $ign, & X Ambassadors – “Sucker for Pain”
9. Ben Rector – “Brand New”
10. blink-182 – “Bored to Death”
11. The Lumineers – “Ophelia”
12. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Dark Necessities”
13. Fitz and the Tantrums – “HandClap”
14. The Strumbellas – “Spirits”
15. Kaleo – “Way Down We Go”
16. Bishop Briggs – “River”
17. The 1975 – “The Sound”
18. Bastille – “Good Grief”
19. The 1975 – “Somebody Else”
20. Cage the Elephant – “Trouble”
21. Panic! at the Disco – “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time”
22. Goo Goo Dolls – “So Alive”
23. Beck – “Wow”
24. Skillet – “Feel Invincible”
25. Brand New – “I Am a Nightmare”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. River
2. Way Down We Go
3. Wow
4. The Sound
5. Unsteady
6. Somebody Else
7. Dark Necessities
8. Ride
9. Trouble
10. Ophelia
11. Good Grief
12. Stressed Out
13. Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time
14. Heathens
15. Feel Invincible
16. I Am a Nightmare
17. Sucker for Pain
18. So Alive
19. The Sound of Silence
20. Hymn for the Weekend
21. Spirits
22. HandClap
23. Let It Go
24. Brand New
25. Bored to Death

Billboard Hot 20 – Week of July 30, 2016

July 19, 2016

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.

Original Version
1. Drake ft. WizKid and Kyla – “One Dance”
2. Justin Timberlake – “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
3. Sia ft. Sean Paul – “Cheap Thrills”
4. Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – “This Is What You Came For”
5. The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – “Don’t Let Me Down”
6. twenty one pilots – “Ride”
7. Rihanna – “Needed Me”
8. Desiigner – “Panda”
9. Kent Jones – “Don’t Mind”
10. Adele – “Send My Love (to Your New Lover)”
11. P!nk – “Just Like Fire”
12. Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Work From Home”
13. Mike Posner – “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”
14. Florida Georgia Line – “H.O.L.Y.”
15. Meghan Trainor – “Me Too”
16. Drake – “Controlla”
17. DJ Khaled ft. Drake – “For Free”
18. James Bay – “Let It Go”
19. Drake ft. Rihanna – “Too Good”
20. Shawn Mendes – “Treat You Better”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Cheap Thrills
2. Work From Home
3. I Took a Pill in Ibiza
4. Needed Me
5. Ride
6. Send My Love (to Your New Lover)
7. One Dance
8. Too Good
9. Don’t Let Me Down
10. Me Too
11. Can’t Stop the Feeling!
12. Panda
13. Let It Go
14. This Is What You Came For
15. For Free
16. Controlla
17. Treat You Better
18. Just Like Fire
19. Don’t Mind
20. H.O.L.Y.

HarmonQuest Season 1 Review

July 18, 2016

jmunney HarmonQuest, Television , Leave a comment

My review of HarmonQuest Season 1, over on BubbleBlabber: (Check it out!) http://www.bubbleblabber.com/season-review-harmonquest-season-one/

What Won TV? – July 10-July 16, 2016

July 17, 2016

jmunney Television, What Won TV? , , , , , , , , , , 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.

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Sunday – The Night Of (but Honorable Mention to some crazy game show answers from Snoop Dogg)
Monday – UnREAL
Tuesday – Difficult People [7/26/16 EDIT: I initially picked Not Safe with Nikki Glaser because streaming schedules make me a little crazy.]
Wednesday – Mr. Robot [7/18/16 EDIT: I initially picked Another Period because I forgot that Mr. Robot had aired.]
Thursday – Jeopardy!
Friday – Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, in which we learned an important lesson about trumpets
Saturday – I caught a bit of Round 3 of The Open Championship

Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of July 23, 2016

July 12, 2016

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 that top 25 based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. twenty one pilots – “Ride”
2. James Bay – “Let It Go”
3. twenty one pilots – “Stressed Out”
4. twenty one pilots – “Heathens”
5. X Ambassadors – “Unsteady”
6. Coldplay – “Hymn for the Weekend”
7. Disturbed – “The Sound of Silence”
8. Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, & Imagine Dragons with Logic, Ty Dolla $ign, & X Ambassadors – “Sucker for Pain”
9. blink-182 – “Bored to Death”
10. Ben Rector – “Brand New”
11. The Lumineers – “Ophelia”
12. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Dark Necessities”
13. Fitz and the Tantrums – “HandClap”
14. The Strumbellas – “Spirits”
15. Kaleo – “Way Down We Go”
16. Empire of the Sun – “Walking on a Dream”
17. Bishop Briggs – “River”
18. blink-182 – “She’s Out of Her Mind”
19. Bastille – “Good Grief”
20. blink-182 – “Cynical”
21. Goo Goo Dolls – “So Alive”
22. Weezer – “I Love the USA”
23. blink-182 – “No Future”
24. The 1975 – “The Sound”
25. blink-182 – “Sober”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Walking on a Dream
2. River
3. Way Down We Go
4. The Sound
5. Unsteady
6. Ride
7. Ophelia
8. Dark Necessities
9. Good Grief
10. Stressed Out
11. Heathens
12. I Love the USA
13. Sucker for Pain
14. So Alive
15. The Sound of Silence
16. Hymn for the Weekend
17. Spirits
18. Cynical
19. HandClap
20. She’s Out of Her Mind
21. Let It Go
22. No Future
23. Sober
24. Brand New
25. Bored to Death

Billboard Hot 20 – Week of July 23, 2016

July 12, 2016

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.

Original Version
1. Drake ft. WizKid and Kyla – “One Dance”
2. Justin Timberlake – “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
3. The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – “Don’t Let Me Down”
4. Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – “This Is What You Came For”
5. Sia ft. Sean Paul – “Cheap Thrills”
6. Desiigner – “Panda”
7. Rihanna – “Needed Me”
8. twenty one pilots – “Ride”
9. Kent Jones – “Don’t Mind”
10. Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Work From Home”
11. P!nk – “Just Like Fire”
12. Adele – “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)”
13. Mike Posner – “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”
14. Florida Georgia Line – “H.O.L.Y.”
15. Meghan Trainor – “Me Too”
16. James Bay – “Let It Go”
17. Lukas Graham – “7 Years”
18. Drake – “Controlla”
19. Rihanna ft. Drake – “Work”
20. DJ Khaled ft. Drake – “For Free”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Cheap Thrills
2. Work From Home
3. Work
4. I Took a Pill in Ibiza
5. Needed Me
6. Ride
7. Send My Love (to Your New Lover)
8. One Dance
9. Me Too
10. Can’t Stop the Feeling!
11. Don’t Let Me Down
12. Panda
13. Let It Go
14. For Free
15. Controlla
16. This Is What You Came For
17. Just Like Fire
18. 7 Years
19. Don’t Mind
20. H.O.L.Y.

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