Watch And/Or Listen to This: The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face”

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Abel Tesfaye’s finally breaking out. (I might re-post this one if a video is released.)

What Won TV? – July 5-July 11, 2015

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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.

Draxx_Them_Sklounst

Sunday – Women’s World Cup Final
Monday – Whose Line is it Anyway?
Tuesday – Smile, Inside Amy Schumer.
Wednesday – Draxx them sklounst*, Mr. Robot. (*-Key & Peele reference)
Thursday – Hannibal
Friday – The Spoils Before Dying – the final episode
Saturday – 7 Days in Hell

VH1’s The 20 – 7/11/15

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Each week, I check out VH1′s The 20 (formerly Top 20 countdown), and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
2. David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha, & Afrojack – “Hey Mama”
3. Andy Grammer – “Honey, I’m Good”
4. Tove Lo – “Talking Body”
5. Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – “Worth It”
6. Sia – “Elastic Heart”
7. Jason Derulo – “Want to Want Me”
8. Maroon 5 – “This Summer’s Gonna Hurt Like a Mother******”
9. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
10. OMI – “Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)”
11. Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
12. Ed Sheeran – “Photograph”
13. Rachel Platten – “Fight Song”
14. Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MØ – “Lean On”
15. Selena Gomez – “Good for You”
16. Adam Lambert – “Ghost Town”
17. Nicki Minaj – “The Night Is Still Young”
18. Tori Kelly – “Should’ve Been Us”
19. Elle King – “Ex’s & Oh’s”
20. Echosmith – “Bright”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Lean On
2. Elastic Heart
3. Talking Body
4. Ex’s & Oh’s
5. See You Again
6. Bad Blood
7. Good for You
8. Hey Mama
9. Should’ve Been Us
10. Want to Want Me
11. The Night Is Still Young
12. Shut Up and Dance
13. Worth It
14. This Summer’s Gonna Hurt Like a Mother******
15. Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)
16. Fight Song
17. Ghost Town
18. Photograph
19. Bright
20. Honey, I’m Good.

Watch And/Or Listen to This: Smells Like Teen Shovel Coub

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This one needs no explanation:

What Won TV? – June 28-July 4, 2015

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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.

nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-2015

Sunday – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Monday – Jeopardy!
Tuesday – Another Period. And how!
Wednesday – Mr. Robot
Thursday – What would we do without Hannibal?
Friday – Jeopardy!
Saturday – Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest – Erik Denmark finished fourth!

VH1’s The 20 – 7/4/15

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Each week, I check out VH1′s The 20 (formerly Top 20 countdown), and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
2. Tove Lo – “Talking Body”
3. Jason Derulo – “Want to Want Me”
4. Andy Grammer – “Honey, I’m Good”
5. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
6. Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – “Worth It”
7. Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
8. David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha, & Afrojack – “Hey Mama”
9. Sia – “Elastic Heart”
10. Maroon 5 – “This Summer’s Gonna Hurt Like a Mother******”
11. Echosmith – “Bright”
12. Ed Sheeran – “Photograph”
13. Rachel Platten – “Fight Song”
14. Adam Lambert – “Ghost Town”
15. OMI – “Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)”
16. Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MØ – “Lean On”
17. Nicki Minaj – “The Night Is Still Young”
18. George Ezra – “Budapest”
19. Calvin Harris ft. Haim – “Pray to God”
20. Shaggy ft. Mohombi, Faydee, Costi – “I Need Your Love”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Lean On
2. Elastic Heart
3. Talking Body
4. Pray to God
5. See You Again
6. Bad Blood
7. Hey Mama
8. Want to Want Me
9. The Night Is Still Young
10. Shut Up and Dance
11. Budapest
12. This Summer’s Gonna Hurt Like a Mother******
13. Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)
14. Worth It
15. Fight Song
16. Ghost Town
17. Photograph
18. I Need Your Love
19. Bright
20. Honey, I’m Good

This Is a Movie Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

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me-earl-dying-girl-popsicle

Greg Gaines (the titular “me”) is reminiscent of Community‘s Jeff Winger. In the beginning of his story, he puts a great deal of effort into proving that he does not care, only for his ending to underscore the lengths to which he does care.

Greg defines himself by how detached he is from the high school clique system. He affects a dispassionate disposition, but he puts so much effort into being on amicable terms with every group. He goes so far as to devise a taxonomy that is thorough enough to include “Boring Jewish Senior Girls, Subgroup 2A.”

Every other major character is presented through Greg’s limited perspective, and accordingly they register as if they are all in their own distinct movies. Nick Offerman and Connie Britton play slightly against type/slightly extending from their types as Greg’s parents, making for a pretentious art flick and a slightly overbearing dramedy. Molly Shannon is right in her wheelhouse in the overbearing comedy portion as the mother of the girl with cancer. Jon Bernthal is Greg’s history teacher in the slightly dangerous bildungsroman. And Katherine C. Hughes, as Madison, the hot girl who means well but makes Greg feel terrible by virtue of being a hot girl, prompts the animated fantasy sequences.

Fuller portraits of Earl and Rachel (the titular girl) manage to shine through, thanks to their significant screen time. Greg refers to Earl, his filmmaking partner, as his “co-worker,” but Earl is quick to point out that they are in fact friends. There is a bit of a magical Negro vibe at play, which could have been unfortunate save for RJ Cyler making Earl so strong-willed and the narrative presenting plenty of personal background.

Rachel could have very well been the embodiment of cancer-related epiphanies or just one half of a typical teenage weepie romance. Indeed, Greg often suggests that the story seems to be going in that direction, only to immediately rebuke that idea. Instead, Olivia Cooke keeps Rachel appropriately grounded, as she comes across as just a person dealing with her illness on her own terms. As far as Greg and Rachel’s relationship goes, they develop a true friendship as a result of spending a lot of time with each other. Potential interpretations of the exact nature of their friendship are left wide open.

Madison represents an intriguingly unique story tack. She emerges as another love interest for Greg, which – for a character with only a handful of scenes in a movie with a more expected potential romance – is disconcerting, but also resonant. Greg assumes that Madison’s attention towards him is just pity, but there are enough subtle tells to suggest that her interest is genuine. What emerges is a film accomplished in its thorough commitment to taking on the subjective perspective of a protagonist so insecure that he cannot imagine that anyone would actually think highly of him. As Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is stuck in Greg’s head for so long, it is cathartic when he is finally able to get out of it.

A few words must also be devoted to Greg and Earl’s parody films (with dumbly brilliant pun titles like “Eyes Wide Butt,” “My Dinner with Andre the Giant,” and “Pittsburghasqatsi”). Because Greg is so unassuming regarding their quality, they come off as more charming than annoying. And based on what footage is actually shown, there appears to be decent composition and editing. It helps that Earl’s committed performances consistently shine through. Much of the story is leading up to the premiere of the film that the duo are making for Rachel, which could have ended up as so many clichés, but instead emerges as an idiosyncratic vision (regardless of quality level) and hardly what anyone could have possibly expected.

Watch And/Or Listen to This: The War on Drugs’ “Red Eyes”

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This is one of those songs that just goes on and on, and you just don’t want it stop, but to keep going on and on. Also, there’s a kid in the music video who looks like Putin.

What Won TV? – June 21-June 27, 2015

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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.

Rami Robot

Sunday – Thank you, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
Monday – Thank you, Jeopardy!
Tuesday – Thank you, Inside Amy Schumer.
Wednesday – Thank you, Mr. Robot.
Thursday – Thank you, Hannibal.
Friday – Thank you, Vice.
Saturday – Thank you, VH1’s The 20.

VH1’s The 20 – 6/27/15

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Each week, I check out VH1′s The 20 (formerly Top 20 countdown), and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Jason Derulo – “Want to Want Me”
2. Tove Lo – “Talking Body”
3. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
4. Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
5. Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
6. Andy Grammer – “Honey, I’m Good.”
7. Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – “Worth It”
8. Sia – “Elastic Heart”
9. David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha, & Afrojack – “Hey Mama”
10. Echosmith – “Bright”
11. George Ezra – “Budapest”
12. Nick Jonas – “Chains”
13. Maroon 5 – “This Summer’s Gonna Hurt Like a Mother******”
14. Shaggy ft. Mohombi, Faydee, Costi – “I Need Your Love”
15. Carly Rae Jepsen – “I Really Like You”
16. Adam Lambert – “Ghost Town”
17. Ed Sheeran – “Photograph”
18. Rachel Platten – “Fight Song”
19. Britney Spears & Iggy Azalea – “Pretty Girls”
20. Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MØ – “Lean On”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Lean On
2. Elastic Heart
3. I Really Like You
4. Talking Body
5. See You Again
6. Bad Blood
7. Hey Mama
8. Want to Want Me
9. Chains
10. Pretty Girls
11. Shut Up and Dance
12. Budapest
13. This Summer’s Gonna Hurt Like a Mother******
14. Fight Song
15. Ghost Town
16. Worth It
17. Photograph
18. I Need Your Love
19. Bright
20. Honey, I’m Good.

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