January 30, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Bashir Salahuddin, Dagmara Domińczyk, Gideon Adlon, Jade Hadley Bartlett, Jenna Ortega, Martin Freeman, Miller's Girl
CREDIT: Lionsgate/Screenshot
Starring: Jenna Ortega, Martin Freeman, Gideon Adlon, Bashir Salahuddin, Dagmara Domińczyk
Director: Jade Hadley Bartlett
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: January 26, 2024 (Theaters)
Miller’s Girl is the sort of tawdry movie that probably makes a lot of viewers go, “Why is this coming out in 2024? And why did we ever think this type of premise was okay?” When I ask myself that question and wonder why this sort of thing didn’t bother me in the 90s and early 2000s, I realize: it was because I didn’t watch that stuff back then!
Here’s the deal: Jenna Ortega plays a precocious high school student who gets a little too explicit for her teacher Martin Freeman to handle while working on an assignment that riffs on Henry Miller. Meanwhile, her friend Gideon Adlon flirts with another teacher (Bashir Salahuddin), just for the hell of it, I suppose? Anyway, it’s all mostly rather tame and forgettable (with the exception of some bluntly flowery voiceover).
When I first read the premise, I glossed over the “creative writing” part of “A creative writing assignment,” and I somehow got it in my head that the assignment in question had to do with espionage. I would have much rather lived in that reality.
Grade: It’s Not Miller Time
January 29, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Adam Driver, Alan Tudyk, Alec Newman, All of Us Strangers, Amber Heard, Andrew Haigh, Andrew Scott, Angelique Cabral, Aquaman, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Ariana DeBose, ason Momoa, Bruce Herbelin-Earle, Calah Lane, Callum Turner, Charlotte Ritchie, Chris Buck, Chris Diamantopoulos, Chris Pine, Claire Foy, Courtney Henggeler, DCEU, Della Saba, Dolph Lundgren, Ellie White, Evan Peters, Fawn Veerasunthorn, Ferrari, Freya Parker, Gabriel Leone, George Clooney, Giuseppe Festinese, Hadley Robinson, Harris Dickinson, Harvey Guillén, Holt McCallany, Hugh Grant, Isy Suttie, Jack Mulhern, Jack O'Connell, James Wan, James Wolk, Jamie Bell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Jeremy Allen White, Jim Carter, Joel Edgerton, Jon Rudnitsky, Keegan-Michael Key, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Lily James, Luke Slattery, Martin Short, Mathew Baynton, Matt Lucas, Maura Tierney, Michael Mann, Murray McArthur, Natasha Rothwell, Nicole Kidman, Niko Vargas, Olivia Colman, Paterson Joseph, Patrick Dempsey, Patrick Wilson, Paul King, Paul Mescal, Penélope Cruz, Peter Guinness, Phil Wang, Rakhee Thakrar, Ramy Youssef, Randall Park, Rich Fulcher, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawins, Sam Strike, Sarah Gadon, Sean Durkin, Shailene Woodley, Simon Farnaby, Sophie Winkleman, Stanley Simons, Temuera Morrison, The Boys in the Boat, The Iron Claw, Thomas Elms, Tim FitzHigham, Timothée Chalamet, Tom Davis, Tom Varey, Tracy Ifeachor, Victor Garber, Will Coban, Wish, Wonka, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Zac Efron
CREDIT: NEON
Heading into the Christmas break, it seemed like I had a lot more new movies to catch up on than usual. Or maybe it was actually a normal amount, and I was just cataloging my filmgoing plans a little more closely than I typically do. Either way, it took me about a month, but I’ve finally checked off everything that was on my to-watch list. So let’s run down some quick thoughts on all of them!
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January 28, 2024
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Dakota Johnson, Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 49, SNL, SNL Season 49
Dakota just hosted SNL with Justin Timberlake? (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)
Jeff “jmunney” Malone watches every new episode of Saturday Night Live and then reviews all the sketches and segments according to a “wacky” theme.
Hello, I am reporting for duty to review the tenth episode of the forty-ninth season of Saturday Night Live. For the guest lineup, we’ve got some returning friends, with Dakota Johnson hosting and Justin Timberlake as the musical guest. Since this is a reunion of sorts of The Social Network, I will take inspiration from that movie and review each sketch by paraphrasing a certain beloved line from that flick and ask, “You know what’s cool?”
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January 26, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Clone High, Feud, Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, Future Islands, Miller's Girl, People Who Aren't There Anymore, Three Bells, Ty Segall
This looks pretty cold-blooded (CREDIT: FX/Screenshot)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Miller’s Girl (Theaters) – I’m not even entirely sure what this is, but Jenna Ortega’s in it.
TV
–Feud: Capote vs. the Swans Premiere (January 31 on FX)
–Clone High Season Premiere (February 1 on Max)
Music
-Future Islands, People Who Aren’t There Anymore
-Ty Segall, Three Bells
January 25, 2024
jmunney
Best of 2023, Podcasts
A Lucky Life, Best of 2023, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, Doughboys, Drifting Off with Joe Pera, Podcasts, Scott Hasn't Seen, Strike Force Five, That's Auntertainment, U Spring' Springsteen on My Bean?
Whenever I’m doing something that doesn’t require my full attention, chances are I’m also pushing play on a podcast. I’m a loyal listener to a couple dozen or so podcasts every year, so I like to put together some annual thoughts on the shows that left a big impression on me.
This isn’t a ranking of the best podcasts of the year (which would be woefully inadequate in such a massive medium anyway), but rather, just a collection of musings that I feel like broadcasting out to the world. This isn’t an exhaustive cataloging of every podcast I listened to in 2023, but it is a pretty good snapshot of my Podcast Personality.
So read on, let me know what you’re listening to as well, and maybe we can podcast together sometime, too!
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January 23, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Adam Weppler, Amy Hargreaves, Andrew Stewart Jones, Arun Storrs, Callie Beaulieu, Catherine Curtin, Devin Druid, Dylan Slade, Emilia McCarthy, Erik Bloomquist, Founders Day, Jayce Bartok, Kate Edmonds, Naomi Grace, Olivia Nikkanen, Patrick Zeller, Shravan Amin, Tyler James White, William Russ
Founders, Keepers (CREDIT: Mainframe Pictures/Screenshot)
Starring: Naomi Grace, Devin Druid, William Russ, Amy Hargreaves, Catherine Curtin, Emilia McCarthy, Olivia Nikkanen, Jayce Bartok, Andrew Stewart Jones, Tyler James White, Erik Bloomquist, Adam Weppler, Kate Edmonds, Dylan Slade, Arun Storrs, Patrick Zeller, Shravan Amin, Callie Beaulieu
Director: Erik Bloomquist
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: January 19, 2024 (Theaters)
Founders Day is an indie slasher about a series of masked murderer killings in a small town centered around a particular occasion (specifically, a mayoral election). To paraphrase 90s David Spade, I liked it better the first time I saw it… when it was called Thanksgiving.
But hey, it’s nice to see William “Alan Matthews” Russ getting some work and showing the kids how it’s done. As for the matter of whether or not I would like my hometown or my current city to celebrate their own versions of Founders Day: alas, I can’t say I’m convinced.
Grade: 10 Elections out of 23 ½ Subterfuges
January 21, 2024
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Jacob Elordi, Megan Thee Stallion, Rachel McAdams, Reneé Rapp, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 49, SNL, SNL Season 49
Oh by the way, which one’s Mother? (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)
Jeff “jmunney” Malone watches every new episode of Saturday Night Live and then reviews all the sketches and segments according to a “wacky” theme.
Fact: the first SNL host of 2024 is Jacob Elordi. I’ve seen him in Saltburn and Priscilla.
Fact: the first SNL musical guest of 2024 is Reneé Rapp. Here’s the rap on her: I’ve enjoyed her in The Sex Lives of College Girls and Mean Girls (2024).
Since the week leading up to this episode has been one of the coldest this winter in my neighborhood, I’ve decided to review each sketch by using the words “cold,” “cool,” “hot,” “warm,” or some derivation thereof.
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January 19, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Chad, Founders Day, Green Day, I.S.S., Little Ropes, Origina, Saviors, Sleater-Kinney
Welcome back, Chad. (CREDIT: The Roku Channel)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Founders Day (Theaters)
–I.S.S. (Theaters)
–Origin (Theaters)
TV
–Chad Season 2 (January 19 on The Roku Channel) – Chad’s back. On a new home!
Music
-Green Day, Saviors
-Sleater-Kinney, Little Ropes
January 19, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alfre Woodard, Anna Diop, Babs Olusanmokun, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brian Bovell, Caleb McLaughlin, Chase Dillon, Chidi Ajufo, David Oyelowo, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, james mcavoy, Jeymes Samuel, Lakeith Stanfield, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michael Ward, Nicholas Pinnock, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, Teyana Taylor, The Book of Clarence, Tom Glynn-Carney, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
Book ’em, Clarence (CREDIT: Moris Puccio/Legendary Entertainment/TriStar Pictures)
Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, Anna Diop, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Michael Ward, Alfre Woodard, Brian Bovell, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Nicholas Pinnock, James McAvoy, Chase Dillon, Babs Olusanmokun, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chidi Ajufo, Tom Glynn-Carney, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
Director: Jeymes Samuel
Running Time: 129 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: January 12, 2024 (Theaters)
Should The Book of Clarence become a new Easter viewing tradition? In the name of the Father, it might deserve it. So why did it come out in January? I suppose it has something to do with the fact that it’s a weird cinematic beast that TriStar didn’t really know how to promote. To be fair, though, I’m not sure any other studio would’ve known what to do with it. A funkified, unapologetically Black biblical fan fiction doesn’t exactly have a built-in audience. But I’m certainly glad it made its way to the big screen. It’s a vision, it took me on a journey, and it both challenged and restored my faith.
Grade: 3 Resurrections out of 4 Crucifixions
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