Jeff "Jmunney" Malone's Self-Styled "Expert" Thoughts on Movies, TV, Music, and the Rest of Pop Culture
November 6, 2022
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Amy Schumer, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 48, SNL, SNL Season 48, Steve Lacy 2 Comments
CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot
For my review of last week’s SNL, I simply transcribed the notes I took while watching the episode. And I liked that method so much that I’m doing it again for this episode! What do you think, Host Amy Schumer and Musical Guest Steve Lacy?
November 6, 2022
Podcasts, That's Auntertainment Chucky, Documentary Now!, Halloween, IFC, Podcasts, Prey for the Devil, Sherman's Showcase, That's Auntertainment, What's Jeff Watching? Leave a comment
Dr. Laughter (CREDIT: Screenshot)
Jeff recaps his Halloween-centric viewing and has a thing or to say about IFC’s Wednesday night lineup.
Also: what’s really the scariest month of the year?
November 4, 2022
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Sports, Television Alpha Zulu, Caleb Landry Jones, Falling for Christmas, Gadzooks Vol. 2, New York City Marathon, Phoenix, Something in the Dirt, The Good Fight, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Young Rock, Zootopia Leave a comment
Merry Lindsay! (CREDIT: Scott Everett White/Netflix © 2022)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Something in the Dirt (Theaters)
–Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (November 4 on The Roku Channel)
–Falling for Christmas (November 10 on Netflix) – Merry Christmas from Lindsay Lohan.
TV
–Young Rock Season 3 Finale (November 4 on NBC)
–Zootopia+ (November 9 on Disney+) – Shorts set in the Zootopia universe.
–The Good Fight Series Finale (November 10 on Paramount+)
Music
-Caleb Landry Jones, Gadzooks Vol. 2
-Phoenix, Alpha Zulu
Sports
-New York City Marathon (November 6 on ESPN2 and ABC7 locally) – I ran it last year, but not this year, though my sister’s running again.
November 3, 2022
Cinema, Movie Reviews Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Something in the Dirt 1 Comment
That’s some dirt! (CREDIT: XYZ FILMS/Screenshot)
Starring: Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson
Director: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
Running Time: 116 Minutes
Rating: R for Philosophical Babble Occasionally Laced with Profanity
Release Date: November 4, 2022 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: If you asked me, “Hey, Mr. Movie Critic, who are your favorite indie filmmakers working today?”, then I would answer without hesitation “Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead!” (The exclamation point is there because I would be really excited to answer that question.)
That theoretical conversation is not what Something in the Dirt is about, but it is the perfect way to introduce it, since it’s the latest effort from the Benson-Moorhead directing duo. While they were locked down during COVID-19’s early days, they couldn’t help but make a new movie. Justin plays Levi, while Aaron assumes the role of John, two guys who live in the same apartment complex and notice some strange goings-on that seem to defy the laws of space and time. So they decide to make a documentary about it, all the while musing about gravity, electromagnetism, simulation theory, unexplainable phenomena, encounters with coyotes, and Dan Brown. But can their friendship survive their obsessions?!
What Made an Impression?: I found Something in the Dirt to be the most impenetrable of Benson and Moorhead’s films, even though it’s almost entirely just two guys talking to each other. But they drifted so far away from brass tacks that I was often left wondering, “Wait, did something happen that I missed while I was with you guys the whole time?” In some ways, that’s kind of thrilling, as they weave together a montage of simple images that appear to come from stock footage and readily accessible Internet sources and manage to make it feel like the entire fate of the universe is at stake. At other times, it just feels like frustrating smoke break-filled quasi-philosophical musings. (Although maybe that’s the point?)
As Levi and John’s efforts drag on into oblivion, there’s a bubbling antagonism, which isn’t much fun to be around. Luckily, that’s occasionally broken up by talking head interviews with the crew of their documentary-within-a-film. That sort of reality imposition trope pretty much always works for me, and that’s the case here.
I watched Something in the Dirt at home via an online screener, and I think it may have suffered a bit that way, because this is the sort of movie that begs to be fully immersed in. Although, I also suspect that home viewing has its advantages, what with modern technology allowing for pausing, rewinding, and copious note-taking. Still, this kind of feels like a doodle, but like a really detailed doodle that incorrigible artists can draw on command.
Something in the Dirt is Recommended If You Like: Conspiracy theory videos, Staying up all night to talk about conspiracy theory videos
Grade: 3 out of 5 Gravity Shifts
November 2, 2022
Cinema, Movie Reviews documentary, Good Night Oppy, Mars, NASA, Opportunity Rover, Ryan White, Spirit Rover Leave a comment
Oh, what a night! (CREDIT: Prime Video)
Starring: The Spirit and Opportunity Rovers
Director: Ryan White
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Rating: PG for The End of a Technological Life Cycle
Release Date: November 4, 2022 (Theaters)/November 23, 2022 (Amazon Prime Video)
What’s It About?: It’s the early 21st century, so you know what that means: it’s time to explore Mars! Twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity lifted off from Earth in the summer of 2003, with both arriving on the red planet in January 2004. The latter, known affectionately as “Oppy,” was the second arrival, but he’s the star of the show here. Obviously the best view of this journey would have been hitching a ride with Oppy, but he wasn’t taking any passengers. So the next best option would have been keeping an eye on the action at NASA’s mission control. But the time has passed for that, of course, so for those of us who aren’t aerospace engineers, we can get caught up with all the action via a documentary on the big screen. And that’s what brings us to Good Night Oppy.
What Made an Impression?: If you’re a fan of space travel and unlocking the secrets of the universe, you’ll find plenty to geek out over in Good Night Oppy. Or if you’re a youngster, maybe this will be the formative moment to unlock a lifelong passion. But for those of us with a more passing interest, there isn’t a ton here in the way of shocking revelations. The possibility of life on Mars is a story that occasionally makes its way to the nightly news, after all. But this is still a winning experience, thanks to the unbridled enthusiasm of everyone on NASA’s rover teams. Vicariously soaking up their excitement is the major appeal here.
Good Night Oppy is Recommended If You Are: A NASA Employee or an Aspiring NASA Employee
Grade: 3 out of 5 Rovers
November 1, 2022
Cinema, Movie Reviews Ben Cross, Christian Navarro, Colin Salmon, Daniel Stamm, Jacqueline Byers, Posy Taylor, Prey for the Devil, Virginia Madsen Leave a comment
Could it be … Satan?! (CREDIT: Vlad Cioplea/Lionsgate)
Starring: Jacqueline Byers, Colin Salmon, Posy Taylor, Christian Navarro, Virginia Madsen, Ben Cross
Director: Daniel Stamm
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: October 28, 2022
I didn’t have anything concrete planned for this Halloween, so why not see a new scary movie? The latest exorcism fare had just arrived in the form of Prey for the Devil, and I hadn’t caught an advance screening. Sure, it looked fairly straightforward, but I have an appetite for by-the-book scares. It was either that or the 3D re-release of the original Dawn of the Dead. But I didn’t want to pay the surcharge, and I figured I could catch the zombies anytime. Alas, when I got back home, I was bamboozled to discover that the DVD is out of print and it’s not streaming anywhere, not even for a rental fee. So I guess it’s still possible to scare me on Halloween after all!
Anyway, Prey for the Devil was pretty much what I expected.
Grade: I’ll Pray for the Souls of Those Who Made Prey for the Devil, But Just a Normal Amount
October 31, 2022
Cinema, Movie Reviews Al Yankovic, Alfred Matthew Yankovic, Daniel Radcliffe, Eric Appel, Evan Rachel Wood, Jack Lancaster, Julianne Nicholson, Rainn Wilson, Spencer Treat Clark, Toby Huss, Tommy O'Brien, Weird, Weird Al, Weird Al Yankovic, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story 2 Comments
Weerd. (CREDIT: The Roku Channel)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Evan Rachel Wood, Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson, Rainn Wilson, Spencer Treat Clark, Tommy O’Brien, Jack Lancaster
Director: Eric Appel
Running Time: 108 Minutes
Rating: Unrated (It’s a little over-the-top, but fun for all ages)
Release Date: November 4, 2022 (The Roku Channel)
What’s It About?: Did you see that fake trailer for a Weird Al biopic when it dropped on Funny or Die back in 2010? Now it’s fake no more! Well, the movie is real, but the trailer is still kind of fake, insofar as it was produced separately from the actual movie and most of the cast is different. Also, much of the biographical aspect of the whole endeavor is purposefully fake, befitting its subject.
Yes, I’m talking about Lynwood’s Alfred Matthew Yankovic, master musical parodist nonpareil! He’s played this time around by none other than Daniel Radcliffe, who doesn’t exactly resemble Al much beyond skin tone (and perhaps comedic sensibility). In case you haven’t figured it out by now, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story isn’t exactly sticking to the facts in the strictest sense of the term. We’ve already been blessed both with musical biopic parodies and with Weird Al sensing his cinematic muscles, so can this latest venture possibly meet those high standards?
What Made an Impression?: I am a Weird Al devotee. Whenever I encounter anything he’s ever done, I’m comforted by a sense of everything feeling right in the world. That’s all to say: Weird was kind of burdened by unfairly high expectations. How I can go on living if this movie weren’t non-stop hilarity?!
But within just a few minutes of the projector rolling, something magical happened: I laughed. And then I laughed some more. This was no mere forced tittering, my friends, but instead the most natural reaction in the world. Pulling this off couldn’t have been easy. We Weird Al fans are by definition uber-savvy about pop culture, so we can spot every predictable plot twist and turn from a mile away. And while occasionally Weird can’t help but be straightforward, there are enough times that had me going, “Whoa, where the heck did that come from?”
One of those bizarre decisions is a propensity towards a multiplicity of shots of characters watching major developments happen on small TVs. That was certainly a directorial CHOICE from Eric Appel, and I’m not sure why he did it, but it definitely stuck with me.
Besides its slippery relationship with reality, Weird‘s other major attraction is its whirlwind of celebrity cameos. You could certainly look them up ahead of time on a thoroughly maintained online database, but I’ll keep it a secret on my little corner of the Internet. Instead, I’ll describe my reactions to seeing these cameos arrive: “Oh wow.” “This is just too much.” “Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa.” “I hope this never ends.” “There she is!” “How are we so blessed?” “Gah!” “Oh, man.” “!!!” “!!!!!” “!!!!!!!”
And for the record, yes, I did eat a cup of Rocky Road afterwards.
Weird is Recommended If You Like: UHF, Walk Hard, Bologna
Grade: 4 out of 5 Accordions
October 30, 2022
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Jack Harlow, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 48, SNL, SNL Season 48 2 Comments
Har-low! (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)
Good morning*, dear readers! (*Or afternoon/evening/midnight/apocalypse depending on when you’re reading this.) For my review of the episode of Saturday Night Live with host and musical guest Jack Harlow that originally began airing on October 29, 2022 (but seeped into the early morning hours of October 30), I will simply transcribe the notes I wrote in my “Greendale Community College E Pluribus Anus” notebook while watching.
October 30, 2022
Podcasts, That's Auntertainment Bloodline, Podcasts, That's Auntertainment Leave a comment
A Member of the Rayburn Family
Watch out when you step out into the Florida sun: it (Ray)burns! Jeff knows this now, as Aunt Beth decided that it was time for him to watch Bloodline.
October 29, 2022
Jeopardy!, Television 2022 Tournament of Champions, Amy Schneider, Andrew He, Brian Chang, Christine Whelcheel, Courtney Shah, Eric Ahasic, Jackie Kelly, Jaskaran Singh, Jeopardy!, Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, Jessica Stephens, John Focht, Jonathan Fisher, Margaret Shelton, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach, Maureen O'Neil, Megan Wachspress, Rowan Ward, Ryan Long, Sam Buttrey, ToC, Tyler Rhode, Zach Newkirk Leave a comment
Champions is as Champions does (CREDIT: Jeopardy!)
Tournament of Champions Season is upon us! Jeopardy! has invited its super-dupe-rest recent victors to duke it out for our enjoyment. The format is a little different this time, with 21 contestants instead of the usual 15, and the top 3 (Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach) getting automatic byes into the semifinals. (Check out all the details here.)
In my years of prognosticating past ToCs, I’ve discovered that the champions who are on another level often do as well as you expect them to, but that there’s also plenty of room for surprises. With the revamped format, it’s even more in favor of the top seeds, but nobody should be counted out. So here are some cheerleader-y thoughts about each contestant:
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