January 2012
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The Best Films of 2011: Part III- Likeable but...
(Apologies to Roger Ebert) 66. Another Earth (Mike Cahill)- For a lot of films on this list, I end up writing something like, “There are some memorable moments and directorial flourishes, but I wish Idea X had been explored deeper.” Another Earth is the opposite: a film invested deeply in an intriguing idea and pretty bankrupt everywhere else. Its conceit (What if there was an...
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Predicting Oscars: Results
I went 35/44. I didn’t expect there to be nine Best Picture nominees, so that’s three wrong right there. I don’t know who’s watching stuff like Albert Nobbs. On the other hand, pretty much every prestige film that positioned itself as a Best Picture was perceived that way. I don’t get upset by the Academy Awards anymore. I just get confused.
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The Best Films of 2011: Part II- Admirable...
95. J. Edgar (Clint Eastwood)- For a film depicting such a divisive figure, I found Eastwood’s rushed, time-hopping vision non-committal. If you’re not going to have a definitive opinion on Hoover’s sexuality and contradictions, I don’t see the point in making a movie about him, even if there are some interesting moments. An Eastwood hate-piece is brewing somewhere deep...
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The Best Films of 2011: Trailers- Legit Goosebumps...
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The Best Films of 2011: Trailers- LOLwut? Division
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"TV's Eerie New Race-less World"- Salon- Katrina... →
“‘Parenthood’s’ silence about its black characters’ blackness reflects our genuine desire for things to be different, but also our willingness to ignore the reality of the experiences of people of color in an eagerness to move ahead to post-racialism. This underlines two things: Things have changed, in that there’s a collective desire for equality. But the main problem remains:...
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The Best Films of 2011: Part I- Garbage
You are about to read (or ignore) the first in my series of autopsies on 2011 film. As I have for the past few years, I kept a fastidious spreadsheet of every film I watched. Then I ranked the films and added explanations. You probably don’t care. That’s fine. Believe it or not, I normally devote a lot of attention to audience and purpose—I censure myself to an unbelievable...
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Watchfilmprojections:
The first official trailer for Wes Anderson’s latest film, Moonrise Kingdom, starring Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Frances McDormand, and more. The film will be released on May 25, 2012.
Good to see your boy branching out.
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"War Horse: An Illustrated Review"- Lisa Hanawalt-... →
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Top 10 Albums of 2011
(Accompanying Spotify Playlist) 10. Danny Brown- XXX Danny Brown sounds like the problem child of Aesop Rock and Busta Rhymes. Across XXX, he filters sex, fatalism, and Detroit doom through his wide-mouthed yip, and he pulls such a convincing rope-a-dope with the sophomoric parts that it’s all the more devastating when he says something sincere. Brown knew this mixtape might be his only...
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"2011's Better-Than List"- Armond White- CityArts →
It’s not really a new year until we get White’s batshit opinions about the previous year. Like this: ”Adam Sandler’s affectionate, very broad ethnic satire defies Alexander Payne’s smug denial of America’s ethnic history. Humility vs. Sanctimony.” Or this: “David Gordon Green indulges his love of fiction and adolescence while college dropout Woody Allen name drops...
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"Hard Core"- Natasha Vargas-Cooper- The Atlantic →
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Top 50 Songs of 2011
Spotify Playlist of the Top 50 Spotify Playlist of More That I Loved but Didn’t Have Room for—check back, I’m still adding 50. Lil’ Wayne feat. Cory Gunz- “6’7’” 49. Cold Cave- “The Great Pan Is Dead” 48. Real Estate- “It’s Real” 47. 1, 2, 3- “Work” 46. Cults- “You Know What I Mean” 45. Shabazz...
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"Screenwriters Lecture: Charlie Kaufman"- BAFTA... →
December 2011
20 posts
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"You Say You Want a Devolution?"- Kurt Andersen-... →
“Why is this happening? In some large measure, I think, it’s an unconscious collective reaction to all the profound nonstop newness we’re experiencing on the tech and geopolitical and economic fronts. People have a limited capacity to embrace flux and strangeness and dissatisfaction, and right now we’re maxed out. So as the Web and artificially intelligent smartphones and the rise of China...
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Riff Raff- “Marc Jacob” From his...
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T-Pain- “Default Picture” From his...
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Predicting Pitchfork: Results
Pitchfork released its top albums of the year today, and their picks varied from my predictions quite a bit. This is their order. In parentheses is where I thought that album would be. (While we’re on the subject, I would recommend Eric Harvey’s note on sales figures for these albums, which is always an interesting way of showing how small this tiny alt-verse really is.) 1. Bon Iver-...
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Watch“We’re Going to Need a Bigger Spielberg Face” by Kevin B. Lee
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Predicting Pitchfork's Top Albums of the Year
It’s that time again. Pitchfork releases their top albums of the year tomorrow, and, based on the past year’s reviews and their overall tendencies, I handicap the order. Play along in the comments. 1. Girls- Father, Son, Holy Ghost- When doing this, you have to remember how scores are tabulated. All the critics—who have different tastes and specialties—rank their albums,...
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"Take Me to the River"- Tom Ewing- Pitchfork →
In his final Poptimist column, Tom Ewing is predictably perceptive and articulate about what he refers to as the nanoculture:
“But what gets made, and who controls it? In a series of posts several years ago on ‘spreadable media,’ the academic Henry Jenkins put his finger on the great faultline in nanoculture— its equivalent of ‘major label vs. indie,’ except...
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Can People Stop Saying: "No Regrets"?
As you already know, I can’t stop watching MTV’s The Real World. Last night, this year’s fey sociopath, Frank, who is like the spiritual hate-child of Ignatius J. Reilly and Blanche DuBois, cheated on his boyfriend out of promiscuity and lack of self-control. Although he claims that he loves this boyfriend, he also “doesn’t know what it’s like to be in a...
November 2011
20 posts
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"Director David Fincher Takes on The Girl with the... →
If only all celebrity profiles were this eloquent and comprehensive.
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"Black Friday"- Jon Bois- jonbois.com →
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"Kermit the Frog Is a Terrible Boyfriend"- Julie... →
“Kermit never wanted to devote his life to making Piggy happy — he just wanted to host his show and enjoy hanging out with his friends. Anything more she’d ask of him would elicit a gulp. And just as I strove to emulate Piggy-resplendent in feather boas, lavender mules and rings over opera gloves — I wonder how many guys from my generation looked to Kermit as an example of what...
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