Film

Funny Or Die Presents Donald Trump's The Art Of The Deal: The Movie

I just super-needed something silly and dumb this week, and this fit the bill. Depp does great weird comedy, so it’s nice to see him apply himself to this. Also, that theme song is great.

Music

Selena Gomez, Revival

I accidentally listened to this entire album on Spotify ( Read more... )

Film

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (2005)

“God, I played a shitty build of Doom like this in the nineties.”

Music

Halsey, Badlands

Consistently haunting and spare. “New Americana” is rightfully a single, but “Gasoline” and “Young God” are my stand-outs.

Melanie Martinez, Crybaby

Aggressive lolita darkness over spare beats and sung ( Read more... )

Music

Calvin Harris, Motion

Not the blissed out retro bomb I wanted, but there are still highlights: “Outside” and “Pray to God” are fantastic.

Mark Ronson, Uptown Special

Almost the blissed out retro bomb, and probably could be. I have a hard time with albums, what with being raised by wolves who only owned greatest hits compilations, so ( Read more... )

Music

Calvin Harris, I Invented Disco

The seeds of the ‘10s Harris are present, but he’s leaning much more kitsch and novelty here. “Acceptable in the Eighties” and “Merrymaking at my Place” are the stand-outs.

Calvin Harris, Ready for the Weekend

Slightly more polished, but the last time that Harris uses his own vocals in his music. Which cuts ( Read more... )

Here’s a super-update to make up for the last three weeks.

Film

Wayne’s World (1992)

Warm, low-stakes, human, and honestly very sweet.

Wayne’s World 2 (1993)

And then money and a rushed script drain everything from it, although there are good character moments and lines. (“Take me now, Garth.” “Take you where? I’m low on gas and you need a ( Read more... )

Music

Kate Bush, Director’s Cut

Notable tracks: “Deeper Understanding” and “Flower of the Mountain.”

Kate Bush, Fifty Words for Snow

The title track is literally fifty words Bush invented for snow. Genius. And with that, I’ve completed her discography. Huzzah!

Television

Sailor Moon, “For Friendship: Ami vs. Bertheir”

Bertheir is wooed to ( Read more... )

Music

Kate Bush, Aerial

Notable tracks: “King of the Mountain” and “Pi.” “King of the Mountain” is amazing.

Television

Agent Carter, “Time and Tide”

IT’S THE GREATEST SHOW ON TELEVISION! Some nicely juicy backstory on Jarvis, Peggy coming to terms with the fact that she now has to work from the shadows (you’re a spy, Peggy!), and enough ( Read more... )

Film

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Muddy and overblown with all the weight of a bad video game cutscene, but the cast does what it can. A middling note for Jackson’s Middle-Earth to go out on.

Music

Kate Bush, The Red Shoes

Notable: “Lily” and “Big Stripey Lie.”

Television

Agent Carter, “Now Is Not The End”

IT’S THE ( Read more... )

Film

Into The Woods (2014)

A decent film adaptation, although why on earth is it filmed so darkly? I could barely see anything. The musical is so tightly staged that abandoning physical juxtaposition of characters in separate stories hurts the film by forcing it to cut constantly, but, by and large, the performances are great. James Corden and ( Read more... )

Film

Brazil (1984)

Packed wall to wall with ideas and visual imagination, per Gilliam’s standards, but it’s a little shaggy and long-winded. He doesn’t know how to tell when an idea is too small or too large, which is something we should celebrate, as it’s so rare, but it does lead to bloat. Still, a visual feast.

Interstellar (2014)

And it’s ( Read more... )