Yesterday, I headed over to the beautiful new offices of KCRW to talk about this weekend's movies alongside Alicia Malone. We reviewed Annabelle Comes Home, Ophelia and Yesterday. When the offerings are this so-so, you end up getting a little goofy, which is definitely what happened. Hear the whole thing here.
"I was definitely a Beatles freak as a kid, and for a long time I only listened to the Beatles, especially when I was very young. As I got older, my tastes expanded, but the Beatles were certainly the starting point in terms of my entry into pop music, as they were for many people. Whenever I’m given [a writing] assignment like this, the first thing I do is ask a lot of questions, just to make sure that I understand the assignment correctly. Sometimes you’re given really good information, and other times it’s really shoddy. In this case, the information was incredibly good and specific, and I think that really helped me out a lot. They said it should sound like an American band that was blown away by the Beatles right after they arrived and was trying to imitate them." -- Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger recalling, in 2016, how he wrote the Oscar-nominated theme song to Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do!
I'm sorry to report that I was disappointed by Spider-Man: Far From Home, which I didn't find funny or exciting enough to really love. Have I been hit with Marvel fatigue? My review is up at Screen International.
David Chokachi thought Baywatch was corny. Then, he went up for the role of Cody, a character who would change his life. For MEL, I talked with the now-51-year-old actor about the iconic show, being a beefcake, and how he's changed over the years. I really enjoyed spending time with him. My piece is here.
This summer, MEL is doing Q&As with authors who have written fun beach reads. I took on The Last Job, which chronicles an incredible 2015 London heist carried out by a group of senior citizens. Dan Bilefsky works for The New York Times and lived in the neighborhood where the heist took place. We talked about real-life burglaries versus the ones we see in the movies. Hope you enjoy.
Folks, The Hunt for Red October still rules. We discussed that in this week's Reboot segment, and we also reviewed Toy Story 4 and the new Child's Play. Check out the episode down below.
We had certain restrictions put on us for this list: Namely, that we limit it to performances in sci-fi and horror films. But that also gave us the opportunity to honor the kinds of acting that often get overlooked. Our picks are over at SyFy.
Midsommar isn't as terrific as Hereditary, but it's bold and ambitious, even if it's also sometimes a little silly. And Florence Pugh rocks, as always. My review is up at Screen International.
One really good movie, one really terrible movie, one that I think is slightly underrated, and one that's not good but isn't quite as horrible as others have said. Welcome to the summer doldrums, ladies and gentlemen. You can hear this week's podcast down below.
For SyFy, we looked at Will Smith's finest sci-fi and action movies. (In other words, you won't see Ali or The Pursuit of Happyness on this list.) Writing about this guy is always a pleasure, but picking his all-time best films can be a bit tricky. Our choices are right here.
For Revolver, I looked back at nu-metal's biggest moment, Limp Bizkit's "Nookie," which hit radio about 20 years ago. Angry, ugly, cathartic, bratty, utterly undeniable, the song still resonates. Hope you enjoy.
The closest UMG came to a public imbroglio may have been in 2010, when, Aronson says, he was sent on an unusual business trip to Pennsylvania. He had been told by a UMG executive that one of the most powerful men in the music industry, Irving Azoff, was asking questions about the loss of Steely Dan masters in the fire. Azoff, the former chairman of MCA Inc., is now the chairman and chief executive of Azoff MSG Entertainment, a live entertainment conglomerate, as well as the “supermanager” chairman of Full Stop Management, whose roster of clients includes Steely Dan and the Eagles. A quarrel with Azoff was an unwelcome prospect. Luckily, the tapes he was concerned about, multitrack masters of Steely Dan’s first releases, turned out to have been moved to UMG’s Pennsylvania tape vault before the fire.
Azoff sent Elliot Scheiner, a celebrated record producer and mixer who had worked with Steely Dan, to confirm the tapes were intact. Aronson accompanied Scheiner to the Pennsylvania facility, the tapes were pulled, the matter was dropped. (Asked about this incident, both Azoff and Scheiner declined to comment.) In fact, UMG documents suggest that Steely Dan masters — different tapes than those sought by Azoff — were in Building 6197 when the fire hit. According to Aronson, these likely included certain album masters, as well as multitrack masters holding outtakes and unreleased material. “Those songs,” Aronson says, “will never be heard again.”
I instantly thought of "The Second Arrangement," a Gaucho track that never saw the light of day for sad reasons. I wondered if that was one of the outtakes that burned up in the Universal fire.
Every time there's a new Toy Story movie, there's a collective anxiety about whether it will be as good as the previous installments. Well, Toy Story 4 is really darn good. My review is up at Screen International.
Imperfect, dynamic, mythic, unfocused, pretty damn great: If you're a Dylan person, you know what to expect from Rolling Thunder Revue. I reviewed the concert film for Paste.
On this week's podcast, we lament Dark Phoenix. Then, we disagree on Late Night, while I go solo for the Sundance smash The Last Black Man in San Francisco. Finally, in our Reboot segment, we debate whether or not Pontypool is good. Hear the whole thing below.
With Dark Phoenix now in theaters, we took the opportunity to revisit the X-Men filmography, including the Deadpool movies. For Vulture, we ranked all 12 movies, an exercise that will only make people mad at you. Nonetheless, we gave it a shot.
I have a simple rule for how to approach a remake: Pick a film with a good premise but lousy execution. That way, you can turn a promising-but-mediocre movie into a legitimately good movie. For Debate Club, we chose five worthy candidates from the 1990s. Check 'em out.
Dark Phoenix is the final Fox film for the X-Men, which will soon be absorbed into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (Disney's acquisition of Fox will see to that.) Unfortunately, that's more of a business story than a creative one, as the new movie's subpar execution only further illustrates. My review is up at Screen International.
Folks, I have a confession to make: I hate Animal House. I talk about that on this week's podcast, as well as review Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Rocketman. Hear the whole thing down below.
Ron Artest was one of the NBA's most tenacious players. He also seemed like the most unhinged. The documentary Quiet Storm traces his life and his history of mental issues. For MEL, I spoke with director Johnny Sweet about getting to know Metta World Peace. Hope you enjoy.
