Showing my son this the second he starts trying to put me in a home.

Reviewed on Monday, March 21st, 2022, 12:00am.

Little Roger grew up to host Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction.

Reviewed on Wednesday, October 6th, 2021, 12:00am.

Well, it beats Arizona.

Reviewed on Monday, October 4th, 2021, 12:00am.

Okay who is responsible for making the decision to not make every movie look like this? I need answers now.

Reviewed on Monday, April 4th, 2022, 12:00am.

This is the type of film that really shows how far we've come. A 'call is coming from inside the house' reveal is blowing minds in '74 and now we're texting our spouses from bed when they're in the kitchen to get us some candy.

Reviewed on Monday, October 4th, 2021, 12:00am.

An awkward and misunderstood individual learns what it means to be human while subsisting entirely on metal, otherwise known as my high school experience.

Reviewed on Friday, March 11th, 2022, 12:00am.

The strength I am displaying by not making a crack about Tom Cruise standing in front of an exploding Kremlin while wearing a Bruce Springsteen t-shirt.

Reviewed on Friday, March 4th, 2022, 12:00am.

Ethan Hunt, hiding in a broom closet waiting to strike: “I'M TAKING THE CHIN OFF IT KILLS!”

Reviewed on Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022, 12:00am.

The words “three plutonium cores” are uttered before the opening credits. Easiest 10 I've ever given.

Reviewed on Monday, March 7th, 2022, 12:00am.

Neon light pouring through the windows? Horrific snoring? Ominous indoor pool? Bugs falling from the ceiling? A boy with bowl cut PTSD? I see Argento also spent some time with his dad in Holiday Inns after his parents split up.

Reviewed on Monday, May 3rd, 2021, 12:00am.

That's how I used to watch my Homeward Bound tape.

Reviewed on Tuesday, October 5th, 2021, 12:00am.

So many questions, but happy to have definitive proof that James has, in fact, never been cool.

Reviewed on Monday, March 7th, 2022, 12:00am.

Rabban: now there's a spicy meatball!

Reviewed on Monday, November 15th, 2021, 12:00am.

I found this to be quite the marvel. There is so much care and attention to every word, and it was really inspiring to me to read this simply for the craft behind it. I think the book reflects what the narrator has to say about the titular painting, "It’s there in the light-rinsed atmosphere, the brush strokes he permits us to see, up close, for exactly what they are—hand worked flashes of pigment, the very passage of the bristles visible—and then, at a distance, the miracle, or the joke," the seeming pains taken with every word, like a visible bristle of Fabritius' brush, all to serve, in her case, a sprawling coming-of-age story with a bit of crime to color the character-driven narrative. I was certainly hooked by the plot throughout, but ultimately, it was those brushstrokes, her choice of words, and careful construction of prose that I will take with me.

Reviewed on Saturday, January 6th, 2024, 6:14am.

One of the things that continues to draw me to literary fiction is when an author can draw me into an unfamiliar setting and elicit empathy; I feel this is one of the ways we can best grow and understand those around us, and become fuller people in service of the world. In Shuggie and Agnes Bain, Douglas Stuart has dazzlingly accomplished this. This is such an up-close and personal, and most importantly, honest look at how love can hurt us, our hearts reaching out with everything they have to help those dear to us, sometimes coming up short despite our best efforts. The way he writes about addiction in this community is so honest and vivid that I can almost feel the frigid Glasgow wind beating against my pea coat, walking alongside Shuggie and Leek in the abandoned colliery or seeing the city lights reflected in Agnes' wet eyes. A truly stunning novel that I will never forget.

Reviewed on Sunday, January 21st, 2024, 5:21pm.

If you think back on your crew when you were a kid and think that it didn't have a Lil' Ze, you were your crew's Lil' Ze.

Reviewed on Sunday, February 27th, 2022, 12:00am.

Such a beautiful, patient album. I love how each movement shares a common motif, giving Sanders plenty of room to breathe and put his mark all over the record. It'd be really tough to pinpoint a favorite "song" or moment since it's all meant to be so cohesive as a singular statement, but the whole album builds very naturally the nuance is present enough in each movement to make something about each kind of stand out. The album simply grows and grows, each movement better than the last.

Reviewed on Thursday, February 2nd, 2023, 3:04pm.

What a wonderful representation of the complexities of love and friendship. This book really caught me off guard in that regard; I was pretty hooked from the beginning due to the readability of it and my own interest in the creative process of video games (I especially enjoyed the many references), but the aspects of human connection are what will stick with me. Not only does Zevin do a great job of showing the ways our childhoods influence our lives (through both trauma and our escapes from those traumas), but the novel is stunning in using its own influences in the gaming world to shape its form in places. I found the 'Pioneers' section, in particular, to be very special and a beautiful culmination of bringing content and form together. I was left misty-eyed by the end of it.

Reviewed on Sunday, November 26th, 2023, 12:15pm.

James Bond had no idea, as he was tearing up Miami Beach in a romper, of the groundwork he was laying for dudes at Ultra Music Festival decades later.

Reviewed on Friday, November 26th, 2021, 12:00am.

Wait is Burger Master still a title to attain? I assume not because my phone hasn't made a peep, but just making sure.

Reviewed on Sunday, October 24th, 2021, 12:00am.

Fell in love with the girl at the rock throw

Reviewed on Monday, October 25th, 2021, 12:00am.

It is certainly a testament to Jane Austen's bitingly funny writing style that a book, if you boiled it down to simply plot, would not likely capture my attentions like Pride and Prejudice has. Instead, my inner monologue is yelling at Elizabeth to simply sit closer to Mr. Darcy, speak true her heart, with the same force which it might yell at a horror movie final girl for going up the stairs while the killer chases her. There is so much tension in these pages, so much humor and entertainment, that I was caught completely off-guard, despite her works obviously being canonized as classics. To see it firsthand was a real treat.

Reviewed on Tuesday, December 26th, 2023, 11:38am.

? Bring da mother, bring da motherfuckin' rumpus ?

Reviewed on Thursday, March 17th, 2022, 12:00am.

I am not yet sure what it means, but it is an incredibly important character detail that Bond's unemployed drink of choice is Bud with lime.

Reviewed on Monday, December 6th, 2021, 12:00am.

Petition to change Chekhov's gun to MacGruber's celery stalk.

Reviewed on Monday, April 18th, 2022, 12:00am.

The best word to describe The Epic is "revelation." I will freely admit I don't pay terribly close attention to new jazz releases; it's not that I believe the genre has peaked and there's really no reason to keep up with it, but I guess it's more like I really don't know where to start and most albums I have listened to didn't necessarily feel terribly important in the grand scheme. Then, along came this record. Give it all the superlatives you possibly can. Greatest jazz album in decades, sure. Among the all-time greats, probably. I feel like Kamasi really showed me that it's still worth digging. Even in a genre where seemingly all the greatest works are 60 years behind us, there's always going to be the chance that something will stand the test of time, and boy oh boy does this ever. I will never get over the sheer hubris to release a triple album, where literally any combination of these tracks of normal album length could be the greatest album of any year this generation. Rather than spreading out the music over time and milking the creative explosion as long as he could, Kamasi was just like "here ya go." Legend.

Reviewed on Tuesday, January 31st, 2023, 12:04pm.

I usually don't complain about the realism of plots of films like this, but this one is a little too hard to believe. An Ohio State QB throws a touchdown pass after college?

Reviewed on Friday, March 4th, 2022, 12:00am.

Quintessential early Gizz. They could have just kept making dozens of albums like this and still held a special place in my heart. It's fast, it's furious, and it's super fun. There's not a bad track here, and most of them are flat-out great, in particular the opening suite of "I'm In Your Mind," "I'm Not In Your Mind," "Cellophane," and "I'm In Your Mind Fuzz." Non-stop psych-garage greatness.

Reviewed on Thursday, January 5th, 2023, 12:28pm.

As it stands today, in 2023, this has still got to be their crowning achievement and the perfect representation of the energy this band brings creatively. It's almost too much to handle in how it's a constant barrage of rock and roll, but in the best possible way. A teeth-grinder, for sure, and I mean that in a positive sense, as weird as that sounds. It's an album that is really the sum of its parts in how they crafted it to be a continuous loop, but it still contains some of Gizz's all-time great tracks like "Robot Stop" and "Gamma Knife."

Reviewed on Friday, January 6th, 2023, 8:28am.

A definite crowning achievement for King Gizzard. It's amazing to me that they are able to tap into such complexity and math-like song structures and rhythms while still maintaining incredible listenability. These songs are both very hard to pin down but also hypnotic and grooving. I will be interested to see when their career is over and we have like 146 albums to choose from, how near the top Polygondwanaland remains. If I had to guess, it would be near the very top, if not at the very top itself. "Crumbling Castle" and the "Horology" suite among the album's many stunning standouts.

Reviewed on Wednesday, January 4th, 2023, 2:07pm.

It never ceases to amaze me how this band can constantly reinvent themselves, dipping into any genre they want, somehow making music at the top level within that genre, all while keeping their core identity dripping from every track. This album might be the crowning achievement in that regard. It's probably going to grow to be one of my favorite metal albums of all time, from a band that really isn't even a metal band. Astonishing. Straight rippers from start to finish.

Reviewed on Wednesday, January 4th, 2023, 10:00am.

"Gizztober" will forever be a fond memory for me. The band was firing on all cylinders, releasing three albums during the month, going on a massive US tour (where I actually got to see them for the first time), and my personal interest was at an all-time high. For me, Ice, Death... is the pinnacle of it all. It so perfectly captures the energy of the band at this time, playing delicious krauty jams, really having fun together and exploring songs to their depths and peaks. "Ice V," "Iron Lung," and "Magma" are all-timers.

Reviewed on Wednesday, January 4th, 2023, 1:23pm.

The definition of 'developing fast reflex actions' and 'spiritual strength' is me mashing the 10 as soon as I am shown a ninja training school in a Bond movie. Now they immediately make me question those reflexes when they…transform…Bond, but I gotta go with my gut.

Reviewed on Sunday, November 28th, 2021, 12:00am.

Wait my residual self-image looks just like Keanu Reeves too — am I the one?

Reviewed on Tuesday, March 8th, 2022, 12:00am.

I am John Goodman losing his damn mind with joy at the end. We all are.

Reviewed on Saturday, March 12th, 2022, 12:00am.

Felix Leiter, upon seeing Alec Trevelyan: “The summer me.”

Reviewed on Tuesday, December 7th, 2021, 12:00am.

“Weeping blood comes merely from a derangement of watching all the Bond movies, my dear Letterboxd. Nothing sinister.”

Reviewed on Sunday, February 20th, 2022, 12:00am.

Only thing that could've made it better is “Ants Marching” during the coyote scene.

Reviewed on Monday, July 12th, 2021, 12:00am.

A little conflicted on this one because it has the hyper-realistic blend of setting, performance, the at times lush, at others grimy digital cinematography, the fact that I could never tell which actor was going to ultimately be a cop or a criminal (or both) when first introduced. On the other hand, it has the most unrealistic thing I've ever seen in a movie: a Marlins fan, in Miami, in 2006, wanting to watch “highlights.”

Reviewed on Thursday, April 7th, 2022, 12:00am.

That ball definitely didn't make it back over the fence when he threw it.

Reviewed on Monday, March 7th, 2022, 12:00am.

Such a classic. This is maybe the best encapsulation of everything My Morning Jacket is good at: lovely ballads like "Golden" and "I Will Sing You Songs," balls-to-the-wall rock tracks like "One Big Holiday" and "Run Thru," the gorgeous stuff in between like "Dancefloors" and "Mahgeetah," and then just whatever sort of transcendent glory "Steam Engine" is. Pound for pound this might be their best record, though on most days I do prefer Z. I could see a case for It Still Moves being more universally beloved just for how easy it is to listen to and enjoy, while Z can be somewhat challenging at times, or as challenging as MMJ can get. This is one of those albums that can fit so many occasions, which I think can go a long way.

Reviewed on Wednesday, January 18th, 2023, 1:36pm.

For my money the best MMJ album. The epic vocal performance of "Wordless Chorus" alone probably stands at the top of things to love about the band and this album, but the entire thing works so well. The MVP for me is "Dondante," an absolutely searing slow burn of a track that encapsulates so many great things about their live show at the time: Jim James just going ham on the vocals, top tier blues rock jamming, incredible energy, all in support of a brilliantly-written track. Throw in songs like "It Beats 4 U," "Gideon," "Off the Record", "Anytime," and "Lay Low"... come on. A classic.

Reviewed on Tuesday, January 17th, 2023, 10:56am.

I will forever credit Ocarina of Time for really opening up my mind to different types of games and stories that I hadn't experienced yet as a kid. It completely changed my life as a gamer. This was my first time playing the 3DS version, probably my fifth time overall, and it was a really interesting experience. For much of the early game I kind of thought a lot about how the game held such little wonder for me at this point because of my intense familiarity with it, but by the end, I was right back to 1998, in awe of its accomplishments and building such a huge, varied world for the time. The game will always have some of my favorite dungeons, like the Spirit Temple, Forest Temple, and Water Temple, and the quality of life upgrades to item management, while difficult to master at first, were very appreciated by the end. It is still true that there is not a lot of time spent for me wondering what to do, but the target of wonder has changed from exploring the world itself and getting lost in it, to appreciation for the building of that world and how well it all still works today.

Reviewed on Tuesday, September 5th, 2023, 1:01pm.

This playthrough felt a lot better than I remembered as a kid. I think coming at these Zelda games as an adult will be very rewarding, as I'm not simply chasing that feeling that Ocarina of Time gave me on Christmas morning in 1998. This game is beautiful in every way, and has maybe one of the greatest final Ganon fights I can remember.

Reviewed on Tuesday, February 1st, 2022, 12:00am.

By no means do I claim to be a gaming historian or an expert on the Zelda franchise, but in just piecing together my own history based on the games I've played in my life so far, and more specifically in my attempt at playing the franchise in chronological order on my Steam Deck, I believe that Link's Awakening is when The Legend of Zelda really found its footing as a franchise. The dungeon-palooza of Link to the Past is scaled way down in favor of overworld exploration and actual side characters to drive an intriguing, personal plot forward, which makes Koholint Island feel alive in a way that Hyrule hadn't before. The fun and distinct dungeons are still the real meat here, as they escalate in difficulty and even experiment with verticality and non-linearity, but it was a treat to take a breath between each one and know I actually had things to do that would give myself a more complete experience. Sure, there is a bit of nostalgia here for me that might be knocking this up a point or two, as I got the DX version on my Gameboy Color in between the two N64 titles, making it my second foray into the franchise, but it holds up just as well today. The Switch remaster only adds to the fun, giving it a totally fresh visual style while making great quality-of-life improvements.

Reviewed on Sunday, April 2nd, 2023, 6:53am.

I guess that snack pack is pretty good, huh? Wanna trade the rest of it for these million frequent flyer miles?

Reviewed on Thursday, March 31st, 2022, 12:00am.

So funny to see how badly they predict the future in these sci fi movies. ESPN still exists? Uh huh sure. Baseball still exists? Okay now we're stretching it. ESPN showing baseball highlights? You lost me.

Reviewed on Monday, March 7th, 2022, 12:00am.

Just wow. I could barely handle more than an hour at a time in this game because Rapture was so vivid as an environment. They tell the entire history of this world through the environment itself and those you encounter along the way, and just from a visual and aural perspective, it's unmatched. Not to mention the twist. Oh my, what a twist.

Reviewed on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022, 12:00am.

A way better game than it has any right to be. They absolutely nailed the humor, the vibe, and the setting. It was pure nostalgia as a big South Park fan, where I felt for the first time like I was actually a kid in the town exploring. Sure, a lot of it is dumb humor that doesn't really work today, but it was a blast throughout. The actual gameplay and fighting mechanics brought a great dynamic to turn-based combat, as well.

Reviewed on Sunday, December 11th, 2022, 12:00am.

This completely lived up to the hype. I was a bit intimidated going into the game, knowing how difficult it is considered, which it definitely was, but I hardly had a day where I didn't make great progress despite dying quite a bit. The art style is incredible and unique, the sound design and music are super atmospheric, the characters are all rich with personality and lore, and the world of Hallownest is endlessly rewarding to explore. I finished the main ending and look forward to coming back to this game, again and again, to tie up loose ends, do some more exploring, and continue to challenge myself with the extra boss battles. All things considered, I'm quite proud of how much I did complete in my first playthrough, getting 95% of the game done, only missing a few things here and there. I really enjoyed getting to learn each unique boss's patterns and attacks and eventually "git gud" enough to deliver the final blow each time, and each subsequent victory felt more rewarding than the last. I truly feel the game is a masterpiece and I look forward to watching countless hours of videos unpacking the lore.

Reviewed on Friday, February 17th, 2023, 5:51pm.

I have technically completed the main story, so I am going to go ahead and log it, but I don’t feel anywhere near being ready to put this down. As my first ‘roguelite’ game, I didn’t expect the mechanic of purposeful death to work so well for me. Each escape attempt, I felt like I not only learned something inside the story that drove me to keep trying, but also the rewards, both permanent and temporary, made every room I could push into feel worth it. It’s a game that also rewards many attempts with learning which Olympian boons you like, which work together, and what builds you can concoct with the boons you are given. This is how a game where essentially 4 levels and final boss fight can feel fresh over and over again. Each escape feels different with different weapons, aspects, mirror upgrades, and boons. One of my favorite games ever.

Reviewed on Wednesday, January 4th, 2023, 8:00am.

Nightskiing Deserves a fire fight

Reviewed on Sunday, November 28th, 2021, 12:00am.

A case could be made for "San Tropez" and "Seamus" being kind of throwaway tracks but it really doesn't matter in this case. That's about six less-than-perfect minutes out of an otherwise perfect 46 minutes that are really easy to ignore when you take the strength of the "One of These Days," "A Pillow of Winds," "Fearless," and "Echoes." A perhaps airier record than what comes after in their catalog, Meddle will always be a favorite due to those four tracks. The funky breakdown of "Echoes" sets the tone for some of my favorite styles of songs for the band that come later, while "Fearless" and "A Pillow of Winds" show a really nice, softer side of the band that mark some of their most famous tracks on later works. It all kicks off with the beast of driving bass and drums of "One of These Days," a forever-lasting track that always gets my head nodding.

Reviewed on Tuesday, January 24th, 2023, 8:59am.

I mean it's one of the greatest albums of all time. I vividly remember this being the first ever album I listened to front to back twice in a row. It was on the way down to the beach with the Urrutias, and I had my SACD version in the Discman, and just was so blown away that I had to run it back. Coming back to this album from time to time will always bring that feeling back, it's so good.

Reviewed on Tuesday, January 24th, 2023, 12:46pm.

It would take something incredibly special to ever dethrone Animals as my all-time favorite album. I'm not sure it's entirely tied to quality, although this album's is unquestionably high. It is so tied with memory, nostalgia, and discovery for me that it will forever be unmatched in that department when combined with quality. I remember the exact moment I first heard this. Micki and I went to Barnes and Noble the day after Christmas with gift cards in hand, looking to blow them on books, DVDs, CDs, etc. I was definitely aware of Pink Floyd, had a few of their CDs, like The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, and felt it was time to branch out a bit, so I picked up Animals. We headed home from Mall of Georgia in Micki's CR-V, and she allowed me to play the CD as we drove. I vaguely remember her asking "what in the world is this" during one extended section of "Dogs," while I thought to myself the very same question, but in a completely different way. My mind was absolutely blown. It still is, every time I listen. For my money it's the band at their peak, not only from a songwriting and concept perspective, but the playing is top-tier. David Gilmour's slide guitar solo on "Dogs," Nick Mason's insane drum fills of "Pigs (Three Different Ones)," Richard Wright's nasty synths on "Sheep," I feel like every member got a chance to shine, with Roger Waters' songwriting at the forefront. It is always such a joy to come back to for me.

Reviewed on Tuesday, January 31st, 2023, 12:46pm.

Dazed and Confused : Slacker :: Enema of the State : Dude Ranch

Reviewed on Sunday, May 22nd, 2022, 12:00am.

It's 2:43am, the conversation trails off and Céline stares out the window. Jesse asks, “So, do you watch ER?”

Reviewed on Sunday, May 22nd, 2022, 12:00am.

If a Von Dutch hat was a movie.

Reviewed on Monday, October 25th, 2021, 12:00am.

Okay but what about the cat though?

Reviewed on Thursday, March 17th, 2022, 12:00am.

Loved the scene where the Castevets dressed up like different De Niro characters.

Reviewed on Tuesday, May 11th, 2021, 12:00am.

Silva must have the sickest Plex Server.

Reviewed on Monday, February 21st, 2022, 12:00am.

This was a game that had the mood not been right, I would have probably kept putting it off. Knowing it was a big influence on, practically the namesake of, the Metroidvania genre, I expected it to be one of those experiences where you can see the skeleton (no pun intended) of a game style that will ultimately become very timeless and powerful, but that this particular game itself would not rise to the status that some of its descendants. Boy, was I wrong. This game was absolute fire from the very beginning. I love the atmosphere, the mechanics, the character, the design, all the ability-building and weapon combos, the music, my god the music, just everything about it. It became very evident about halfway through that this was going to be an all-time favorite, and it exceeded even those expectations. This is a game with so much endgame content that I loved so much, it could be the rare instance where I actually come back to it and try playing through it again as Richter, which, from what I've read, seems like an even better, or at least different experience.

Reviewed on Wednesday, August 16th, 2023, 9:21am.

Once the raptors show up, it's really just time to pick which two of your cats to cast in their roles. Favorite subtitle: (MOOING IN FEAR)

Reviewed on Monday, May 3rd, 2021, 12:00am.

I had a very similar experience to Donkey Kong Country, where the quality of the game didn’t quite match my personal enjoyment of the game, simply due to frustration with my skill level. I would say there was no point in which I felt the game unfair or that it had too precise mechanics, this was simply a me problem. Still a great classic with incredible level diversity, character design, music, the whole shebang.

Reviewed on Saturday, December 31st, 2022, 12:00am.

An all-time classic. The music and character design is top tier, and the soundtrack especially pushed the SNES console to the next level. I'll go to my grave with these songs in my head. I wish I were better at platformers, but I am working on it! This was a nice challenge.

Reviewed on Friday, December 9th, 2022, 12:00am.

This silken blonde baddy really ditched getting lathered with sunscreen at the lakeside villain boot camp to go die on a train. It really makes you wonder what it's all for.

Reviewed on Friday, November 26th, 2021, 12:00am.

I'm a simple man. You give me a pre-opening credits jetpack escape, your film gets a 10. Then you give me Bond looking like a more scantily-clad Britney in “Oops I Did It Again” in a harpoon fight climax? Why did people even try to make films after this?

Reviewed on Saturday, November 27th, 2021, 12:00am.

It's funny that the song to get me hooked on The Mars Volta was "Televators," given that it's now probably my least favorite track on De-Loused, and somewhat of an indication of the softer direction the band would ultimately lean more heavily into. The soft eeriness might have been what brought me to the band, but it's the frenetic, even chaotic, experimental hard rock that keeps me coming back again and again. When I'm really in the middle of a big Mars Volta kick, I'm convinced there has never been a better band. It's a toss-up any given day whether I prefer this debut or the follow-up, but either way, De-Loused is an all-time album to me. It contains at least five top-tier tracks in "Inertiatic ESP," "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)," "Drunkship of Lanterns," "Cicatriz ESP" (probably my favorite), and "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt." It's been nearly 20 years and I'm no closer to understanding a single thing they're trying to say in the lyrics, but that's never mattered. I'll always love yelling the few lines I do know.

Reviewed on Thursday, January 12th, 2023, 7:16am.

It's still one of the funniest things to me that the band couldn't spare a single second of the ambient noise, bug sounds, etc to make room for the title track to their album. Despite how ridiculous that is, the principle behind that decision is really what makes Frances the Mute so great in the first place, with how meticulous and considered every single second of the album's sprawling runtime is. "Cassandra Gemini" is maybe the greatest prog rock song of all time. Frusciante rips "L'Via L'Viaquez" to pieces and in a weird way the song helped open me up to latin music more than prior. "Cygnus Vismund Cygnus" is absolutely destructive. There's not much I can say about this other than just how important it is to me. I still remember going to Best Buy in Snellville and buying the CD. I wore the CD out for years. I still remember putting that CD into the iMac in the Music Tech lab at Brookwood High School and rocking out to it. The teacher, Mr. Simpson, came over all upset I was listening to music and put the headphones on to see just what was so important, and "Cassandra Gemini" blasting into his ears. Even he couldn't maintain his anger at me, practically screaming "Oh my god! They are so tight!" over the din. Yes, they are, Mr. Simpson. Yes, they are.

Reviewed on Thursday, January 12th, 2023, 9:20am.

A masterclass in home defense. Kevin McAllister, eat your heart out.

Reviewed on Saturday, October 2nd, 2021, 12:00am.

“Couldn't we just let me float by? For old times' sake?”

Reviewed on Friday, April 8th, 2022, 12:00am.

A film with characters whose relatability is perpetually shifting as you age. Absolute perfection.

Reviewed on Saturday, April 9th, 2022, 12:00am.

First Wes Anderson I saw upon its actual release, and to me it felt a lot like the crew of the Belafonte aboard the Jacqueline Deep Search submarine seeing the jaguar shark for the first time. Something beautiful and unique that I had been waiting for in a way by familiarizing myself with his earlier work (Anderson's, not the shark's), existing at that time just for me. It will always hold a special place in my heart for that, and though I recognize some of its faults, this fact will always blind me to them. In a way it helps keep the mystique alive for me, that it's typically considered second-tier Anderson, as it allows me to stay submerged, just a member of Team Zissou, watching the great beast swim past.

Reviewed on Saturday, April 9th, 2022, 12:00am.

A cussin' marvel.

Reviewed on Tuesday, April 12th, 2022, 12:00am.

Some of Wes Anderson's richest characters to date, including his most truly psychopathic villain in Jopling, who throws a cat out a window and walks across snow in socks without showing the slightest discomfort, thus outdoing the literal Nazi death squad in terms of evilness. Though I guess you 'can't blame someone for their basic lack of moral fiber', can you?

Reviewed on Wednesday, April 27th, 2022, 12:00am.

The original “oh you like Radiohead? Name five songs” guy.

Reviewed on Monday, October 4th, 2021, 12:00am.

This album continues to only get better for me as time goes on. In almost any other case, a 75-minute soft rock album is going to be a total non-starter for me, but when literally every song is perfect, it's pretty tough to argue with stuffing this thing as full as possible as they did. It was an obvious creative surge moment for them that continued at the highest level for another three or four albums, but for me, this is when Wilco became Wilco. "Misunderstood," "Outtasite (Outta Mind)," "Monday," "Say You Miss Me," "The Lonely 1," I could go on and on with naming classic tracks from this record.

Reviewed on Friday, January 13th, 2023, 11:42am.

Summerteeth is probably the purest, most distilled version of Wilco there is, teetering right on the edge of alt-country and indie rock, and blending both incredibly well. I feel like it's the perfect middle ground between the first two albums and then Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born, making it one of their more classic albums. I think the only thing keeping it from being my favorite is simply that I love when Wilco gets a little weird with it, which is why I tend to favor those latter two albums of the first five. It's still an easy ten out of ten, and easily one of my most-listened-to of their records given how well it straddles all of their styles. I love so many songs from this album: "Can't Stand It," "She's a Jar," "A Shot in the Arm," "I'm Always in Love," "How to Fight Loneliness," "Via Chicago" -- my god so many. Is this my favorite Wilco album?

Reviewed on Friday, January 13th, 2023, 2:37pm.

It'd be really hard for me to argue with anyone saying this is one of the greatest albums ever made. It ended up being my first introduction to Wilco, and will always hold a top spot for me, though maybe one or two other albums I could say I prefer on a given day. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is as close to perfect as it gets, and I think it really can fit any mood or vibe. It begins to really delve into some of the more experimental leanings that Wilco have come to lean on at times, while also maintaining really catchy and accessible songwriting. There are tons of melodies sprinkled throughout that remain memorable long after the record stops spinning.

Reviewed on Friday, January 13th, 2023, 11:47am.

A Ghost is Born hits on all the best aspects of Wilco, in my opinion. There are many fantastic, pithy indie rock songs mixed in with longer-form freakout experimentation, easily the two sides of the Wilco coin that I appreciate and love the most. From the shattered electric guitar of the "At Least That's What You Said" opener and the extended "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" to the lighter and airier "Wishful Thinking" to some straightforward rock like "I'm A Wheel," this album has everything.

Reviewed on Friday, January 13th, 2023, 11:50am.

Everybody have fun tonight Everybody hang dong tonight

Reviewed on Sunday, March 6th, 2022, 12:00am.