Rating: 5 stars (out of 5) With War, U2 build skyscrapers upon the foundation of their debut album Boy. If the startling cover art—the same young boy staring at the viewer, only with a face of righteous anger replacing innocence—wasn’t enough of an indication, these men, just 23 at the time of release, expand upon…
Common courtesy! Here I’ve been yammering for months before properly introducing myself. Without a handshake or a how’s-your-father, I would have soapboxed myself to sleep while you smiled kindly. Please pardon me, good fellows and fellowesses. This site’s authors have set a precedent of revealing their bias to their readers up front. I have not…
Rating: 3 and a half stars (out of 4) There are times when I forget why I love movies so much. Reading movies closely can be a chore. An enjoyable chore that I have a passion for, but a chore nonetheless. And then there are times when I walk out of a theater with a…
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4) Bull Durham is far and away the best sports movie of all-time, but I hate to classify it as much because it’s also so much more. It’s a great romantic comedy, a very funny movie, a very poignant movie, and when all put together, an exceptional piece of art. …
Rating: 2 stars (out of five) Though it’s not a very good album, Billy Joel’s 1973 pre-major label album (*) is intensely prophetic. It signals, in some way or another, every one of Joel’s strengths and weaknesses. You’ll never revisit more than a few of these tracks, but it provides a meaningful look into the…
Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006) – 4.5 stars Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007) – 4 stars Humbug (2009) – 4 stars Years before Radiohead invited yet another wave of critical fawning by offering an album for free download, the Arctic Monkeys cultivated a rabid following by giving away demos of early…
Today’s George Clooney day at EarnThis, where we’ll examine Up in the Air, recently nominated for Best Picture, and Michael Clayton, likewise nominated in 2008. Clooney’s career has advanced considerably thanks to both films, but one holds up a lot better than the other. Rating: 2 and a half stars (out of 4) Melding that sort of comedic-drama…
Do you know about The Moonlighting Fallacy? It’s an incorrect theory that TV shows can’t resolve conflict or change any of their fundamental dynamics because it will cause the shows to crumble creatively and commercially. It primarily applies to U.S.T. – unresolved sexual tension. The most common victims are sitcoms and/or dramedies. Shows are scared…
American Idiot, 5 years later (4 stars out of 5) I distinctly remember negative emotions towards American Idiot when it first came out. My habitual response is still negative. Why? The same reason any level-headed guy comes to despise a good, popular album he should like: Overexposure. Green Day immediately went from the most underrated…
In honor of last Sunday’s Oscars, here’s a movie that should be honored at next year’s ceremony (but, given that Sandra Bullock just won Best Actress for Blind Side, clearly won’t be). Rating: 3 and a half stars (out of 4) I had no designs of liking The Book of Eli—none. Due to an uninspiring…