Leaderboard

Just finished Us. I would probably put it just above Midsommar.

I really enjoyed Pet Sematary and it was definitely an honorable mention for me. I felt the switching of which kid was killed was brilliant albeit ruined by every fucking trailer. Having the daughter be able to verbalize what she witnessed and felt on the other side after dying was a great touch while the book and original having Gage being the kid who died relied on the creepiness of a killer toddler, which definitely worked in itself. My two gripes about this would be that the family never questioned why they were getting 50 acres for super cheap when they bought the house, or the fact that the never looked at the surrounding land until after they found the titular cemetery, like do some fucking due diligence. The other issue I had was when the daughter died, I'm not that great at physics, but even I know when a storage container weighing a couple tons even when empty comes sliding towards a small child at over 70 miles an hour, that kid isn't just going to be knocked gently over to the side of the rode with a cut on the back of her head, that kid would be a fucking smear of pasta sauce going down that highway. I enjoyed Glass all the way until that ending because it was so tacked on to incorporate that twist, which would have been better if there had been sprinklings of it hidden in the first two films. It just seemed done solely for the sake of M. Night having a twist in the movie, when it really didn't need one when the performance of its three leads were so strong, especially McAvoy who again is amazing as the split personality Horde. Child's Play really surprised me with how well it was done despite being a totally different origin story/theme for the killer, and the mechanics behind how the doll could become a killer. I still hope that the proposed TV show for the original series happens as the last two films, Curse and Cult of Chucky, are outstanding films, more so considering they were direct to video releases. If you haven't seen them I recommend you do as it removes a lot of the over the top comedy of the previous two films and goes back to the darker horror elements of the first few films.

I felt like it was less that he felt recording/financial success was inevitable, but that nothing can happen until you actually start something. Once you get on that path, whatever happens, good or bad, is out of your hands. Beginnings hold the promise of something good even if they don’t necessarily guarantee it. Starting something is the only part we have control over.

Was Wilson Pickett late because the driver was lost? You'd think they would have gotten directions before leaving the hotel or assumed the limo driver knew the place. I wonder what Joey told Wilson to get him to the club? Would Wilson have been disappointed to see a bunch of kids instead of a full-class whatever Joey had said?

I will say, music aside, the best bit of this movie is how it ended. That ultimately this isn't your typical story of coming from nothing and being successful. Rather this was about how being in this band and the music ultimately changed these people's lives for the better. Like Lips said it was never about being a success and getting lots of albums but giving them some hope at a bad time in their lives and period for their country. Some went on to be musicians with varying degrees of success, one became a successful doctor and the one that dropped out of the band is kinda back where he was. I thought that was a very nice and unexpected ending.

I liked Glass. But then again, I don't hate M. Night as much as other people seem to. He just does his own thing and I can respect that. I liked Midsommar, but I see I put it above Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and I would probably reverse that. It wasn't my favorite movie of the year or anything, but I thought it was pretty good. That being said, it is all the things that you accuse it of being.

I'm sorry, that's all the 2019 movie I saw *in total*. I just went to Wikipedia's list of 2019 releases, and when I came across one I had seen, I slotted it in terms of preference. So, no, I wasn't a huge fan of Pet Semetary

I generally agree. Without realizing it, that's probably what's drawn me to the movie time and again. My only quibble with your statement is after the first rehearsal Joey says "It was a start. I believe in starts. Once you have that the rest is inevitable." So he was preaching a "prosperity gospel" for a while, at least to Jimmy.

Comedy equals tragedy plus a fart joke

I will say it is a unique film in that I liked it at a 3-31/2 star level for the first half, which proceeded to make its way down to a 1-11/2 star level by the end. To be fair, I also found The Lighthouse kind of frustrating and well-made but overrated. It’s also guilty of having some of the self-consciously arty A24 tropes that I mentioned with Midsommar. Also, while I really liked Once Upon, a good friend of mine had the exact same reaction I had with Midsommar (growing restlessness, eye-rolling, etc.). Since I knew once upon was almost three hours, I encouraged him to leave so I could enjoy the film and he wouldn’t feel like he wasted his time. He was grateful, I was happy, different strokes for different folks!

Jimmy is as responsible for the band's implosion as anyone. Openly lusting after Imelda then turning Natalie down, saying things needed to stay professional. If he'd had a chance with Imelda you know he would have jumped right in. I do hope he and Natalie got together at some point. I didn't see until recently how big a torch she carried for him. He then stiffed the guy who supplied the equipment and didn't tell anyone. (I forget who introduced them but he should have stepped in at the roller rink fight.) He wasn't paying the band and then promised multiple exclusives at the Wilson Pickett gig. The record company guy was right that (paraphrasing) "Everyone in the music business is an asshole." That included management, in Jimmy's case at least. As with everything, good communication is key.

I’m still hoping to get through Us and High Live today, but this is my list. They are ranked on my personal enjoyment and not necessarily by quality. Booksmart Last Black Man in San Francisco Shazam Spider-Man Avengers Endgame Captain Marvel John Wick 3 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Midsommar Long Shot Always Be My Maybe LEGO Movie 2 Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase The Kid Who Would Be Kid Klaus Detective Pikachu The Dirt Glass Hobbs and Shaw Child’s Play Brightburn Dumbo How to Train Your Dragon 3 Pet Semetary Hellboy Serenity

The Boys welcome Culture Kings hosts EDGAR MOMPLAISIR and JACQUIS NEAL to the Earwolf family.

First of all I forgot Shaft came out this year and yes it was truly terrible. It was that weird thing of "Is it a joke that he's saying these things or are the things he's saying the joke?" Either case also the idea of "A real man acts this way" on top of the homophobia a misogynistic stuff makes it a hard pass. As far as Us goes...

By the way, even though I keep kind of ripping on this movie, I did like it. I think the actors were mostly pretty good. The energy of the film is pretty good and I'm really glad they didn't try that dumb ending like, "They went on the be the biggest band in the world" or some such nonsense. They ended like the vast majority of bands: a few gigs then never, ever being remotely popular.

Did anyone else notice that Joey "the Lips" is a member of the "Well-Meaning White Musicians with Inexplicable Backstories Playing Traditionally Black Music Because They Claim to Be Sent By God" Club?

Being fair skinned, or full blown white, does not erase the fact that he is Mexican though. He is still a Latino man who is also fair skinned and both of those things can exist simultaneously.

oh what fun it is to pod, laughing all the way.. hwee hwee hwee free audio download at soundcloud.com/phonic-interwoven/jinglebook-handbells

SHAUN DISTON returns to help The Boys make a Christmas album.