THE SHROUDS. It’s a fascinating thing, having spent the better part of a lifetime with the work of revered artists, to watch them age in the weird, liminal space of their output. In the past, they would often end up back at the bottom tier of an industry that no longer had a use for […]
The Miniplex
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Music Tonight: Tuesday, July 15
The Miniplex has a good one going on tonight at 8 p.m. for all you lovers of keys and electronic flourishes buttressing tropical beats and kinetic sonic paintings. Headliner Kolumbo is an electro-tropicalia quartet centered around the impressive keyboard mastery of Frank LoCrasto, also known for his work with Cass McCombs and Fruit Bats. On […]
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Back in the Fight for The Old Guard 2
THE OLD GUARD 2. Recent rewatching of 1980s American action movies (don’t judge me — we all have demons) had reminded me how little we moviegoers once expected. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bulk (sub-Marvel on today’s market) and enough uninterrupted gunfire to become its own variety of white noise was enough for action movie fans to give […]
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F1 and the Artful Blockbuster
F1: THE MOVIE. All (well, most) of my constant pearl-clutching, tooth-gnashing lamentation at the state of American cinema comes from a place of love. I’m a generational relic, but surely not alone in experiencing many of my transcendent moments and epiphanic revelations while knelt at the altar. This abiding affection is tempered by reticence and […]
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28 Years Later‘s Resurrection
28 YEARS LATER. When he’s really cooking — which is frequently — Danny Boyle can be one of the most engaging, adventurous directors in the business. Trainspotting (1996), only his second feature, changed the lives of a generation of us with its boundless energy, convention-shattering camerawork and an absolute banger of a soundtrack. Ever since, […]
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Swagger to Burn
Let’s talk about swagger, that combination of confidence and charisma that enables some people to move through the world in a way that lesser mortals envy and sometimes try to emulate through posturing or preening. The difference, particularly in straight men, shows in how they move their bodies. An insecure man leads with his chest. […]
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If It Ain’t Broke, Lean In
THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME. I always seem to preface discussions of Wes Anderson’s work with some sort of disclaimer or caveat. It’s as if I feel a need to justify — mostly to myself — my continuing fascination with his canon, and to acknowledge that, as a fan, I am still conflicted by some abiding, defining […]
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Friendship Gets Uncomfortable
FRIENDSHIP. For a certain, ardent segment of the population, the mere image of Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd — the former clad in a sort of schlubbier, tan on tan, Walter White winter ensemble, the latter sporting a handlebar mustache and 1980s elementary schoolboy fashion-goals jacket — is enough to provoke a giggling fit subsiding […]
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Mission‘s Accomplishments
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING. It took me until the previous Reckoning to realize that, among its many other fine and compelling attributes, one of the great successes of the Mission: Impossible franchise, at least in its late-stage iterations, lies in its simultaneous fealty to its origins — cinematic, not so much the television […]
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Lore and Gore
FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES. Over the weekend, a horror-loving friend and I scooted to the center of the middle row at the Mill Creek Cinema in McKinleyville with a bag of popcorn between us just as the real previews began. Despite the name, the Final Destination movies could very well continue into perpetuity, assuming the AI […]
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The Tragedy of Andor
ANDOR. Once this issue of the Journal is put to bed, this column included, I will head home and sink into my couch with a bowl of pita chips that are not nearly hard enough to grind the stress out through my already taxed molars while I watch the closing three episodes of the second […]
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Warfare is No Recruitment Film
WARFARE. Of the weekend’s offerings, Thunderbolts* is loudly being touted as a return to form for the MCU. It’s no secret that I don’t particularly care for the form, and despite the cast and crew of this latest noisemaker seeming more interesting and varied than the usual, I just couldn’t — or didn’t, if we’re […]