-Taylor Swift over Kendrick Lamar? Beyond stupid. Unfathomable, even. A good pop album that sold a bunch but will ultimately be forgotten vs. a consensus classic, hip-hop or otherwise. Dumb. Nice to see her call out Kanye, though, in a pretty professional fashion.
-Speaking of Kendrick, his performance was rad.
-Adele wasn't at her strongest, but she owned it well.
-Alice Cooper's jowls haven't aged at all since Wayne's World. "Alice, I gotta say--your jowls don't look a day over 46."
-Lady Gaga was actually damn impressive in her best impression of Mr. Bowie. No one else in today's musical landscape would have made sense, either.
Movies.
#27 The Wolfpack
In 2010, film student Crystal Moselle was walking down the street in New York City when she bumped into a peculiar sight. There on Manhattan's First Avenue were six boys, all with long hair down toward the middle of their backs, black suits, RayBan sunglasses. She got to talking with them. It turned out they were brothers and they were paying homage to characters like Mr. Pink and Mr. White from one of their favorite movies, Reservoir Dogs. After Moselle befriended them, some strange details began to surface about the Angulo brothers and their home life. Beyond the six boys also existed a mentally handicapped sister, all homeschooled, all seven of them living in a high-rise with their parents. They had barely gone outside, unless on lockdown supervision. For 14 years.
This chance happening for Moselle occurred not long after Mukunda, the second oldest (then 15), had decided to go exploring Manhattan. It was nighttime, he had chose a rather odd form of dress, and he didn't make it terribly far before being escorted to the apartment by NYPD. This act of defiance, though, triggered the curiosity of the rest of the clan and before too long, they were venturing out as a group.
The Wolfpack captures the Angulo boys' (Mukunda, Narayana, Govinda, Bhagavan, Krisna and Jagadesh) move toward independence in a captivating, but often extremely disjointed fashion. Their father, Oscar, has been holding the one copy of the key all these years, and the level of hatred and disgust pointed at him varies from brother to brother. Through interviews with both parents, though, you find two people who legitimately care about their family; despite how misguided the actions, the intentions were to keep them safe. Was he a monster? You'll have to decide for yourself.
Without school or any sort of socialization, they turn to watching copious amounts of film and television, memorizing their favorites and then filming their own versions (Reservoir Dogs, The Dark Knight) all with very elaborate props and costumes. It's how they relate to people outside of their brethren (you'll see a lot of this toward the end). For as fascinating as the film and its bizarre subjects are, I wanted more. How did this situational captivity last as long as it did? Have there been any repercussions for their father? Maybe Moselle opted to paint an objective picture of strange rather than instigate a moral discussion on nature v. nurture, and I guess, ultimately, I respect that.
#26 Ant-Man
Paul Rudd, never one to waste a second of his signature charm, is Scott Lang, a small-time burgalar who is gets out of jail and attempts to go on the straight-and-narrow for his daughter's sake. When he can't get hired anywhere worthwhile, he takes his pal Luis's (Michael Peña, excellent as always) offer to burgle a house with the help of crew members Dave (T.I.) and Kurt (David Dalstmachian). Something important is guarded with fingerprint technology in the basement; that something important ends up being a hi-tech suit owned by scientist/developer Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). Back at Luis's place, he tries on the suit, presses a button and Presto-Changeo! He's tiny. After avoiding getting stepped on/washed down a bathtub drain/stabbed by a record needle/swallowed into the guts of a vacuum cleaner/pummeled by a raindrop, he is finally able to hit the "back to normal size" button and goes to return it to Pym. Leaving the house, he is arrested. Pym visits and jail and says, more or less, either rot away in here or become my ant-man. What a tough choice.
Ant-Man is easily the best offering from the Marvel Studios juggernaut this year. That doesn't mean it's perfect. Rudd has certainly been better, and there is hokeyness to spare in the I-must-redeem-myself-to-my-daughter subplot that drives the action. Still, the supporting cast (also including LOST heartbreaker Evangeline Lilly as Pym's daughter and House of Cards' Corey Stoll as the power-hungry tech nemesis) brings it, especially Douglas and Peña, making the tiny, tiny ride a fun one.
#25 Trainwreck
For as nice as it is to see Ms. Schumer get her own starring vehicle beyond her eponymous Comedy Central gig, I have to admit I am a little Amy Schumer'd out. There was a period a couple of months back where she was everywhere. Magazine covers. Billboards. Guest-appearing on everything, even "The Bachelorette" (appointment television, obviously). Don't get me wrong. I am all for I Am Woman Hear Me Roar. Just kiiiinda got a little too much Schumer this year.
Thankfully saw this one before the overdose, and it was a solid first script. She plays Amy, a journalist who works alongside Nikki (Vanessa Bayer, her dependable self, constantly nailing the confused face) for "S'Nuff" a men's magazine run by the insane Dianna (Tilda Swinton, tanned and eye-shadowed and long-haired, basically unrecognizable) who, thanks in large part to her dad (Colin Quinn), doesn't believe in monogamy. She is "sort of dating" Steven (John Cena, never better) but still gets drunk, gets stoned and performs the walk of shame on a near-daily basis. The overly sensitive Steven can't handle this, so back to square one. Enter Dr. Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), a sports doctor who regularly hangs out with LeBron James (playing himself) and Amaré Stoudemire (playing himself), who is getting profiled for the mag. Dianna assigns this to Amy and though she is clueless when it comes to sports, they hit it off. She likes him--like, a lot--but will it be enough to change her trainwreck ways?
Judd Apatow's movies always operate on the notion of its protagonist, often hindered in some way, demonstrating personal growth. This one is no different, and just like Apatow's others, it's a half an hour too long. That said, there is plenty to like here. Lots of spots to laugh uproariously, more-than-passable acting turns from King James and Stoudemire, a great supporting cast (besides those previously mentioned, Brie Larson as the moral compass of a sister and Mike Birbiglia as her doofy husband) and of course, plenty of Bill Hader, who is pretty much the best.
Agreed? Thought so.
More tomorrow!
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