To hell with it, here's my 2023 Spotify Wrapped. (Also posted it on Imgur, if you don't have access to Twitter/"X".)
Top Artists:
1. Boards of Canada (not surprised, haha)
2. Nas
3. Portishead
4. Kanye West (...yikes)
5. Sepultura
Top Songs:
1. "Miami Disco" - Perturbator
2. "Life's a Bitch" - Nas
3. "Horse Steppin'" - Sun Araw
4. "Miami - Original Mix" - Jasper Byrne
5. "In Dreams" - Roy Orbison
20TH ANNIVERSARY THEATRICAL RE-RELEASE
How Oldboy became a resounding success in America, to the point of literally cementing itself as a household name in Western film culture, honestly isn't easy to understand. Revenge thrillers like Kill Bill were all the rage in the early 2000s, sure, but you'd think mainstream audiences wouldn't widely gravitate towards one providing no cathartic release, just a soul-crushing pit in the viewer's stomach. It doesn't matter how many faceless enemies our hero, Oh Dae-Su (Choi…
Who knew that Godzilla, the menacingly gigantic beast snatched up by Hollywood since Roland Emmerich's glory days, would inspire the most 21st-century awe when returned to its Eastern roots? Much attention has been drawn to Japan's Godzilla Minus One, and not just from people well-versed in non-American cinema; this is a full-throttle blockbuster available in major theater chains, with Marvel and DC trailers playing in front of it. That said, Minus One isn't just a recognizable brand name getting butts…
To sit down and write about Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood so soon after finishing it feels wrong, because there's too much that really needs to settle in. Judged for sheer craftmanship, it's undoubtedly masterful; Tarantino transports you to Hollywood's Golden Age with such cinematic skill, and it's clear his nostalgic love comes from a very genuine place. It's especially genuine when brought to screen so vividly, what with stunningly fluid camerawork, jaw-dropping sets, pitch-perfect music choices, and incredible…
Charlie Kaufman's left some pretty big shoes to fill from his Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine days, and it's impressive that Dream Scenario so confidently braves stepping into them. It's even more impressive that writer-director Kristoffer Borgli, fresh off the Cannes hit Sick of Myself, ventures into such absurd territory without feeling derivative or obnoxious, like it's overwhelming you to the point of sheer exhaustion. Rest assured, Dream Scenario is perfectly digestible and easy to like, yet clever enough…
Hollywood has not been shy in taking on Stephen King. From Carrie to Children of the Corn, from Gerald’s Game to The Green Mile, and from The Dark Tower to The Dead Zone, they’ve been turning his most famous (and even most obscure) works of fiction into big-budget blockbusters for decades now. The Shining, despite also being a (relatively) big-budget Stephen King adaptation, was different, though.
Instead of gory, schlocky ‘80s cheese, director and co-writer Stanley Kubrick went for real…
