What I’ve Been Watching: Edition XVIII

By Jack Silbert on January 15, 2020

I began this draft five weeks ago, which was already three weeks later than I normally post it. But at long last, here is my recap of the new stuff I was checking out in the summer and fall. It was a span of time where I attempted to take back the night, watching only what I truly wanted to watch — not including The Simpsons, which I have some sort of masochistic relationship with. I heard the triumphant tones of Adele Dazeem belting out “Let It Go” as I deleted entire unwatched seasons of Better Things (OK, I watched two before giving up) and The Last O.G. from my DVR, making room for the following….

LOVED

Los Espookys (HBO) So delightfully different from anything else on the air! SNL writer Julio Torres’s surreal humor propels these adventures of friends who start a horror business in an unnamed country — with occasional help from Fred Armisen as a parking attendant in Los Angeles. Odd and hilarious.

LIKED A LOT

The Righteous Gemstones (HBO) Danny McBride has done it again, even if once again he’s playing a very similar over-confident, not-as-smart-as-he-thinks character. (If it ain’t broke….) The target this time is mega churches and their mega money. McBride’s supporting cast is excellent, with special nods to John Goodman as the patriarch and Walton Goggins as Uncle Baby Billy, trying to regain the evangelical glory of his childhood.

KIND OF LIKED, KIND OF DIDN’T

What We Do in the Shadows (FX) The movie, I liked. The show… eh, could be better, especially with the people involved (Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi). And I’m a big Matt Berry fan. It just felt like they were taking the high concept conceit — ancient vampires’ misadventures in the modern world — and stretching it a little too far.

TWO AND DONE

Living With Yourself (Netflix) Another high concept: Paul Rudd accidentally clones himself and, eh. No real laughs.

ONE AND DONE

City on a Hill (Showtime) I had to check out a new offering from Fontana/Levinson, but it didn’t grab me. Set in Boston so of course you also have Affleck and Damon behind the scenes, and by law they had to cast comic Lenny Clarke in a supporting role. I meant to watch a second one; just never did.

Lights Out With David Spade (Comedy Central) I was quickly put off by the overly casual air, including Spade holding a red Solo cup during his monologue, and also his facial hair was creepy. Buh-bye.

DELETED AFTER 10 MINUTES

Russian Doll (Netflix) I’ve seen Groundhog Day before. I’ve seen Groundhog Day before. I’ve seen Groundhog Day before.

Dead to Me (Netflix) Not for me.

DELETED AFTER 5 MINUTES, 48 SECONDS

Sex Education (Netflix) I wanted to believe in this Gillian Anderson offering.

THE SIMPSONS

Addressed in prologue.

THANK YOU AND GOODBYE

Silicon Valley (HBO) So sharp, so funny, so tuned-in, year after year, and their friendship was so sweet. Without this show I’ll be… always blue.

Baskets (Netflix) The previous year, the show seemed to stumble without co-creator Louis CK. But it truly found its footing again for the final season. I’ll really miss these indelible characters, especially Christine, Martha, and Dale.

The Deuce (HBO) It was never David Simon’s best work, but James Franco’s dual performance kept me coming back, and they truly nailed the ending.

LOOKING FORWARD TO

Curb this Sunday! New Fargo coming this spring — the trailer looks good! Avenue 5 should be fun. I’m hoping Medical Police is as hilarious as Childrens Hospital. Watched the first two episodes of The Outsider and (no spoilers, Stephen King readers) I’m hooked but I hope there’s not too much supernatural mumbo-jumbo. I screwed up last year by not recording Ken Burns’s Country Music because Cablevision doesn’t have PBS on-demand and then its free run on the website didn’t last long but now they’re replaying it and I won’t blow this second chance! I’ll watch The Plot Against America miniseries even though — eh, it’s another story for another time.

SHOWS I USED TO WATCH AND IN MANY CASES STILL DO

Links to Edition I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, and XVII.

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My Highly Subjective List of the Best Movies of 2019

By Jack Silbert on January 8, 2020

10) Midsommar A really f’ed-up, somewhat artsy horror flick that really stuck in my mind, thanks to its gorgeous Swedish setting, the unique “creepy traditional festival” conceit, and an excellent lead performance by Florence Pugh.

9) Blinded by the Light It’s corny, it’s cheesily made — and I loved it. Yes, I’m an admitted Springsteenophile, but this based-on-a-true story of a 16-year-old Pakistani in 1980s working-class England is for anyone who has found inspiration in art — that special secret connection when images, words, sounds, etc. speak directly to you, taking you out of your own world and showing you a different, brighter path, to a land of hope and dreams.

8) The Dead Don’t Die Contrary to popular opinion, this was Adam Driver’s best performance of the year. He and also-terrific Bill Murray are small-town cops in this goofball, fourth-wall-disregarding zombie flick spoof/tribute. Longtime fave Jim Jarmusch gives us laughs and scares and cool cameos and weirdness. You might feel differently about this flick, perhaps even vehemently, but it appealed to my own bizarro subset of sensibilities, and that’s a rare and special thing.

7) Us Even better than Jordan Peele’s previous effort, Get Out. The first half is taut psychological thriller; in the second half, Peele just starts throwing shit around. Scary, yes, but also funny, fun, smart, and satirical. Lupita Nyong’o is awesome as the mom. Perhaps the most entertaining movie of the year.

6) Gloria Bell A bravura lead portrayal by Julianne Moore absolutely carries this grownup film, about a long-divorced woman trying to live her best life, face the challenges and rewards of a “mature” relationship, hang in there as all around her falls to shit, and when all else fails, go out dancing. I genuinely feel it was an Oscar-worthy performance.

5) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker A joyous, very satisfying conclusion to the 9-installment saga that has meant so much to, ahem, those of us of a certain age. J.J. Abrams does George Lucas proud (despite what Lucas himself might think) with top-notch action, big laughs, and real emotion. With a smile on my face and tears filling my eyes, I said goodbye to some of my oldest friends, and new ones I’ve met along the way.

4) Dark Waters The important, true story of heroic lawyer Robert Bilott (impressively played by Mark Ruffalo), who battled DuPont when their waste materials in rural West Virginia were poisoning cows… and maybe people too. The real case was exhausting and the movie kind of is also — understandably. But when all is said and done, director Todd Haynes delivers the most powerful film I saw all year.

3) The Irishman What a gift to us movie lovers: The greatest living director re-teams with some of the greatest actors of all time, and the result is a tremendously crafted epic tale of power, pride, politics, corruption, family, loyalty, prejudice, and the extreme personal toll of a life of crime. De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci all step up big time for the master, Scorsese.

2) Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool Five stars out of five? I’d never before given 5 stars to a new release. But for what this documentary set out to do — tell the story of Davis’s life, for better and worse, in a clear and entertaining way — it was flawless. I learned so much about this towering figure in jazz, thanks to many primary-source recollections, but didn’t realize how much I’d laugh along the way. A delight. And for any true music fan, a must-see.

1) Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood Quentin Tarantino’s love letter to the golden days of TV and moviemaking — and the changing of the generational guard at the end of the 60s — had me smiling all the way through its 2 hours, 40 minutes. Brad Pitt, Margo Robbie, and especially Leonardo DiCaprio are perfection, and the film is loaded with superbly acted smaller roles. How much did I love this movie? I went to see it three times.

Honorable mentions: Jojo Rabbit, High Life, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Western Stars, Godzilla: King of Monsters, Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love, Dumbo, Asbury Park: Riot, Redemption, Rock ‘n Roll

Worst movie: A few real disappointments, but I didn’t see anything horrifically bad in 2019!

New releases I saw this year: 34

My best-of lists from: 2018, 2017/16, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

You can check out all my movie reviews by clicking here.

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Movie Review: Parasite

By Jack Silbert on January 4, 2020

3.5 stars out of 5

I’d been trying to see Parasite for a few weeks, but it seemed like the world was trying to prevent me: illness, bad weather, general exhaustion. Finally on December 31 I made a concerted effort, $7 Tuesday not even in effect on account of the holiday (note: popcorn was still bargain price), and Parasite became my final movie of calendar year 2019.

It was good! Perhaps a little overhyped? Perhaps.

The trailer hadn’t given me a strong sense of what to expect, and I guess that would’ve been difficult anyway, as it’s an odd little film. We’re in Korea, and we meet a family straight out of Married With Children. Low-rent, constantly bickering with each other. The tone is light and comedic — and this part goes on for an hour. I started thinking, if this was a Hollywood film, with such unlikable main characters, we’d find it stupid. But I think sometimes we cut foreign films a bit too much slack.

Without giving a lot away — I believe Parasite begins streaming on January 20 — the family subtly “invades” an upper-class family’s home. And the mood slowly gets a lot darker, though still maintaining a satiric edge.

So, the message here is, well, something about the class struggle? Except normally I’d be rooting for the poor… but did I mention they’re incredibly unlikable? (I pictured Jane Lynch watching this movie, nodding in agreement.) I enjoyed that it was weird, and that it was dark, but I just couldn’t get 100% behind Parasite.

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Movie Review: Marriage Story

By Jack Silbert on January 4, 2020

3 stars out of 5

During this whole relationship-crumbling story, the one thought that kept going throug my head was, “Wait, do I still have a chance with Greta Gerwig?” But I guess, if anything, this flick would’ve been inspired by Noah Baumbach’s marriage and divorce with Jennifer Jason Leigh. Bummer.

So, this is a tricky one. It is a good movie, perhaps a very good one, but, I did not like it. It’s pretty well written — although as hard as he tries, Baumbach will never be as good as Woody Allen at writing light upper-class comedy. And it is skillfully directed. The cast and their performances are first-rate: Adam Driver (I love a scene where he’s cut himself badly but won’t admit it); Scarlett Johansson with a strong end of year, this and Jojo Rabbit; Alan Alda is a delight, as is our old pal Julie Hagerty; Laura Dern and Ray Liotta are likably unlikable. Kudos to Azhy Robertson, one of the more realistic child actors, as the child. And nicely cast in small roles: Robert Smigel, Wallace Shawn, Rich Fulcher, Martha from Baskets, my former costar Tunde Adebimpe, and from the Baumbach repertory company, Dean Wareham.

But, as a true-to-life portrayal of a marriage falling apart, it’s also TWO HOURS OF PEOPLE YELLING AT EACH OTHER. CAPS LOCK INTENTIONAL! And that was driving me bananas. Talky talky talky, yelly yelly yelly. I did think it ended well, with heart, but alas, too little, too late. Work out your issues on your own time, Baumbach!

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Movie Review: Star Wars — The Rise of Skywalker

By Jack Silbert on January 4, 2020

4.5 star wars out of 5

I was 8 when the first Star Wars came out, so for better and worse, this has been my life, with an awful lot of time and mental energy invested. But, not like, nerd level. So if there are some plot and character inconsistencies from film to film, I honestly don’t care or, more likely, don’t even remember. It’s Star Wars, baby.

So when the trailer for this new flick first arrived, and concluded with the sinister laughter of Emperor Palpatine, I wasn’t all “hey wait, Darth Vader threw him down a shaft in Return of the Jedi.” No, it sent frickin’ chills down my spine. Palpatine’s back, bitches — the baddest mama jama in the galaxy!

Which totally fits in this trilogy, that has depended on the past and present melding together. The 8-year-old me and the 400-year-old me. When I was a kid, the battle of good versus evil was everything. Obviously, as I’ve matured, I’ve learned to understand that there are grey areas, life is grey, the worst people aren’t all bad, the best people aren’t all good. It’s pretty complicated. But at the end of the day, I still want to believe in Good v. Bad. And Rise of Skywalker gives it to us in spades. With some grey tossed in for good measure.

Plus we get cool action (fights and chases and even raging seas), many big laughs (C-3PO really steps up his game), and genuine emotion. I had tears in my eyes the last 30–40 minutes of the movie! J.J. Abrams had a lot of ground to cover, but neatly put all the pieces together in a very satisfying way. A joyous farewell to dear friends.

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New Year’s Resolutions 2020

By Jack Silbert on December 31, 2019

1. For Halloween, dress up as Hugh Downs and/or Barbara Walters.

2. Now that I’ve solved Rubik’s Cube, resolve to re-solve.

3. Next time someone concludes a sassy “hot take” by saying “Prove me wrong!” go into an extended, Beautiful Mind-wall-diagram, meticulous point-by-point refutation of their supposed theory until everybody in the room gets really, really uncomfortable.

4. Launch my visiting-physician Airbnb service, Doctors Without Boarders.

5. Exorcise more.

6. Live every day like it’s my second-to-last, which is sooo much less pressure.

7. Whenever someone reveals the results of their ancestry test, ask, “Are you relatively sure?”

8. Reinvent wheel. Just spitballing, but maybe… oval?

9. Withhold cephalopod mollusk strap-on camera from Ukraine until they investigate my political rivals, but insist there was no quid pro quo for the Squid Go Pro.

10. Let bygones be bygones. Wait… what the fuck else would they be?

• My resolutions for 2019
• My resolutions for 2018
• My resolutions for 2017
• My resolutions for 2016
• My resolutions for 2015
• My resolutions for 2014
• My resolutions for 2013
• My resolutions for 2012

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Movie Review: Dark Waters

By Jack Silbert on December 23, 2019

4.5 stars out of 5

Sometimes a movie is good for you rather than enjoyable. Think Spielberg’s Lincoln as opposed to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. This one is very good for you, is a little exhausting, but really packs a punch.

I did have to convince myself to see it. Sure, I love Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway, but watching a real-life environmental lawsuit play out? I never did see that Damon/Krasinski one. But then I was reminded that freaking Todd Haynes is the director here, and he is The Man. Sign me up. Ruffalo is lawyer Robert Bilott who, spoiler alert, belongs on Mount Rushmore. He is an American hero. Bilott defends chemical companies but then, in the late 1990s, a different case comes his way: DuPont waste materials have been poisoning cows in West Virginia. And maybe poisoning people too.

Bill Camp plays the farmer who brings this to Bilott’s attention. Initially I found Camp’s performance to be pleasingly raw, but it wears some over the duration. The dude is (understandably) a grumpy Gus.

As David battles Goliath, and the case drags on and on and on, it of course affects Bilott’s family life; wife Hathaway gets a decent monologue or two. His boss Tim Robbins tries to be supportive (he delivers a stirring speech too), but he has a firm to run. Just when the film is feeling a little tiring, Bill Pullman shows up as a local attorney, and he energizes the proceedings.

The ending really got me emotionally — it certainly helped that I didn’t know the details of this case. Ultimately it’s a classic story of, can the little guy ever win? Perhaps speaking to our troubled times, this important film tells us that we can never stop fighting.

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Aquarium Playlist, 12/10/19

By Jack Silbert on December 10, 2019

EPISODE #360: LIVE HIGHLIGHTS 2019

The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The Original Sins — “She’s on my Side”
Electric Light Orchestra — “Hold on Tight”
The Church — “Under the Milky Way”
Squeeze — “Up the Junction”
They Might Be Giants — “Ana Ng”
The Minus 5 — “Hotel Senator”
Mates of State — “Proofs”
The Ladybug Transistor — “Meadowport Arch”
Peter Holsapple — “Commonplace”
The Mountain Goats — “Golden Boy”
Juliana Hatfield Three — “Spin the Bottle”
Liz Phair — “6’1″”
The Go-Betweens — “Surfing Magazines”

Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.

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Movie Review: Ford v Ferrari

By Jack Silbert on December 3, 2019

3 stars out of 5

I dig fast cars and Matt Damon. I do not dig rooting for big stupid companies. Eh, I gave the movie a chance. Meh, I reacted.

Starts out pretty promising. Driver’s point-of-view, speeding through a race course at night. Cool. And if there has been a previous movie about the 24-hour Le Mans race, I haven’t seen it, so that’s pretty compelling. And at the very least, I finally learned to pronounce it le MON instead of le MONZ.

Damon, as real-life former driver/racecar builder Carroll Shelby, is reliably solid and likable. Christian Bale, as real-life bad-boy mechanic/driver Ken Miles, is reliably unlikable. Tracy Letts is quite believable as thick-bodied corporate blowhard Henry Ford II. And Jon Bernthal is a poor man’s Chris Messina (himself a poor man’s Dermot Mulroney) as young Lee Iacocca, Ford marketing upstart.

From what I’ve read, the story sticks pretty closely to the facts: To appeal to younger consumers, Ford wants to build a racecar. They tried and failed to purchase Ferrari, so decided to challenge the Italian auto greats at the legendary Le Mans. Iacocca recruits Shelby, who brings Miles aboard. The only real exaggeration seems to be making Ford’s Leo Beebe into a cartoonish corporate-stooge bad guy, thwarting Shelby and Miles at every… uh… turn. That caricature is unfortunate, as it hurts the movie’s overall realism.

Other problems: It’s 1957 and I blinked and it was 1965. Huh? Also, I know we’re rooting for Shelby and Miles, but Shelby often comes across as a sellout to Ford Motors, and that didn’t make me feel great. (Plus he cheats a little.) Also, too much gearhead lingo. And most damning, where there should be great drama — which we’ve seen in racing movies time and again, so it’s quite possible — there is not great drama. This is likely a failure of sticking too closely to reality. Interesting subject but not interesting enough for a 2.5-hour movie. Le Yawn.

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Aquarium Playlist, 12/3/19

By Jack Silbert on December 3, 2019

EPISODE #359: 8TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL (RADIO VOL. VII)

The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Spiritualized — “Here It Comes (The Road) Let’s Go”
The Shivas — “Playing on the Radio”
Buzzcocks — “Radio Nine”
Henry’s Dress — “(You’re My) Radio One”
Bingo Hand Job — “Radio Song”
The Ramones — “We Want the Airwaves”
The Church — “Electric Lash”
Jason Forrest featuring Laura Cantrell — “Nightclothes and Headphones”
Christie Front Drive — “Radio”
George Harrison — “Devil’s Radio”
KHJ Los Angeles Radio Report
Soul Coughing — “Screenwriter’s Blues”
Chris Stamey — “On the Radio (for Ray Davies)”

Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.

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