Jack Silbert
My Highly Subjective List of the Best Movies of 2018
We can perhaps track my physical recovery by my attendance at entertainment events: In 2017, I saw 172 musical performances, while in 2018 that total jumped to 444. And while I only saw 22 new-release films in the theater in 2017, in 2018 I was back in the high life again with 39. It was […]
Movie Review: The Favourite
4 stars out of 5 As I’ve stated before, costume dramas aren’t really my thing. But in the past 2.5 years, Yorgos Lanthimos — with The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and Dogtooth (which I saw on home video) — has quickly become one of my fave filmmakers. Plus, we all know my […]
Aquarium Playlist, 1/1/19
EPISODE #313: NEW TO ME IN 2018, PT. 2 In 2018, I saw 444 musical performances by 372 different acts, 234 of which I was seeing for the first time, 221 of them brand-new to me. Of those, I was inspired to buy 64 records. (I also purchased debut records by acts I’d seen in previous years, indicated […]
New Year’s Resolutions 2019
1. Partially shut down government until congressional Democrats give me $5 billion for a border collie. 2. Reveal to world that all this time, HTML has been shorthand for Hotmail. 3. Every time someone says 2019, mutter, “You know, Normie, 19 was the average age of soldiers killed in Vietnam.” 4. Research if Roy Rogers’ […]
Movie Review: Holmes & Watson
1 star out of 5 Is movie comedy dead? What was the last really funny, wide-appeal film? In my lifetime, it seemed like mini-generations passed the torch, making each era’s silly but solid flicks: people from Python, SNL, SCTV, The State, Freaks & Geeks. But it truly feels like the torch has been extinguished. Will […]
Movie Review: Ben Is Back
4 stars out of 5 The movie takes place on December 24, and I watched it on December 24, so that was pretty cool. Quick review: Really good but it’s a bummer. Ben (actor of the moment Lucas Hedges) is a young addict in recovery who has come home for Christmas. And maybe he shouldn’t […]
Aquarium Playlist, 12/25/18
EPISODE #312: NEW TO ME IN 2018, PT. 1 So far in 2018, I’ve seen 427 musical performances by 360 different acts, 224 of which I was seeing for the first time, 211 of them brand-new to me. Of those, I was inspired to buy 64 records. (I also purchased debut records by acts I’d seen in previous […]
Movie Review: Spider-Man — Into the Spider-Verse
4 stars out of 5 I was confused by the trailer: Was this a kiddie movie? Having seen all the other Spider-Man movies, was I obligated to see this one as well? I mean, it’s a cartoon, right? Although, comic books are cartoons by definition. So maybe this was the preferable way to see a […]
Movie Review: Creed II
4 stars out of 5 I was glad they made this sequel, because it’s pretty cool to have a film series within a film series: i.e. Creed II is Rocky VIII. Well, kudos to all involved, because — if not quite as artfully made as the first Creed — it more than gets the job […]
Jack Silbert, curator