By Jack Silbert on December 26, 2021
3.5 stars out of 5
Red Rocket is the new film from Sean Baker, writer/director of The Florida Project. I really liked the vibe and strong sense of place in that movie, and the great performance from Willem Dafoe. (What I didn’t like: There were so many SCREAMING KIDS in the story.) With this follow-up, Baker cements his understanding of the not-working class, swapping a run-down Florida motel for the scrubby outskirts of Texan oil refineries. Simon Rex stars as Mikey, back in town from Los Angeles, showing up at the door of Lexi (Bree Elrod) because he has nowhere else to go. Baker deftly allows the backstory to unfold slowly: Turns out Mikey is married to Lexi, and also he is a porn star, and also [no spoilers].
This is being marketed as a comedy and there are many laughs, but there’s a real underlying sadness at play. Mikey is a charmer and a low-rent hustler, a grown-ass man tooling around town on a bicycle. Rex plays him with a Bill Murray-esque energy and a vague effeminate quality that undercuts his proud hetero-studliness. It’s the kind of character that, against your better judgement, you root for, until you don’t anymore. Because Mikey is a user of anyone who shows him kindness: Lexi, worshipful neighbor Lonny, on-the-edge-of-18 Strawberry (Suzanna Son) who works at the donut shop. The 2016 presidential race hangs in the background here and it’s fitting, as we learned that a big percentage of the country, like Mikey, only cares about themselves.
While Dafoe was The Florida Project’s moral center, this movie really doesn’t have one, so it’s pretty bleak. There’s a real lonesomeness too, captured nicely in shots of empty nighttime streets in the dull glow of refinery lights. Lonny and Mikey, disconnected from the rest of the world, usually drive on the access road instead of the highway.
Structurally, the first two thirds of the movie doesn’t have much plot, and then the final third has too much. With one twist I became much more involved in the story and yet with the next I felt somewhat distanced. And without a strong ending, Red Rocket fizzles out a bit.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 20s movies
By Jack Silbert on December 22, 2021
3.5 stars out of 5
I thought we could get some peace and quiet while the Avengers are still off in disintegrated-into-ash land. But nope, the new Spidey flick starts yanking favorite old baddies from the Multiverse (registered trademark Zuckerberg Industries), and I bet the hack screenwriters were kicking themselves for already using Homecoming as a title for an earlier installment. Hey, it’s Alfred Molina from the days when these movies weren’t such cynical money-grabs! And Willem Dafoe! And, uh, that guy from Wings! And Jamie Foxx, was he in a Spider-Man movie?!? Oh yeah, one of those crappy Andrew Garfield jobbers.
There are a bunch of thrilling, well-executed action sequences in this, so if you like that sort of thing, you’ll likely enjoy the movie. And if you’ve bought the “Marvel Universe” hook, line, and stinkers — all the films, all the shows — then you’ll have extry fun connecting all the dots. But for the rest of us, you not only get that sneaking suspicion that you’ve seen it all before; in this one they actually laughingly elbow us in the ribs, confirming that we have seen it all before! And will probably see it again, and again, and again.
Tom Holland, Zendaya, and the heavy-set kid are again believable and likable as young pals, this time applying for college. There is some decent humor and in-jokes. But again it feels like the movie was plotted out by a focus group of 8-year-olds, and that Holland’s people insisted that he doesn’t have to wear a mask a lot, even when that doesn’t make any sense. Cumberbatch’s jokey Dr. Strange still doesn’t ring true to me. And brace yourselves for a lot of Psychology 101 in the back stretch. I can’t get too upset: the sweet-spot demographic for these movies is teenage-and-below, and for that crowd I think life lessons on the importance of friendship, self-awareness, and self-worth are a worthy addition. Bottom line, I enjoyed this movie, but all the multivitamin multiverse stuff was a nagging reminder how much better and cooler Into the Spider-Verse was.
Personal highlight: As Peter Parker is returning to school, we hear “Scraper” by Liquid Liquid. So while all the nerds were waiting for the obligatory bonus scenes in the end credits, I was waiting to see the names Sal Principato, Dennis Young, Scott Hartley, and Richard McGuire up on the big screen. Awesome!
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 00s movies, 10s movies, 20s movies, Liquid Liquid, Spider-Man
By Jack Silbert on December 21, 2021
EPISODE #466: NEW TO ME 2021, LIVESTREAMING
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Sex Clark Five — “Streams” [OPENING THEME]
Charlotte Rose Benjamin — “Party City”
Sarchasm — “Wither (in D)”
Miss Grit — “Buy the Banter”
Savan DePaul — “Mist Burns”
Basement Revolver — “Wax and Digital”
Cheerbleederz — “Staying Up Late”
Sweetie Darling — “Black Coat”
Molly Ringworm — “Be Mindful”
Wares — “Tall Girl”
Sunflower Bean — “Puppet Strings”
Amy O — “Planet Blue”
Pale Lights — “Streamlining” [CLOSING THEME]
Jack Silbert proudly records The Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Amy O, Basement Revolver, Charlotte Rose Benjamin, Cheerbleederz, Miss Grit, Molly Ringworm, Pale Lights, Sarchasm, Savan DePaul, Sex Clark Five, Sunflower Bean, Sweetie Darling, Wares
By Jack Silbert on December 20, 2021
3.5 stars out of 5
Yes, I attend Joe Hurley’s All-Star Irish Rock Revue every year, hoping Don Fleming will sing “The Bogside Man,” and in the early 90s I was in the Tir na nÓg pub in Trenton at midnight one night when they had a moment of silence for Bobby Sands. But the truth is, I’ve had very little grasp of “The Troubles.” This movie, loosely based on writer/director Kenneth Branagh’s own childhood, helped fill in some gaps. That history looms large in this coming-of-age tale which I liked if didn’t really love.
I did not have a lot of Branagh experience to base expectations on. I’d only seen two previous films he’d directed: Dead Again (1991) and the meh Murder on the Orient Express (2017). I know he used to be with Emma Thompson, and that the dude digs Shakespeare. He knows his way around a motion picture, and having been a kid in Belfast in the late 1960s, was certainly able to summon innocent recollections of the time and place. I just wish he could’ve done it with a tad more skill and depth.
The cast is solid but there aren’t any real standout performances. Jude Hill plays our 9-year-old protagonist Buddy. He looks like a young Conan O’Brien, is quite likable, comes dangerously close to hamming it up but holds it together throughout. I was most impressed with Dame Judi Dench as the grandma. It’s a sweet, down-to-earth portrayal, and the deep lines on her face speak volumes. I guess she’s playing about a decade younger, while trusty Ciarán Hinds is playing a decade older as the charming grandpa.
The movie is shot in black-and-white, though rather than looking sumptuous, reminded me of switching to a B&W filter on Instagram. Oh and there is a ton of Van Morrison on the soundtrack, which definitely fits, but alas his modern-day anti-Covid safety stance somewhat spoiled the listening experience for me. (Maybe Branagh took advantage of a heavy discount on Van the Man’s out-of-flavor catalog?)
Branagh’s screenplay is easy enough to follow, and successfully captures a family caught in societal and interpersonal upheaval. It has a few too many one-liners for a realistic story, leaves a couple of loose ends, and contains a leap of logic or two.
Bottom line: It’s a good small film but in this crowded field of quality end-of-year films, you can wait to sruth, uh, I mean, stream this one.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies, 20s movies, 90s movies, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh
By Jack Silbert on December 15, 2021
5 stars out of 5
The closest I ever came to seeing West Side Story before was the Michael Jackson “Bad” video, and Chris Elliott as Marv Albert singing “Somewhere” on Letterman. (“There’s a place for us — YES!!”) But Spielberg is my boy, so I figured I’d give the new version a shot. And all I can say is: Wow.
OK, OK, I’ll say a little bit more. I tend to avoid musicals due to all the clichés of the form: the phoniness, corniness, slickness, and, sure, the randomly bursting into song thing. Watching this film, though, I didn’t notice an ounce of cliché. It’s big, bold, visceral, thrilling. There isn’t a wrong note, musically or cinematically.
Yes, it’s set in 1957, but the underlying social issues totally resonate today: gentrification, fear of immigrants taking over, the lack of realization that we’re all immigrants, police profiling (Latino Lives Matter), rage boiling over into bloodshed. At their crudest, the Jets come across like Proud Boys, and it’s chilling. The Sharks ain’t exactly the glee club, neither. There’s blanket distrust of anyone who isn’t Puerto Rican and the twin desire/repulsion of assimilation.
In the middle of it all: our star-crossed lovers, Tony and Maria, portrayed by Ansel “Baby Driver” Elgort and New Jersey’s own Rachel Zegler. Elgort’s Tony is a big, dumb, sweet kid, with lessons learned from violence in his past. Zegler’s Maria is innocent but tired of being treated like a child; respectful but unwilling to be pushed around. Both actors are phenomenal. When the closing credits said “And introducing Rachel Zegler” I was pleasantly stunned by her lack of experience. As Jerry Orbach once said, “You’re going out there a youngster, but you’ve got to come back a star!”
Across the board, the performances are top-rate. Ariana DeBose kills it as Anita, showing us all the emotions. Mike Faist is te-riff-ic as Riff; cocky, troubled, scared. Newcomer Josh Andrés Rivera is great as Chino — kind, nervous, above the fray until he isn’t anymore. Corey Stoll is having a good year between playing Uncle Junior among the many saints and now non-singing Lt. Schrank here. And Rita Moreno lends the proceedings all sorts of gravitas, the young Anita grown into the wise old Valentina, with a gut-punch song at the ready too.
The music is indeed glorious — not rock but something close. (I don’t know what became of these kids Bernstein and Sondheim but they showed a lot of promise.) Catchy, finger-popping, toe-tapping, heart-thumping. And rather than coming across as characters randomly bursting into song, Spielberg makes it a natural flow. Like conversation can no longer do justice to their swelling feelings, and the only thing that can possibly come out is music. Same deal for the knockout dancing.
The streets and sets look amazing — not fake but hyper-real. The camera is a wide-eyed observer, not missing a carefully-rendered detail. And if you’re not a sucker for the love story, check yer pulse, you might not have one. Steven Spielberg remains at the very top of his game, delivering perfection in yet another genre. See it on the big screen if you can.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 20s movies, 50s movies, Ansel Elgort, Leonard Bernstein, Rachel Zegler, Stephen Sondheim, Steven Spielberg
By Jack Silbert on December 14, 2021
EPISODE #465: HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2021
Darlene Love — “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Laura Cantrell and Michael Shelley — “Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus”
The Spaminato Brothers — “The Very Best Gift of All”
The Porchistas — “3 a.m. Santa”
worldsucks — “Must Be Santa”
The Polyphonic Spree — “It’s Christmas”
Nicole Atkins — “Every Single Christmas”
Swansea Sound — “Happy Christmas to Me”
Jack Skuller — “Empty Stocking Blues”
Phoebe Bridgers — “Christmas Song”
Gordon McIntyre — “Me and You and the Ghosts of Christmas Past”
The Beths — “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
The Monkees — “The Christmas Song” r.i.p. Michael Nesmith
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl — “Fairytale of New York”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Ballboy, Darlene Love, Gordon McIntyre, Jack Skuller, Kirsty MacColl, Laura Cantrell, Michael Nesmith, Michael Shelley, Monkees, Nicole Atkins, Phoebe Bridgers, Pogues, Polyphonic Spree, Porchistas, Spaminato Brothers, Swansea Sound, The Beths, worldsucks
By Jack Silbert on December 7, 2021
EPISODE #464: 10th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL (RADIO IX)
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Hank Williams — “Happy Rovin’ Cowboy” [Health and Happiness Show theme]
soundbite — Jack on WNYC’s Morning Edition, 12/19/12
Gary Stewart — “Ten Years of This”
Mac McCaughan — “I Hear a Radio”
Hearty Har — “Radio Man ’56”
All Ashore! — “Radio Sunshine”
Freedy Johnston — “Radio for Heartache”
R.E.M. — “Radio Song” [BBC’s Into the Night Nicky Campbell session]
Robyn Hitchcock — “The Devil’s Radio”
Marshall Crenshaw — “Radio Girl”
Steve Wynn — “Bring the Magic”
Talking Heads — “Radio Head”
soundbite — listener Hoboken Jack legal ID on WFMU’s Michael Shelley show
Wussy — “Teenage Wasteland”
The Yardbirds — “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged All Ashore!, BBC, Freedy Johnston, Gary Stewart, Hank Williams, Hearty Har, Mac McCaughan, Marshall Crenshaw, Michael Shelley, R.E.M., Robyn Hitchcock, Steve Wynn, Talking Heads, WFMU, WNYC, Wussy, Yardbirds
By Jack Silbert on December 1, 2021
4 stars out of 5
Ghostbusters is my jam. It was perfection when I was 15: an ideal blend of smart, silly, juvenile, and flat-out funny. I’ll always remember being at my buddy John’s house for New Year’s Eve; at midnight we discovered that HBO was playing Ghostbusters, and even though we’d both seen it in the theater, that was the best thing ever. In short, bustin’ makes me feel good.
So I was incredibly excited when this reboot was announced, with involvement from… Bill Murray! Dan Aykroyd! The black Ghostbuster! And then Covid delayed it, building my anticipation even more.
I am not shocked that when I finally got to see the movie, I was a bit disappointed. Where were my guys? Where were the zingers? Was this a kindler, gentler Ghostbusters? In a word, yes. But when I shifted my expectations, I began to enjoy the movie, and by the end (no spoilers) I truly enjoyed it quite a lot.
This is what’s known as a family movie, and hey, that’s OK. There’s plenty of family to go around here: Carrie Coon is the single mom of teen Trevor and tween Phoebe, who moves the kids to a weird old farmhouse that was owned by her late dad who had abandoned her… Dr. Egon Spengler. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Jason Reitman takes over the reins as director from his dad, Ivan.
The pace is slow but pleasant for a long while, as the family explores its new rural environment, of course ghosts start to pop up, and the kids — especially Phoebe — eventually learn their ancestral link to a 1980s group of beige jumpsuit-wearing gentlemen who busted ghosts in Manhattan. McKenna Grace (who I saw in one of those Conjuring flicks) is especially good as nerdy, friendless, but really trying Phoebe. Finn Wolfhard, who I know from IT but not from Stranger Things, is likable and non-punk Joey Ramone-looking as Trevor. Carrie Coon’s frazzledness gets a little tiresome but perhaps her character has an arc, so please be patient. And Paul Rudd is the awkward nice guy as per usual.
As ghost activity and resultant busting picks up, so does the film, with fun action sequences and effects that kids and Peter Pan syndrome adults will enjoy. When the OG Ghostbusters arrived, I got seriously verklempt. And the memory of Harold Ramis is shown proper respect. Why wouldn’t it be? Those guys are our family too.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 20s movies, 80s movies, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Harold Ramis, Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman
By Jack Silbert on November 30, 2021
EPISODE #463: GIVING TUESDAY
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The Smithereens — “Groovy Tuesday”
The Lemon Twigs — “If You Give Enough”
Lake — “Giving & Receiving”
The Human Hearts — “Giving It Away”
The Mockers — “I’d Give Anything”
Velvet Monkeys — “Love to Give”
Richard Hell & the Voidoids — “I Can Only Give You Everything” (Destiny Street Repaired version)
Matthew Sweet — “Give a Little”
Barry White — “I’ve Got So Much to Give”
David Bowie — “I Can’t Give Everything Away”
The Whatnauts — “What’s Left to Give (After Giving It All)”
Karyn Kuhl — “Get What You Give”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Barry White, David Bowie, Giving Tuesday, Karyn Kuhl Band, Lake, Matthew Sweet, Richard Hell, The Human Hearts, The Lemon Twigs, The Mockers, The Smithereens, Velvet Monkeys, Whatnauts
By Jack Silbert on November 23, 2021
EPISODE #462: THANKSGIVING 2021 (PARADES)
live from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Genuine Diamelles — “Underdog” [ALTERNATE THEME]
My Chemical Romance — “Welcome to the Black Parade”
Aberdeen — “Marine Parade”
The Undertones — “The Love Parade”
The Dream Academy — “The Love Parade”
M. Ward — “Sweethearts on Parade”
The Magnetic Fields — “Parades Go By”
Of Montreal — “The March of the Gay Parade”
Delta Spirit — “Parade”
ballboy — “Disney’s Ice Parade”
Elvis Costello — “London’s Brilliant Parade”
The Clash — “The Street Parade”
The Oswalds — “Santa’s at the End of the Parade”
Mary Gauthier — “Thanksgiving”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Aberdeen, Ballboy, Delta Spirit, Dream Academy, Elvis Costello, M. Ward, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Magnetic Fields, My Chemical Romance, Of Montreal, Thanksgiving, The Clash, The Genuine Diamelles, The Oswalds, Undertones
Jack Silbert, curator