3 stars out of 5
At some point in the past few years, I watched The Conjuring on HBO, and liked it well enough that I soon watched The Conjuring 2. I was suitably amused/creeped out by these based-on-actual-bullshit tales of real-life spook searchers Ed and Lorraine Warren (of Amityville Horror fame), plus I’m a fan of both Patrick Wilson and Vera “Norma Bates” Farmiga. I decided if they made another Conjuring flick, I’d see it in the theater. So, I can’t really say the devil made me do it.
In the pandemic meantime, I watched Conjuring Universe films Annabelle Comes Home (3 stars) and Annabelle: Creation (2 stars). If you’re not familiar with the concept of “universe” series, they’re the kind of offshoot movies where Wilson and Farmiga lean into frame in the 83rd minute and ask, “Oh hey, we were away for the weekend. Everything OK with you guys?”
And now it was time to return to the Conjuring mothership. I actually tried to see this on opening day, last Friday. But two things told me we are getting that much closer to normal: The multiplex had a full slate of daily screenings (instead of just 2 or 3 showings at night) and, annoyingly, the next two showings were sold out! I came back on $7 Tuesday.
Early on, there’s a blatant visual nod to The Exorcist (#re2pect) and the initial “Out, cursed demon!” sequence involving an 8-year-old boy is genuinely thrilling and scary. But uh-oh, the evil spirit jumps into the kid’s older sister’s boyfriend Arne (got that?). As we delve deeper into the unexplained, we also wonder why Arne’s 1981 haircut looks significantly more modern. Ooooh that’s scary stuff, kids!
Speaking of appearances: OK, fine, the Warrens were real people. But if there was one element in this entire series where filmmakers insisted on strictly adhering to the The Truth, did it have to be Lorraine’s godawful sense of style? The lovely, sexy Farmiga is saddled with ghastly frilly tops and an absurd 1940s school-marm hairdo. Not a good look, my friends!
No spoilers but Arne does a bad, bad thing and the Warrens set out to prove that… the devil made him do it. But here’s the rub: Placed against the backdrop of the legal system, this Conjuring mumbo-jumbo really starts to seem terribly silly. It doesn’t help that the script, um, demonizes Satan worshippers; it felt like ’80s fuddy-duddies blaming Judas Priest and Ozzy for dirtweed teens acting out.
We do get a pretty exciting drawn-out climax. And, it’s nice to see our old pals from the Conjuring Universe: Same actors return as the weary priest, the videographer, and the Warren daughter (who only gets a couple of lines). The Conjuring 3 is a decent enough entry in the series. And I will admit to coming home and loading up Universe title The Nun on my on-demand. Taissa Farmiga is in it. I do love me some Farmigas.
Movie Review: The Conjuring — The Devil Made Me Do It
Aquarium Playlist, 6/8/21
EPISODE #438: ACRONYMS
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
ATV — “Action Time Vision”
Le Tigre — “TKO”
Ming Tea — “BBC”
Naughty by Nature — “O.P.P.”
ABBA — “S.O.S.”
Edwin Starr — “Stop Her on Sight (S.O.S.)”
Jay Reatard — “DOA”
Jay-Z — “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”
They Might Be Giants — “P.S.O.K.”
Sweet — “A.C.D.C.”
Robyn Hitchcock — “NASA Clapping”
Village People — “YMCA”
Guided by Voices — “Teenage FBI”
The Beatles — “P.S. I Love You”
The Four Deuces — “W-P-L-J”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Movie Review: A Quiet Place part II
3.5 stars out of 5
Have you been back to the movies? Talk about a quiet place! As we crawl back to some semblance of normalcy, I noticed this was the first flick since before-times to have multiple afternoon showings. Like, a regular schedule! However, we’re quickly reminded that things have been a little “off” when a pre-movie video has John Krasinski earnestly thanking us for coming to the theater. Desperate much, Hollywood?
Still, I was excited to see this, as the original film was my No. 6 best movie of 2018. It was SCARY with a capital S and the other letters too, but a smart kind of scary. One nice thing about that film is that it started right in the middle of the action and we were all “w-w-wait why do they all hafta be quiet? What the hell is happening here?” Almost to reward us — and also to give Krasinski some screen time — the sequel begins in flashback to Day 1. It’s a genuinely thrilling sequence that also serves to introduce us to the family’s neighbor, Cillian Murphy, who is looking more and more like Grant Goodeve.
And then we’re back at Day 400-and-something, and Emily Blunt and the two kids, wait three because of THE BABY (shhhh!!! stop crying!!!!! they’ll hear us!!!) pack up the wrecked homestead and head to a flame in the distance which turns out to be Cillian’s survival compound. The cast is pretty solid: Blunt remains the dedicated, frantic-but-trying-to-hold-it-together mom who would literally do anything for her kids. Young Millicent Simmonds continues to ooze soulfulness; I truly hope there are more quality roles ahead for this terrific deaf actress. Young Noah Jupe basically cries and looks shocked the whole time, but he looks like a young Krasinski so points for that. And Cillian pulls off a solid American accent and is believable as a weary dad whose world has crumbled.
So, the pieces are in (a quiet) place, but, like oh so many sequels, it just ain’t as good as the first one. There is tension and scares but maybe not as many? I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of Part I and that was unfortunately not the case here. Blame must fall squarely on Mr. Krasinski. He directed both movies, and the moviemaking is fine — we’re clearly in the same world as we were before. But while the first film was written by three people, this time Kras went it alone. Jim Halpert’s TV background betrays itself with a sitcommy plot outline: Millicent and Cillian head out for one story and Blunt and Jupe stay behind for another. And Jupe’s character arc is too simplistic: Will this really nervous kid maybe stop being so nervous?
All that said, it’s an entertaining movie that will occasionally make you say AHHHH! and if you loved A Quiet Place, you might as well see part II. I mean, what are you gonna do, stay at home another 15 months?
Aquarium Playlist, 6/1/21
EPISODE #437: BUSES
The Who — “Magic Bus” [ALTERNATE THEME]
John Cozz & the Rippers — “Greyhound”
Simon & Garfunkel — “America”
Skeeter Davis — “Bus Fare to Kentucky”
The Replacements — “Kiss Me on the Bus”
The Hollies — “Bus Stop”
Fastbacks — “Bus Stop”
Cinema Red and Blue — “Ballad of a Bus Stop”
ZZ Top — “Waitin’ for the Bus”
Vehicle Flips — “Bus Pass”
Cayetana — “Bus Ticket”
The Minders — “Red Bus”
The Smittens — “First Bus”
Karl Hendricks Trio — “The Last Bus”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 5/25/21
EPISODE #436: MEMORIES II (MEMORIAL DAY 2021)
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Talking Heads — “Memories Can’t Wait”
Tim Foljahn — “Remember Me”
Carlton Jumel Smith — “Remember Me”
Freedy Johnston — “Remember Me”
The Ramones — “I Remember You”
Tuns — “My Memories”
XL Kings — “Memories”
The Proper Ornaments — “Memories”
Marshall Crenshaw — “Like a Vague Memory”
Daniel Johnston — “I Remember Painfully”
Dany Laj & the Looks — “Remember When”
Dream Syndicate — “Then She Remembers”
Grass Widow — “Uncertain Memory”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 5/18/21
EPISODE #435: GOD
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Big Dipper — “He Is God”
James Mastro — “My God”
The Magnetic Fields — “God Wants Us To Wait”
The William Loveday Intention — “God’s Reason Why”
XTC — “Dear God”
New Order — “Touched by the Hand of God”
Super Furry Animals — “God! Show Me Magic”
Television Personalities — “God Snaps His Fingers”
The Original Sins — “Little Piece of God”
Daniel Johnston — “God”
Guided by Voices — “God Loves Us”
Crowded House — “There Goes God”
Mrs. Magician — “There Is No God”
O.V. Wright — “I’m Going Home (To Live With God)”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 5/11/21
EPISODE #434: MONEY IV
The Who — “Happy Jack” [acoustic; ALTERNATE THEME]
Cyndi Lauper — “Money Changes Everything”
Little Richard — “Money”
Slim Harpo — “I Need Money (Keep Your Alibis)”
The Poor Boys — “(I’m) Gonna Spend My Money”
The Psychedelic Furs — “All That Money Wants”
The Magnetic Fields — “’94: Haven’t Got a Penny”
Reverend Horton Heat — “400 Bucks”
Johnny Ace — “No Money”
Ray Charles — “Busted”
The Kinks — “The Moneygoround”
The Lovin’ Spoonful — “Money”
Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift — “Follow Your Money”
Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin — “Stuff They Call Money”
Woody Guthrie — “Do-Re-Mi”
Willie Nile — “Best Friends Money Can Buy”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
EP Review: ‘Relish on the Good Times’ by John Cozz
4 stars out of 5
Sample or purchase on Bandcamp here
Buy the 7″ + Cozz Coffee package here
Spotify folks, click here
On the surface, it looks like beloved young scuzz-rocker John Cozz has it all: He runs his own boutique Cozz Coffee roasting company; he co-runs the upstart Pizza Bagel Records label; he’s in a loving relationship with one of north Jersey’s most in-demand hair stylists, the saucy Sam Bolognese; and John still somehow finds time to fall off his skateboard. But like any true blue Jersey guy, there’s still plenty of agita in Cozz-akhstan. And John Cozz and the Rippers let it all hang out on the terrific new EP Relish on the Good Times, upping his quotient of both melody and (gasp!) maturity.
Oh, don’t worry, Cozz hasn’t transformed into a mopey singer-songwriter. This is is still a drunken punk rock party, well represented by the hilarious Rutt’s-ian cover art (by Sam Cardelfe) and the hot-dog pun title (which IMHO should’ve just been Relish the Good Times but hey, nobody asked me). But there’s more structure and concision than before to John’s songs, powerfully played by his loyal band the Rippers (the kid likes hot dogs, ok?): Max Rauch (of LKFFCT) on lead guitar, Nick Nucci on bass, and Kevin Donnelly (also of LKFFCT) on drums.
Lead track “Step In, Yer In” chronicles suburban splendor being rudely interrupted by dog urine, annoying neighbors, and an unresponsive landlord. Musically, it’s highlighted by a bright power-pop chorus and an insidious earworm main riff by Rauch which is sort of a modified “Peter Gunn Theme.”
Our narrator simply cannot catch a break. In “Take a Walk Duuuude” he’s hassled in the men’s room and then kicked out of the bar for no good reason, all set to fuzzy guitar and a Johnny Cash boom-chicka-boom beat. OK, but here’s that mature stuff I was talking about: He realizes he was having a better time at home with Sam. (Oh wait i get it the narrator is JOHN COZZ.) His head starts spinning, Rauch unleashes a wild solo, and the music veers off into Cozzadelic glory.
The alienation reaches its peak in “Italian Meats,”with the riff from “Step In” flipped on its ear creating a sense of heightening paranoia. Cozz paints a Springsteen-esque scene, a ghost town of QuickChek parking lots and blank teens on Xanax. His vocals sound like he’s losing his shit. He’s gotta get outta this place, if it’s the last thing he ever does. Tramps like Cozz, baby they were born to run.
But not without his woman. The bus-ride finale of “Greyhound” — a hit single in a fair world — is not the existential angst Paul Simon described in “America.” Instead it’s a happy ending for our hero, comfort and peace with his lover. Two against the world, shelter from the storm. Plus an absolute killer chorus! Check out the EP, it’s a real good Cozz.
Aquarium Playlist, 4/27/21
EPISODE #432: WASTE
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Jon Langford’s Four Lost Souls — “Waste”
The Lodger — “Wasting My Time With You”
Marshall Crenshaw — “You’re My Favorite Waste of Time”
Freedy Johnston — “Waste Your Time”
Jarvis Cocker — “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time”
Best Coast — “Wasted Time”
The Libertines — “What a Waster”
Black Flag — “Wasted”
Dum Dum Girls — “Wasted Away”
Rare Books — “Waste Away”
The Muffs — “Don’t Waste Another Day”
Sir Douglas Quintet — “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights”
Bob Dylan — “Long and Wasted Years”
Sonic Youth — “What a Waste”
The Lost Crusaders — “Wasted on the Wind”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Jack Silbert, curator