Best Picture--The Artist
Best Director--Michel Hazanavicius
Best Actor--George Clooney
Best Actress-Viola Davis
Supporting Actor--Jonah Hill
Supporting Actress--Berenice Bejo
Original Screenplay--Midnight in Paris
Adapted Screenplay--Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Original Score--The Artist
Cinematography--The Artist
Editing--The Artist
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Top 11 Albums of 2011
Hey, Mark Miller here, contributing writer and music critic for High Times. Since 11 is one of my lucky numbers, figure I'd rank the top 11 albums of 2011, instead of the usual top 10 list. This isn't the High Times list, just my personal rankings. Here goes everything...
(* = reviewed by me in the pages of High Times)
*1. SMiLE...Beach Boys It may be over 40 years old, but it's still the best album of this or any other year.
2. Dead Roots Stirring...Elder It's got the expected metal and stoner elements but also contains riffs that could be from lost classic 70's albums. Most surprising album of '11.
3. Tomboy...Panda Bear...Not as earth-shattering as 2007's Person Pitch, but still contains some of the year's strongest vocals and music, the title track is a powerhouse. While I didn't review Tomboy for HT, I did interview Panda, link is here: http://hightimes.com/lounge/mmiller/7078
4. Vaccine...Younger Brother...Electronica album of the year. Album cover of the year. "Shine" was the best song of the year. That enough?
*5. The Local Fuzz...Atomic Bitchwax...A 42 minute song with just about that many distinct riffs. An always inventive album, like the soundtrack to the world's longest comic book.
*6. A Godlike Inferno...Ancient VVisdom....Satanic folk rock provided some of the year's best sing-alongs
*7. Gotta Get Up Now....Roger Miret and the Disasters....The Agnostic Front frontman delivered the best hardcore punk album of the year with some interesting twists and managed to put out a new album with Agnostic as well.
8. 7 Skies H3....Flaming Lips...If Bitchwax' 42 minute album/song wasn't good enough, how about 24 hours straight of the Lips? Though this album was polarizing for some, it was certainly ambitious, trippy and musically successful enough to make the list
9. Death by Stereo...Umphrey's McGee...They deliver the best jamband album of the year by departing from the usual formula and opting for an 80's sound that comes off refreshing. Kris Myers' drumming on "Domino Theory" is the year's best percussion.
10. Mirador...Sungrazer...Straight outta Holland comes this post-prog trio whose sounds go hand in hand with the best buds the Dutch coffee shops have to offer.
11. Green Naugahyde....Primus...Not as good as their glory year albums, but still worthy of inclusion on the list as original/new drummer Jay Lane helps deliver their best LP in 15 years
Honorable mention:
thecontrollersphere...Of Montreal...Best EP of 2011, and "Holiday Call" is the epic of the year
Into Bass and Time...Ancient Astronauts...Best rap album of the year
The Night the Sun Came Up...Dev...Best pop dance album of the year. Where Gaga is pretentious, Dev is inventive
Parallax...Atlas Sound...Most melodic album of the year
(* = reviewed by me in the pages of High Times)
*1. SMiLE...Beach Boys It may be over 40 years old, but it's still the best album of this or any other year.
2. Dead Roots Stirring...Elder It's got the expected metal and stoner elements but also contains riffs that could be from lost classic 70's albums. Most surprising album of '11.
3. Tomboy...Panda Bear...Not as earth-shattering as 2007's Person Pitch, but still contains some of the year's strongest vocals and music, the title track is a powerhouse. While I didn't review Tomboy for HT, I did interview Panda, link is here: http://hightimes.com/lounge/mmiller/7078
4. Vaccine...Younger Brother...Electronica album of the year. Album cover of the year. "Shine" was the best song of the year. That enough?
*5. The Local Fuzz...Atomic Bitchwax...A 42 minute song with just about that many distinct riffs. An always inventive album, like the soundtrack to the world's longest comic book.
*6. A Godlike Inferno...Ancient VVisdom....Satanic folk rock provided some of the year's best sing-alongs
*7. Gotta Get Up Now....Roger Miret and the Disasters....The Agnostic Front frontman delivered the best hardcore punk album of the year with some interesting twists and managed to put out a new album with Agnostic as well.
8. 7 Skies H3....Flaming Lips...If Bitchwax' 42 minute album/song wasn't good enough, how about 24 hours straight of the Lips? Though this album was polarizing for some, it was certainly ambitious, trippy and musically successful enough to make the list
9. Death by Stereo...Umphrey's McGee...They deliver the best jamband album of the year by departing from the usual formula and opting for an 80's sound that comes off refreshing. Kris Myers' drumming on "Domino Theory" is the year's best percussion.
10. Mirador...Sungrazer...Straight outta Holland comes this post-prog trio whose sounds go hand in hand with the best buds the Dutch coffee shops have to offer.
11. Green Naugahyde....Primus...Not as good as their glory year albums, but still worthy of inclusion on the list as original/new drummer Jay Lane helps deliver their best LP in 15 years
Honorable mention:
thecontrollersphere...Of Montreal...Best EP of 2011, and "Holiday Call" is the epic of the year
Into Bass and Time...Ancient Astronauts...Best rap album of the year
The Night the Sun Came Up...Dev...Best pop dance album of the year. Where Gaga is pretentious, Dev is inventive
Parallax...Atlas Sound...Most melodic album of the year
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Ranking the Top 5 Holidays
1. Halloween
2. New Years Eve>Day
3. X-Mas
4th of July
5. St. Paddy's Day
2. New Years Eve>Day
3. X-Mas
4th of July
5. St. Paddy's Day
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Moneyball
Finally, a baseball movie for baseball fans. Plus you find out early on what an "ugly girlfriend" is in baseball lexicon. Yes, much has been made about the historical inaccuracies of Moneyball along with the fact the film ignores the contributions of Barry Zito (Cy Young) and Miguel Tejada (MVP) to the 2002 A's, but it's still that rare baseball film that actually gets into the nuts and bolts of the game instead of the surface dressing and symbolism of baseball. ("The Natural" has as much to do with real baseball as does "Harry Potter"). It touches on scouting, trade negotiations and the manager/general manager dynamic you won't see in many if any baseball flicks.
Brad Pitt's portrayal of Beane isn't quite Tyler Durden meets Theo Epstein, but there are occasional glimpses of Pitt's career-defining performance as Durden in his performance of the A's single-minded GM. I appreciated that Pitt didn't play the role sympathetically and made Beane an abrupt, brooding loner. Jonah Hill's venture into drama is more hit-or-miss, he's funny but the humor is mainly derived from his reactions to others, his character of Peter Brand (based on Paul Depodesta, who ironically is now with the Mets, the team Beane first played for the in majors) could have had a bit more personality and still not clashed with Pitt. Philip Seymour Hoffman is better as A's skipper Art Howe than he's getting credit for and the conflicts between him and Pitt were some of the best character interaction in the film and provided rare dramatic tension. That struggle for power between Howe and Beane could have been further developed when the media started crediting Howe for the 2002 A's record-setting winning streak, but the film bypasses that with just a passing reference.
Never thought I'd see a major motion picture from Sony focusing on...Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt), including visiting the Hatteberg home on New Year's Eve. But 'Hatty' becomes a sort of an emblem of the Moneyball philosophy and it all ties together when Hatteberg hits the game-winning homer that seals the A's 20th consecutive victory in 2002, the 'high water mark' for Beane's 2000-03 Moneyball run, a team that lost 4 straight postseason series (although the 2006 A's did actually win the first round of the playoffs).
The flashbacks to Beane's early years as a high school phenom and later bust for the Mets/Twins/A's in the 1980's as the worst player on a lot of great teams are effective and give the film a larger and yet more personal context than just focusing on the 2002 A's payroll. Pitt's relationship with his daughter Casey (Kerris Dorsey) works, and we even see the musical bond between them (in real life, Billy and Casey have gone to punk rock shows together, though the only nod to punk in the film is a Clash poster in Billy's office).
Director Bennett Miller has made a solid baseball movie with genuine emotions, though neither the suspense of the game or Beane's persona/inner demons overwhelm the viewer, but at least you know to avoid drafting a prospective player with an "ugly girlfriend". Give Moneyball 4 out of 5 Alvin Dark baseball gloves.
Brad Pitt's portrayal of Beane isn't quite Tyler Durden meets Theo Epstein, but there are occasional glimpses of Pitt's career-defining performance as Durden in his performance of the A's single-minded GM. I appreciated that Pitt didn't play the role sympathetically and made Beane an abrupt, brooding loner. Jonah Hill's venture into drama is more hit-or-miss, he's funny but the humor is mainly derived from his reactions to others, his character of Peter Brand (based on Paul Depodesta, who ironically is now with the Mets, the team Beane first played for the in majors) could have had a bit more personality and still not clashed with Pitt. Philip Seymour Hoffman is better as A's skipper Art Howe than he's getting credit for and the conflicts between him and Pitt were some of the best character interaction in the film and provided rare dramatic tension. That struggle for power between Howe and Beane could have been further developed when the media started crediting Howe for the 2002 A's record-setting winning streak, but the film bypasses that with just a passing reference.
Never thought I'd see a major motion picture from Sony focusing on...Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt), including visiting the Hatteberg home on New Year's Eve. But 'Hatty' becomes a sort of an emblem of the Moneyball philosophy and it all ties together when Hatteberg hits the game-winning homer that seals the A's 20th consecutive victory in 2002, the 'high water mark' for Beane's 2000-03 Moneyball run, a team that lost 4 straight postseason series (although the 2006 A's did actually win the first round of the playoffs).
The flashbacks to Beane's early years as a high school phenom and later bust for the Mets/Twins/A's in the 1980's as the worst player on a lot of great teams are effective and give the film a larger and yet more personal context than just focusing on the 2002 A's payroll. Pitt's relationship with his daughter Casey (Kerris Dorsey) works, and we even see the musical bond between them (in real life, Billy and Casey have gone to punk rock shows together, though the only nod to punk in the film is a Clash poster in Billy's office).
Director Bennett Miller has made a solid baseball movie with genuine emotions, though neither the suspense of the game or Beane's persona/inner demons overwhelm the viewer, but at least you know to avoid drafting a prospective player with an "ugly girlfriend". Give Moneyball 4 out of 5 Alvin Dark baseball gloves.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Fall TV #1
Two and a Half Men--Kutcher ain't Sheen, I think we all know that. The season premiere made me a laugh a few times, mostly from Cryer's character so I'll keep watching but not optimistically.
2 Broke Girls--Kat Dennings (the brunette) can act, Beth Behrs (the blonde) can't. The 'tally' of how much money the two broke babes have earned each week is gimmicky, like a rip of the 'Met Your Mother' concept.
Playboy Club--I can appreciate the 1960's Chicago vibe though the mob elements seemed forced and not very menacing. Amber Heard is a goddess and there's plenty of other eye candy. It could use some more humor, it's not the CIA it's the Bunny Club.
2 Broke Girls--Kat Dennings (the brunette) can act, Beth Behrs (the blonde) can't. The 'tally' of how much money the two broke babes have earned each week is gimmicky, like a rip of the 'Met Your Mother' concept.
Playboy Club--I can appreciate the 1960's Chicago vibe though the mob elements seemed forced and not very menacing. Amber Heard is a goddess and there's plenty of other eye candy. It could use some more humor, it's not the CIA it's the Bunny Club.
Monday, August 22, 2011
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