Category Archives: Best Of

1
Jan

2016 in Review: The Best Shows

Everything I wrote last year about not having enough time to watch everything – the rapid expansion of “Peak TV” – got even worse in 2017. I have a tie on this list AND I’m capping my honorable mentions at … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Television | Tagged amazon, american crime story, americans, atlanta, brooklyn nine-nine, fleabag, good place, hbo, netflix, night of, oj simpson, orange is the new black, stranger things, veep | Comments Off

3
Jul

Film Report Card: Second Quarter 2016

We’re now halfway through 2016. I’ve been keeping track of every movie I’ve seen on Letterboxd so far this year. Here are all the new releases I’ve seen, along with links to reviews where applicable. Weiner (A-) Tower (A-) Five … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Film, Reviews | Tagged apocalypse, bfg, captain america, civil war, de palma, finding dory, five nights in maine, free state of jones, high-rise, keanu, me before you, meddler, miss sharon jones, money monster, neighbors 2, nice guys, popstar, tower, weiner, x-men | Comments Off

2
Jun

The Best of 2016… So Far – Music (A Sneak Peek)

Did I really not do a halfway post the last two summers? Even so, there’s been an abundance of good TV, film and music this year. I usually wait until around July 4th to post a formal countdown, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged anderson paak, anohni, bob mould, brian eno, car seat headrest, corinne bailey rae, david bowie, diiv, explosions in the sky, hotelier, islands, josh gondelman, knocks, la dispute, lake street dive, lecrae, lucy dacus, mike adams, modern baseball, mothxr, photo ops, pinegrove, primal scream, radiohead, rihanna, rocket summer, rufus wainwright, st lucia, sturgill simpson, underworld, wild nothing, yeasayer | Comments Off

11
Apr

Film Report Card: First Quarter 2016

It’s hard to believe we’re already one-fourth of the way through 2016. I’ve been keeping track of every movie I’ve seen on Letterboxd so far this year. Here are all the new releases I’ve seen, along with links to reviews … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Film, Reviews | Tagged 13 hours, batman, batman v superman, benghazi, boss, dawn of justice, deadpool, hail caesar, how to be single, louder than bombs, mojave, my big fat greek wedding 2, netflix, pee-wee herman, pee-wee's big holiday, pride and prejudice and zombies, remember, superman, where to invade next, whiskey tango foxtrot, wtf, zombies, zootopia | Comments Off

4
Jan

2015 in Review: Box Office Report

All that doom and gloom last year? Out the window this year, thanks to two ridiculously huge movies (Jurassic World and Star Wars: The Force Awakens). There were plenty of huge flops this fall, too. But let’s take a look … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Film | Tagged age of ultron, avengers, blackout, boy next door, everest, force awakens, geniuses, good dinosaur, grandma, hunger games, inside out, jupiter ascending, jurassic world, kingsman, magic mike xxl, martian, mockingly, paddington, pan, pitch perfect 2, seventh son, star wars, steve jobs, straight outta compton, terminator, tomorrowland, trainwreck, unfriended, war room | Comments Off

3
Jan

2015 in Review: The Best Films

Even more than usual, 2015 proved especially hard to narrow down to 10 films. I wouldn’t call this the best film year of the decade so far. But there were so many movies that were very good, but not quite all-timers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Film | Tagged beasts of no nation, brooklyn, carol, ex machine, fury road, going clear, hateful eight, hbo, inside out, love and mercy, mad max, martian, mission impossible, netflix, phoenix, revenant, rogue nation, sicario, slow west, spotlight, spy, steve jobs, trainwreck, what we do in the shadows | Comments Off

31
Dec

2015 in Review: The Best Shows – Honorable Mentions

As I mentioned in my top 10, there were simply too many shows to keep up with. So here are the honorable mentions for the year, which includes the finest hours of many merely very good shows, as well as … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Television | Tagged grace and frankie, hbo, honorable woman, house of cards, hulu, inside amy schumer, john mulaney, key and peele, louie, mindy project, modern family, netflix, orange is the new black, togetherness | Comments Off

30
Dec

2015 in Review: The Best Shows

This year brought over 400 scripted shows across traditional networks, cable networks and streaming. That’s way too much. So here are the 10 best series I watched from there. If you’re wondering about your favorite show, there will probably be … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Television | Tagged americans, brooklyn nine-nine, community, fargo, hannibal, hbo, master of none, netflix, parks and rec, show me a hero, silicon valley, veep, yahoo | Comments Off

29
Dec

2015 in Review: The Best Songs

Once again, the year in music was dominated by a young female singer-songwriter whose latest album isn’t on Spotify. While “Hello” was the year’s biggest sing-along, I was most captivated by “Water Under the Bridge,” allegedly a tribute to her … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged adele, carly rae jepsen, coheed and cambria, death cab for cutie, disclosure, eric nally, father john misty, golly, grandmaster caz, jason derulo, josh ritter, justin bieber, kool moe dee, luxury elite, macklemore, macklemore and ryan lewis, mark ronson, mat kearney, melle mel, missy elliott, pharrell, sam lao, sarah jaffe, seryn, st vincent, sufjan stevens, tame impala, titus andronicus, valise, weeknd, zhora | Comments Off

28
Dec

2015 in Review: The Best Albums

10. Beach House – Depression Cherry/Thank Your Lucky Stars The title of the latter record is especially applicable since we got not one but two albums of gorgeous, atmospheric pop from Beach House. The Baltimore duo is constantly transporting me … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged algiers, amazing, ashley monroe, beach house, beach slang, blur, brandon flowers, butch walker, carly rae jepsen, chris stapleton, courtney barnett, darlene love, death cab for cutie, decemberists, deerhunter, donnie trumpet, el vy, father john misty, gollay, hamilton, hop along, jamie xx, janet jackson, jason isbell, joan shelley, johann johannson, john carpenter, josh ritter, julia holter, junkie xl, justin bieber, kacey musgraves, kurt vile, laura marling, leon bridges, lianne la havas, mac mccaughan, mark ronson, matt nathanson, miguel, mike o'brien, modest mouse, mountain goats, my morning jacket, natalie prass, neon indian, new order, seryn, shamir, sleater kinney, social experiment, sufjan stevens, tame impala, title fight, titus andronicus, tobias jesso jr, torres, twin shadow, unknown mortal orchestra, wavves, wilco | Comments Off