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BEST MUSIC: 2016, with Music Players!
(photo by Colin Lane)
"Best Music" lists that taste like paste!
These tunes will unhook your outlook
and hijack your sacroiliac!
Shortcut to Music Players:
BEST ALBUMS: 2016
COOL SONGS: 2016
BEST RE-ISSUES: 2016
BEST NEW ALBUMS: 2016
This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.
-Hannah Williams And The Affirmations, "Late Nights And Heartbreak"
-The Claypool Lennon Delirium, "Monolith Of Phobos"
-Stereo Total, "Les Hormones"
-Electrocute, "Double Diamond"
-Charles Bradley, "Changes"
-Sonny & The Sunsets, "Moods Baby Moods"
-Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings, "Miss Sharon Jones!" (soundtrack)
-L7, "Wireless (Radio Session)"
-Bacao Rhythm And Steel Band, "55"
-The Monkees, "Good Times!"
-The Coathangers, "Nosebleed Weekend"
-Heron Oblivion, "Heron Oblivion"
-Ramin Djawadi, "Westworld: Season 1" (Soundtrack)
-David Bowie, "Blackstar"
-Iggy Pop, "Post Pop Depression"
-Weyes Blood, "Front Row Seat To Earth"
-Lee Fields And The Expressions, "Special Night"
-White Denim, "Stiff"
-PJ Harvey, "The Hope Six Demolition Project"
-Ultimate Painting, "Dusk"
-Pixies, "Head Carrier"
-Lake Street Drive, "Side Pony"
-Deerhoof, "The Magic"
-Childish Gambino, "Awaken, My Love!"
-Angel Olsen, "My Woman"
-Savages, "Adore Life"
-The Jayhawks, "Paging Mr. Proust"
-Thao And The Get Down Stay Down, "A Man Alive"
-William Bell, "This Is Where I Live"
-Pretenders, "Alone"
-Fantastic Negrito, "The Last Days Of Oakland"
-Kate Tempest, "Let Them Eat Chaos"
-La Femme, "Mystere"
-Esperanza Spaulding, "Emily's D+Evolution"
-The Mystery Lights, "The Mystery Lights"
-Marta Ren And The Groovelvets, "Stop Look Listen"
-The Julie Ruin, "Hit Reset"
-Adrian Younge & Ali Rasheed Muhammad, "Luke Cage: Season 1" (Soundtrack)
-The Shelters, "The Shelters"
-The Kills, "Ash & Ice"
-Guerilla Toss, "Eraser Stargazer"
-Death Valley Girls, "Glow In The Dark"
-Xiu Xiu, "Plays The Music Of TWIN PEAKS"
-Barrence Withfield And The Savages, "On Audiotree Live"
COOL SONGS: 2016
Rockabilly! Funk! Psychedelic!
Soul! Spaghetti Western! PostPunk!
Electro! Riot Grrrl! Dementia!
Kate Tempest; Thao And The Get Down Stay Downs
11 hours of mind-whomping, booty-stomping music, featuring:
Bleached, Goat, Le Tigre, Baaba Maal, Radiohead, Calibro 35, Afro-Haitian Experimental Orchestra, Melvins, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Santigold, The New Mastersounds, Neil Young, Lush, Deep Street Soul, and The Real Gone Tones!
BEST MUSIC RE-ISSUES: 2016
Quality is timeless.
This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.
-The Beatles, "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" (1964-'65)
-Various Artists, "Pebbles, Vol. 4: Africa, Part 2" (African garage rock)
-Dan Penn, "Close To Me: More Fame Recordings"
-Bob Dylan, "The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert"
-The Beach Boys, "Pet Sounds: The 50th Anniversary Edition"
-Otis Redding, "Live At The Whiskey A Go Go"
-Pink Floyd, "The Early Years: 1967-1972, Cre/ation"
-Betty Harris, "The Lost Queen Of New Orleans Soul" (late '60s compilation)
-Betty Davis, "The Columbia Years, 1968-1969"⇧
-Led Zeppelin, "The Complete BBC Sessions" (1969-'71)
-Bruce Haack, "The Electric Lucifer" (electronic psyche)
-Yoko Ono, "Plastic Ono Band" (1970) ⇧
-Black Sabbath, "Black Sabbath", "Paranoid", "Master Of Reality" (expanded editions)
-Arthur Verocai, "Arthur Verocai" (1972 Brazilian psyche-jazz)
-David Bowie, "Bowie At The Beeb" (early '70s BBC sessions)
-Various Artists, "Venezuela 70: Cosmic Visoins Of A Latin American Earth" ('70s Venezuelan experimental rock)
-Various Artists, "Wake Up You!: The Rise And Fall Of Nigerian Rock, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (1972-1977)"
-Devo, "Hardcore" (mid-'70s art-punk)
-The Headhunters, "Survival Of The Fittest" (1975)
-David Bowie, "Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976)" (mid'70s remasters and unreleased)
-Various Artists, "Space Oddities: Studio Ganaro (1972-1982)" (French/German electronic pop)
-Various Artists, "Boombox: Early Independent Hip Hop, Electro, And Disco Rap (1979-1982)"
-Lizzy Mercier Descloux, "Mambo Nassau" (1981 World Funk) ⇧
-Tom Tom Club, "Tom Tom Club" (1981)
-African Head Charge, "My Life In A Hole In The Ground" (1981)
-Jeff Buckley, "You And I" (unreleased cover versions)
-Gillian Welch, "Boots No.1: The Official Revival Bootleg" (1996, expansion) ⇧
-L7, "Slap Happy" (1999)
-Connie Price And The Keystones, "Wildflowers" (2004)
-Angry Angles, "Angry Angles" (2005) ⇧
-Barrence Whitfield And The Savages, "Savage Kings" (2011)
See also:
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2015
BEST MUSIC: 2015
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2014
BEST MUSIC: 2014
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2013
BEST MUSIC: 2013
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2012
BEST COMIX: 2012
BEST MUSIC: 2012
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2011
BEST COMIX: 2011
BEST MUSIC: 2011
BEST MOVIES: 2000-2010
BEST COMIX: 2000-2010
BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010
↧
↧
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2016
Shortcut links:
BEST MOVIES: 2016
BEST DOCUMENTARIES: 2016
BEST TV: 2016
BEST MOVIES: 2016
✭✭✭✭✭
To what lengths will you go to escape constriction?
Director Park Chan-wook (SNOWPIERCER) transplants a victorian novel into Korea's occupation by Japan, crafting a chameleonic mystery from shifting perspectives. The film is gorgeous to watch, a pleasure to puzzle out, and faceted to rewatch.
-THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
Hitchcock's themes of intrigue, identity, and perception get a refreshing makeover in this sharp and twisty film, led by the always impressive Emily Blunt.
-HELL OR HIGH WATER
A neo-western full of character and complexity, quietly charting the desperation of navigating a heartland betrayed by political greed.
Three stages of life for a boy seeking (hiding) his identity among the minefields of southern gang territories.
Naomie Harris steals it as the disintegrating mother.
-EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT/ El abrazo de la serpiente (Spain)
An alternate parallel to Conrad's "Heart Of Darkness" (and APOCALYPSE NOW), this B/W film follows two timelines down the Amazon on a surreal quest for enlightenment.
-HIDDEN FIGURES
Based on Margot Lee Shetterly's book, this true story unveils the neglected story of the three African-American female mathematicians who put NASA on course for the moon.
-VICTORIA (Germany)
Shot in one single continuous take, this film follows a young woman through the labyrinth of Berlin in an arc toward chaos.
Down with all bigotry and repression, always.
A grand take on the life of Nat Turner, who rose up against slavery, this ever timely rebuke stars its co-writer/director, Nate Parker.
I'm a fan of the original film since it came out.
This clever and reverent retelling does everything well that one did, while being often loopier, refreshingly less fratboy, and downright poignant at the end.
-MAGGIE'S PLAN
An indie character comedy more than it is an alternative rom-com, with improv zing, hilarious lines, and a crack cast.
Julianne Moore quietly swipes the second half from the leads.
-TONI ERDMANN (Germany)
Rebecca Miller's exploration of an estranged father and daughter is a gently swelling rollercoaster, by turns insanely long and rambling while sentimental, ambivalent, mischievous, and at times wildly absurd. And somehow more real for it.
-FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS
Jenkins was a sincere and unintentionally ludicrous person, and in this biopic Meryl Streep transforms a fun romp into something more fragile and sweet at its heart.
✭✭✭✭✭
This prequel film's unexpected realism brings a new depth and intensity that, as a hardcore fan from the very beginning, overwhelmed me emotionally.
-ARRIVAL
This moody contemplation on the value of tolerance and communication is required viewing right now.
-MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
A familiar story made new again with mystery and surprises, sold by empathy and intelligence.
✭✭✭✭✭
Here's why this fine film is severely underrated.
When the original Star Trek series ended too soon after three seasons in spring 1969, fans longed for an expansion of the five year mission. In the early '70s, as syndicated reruns unified its faithful base, the fans took control: they wrote original books for Bantam, drafted blueprints, charted out Federation histories, and created the first massive Trek conventions along with costume competitions. At the heart of this was one unifying goal: to finish the mission, but - in the wake of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and the Dune books- with a more expansive scope and a deeper ensemble character approach.
This popular groundswell led to the Animated Series (1973-1974), which did just that: the series is valuable because it expande the visual palette and scope, while deepening details about the characters (Spock's past; the name Tiberius), and Alan Dean Foster's book adaptions amplified those even further. Fandom had defined the pattern going forward; there would now follow a cycle of new Star Treks expanding the mythos with a more ensemble approach.
Look at how that underlying thread governs what followed. The STAR TREK films (1979-1991) reunited the original crew in adventures with scope (STAR TREK 1) and ensemble depth (STAR TREK III and IV). And new TV shows continued weaving this pattern, expanding the general mythos with new casts: Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Deep Space Nine (1993), Voyager (1995), and the shamefully-underappreciated prequel Enterprise (2001).
These are all valuable on their own merits, but they are actually alternate surrogates for the original goal without specifically being that goal: finishing the original mission with the original crew in deeper, wider dimensions. This is because of the passage of time. The first films start a decade after the show, and the original cast had matured while new tech and fashion styles transformed their world; they are the same, but it feels like being somewhere else. Once you change casts for the new shows, that subliminal gulf grows larger. The quiet truth, often unspoken, is that we watch and enjoy all these for themselves, while underneath wishing that we were seeing the 1969 and 1970 seasons that never came.
(Now, with the means of production more readily at hand, many fan-made productions have actually attempted to do just that, but without official sanction.)
It took J.J. Abrams' recent reboot films to bring this cycle officially full-circle. Now we have the original setting and a reset for new possibilities in the original mission. Audiences were won over by the sheer energy of the first film (2009), but some were woefully less appreciative of the better, focused sequel (2013). And with STAR WARS ascendent on a golden return, this third film didn't get enough play from any side. That's a mistake, from the film execs who bungled the marketing during Trek's 50th anniversary, to the blasé mehs who came too late without enough total context for appreciation.
Writer/actor Simon Pegg has done what we've waited four decades for. Sure, it's rollicking fun and there are familiar themes and clever easter eggs celebrating the entire history of the franchise. But the real triumph of the film is that a fan has become a pro who fulfilled the initial dream: this is the original characters in their period styles, on the original mission, but in expansive scope, as a truly interactive ensemble. That exact combination hasn't really happened before in live action, and it's what we've all waited for since 1969. It's easy to miss that distinction, after decades of so many versions, but it is the crucial difference. The first reboot film may've set the universe, the second set the ship, but the third film gives us the fuller possibilities of the original team on the actual original mission itself. Instead of another Kirk/Spock film with the cast careening around their orbit, this time the bridge crew become a family when everything else is gone but their mission and their connection. Seeing Kirk on a planet again with Checkov, or Spock and McCoy bonding in a cave, isn't just a flashback, it's releasing the pause button on the original series to at last flash forward with untapped possibilities. This isn't nostalgia... it's new life.
Thank you, Simon, from someone who came the whole way. You've boldly gone where all of us really wanted to go.
This film is completely riveting simply as one of the finest character dramas of the year.
-10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
Like The Twilight Zone, producer J.J. Abrams uses the name 'Cloverfield' as an anthology for trying edgy ideas.
This is another solid character drama built on tension and paranoia, with askew turns.
-I AM THE PRETTY THING THAT LIVES IN THE HOUSE
Like a Shirley Jackson story in spirit (and title), this well-crafted quiet burn builds on the spartan shots and tense score of the Perkins brothers.
Even amid the most astounding visuals and wildest concepts, the film stays consistently grounded with character interplay and gentle humor, always staying clear while flowing fast.
This excellently made film is one of Marvel's best, accessible to all while being everything that a fan could have hoped for.
-CAPTAIN AMERICA 3: CIVIL WAR
The Cap films excel on character build grounded in espionage action.
Even amid a maelstrom of guests, Cap's ethical center holds this marvelous film taut and true.
Underrated, Dept.:
-X-MEN 6: APOCALYPSE
The previous film X5 was pure greatness, so this generally good film with minor flaws got unfairly thrashed.
It's still a good film regardless, unlike certain other truly terrible hero films this year that thoroughly deserve that scorn instead.
A spellbindingly beautiful film from Laika (CORALINE), this hand-animated period Japanese parable is a complete charmer.
-FINDING DORY
The flashbacks of adorable baby Dory lift this Pixar frantic antic to full crest.
-MISS HOKUSAI (Japan)
Beautiful to see, while strangely uneven in story and score.
-ZOOTOPIA
This could have been one of those CG clatter films that get fobbed off on family audiences, but it instead proves to be a smart and timely allegory about diversity and acceptance.
Deftly capturing Jacques Tardi's art style ("The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec"), this sly and quicksilver steampunk opus is cheeky and inventive.
TV:
-STAR WARS: REBELS
The Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series had all the strengths and weaknesses of the prequel films, expanded.
But Rebels has all the strengths of the original 1977 film in style, tone, and wonderful McQuarrie art aesthetic.
This is the show you've been looking for.
BEST DOCUMENTARIES: 2015
Ron Howard's loving documentary follows the greatest band of all time performing live, from their early tours to their final 1966 bow-out.
-MISS SHARON JONES!
A fine celebration of Soul renaissance leader Sharon Jones in concert with her band, the Dap-Kings.
Rest In Power.
-SOUNDBREAKING
PBS' terrific mini-series about how pop music has been consistently revolutionized by studio wizardry.
A fine overview and primer to the history of Hip Hop, from its fledgling 1973 beginnings to the worldwide industry it has become. Groundbreaking music, guests galore, and laughs and insights.
(See also: The Get Down TV series)
-13TH
From Ava DuVernay (SELMA) comes this blistering indictment of the prison system as the extension of slavery.
-ELSTREE 1976
A fun and interesting doc following the experiences of the supporting players and extras from the original STAR WARS.
-FOR THE LOVE OF SPOCK
A touching rumination on the impact of Leonard Nimoy and his universal counterpart.
BEST TV: 2015
(The season number follows each title.)
✭✭✭✭✭
The best character show on television comes to a graceful finale.
-BETTER CALL SAUL 2
✭✭✭✭✭
The other best character show on television grows deeper with the stealth ascent of Kim.
-MR. ROBOT 2
Morphing past its influences (V FOR VENDETTA, AMERICAN PSYCHO, FIGHT CLUB), the cinema-level series comes into its own as a harrowing and brutally honest psychological thriller and political wake-up call.
-MASTERS OF SEX 4
-ROOTS
Alex Haley's pivotal classic about his family history gets adapted again into a new mini-series.
All the rich potential of Michael Crichton's 1973 original comes to full fruition in this masterful and complex epic.
-THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE 2
Based on Phillp K. Dick's book, this alternate history warns us against an America taken over by Fascism.
But, in the real world, ... it's too late.
-12 MONKEYS 2
A time-travel show that turns itself inside out like silly putty should have fallen apart by now, and yet it streams along stronger than ever.
-GAME OF THRONES 6
The tipping point becomes drastic and deadly unilaterally. Everything is landsliding toward the epilogue.
-COLONY 1
Few alien-invasion shows have ever held me, but this one does with character, action, and twists.
Potentially the new LOST, with a rich scenario and surprising character flashbacks.
A dystopia where the poor compete to be the 3% allowed to a promised paradise.
Brit Marling (ANOTHER EARTH) returns to co-write/co-produce/star in this outrageously ambitious mindbender.
Brit is another SciFi fan turned pro producing thoughtful and adventurous work who deserves our support.
Good:
-THE EXPANSE 1
High marks for the plot and scope, but many of the leads don't move me.
-STRANGER THINGS 1 >Netflix
The delightful suprise of the year, this homage to early '80s Lucas/Spielberg/Carpenter films is a timeless blast.
-THE X-FILES 10
A mini-series reunion, with six episodes in each of the series' narrative styles.
(After all this time, I finally realized I mainly love the funny ones.)
-THE MAGICIANS 1
It's a coin toss. The plot intricacy and breadth is impressive, but the obnoxious cast and cruel shocks are abrasive.
One of the finest shows being made only gets grander and deeper in its lateral move to France.
No mere time travel story or romance novel, this intensely nuanced character play is energized by the most fully realized and believable love story on the screen.
-HUMANS 2
A terrific remake of the great Swedish Äkta människor/ Real Humans that only improves it.
-ORPHAN BLACK (Canada/BBC) 4
Tatiana Maslaney. Nuff said.
-BLACK MIRROR 3 >Netflix
The chilling anthology show forecasting the unintended repercussions of current tech returns.
-CLASS 1
This loose Doctor Who spin-off could have been a formula CW-style teen scarefest, but great lines, rending moments, and the mesmerizingly arch charm of the alien Quill (Katherine Kelly) lift it above.
-CRAZYHEAD 1 >Netflix
From the typically bonkers and sacrilegious creator of Misfits comes the hilarious saga of two London women kicking some demon ass.
-DAREDEVIL 2 >Netflix
The past was prelude, and the red devil rises in this impeccable adaptation of the arrival of Elektra.
We've waited three decades for this, and -with the pitch-perfect casting of Élodie Yung- they nail it.
-LUKE CAGE 1 >Netflix
Reeling from the events of Jessica Jones 1, our man does his soul-searching in Harlem.
A celebratory ode to African American history with themes and shout-outs galore, fueled by a letter-perfect funksploitation soundtrack by Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.
-AGENT CARTER 2
Hayley Atwell does one last series turn as '40s superspy Peggy Carter, the mother of S.H.I.E.L.D.
-AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. 4
The show turns edgier and more surreal, charting out the supranatural aspects of the Marvel universe, with a fine turn by the current Ghost Rider.
-SLINGSHOT 4
This Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.webseries spin-off focuses on Yo-Yo Rodriguez, the Columbian dervish who'll snap your head back.
The pleasure of the DC/Berlanti-verse shows is seeing the Silver Age Of Comics come to life. As a desperately needed antidote to the dour Snyder-verse films, any formula loops, teenie focus, or dumb missteps involved are forgiven in the fun of it all.:
-SUPERGIRL 2
Martian Manhunter. Miss Martian. Lynda Carter!
-THE FLASH 3
Kid Flash. Earth 3.
-ARROW 5
Mr. Terrific. Ragman.
-LEGENDS OF TOMORROW 2
The Justice Society of America. The Legion Of Doom. Vixen.
-ELEMENTARY 5
The fun of this stealth alternate to Sherlock is its gleefully serpentine mysteries, dry social satire, and the impish chemistry of Holmes and Joan Watson.
-SHERLOCK (Christmas Special)
A standalone in the classic Victorian era, this feminist manifesto strikes a timeless blow against repression.
-HAPPY VALLEY (UK) 2 >Netflix
-THE FALL (UK) 3 >Netflix
The trilogy of Gillian Anderson's relentless hunt for a serial killer reaches its finale.
-RIPPER STREET (UK) 4, 5
Against all odds, the unsung White Chapel coppers get two more seasons of grit, wit, and writs.
Baz Luhrmann's stunningly operatic fantasy about the rise of Hip Hop in the 1977 South Bronx is an absolute Must-See.
-BROAD CITY 3
The crazed Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson kick all the butt.
-CHEWING GUM (UK) 1
Michaela Coel unreels her lunatic farces like she's determined to burn it all down cackling.
-ATLANTA 1
Besides being sharply hilarious, Donald Glover's acerbic slant on the southern Rap scene is often incisive and moving.
This show is so funny that you'll miss half of the great lines from laughing over them.
-ASH vs. EVIL DEAD 2
Lee Majors! As if Bruce Campbell and Lucy Lawless weren't great enough.
Hey, who has time (or money) to see everything?
LOVING
JACKIE
FENCES
MILES AHEAD
CAFE SOCIETY
THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN
PATERSON
THE LOBSTER
SYNCRONICITY
BLAIR WITCH
HIGH-RISE
THE JUNGLE BOOK
MOANA
INCORPORATED
See also:
BEST MUSIC: 201
BEST MUSIC: 2015
BEST MUSIC: 2014
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2014
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2013
BEST MUSIC: 2013
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2012
BEST MUSIC: 2012
BEST COMIX: 2012
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2011
BEST MUSIC: 2011
BEST COMIX: 2011
BEST MOVIES: 2000-2010
BEST COMIX: 2000-2010
BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010
How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
______
↧
HALLOWEEN!: A Rock'n'Soul Music Player
Hear a cauldron-full of evil, spectral, and fantastic tunes from 1956 to Today,
in chronological order!
Soundtracks!Soul!Garage Rock!
Psychedelic!Funk!Prog!
Punk!New Wave!Goth!
Psychobilly!HipHop!TripHop!
and more!
Featuring:
Gene Vincent, Sceamin' Jay Hawkins, Howlin' Wolf, The Ventures, The Who, The Sonics, The Doors, Black Sabbath, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Parliament, The Damned, The Cramps, The B-52's, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Cure, Captain Beefheart, Misfits, Ramones, TWIN PEAKS, Tom Waits, Portishead, The Kills, Gnarls Barkley, St. Vincent, Radiohead, and hoary hordes more!
HALLOWEEN!: Rock'n'Soul Playlist
Hear the unlimited Playlist here.)
© Tym Stevens
See Also:
-The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist
-DIA DE LOS MUERTOS + HALLOWEEN Rock En Espanol, with 2 Music Players
↧
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: A Rock Music Player
2
Music Players!- DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: A Rock Playlist
- HALLOWEEN Rock En Espanol
1
D E
L O S
M U E R T O S
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: A Rock Playlist
A spirited range of rockers (and some ballads) wildly celebrating the Day Of The Dead,
in order from 1960 to Today.
art © Federico Archuleta
2
E N
E S P A N O L
HALLOWEEN Rock En Espanol
Rock!Surf!Alternative!
and more!
A frenzied fiesta of Halloween rockers en espanol, in order from 1960 to Today.
© Tym Stevens
See Also:
-The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist
-HALLOWEEN!: A Rock'n'Soul Music Player
↧
↧
THANKSGIVING!: A Rock'n'Soul Music Player
The Ultimate
THANKSGIVING
Music Player!
THANKSGIVING!: Rock'n'Soul Playlist
with a feast of friends!
Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis, Nina Simone,
The Beatles, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder,
Sam and Dave, Led Zeppelin,
Sly And The Family Stone, Nick Drake,
Bob Dylan, Big Star,
Earth Wind and Fire, Isley Brothers,
Talking Heads, Bob Marley, The Damned,
The Flaming Lips, Jane's Addiction,
Beastie Boys, Neil Young,
Gal Costa, Bad Brains, Mavis Staples,
Bjork, Kelis, Dengue Fever,
and many more guests!
© Tym Stevens
See Also:
-The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist
-DIA DE LOS MUERTOS and HALLOWEEN Rock En Espanol, with 2 Music Players
-HALLOWEEN!, with Music Player
↧
BEST COMICS: 2013
by J.H. Williams III
Shortcut links:
>Best Graphic Novel
>Best Comics
>Graphic Novels
>Best Collections/ Reprints
>Movies And TV
>Rest In Power
G R A P H I C
N O V E L :
-NEMO: Heart Of Ice, by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill⇧
The first of a trilogy of spin-off tales from their LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN series, starring Nemo's daughter, the formidable Janni Dakkar.
C O M I C S :
I M A G E
-SAGA, by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vughan
It could have just been a Space Fantasy with attitude and done just fine. But, to our benefit, it is one of the most finely made stories being created, ever-challenging and surprising at every turn.
-NOWHERE MEN, by Eric Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde
What if a Beatlesque quartet of scientists changed the world, and then the apple started to rot from within?
Astute Speculative Fiction underlaid with many Rock music easter eggs.
-PRETTY DEADLY, by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios
DeConnick (Captain Marvel, Bitch Planet) crafts a tense Horror Western emblazoned by inspired vistas of the excellent illustrator Emma Ríos.
-FATALE, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
The hardboiled/horror continues from the crime comics duo.
-SATELLITE SAM, by Matt Fractin and Howard Chaykin
Matt Fraction (Sex Criminals) and Howard Chaykin (American Flagg). How perfect is that?
A murder mystery in the early-'50s dawn of TV, and the sex and corruption behind it.
-ROCKET GIRL, by Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare
Amy's time-traveling hero in the '80s is a fast blast gas.
D A R K
H O R S E
-HELLBOY In Hell, by Mike Mignola
After long delay, and a fitful gestation, the ultimate saga of Hellboy comes to glowing consummation.
D C
-BATWOMAN, by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III
The Best of The Best.
Williams' art -clockwork layouts, chimerical styles, and graphic verve- is simply the pinnacle, without peer.
And the character, the fiercely resolute Kate Kane, is one of the best since Bill Finger defined Batman.
-WONDER WOMAN, by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang
A hardboiled approach to Diana seems antithetical, and yet everything here works.
Terse dialogue and grand theatre are underscored by empathy and grace, brought to balance by sharp graphics and moody colors.
- WATCHMEN (1986) is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, with color by John Higgins.
- They are the sole creators of this original saga, despite a copyright swindle by the publisher.
- This is a self-contained story, period.
- Any other "before" or "after" supplements are a complete fraud perpetrated by the greedy and supported by the foolish.
M A R V E L
-HAWKEYE, by Matt Fraction and David Aja
Looks like BATMAN: YEAR ONE, acts like a Richard Linklater indie comedy.
-FF, by Matt Fraction and Mike Allred
These substitutes for the Fantastic Four bring back all of that Lee/Kirby goodness with some postmodern flair.
-SIF: Journey Into Mystery, by Kathryn Immonen and Valerio Schiti, +
The Mighty Sif kicks your Asgard.
-THE UNWRITTEN, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
Not merely 'an adult Harry Potter', this partycrasher to the fine tradition of magickal Euro' eccentrics has plenty of tricks within its sleeves.
-ASTRO CITY, by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson, + Alex Ross
Like a KINGDOM COME from a parallel dimension.
The ever-reliable excellence of this alternate twist on the Golden and Silver Age classics transmits unremittingly.
-TOM STRONG And The Planet Of Peril, by Peter Hogan, Chris Sprouse, and Karl Story
Another solid sequel arc for Alan Moore's iconic hero.
-TRILLIUM, by Jeff Lamire
B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L S :
-MARCH, Book One, by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
The Civil Rights hero steps out in the first of a trilogy of tales about his storied life, and its unending relevance.
-THE FIFTH BEATLE, by Vivek J. Tiwary and Andrew C. Robinson, with Kyle Baker
The Betles' manager, Brian Epstein, gets his full due in this meticulously researched and Mod art treasure.
-HIP HOP FAMILY TREE, Vol. 1: 1970s-1981, by Ed Piskor
Piskor begins his herculean epic of the history of Rap with this fab fly confabulation.
-FANTASY BASKETBALL, by Sam Bosma
What SHAOLIN SOCCER (2001) did for movies, this throwdown hoedown does for the page.
-BATTLING BOY, by Paul Pope
So it's Paul Pope, and there you go.
-THE PROPERTY, by Rutu Modan
-SUNNY, by Taiyo Matsumoto
-THE UNWRITTEN: Tommy Taylor and the Ship That Sank Twice, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
-BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (English edition), by Julie Maroh
In time for the film adaption, the 2010 love story gets a timely translation.
C O L L E C T I O N S :
-SHARAZ-DE: Tales from the Arabian Nights, by Sergio Toppi
Every page by SERGIO TOPPI is a master class.
With effortless grace, he reimagines how to use layout, negative space, texture, and pacing in seemingly unlimited new ways, making novices of everyone while challenging them to try harder.
This is how it should be done.
-DAMES, DIVAS, AND DAREDEVILS: Lost Heroines of Golden Age Comics, by Mike Madrid
-SIMON & KIRBY LIBRARY Science Fiction, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (Titan)
-PHANTOM LADY, Volume 2 and 3, by Matt Baker; Jack Kamen, Alex Blum, + (Dynamite)
-GENIUS, ILLUSTRATED: The Life and Art of Alex Toth (Book 2), by Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell (IDW)
-MADWOMAN OF THE SACRED HEART, by Alexandro Jodorowsky and Moebius (Humanoids)
-BATMAN Black And White, Edited by Mark Chiarello (DC)
-Co-Mix, by Art Spiegelman
-SOLO: Deluxe Edition, Edited by Mark Chiarello (DC)
WHERE WE COME FROM, Dept
-THE GOLDEN AGE OF DC COMICS, by Paul Levitz (Taschen)
-THE SILVER AGE OF DC COMICS, by Paul Levitz (Taschen)
-AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: The 1950s, by Bill Schelly (TwoMorrows)
-AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: 1960-64, by John Wells (TwoMorrows)
-AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: 1965-69, by John Wells (TwoMorrows)
-AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: The 1970s, by Jason Sacks (>2014, TwoMorrows)
-AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: The 1980s, by Keith Dallas (TwoMorrows)
M O V I E S
a n d
T V:
-BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR
>Four Color Films review
-THOR 2: The Dark World
>Four Color Films review
-AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. 1 (TV)
See also:
>BEST MOVIES & TV: 2013
I N
P O W E R
for DC in the late-'60s and early-'70s.
- Nick Cardy
- Carmine Infantino
- Kim Thompson
From you, we exist.
Because of you, we persist.
© Tym Stevens
See also:
-FourColorFilms: THE Comics Film Review Site!
-BEST COMICS: 2000-2010
-BEST COMICS: 2011
-BEST COMICS: 2012
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2000-2010
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2011
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2012
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2013
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2014
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2015
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2016
-BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2011, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2012, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2013, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2014, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2015, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2016, with 3 Music Players
-STARSTRUCK Strikes Back!
-STARSTRUCK: The Roots and Branches of Elaine Lee & Michael Kaluta's space opera
-How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
-THE CANON 1: 50 Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
-THE CANON 2: 50 More Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
↧
BEST COMICS: 2014
The Only Band That Matters
Shortcut links:
>Best Graphic Novel
>Best Comics
>Graphic Novels
>Best Collections/ Reissues
>Movies And TV
>Best Webcomics
>Rest In Power
G R A P H I C
N O V E L :
-STRONG FEMALE PROTAGONIST, by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Ostertag⇧
An indie triumph, challenging the conventions of superhero comics, gender perceptions, and social constrictions with impish humor and wry insight.
Read the continuing webcomic!
C O M I C S :
I M A G E
-SAGA, by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan⇧
The smartest and most sophisticated Space Fantasy being made.
-ROCKET GIRL, by Amy Reeder
Her flights are rare but always a fine trip.
-BLACK SCIENCE, by Rick Remender and Matteo Scalera
Cross-dimensional realignment.
-SHUTTER, by Joe Keatinge, Leila del Duca, and Owen Gieni
Script-flip adventuring.
-GENESIS, by Nathan Edmondson and Alison Sampson
First thought, next chaos.
-PRETTY DEADLY, by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios
Spaghetti western gothic.
-FATALE, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Hardboiled horror.
-SATELLITE SAM, by Matt Fraction and Howard Chaykin
Erotic mystery.
M A R V E L
-MIRACLEMAN #1-13, by Alan Moore, with Garry Leach, Alan Davis, Chuck Bekum, Rick Veitch, and John Totleben⇧
the series that solely created
the postmodern adult superhero
returns to print, remastered for a new audience to catch up on
where absolutely everything important
since 1982 came directly from.
-MIRACLEMAN Annual #1, by Grant Morrison and Joe Quesada; Peter Milligan and Mike Allred
Plus you get an all-new Annual by star creators!
-THOR, by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman, +⇧
She is Thor, and she will stomp all.
-SHE-HULK, by Charles Soule and Javier Pulido
Acerbic fun.
-MS. MARVEL, by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, and Jake Wyatt⇧
The most charming new hero continues her winning streak.
-CAPTAIN MARVEL, by Kelly Sue Deconnick and David Lopez
One of comics' best new writers, Deconnick brings Carol Danvers to the forefront with full force.
-BLACK WIDOW, by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto
Solid spy intrigue with sharp graphics.
-SILVER SURFER, by Dan Slott, Michael Allred, and Laura Allred
With the Allreds involved, you'll always find the Mod fun in the modernism.
D C
-WONDER WOMAN, by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang
The duo finish their three-year run redefining the Amazon in fine stead, with tricky plots, bold graphics, and a solid ensemble cast.
-TINY TITANS: Return To The Treehouse, by Art Baltazar
ART BALTAZAR puts all the fun back into comics that we first loved them for in the first place.
-THE UNWRITTEN Apocalypse, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross⇧
A finale miniseries to cap off the magic boy's story.
-ASTRO CITY, by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson, + Alex Ross
Quietly and steadily, the series has reinvented the Golden and Silver Age forms just as smartly and powerfully as affirmed classics like WATCHMEN, MARVELS, and KINGDOM COME.
B O O M
-LUMBERJANES, by Noelle Stevenson,Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen
This contemporary retake on scout troops is always a fun blast from the word go.
-THE HANGING TOWER, by Sam Bosma
An historical fantasy one-shot by the creator of FANTASY BASKETBALL.
B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L S :
-SUGAR SKULL, by Charles Burns⇧
The third chapter of the X'ED OUT trilogy, Burns' punk reconstruction of the conventions of Tintin.
-NEMO: The Roses of Berlin, by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
The second book in a trilogy focusing on Janni Dakkar, the daughter of Nemo from THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN.
-BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS, by Fabien Vehlmann⇧
Fairy tales get turned inside out with this deceptively gorgeous warning allegory.
-THIS ONE SUMMER, by Mariko Tamaki and Jilllian Tamaki
Two friends at the beach on the cusp of growing up.
-SECONDS, by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Following SCOTT PILGRIM, O'Malley goes for bold color and emotional depth.
-HIPHOP FAMILY TREE 1981-83, by Ed Piskor⇧
"...and you don't stop!"
-THE LATE CHILD And Other Animals, by Marguerite Van Cook and James Romberger
A deeply personal generational saga of surviving war, bureaucracy, and time's challenges.
-SERENITY: Leaves On The Wind, by Zack Whedon, Georges Jeanty, and Karl Story
With this volume, the SERENITY sequel comic finally recaptures the ensemble chemistry and dialogue of the FIREFLY TV series along with its frontier adventurism.
-TOMBOY, by Liz Prince
You are who you say, not who they say.
-HILDA AND THE BLACK HOUND, by Luke Pearson⇧
The beloved and smart HILDA series continues to bound full apace.
-BLACKSAD Amarillo, by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido
Hardboiled detective yarns in a talking animal universe, with excellent art.
-THE SHADOW HERO, by Gene Luen Yang
Both perspectives of a war clash, 'East and West', humanizing all caught between.
-LITTLE NEMO: Dream Another Dream, by Various Artists (Locust Moon Press) ⇧
An all-star cast of creators pays tribute to the wild dreamscapes of Winsor McCay's eternal comic strip masterpiece.
C O L L E C T I O N S /
R E I S S U E S:
-MIRACLEMAN, Book 1: A Dream Of Flying, by Alan Moore, Garry Leach, and Alan Davis (Marvel) ⇧
-MIRACLEMAN, Book 2: The Red King Syndrome, by Alan Moore, Alan Davis, John Ridgeway, Chuck Beckum, and Rick Veitch (Marvel)
In 1982 a new writer named Alan Moore entered British comics and immediately began revolutionizing and advancing the entire industry.
Just as Punk was driving Do-It-Yourself indie bands and labels to upend the music industry, indie creators and start-up publishers likewise expanded the horizons of the graphic storytelling medium. For the iconoclastic Warrior magazine Moore co-created V FOR VENDETTA with artist David Lloyd, challenging the repressive Thatcher regime with an anti-dystopian allegory for the ages. But also, he resurrected a Captain Marvel knock-off from the '50s called Marvelman.
Rather than the light kids fare of yore, in one genius stroke Moore reimagined the hero from the perspective of modern maturity, grounding the series with unparalleled realism, psychology, and social comment. O'Neill and Adams had first ushered the dawn of 'The New Relevancy' in comics with the political realism of their 1971 Green Lantern/ Green Arrow stories, and now Moore illuminated the next level. With the taut and detailed art of Garry Leach and then Alan Davis, Moore brought a new depth and breadth of sophistication in craft and subject matter to comics with this stealth series. This only increased exponentially with time across three arcs (Book 1, 2, and 3), where he deconstructed, reconstructed, challenged, and expanded the entire potential of superheroes specifically and the comics medium by extension.
All 'postmodern', 'deconstructed', and Mature comics since 1982 ripple directly off of the big bang of those Marvelman stories. No matter how removed you may feel from it, it is the star-stuff that composes nearly everything you have read and are now reading.
Moore was so successful so fast that DC Comics poached him in 1984, where his new masterpieces -SWAMP THING and WATCHMEN- changed everything universally. Many have heard of V FOR VENDETTA because DC kept it in print. But Marvelman -rechristened MIRACLEMAN in the United States- was out-of-print for decades because of greedy legals. (Looking at you, Todd.) Now, Marvel Comics has rectified this, with remastered art, new color, and the deluxe treatment it deserves.
That's your cue. Quality is timeless... it's time to catch up.
-TREASURY OF AMERICAN PEN & INK ILLUSTRATION 1881-1938, by Various Artists (Dover)
The Golden Age of Illustration is the wellspring of all comics creators.
-THE ART OF THE SIMON AND KIRBY STUDIO, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (Abrams)
Simon and Kirby are the original power team of the Golden Age, inventing Captain America, Green Arrow, dynamic action, double-page spreads, Romance comics, and many more of the basics of the comics vocabulary.
-CREEPING DEATH FROM NEPTUNE: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton, Vol. 1, by Basil Wolverton (Fantagraphics) ⇧
Similar to Fletcher Hanks, Wolverton was a touched genius no one knew how to use (until MAD magazine later channeled his brilliance).
These early stories are Exhibit A.
-The Complete ZAP COMIX, by Various Artists (Fantagraphics)
The epicenter of the Underground Comix quake, all here in your shaking hands.
-THE COLLECTOR, by Sergio Toppi (Archaia)
Every page by Toppi is a master class.
-TARZAN: Burne Hogarth's Lord of the Jungle, by Burne Hogarth (Dark Horse)
Generations of artists learned anatomy from Hogarth's figure drawing books. Here's why.
-THE INCAL, by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius (Humanoids)
The entire series, which spanned the '80s, is compiled in this fine volume.
Jodorowsky. Moebius. Nuff said.
-ALIAS Omnibus, by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos (Marvel)
The entirety of where Jessica Jones began.
-ZENITH: Phase 1; and Phase 2, by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell (2000 AD)
A young Scottish upstart named Grant Morrison got his start, and DC's attention, here.
His metatextual mindtrip through multiversity began here, too, and he's been rewriting it ever better ever since.
-THE WALKING MAN, by Jiro Taniguchi (Ponent Mon Ltd)
Taniguchi's meditative stroll through the quiet joys and surprises of suburban Japanese neighborhoods.
-GUARDIANS OF THE LOUVRE, by Jiro Taniguchi (NBM) ⇧
Beautiful watercolors and draftship.
WHERE WE COME FROM, Dept
Explore the past to map the future.
Get with, get going.
-AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: The 1970s, by Jason Sacks (TwoMorrows)
An ongoing series detailing each decade of hte comics revolution/re-evolution.
M O V I E S
a n d
T V:
-CAPTAIN AMERICA: The Winter Soldier
>Four Color Films review
-X-MEN: Days of Future Past
>Four Color Films review
-AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2
>Four Color Films review
-SNOWPIERCER
>Four Color Films review
-GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
>Four Color Films review
-THE FLASH, season 1
-CONSTANTINE, season 1
See also:
>BEST MOVIES & TV: 2014
W E B C O M I C S :
- Strong Female Protagonist⇧
Strength of character.
- The Nib
Fight The Power with laughter.
- Oh Joy Sex Toy
Catch the vibe.
I N
P O W E R
by Al Feldstein and Joe Orlando,
WEIRD FANTASY #8 (1953)
- Al Feldstein
From you, we exist.
Because of you, we persist.
© Tym Stevens
See also:
-FourColorFilms: THE Comics Film Review Site!
-BEST COMICS: 2000-2010
-BEST COMICS: 2011
-BEST COMICS: 2012
-BEST COMICS: 2013
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2000-2010
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2011
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2012
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2013
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2014
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2015
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2016
-BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2011, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2012, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2013, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2014, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2015, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2016, with 3 Music Players
-STARSTRUCK Strikes Back!
-STARSTRUCK: The Roots and Branches of Elaine Lee & Michael Kaluta's space opera
-How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
-THE CANON 1: 50 Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
-THE CANON 2: 50 More Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
↧
BEST COMICS: 2015
Shortcut links:
>Best Graphic Novel
>Best Comics
>>"Altered IMAGE"
>>"MULTIVERSITY"
>>"MIRACLEMAN"
>>"STAR WARS Reawakens"
>Best Graphic Novels
>Best Collections/ Reissues
>Best Movies And TV
>Best Webcomics
>Rest In Power
B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L :
-MIRACLEMAN, Book 3: OLYMPUS, by Alan Moore and John Totleben (Marvel)
OLYMPUS is an essential text, perhaps the ultimate statement on how far superheroism can -or should- go.
And it inspired everything for the last three decades.
Learn more below.
B E S T
C O M I C S :
I M A G E
-SAGA, by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan⇧
Space Fantasy more genre-bending and heart-rending as any made.
-PAPER GIRLS, by Cliff Chiang and Brian K. Vaughan
As if SAGA wasn't brilliant enough, this heady and complex series joins it in pure quality.
Puzzle out the surreal misadventures of four girls from 1988 overlapped through time and space.
I M A G E
In the 1990s, Image Comics was the cancer of comics.
In the 2010s, it is the antitoxin saving them.
In 1992, Image was everything wrong about comics.
A comics renaissance had exploded through the indie publishers in the early-'80s, bringing a new maturity and mastery to the medium. DC quickly grabbed many of those creators and rode the quality wave in the latter decade. But Marvel was adrift, coasting on ghosts of itself with a raft of hack artists on steroids. Perversely, and tragically, this stuff actually sold really well to the rote crowd who lacked quality control.
'cause you're so wack."
-Beastie Boys, 1992
The seven artists jumped ship and created Image Comics in 1992, co-opting the momentum of the quality wave with their bilge: amateur figures, spastic hatching, swiped concepts, thug writing, and endless splash pages were bad enough, but their tidal wave of teen-aggro violence was completely toxic.
And yet it sold, in bigger amounts than were even conceivable. While the real revolution was cresting down, these froth dogs made bank. And then squandered it in egos, in-fighting, blown deadlines, and the resultant backlash. But the damage was done; the infantile aggro-virus lateralized to infect like-minded publishers, and ultimately has infected one of the two majors for the last few years.
In 2015, Image is everything best about comics.
Due to the recent leadership of Eric Stephenson, Image has now come full-circle to what it should have been in the first place: an indie haven for the best talent to continue the renaissance with first-quality creator-owned series. They have gone from being the worst comics company to the best, even in a era of excellent work from all competitors. It's like seeing Darth redeem.
Here's just a sample of the fine work that they are producing...
-MONSTRESS, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda _______
Goth of Thrones.
-THE AUTUMNLANDS, by Kurt Busiek, Benjamin Dewey, and Jordie Bellaire _______
Smart and layered political Fantasy.
-THE WICKED AND THE DIVINE, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie _______
Tune Gods, Turn Rockstar, Burn Out.
-ODY-C, by Matt Fraction and Christian Ward _______
A female overwrite of THE ODYSSEY as a pyschedelic SciFi epic.
-DESCENDER, by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen _______
Robot lives matter.
-SHUTTER, by Joe Keatinge and Leila Del Duca _______
Venture into alternate adventuring.
-INVISIBLE REPUBLIC, by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman _______
Galactic regime change.
-BLACK SCIENCE, by Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera, and Dean White _______
Cross-dimensional interstices.
-SEX CRIMINALS, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky⇧ _______
Sex Positive, sarcastic, sacrilegious, sappy, surprising, slapstick.
-MATERIAL, by Ales Kot and Will Tempest _______
The personal is political, and also metaphysical, in this anthology approach to modern life.
-ROCKET GIRL, by Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare _______
Catch her quick, because her cameos are elusive.
-THE FADE-OUT, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips _______
A hardboiled mini-series by the crime stalwarts.
-SOUTHERN CROSS, by Becky Cloonan and Andy Belanger _______
Creepy mystery on a cosmic scale
-COPPERHEAD, by Jay Faerber and Scott Godlewski _______
A backwater world's sheriff, and her battles to survive the plain.
-LAZARUS, by Greg Rucka And Michael Lark _______
Surviving dystopian political struggles and family betrayals.
D C
Earth 23, art: Gene Ha
-MULTIVERSITY, by Grant Morrison, with Frank Quitely, Chris Sprouse, Cameron Stewart, etc.⇧
Saved The Universe. -
In 1987, the Scottish scribe sparked his career with the series ZENITH for 2000 AD magazine, a punk rewrite of the DC multiverse and its cosmic crises. DC Comics had just collapsed all of its alternate universes into one with their CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS maxi-series (1986). But the attempt to streamline the line lost much of the diverse magic for fans by throwing the history under the bus. ZENITH was the first salvo by a Silver Age fan to put it right.
He continued to write that ever better ever since. Making his name at DC in the '90s, Morrison went against the company mandate in a stealth campaign to resurrect the DC multiverse. You can follow the pattern through ANIMAL MAN (1988), FLEX MENTALLO (1995), and JLA: Earth 2 (2000); the cumulative affect of this convinced DC to return the Multiverse in their INFINITE CRISIS event (2005), and Morrison refined this through the sequels 52 (2006) and FINAL CRISIS (2008).
His ultimate intent was to restore/revamp the new 52-world Multiverse and, after a crisis of infinite delays, did so this year with 9 one-shots, each focusing on unique angles of the new/old cosmology; Classics like the Marvel Family get revitalized, the 'Dark' trend in comics is symbolically rejected, and Morrison even satirizes WATCHMEN with their original Charleton Comics sources. (Ironically, Grant's deathless grudge against Alan Moore challenged him here to create one of the most focused and innovative works he's ever made.) Clever stories, a roster of fine guest artists, and a thoroughly wondrous Guidebook of the new/old worlds make this especially satisfying book a crucial classic.
-PREZ, by Mark Russell, Ben Caldwell, and Dominike Stanton⇧
In 1973, classic Golden Age writer Joe Simon -with artist Jerry Grandenetti- gave an unexpected voice to the counterculture with PREZ, a rollicking social satire comic starring the first 18-year-old President of the United States. With admirable wit, it took on political corruption, corporate interests, and media sensationalism. Naturally, it didn't last as long as it should, but had a seismic influence across time, with callbacks from THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS to THE SANDMAN.
This new reboot about the first teen/female Prez is critical, both in outlook and timing. The relentless satire of political cowards, corporate tyranny, and social media idiocy is precisely as hilarious and cutting as we need in the fight against Regression, and a perfect successor to the original.
Hell Yeah to the Chief!
M A R V E L
-MIRACLEMAN#14-16, by Alan Moore and John Totleben
-MIRACLEMAN: The Golden Age #1-3, by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham⇧
M I R A C L E M A N
MIRACLEMAN revolutionized the entire comics industry.
And then did it again.
It is the source of most everything you love in mature comics, but most folks don't know that... because here's what went wrong.
In 1982, writer Alan Moore made his seismic debut turning MARVELMAN, a '50s British clone of Captain Marvel, from kid fun into the first truly adult superhero. The mature complexity that Moore brought to the postmodern prometheus, with artists Garry Leach and Alan Davis, completely challenged and upended comics' conventions, and escalated the '80s adult comics renaissance. Becoming a supernova at DC by 1985, Alan expanded this with an ambitious second arc of the hero, who by now was renamed as MIRACLEMAN. But it was the third arc that ignited revolution again.
WATCHMEN (1986) laced themes of how superbeings may actually be a detriment to social progress as much as a deliverance. Moore brought his ideas to higher fruition afterward in the third arc of MIRACLEMAN, a six-issue span called "Olympus" (1987-'89).
Elevated by the impossible architectures, epic layouts, and obsessive Virgil Finlay-esque detail of artist John Totleben, he unleashed the real impact of supergods on society, from the horror of unchecked hyperviolence, to the interior crisis of human frailty, to the subtler dangers of benign fascism. Free of any constrictions and on fire with advanced ideas, "Olympus" was like an Oxford post-grad thesis that made all other superhero comics on the market look like they were permanently stuck in Junior High. (Most were. Many still are.)
Alan ended on that high note and quietly bowed out of comics for awhile, handing the series to his hand-picked successors in 1990, two talanted neophytes named Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham.
Gaiman complemented Moore's macro approach by dealing in the micro, the social repercussions of "Olympus" on different people. Planning to do three story arcs of their own, the duo had finished the first one -"The Golden Age"- and started the second when disaster struck.
Imagine if The Beatles had done all their revolutions in the '60s, but it was then erased in 1970 from public memory for 25 years; and that all the following music people enjoyed was actually a reflection of a phenomenon they were unaware had occurred. This is what happened to MIRACLEMAN.
Essential 1980s classics written by Alan Moore like SWAMP THING, WATCHMEN, THE KILLING JOKE, and V FOR VENDETTA all enjoyed the publishing support of DC's parent, Time-Warner, keeping them clearly visible in all bookstores, comic stores, and libraries with a wave of graphic novel/trade paperbacks. But MIRACLEMAN came from the indie publisher Eclipse Comics, off the radar of many fans. Hampered by continuous publication gaps from backstage delays, the series was pulled under when Eclipse went belly-up with bankruptcy.
For over two decades, MIRACLEMAN has been out-of-print because of a maelstrom of legal chicanery. (Looking at you, Todd.>)
Nevertheless, MIRACLEMAN was the gift that kept getting taken. Creators great or awful reflected all of its innovations, core themes, and wrenching events during the last 25 years without many fans recognizing the absent source.
Here are only a few of countless examples.:
- Its optimism and olympian godhood, coupled with the effects on human society, was extended in MARVELS, KINGDOM COME, ASTRO CITY, and THE NEW FRONTIER.
- Its themes thread Grant Morrison's career, from ZENITH to ALL-STAR SUPERMAN.
- The conscience and legacy of the messianic superman reflects in SUPREME, SUPERMAN: Red Son, INVINCIBLE, and JUPITER'S CHILDREN.
- "Olympus" has the most heinous villain ever known. His actions have been swiped ever since, for far lesser effect, from the idiot ultraviolence of early Image Comics to DC's use of Black Adam in the WWIII event series.
- The movies have also borrowed out from that crucial finale showdown, from THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS to MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN v. SUPERMAN.
- Miraclewoman is the exact template for Carol Danvers' emergence as Captain Marvel.
But, finally, this cultural amnesia has been corrected.
Now Marvel Comics has rectified the grievous error of his absence by reprinting the MIRACLEMAN series, with remastered art, new color and lettering, and all-star covers. MIRACLEMAN #14-16 culminated Alan Moore's run with the latter half of "Olympus" this year, followed by Gaiman and Buckingham's "The Golden Age" arc. (Now it remains for that duo to at last create and release their final two arcs.)
All three of Moore's arcs are now in hardback volumes:
- Book 1:A Dream Of Flying
- Book 2:The Red King Gambit
- Book 3:Olympus
May miracles never cease.
-SPIDER-GWEN, by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez⇧ _______
The two best concepts in Spider-Man since 1973 are Miles Morales and the alternate Gwen Stacy. Get into the swing of why.
-THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL (Vol. 1 and 2), by Ryan North and Erica Henderson⇧ _______
Marvel's most chipper and dale superhero is all charm and no harm in this hilarious series.
-MS. MARVEL, by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, Takeshi Miyazawa, and Ian Herring _______
New Jersey's finest, Ms. Kamala Khan.
-THOR, by Jason Aaron And Russell Dauterman _______
She who is the most worthy possesses the power.
-BLACK WIDOW, by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto _______
Ludlum wiles with graphic style.
-HOWARD THE DUCK, by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones _______
The artist of SEX CRIMINALS proves just as worthy a scribe with this admirable return of the foul-mouthed fowl.
-SILVER SURFER, by Dan Slott, Michael Allred, and Laura Allred _______
Cresting on that Lee/Kirby magic.
-WEIRDWORLD, by Jason Aaron and Mike Del Mundo _______
A crisis of infinite Fantasy characters, with dazzling art.
S T A R
W A R S
R e a w a k e n s
STAR WARS is having three renaissances right now: on the screen, on television, and on the page.
The spirit of the original trilogy is all-pervasive now: STAR WARS: The Force Awakens vivified the theaters, STAR WARS: Rebels reanimated animation, and Marvel's superior Star Wars comics revitalized the page.
When Marvel Comics adapted STAR WARS in 1977, the cash bonanza literally saved the company. But they were operating for the next nine years of the series with three disadvantages: the monthly grind wore out creative teams; the creators were more versed in the Marvel Method than being faithful; and their stories were guessing wild in the three years between films.
Now that has changed completely: Marvel phases rotating art teams around short, planned-out story arcs by singular writers; the writers and artists are lifelong SW fans riveted over every detail; and they all now know the first six films inside out. (It should be noted that Dark Horse also did many fine series with the franchise in the '90s and '00s.)
The result is that Marvel is crafting first-rate stories that look and read like movies between the movies. They capture the framing, the lighting, the pace, the dialogue, the sharp details. But most importantly, they match the quality of the films with stories that reveal the surprising events and motivations between each movie.
Presently, they are telling the three years between 'A NEW HOPE' and 'THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK' in two titles that happen concurrently, the Rebel side of events with STAR WARS and the Imperial side with DARTH VADER.
-STAR WARS, by Jason Aaron and John Cassaday⇧
This series captures all of the repartee of the lead trio -Luke, Leia, and Han- amid all the gallavanting and dive-bombing. Along the way it weaves in elements of the total narrative while clearing up unresolved continuity mysteries.
-DARTH VADER, by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca⇧
Running parallel to it, this series does the amazing feat of tying together the totality of Vader. With almost zen elegance it creates a complex composite of his younger self resonant within the emergent Sith Lord, and his motivations for the future because of, all by implication and subtlety. Here, silences speak volumes. If the companion comic's 'movie' seems directed by Whedon, this one would be by Kurasawa.
Vader is abetted by two genuinely unnerving death droids and by Dr. Aphra, a young woman reflecting Leia and Han at their least ethical, a breakout character just as valuable as Rey in the new films.
There are also excellent supplementary mini-series and one-shots, including these standouts.:
-STAR WARS: Princess Leia, by Mark Waid, Terry Dodson, and Rachel Dodson _______
A nouvue-esque escapade that quietly ties Leia to her mother.
-STAR WARS: Lando, by Charles Soule and Alex Maleev _______
The best heist story with Lando Calrissian you could ever hope to be filmed.
V E R T I G O
-ASTRO CITY, by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson, + Alex Ross⇧ _______
The great thing about KINGDOM COME is that it kept going, albiet in the sideways alternate dimension of this great series.
-THE UNWRITTEN Apocalypse, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross _______
The sequel maxi-series reaches its conclusion.
B O O M
-GIANT DAYS, by John Allison and Lissa Treiman _______
Three college mates and life.
-LUMBERJANES, by Various _______
Earns its merit badge every time.
A D H O U S E
-POPE HATS #4, by Ethan Rilly _______
Short incisive tales of daily lives.>
A V A T A R
-PROVIDENCE #1-6, by Alan Moore, Jacen Burrows, and Juan Rodriguez _______
Alan Moore's prequel series to his NEONOMICON graphic novel, a dissection and refraction of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.
B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L S :
-MARCH Book Two, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf) ⇧
The second volume of Congressman John Lewis' storied history in the Civil Rights Movement.
Required reading in all times.
-THE SANDMAN: Overture, by Neil Gaiman and JH Williams III (Vertigo) ⇧
A timeless classic and essential read, THE SANDMAN series (1989-1996) launched Neil Gaiman, brought literary acclaim to comics from the mainstream, and jolted countless misfit dreams beyond boundaries.
High goals to match, but this astounding new prequel is exalted by the peerless art of J.H. Williams III (Promethea, Batwoman), who continually pushes the boundaries of layout, panel shapes, mixed styles, and graphics better and farther than anyone else.
-NEMO: River of Ghosts, by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill (Top Shelf) _______
The third volume in a trilogy focusing on Janni Dakkar, the daughter of Nemo from THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN.
-GHETTO BROTHER: Warrior to Peacemaker, by Julian Voloj and Claudia Ahlering (NBM) _______
The true story of a Bronx gangleader turned peacemaker.
-NANJING: The Burning City, by Ethan Young (Dark Horse) _______
Survival on all levels amidst the ruin of war.
-THE DIVINE, by Asaf Hanuka, Tomer Hanuka, and Boaz Lavie (First Second Books, Dargaud) _______
APOCALYPSE NOW meets Lord Of The Flies by way of UGETSU. Lyrical, unnsettling.
-SPACE DUMPLINS, by Craig Thompson (Scholastic) _______
After BLANKETS and HABIBI, Thompson is still just as epic while now having some great fun with this space girl's adventures.
-APOCALYPTIGIRL, by Andrew MacLean (Dark Horse) _______
Adroit twist on surviving dystopia, with marvelous clean-line art.
-STEP ASIDE, POPS, by Kate Beaton (Drawn & Quarterly) _______
Beaton follows up the lauded HARK, A VAGRANT with more snark and snap.
-HIPHOP FAMILY TREE, VOL. 3: 1983-1984, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics) _______
Piskor keeps extollin' with the rhythm rhyme rollin'.
-UNFLATTENING, by Nick Sousanis (Harvard Press) ⇧ _______
A metaphysical parallel to McCloud's UNDERSTANDING COMICS.
Sousanis argues that perception is best expanded by multiple views, and proves it using a questing narrative of visual collages to open up multi-dimensional thinking.>
-GIRL IN DIOR, by Annie Goetzinger (NBM) _______
Annie Goetzinger got her start in the her-etical AH! NANA magazine, and she's still kicking your butts today.
-SAM ZABEL AND HIS MAGIC PEN, by Dylan Horrocks (Fantagraphics) _______
A semi-autobiographical meditation on escaping writers block through fantasy and reflection.
-SACRED HEART, by Liz Suburbia (Fantagraphics) _______
Teens in a town and the unwinding mystery of something very off.
Check out the webcomic!
-WUVABLE OAF, by Ed Luce (Fantagraphics) ⇧ _______
This fun book about a lonely wrestler's quest for love is the bear hug you deserve.>
-SOPPY: A Love Story, by Philippa Rice (Dark Horse) _______
All the goofball little pleasures of love in cartoon moments.
-KILLING AND DYING, by Adrian Tomine (Drawn & Quarterly) _______
Quietly, Tomine is making the best indie character movies on the page, one fine book at a time.
-THE SCULPTOR, by Scott McCloud (First Second) _______
He showed you how to understand/make/reinvent comics, and now he does all three to prove it.
B E S T
C O L L E C T I O N S /
R E I S S U E S :
-MIRACLEMANArtifact Edition, by Alan Moore, Garry Leach, Alan Davis, and John Totleben (IDW) ⇧
Did I tell you already that MIRACLEMAN is the best thing ever? Oh yeah, that's right.
Here's more proof: this new testemant to the legendary art of Leach, Davis, and the astonishing Totleben compiles the actual art pages photographed at their full size.
-ZENITH: Phase 3; and Phase 4, by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell (2000 AD) _______
In 1989, Alan Moore picked Neil Gaiman over Grant Morrison to take over MIRACLEMAN. Grant grudged ever since. But they all did great work going forward and we all won, so bygones begone, move on.
Grant's ZENITH series, essentially his parallel of MIRACLEMAN, finally gets a deluxe 4-volume reprinting here. Enjoy the mindtrip as Grant wraps up his first Multiversal crisis (see DC spiel above).
-WONDER WOMAN: The War Years 1941-1945, by William Moulton Marston and H.G. Peter (IDW) _______
Marston's feminist tales and Peter's art nouveau cartooning are required reading for any serious comic fan or activist.
-ALEX RAYMOND: An Artistic Journey Adventure Intrigue & Romance, by Ron Goulart (IDW) _______
Raymond brought the elegant sophisication of the Golden Age of Illustration (see: Franklin Booth, Joseph Clement Coll, Charles D. Gibson) to the comic strip page with his brilliant penwork for the Flash Gordon strip.
-WILL EISNER'S THE SPIRIT: Artist's Edition, Volume 2, by Will Eisner (IDW) ⇧ _______
"The CITIZEN KANE of comics" proves its acclaim with this volume of real art pages photographed at actual size.
-THE SPIRIT: A Celebration of 75 Years, by Will Eisner; plus Wally Wood, Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell, and Darwyn Cooke (DC) _______
With his Sunday newspaper series "The Spirit", Will Eisner invented and lifted the vocabulary of comics for everyone to follow after.
-SHOWA: A History of Japan 1953-1989, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly) _______
Mizuki's autobio' series reaches fruition spanning his war service to his rise as a Manga innovator.
-WALLY WOOD EC Comics Artisan Edition, by Wally Wood (IDW) _______
EC Comics was the adult revolution of comics in the '50s, and Wood was one of its finest artisans.
-THE EC ARCHIVES: The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror, Shock SuspenStories, Tales from the Crypt, Weird Fantasy, Weird Science, Two-Fisted Tales, Panic, by various (Dark Horse) ⇧ _______
EC Comics was so far ahead of the curve that in 1954 the repressive politicians wiped it out of existence.>
Flip them off as you read these marvelously reprinted tales that blueprinted all horror, fantasy, space opera, and satire to come.
-CREEPY Presents Alex Toth, by Alex Toth (Dark Horse) _______
A spiritual successor to EC, Warren Publications mags like CREEPY and EERIE were an escape forum for innovators like Alex Toth.
-The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane, Vol. 1, by Philippe Druillet (Titan Comics) ⇧ _______
These hallucinatory epics from 1971 grafted Kirby cosmic spectacle and infinite cathedral architectures to Moorcock acid journeys. Still as stunning as ever.
-The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane, Vol. 2, by Philippe Druillet (Titan Comics) _______
Following the noteriety of this series, Philippe Druillet teamed with Inki Bilal and Moebius to found METAL HURLANT, a French adult fantasy art magazine that was reprinted in the USA as HEAVY METAL.
-JEFFREY JONES: Idyll / I'm Age, by Jeffrey Jones (Grant) ⇧ _______
This volume finally compiles "I'm Age", the sorely unsung illustrator Jeffrey Catherine Jones' monthly page for HEAVY METAL. Poetic pen and ink meditations.
-THE ROCKETEER: The Complete Adventures, by Dave Stevens (IDW) _______
Dave Stevens made a timeless character with ageless grace, and you're lucky enough to bask in it.
-NIMONA, by Noelle Stevenson (HarperCollins) _______
Stevenson's early webcomic before she wrote LUMBERJANES, a quirky fantasy with a lot of heart.>
-MELODY: Story of a Nude Dancer, by Sylvie Rancourt (Drawn & Quarterly) _______
An artist who lived the life and tells the tale, these unassuming stories strip away all preconceptions with honesty and warmth.
WHERE WE COME FROM, Dept.
Explore the past to map the future.
Get with, get going.
-THE SECRET HISTORY OF WONDER WOMAN, by Jill Lepore (Vintage) ⇧
It's become fashionable to speculate on the polyamory of William Marston's private life, but this book focuses on what really matters.
With new scholarship, Lepore -a history professor from Harvard- uncovers how deeply rooted the creators of Wonder Woman -writer Marston (and partners Elizabeth Holloway and Olive Byrne) and artist H.G. Peter- were into the original Feminist movement, by marriage, outlook, and output.
The real truth is that Wonder Woman is the direct distillation of all Feminist hopes in pure form to inspire the children of the future.
-THE BRONZE AGE OF DC COMICS, by Paul Levitz (Taschen)
The naming of the eras of comics -the Golden Age (the '30s/'40s), the Silver Age (the '50s/'60s), and the Bronze Age (the '70s/'80s)- gives the impression that the medium devalues with time.
In truth, it's the exact opposite. Each era only increases in exponential sophistication, and the 1970s are where the comics medium first came into adulthood. From 'the New Relevancy' on up, it is a revolution of outlook and craft, which was mirrored and amplified in the '80s.
The diversity, skill, and prestige of current comics and graphic novels exists primarily because of this era's bold innovations.
B E S T
M O V I E S
a n d
T V :
I write and illustrate reviews of all comics-sourced films at the Four Color Films site.
art by Tym Stevens
-THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL
>Four Color Films review
-AVENGERS 2: AGE OF ULTRON
>Four Color Films review
-ANT-MAN
>Four Color Films review
-DAREDEVIL, Season 1
-JESSICA JONES, Season 2
-AGENT CARTER, Season 1
See also:
>BEST MOVIES & TV: 2015
B E S T
W E B C O M I C S
- The Nib
- Strong Female Protagonist
R E S T
I N
P O W E R
pencils Curt Swan, inks Murphy Anderson
- Herb Trimpe
- Murphy Anderson
From you, we exist.
Because of you, we persist.
© Tym Stevens
See also:
-FourColorFilms: THE Comics Film Review Site!
-BEST COMICS: 2000-2010
-BEST COMICS: 2011
-BEST COMICS: 2012
-BEST COMICS: 2013
-BEST COMICS: 2014
-BEST COMICS: 2016
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2000-2010
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2011
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2012
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2013
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2014
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2015
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2016
-BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2011, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2012, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2013, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2014, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2015, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2016, with 3 Music Players
-STARSTRUCK Strikes Back!
-STARSTRUCK: The Roots and Branches of Elaine Lee & Michael Kaluta's space opera
-How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
-THE CANON 1: 50 Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
-THE CANON 2: 50 More Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
↧
↧
BEST COMICS: 2016
by Vaughan and Chiang
Shortcut links:
>Best Graphic Novel
>Best Comics
>Best Novel
>Best Graphic Novels
>Best Collections/ Reissues
>Best Movies And TV
>Best Websites
>Rest In Power
B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L :
-MARCH: Book Three, by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf) ⇧
Congressman John Lewis concludes his trilogy tracing his path through Civil Rights history.
Crucial and timeless reading.
B E S T
C O M I C S :
I M A G E
-SAGA, by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan⇧ _______
Staples and Vaughan are creating a Space Fantasy for the ages. Their trademark blend of hilarity, surprises, heartbreak, and snark only gets better with expansion.
-PAPER GIRLS, by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang⇧ _______
Proving himself one of the most invaluable writers working, Vaughan teams with artist Chiang (coming off his acclaimed run on WONDER WOMAN) for this psychoactive time puzzle. Started well before the debut of STRANGER THINGS, they navigate the emprises of four paper delivery girls from 1988 colliding sideways into gods, the universe, and everything.
Heady stories, crack timing, bold color, and slippery text.
Image Comics continues its startling and unlikely renaissance with excellent titles like these.:
-ODY-C, by Matt Fraction and Christian Ward _______
The female Odyssey in cosmidelic galactiscope.
-MONSTRESS, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda _______
Steampunk matriarchy.
-THE AUTUMNLANDS, by Kurt Busiek, Benjamin Dewey, and Jordie Bellaire _______
Sharp Fantasy with great characters and art.
-THE WICKED AND THE DIVINE, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie _______
The premise of gods as doomed rock stars gets deeper, louder.
-NOWHERE MEN, by Eric Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde⇧ _______
After a four-year delay, Volume 2 arrives with more of the repercussions of a Beatlesque quartet of inventors on the world.
-DESCENDER, by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen _______
Android Pinocchio.
-BLACK SCIENCE, by Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera, and Dean White _______
Alter native realty with alternate realities.
-INVISIBLE REPUBLIC, by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman _______
Galactic revolution or false crusade?
-SEX CRIMINALS, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky⇧ _______
Sex-Positive and positively sexy.
Also more intimate and explorative.
-SOUTHERN CROSS, by Becky Cloonan and Andy Belanger _______
In space no one can hear you scream.
-LAZARUS, by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark _______
LA FEMME NIKITA meets THE GODFATHER.
-PRETTY DEADLY, by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios⇧ _______
Spaghetti Western gothadelic.
M A R V E L
-MIRACLEMAN: The Golden Age #4-6, by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham⇧
With MIRACLEMAN, Alan Moorecreated the postmodern deconstructed hero.
After completely transforming and elevating the comics medium across the '80s, he then handed the pivotal series over to his friend Neil Gaiman to usher in the '90s. Gaiman and artist Mark Buckingham completed one arc, "The Golden Age", before legal fiascos put everything on hold for two decades.
Thankfully, Marvel Comics has ended this cultural crime by restoring comics' greatest lost masterpiece. Over the last two years, they have reprinted the entire series with remastered art, new color and lettering, and guest-artist covers. Having restored Moore's work in MIRACLEMAN #1-16 (2015), they culminate with this 6-issue run of Gaiman's work.
Cross your fingers and let's hope that Gaiman and Buckingham can at last create and release their long-planned Second and Third Arcs which will finish the character's ultimate journey.
-THE MIGHTY THOR, by Jason Aaron And Russell Dauterman⇧ _______
Lady Jane fights cosmic and internal struggles bigger than comprehension, and proves worthy every time.
-THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson _______
She has the powers of both squirrel and girl. She can't be beat.
-MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR, by Amy Reeder, Brandon Montclare, and Natacha Bustos _______
A delightful rethink of Kirby concepts from the duo behind ROCKET GIRL (Image).
-BLACK WIDOW, by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee _______
This is Marvel's second recent attempt to give the superspy Natasha spotlight.
Another fine Fleming/Ludlum-esque thriller that reads like the great film we keep waiting for.
-MS. MARVEL, by G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, and Adrian Alphona⇧ _______
Kamala Khan is one of the best characters of this decade.
-SPIDER-GWEN, by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez _______
The plots are as loose as the art, held together mainly by the strong concept and by inspired additions like the alternate universe Captain America.
-PATSY WALKER, a.k.a., Hellcat!, by Kate Leth and Brittney L. Williams _______
Patsy Walker started out as a '40s Timely Comics response to ARCHIE, before becoming a superhero in '76.
This whimsical series bring back all the charms of the classic Archie style with all the forward thinking of recent Archie comics.
BLACK PANTHER, by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze⇧ _______
Coates, the award-winning author and social critic for The Atlantic, restores clarity, vision, and overview to the king of Wakanda.
THE VISION, by Tom King and Gabriel Hernández _______
An acclaimed 12-issue run that challenges what it is to be human or normal, as a slow-burn boils to conflagration.
DOCTOR STRANGE, by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo, + _______
The ubiquitous Jason Aaron is one of the most varied and interesting writers in current comics.
HOWARD THE DUCK, by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones, + _______
With the brother book to SQUIRREL GIRL, Zdarsky (Sex Criminals) channels that classic Steve Gerber smartass sass.
W A R S
Marvel is making brilliant STAR WARS comics that read like movies between the movies.
Set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, the STAR WARS book follows the rebel side while the DARTH VADER book counter-charts the Imperial side concurrently.
Note: At issues #13-14 for each, they converged into a cross-over event called VADER DOWN before diverging back into their own title arcs.
-STAR WARS, by Jason Aaron and John Cassaday⇧
Everything fun about STAR WARS; heists, dogfights, curveballs, vistas, carping, duels, absurdity, family.
Plus Sana Starros, Han Solo's other half.
-DARTH VADER, by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca⇧
Everything edgy about STAR WARS; schemes, melees, treachery, dominion, discord, duels, tragedy, dysfunction.
Plus the terrific Doctor Aphra (above, left).
There are also excellent supplementary mini-series and one-shots, including these standouts.:
-STAR WARS: Han Solo, by Marjorie Liu and Mark Brooks _______
A mini-series by novelist Marjorie Liu so spot-on and fun that George Lucas reportedly loved it.
-STAR WARS: Poe Dameron, by Charles Soule and Phil Noto _______
The least-developed character of The Force Awakens somehow takes on full-life here in this twisty and lively series.
The dialogue nails Oscar Issac's gung-ho swagger, and Noto's art is typically excellent.
-EMPRESS, by Mark Millar and Stuart Immonen _______
A STAR WARS-esque romp focused around a rebellious queen escaping an insidious empire.
D C
-SUPERMAN: American Alien, by Max Landis, Nick Dragotta, Tommy Lee Edwards, and Evan Shaner
The upbringing of Clark Kent has been covered in many variations over the decades.
Writer Max Landis (the DIRK GENTLY tv series showrunner) brings a fresh perspective with these incisive short stories across his growing years, backed up by a cadre of artists.
- WATCHMEN (1986) is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, with color by John Higgins.
- They are the sole creators of this original saga, despite a copyright swindle by the publisher.
- This is a self-contained story, period.
- Any other "before" or "after" supplements are a complete fraud perpetrated by the greedy and supported by the foolish.
V E R T I G O
THE SHERIFF OF BABYLON, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads⇧ _______
A murder mystery during the aftermath of the Iraq War.
-ASTRO CITY, by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson, + Alex Ross _______
Stellar and expansive, true to its name.
The alternate universe of everything great about the varied Ages of Comics.
Y O U N G
A N I M A L
Young Animal is the new imprint of rock star/writer Gerard Way, carrying on the mantle of mid-'90s Vertigo Comics.
SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL, by Cecil Castellucci and Marley Zarcone _______
The more things change the more they stay insane.
Loma Shade is a puckish delight. Castellucci's wit is sharp and Zarcone's clean graphics flow.
-DOOM PATROL, by Gerard Way and Nick Derington _______
Gerard Way does a sterling job of channeling the spirit of his mentor, Grant Morrison, in this great reboot. Derington's art makes it a candy store of the senses.
D A R K
H O R S E
-HOUSE OF PENANCE, by Peter J. Tomasi and Ian Bertram⇧ _______
It's true that the Winchester rifles widow built an endless mansion for twenty years to stave off death.
This horror fantasy imagines why, with spectacular graphics by Ian Bertram.
-HELLBOY IN HELL, by Mike Mignola _______
After a sprawl of years, the final saga of Hellboy at last comes to pass.
B O O M
Boom Studios is making a wide range of excellent All Ages and Teen+ comics that everyone should check out.
Roy Thomas once said, "The Golden Age of Comics is 8."
But what happens when youngsters have no way in? The Direct Market of the early-'80s, in which comic books shifted from newstands to private shops, was the best thing and the worst thing that ever happened to the medium: The best, because it liberated the creators to try every innovation in works geared for a mature audience; The worst, because it all left kids behind with no entry point. (This is why the new movies, reflecting the adult-oriented comics, are too rough for kids.) So where were kids and young teens to go for the last 30 years but to video games, cartoon channels, YA books, and tweenie TV?
Thankfully, some publishers like Boom, Oni, First Second, and Scholastic are starting to change that by bringing back smart all-ages comics and graphic novels for new minds to enjoy.
-JONESY, by Sam Humphries and Caitlin Rose Boyle⇧ _______
The hip rocker and covert matchmaker for her school.
-GIANT DAYS, by John Allison, Max Sarin, Caanan Grall, and Lissa Treiman _______
Three young women in their first year of college.
-LUMBERJANES, by Kat Leyh, Shannon Watters, Carey Pietsch, Ayme Sotuyo, and Carolyn Nowak _______
The all-female scout troop comedy that everyone loves.
-STEVEN UNIVERSE & THE CRYSTAL GEMS, by Josceline Fenton and Chrystin Garland _______
Besides an array of original creator-owned series, Boom Studios has continuing original comics based on popular TV series like ADVENTURE TIME, THE DARK CRYSTAL, MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS, RUGRATS, and STEVEN UNIVERSE, including this graphic novel.
V A L I A N T
-FAITH, by Jody Houser and Pere Perez, + Marguerite Sauvage⇧ _______
Faith is fandom itself if we ever got the chance to be a superhero. Whedon-esque fun for all.
I D W
-STAR TREK, by Mike Johnson and Tony Shasteen⇧ _______
Since 2011, this sorely underrated TREK series helmed by Mike Johnson has rewritten the Original Series episodes in new outcomes with the Kelvin Universe/STAR TREK-Abrams crew.
Always reverential while fresh, with a clean and accurate art approach that blueprinted Marvel's current STAR WARS comics.
A V A T A R
-PROVIDENCE #7-12, by Alan Moore, Jacen Burrows, and Juan Rodriguez _______
Alan Moore completes his maxi-series prequel to NEONOMICON, his subversion and inversion of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.
B E S T
N O V E L :
-JERUSALEM, by Alan Moore⇧ _______
Like Tolkien, Alan Moore's magnum opus -one of the 10 longest books in the English language- was ultimately published as three volumes.
The eclectic narrative uses the historied locale of Northhampton as a prism to refract all the odd angles of the universe, macro to micro. Plugging the mundane into the transcendental has been the underlying theme of Moore's career, from Miracleman and Swamp Thing and Watchmen to Big Numbers and Top 10 and Promethea. This intricate mosaic, which took a decade to write, is his ultimate statement.
All'n more.
B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L S :
-PROVIDENCE, Act 1, by Alan Moore, Jacen Burrows, and Juan Rodriguez (Avatar) ⇧ _______
The first of three volumes compiling Alan Moore's maxi-series prequel to NEONOMICON.
-ROLLING BLACKOUTS: Dispatches From Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, by Sarah Glidden (Drawn & Quarterly) _______
Like Joe Sacco, Sarah Giddens is pioneering a new form of smart, sensitive, humane journalism probing the real world around us.
-5000 km PER SECOND, by Manuele Fior (Fantagraphics) _______
The brackets of a love affair, in lovely watercolors.
-THE ART OF CHARLIE CHAN HOCK CHYE, by Sonny Liew (Pantheon) _______
What seems like a retrospective of the varied art career of the subject is actually a masterful fiction by the talanted Liew.
-HIPHOP FAMILY TREE, Vol. 4: 1984-1985, by Ed Piskor (Pantheon) _______
"The rhymes we say shall set a trend/
Because a devastating rap is what we send!"
-WONDER WOMAN: The True Amazon, by Jill Thompson (DC) _______
Jill Thompson does some of the best watercolor art of her fine career in this take on Diana's origins and motivations.
-WONDER WOMAN: Earth One, by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette (DC) _______
Grant Morrison tangos his own angle about 'loving submission', frescoed by the stunning art of Yanick Paquette (Swamp Thing).
-DARK NIGHT: A True Batman Story , by Paul Dini and Eduardo Risso (DC) _______
The true story of how Paul Dini, famed writer for the lauded Batman animated series, recovered from a devestating assault.
-THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL Beats Up The Marvel Universe, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Marvel) _______
The monthly comic wasn't enough unconquerable goodness for you, so here's some more in this all-new graphic novel!
-GHOSTS, by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic Graphix) _______
The bestselling author of SMILE and SISTERS spins another autobio' yarn for all ages.
-HILDA And The Stone Forest, by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye) ⇧ _______
The commended HILDA series stays on the case.
-THE SECRET LOVES OF GEEK GIRLS, by Various Artists (Dark Horse) _______
An anthology of female comics creators taking on all aspects of genre fandom from the angle of romance/heartbreak/connection.
Great work, and fun for all.>
-SERENITY: No Power in the Verse, by Chris Roberson and Georges Jeanty (Dark Horse) ⇧ _______
Following "Leaves On The Wind", this volume continues the winning streak of capturing the chemistry and dialogue of the FIREFLY/SERENITY series.
-ONE HUNDRED NIGHTS OF HERO, by Isabel Greenberg (Little, Brown) _______
The follow-up to the widely hailed "The Encyclopedia of Early Earth" expands here charm, wit, and craft.
A cleaver spin on Scheherazade with parables for the present.
-CARPET SWEEPER TALES, by Julie Doucet (Drawn and Quarterly) _______
Turning to collage, Doucet mashes up '70s fumetti and womens magazines into a critique of social norms with cut-up dialogue.
Like a wicked tryst between Barbara Kruger, William S. Burroughs, and Good Housekeeping.
-BLACK DOG: The Dreams of Paul Nash, by Dave McKean (Dark Horse) ⇧ _______
Dave McKean is one of the finest and most versatile artists in comics history, and every new work is an event.
B E S T
C O L L E C T I O N S /
R E I S S U E S :
-MIRACLEMAN: The Golden Age, by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham⇧ _______
The commended HILDA series stays on the case.
The most essential and influencial modern supergod is at last back in print, better than ever.
All four volumes are crucial must-haves for any serious supporter of the graphics stories medium.:
- Book 1:A Dream Of Flying
- Book 2:The Red King Gambit
- Book 3:Olympus
- Book 4:The Golden Age
-TURN LOOSE OUR DEATH RAYS AND KILL THEM ALL: The Complete Works Of Fletcher Hanks, by Fletcher Hanks (Fantagraphics) _______
Fantagraphics combines their previous two collections of Hanks' surreal and unprecedented '40s comics into one vibrating strangeness.
-THE EC ARCHIVES:The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror, Shock SuspenStories, Tales From The Crypt, Weird Fantasy, Weird Science, Two-Fisted Tales, Panic, by various geniuses (Dark Horse) _______
EC Comics were the adult revolution in comics in the early-'50s, the punk rock root of all the ones that followed.
-The Life and Legend of WALLACE WOOD, Vol. 1, by Wally Wood (Fantagraphics) _______
Wally Wood was one of the greatest EC artists, as well as the unacknowledged definer of Marvel's Daredevil.
-BATMAN OMNIBUS By Neal Adams, by Neal Adams (IDW) ⇧ _______
Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams brought adult relevancy to comics with Green Lantern/Green Arrow in the early-'70s.
Then they completely redefined The Batman for the modern era with hardboiled edge, moody darkness, and spectacular naturalistic art.
It's influence is incalculable: without these essential stories, the Miller or Bendis/Maleev Daredevil, the Moench/Sienkiewicz Moon Knight, the Rucka/Williams Batwoman, and the DARK KNIGHT films wouldn't exist.
-WONDER WOMAN: The Golden Age Omnibus, Vol. 1, by Charles Mounton and H.G. Peter (DC) _______
Like the clean-line fun of Captain Marvel, the original Wonder Woman stories were an alternate, better antidote to the '40s boy bash-ups.
Forward feminism and art nouveau style.
-PREZ: The First Teenage President, by Joe Simon and Jerry Grandanetti, + (DC) ⇧ _______
This late-coming and still timely volume collects every appearance of Prez, from his 1973 activist comic to cameos in Supergirl, The Dark Knight Returns, The Sandman, and more.
-PREZ: Corndog-In-Chief, by Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell (DC) ⇧ _______
The recent reboot of Prez with the first female teen president was the riotous satire of corporate tyranny, corrupt politics, and social media stupidity that we desperately needed.
Like the 1973 original, it was cancelled from public inattention.
Catch up here, now.
-KINGDOM COME: 20th Anniversary, by Mark Waid and Alex Ross (DC) _______
When Image Comics destroyed every last ethic and skill level of comics in the early-'90s, this epic and gorgeous direct riposte reset the standards for both, higher.
Essential.
-The Complete WIMMIN'S COMIX, by Various Artists (Fantagraphics) _______
Underground Comix needed more co-mix, and this series was the female retaliation.
Trina Robbins, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Lee Marrs, Melinda Gebbie, Phoebe Gloeckner, Carol Lay, and Dori Seda ignited their careers here.
-AL WILLIAMSON'S EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Artist's Edition, by Archie Goodwin, Al Williamson, and Carlos Garzon (IDW) ⇧ _______
This adaptation, led by EC artist Al Williamson, is legendarily brilliant, and was followed by similarly essential versions of BLADE RUNNER and RETURN OF THE JEDI.
-MOEBIUS Library: The World of Edena, by Moebius (Dark Horse) _______
All of Moebius' sprawling '80s saga, in which he moved from hyper-hatching to clean-line, in one handsome volume.
-THE INCAL, by Alexandro Jodorowsky and Moebius (Humaniods) _______
Jodorowsky and Moebius. Insanity ensues.
-CAGES (Second Edition), by Dave McKean (Dark Horse) _______
Dave McKean' timeless '90s masterwork, in one remastered volume.
-WILL EISNER'S THE SPIRIT: The New Adventures (Second Edition), by Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons + (Dark Horse) _______
In 1998, the finest creators in graphic stories did their heartfelt homages to "The CITIZEN KANE of comics", and every one was a winner.
-AMERICA'S BEST COMICS Artist's Edition, by Alan Moore, J.H Williams III, Kevin Nowlan, Chris Sprouse, Gene Ha, + (IDW) ⇧ _______
This reproduciton of the actual art pages at full size reveals all the naked glory of PROMETHEA, TOP 10, TOM STRONG, and TOMORROW STORIES.
-WALKING THROUGH THE LANDSCAPE OF FAERIE, by Charles Vess (Faerie Magazine) _______
This retrospective honors Fantasy artist Charles Vess, one the best modern heirs to the Golden Age Of Illustration.
-CHEAP NOVELTIES: The Pleasures Of Urban Decay, by Ben Katchor (Drawn & Quarterly) _______
The 1991 classic reprinted in all its sketchy precision and caustic scrutiny.
-R CRUMB'S KAFKA, by Robert Crumb (Fantagraphics) _______
1993 blend of bio, story adaption, and assessment of Kafta's work and influence.
-LAST LOOK: X-ed Out, The Hive, Sugar Skull, by Charles Burns (Pantheon) _______
Charles Burns' entire X-ED trilogy in one huge edition.
-PRINCE OF CATS, by Ronald Wimberly (Image) _______
The hiphop samurai gloss on "Romeo And Juliet" returns, verily.
-BAND FOR LIFE, by Anya Davidson (Fantagraphics) ⇧ _______
Hilarious street art about a punk band with no chance and all the attitude.
-MEAT CAKE BIBLE, by Dame Darcy (Fantagraphics) _______
All of Darcy's scandelous and berserk Meat Cake comics (1993-2008) in one unholy trove.
-SUNSTONE, Vol. 4, by Stjepan Sejic (Image/Top Cow) _______
Tightening the bonds of desire and romance.
WHERE WE COME FROM, Dept.
Explore the past to map the future.
Get with, get going.
-WONDER WOMAN: A CELEBRATION OF 75 YEARS, by Various Artists (DC)
All hail the queen.
-WE TOLD YOU SO: Comics As Art, by Various (Fantagraphics)
Fantagraphics is the Oxford of comics, knocking the dumb out of comicdom, with scholarly critiques of the entire medium in the pages of The Comics Journal.
This overview clues everyone in on how, since the '70s, they have sheparded the maturity movement into public awareness.
B E S T
M O V I E S
a n d
T V:
I write and illustrate reviews of all comics-sourced films at the Four Color Films site.
-DOCTOR STRANGE⇧
>Four Color Films review
-CAPTAIN AMERICA 3: CIVIL WAR
>Four Color Films review
-DAREDEVIL, season 2
-LUKE CAGE, season 2
-AGENT CARTER, season 2
See also:
>BEST MOVIES & TV: 2016
B E S T
W E B C O M I C S
- On A Sunbeam
- The Nib
- Strong Female Protagonist
R E S T
I N
P O W E R
- Darwyn Cooke
- Jack Davis
From you, we exist.
Because of you, we persist.
© Tym Stevens
See also:
-FourColorFilms: THE Comics Film Review Site!
-BEST COMICS: 2000-2010
-BEST COMICS: 2011
-BEST COMICS: 2012
-BEST COMICS: 2013
-BEST COMICS: 2014
-BEST COMICS: 2015
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2000-2010
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2011
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2012
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2013
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2014
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2015
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2016
-BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2011, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2012, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2013, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2014, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2015, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2016, with 3 Music Players
-STARSTRUCK Strikes Back!
-STARSTRUCK: The Roots and Branches of Elaine Lee & Michael Kaluta's space opera
-How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
-THE CANON 1: 50 Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
-THE CANON 2: 50 More Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
↧
BEST COMICS: 2017
Old Proldiers Never Die
Shortcut links:
>Best Graphic Novel
>Best Comics
>Best Graphic Novels
>Best Collections
>Best Movies And TV
>Best Websites
>Rest In Power
B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L :
-S T A R S T R U C K :
Old Proldiers Never Die,
by Elaine Lee, Michael Wm Kaluta, and Lee Moyer⇧
The long-awaited second volume, reprinting a classic story now exorbinantly expanded with 50% new story and artwork, and newly painted color.
Quality is always timeless, and now it's lightyears ahead.
Learn More:
- STARSTRUCK Strikes Back!: A History
- STARSTRUCK: The Roots and Branches of Elaine Lee & Michael Kaluta's space opera
- Starstruck website
B E S T
C O M I C S :
I D W
-S T A R S T R U C K :
Old Proldiers Never Die #1-6,
by Elaine Lee, Michael Wm Kaluta, and Lee Moyer⇧
The serialized mini-series, more sophisticated than any other title going by leagues and bounds, and a gift that just keeps giving.
A hardboiled mystery, a galactic history, a cyberpunk noir, a war memoir, a transgressive romance, a second chance.
Smart art for sharp hearts.
>IDW
I M A G E
-SAGA, by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan _______ ⇧
So vital, so brutal.
The best continues to best itself.
-PAPER GIRLS, by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang _______ ⇧
Lazy comparisons to Stranger Things wither; this is far too wide, deep, and complex, an epic cryptogram of its own.
-ROCKET GIRL, by Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare _______
Three sightings this year!
-SOLID STATE, by Matt Fraction, Jonathan Coulton, and Albert Monteys _______
Concept album turned sci-fi opus.
-BLACK CLOUD, by Jason Latour, Ivan Brandon, and Greg Hinkle _______
What dreams may come.
-SPY SEAL, by Rich Tomasso _______
Clean-line spy adventure fun in the best Tintin tradition.
-MONSTRESS, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda _______
Best-selling author Marjorie Liu's Gothic Fantasy, with stunning art by Sana Takeda.
-THE AUTUMNLANDS, by Kurt Busiek, Benjamin Dewey, and Jordie Bellaire _______
Sociopolitical character-driven Fantasy.
-THE WICKED AND THE DIVINE, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie _______
Live, die, replete.
-SEX CRIMINALS, by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky _______ ⇧
Deeper, faster, harder. >
-DESCENDER, by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen _______
Indiana Croft.
-BLACK SCIENCE, by Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera, and Dean White _______
Dare all pretensions in parallel dimensions.
-INVISIBLE REPUBLIC, by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman _______ ⇧
The king is dead, long live the dream.
-SOUTHERN CROSS, by Becky Cloonan and Andy Belanger _______
Mystery. Eternity.
-COPPERHEAD, by Jay Faerber and Scott Godlewski _______
HIGH NOON in the backwater worlds.
-LAZARUS, by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark _______
The ties that blind.
M A R V E L
-AMERICA, by Gabby Rivera, Joe Quinones, and Ramon Villalobos _______ ⇧
America Chavez to the rescue!
Fascists, beware!
-THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL, by Ryan North and Erica Henderson _______
Too funny by far!
-MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR, by Amy Reeder, Brandon Montclare, and Natacha Bustos _______
Inspiring all-ages book.
Science, dinosaurs, action!
-PATSY WALKER, a.k.a., Hellcat!, by Kate Leth and Brittney L. Williams _______
Great fun while it lasted.
-THE MIGHTY THOR, by Jason Aaron And Russell Dauterman _______ ⇧
Malekith, the Shi'ar, and The Phoenix take her on.
Even odds.
-MS. MARVEL, by G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, and Adrian Alphona _______
Embiggen your mind.
-SPIDER-GWEN, by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez _______
Does whatever a spider can.
-Invincible Iron Man: IRONHEART, by Brian Michael Bendis and Stefano Caselli _______
She's 15, a genius, and a mecha. Step off.
BLACK PANTHER, by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze/Chris Sprouse _______
Bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates' brave experiment in bringing T'Challa forward to his fullest potential.
-ALIAS, by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos _______
The return of Jessica Jones (and her creators). Worth it for her snarky dialogue alone.
JEAN GREY, by Dennis Hopless with Victor Ibanez, + _______
When Phoenix died in 1980, it was as seismic an event in comics as if it had actually happened.
And then Marvel has devalued that endlessly ever since.
This do-over series does precisely what it should, fixing all of that in a bid to give her a better fate.
-SCARLET WITCH, by James Robinson and Various Artists _______
James Robinson (Starman) helmed this artful and character-driven modern Sorcery series to its end.
W A R S
Marvel is still nailing it making movies between the movies.
-STAR WARS, by Jason Aaron and Stuart Immonen, + _______
The flagship title covers the Rebel side of events during the period between A NEW HOPE and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.
-DARTH VADER: Dark Lord of the Sith, by
Charles Soule and Giuseppe Camuncoli _______
This new, second VADER series covers his emergence immediately after REVENGE OF THE SITH.
-STAR WARS: Screaming Citadel, by a cast of dozens _______
A crossover event between titles featuring the Rebels 'teaming up' with Doctor Aphra.
-STAR WARS: Doctor Aphra, by Kieron Gillen and Kev Walker _______ ⇧
Everyone's favorite anti-Indiana Jones gets her own series.
Scams, chaos, and sarcasm ensue.
-STAR WARS: Poe Dameron, by Charles Soule and Angel Unzueta _______
Though he was a blip in THE FORCE AWAKENS, he's become a fully realized adventurer in this fun series.
D C
-MISTER MIRACLE, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads _______
Tom King, lauded last year for the psychological dread of THE VISION, helps the great escape artist elude his inner demons.
-WONDER WOMAN '77 MEETS THE BIONIC WOMAN, by Andy Mandels and Judit Tondora (DC/Dynamite) _______
Because sentimental.
- WATCHMEN (1986) is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, with color by John Higgins.
- They are the sole creators of this original saga, despite a copyright swindle by the publisher.
- This is a self-contained story, period.
- Any other "before" or "after" supplements, or "crossover integrations", are a complete fraud perpetrated by the greedy and supported by the foolish.
V E R T I G O
-ASTRO CITY, by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson, + Alex Ross _______
Avert catastrophe, support Astro City.
Y O U N G
A N I M A L
-SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL, by Cecil Castellucci and Marley Zarcone _______ ⇧
Everything great about the 1978 Ditko original and the Milligan/McCarthy/Bacchalo '90s Vertigo run, made new and vital again.
Psychotropic clean-line graphics and shaded emotional nuance.
-DOOM PATROL, by Gerard Way and Nick Derington _______
Gerard Way tranmutes everything great about Grant Morrison's '90s run into new gold.
D A R K
H O R S E
-MAE, by Gene Ha _______ ⇧
An all-ages cross-dimensional adventure series by the acclaimed artist of Alan Moore' TOP 10.
B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L S :
-PROVIDENCE, Act 1,
-PROVIDENCE, Act 2,
-PROVIDENCE, Act 3, by Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows (Avatar) _______ ⇧
Three volumes collecting Alan Moore's 12-issue maxi-series prequel to NEONOMICON, a terrifying rethink of Lovecraft.
-LOVE IS LOVE, by Various Creators (IDW/DC) _______ ⇧
A benifit anthology responding to the Orlando shooting tragedy, championing all aspects of the human love spectrum. >
-MY FAVORITE THING IS MONSTERS, by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics) _______ ⇧
An ink-pen diary and montage on notebook paper, tracing a mystery on many levels.
-CRAWL SPACE, by Jesse Jacobs (Koyama Press) _______
Mindwarping graphics and soul-searching prose.
-MAGRITTE: This Is Not a Biography, by Vincent Zabus and Thomas Campi (SelfMadeHero) _______
Fall into Magritte's world, and become it.
This is not a pipe (dream).
-EVERYTHING IS FLAMMABLE, by Gabrielle Bell (Uncivilized Books) _______
Memoir, diary, confession, dissertation.
Family issues and rebuilding.
-YOU & A BIKE & A ROAD, by Eleanor Davis (Koyama Press) _______
Putting yourself back together again, one sketch and sketchy moment at a time.
-NOTHING LASTS FOREVER, by Sina Grace (Image) _______
Existentialism amid the freedom and fatuousness of the digital age.
-BOUNDLESS, by Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly) _______
Surreal short stories that challenge the boundaries of self and nature.
-SAIGON CALLING: London 1963-75, by Marcelino Truong (Arsenal Pulp Press) _______ ⇧
This sequel to Such a Lovely Little War brings the Vietnamese expat through the Counter-Cultural Revolution.
-THE BEST WE COULD DO, by Thi Bui (Abrams) _______
Immigration is both escaping and finding continuously.
-POPPIES OF IRAQ, by Brigitte Findakly and Lewis Trondheim (Abrams) _______
Breezy cartooning belies a nuanced work coming to grips with dangerous social upheaval.
-SPINNING, by Tillie Walden (First Second) _______
Competitive skating across emotional thin ice. Finding your own glide.
-SHATTERED WARRIOR, by Sharon Shinn and Molly Knox Ostertag (First Second) _______ ⇧
Fighting galactic repression, with graphics by the artist of Strong Female Protagonist.
-KIM & KIM, Vol. 1: This Glamorous, High-Flying Rock Star Life, by Magdalene Visaggio, Matt Pizzolo, Katy Rex, Eva Cabrera, and Claudia Aguirre (Black Mask) _______
Here. Queer. Kickin' your rear.
-THE SMELL OF STARVING BOYS, by Loo Hui Phang and Frederik Peeters (SelfMadeHero) _______
A western where frontiers open up and boundaries dissolve.
B E S T
C O L L E C T I O N S /
R E I S S U E S :
-KIRBY 100, by Jack Kirby, + (TwoMorrows) _______ ⇧
A centennial celebration of the King of Comics.
-THE EC ARCHIVES:The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror, Shock SuspenStories, Tales from the Crypt, Weird Fantasy, Weird Science, Two-Fisted Tales, Panic, Valor, Aces High, by various (Dark Horse) _______
EC Comics was, and is, the revolution.
-BERNIE WRIGHTSON Artifact Edition Cover, by Bernie Wrightson (IDW) _______
Bernie Wrightson was one of the greatest modern heirs to the Golden Age of Illustration.
-Hands of Shang Chi, MASTER OF KUNG FU: Omnibus, Volume 4, by Doug Moench and Gene Day, + (Marvel) _______ ⇧
MOKF was a pivotal work of the '70s shamefully kept out of print ever since by legal problems.
Moench's complex and meditative hero forecast the mature comics of the '80s, and Gene Day's astonishing art at the end is the hinge from Will Eisner to J.H. Williams III.
-MICHAEL WM KALUTA'SSTARSTRUCKArtist's Edition, by Elaine Lee and Michael Wm Kaluta (IDW) _______ ⇧
The original art pages of the 1984 graphic novel of STARSTRUCK, photographed at actual size.
>IDW
-DAVE STEVENS' THE ROCKETEER Artisan Edition, by Dave Stevens (IDW) _______
The page art of the classic adventurer, photographed at actual size.
-BATWOMAN, by Greg Rucka and JH Williams III (DC) _______ ⇧
An always timely reprinting of the stunning series, unequaled by any other still.
-STREAK OF CHALK, by Miguelanxo Prado (NBM) _______
A 1994 prism for interpretation, anchored around the beautiful watercolor art.
WHERE WE COME FROM, Dept.
Explore the past to map the future.
Get with, get going.
-LAST GIRL STANDING, by Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics) _______ ⇧
The autobiography of Trina Robbins, whose imprint spans from Vampirella's costume and Wimmen's Comix to Wonder Woman and acclaimed histories of female comics creators.
-HOW TO READ NANCY: The Elements of Comics in Three Easy Panels, by Paul Karasik And Mark Newgarden (Fantagraphics) _______
Using the (deceptively) formal clarity of Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy comic strip as a gateway to the medium.
B E S T
M O V I E S
a n d
T V:
I write and illustrate reviews of all comics-sourced films at the Four Color Films site.
-LOGAN
-GHOST IN THE SHELL
-WONDER WOMAN
-SPIDER-MAN: Homecoming
-GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, Vol. 2
-THOR: Raganarok
-JUSTICE LEAGUE
-LEGION, season 1
-THE DEFENDERS, season 1
See also:
>BEST MOVIES & TV: 2017
B E S T
W E B C O M I C S
-The Nib
-Strong Female Protagonist
R E S T
I N
P O W E R
by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson
- Bernie Wrightson
- Len Wein
From you, we exist.
Because of you, we persist.
© Tym Stevens
See also:
-FourColorFilms: THE Comics Film Review Site!
-BEST COMICS: 2000-2010
-BEST COMICS: 2011
-BEST COMICS: 2012
-BEST COMICS: 2013
-BEST COMICS: 2014
-BEST COMICS: 2015
-BEST COMICS: 2016
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2000-2010
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2011
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2012
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2013
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2014
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2015
-BEST MOVIES AND TV: 2016
-BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2011, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2012, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2013, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2014, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2015, with 3 Music Players
-BEST MUSIC: 2016, with 3 Music Players
-STARSTRUCK Strikes Back!
-STARSTRUCK: The Roots and Branches of Elaine Lee & Michael Kaluta's space opera
-How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
-THE CANON 1: 50 Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
-THE CANON 2: 50 More Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
↧
BEST MUSIC: 2017, with Music Players!
ALL THE
REAL MUSIC!
"Best Music" lists that taste like paste!
These tunes will altitude your attitude
and amok your badonkadonk!
Shortcut to Music Players:
(photo by Tonje Thilesen)
N E W
A L B U M S :
2 0 1 7
by Tym Stevens
This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.
-Curtis Harding, "Face Your Fear"
Psychedelic Soul.
-JD McPherson, "UNDIVIDED HEART & SOUL"
Rockabilly and Soul.
-Julie Byrne, "Not Even Happiness"
Ethereal Folk.
-Thundercat, "Drunk"
Eclectic Soul.
-Temples, "Volcano"
Psychedelic Pop.
-St. Vincent, "MASSEDUCTION"
Future Rock.
-Father John Misty, "Pure Comedy"
Lacerating Folk commentary.
-Here Lies Man, "Here Lies Man"
Afrobeat Rock.
-Groovy Uncle, "A Clip Around The Ears"
Beatlesque Pop.
-Dan Auerbach, "Waiting On A Song"
Country Soul from Black Keys leader.
-Bootsy Collins, "World Wide Funk"
Hybrid Funk.
-Deerhoof, "Mountain Moves"
Melodic Noize Pop.
-The New Pornographers, "Whiteout Conditions"
Complex Pop from Indie supergroup.
-Zara McFarlane, "Arise"
SoulJazz angel chorales.
-Las Cobras, "Temporal"
Moody trance-adelic from Uruguay.
-The Secret Sisters, "You Don't Own Me Anymore"
(The secret sisters of the Everly brothers?)
-Songhoy Blues, "Resistance"
Desert Blues from Mali.
-Las Odio, "Futuras Esposas"
Garage Punk from Spain.
-Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm, "Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm"
Memphis Soul.
-Feist, "Pleasure"
Edgy Chamber Folk.
-Satellite Jockey, "Modern Life, Vol.1"
Psyche Pop.
-Nicole Atkins, "Goodnight Rhonda Lee"
Multifaceted Soul, Country, and Dream Pop.
-Ariel Pink, "Dedicated To Bobby Jameson"
Electrodelic.
-D/troit, "Soul Sound System"
Funky Soul from Denmark.
-Queens Of The Stone Age, "Villains"
Cold Glam with Boogie.
-The Pen Friend Club, "Wonderful World Of The Pen Friend Club"
A happy world of Pet Sounds from Japan.
-Childhood, "Universal High"
Sunshine Soul.
-Nicole Willis, "My Name Is Nicole Willis"
Soulful Funk.
-Roger Waters, "Is This The Life We Really Want?"
The Wall for the FakePrez era.
-Mavis Staples, "If All I Was Was Black"
Compassionate Gospel Soul.
-The Darts (U.S.), "The Darts"
A Garage Punk spin-off of The Love Me Nots.
-Jeb Loy Nichols, "Country Hustle"
Soul Country Folk Reggae Blues.
-Antibalas, "Where The Gods Are In Peace"
Political Afrobeat.
-Don Bryant, "Don't Give Up On Love"
Memphis Soul.
-Liam Gallagher, "As You Were"
Let It Be some more.
-Chicano Batman, "Freedom Is Free"
Latin Funk.
-Tashaki Miyaki, "The Dream"
Like Slowdive jamming with Crazy Horse.
-Nick Hakim, "Green Twins"
Kaleidoscopic Soul.
-Jane Weaver, "Modern Kosmology"
Harmonious Kraut Psyche.
-Perfume Genius, "No Shape"
Coldwave Soul Rock.
-The Claypool Lennon Delirium, "Lime And Limpid Green"
Covers E.P. of Psyche and Prog gems.
-Benjamin Booker, "Witness"
Soul Blues.
-Samehada Shiriko And Dynamite, "Brand New Dynamite"
Refracted Psyche maelstrom.
-The Como Mamas, "Move Upstairs"
Gospel.
-Glim Spanky, "Bizarre Carnival"
Baroque Pop.
-Guadalupe Plata, "Guadalupe Plata 2017"
Scary Spaghetti-billy.
-The Coathangers, "Parasite"
Punk trio with Pop hooks.
-Sunshine & The Rain, "In The Darkness Of My Nights"
Girl Group Buzz Punk.
-The Kaisers, "Wishing Street"
Perfect Merseybeat.
-Jessica Lea Mayfield, "Sorry Is Gone"
Alt-Country with a Grunge edge.
-Spoon, "Hot Thoughts"
Austin's finest Alt-Rock.
-Robert Plant, "Carry Fire"
Roots to the future.
-Angelo Badalamenti, +, "TWIN PEAKS (Limited Event Series Soundtrack)"
From the darkness of future past.
-Chrysta Bell, "We Dissolve"
David Lynch's protege graduates.
-Robert Johnson And Punchdrunks, "Morte di Seeburg"
Terse Cinecitta-style soundtrack chills.
-Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings, "Soul Of A Woman"
The swan song of the true queen of modern Soul.
Rest In Power.
C O O L
S O N G S :
2 0 1 7
All the
REAL MUSICbeyond the box!
Here's the
D R E A M
J U K E B O X !
by Tym Stevens
All the songs elasticize their genres.
Get your groove on in this sonic order.:
Psychedelic!Glam!RESIST!Covers!
Country!Funk!AfroBeat!Riot Grrrl!
Alt-Rap!Electro!Soundtracks!
The Darts; Glim Spanky
20 hours of mind-staggering, booty-swiveling music, featuring:
Julie Byrne, Chrysta Bell, Chuck Berry, The Secret Sisters, CTMF, The Shelters, Charlotte Gainesbourg, Thee Oh Sees, Beck, Louise Burns, Melvins, Nick Hakim, The Heliocentrics, Fleet Foxes, The Dirtbombs, of Montreal, Moon Duo, Sampha, THEEE BAT, Ruby Velle And The Soulphonics, Las Rosas, Tinariwen, Tony Allen, Sleater-Kinney, Beth Ditto, EMA, Moses Sumney, Wire,
and throngs more songs!
B E S T
R E I S S U E S :
2 0 1 7
Quality is timeless.
you've known
for all
these years.
by Tym Stevens
This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.
-Little Richard, "Here's Little Richard" (1957) ⇧
The Voice of Rock'n'Roll.
-Various Artists, "Girls With Guitars, Vol. 4"
Rock grrrls of the '60s.
-The Golliwogs, "Fight Fire: The Complete Recordings 1964-1967"
The early Beat and Garage songs of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
-The Creation, "Action Painting" (1967-'68)
Mod/ Garage.
-The Monks, "Hamburg Recordings 1967"
Garage.
-The Beatles, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"⇧
The Greatest Rock Album Of All Time.
-The Rolling Stones, "Their Satanic Majesties Request"
Psyche response to Sgt. Pepper.
-The Beach Boys, "1967- Sunshine Tomorrow"
Box set of all their 1967 works.
-The Moody Blues, "Days Of Future Past" (1967)
Chamber Psyche.
-Tages, "Studio" (1967)
Swedish Psyche response to Sgt. Pepper.
-Various Artists, "Soulsville U.S.A.: A Celebration Of STAX" (1960-1976)
Stax Records box set.
-Marta Kubisova, "Songy a Balady" (1968)
Czech Soul balladeer.
-Sunny And The Sunliners, "Mr. Brown-Eyed Soul"
Latin Soul.
-Os Brazoes, "Os Brazoes" (1969)
Brazilian Psyche.
-P.P. Arnold, "The Turning Tide" (c. 1970)
Lost Rock album produced by Barry Gibb.
-Pink Floyd, "1970 Devi/ation"
All their 1970 works.
-Chris Bell +, "Looking Forward: The Roots Of Big Star"
Chris Bell's various projects before Big Star.
-Piero Piccioni, "Puppets On A Chain" (1970)
Groovy soundtrack.
-Pappo's Blues, "Pappo's Blues, Vol. 1" (1971)
Argentinian Blues-rock.
-The Stylistics, "The Stylistics" (1971)
Debut album produced by Thom Bell.
-Rain, "Rain" (1972)
Beatlesque Prog.
-Mulatu Astatke, "Mulatu of Ethiopia" (1972)
Ethiopian Jazz.
-The Delfonics, "Tell Me This Is A Dream" (1972)
Philly Soul.
-Isaac Hayes, "The Spirit Of Memphis (1962-1976)"
A box set overview of the Soul Man.
-Yoko Ono, "Fly", "Approximately Infinite Universe"⇧, "Feeling The Space" (1971, 1973, 1973)
Crucial experimental Rock.
Approximately Infinite Universe is one of the greatest Rock double-albums ever made.
-Minnie Riperton, "Perfect Angel" (1974)
Produced by Stevie Wonder.
-The Stooges, "Heavy Liquid: "The Album" (1974)
The great lost follow-up to Raw Power.
-Sly Stone, "High On You" (1975)
Underrated Funk classic.
-Neil Young, "Hitchhiker" (1976)
Legendary unreleased acoustic demos album.
-The Jam, "1977"
All of their 1977 works.
-The Cars, "Candy-O", "Panorama" (1979, 1980)
The brilliant second record and the underappreciated third.
-The Pop Group, "Y" (1979)
PostPunk/DubNoize protest album for the ages.
-Tradition, "Captain Ganja And The Space Patrol" (1980)
Essential breakthrough Dub album.
-Maximum Joy, "I Can't Stand It Here On Quiet Nights: Singles 1981-82"
PostPunk Funk from the early-'80s NYC revolution.>
-The Rain Parade, "Emergency Third Rail Power Trip" (1983)
Neo-Psyche from the Paisley Underground scene.
-Annie Anxiety, "Soul Possession" (1984)
Damaged Spoken Punk.
-Prince And The Revolution, "Purple Rain" (1984) ⇧
A massive expansion of the best album of the '80s.
-Nick Lowe And His Cowboy Outfit, "The Rose Of England" (1985)
Rockabilly.
-INXS, "Kick" (1987)
Aussie Funk.
-Paul McCartney, "Flowers In The Dirt" (1989)
Now expanded with all of the terrific unreleased demos with Elvis Costello.
-L7, "Detroit" (1990)
Unreleased live album.
-Angelo Badalamenti, "TWIN PEAKS: Fire Walk With Me" (1992) ⇧
Hallucinatory demon Jazz.
-Anna And The Psychomen, "2002-2004 Complete Recordings"
Garage Punk from Italy.
-Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Fever To Tell" (demos) (2003)
NYC Art-Punk.
© Tym Stevens
"A splendid time is guaranteed for all!"
See also:
BEST COMICS: 2017
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2016
BEST COMICS: 2016
BEST MUSIC: 2016
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2015
BEST COMICS: 2015
BEST MUSIC: 2015
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2014
BEST COMICS: 2014
BEST MUSIC: 2014
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2013
BEST COMICS: 2013
BEST MUSIC: 2013
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2012
BEST COMICS: 2012
BEST MUSIC: 2012
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2011
BEST COMICS: 2011
BEST MUSIC: 2011
BEST MOVIES: 2000-2010
BEST COMICS: 2000-2010
BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010
↧
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! A Rock'n'Soul Music Player
Hannukah, Kwanzaa, and New Years songs,
all in order from 1947 to Today!
Soundtracks!Soul!Country!
Garage!Psychedelic!Funk!
Glam!Reggae!Punk!
New Wave!HipHop!Electro!
and more!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!: Rock'n'Soul Playlist
Hear the unlimited Playlist here.)
Julie London, Elvis, LaVern Baker,
Ella Fitzgerald, Ramsey Lewis, John Coltrane,
The Everly Brothers, Aretha Franklin,
The Ronettes, The Surfaris, The Beach Boys,
Jimmy Smith, The Sonics, Stevie Wonder,
Booker T & The MGs, James Brown, The Who,
Isaac Hayes, Jimi Hendrix, Donny Hathaway,
The Temptations, John Lennon and Yoko Ono,
Laura Nyro, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Cash,
Big Star, David Bowie, The Damned,
Kurtis Blow, Fear, Al Green,
Monty Python's Flying Circus, Queen,
Prince, Fishbone, Run DMC, The Bangles,
U2, Los Lobos, Ramones, El Vez,
Luscious Jackson, The Fall, Reigning Sound,
The Flaming Lips, William "Bootsy" Collins,
The Smithereens, The Hives, Bob Dylan,
Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings, 45 Grave,
Jeff Buckley, The Black Keys,
and many more!
© Tym Stevens
See Also:
-The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist
-THANKSGIVING!, with Music Player
-DIA DE LOS MUERTOS and HALLOWEEN Rock En Espanol, with 2 Music Players
-HALLOWEEN!, with Music Player
↧
↧
SHE SHREDS, The Magazine Dedicated to Women Guitarists & Bassists!
I got news for you,she is!"
Support your creative family.
Subscribe to SHE SHREDS magazine:
>She Shreds
SHE SHREDS also has an extensive YouTube channel, with spotlight videos.:
>She Shreds: YouTube
© Tym Stevens
See Also:
-The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist
-WOMEN OF ROCK: The 1950s, with 2 Music Players
-WOMEN OF ROCK: The 1960s, with 2 Music Players
↧
Why EMPIRE and LAST JEDI are actually the Best of the STAR WARS films
Fringe fools are dismissing THE LAST JEDI for the same wrong reasons that THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK was dismissed before.
But they are mistaken, because both are actually the best.
Here's why:
•Appreciating EMPIRE
•Appreciating LAST JEDI
•Appreciating the new STAR WARS trilogy
with no direct spoilers.)
I've been a STAR WARS fan since before the first film even premiered.*
*(The novelization came out six months early, along with two issues of the comic adaptation, and Starlog magazine's advance coverage.)
Having come through all forms of the entire experience in real time, I offer some perspectives that might be helpful.
See also:
>How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
A Reference Guide
- Episode I: THE PHANTOM MENACE
- Episode II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES
- Episode III: REVENGE OF THE SITH
- Episode IV: A NEW HOPE
- Episode V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
- Episode VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI
- Episode VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS
- Episode VIII: THE LAST JEDI
- Episode IX: --------------------
I
A p p r e c i a t i n gE M P I R E :
STAR WARS (1977) was a feel-good fairy tale loved by everyone so much that it became the biggest film of all time. The general expectation was that creator George Lucas would take the easy path and do a retread with STAR WARS 2.
Instead, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) did the opposite in every way, challenging the material and the audience while it expanded and deepened its potential. It was edgy, complex, upending, and outright traumatic.
Rather than a secondary adventure, Lucas had repositioned it as the second chapter of a second trilogy: the new plan was to make three trilogies across nine movies. Each trilogy would be structured like a traditional three-act play:
- the first act introduces the characters and the setting, open with possibilities
- the second act advances the breadth and depth leading to a dramatic peak needing resolution
- the third act synthesizes the basics of the first with the complexity of the second to culminate in a higher fruition
And the second trilogy ultimately did exactly that: STAR WARS canvased the cast and settings; EMPIRE navigated edgy drama; and RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983) combined the structure of the first film with the edge of the second in a more sophisticated, intense culmination.
So, true to first and second acts, STAR WARS was bright and clear where EMPIRE was noir, murky, and claustrophobic. STAR WARS was a childrens crusade against evil that got lucky while EMPIRE earned its title as the realistically harsh blowback from taking on the repressor. It tortmented and separated its heroes, tested their convictions, and climaxed with one of the most shocking reveals in the history of cinema.
[Note how the second act of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, THE TWO TOWERS, also expands the range, deepens the drama, darkens the tone, separates the characters, and sorely tests all of them.]
Smart critics and true fans hailed the film for its bold audacity to throw away formula and turn everything inside out for a deeper, richer result.
But grumblers at the time felt it was cold, brutal, fragmented, dispiriting, or incomplete. Some complained that it betrayed their upbeat hopes, conventional expectations, or some entitlement to a snappy wrap-up. There were gripes about retrofitting the backstory, bewildering Force manifestations, the dark tone and introspection, and the unexpected turn in the romance triangle. The rudest said new director Irvin Kershner had soured Lucas' vision. The dumbest hated “the muppet”, the lowest hated “the black guy”. Unaware of the three-act structure, some felt the cliffhanger ending and three year wait for a resolution was the worst betrayal.
And they were all fools. In retrospect, EMPIRE is often considered the best of the films for all these very qualities.
Context is everything, and -like kids complaining in the middle of a journey- the doubters had simply lacked the awareness, maturity, or patience for a complete perspective.
II
A p p r e c i a t i n gL A S T
J E D I :
THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015) kicked off the new third trilogy as a slyly sophisticated rethink of the initial 1977 film, recapturing the original magic in fresh new ways with spectacular success.
The general expectation, with no sense of irony, seemed to be that the second act would be a walk-through of EMPIRE. But knowing that, THE LAST JEDI (2017) did the precise right approach by instead inverting the elements and themes of EMPIRE inside out to open up new breadth and depth that no one expected. It was newly edgy, complex, upending, and outright traumatic, while staying true to the second act's spirit by changing the possibilities of what that second act could advance.
STAR WARS has now become a generational hand-off. There was a long period when it was in doubt that there would ever be a third trilogy. To our benefit, the new films are being created by uberfans-turned-pros who are blessing us in threefold actions: they are resetting the possibilities, challenging the expectations of the past and the future, and ultimately defining the resolution of it all.
So, true to first and second acts, FORCE AWAKENS was bouyant and invigorated where LAST JEDI became sober, conflicted, and moody. FORCE was a tumble of chutzpah and charm while LAST JEDI sewed doubt within each person's hopes and plans. It separated its cast while bonding them in unexpected ways, tested their actions while evolving their resolves, and climaxed with one of the most startling and enigmatic showdowns in the series' history.
Alert critics and aware fans roundly praised the film for turning all of STAR WARS' conventions inside out to open up profounder, newly-rewarding results.
But, inevitably, a new round of grumblers struck back. Those who never knew history are condemned to repeat hysteria. So some felt it didn't fit their perfect expectations, while others griped about retconning the canon, bewildering Force manifestations, the dark tone and introspection, or turns in the romance matches. The rudest said new writer/director Rian Johnson had soured J.J. Abrams' promising vision. The dumbest hated “(insert cute thing)”, the lowest hated “the chick star” or social commentary or cast diversity (reality). Unaware of the three-act structure, some felt the story set everyone up for a fail without a tidy comforting pinnacle.
Dissent is good and necessary, but 'to criticize' doesn't mean to tear things apart. There are two paths you can go by:
- a Constructive Critique respects someone's intentions while offering them some possible options to explore.
- a Destructive Critique dismisses with disrespect while offering no solutions.
Just like THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK before, THE LAST JEDI is a first-quality film appreciated by everyone except some unqualified reactionaries. In the past, these grating disturbances in the forums would fade. But in the internet era, it is too common and easy to rig Fake Narratives of negativity against positive movements simply to undermine quality and progress. We should always be mindful, and sort the dark from the light. Voices of hate, aggression, or disrespect have no place in the real STAR WARS story.
And history proves the haters will lose. Seen in perspective, THE LAST JEDI is a superior film because of its disruptive qualities: it exceeds expectations at every turn, converts every familiar element into an untrod breakthrough, and challenges both the series and the viewer to grow with its advances.
Context, perspective, awareness.
III
A p p r e c i a t i n gthe new STAR WARS trilogy:
Too often it's been said that, "THE FORCE AWAKENS is just a remake of the first film."
This is actually untrue, and shows a consummate misunderstanding of the actual structures of STAR WARS films.
Here are some different ways of seeing.:
•••Each trilogy is constructed like a three-act play.
The first film/act of each introduces the characters, their goals, and the backdrop. The second film/act complicates their lives with adversity and hard choices that need to be resolved. The third film/act combines the basics of the first with the depth of the second for a climactic crescendo.
Another way to see this is thesis/antithesis/synthesis.
•••But each trilogy has also now become an act in a three-act arc.
It will ultimately be a trilogy of trilogies, with each one equalling a first, a second, and a third act.
- Intro: The first trilogy/act introduced the central basics of the family and an initially positive universe, and where that led.
- Conflict: The second trilogy/act deals with the aftermath transition for the heirs within a compromised universe, and their crusade to change it.
- Resolution: The new third trilogy/act follows the struggle of a third generation to reconcile the paths of the two pasts and transcend them in a conclusive fruition.
•••Each has the same structure, but changes the results.
The retroactive first trilogy deliberately mirrored the story structure and arc of the second, but changed the results to contrast how one person went wrong while another went right. The third trilogy now works within these familiar goalposts while deliberately challenging, expanding, and changing every aspect between. Just as the same ingredients become unique meals in the hands of different chefs, the three arcs set up the same frameworks from which each veers into unique terreigns.
In this way, the STAR WARS films have gone unrecognized as being spiritual cousins to other such films, where a repeated sitiuation takes different outcomes: IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, GROUNDHOG DAY, RUN LOLA RUN, EDGE OF TOMORROW, etc.
The STAR WARS saga uses lineage as the narrative line of descent (or ascent) for this recombinant cycle: Parent/child/grandchild. Same blood, different lives.
•••It's about the cycle of life, through lineage and maturity.
Mentors, students. Guardians, youths. Adepts, novices. Wisdom, learning.
The thematic throughline of Lucas' career is passing knowledge through lineage, and how the maturation cycle is repeated in the process. It's inherent in AMERICAN GRAFFITI, STAR WARS, and the RAIDERS films, but most especially in his essential and underrated INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES TV series.>
•••Each trilogy follows a female and a male.
But STAR WARS isn't simply a boys-only tale about a particular lineage. It's a story for everyone about offset yin/yang spirits trying to find balance and communion, centered around a unique heritage.
- Padme and Anakin
- Leia and Luke
- Rey and Kylo
•••Visual and thematic rhymes are constant for a reason.
If something seems familiar, it is a deliberate marker for culmination, contrast, or abrupt deviation.
- "I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff, but I’ve never seen anything to make me believe there’s one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There’s no mystical energy field controls my destiny!"
-STAR WARS (1977)
- "Thought it was a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. A magical power holding together good and evil, the dark side and the light. Crazy thing is... it's true. The Force. The Jedi... All of it... It's all true."
-THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015)
At its best, STAR WARS uses these internal rhymes as pivot points or saga bookends.
(At its weakest, in any media, it recycles its past highlights too heavily without innovation.)
•••For every familiar element, there are many more new elements.
or, "Why THE FORCE AWAKENS is not just a remake of STAR WARS"
The second film trilogy began with STAR WARS (later retitled "A New Hope") and ended with RETURN OF THE JEDI. Because of the logic of the third act, the third film is structurally the same as the first -from Tattooine to the Death Star- but is far richer and more complicated because of the emotional maturity and epic scope advanced in between by the second act, EMPIRE.
Thesis/antithesis/synthesis. Dreams/challenges/maturity.
But at the time, grumblers dismissed RETURN as a remake of the first film, without recognizing either the logical structure of a three-act trilogy or that the film was exponentially more progressive than the first in new ways. For every familiar thing, there were several advanced things.
Dramatically, the prequel/first trilogy is a distorted mirror of the second: a dark path versus the light. As an alternate fork off the same path, its structure echoes the other while changing the outcomes along the way.
But because, structurally, the first act THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999) parallels that of STAR WARS: A New Hope, many at the time said it was just an expansive remake of the original film. This failed to recognize that PHANTOM was doing internal rhymes on purpose, so that the second act ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002) could lead off into different outcomes. Familiar, then renewal.
Familiar also leads to reversals, which is why the title of the third act, REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005), is the exact opposite of the title of the second trilogy's third act, RETURN OF THE JEDI. The counter rhyme was like the other shoe dropping, a poignant binary summing up each trilogy's differing outcomes.
THE FORCE AWAKENS, being the first act of a third trilogy, has naturally the same basic structure as the previous first acts, PHANTOM and A NEW HOPE. But just as they differed in actions and outcomes, so too does FORCE. Between the familiar goalposts of Jakku (Tatooine) and Starkiller Base (Death Star), something new happens at every turn: every detail now challenges, advances, and escalates what has happened before into what has never happened.
The original/second trilogy began as a Campbell-ian fairy tale of light versus dark and became more complicated, more mature as it went. From the start, FORCE immediately updates this to a richer spectrum and more realistic approach, exchanging shooter games for bloody warfare, humanizing stormtroopers, complicating the villain, amplifying the character depth, and diversifying the repressors as well as the rebels.
THE PHANTOM MENACE and A NEW HOPE and THE FORCE AWAKENS are the same set-up... but they are not the same story. They are counter-verses in a longer song. Same rhythm, different statements.
[This is all conterpointed in composer John Williams' use of recurring character themes, motifs, and anthems in all the films' scores.]
In truth, the new films THE FORCE AWAKENS, THE LAST JEDI, and the standalone prequel ROGUE ONE (2016), actually exemplify the direct spirit of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, by embracing complexity, broadening diversity, challenging assumptions, complicating motives, subverting doctrine, and amplifying mature edge. The new films are far richer and more complicated because of the emotional maturity and epic scope advanced by the previous trilogies... and also by the passage of real time.
The audience and the creators have matured, and the movies have become more sophisticated to match. We loved the films in our youth/ we've grown with our own challenges over time/ the movies reflect that summation.
Thesis/antithesis/synthesis. Dreams/challenges/maturity.
Fringe fools are dismissing THE LAST JEDI for the same wrong reasons they dismissed THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK before.
But they are mistaken, because both exemplify the best of STAR WARS: brilliant craft, brave innovation, realistic complexity, and the triumph of compassion.
Let's join together with awareness, maturity, and patience for a complete perspective.
© Tym Stevens
See also:
How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
-STARSTRUCK Strikes Back!
-STARSTRUCK: The Roots and Branches of Elaine Lee & Michael Kaluta's space opera
-THE CANON 1: 50 Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
-THE CANON 2: 50 More Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
-The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist
-FourColorFilms: THE Comics Film Review Site!
↧
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2017
a spark for the fire
that will burn the First Order down.
Shortcut links:
BEST MOVIES: 2017
BEST DOCUMENTARIES: 2017
BEST TV: 2017
- Sub-Essays:
- Blade Runner 2049
- The Handmaid's Tale
- The Deuce
- Star Trek: Discovery
- The Defenders
- Legion
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
FILMSTRUCK
M O V I E S :
2 0 1 7
✭✭✭✭✭⇧
A wrenching and complex character drama tracing the poisonous toll of the bigoted 1940s American South on everyone involved, told commendably from multiple points of view: spouses, landowners, tenant workers, soldiers.
Dee Rees (Pariah) directs a powerful cast into a decisive statement for human compassion.
Bernard Natan was a prime architect of the French film industry.
A mistakenly underrated film, Rebecca Zlotowski's fictional take on his apex is entrancing, shaded, and poignant.
Natalie Portman is masterful, and Lily-Rose Depp makes a strong debut.
-DUNKIRK⇧
Despite some lazy press comparisons, Christopher Nolan's intense WWII epic is not about British triumphalism or isolationism.
It is instead very clearly about desperate individual struggles against war's barbarism coupled with pointed solidarity against the forces of Fascism.
(Translation: It's not pro-Brexit, it's anti-Trump.)
-THE ZOOKEEPER'S WIFE⇧
The harrowing true story of Polish zookeeps who smuggled Jews out of Nazi-occupied Warsaw.
A moving film adaptation by Niki Caro, starring Jessica Chastain.
The secret polyamorous relationship of Wonder Woman co-creators William Marston, Elizabeth Holloway, and Olive Byrne was their private unknown.
But Angela Robinson ("The L Word") admirably molds the scarce facts into a sympathetic tribute to fluid relationships, sex-positive roleplaying, First Wave feminism, and progressive creativity as a tonic to all forms of spiritual and social oppression.
Live and let love.>
-DETROIT⇧
A film that couldn't be more timely and relevant.
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty), emerging as an auteur about ethics during aggression, directs this true story of police brutality during the 1967 rise of inner-city revolts against poverty and oppression.
Tough to watch and absolutely necessary to see.
-MARK FELT: The Man Who Brought Down the White House⇧
A film that couldn't be more timely and relevant.
Watergate is the modern moment when the American people first realized democracy was being hijacked by the greedy and the cruel.
A corrupt President trying to steal elections through traitorous espionage needs to be taken down by independent lawmakers, whether it's 1974 or now.
The Tree Of Life (2011) was so astounding because of the compassionate core story interlinked with the cosmic big picture.
Terence Malick's follow-ups since have been interesting stretches in style, with excellent cinematography spinning around actor improvs of spiritual disconnection; explorations in new narrative forms perhaps less fulfilling yet always fascinating to watch.
Outrageous and hilarious.
This wild farce acts as a tonic to TV sitcom fantasies, showing actual struggling people trying to survive in a Orlando side motel in the shadow of The Magic Kingdom. Constantly startling, touching, and uproarious with a documentary-like naturalism that is breathtaking.
Bria Vinaite as the trash/star mother and Brooklynn Prince as her charmingly feral daughter are both riveting.
Greta Gerwig's indie triumph about class struggles and coming-of-age in 2002 Sacramento satisfies on all levels with accomplished ease.
-COLOSSAL⇧
This sorely overlooked comedy, connecting small-town Anne Hathaway's angst with a massive reptile in Korea, starts winningly, and becomes bravely edgier and more complicated halfway in.
-OKJA⇧
Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer) throws a fun curveball.
'Too edgy' for an average children's movie, 'too preachy' for the unconscious, but -in truth- far too good not to see.
Laughs, with some serious punch.
-THE BIG SICK⇧
Stand-up comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his partner Emily V. Gordon's fictional take on their courtship is great fun, with a terrific cast, agile turns, and inspired lines.
A left-field zinger.
Starting from a surprise premise, the film spins out into a fun and smart fable about connection through creativity.
Made by a cast of crack SNL regulars as a personal project, but stolen by Mark Hamill.
✭✭✭✭✭⇧
THE LAST JEDI, the second chapter of the final STAR WARS trilogy, inverts the elements and themes of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK inside out to open up new breadth and depth that no one expected.
It is newly edgy, complex, upending, and outright traumatic, and a brilliant move forward into unexplored territory.
>Why EMPIRE and LAST JEDI are actually the Best of the STAR WARS films
Everyone missed Blade Runner when it came out.
Everyone missed Blade Runner 2049 when it came out.
Here's why both will triumph anyway.
In 1982, Blade Runner took its bow during 'the best SciFi Film Summer ever'.> In the days when movie theatres were the sole option and lines rounded the block for months, Star Trek II, E.T., and Poltergeist devoured all the money, while The Road Warrior, The Thing, and Blade Runner got scraps. But in the next two years, the latter three films found their audience through word-of-mouth, the first affordable VHS rentals, and premium cable showings. As a cult hit, Blade Runner blueprinted virtually all of Tech Noir and CyperPunk that followed. After a decade's build-up, Blade Runner became widely acknowledged by the '90s as a visionary breakthrough and a fine film classic beyond genre or era or receipts.
In 2017, the excellent sequel Blade Runner 2049 came out to universal rave reviews and moderate box-office after a long summer of blockbusters. In the USA, that is. But 2/3 of its total money came from international release, meaning that as usual the local American "Opening-Weekend-Cockfight" myopia failed to recognize it as the global hit it truly was. And will continue to be further, because of word-of-mouth, streaming and renting, and cable showings. Quality is timeless and wins for the long, regardless.
Catch up to the future, again.
The ascendingly great prequel trilogy (Rise/ Dawn/ War) is complete, ending in a grand zenith.
The second film, Dawn, was essentially the Godfather II of Apes films, and this crescendo escalates the scope and depth admirably.
Andy Serkis is again Oscar-worthy as Caesar, leader of a new age of evolution.
Amelie meets Abe Sapien.
Guillermo Del Toro's lush romance and moral fantasy enchants the senses.
-WONDERSTRUCK⇧
Todd Haynes' weave of two stories, a girl in 1927, a boy in 1977, is a beguiling mystery and visual opus great for head and heart.
-MARJORIE PRIME⇧
This confident adaption of the Pulitzer-winning play rings like the best of Arthur Miller and Rod Serling.
Speculative fiction working within the strongest tradition of character stage plays, challenging our sense of connections, ethics, and memories.
Amid compelling perfomances by Jon Hamm, Tim Robbins, and Geena Davis, it's veteran character actor Lois Smith who steals the show.
-THE DISCOVERY
Both Marjorie Prime and The Discovery should be of interest to "Black Mirror" fans.
A speculative character drama about the ramifications of the scientific confirmation of an Afterlife, with Robert Redford, Rooney Mara, Jason Segel, and Jesse Plemons.
Following a forlorn sheeted ghost longing for a life past, this slow-burn meditation on loss, memory, time, and love is quietly heartbreaking and thoughtful.
-THELMA (Norway)
Thelma is waking up to new possibilities within herself... but is that a good thing?
I M A G E S
(Full reviews for the following films
will be forthcoming from the review site, Four Color Films).
-LOGAN⇧
-WILSON
-GHOST IN THE SHELL
-WONDER WOMAN
-SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
-GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, Vol. 2
-THOR: RAGNOROK
Underrated, Dept.:
-JUSTICE LEAGUE
Your honor, I can explain.
No one dislikes MAN OF KILL and B/S more than me.
And yet this Course Correction Checklist hinges (just barely) into generally good.
See Also:
>Four Color Films,
THE Comic Movies Review Site!
The world's first fully-painted film, with oil-painting still frames by 125 artists across 5 years, feeds the head and senses. And it's a fine Rashomon-style mystery story, as well, conveyed in multiple twists by an ace cast, pre-filmed and rotoscoped.
-YOUR NAME (2016; Japan)
A conventional body-swap comedy anime that (like Colossal above) becomes abruptly more interesting and dramatic in the middle.
Excellent backgrounds and camera effects.
TV:
-STAR WARS: REBELS 3b / 4a
The CG-animated series, which embodies the best qualities of the original first film, begins dovetailing nicely into the era of Rogue One.
D O C U M E N T A R I E S :
2 0 1 7
The words and wisdom of James Baldwin about the ongoing Civil Rights struggle.
-WHOSE STREETS
The Ferguson, Missouri, uprisings against bigoted police brutality.
Ken Burns.
-AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: Truth to Power
Al Gore. Because honoring the truth is crucial to survival.
-BOMBSHELL: The Hedy Lamarr Story⇧
Glamour Age actor, scientist who invented WiFi, inspiration for Catwoman.
-BATMAN AND BILL⇧
It was actually Bill Finger, and not Bob Kane, who created every aspect we love about Batman.
-THE TOYS THAT MADE US: Episode 1, STAR WARS
The crazy story of how Kenner toys revolutionized the toy industry like the 1977 film remade the film industry.
-KEDI⇧
The freerange cats of Istanbul.
-FACES PLACES
Two singular artists tour France creating portraits of those they meet.
T V :
2 0 1 7
An 18-hour film, testing every limit heedlessly.
The original "Twin Peaks" series (1990-'91) reconstructed television, and this return deconstructs itself.
David Lynch and Mark Frost once blew your volts like a blackout... and it is happening again.
>TWIN PEAKS: Its Influence on 25 Years of Film, TV, and Music!, with 5 Music Players!
-BETTER CALL SAUL 3
Quietly, "Saul" is the most mature and contemplative show on television.
As if Tennessee Williams or Lillian Hellman were writing the prequel to "Breaking Bad".
Margaret Atwood's classic 1985 book is a dystopian rallying cry for the ages. She achieved it through insularity: the interior monologues and isolated environs of one person, which make the book both intensely personal while temporally universal.
And hard to dramatize. The Hulu series adaptation takes an insane risk to expand it by literalizing and lateralizing it: literal in the sense of current events and specific settings, lateral in new multiple characters with different outlooks. What could become clumsy or strident is most often deft and sure. What holds it together is the core message, now more necessary than ever... to hold onto your humanity in the midst of oppression.
-ALIAS GRACE (maxi-series)
Margaret Atwood is having a banner period, with timely adaptions of her perrenial parables "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Alias Grace".
This is about far more than the birth of the Porn industry.
It's the the gateway to how the rich have stolen democracy using gentrification.
This series helmed by David Simon ("The Wire") does an amazing job of reconstructing seedy 1971 NYC, as the sex trade morphs into the mainstream breakthrough of Porn chic. But that was only the beginning. Whether the show will address it or not, the corraling of the sex industry by corrupt police was engineered by politicians and land barons, who let the inner city rot and burn (birthing Punk and HipHop sideways)>>, then displaced the immigrant poor, gentrified the urban ruins, and used their realty riches to commercialize Times Square and purchase power as Mayor, Governor, and now President.
For those who know history, The Deuce is subliminally about the corrupt rise of the Trumps of the world.
-MR. ROBOT 3
Thankfully, we have this finely-wrought series to challenge all forms of corporate fascism.
Sam Esmail's cinema-quality epic dismantles itself as much as the power structure in this essential Punk molotov.
-FEUD 1
The first season of the anthology series is a riveting telling of the bitter feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.
By Ryan Murphy ("The Shield"), with excellent performances by Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange.
The precise Star Trek series we really need.
Wild > tame > wild.
The original Roddenberry Star Trek series (1966-1969) was a wild frontier of action, edge, and ideas. The Berman-era spin-offs The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise (1987-2005) were more formal, stylized, and sober. The Abrams film reboots (since 2009) and the Fuller-initiated Discovery series (2017) unleash the untamed spirit of the original, now ramped and rethought.
Mod > New Age > PostPunk.
The '60s version channeled the vibrant and challenging possibilities of its renaissance zeitgeist. The '80s+ versions apologized past experimentalism into stylization and sobriety. The '10s version rips it up and starts again> looking for new edge and wonders.
Bradbury > Clarke > Dick.
The '60s show was Ray Bradbury, a Dada collage of disparate classic elements in alternative vistas. The '80s was Arthur C. Clarke, a boosterism mural of streamlined futurism. The '10s is Philip K. Dick, a krylon wall throw-up of rebel reassessments.
Roddenberry > Berman > Fuller.
Roddenberry invented the alphabet of modern SF shows. Berman produced formal essays. The Fuller-associates* make cut-ups out of all of it.
- * Bryan Fuller concieved the new show, but it was actualized by his associates.
Interpreting Roddenberry's template, the Berman series were each valuable and rewarding for their expansive reflection. But it's past time to drop the polite formalism and bright comfort, to strip off all the shellac down to the raw wood. Discovery disorders the order: sideways crew focus instead of the bridge ensemble, two ships in different times, confliction and conviction, blood and bruises, every turn upendings and inversions of character, loyalties, canon, time, and space.
This is precisely what we need, a show that recalls where we started from to go where we have yet to go.
Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
Strange new worlds. Out there, thataway...
-THE ORVILLE 1a
Seth MacFarlane's homage spoof is basically ST: The Next Generation under a heat lamp, with nyuk jokes.
It's no Galaxy Quest, but somehow, because of its actual veneration of all things Trek, it begins to work on its own accord.
-BLACK MIRROR 4 ⇧ Netflix
Typically and topically razor-sharp allegories about tech nightmares from Charlie Brooker.
The opener, "U.S.S. Callister", is such an inspired rethink of the alternate possibilities of Star Trek that it rightly deserves a spin-off series of its own.
It's not enough that Bryan Fuller ("Wonder Falls", "Hannibal") has done a letter-perfect adaption of Neil Gaiman's book. He also is expanding it with 70% of new material that is just as good.
A great thing greater.
-SENSE8 2 Netflix
Cut off by Netflix, the Wachowskis are forced to wrap up their 5-season plan in a compressed season.
-Philip K. Dick's ELECTRIC DREAMS 1
Philip K. Dick was the experimental anarchist of SciFi authors whose works have been filmed as Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, and "The Man In The High Castle".
This canny anthology series adapts his challenging short stories.
-COLONY 2
The overlooked rebellion-against-alien-overlords series stays firmly grounded in character, politics, and real settings.
-INCORPORATED 1
This parable about a future Corporate dystopia was exactly about right now.
And, criminally, got cancelled. Still worth the trip.
-12 MONKEYS 3
Confident in its momentum, the show expands its cast and scope, for richer results.
-THE EXORCIST 2
No one is more dubious than me of any attempt to follow The Exorcist (1973), a timelessly brilliant book and film.
But this series (generally) holds onto what matters to make it work: deep character build, belief and doubt, science and supra, punctuated by jarring intensity.
John Cho gives his best performance here.
-FORTITUDE 2
Daring or debacle?
YesNoBothOther.
-DARK (Germany) Netflix
It is
It is happening
It is happening again
OUTLANDER is one of the finest shows being made.
And my favorite romance, ever.
-GAME OF THRONES 7
The penultimate season is on rabid overdrive, blazing through shocking revelations and turnovers like a molten scimitar.
-ORPHAN BLACK (Canada/BBC) 5
Tatiana Maslaney bows out in a smart finale, particularly in its last grace notes.
-DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY (Canada/BBC) 2
A complex and chimeric overhaul of Fantasy vogues, in full-on breathless Douglas Adams-style flair.
-DOCTOR WHO 10
Peter Capaldi's adroit swan song.
-THE DEFENDERS 1 ⇧ Netflix
Some helpful context for those coming in.:
1975, 1981, and 2002.
Colleen Wing; White Tiger; Shang Chi
Comics heroes became much more culturally diverse in the early '70s because of the inclusion activism of the counterculture. By 1975, Marvel had unveiled a pantheon of action street heroes who soon became intertwined: Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, White Tiger, and Shang Chi; much of this reflected blax/plosion films, the martial arts craze, and the backgrounds of the young New York creators themselves. In the early '80s, Frank Miller brought hardboiled severity in with Daredevil, Elektra, and The Hand. In the '00s, Brian Michael Bendis joined them all together with his Jessica Jones in adult noir arcs influenced by Tarantino and "The Wire".
The current Netflix shows of the Hells Kitchen pantheon -"Daredevil", "Jessica Jones", "Luke Cage", and "Iron Fist"- are the sum of these specific three classic revolutions. Each show was world-building the total pantheon to meet together in the "Defenders" team-up series; each was never only singular, but part of that evolving gestalt. (Each also directly reflects the eras, styles, and inventions of their best comics creators; e.g., the ninja noir of Miller in Daredevil, or the early '70s Black Chic of Luke Cage.)
2: Luke Cage and Jessica Jone; art: Michael Gaydos
The quality of each show speaks for itself, but the pantheon is still mutually evolving. An appreciation of those 1975, 1981, and 2002 sources can abate any misunderstandings of who the pantheon is or where it is heading. So no, Iron Fist shouldn't be recast as Asian, because in the eclectic wider pantheon that was Shang Chi and Leiko Wu; two people are destined to become the Daughters of the Dragon; and while one person is becoming Hellcat, another is stealthily morphing into a new White Tiger. (How many of you caught that one?) Just as The Avengers conjoined the Marvel films into the gods of Olympus, "The Defenders" is taking the people's pantheon to the streets.
Logan isn't the revolution, it's "Legion".
While Logan sands superheroes back down into Ford and Peckinpah, "Legion" burnishes them into Kubrick and Lynch.
art: Bill Sienkiewicz
Legion, a schizoid 1985 X-Men spin-off character, was made memorable by the art of Bill Sienkiewicz; a surreal blend of Neal Adams naturalism, Bob Peak flair, and Ralph Steadman slash. Taking the cue, showrunner Noah Hawley ("Fargo") channels this fine art into select cinema. "Legion" creates a world of its own, molded in 1968-1974 Mod futurism, throbbing with art-prog, projected in panavision. It's Tarkovsky scored by Pink Floyd, A Clockwork Orange staged by Matthew Barney, Fellini ghostwritten by Ken Kesey. This is a higher better level, a postmodern symphony shot in ultraviolet.
Logan is the nihilist brutality of Miller, but "Legion" is the mature sophistication of Moore. That's always the better revolution, before and now.
-THE GIFTED 1
This X-Men spin-off is generally solid, with an attention to character.
-RUNAWAYS 1
Based on Brian K. Vaughan's comic, this series has more expansive craft and scope than "The Gifted".
-AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. 4b/ 5a
The supernatural fourth and cosmic fifth seasons have been the best yet.
Ghost Rider, virtual reality, and Time And Space.
-INHUMANS 1
Actually a basically good show that we all pine for something much more from.
-THE TICK 1a
Creator Ben Edlund teams with Wally Pfister (cinematographer for the Nolan Batman trilogy) to kickstart The Tick better and battier than ever.
The pleasure of the DC-TV shows is seeing the Silver/Bronze Age Of Comics come to life.
As a desperately needed antidote to the dour Snyder-verse films, any formula loops, teenie focus, or dumb missteps involved are forgiven in the fun of it all.:
-SUPERGIRL 2b/ 3a
The third season is tighter, more mature.
-THE FLASH 3b/ 4A
The Fourth season is balancing strengths: cast chemistry, edge, fun.
-LEGENDS OF TOMORROW 2b/ 3a
"Doctor Who" meets "Firefly". A freeform tonic to the formulas of its sibling shows.
-ARROW 5b/ 6a
The examination of Oliver's unnecessarily violent past is finally well-addressed through his new vigilante crew.
See Also:
>Four Color Films,
THE Comic Movies Review Site!
The "Fargo" anthology series helmed by Noah Hawley is like a master class in how to do cinema quality for longform television.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, David Thewlis, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Ewan McGregor (in a dual role) are spellbinding.
-SHERLOCK 4
The anti-concensus is wrong: this is the finest season.
The handling of Moriarty before wasn't convincing, and this season upends that with enlightened panache.
-ELEMENTARY 5b
The fun of this stealth alternate to Sherlock is its gleefully serpentine mysteries, dry social satire, and the impish chemistry of Holmes and Joan Watson.
-BROADCHURCH 3
-AMERICAN CRIME 3
-TOP OF THE LAKE 2
If Jane Campion's sharp first season was David Lynch done straight, this odd follow-up is Robert Altman done seemingly for the hell of it.
-THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL 1 ⇧
Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino ("Gilmore Girls") is on wanton fire with this lava avalanche.
Set in 1958 NYC, the series channels Lenny Bruce and Joan Rivers through Midge, an acerbic woman who's had enough, letting it all out in scandelous stand-up routines in Greenwich Village. The dialogue is endlessly quotable, the delivery breakneck, the commentary serrated, and the ensemble better than Broadway.
And they caught lightning in a bottle twice, with the brash Rachel Brosnahan as Midge and the brusk Alex Borstein as her manager Susie.
Insanely funny, unrelentingly smart.
-BROAD CITY 4
Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson crashing into everything.
-PEOPLE OF EARTH 2
-THE GOOD PLACE 2
Bright absurdism with an undertow bite.
F I L M S T R U C K
* * * * *
Some folks think Netflix has everything.
Actually, Netflix has 2% of some things (mainly solid original shows).
But if you're serious about learning the true canon of full quality cinema, the classics beyond all, there's only one place to go.
The Filmstruck film-streaming site is the best cinema from around the world and every decade, along with the Criterion Collection and first-rate documentaries. If you've watched Mark Cousins'"The Story of Film: An Odyssey" documentary series as a primer >, this is the true library to enjoy the actual film classics that matter most.
Skip Starbucks and imbibe culture.
Hey, who has time (or money) to see everything?
MARSHALL
WIND RIVER
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
MOTHER
MARY SHELLEY
THE CURRENT WAR
AQUARIUS (Brazil)
THE BAD PATCH (Iran)
I AM NOT A WITCH (Zambia)
DOWNSIZED
THE LURE
LIFE
SLEIGHT
SPLIT
COCO
TABOO
UNDERGROUND 2
RICK AND MORTY 3
© Tym Stevens
See also:
Four Color Films, THE Comic Movies Review Site!
BEST MUSIC: 2017
BEST COMICS: 2017
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2016
BEST MUSIC: 2016
BEST COMICS: 2016
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2015
BEST MUSIC: 2015
BEST COMICS: 2015
BEST MUSIC: 2014
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2014
BEST COMICS: 2014
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2013
BEST MUSIC: 2013
BEST COMICS: 2013
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2012
BEST MUSIC: 2012
BEST COMICS: 2012
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2011
BEST MUSIC: 2011
BEST COMICS: 2011
BEST MOVIES: 2000-2010
BEST COMICS: 2000-2010
BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010
How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
↧
HAPPY NEW YEAR! with New Years Songs music player
Make a better future.
Rock'n'Soul Playlist,
by Tym Stevens
A history of NEW YEARS songs from the 1950s to today, in chronological order.
Soundtracks!Soul!Country!
Garage!Psychedelic!Funk!
Glam!Reggae!Punk!
New Wave!HipHop!Electro!
and more!
© Tym Stevens
See Also:
-The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist
↧
↧
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY - Its Transcendent Influence on all Pop Culture
Quality is timeless.
Released on April 3, 1968, cinema's most ageless landmark 2001: A Space Odyssey has celebrated its 50th anniversary, influencing everything that followed it.
Here are over 100 films, shows, books, songs, and comics across five decades that received its signal.
Here's to the next 50 years...
Chapter Shortcut links:
1•2001: A Cinematic Revolution
Influence:
2•1960s
3•1970s
4•1980s
5•1990s
6•2000s
7•2010s
•MUSIC PLAYER:
songs inspired by 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY,
from 1968 to today.
2 0 0 1 :
A
S P A C E
O D Y S S E Y
quite like this before.”
The way to appreciate how everything changed is knowing what it was like before.
•Middlebrow:
In the 1960s, movies were still considered lowbrow and fleeting, unlike the higher arts like painting, opera, and novels. A middle-aged middle class audience with High School educations watched movies once. In the wake of Beatlemania, the first inkling of a burgeoning Youth Market was only beginning to crystalize in Madison Avenue's flowcharts.
•Dying:
Movies were released by regions gradually instead of everywhere at once, depending on good press or word-of-mouth to build up success. Television's popularity was killing films the whole decade, as Hollywood desperately rolled out glossy big-budget musicals that were failing. Instead, parents watched TV, teens went to parties, and students went to rallies.
•Generation Gap:
Most films reaffirmed the conventions and attitudes of the past, with any representation of young people consigned to beach comedies and exploitation cheapies. Art houses rose up around campuses, where the largest generation of all time attended college in record numbers and imbibed avant-garde foreign films.
•Critics:
Many established movie critics were local print stars grounded in either literature or academia or ego, with a make-or-break streak. An emerging vanguard of younger film critics had a sense of it as an art form made by auteurs, such as Hitchcock, Kurasawa, Godard, and Fellini.
•SciFi Pulp:
Most people knew Science Fiction from the escapist space opera adventures prominent in 1940s pulp magazines or comic books. Some were gradually aware of the literate, mature short stories of 1950s writers like Asimov, Bradbury, Bester, and Clarke, which was making inroads to upscale magazines. No one was aware yet of the emerging heretics of the late-'60s New Wave of Science Fiction, like Ellison, Dick, and Le Guin.
•Quality Science Fiction:
Science Fiction films and TV shows were camp knockoffs of the pulps with Bug Eyed Monsters, bikini models, and wire models. The amount of smart SF '50s films with high production values could literally be counted on one hand: THE THING From Another World, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, FORBIDDEN PLANET, THIS ISLAND EARTH, and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. Few folks in the mainstream '60s had heard of challenging new films like LA JETEE, ALPHAVILLE, or FAHRENHEIT 451.
That was the past. It was time for a new dawn.
what the damned thing is?”
The way to appreciate how everything hinged is knowing how the change was first percieved.
Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke decided it was time to evolve. So they made a challenging speculative fiction art film about the progress of humanity for creative thinkers.
It threw away the past and hurtled for the future at the speed of nosebleed.
Upon its release, 2001: A Space Odyssey was reviled and hailed. Hated by people who didn't get it and loved by those who did.
At first, few knew how to appreciate it:
•Egobrats:
New York City critics were often status stars who used scorn to claw their power. They were particularly venomous against the film. Many were clearly threatened by a subjective story they couldn't suss, or irritated they didn't get a DR. STRANGELOVE retread, or were just straight-up genre bigots. Renata Adler's review for The New York Times is toxic, spewing a torrent of classist 'anti-nerd' cliches that becomes painfully embarassing in its bitter cluelessness. Even the better thinkers like Sarris, Crist, and Kael didn't get it. Their own flaws were in their way.
•"The artist is the only true sage. He comes to us with open mind and with open hands. When his work confronts others he is not up for trial, it is the spectator, if anyone, who is putting himself on record."
-Man Ray
•Next:
The old guard of the 19th Century Salon continuously rejected all of the upcoming Impressionist painters, unaware that their limited outlook was now archaic. Likewise, conventional movie critics held on to an antiquated view of social mores, subject matter, film form, and audience intelligence that wasn't prepared for the radical changes coming to cinema from 1968 through the mid-'70s. 2001 was unrecognized yet as one of the first salvos of the New Hollywood to come.
•"Kubrick dared to reimagine space and time.”
-Darren Aronofsky
•Iconoclast = destroyer of images:
Many general critics and viewers had no awareness of film movements like the French New Wave or Italian art films. They were used to objective Hollywood stories told in a clear manner, reaffirming current doctrine or standardized history. A mirror of mundanity. A technically advanced film like 2001 with narrative leaps, distant performances, minimal dialogue, obtuse mysteries, jarring imagery, and an orgasmic epilogue simply blew their volt. Amazingly, a general attitude prevailed that, if it wasn't seen clearly immedietly, it wasn't worth considering. So they dismissed what they failed to see.
•“Stanley’s design in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ influenced everybody. I’ve never shaken it off."
-Ridley Scott
•Mr. Jones:
Thus one of the greatest films ever made, almost inarguably the most important since CITIZEN KANE, went unrecognized. The 1968 Best Picture award went to THE LION IN WINTER, an historical drama with Broadway pedigree. Which says everything. 2001 only received an Oscar for Special Visual Effects (to Stanley Kubrick, because the Academy didn't know who Pederson and Trumbell were.) Which says everything, still to this day. Something was happening here and they didn't know what it was. Similarly, The Beatles are universally known as the greatest band of all time, yet they never won a Grammy during their tenure. The fact that The Beatles and 2001 weren't recognized for their true worth at the time shows how truly backwards the arbiters were.
But the future was already here.
•“I see it every week.”
-John Lennon
Zefferelli, Fellini, Polanski, Saul Bass, and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov sent congratulatory letters of praise to Kubrick.
The film was supposed to go away because of the NY reviews, which it eventually did in that city after 6 months. But it played for over 18 months in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Toronto. The Variety magazine auditors astutely noted the film's continued financial success signaled a new social shift from the affluent elders to the counterculture college crowd, who kept it in theatres with repeat viewings. The previous model of the older sedate seeing flicks once had just lost grip. Now, college students conversant with independent and international films debated movies as an art statement, like paintings or music. See feel think.
•“The whole idea that a movie should be seen only once is an extension of our traditional conception of the film as an ephemeral entertainment rather than as a visual work of art.”
-Stanley Kubrick, Playboy (1968)
Music is understood on a deeper, more complex level because it is felt, bypassing the limits of logic or language. Kubrick had deliberately flattened or stripped out dialogue, to force the viewer into a visceral experience felt instinctively through the visuals, like a concept album. To see was to concieve. It was like a tune that you couldn't shake, a tune that shook you.
Like life, insight only came from repeated experience. To re-see was to comprehend. John Gelmis of Newsday couldn't break free of the film's spell, writing about it three times, where he pinioned from hating it to liking it to extolling it as the year's masterpiece. Taking it further, both The Christian Science Monitor review (by John Allen) and The Harvard Crimson's lengthy essay (written by Tim Hunter w/ Stephen Kaplan and Peter Jaszi) nailed it, with thorough analysis that was profoundly insightful and accurate about the film's craft and meaning. Much like the Scientific Method: think, try, think more, try again...
The tide was turning, away from urban critics, the Academy, and the middlebrow, away from the fading space camp of BARBARELLA, and in favor of film students, experimentalists, and the conceptual, and toward resonant message allegories like PLANET OF THE APES. From objective to subjective, from obstructionists to the abstract, from dream factories to auteurs.
> The Guardian:
2001: the best sci-fi and fantasy film of all time
2001 forced astute viewers to go deeper and to explore.
•“I was disturbed by its ambiguity when I first saw the film. But I think it will turn out to be the CITIZEN KANE of our era.”
-star Kier Dullea
Madison Avenue lives by the creed of the 3-Second Read: if a passing driver can't read a billboard in three seconds, it's a failure. Simple is best. But this basic practicality becomes insidious, when all shows and news narratives are dumbed down, made 'simple for simpletons'.
The counterculture rejected this. Filmore concert posters were deliberately complex and arresting to force a person to stare at it for a while, to enjoy its intricacies and secrets, to appreciate its sophistication, to divine their own meaning. Saying hippies loved 2001 because they saw it as an acid trip is simple-minded. In reality, the new youth pursued any journey that challenged the mind and led to spiritual revelation. The metaphysical evolution experienced in 2001 was analogous to their new social philosophy, their attempt at a new way of feeling, seeing, and becoming.
•"We are stardust/ We are golden/ We are billion year old carbon/ And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden."
-Joni Mitchell
To the primal. To the progressive. To posterity.
Ape, human, angel.
•“The only way to define the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.”
-Arthur C. Clarke
The trick to appreciating 2001 is to know what it brought.
•Millennium:
If 1967 had been a rising tide of hopes>, 1968 was a crux point of conflict worldwide>. Wars for profit, mass protest, Government crackdowns, starvation and poverty, hero assassinations, and -looming like the Reaper quietly in the back- the Cold War. Kubrick and Clarke posited the Millennium as turning point with their bold film, a crux point to focus all our energies on progress for everyone. More so than any other source, their film can be credited with the public idea for the following three decades that the Millennium was the hinge of hope. With the present tense, they tried to make the future perfect.
•“Kubrick was saying, ‘I want you to see something. I’m going to take you through something you never thought you’d experience.'”
-Martin Scorsese
•Outlooks:
2001 put an end to provincial attitudes, replacing the local with awareness of time's arc and the infinite. It championed science over superstition. While skirting aroound US-Soviet relations, it was stealthily anti-nuclear weapons, converting atomic power to boosters for spaceships. It warned that our tools could be our salvation or extinction, depending on how we used them.
•“This was a film that was imprinted on the conscious of everyone who saw it and forced them to talk about it and, more importantly, to think about it.”
-William Friedkin
•Realism:
2001 killed the pulps, lifting Science Fiction in the public imagination to a forum for high art. The creators' years of research set a standard for space film realism followed ever since, from APOLLO 13 to 'Star Trek: Enterprise', from THE MARTIAN to 'The First'. A public used to Mission Control coverage for a decade were startled to recognize in the film the extension of their own new reality. 2001 was the hinge to the actual 1969 moon landing. And the moon landing revalidated the film, like the other shoe dropping in public comprehension. Now that interstellar travel was real, 2001 superceded film to become prophecy and fruition and truth. Arthur C. Clarke was as much a visionary as he was the go-to science communicator on any news program.
•"It was the first time people really took science fiction seriously."
—George Lucas
•Aesthetic:
2001 brought a shocking sense of modernity to the screen. It was an art film that moved the masses, full of clean design and Mod futurism. It was hard contrast and bold color, supple plastic and cool metal, perfect central symmetry and radial geometry, abrasively loud and lovely and deadpan and silent, glass visors splayed with impressionistic reflections, rectangles and circles and grids, and lenses that looked back at you. It played to the senses, to the nerves, to the psyche. It was brutal and cold, empty and spiritual.
•"Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,
That call me on and on across the universe."
-"Across The Universe" (1969), The Beatles
•Art Film:
2001 was the mainstream turning point that turned movies into film, flicks into personal statements, theatres into exhibitions, and ideas into the possible. It replaced escapist cartoon musicals with widescreen vistas with depth. (The Director Of Photography was Geoffrey Unsworth.) Along with Spaghetti Westerns and film festivals, it brought the underground into the mainstream. It transferred underground techniques into common use: nonlinearity, ambivalence, graphic composition, disorientation, montage, dissonance, synchronicity, the schizoid, the unconcious. It was the first epic thinking movie for the first college generation.
•"It took it to the level of world class, important, profound, philosophical, artistic filmmaking."
-James Cameron
•Next Wave:
2001 was The Experience, a rite of passage for the new pilgrim. Just as it redefined realism, it redefined surrealism. For all the talk of it as excessive, it actually stripped everything down to the essence: the primal, the clean, the professional, the designed, the heirarchal, the silent. The Monolith achieves its potency by being a perfect rectangular slab unnatural to the rounded, messy universe. The film is a running companion with the conceptual pieces of John Cage, the entrancing binary flux of serial music, the hallucinatory introspection of the New Wave Of Science Fiction. It is the shifts of time and destiny of Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five. Its subversion of dialogue narratives in favor of experiencial distance predicts Pynchon's anti-narrative in Gravity's Rainbow, freeflowing cascades of detail surrounding transitory actors. It's "Sgt. Pepper", "Bitches Brew", "Trout Mask Replica", and "Dark Side Of The Moon".
•"It's a radical piece of work."
-Christopher Nolan
•Starchild:
2001 is the shock of the knew. It invented the modern SFX industry: the techniques, the magazines, the effects houses, the schools. It inspired and unleashed the most innovative creatives ever known. It inspired the tech that changed society and how we connect and create together. It is the parent than no child should take for granted.
“One of the biggest roles of science fiction is to prepare people to accept the future without pain and to encourage a flexibility of mind. Politicians should read science fiction, not Westerns and Detective stories."
-Arthur C. Clarke
•New Dawn:
The late-'60s was a cultural renaissance in politics, creativity, spirituality, and technology, a social Big Bang which we are still expanding from with deep exploration. The college students became the new college professors, the new critics, authors, and auteurs, the new audience, journalists, and archivists, embracing any evolution that involved the introspective, the inclusive, and the revolutionary. They surpassed the parochial with a fluid inquiry into the infinite.
Quality is undeniable, and since the 1970s, 2001: A Space Odyssey has become universally considered one of the greatest films of all time, a cultural watershed and regenerative catalyst, and the standard for high art in cinema.
A Tech Aftermath
showing smart car
2) Flatscreen
3) Video call
4) Tablets
•"Two-thirds of 2001 is realistic -hardware and technology- to establish background for the metaphysical, philosophical, and religious meanings later.”
-Arthur C. Clarke
2001 didn't just advance film and culture, it advanced our everyday reality.
In attempting to guess the future, it inspired the future. Arthur C. Clarke had already invented the concept of the satellite in 1945>, which is why you have television, the internet, satellite radio, GPS, Google Earth, and a cellphone. With the film, Kubrick and Clarke worked exhaustively with astronomers, aerospace engineers, military experts, moon cartographers, observatories, university scientists, Bell Labs, IBM, NASA, JPL, GE, computer researchers, aviators, mathematicians, geologists, medical colleges, weather bureaus, and even the Soviet Embassy/London for three years to accurately design the possible future of 1999 and 2001.
Seeing is becoming. Their projected appearance onscreen led to the Smart Car, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station. After the various devices appeared onscreen, inventors and designers made these possibilities come to pass, bringing us the personal computer, the tablet, the flatscreen, touchpads, internet newsreaders, seatback video, video phonecalls, and Siri and Alexa at our command.
(Similarly, 'Star Trek' has also inspired many of the devices we take for granted now.)
> Wired;
"The Amazingly Accurate Futurism of 2001: A Space Odyssey"
> Infrics:
How 2001: A Space Odyssey got the future right
•“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
-Arthur C. Clarke
Con Pederson and Douglas Trumbull.
You could always spot the lazy reviewer of the film because they used the offhand pejorative "trickery" for special effects. Newsflash: an entire film is a special effect. Films evoke a reality that doesn't exist, built from component illusions, but no one has such a disparaging attitude for storyboarders, scriptwriters, makeup artists, set designers, costume designers, lighting crews, dubbing engineers, or editors, all artisans in mutual service to evoke a fictional reality. Why treat the matte painter and the model maker like a forger? No one hangs a magician for fraud, they applaud.
All hail Pederson and Trumbull. Maybe more than any notable pioneer before them, their advances invented for 2001 brought modernity, respect, and possibility to the special effects industry, establishing it as an art form, a career, and a vital contributer.
They achieved their miracles using juxtaposed transparencies mounted on animation stands, blue-screen matting, rotating sets, model landscapes in forced perspective, large-scale ship models, long exposures, slit-scan projections, solarized photos, and sculptures. They invented the first computer motion control that led to STAR WARS and showcased the first computer animation.
For its entire history, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has only given 'genre films' an Oscar for technical effects. This is a backhand way of dismissing them as not being as valid for main awards as conventional 'real films'. They seem to have forgotten the wider meanings of honoring films involving art or science. Speculative films are real films, and this dinosaur attitude of denial needs to go. Evolve, or go extinct. The rest of the world has already embraced the future for the last half-century.
All hail the dreamers.
>How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
Let there be light...
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As 2001 became assimilated into mass consciousness, references to it seeded everywhere for decades.>>>
The next 50 years saw innumerable films, shows, books, songs, and comics branch out from it. The following list is not every Space film made since, but instead the specific creative works galvanized by the structure, craft, symbols, themes, or vision of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Just as the film traced the arc of evolution, note how these works began to interlace as exponential catalysts for each other across time. All is cyclical.
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▭2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), by Arthur C. Clarke
For those who didn't understand the film, the book was a godsend. Kubrick's subjective experience was complemented here by Clarke's objective approach, crafting a science procedural in sober, literal terms. Whether critics and fans admitted it or not, his lucid explanation of the symbolic ending acted as a cheat sheet for sounding clever in the heated debates.
Written concurrently with a film script that kept changing, the novel also has subtle differences from the finished film.
▭“Space Odyssey” (1968), The Byrds
In anticipation of the film, guitarist Roger McGuinn co-wrote a song based on Clarke's short story, "The Sentinel" (1950), which had initially inspired the movie.
▭Playboy interview: Stanley Kubrick (Sept ’68)
•“I think that if 2001 succeeds at all, it is in reaching a wide spectrum of people who would not often give a thought to man's destiny, his role in the cosmos and his relationship to higher forms of life.”
-Stanley Kubrick
The magazine had interviewed many thinkers from varied disciplines, but Kubrick's academic precision and conceptual acumen was on an entirely rarified level.
His fluency with cutting-edge scientific projections essentially charted out the cosmology of the next fifty years of speculative films: sealife, such as dolphins, as an example of possible extraterrestial life (Star Trek IV); Project Blue Book and J. Allen Hynek (Close Encounters of the Third Kind); exceeding the limits of the speed of light (hyperspeed in Star Wars); cryrogenics (Earth II; Andromeda); cloned organs (clones and stem cell research); eliminating old age (Prometheus); computer-interfaced dreams (cyberpunk and The Matrix); and the singularity (Colossus, etc.).
While NYC critics barked like local turf dogs, Kubrick was dreaming wide like an astrophysicist.
1975 Marvel mag,
cover by Neal Adams;
Kirby's "The Eternals".
▭Chariots of the Gods? Unsolved Mysteries of the Past (1968), by Erich Von Däniken
In a time when religions, anthropology, and technology were being vigorously reassessed, Von Daniken's book channeled the zeitgeist by popularizing the concept of Ancient Astronauts.
Between the tension of "God is dead" and astronauts now piloting our future, the tome upended perception by positing that they had always been One: that ancient civilizations and religions had actually been guided by extraterrestrial intervention.
Coupled with the release of 2001, the concept took fire in the public imagination. A theatrical documentary (1970) was an international hit and spun-off the "In Search Of" TV series (1977-'82), narrated by Leonard Nimoy. It similarly rewrote the DNA of SF history with examples like Jack Kirby's comic "The Eternals" (1976), the backdrop of 'Battlestar Galactica' (1978), the mythos of 'The X-Files' (1993), STARGATE (1994), INDIANA JONES And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008), and the backstory of PROMETHEUS (2012).>
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▭“Space Oddity” (1969), David Bowie
Stepping out into the heavens may be the ultimate existential crisis.
Bowie debuted as the alien outsider with this elegaic ode to the Lonely Astronaut, opening the pod bay doors for scores more songs by the likes of Black Sabbath, Nilsson, The B-52's, Pixies, Radiohead, and Beach House, all of which you can hear here.
"Obscured By Clouds" (1972);
"Pulse" (live, 1995).
▭“Echoes” (1969), Pink Floyd
Famously called “The First Band On The Moon”, Pink Floyd mutated their Psychedelia into Space Rock with long, exploratory mood pieces with sinuous grooves, dynamic sections, and avant noize.
The eternal debate is whether the 23-minute “Echoes” was directly inspired by the 2001 finale sequence of the same length, or if by synchronicity it just fits perfectly anyway.>
Just absorb the trip.
█2 0 0 1: A Music Playlist █
- songs inspired by, 1968-Today
by Tym Stevens
This music player contains songs inspired by 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, all in chronological order from 1968 to today.
Some thematics:
• If a song is a sundial, a symphony is a clocktower; the intricate melding of all innovations into one ultimate harmonious totality.
In the vast leap from the dawn of humanity to the Space Age, Kubrick stealthily used Classical pieces as signifiers of our progressive sophistication in the period between. The pounding tympani of Strauss'"Also Sprach Zarathustra" declares the end of the beginning and the beginning of new ends. The Strauss waltz "The Blue Danube" used during spacedock sums how the dance moves between partners was magnified by the concerted partnership of the world moving toward the future.
Contrarily, he evokes ancient intelligence far beyond our structures of understanding using Ligeti's unnerving "Atmospheres", a textural timber vibration radiant with dissonant glossolalia; like the film, its primal and profound meaning is felt through the senses viscerally instead of preconceptually.
• A more traditional score by Alex North went unused, and was interpreted years later.
•David Bowie's "Space Oddity" was clearly inspired by Dave Bowman's journey, but also reconsider concurrent songs like The Beatles'"Across The Universe", Tim Buckley's "Starsailor", and Black Sabbath's "Supernaut".
• The epic scope, varied chapters, and intense apex of 2001 infused or paralleled work by late-'60s and early-'70s Space Rock and Prog Rock acts like Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, Hawkwind, Yes, UFO, and Van Der Graaf Generator.>
•"Zarathustra" became the intro music for Elvis tours, and also took on new life within the dance music community (see 1977 below).
• The influence on electronic musics and dance culture eventually morphed into continued manifestations of the film through New Wave, Industrial, Rave, and Electro acts across the decades, from Skinny Puppy and The Shamen to Enigma and Daft Punk.
• Electro musicians now make entire concept albums based on the film, such as As Lonely As Dave Bowman and Jim Hart.
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▭The Making of Kubrick’s 2001 (1970), edited by Jerome Agel
One of the many failures of rote critical dismissal of the film was its total blindspot about the audience to come.
'Behind The Scenes' books didn't exist until 1968, when The Making of Star Trek by Stephen Whitfield debuted. Following after the show's second season, the lengthy paperback spanned the gestation process, the writing and production struggles, executive apoplexy, design and budget challenges, and sociopolitical merit of the ambitious and innovative SF series. It was hailed as the definitive resource book for how to write for quality television. Most importantly, it was written by a young outsider who had the pulse of all the other creative outsiders in the counterculture era looking for a catalyst spark for their potential.
It went through a million copies sold and three printings in its first year alone. 'Star Trek' fans then changed fandom and culture: their protests pressured NBC into renewing a third season; fans became pros who wrote new original books; they designed the blueprints for all the unseen ships and wrote exhaustive histories of the show's timeline; with their networking, their mass momentum created the first huge SF conventions where they invented cosplay; their numbers greenlit first the animated return of 'Star Trek', and then the cinematic return, and then all the new shows. In short, the cliched geeks that the classist Adler had spit on so vehemently were actually the creative community of the future, the guiding pop cultural and scientific force for the next 50 years. The starchildren rewrote reality, better. From the New Hollywood to the Internet, from Comic-Con to Apple, from Pixar to Tesla.
Taking that cue, The Making of Kubrick’s 2001 was compiled by Jerome Agel, who had co-written The Medium Is the Massage with Marshall McLuhan. In like form, he examined all angles of the film in a way that quietly mocked and superceded critics, creating a concrete reaffirmation for the mass public of the film's landmark worth that left all of the hostile critics' brief columns and local reputations in the past. The prescient examination of how the special effects were done harbingered future magazines like Starlog, Cinefantastique, and Cinefex, which would school the youth who would convert "trickery" into an art form and careers and production studios. These two books established all 'Making Of' tie-in books that followed.
The dismissers just couldn't concieve that the great unwashed would be their smarter replacements.
▭'UFO' (1970-’73)
Following their success with puppet animation shows like 'Thunderbirds', Gerry and Sylvia Anderson made a bold leap attempting advanced SciFi for a mature audience. Clearly encouraged by 'Star Trek' and 2001, the adventure series retained a pensive edge that was more character-based than most, which baffled syndicators who couldn't fathom yet to market a SciFi show to adults.
Essentially a spy show with an alien invaders theme, the true star of the show was the moon base and its space fleet run by purple-haired, silver metallic Mod queens. When the show hit production and syndication difficulties, the Andersons refocused on this strength to envision a new show based on the moon... 'Space: 1999'.
▭COLOSSUS: The Forbin Project (1970)
In 1970, the Tofflers'Futureshock was a bestseller, warning that fast-paced tech development would outpace our ability to comprehend such rapid change emotionally or ethically, hence the term 'information overload'.>
IBM computers helped guide us to the moon, but their introduction into corporations and workplaces created more mass anxiety. The immediate fear concerned layoffs, but the ultimate fear was the Singularity... when sentient artificial intelligence might surpass -and then perhaps eliminate- the human race.
HAL 9000, like the tool/weapon bone, embodied the tension between our aspiration to lift ourselves higher and our flaws pulling us under instead. This Singularity anxiety was the principle story of COLOSSUS, and continued to interlace SF ever since in films like WESTWORLD (1973), ALIEN (1979), SATURN 3 (1980), WAR GAMES (1983), THE TERMINATOR (1984), THE MATRIX (1999), and EX MACHINA (2017). Its variant is the Surveillance State, in which the omnipotent camera lens enforces tyranny on all, such as “V For Vendetta”, EAGLE EYE (2008), 'Person Of Interest' (2011-'16), and CAPTAIN AMERICA: Winter Soldier (2014).
▭EL TOPO (1970)
If COLOSSUS had branched from 2001 literally, EL TOPO was one of the first to do so abstractly.
Alejandro Jodorowsky's symbolist epic takes its general form from the Leone Spaghetti Westerns, but its hallucinatory shamanism and subjective opacity were clearly emboldened by Kubrick. In its tryst of the desert and dementia, it foretells Moebius. Shunned by theatres, the art film was distributed with the support of Lennon and Harrison, and its innovative strategy of Midnight Movie showings made it one of the first 'cult hits' supported by a hip underground following.
▭Ringworld, by Larry Niven (1970)
Niven won all the major awards and his reputation with this book.
Ringworld is essentially Clarke amplified, bringing us into the evolving mystery of exploring an impossibly advanced technopolis left by a previous higher intelligence.
It must have had some impact on Clarke, who followed with the like-minded Rendezvous With Rama (1973).
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▭“Who’s Next” (1971) cover, The Who
The acclaimed concept album "Tommy" put the onus on the band for another masterpiece. Pete Townshend imagined a complex opus called "Lifehouse" in which a universal chord could unite everyone into a state of shared transcendence, but all his attempts to literally accomplish this in reality led to an emotional breakdown. The band stripped everything back down to the best basic songs and this classic album resulted.
They very much admired 2001, and the cover photo's literal piss-take on the monolithic slab seems to be irreverently putting grandiosity behind them with the punning title, but the failed dream has haunted Townshend ever since.>
▭THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (1971)
Michael Crichton first broke through with his bestselling novel.
Like 2001, the key to its success was the matter-of-fact realism, a gripping plague thriller framed within faux government documents. The film version took its tone and design sense from Kubrick, and inspired all of the contagion narratives afterward, like King's The Stand, 12 MONKEYS (1995), Vaughn and Guerra's "Y: The Last Man" comic, and the 'Fortitude' series.
▭THX-1138 (1971)
George Lucas' debut.
The counterculture came into power through the New Hollywood films> and the literary New Wave of Science Fiction>, both of which challenged narrative conventions, social mores, and subject matter, embracing the nonlinear, the hallucinogenic, the harsh, the candid, and the ambiguous. In short, the forms graduated liberal arts college and grew up.
SF films were hindered by their expense and marginality. THX-1138 is one of the first speculative fiction films, along with Kubrick's A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (also 1971), in the cinematic revolution. Its clinical precision, chilly mood, and spartan design proceed from Kubrick, which put audiences off. But this sheaths the lead's sublimated spiritual crisis, best symbolized by the transformation of HAL 9000 into an automated confession booth that ignores as it interrogates.
Futurism's chilliness gave it cutting-edge cool to some while polarizing others. Lucas would swap cold for warmth with the successful AMERICAN GRAFFITI and STAR WARS. In retrospect, THX is a bold formal experiment that augered the later acclaimed films of Cronenberg, Jones, Garland, Villeneuve, and Cosmatos.
2) New Gods (1971).
▭Comics
Marvel Comics gained a lot of its '60s college cred by being considered a radical Pop Art form, as Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko distorted all envelopes with photo collages, widescreen page spreads, cubist tech, and evolved entities.
For DC Comics, Jack Kirby then rejuvenated and unleashed himself with the family of “New Gods” titles (1971), inspired by the youth movement and their genre innovations. The man who'd brought spiritual cosmicness to comics with Thor and the Silver Surfer now went next level with science dieties and demons on a cosmogonic tableaux that fried eyes and fired minds.
2) “Warlock” (b/w line art, 1975).
Back at Marvel, his heir Jim Starlin alchemized this further with his storied work on “Captain Marvel” (1973) and “Warlock” (1975), in which interstellar stones latticed attainment to godhood. They are now the entire conceptual foundation that enabled Marvel Films' first decade of success: e.g., Thanos and the stones of power.
All of this is the subliminal thread that connects 2001 to AVENGERS: Infinity War (2018).
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▭SOLARIS (1972)
The U.S. government tapped Frank Capra to select their entry for the 1968 Moscow Film Festival, and he submitted 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Naturally contrarian, the U.S.S.R. responded with their counter 2001. Based on Stanislaw Lem's 1961 book, director Andrei Tarkovsky's SOLARIS is the yang to its yin. Admiring Kubrick's form, the film obverts his content: scientific faith is rebuffed by existential ennui, sleek futurism by garage ruin, transcendence by irresolute surrender. Clarke felt that ancient wisdom could advance us, while Lem countered that the abstract is beyond understanding, whether in the heart or the heavens.
SOLARIS was a bracing shock, a different slant of the subjective. And its 'used universe' aesthetic directly inspired the artists of Metal Hurlant, and all the film directors that followed in their stead.
▭SILENT RUNNING (1972)
Con Pederson and Douglas Trumbull, the Special Photographic Effects Supervisors for 2001, pioneered modern SFX from scratch inch by inch and lamented at the time, “If only we’d had a few more years…”
Trumbull duly became a director himself, specifically to advance what they had dreamed of. His feature film debut SILENT RUNNING hinges all to come. The service drones predicate the droids of STAR WARS, the space station's greenhouse domes were recycled from 'Battlestar Galactica' to 'Nightflyers', the blue-screen overlays are more ambitious, the ship sets are more expansive, the ecological warning boldly forward.
He also kept The Trip. Kubrick's Odyssean quest culminated in ecstatic divination, and from then on SF films kept both the tech journey and the spectacular head trip. Here it's the full-throttle careen through Saturn's rings.
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▭FANTASTIC PLANET (1973)
By now, because to the 2001's impact, stylish aesthetics and subjective allegories have become the expectation.
Rene Laloux won the Grand Prix prize at Cannes for this Bosch-ian animated parable of anti-slavery revolts in another realm of being. Its surreal art and unsettling tone baffled audiences and enthralled fans. It became a Midnight Movie perinneal, and expanded its underground appeal through viewings on the TV cult anthology 'Night Flight' in the '80s. Its soundtrack, midway between Pink Floyd and Isaac Hayes, won over cratediggers and DJs worldwide.>
▭THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (1973)
Alejandro Jodorowsky, bankrolled by The Beatles, returns with his magnum opus. (It almost starred Harrison, who declined over the nudity.)
The lysergic fever dream, like Townshend, intended to achieve mutual exploregasm in its cast and audience. Tough goal but a worthy journey: The Trip is the film itself, with its spectacular visuals and askew visions. Deeply overlooked and underrated.
The documentary "Jodorowsky's DUNE" (2013) details his madly ambitious but doomed attempt to subsequently adapt Herbert's novel, and how the potpourri of creators involved then led to STAR WARS, ALIEN, and BLADE RUNNER.
▭SLEEPER (1973)
Woody Allen's SF spoof uses Douglas Rain himself (HAL 9000) as the computer's voice.
2) FUTUREWORLD (1976);
3) 'Westworld' (S02, 2018).
▭WESTWORLD (1973)
Singularity.
Michael Crichton used his bestselling clout to write and direct this original film, inspired by the automatons of Disney World, in which an android theme park revolts. Yul Brenner resurrects his MAGNIFICENT SEVEN gunslinger as an eerie roboid shell inhabited by a vengeful HAL. The FUTUREWORLD sequel was made without Crichton, who later retooled the basic concept with dinosaurs as Jurassic Park.
Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy upgraded it as an HBO series, acclaimed for its nonlinear story, philosophical angst, arresting cinematography, and corrosive satire. While seemingly separate from the films, the series does quiet nods to them, including the distinctly '70s Futurism design of The Forge in Season 2.
▭THE EXORCIST (1973)
“You’re going to die up there,” Regan says to the astronaut at the party.
William Peter Blatty's matter-of-fact book about demonic possession, contemplative and meticulous, achieves its literacy through a careful balance of mysticism and science, built around a moving character drama. Director William Friedkin commutes this purely with sharp perfection.
Kubrick valued silence as much as symphonies in 2001, reducing at one point to just the harrowing sound of breathing in the vaccum of space 500,000 miles from home. Friedkin tossed away a traditional horror score in favor of serial electronics, and for moments of abrupt silence, used actual leader tape on the soundtrack to achieve a hissless deadness. His jarring visual intensity and sonic innovation owe more to Kubrick than to Polanski's ROSEMARY'S BABY, and like that inspiration, raised genre fare to high art.
The only demonic possession film that matters, and one of the finest films of the decade.
▭Skylab (1973-’74)
After a run of Soviet Salyut space stations, which had varied degrees of setbacks, the American Skylab began its run. The Space Race symbolically ended in 1975 with the joint Apollo/Soyuz link-up, which eventually led to the ongoing International Space station (2000).
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▭DARK STAR (1974)
John Carpenter expanded his student film into a cult hit that fizzled theatres but ignited his career.
“The Spaced Out Odyssey”, co-written with Dan O'Bannon, is essentially a stoner comedy gloss on 2001 with some DR. STRANGELOVE on the tail. It proved to be one of the seeds for ALIEN, along with Jodorowsky's ill-fated DUNE.
▭PHASE IV (1974)
Saul Bass invented much of modernity, with his sleek corporate makeovers, artful film credits, and minimal poster graphics.
Impressed by 2001, Bass stepped behind the camera to direct an unlikely subject -the accelerated evolution of ants- with his characteristic visual pinache. It failed at the box office, but time bore it out. The intensely surreal ending montage was cut, but carefully restored in 2012, though not added into any video version available yet. (Here is a shakey cam' of it.)
▭“Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five” (1974), Paul McCartney and Wings
Paul's signature album crescendoes at the end with the chords of “Also Sprach Zarathustra” blasting in the horn fanfare, tympani drums, and final triumph chord.
"Lone Sloane" by Druillet.
▭Metal Hurlant magazine (1974)
Moebius and Philippe Druillet upended Sci-Fi, comics, and films forever.
In their adult Fantasy comics magazine, they combined the hatching and dementia of Zap Comix, the galactic blowouts of Kirby, the eye of Leone and Jodorowsky, the dis-ease of Tarkovsky, the freeform of Burroughs, the perfect excess of Hendrix, the clean-line of Hergé, the New Wave SF mythmaking of Moorcock and Zelazny, and the format of Warren Magazines.
Their alternative adult magazine inspired the creators who led the '80s Comics Renaissance, made possible by indie comics publishers and direct sales comic shops. It was repackaged as "Heavy Metal" in the USA, and inspired imitators from "Epic Illustrated" to "1994".
Their 'used universe' sensibility would also now permeate all of the film work of Lucas, Scott, Hyams, Cameron, and Besson.>
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▭'Space: 1999' (1975-’77)
The exact synthesis of 'Star Trek' and 2001.
Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's vaulting follow-up to 'UFO' went for glory, blending the two dominant forces of modern SciFi into an impossibly expensive series that took 18 months to film its first season.
The resulting combo is wildly uneven. The attempt to blend proactive 'Trek' space opera with the dispassionate ethereality of 2001 roils hot/cold throughout. And yet the hybrid child has a mesmerizing effect all its own: Moonbase Alpha is a bracing blend of cool plastic modularity, impossible physics, ambitious sets, disco mysticism, Prog score, icy horror, innovative design, clinical crew, advanced effects, notable guest stars (Cushing and Lee), all adding up to an ineffable oddness that's as frustrating as it is entrancing. (The theme song also begins with a grand "Zarathustra" flair.)
It proved to be a gateway. Its design approach and tone directly inspired the attempted 'Star Trek II' series, which instead turned into STAR TREK: The Motion Picture (1979). Its direct-to-syndication model paved the way for 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' a dozen years later. And SFX leader Brian Johnson went on to helm the effects for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980).
▭ROLLERBALL (1975)
How does a future sports film relate here?
Corporate control. The space future depicted in 2001 depended on corporate cooperation, and logo branding is everywhere. By the time of ROLLERBALL, with exposés of corp' malfeasance an everyday headline, the growing fear of a corporate state seizing control of government was made palpable in this film.
(see also: the 2016 'election'.)
HAL was the casualty of a logic conundrum, a corporate misstep that made him a serious liability. In the aftermath of Watergate, this shorthand seed germinated into the weed of counterproductive corporate interference that twines through the SF that follows, such as DEATH RACE 2000 (1975), the ALIEN films (1979), BLADE RUNNER (1982), BRAZIL (1985), THE RUNNING MAN (1987), ROBOCOP (1987), GATTACA (1997), and ELYSIUM (2013); and the corporate dystopia seen in the “Lazarus” comic series (2014-), and shows like 'Mr. Robot' and 'Incorporated'.
Corps should be pronounced corpse.
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The cast of 'Star Trek'
and the real Enterprise.
▭The space shuttle, Enterprise
2001 shows us a space plane that carries the scientist to the giant space station. The next year, the US Congress greenlit production of a real space shuttle, a reuseable ferry system for space installations.
The first shuttle was named Enterprise, from public insistence, and the cast of 'Star Trek' reunited to attend its christening. Like Bowman's ship in the film, the third flying model was named Discovery. (see also: the 'Star Trek: Discovery' series) And shuttles such as Endeavor docked with the International Space Station in the '90s, just as the film predicted.
Nichelle Nichols went on to recruit for NASA, bringing in many astronauts who would fly on subsequent shuttles.
2) Machine Man (1978);
3) Devil Dinosaur (1978).
▭Jack Kirby
The House Of Ideas was blueprinted with the copious visions of Kirby.
When he returned to Marvel Comics in 1976, he went full-scale with a large 10" x 14" tabloid-sized adaptation of 2001: A Space Odyssey, a symbolic landmark by a landmark. There were no such thing as VHS films yet, so Kirby had to work from the script, publicity photos, and memory.
Kirby then became the first to make a sequel to 2001. His uniquely freeform approach tumbled unexpectedly into a monthly run of his own original extension, "2001: A Space Odyssey" #1-10 (1976-’77), during which he created new concepts that spun off into his new separate books "Machine Man" #1-9 (1978) and "Devil Dinosaur" #1-9 (1978).
His series "The Eternals" (#1-19, 1976), based on Von Daniken's ancient astronauts, received an affectionate sequel later written by Neil Gaiman (2006).
▭THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (1976)
The Man Who Fell To Earth meets The Man Who Sold The World.
In adapting Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel, renegade auteur Nicolas Roeg's casting of rock savant David Bowie as the alien castaway seems like a divine masterstroke. Afflicted with cocaine addiction during filming, Bowie felt like the part was playing him.
From the Starchild to the Starman. The film personifies how SF art films in the wake of 2001 entwined aloof distance, startling visuals, impressionistic editing, social commentary, and ambivilent irresolution into potent statements.
[see also: UNDER THE SKIN (2013)]
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▭STAR WARS (1977)
•"A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away..."
The ultimate Ancient Astronauts.
George Lucas picks up the guantlet of Kubrick, and changes cinema on every level.
THESIS
Like the child of a parent, it's remarkable how alike 2001 and STAR WARS are.
It's a bone's throw from Moonwatcher to Chewbacca (both designed by Stuart Freeborn). The arid plains from the Dawn Of Man have become Tatooine, an ultimate desert that also encompasses Herbert's metaphysical Dune and the vistas of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (starring Alec Guinness) and the gunfights of John Ford.
The stately white spaceships shot in forced perspective. The plastic modularity of the Blockade Runner's corridors. The modular padding lacing the Millennium Falcon's interior.
The Empire's architectural aesthetic is HAL's mainframe in black and white, illumed by the same capsule-shaped light slits. The octagonal halls of Discovery have become the hexagonal corridors of the Death Star detention. Rectanglular console ports, lit button banks, wall lenses.
The Trip has become the kaleidoscope of hyperspace and then later the downforce drag blurring through the Death Star trench. The same wireframe displays pivot the pathways on the computer screens.
ANTITHESIS
Like the child of a parent, it's necessary that they have their distinctions.
A child will find its own way, willfully, noisily, with a lot of pile-ups and laughter. The deadness of space before is now full of a musique concrete of cacophy. The only space suit is Vader's armor. Everything in this galaxy is fast, loose, wreckless, ecstatic.
Both are the past and the future. But 2001 is human history becoming human destiny, while STAR WARS is all of movie history reinventing itself at once.
If 2001 is a ballet, STAR WARS is a hoedown. Classical strings has become Korngold anthems. Dialogue has gone from mission briefs to Altman on speed.
If 2001 is Henry Jones, STAR WARS is Indiana Jones. Where Kubrick and Clarke are academic, Lucas is all undergrad mischief. Roll over, Ligeti, and dig the Benny Goodman-esque ragtime of the Cantina band.
Both offer an alternate take on spiritual connection. Clarke the agnostic posited science as a universal divination that supercedes religion, while Lucas suffused his universe with a macrocosmic Buddhism that superceded dogma.
2001 is Science/Fiction, where STAR WARS is hybridic Space Fantasy, fusing Brackett and Tolkien.
SYNTHESIS
Like family, it's all interconnected.
STAR WARS was a synthesis of everything before it that changed everything after it, a mix of fun and refreshed ideas that made it the biggest movie of all time, for all the right reasons.
>How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
(At this point, 'Star Trek', 2001, and STAR WARS are now the Holy Trifecta of screen Science Fiction.)
▭DEMON SEED (1977)
2001 meets THE EXORCIST.
A helper computer gone horribly awry, voiced in dulcet HAL tones by Robert Vaughn.
2) Deodato, Donna Summer, Sarah Brightman.
▭SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977)
“Also Sprach Zarathustra” resounded far beyond theatre speakers for a decade, from the anthemic intro to Elvis Presley's tours, to the dynamic string crescendos in discotheques.
• Soul acts incorporated it into their set lists, like The Jules Blattner Group's “2001: A Soul Odyssey” (1969), The Cecil Holmes Soulful Sounds'“2001” (1973), and The Fatback Band's phat “Funkbackin’” (1973).
• While Dance Music was actually a diverse scene throughout NYC the entire decade>, Disco exploded into mass consciousness with the film SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977). Tony danced at the Odyssey disco, the most advanced nightclub with computer-controlled laserlights and a grid floor lit from below.
• Starting with Deodato's hit cover of “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (1972), Disco songs often used that forceful string build. It swayed with Salsa in Tito Puente's “Tito’s Odyssey [La Odisea De Tito]” (1974) and Alice Street Gang “Also Sprach Zarathustra/ Bahia” (1976). It throbbed with robotic synth in Donna Summer & Giorgio Moroder's intro to “I Feel Love” (1977). As a SciFi signifier in the wake of STAR WARS, it awakened the force in Sarah Brightman & Hot Gossip's “I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper” (1978), Galactic Force Band's “Theme From 2001” (1978), and Discotheque's “Intro Disco” (1979).
> Link back to MUSIC PLAYER
▭CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
•"Watch The Skies."
Another starchild carries the torch.
Steven Spielberg's follow-up to the phenomenal JAWS (1975) startled everyone, a mysterious nightmare and luminous idyll. It must have impressed Kubrick, who later tapped Spielberg to develop and finish his project A.I., which Steven did in (wait for it)... 2001.
The visitations of the past. The summoning. The olympian journey to connect to the beyond. The monolithic Devil's Tower. The Trip in the finale of sound and light.
Kubrick had spoken of J. Allen Hynek, who left the Air Force's Project Blue Book with the public declaration that UFOs could be real. Hynek served as a consultant on CE3K and has a cameo in the finale. The Project has had a lasting impact on TV culture: Jack Webb's typically stoneheaded debunking of it all with the brief series 'Project: UFO' (1978); Major Briggs on 'Twin Peaks' (1990); Mulder and Scully on 'The X-Files' (1993); 'Roswell' (1999); and 'Project Blue Book' (2019).
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▭CAPRICORN ONE (1978)
Kubrick's evocation of the moon was so convincing that some didn't believe the real thing the next year. A crazed rumor went around that he faked the moon landing for NASA in a movie studio, which still circulates in flat-earther circles.
In the era of the post-Watergate conspiracy thriller, Peter Hyams directed this riff on the rumor where a faked mission to Mars goes all wrong. Hyams later went on to direct 2010: ODYSSEY TWO (1984).
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▭STALKER (1979)
A misleading name for an enigmatic film.
Andrei Tarkovsky returns with a stripped-down tour around the peripheries of the unknown. Three travellers attempt to navigate The Zone, to find the mystery at its heart.
▭"The Micronauts" #11 (Nov 1979)
2001 had set an expectation now in SciFi sagas for the Trancendent Epiphany, the spirit awoken by higher forces.
The STAR WARS of the page was actually "The Micronauts". Writer Bill Mantlo and artist Michael Golden, the first to adapt the Takara/Mego toys in original adventures for Marvel Comics, did the only run that matters. Their space opera with rich story and stunning art zeniths with a shocking transition involving the mysterious Enigma Force.
In the mid-'70s, Mantlo had written separately of a cosmic journier called Wayfinder. (Along his path he met Rocket Raccoon, a character now made world-famous in the GUARDIAN OF THE GALAXY films.) He connected it to this series, as Wayfinder became the ancient astronaut who had founded the world of Commander Rann, the 'Space Glider', who in turn became an ancient astronaut through a millennial journey. All is cyclical.
▭'Battlestar Galactica': “Experiment In Terra” (S01/E19, 1979)
'Battlestar Galactica' was television's attempt at STAR WARS, even to copping SFX head John Dykstra. It also swiped the conceit of ancient astronauts by implying that the ragtag fleet would be the original colonizers of Earth.
In this episode, the space opera took an abruptly spectral turn as the crew encountered a heavenly crystal ship of advanced beings who seem to be guiding their destiny.
▭STAR TREK: The Motion Picture (1979)
STAR TREK: The Motion Picture can only be understood in the context of 2001 and 'Space: 1999'.
Gene Roddenberry's space adventure TV series 'Star Trek' (1966-'69) had always had a philosophical intelligence. But in the wake of Kubrick and Clarke's cinematic achievement, SciFi films now were under enormous pressure to make the Great Statement throughout the 1970s. Then 'Space: 1999' (1975) set a new standard for what could be done on television. A new 'Star Trek II' series was developed to build on this, but the godlike success of STAR WARS drove the studio heads to froth for a money-making film instead.
Gene and director Robert Wise (THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL) then streamlined 'Star Trek' into a 2001 odyssey, with the design sense of 'Space: 1999'. (Note all the coloned titles.)
Thus, the fetishistic waltz of the drydock sequence. The muted costumes, the plastic modularity of the interiors, the octagonal corridors. The professional tightness in the performances. Spock's inner revelations and personal evolution.
The Trip is done first in the odd wormhole sequence near Saturn, and then in the extended odyssey through V’Ger. And the cryptic mystery revealed at its heart.
[The ending was essentially heisted in every way by FANTASTIC FOUR (2015).]
The effects were so ambitious that it took both Douglas Trumbull and John Dykstra to accomplish them.
Ambition got in the way of authenticity. But in retrospect, who wouldn't appreciate a Kubrick-ian take on 'Star Trek'? Truthfully, STAR TREK: TMP is actually a deeply underrated head picture, but it took STAR TREK II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) for them to regain their true soul.
▭THE BLACK HOLE (1979)
Disney responds to STAR WARS by remaking 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea with a surrealistic 2001 apex.
When you cross the other side, will that necessarily be good?
▭ALIEN (1979)
•"In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream."
2001 by way of Lovecraft's At The Mountain Of Madness.
ALIEN is in every way a stylistic inversion of that film, like a hybrid of Kubrick's technical precision and Tarkovsky's visual murk. Fluorescent becomes chiaroscuro, professionalism becomes sloth, corporate interest becomes a disease, and the alien other just keeps becoming.
Cryosleep. Ancient astronaut. Ash, Mother. The Trip is the explosion with its mirrored tides.
2001 is now morphing through mutations into new expressions and possibilities, new antithesis and then synthesis. The subliminal horror that underlined its middle act now seizes a new focus in this counterpoint film. Counting Moebius as a designer, ALIEN brought the "Metal Hurlant"'used universe' aesthetic into SF films, with blue-collar slogs arguing amid degraded machinery. The anti-corporate distrust becomes defacto in SF films from now on, particularly in the '80s with the real-life Yuppie coup. And then there's the demon, without and within.
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▭COSMOS: A Personal Voyage (1980)
Arthur C. Clarke was the go-to science communicator for television, but was gradually eclipsed by Carl Sagan. This maxi-series covering the micro- and macrocosmic was the most-watched PBS show ever for the entire decade following.
▭'Odyssey magazine'
When the French adult Fantasy magazine "Metal Hurlant" was repackaged in the USA as "Heavy Metal", it jumpstarted everyone.
Particularly Stan Lee, who hyped Marvel’s upcoming answer mag, Odyssey, for many months. To his grinning chagrin, the name was already taken, and they finally launched as "Epic Illustrated" instead. This later led to their adult line of creator-owned series, Epic Comics.
▭ALTERED STATES (1980)
Now that it's been internalized into culture, aspects of 2001 now abstract quietly into other stories.
Enfante terrible Ken Russell (TOMMY) teamed with Oscar-winning screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky (NETWORK) for this surreal interior odyssey. They fell out and Paddy threw a pseudonym on, but this is still one of the most startling and cerebral films of the decade.
Taking a cue from an actual '60s scientist who had used sensory deprivation tanks and controlled drugs to tap into human consciousness>, the film covers the span from the primal to the present, struggling between transcendence and devolution. The Trip is the finale.
The series 'Fringe' (2008) poached the tanks concept and co-star Blair Brown.
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2) Adaptation by Steranko.
▭OUTLAND (1981)
Like Tarkovsky remaking HIGH NOON in space.
Director Peter Hyams absorbs the aesthetic of ALIEN in this taut and deeply underprized character thriller starring Sean Connery, a Marshal navigating the treacheries of a mining colony on Jupiter's moon.
Jim Steranko did an astounding experimental comics adaptation for "Heavy Metal" in stylized double-page spreads.
▭QUEST FOR FIRE (1981)
The Dawn Of Man.
Or the dawn of Rae Dawn Chong, who steals the film. Jean-Jacques Annaud's promethean take on the struggle for progress.
Frederick Ordway, a science consultant working on 2001, was adamant with the director that the "The Dawn Of Man" act should have grindingly literal narration of every element, like a documentary. Kubrick's instinct instead was to strip it down to the actions and let viewers work instinct out for themselves. Whereas some critics at the time agreed with Ordway's recommendation, it was a different story a dozen years later when QUEST FOR FIRE was widely hailed as a truly international movie for its lack of dialogue and dependence on audience intuition.
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▭2010: Odyssey Two (1982), by Arthur C. Clarke
Clarke does the impossible twofold: writes a sequel, and makes it matter.
The Space Race had always been wrought with Cold War tensions. At a time when Reagan's sabre-rattling with Russia was endangering the planet, Clarke crafted a heist thriller that brings American and Russian astronauts together working in space even as their leaders inch to the brink of apocalypse.
Kubrick's 1968 film was subjective, Clarke's 1968 book was objective. Artist, scientist. For all those who couldn't fathom the film, Clarke's very literal telling put them straight, to a fault. This said, the sequel balances both approaches very well, with a nuanced character adventure folding into a truly momentous and epic ending.
▭TRON (1982)
2001 featured some of the first examples of computer animation, seen as wireframe grids and geometries on guidance computer screens.
By 1982, during the meteoric mania for video games, Disney pushed the boundaries with this film incorporating blue-screened actors in computer-created environments, particularly amid grid-framed planes.
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▭BRAINSTORM (1983)
Douglas Trumbull does a parallel to ALTERED STATES, finding transcendence from within in the interface between human and computer. It foreshadowed William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984), and the concept of cyberspace and virtual reality. The Trip is the finale.
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▭2010: ODYSSEY TWO (1984)
•"The Year We Make Contact."
Peter Hyams does a good job and gets no love for it.
They first gave Kubrick flack for not being as objective as Clarke's book. After the art film then earned years of cred, they gave Hyams flack for not doing the sequel in Kubrick's subjective style. This misses the point: Hyams is doing Clarke.
2010: ODYSSEY TWO, like the two books, is best appreciated as an objective supplement to the original film. Taken on that merit, it is a taut thriller that actually improves on the novel in terms of political edge, character interplay, and spooky reverence.
Apple, orange. Eat, enjoy.
▭DUNE (1984)
David Lynch had done a Dadaist student film (ERASERHEAD) and a moody Victorian drama (THE ELEPHANT MAN), but note how much he comes into personal focus here adapting Frank Herbert's book using Kubrick's eye and pace as his guide: giant sets, radical design, center symmetry, tense juxtaposition, weird visions, textural sound, and performances as unhinged as A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.
He found the big-budget grind experience to be anathema, but look how much of the lessons learned here rubbed off into his true personal debut, BLUE VELVET (1986).
▭REPO MAN (1984)
This stoner cult hit set in ruined Punk L.A. ends in a surprising manner. Note how the finale song, "Reel Ten" by The Plugz, morphs during the end sequence from Spaghetti Western strains into the final tympani chords of “Also Sprach Zarathustra”.
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▭Contact (1985), by Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan writes a fiction book about the longing to connect with alien life.
Sagan worked for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI), and curated the Golden Records for the Voyager probes launched in 1977.
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2) "Miracleman".
▭"Watchmen", by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986)
Note the chrysalis and evolution of Dr. Manhattan.
▭"Miracleman" by Alan Moore and John Totleben (1988)
Note the similar expansion of baby Winter.
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▭2061: Odyssey Three (1987), by Arthur C. Clarke
The third trip is less successful, with much of what gave 2001 its tranformative power now strangely and willfully sublimated in service to what feels like a superannuated sidestory.
The politics are rather dubious, but the homage to The Beatles is sublime.
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"The Incal" (1988);
"The Goddess" (1990)
▭Moebius ’80s
Moebius (Jean Giraud) reinvented himself in the '80s.
He stripped his art down from ultra-detail and hyper-hatching to a clean-line essence with simple gradient color. Likewise practicing a New Age-style mental and physical purification process, he began tackling epic and utopian fables which soared up into empyrean pinnacles.
With Jodorowsky, he crafted the long serial, "The Incal".
▭'Mystery Science Theater 3000' (1988)
The Satellite Of Love spaceship, named after a Lou Reed song, is shaped like a bone.
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▭THE ABYSS (1989)
After James Cameron's huge succes with the sequel ALIENS (1986), everyone thought this film would be ALIENS underwater. But instead he made a wonderful parallel to CE3K.
▭"Ghost In The Shell" (1989)
Masamune Shirow's manga is generally an erratic pinball of steroid violence, xenophobia, and gynoid fantasies. But it really finds itself in its latter end, with the story of the Major and her encounter with the possibility of cyber-transcendence.
Mamoru Oshii's anime film adaptation (1995) was a sharper, much improved condensation of this.
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▭"Starstruck" (1990), by Elaine Lee and Michael Wm. Kaluta
"Starstruck", the acclaimed feminist adult SF series by Lee and Kaluta, began with Epic Comics in 1984, and continued with Dark Horse publishing in this year. In a crucial segment, crazy pilot Brucilla The Muscle accidently glides into a portal to the multiverse. The Trip.
>The Big Bang of STARSTRUCK
▭'Twin Peaks' (1990)
David Lynch and Mark Frost's visionary serial advanced all TV series that followed.
Kubrick compositions. The threshold to Other. The maddeningly subjective second season finale is, point blank, the 2001 of television.
>TWIN PEAKS: Its Influence on 25 Years of Film, TV, and Music!, with 5 Music Players
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▭'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' (1993-’99)
'Star Trek' wasn't done with 2001 yet.
Following the sleek, comfortable revival series 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' (1987-'94), producers Berman and Piller boldly took chances with an edgy, cosmopolitain serial set in a space station beside a stable space warp.
The Trip is the wormhole portal. The summoned is "the Emissary", Captain Benjamin Sisko, caught in the crux between alien prophecy, time distortion, and destiny.
▭“Monolith Part One” (1993), by Young American Primitive
•"Something wonderful."
Electronic Music was originally made by 1950s University professors with access to expensive oscillator equipment. In the '70s, portable synthesizers brought experimentalism to Rock, Jazz, and Funk. By the '80s, synths dominated many forms of music, replacing strings and inventing new textures and genres.
The 1990s found a new psychedelia in various forms of Electronica. In new interations of Woodstock, boho youth laced with hallucinogens held communal Rave concerts in deserts, forest fields, and warehouses, swaying to electronic trance music looking for shamanistic deliverance in the tones.
The Trip was the music, again.
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▭3001: The Final Odyssey (1997), by Arthur C. Clarke
An unexpected return, all around.
Like the third book, a sublimation of 2001's strengths hampers its potency.
▭EVENT HORIZON (1997)
2001 meets HELLRAISER.
When you cross the other side, will that necessarily be good?
[see also: Boyle’s SUNSHINE (2007)]
▭CONTACT (1997)
Spielberg protégé Robert Zemeckis does a sterling adaptation of Carl Sagan's book, driven by a riveting Jody Foster.
The Trip is the trip.
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▭PI (1998)
Darren Aronofsky's pensive debut, made in black-and-white for cheap with a wealth of smart ideas.
The interface between math and the divine.
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▭MISSION TO MARS (2000)
Brian De Palma, usually a medium for Hitchcock, channels Kubrick into a space-zombie film.
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▭A.I. (2001)
Stanley Kubrick labored for decades trying to adapt Brian Aldiss' short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long". After tries with multiple scripts, he intrusted the project to Steven Spielberg. Sadly, Kubrick passed away in 1999, not living to see the advent of the actual year 2001. Spielberg finished the film as an homage to the master.
Three acts. Spans of time. Artificial Intelligence. Chrysalis.
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2) EMPIRE corridor;
3) PHANTOM Pod;
4) SITH asteroid base.
▭STAR WARS: Revenge Of The Sith (2005)
STAR WARS wasn't done with 2001 yet.
• The white waiting room and interior design of Bespin in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980).
• The EVA Pod from Discovery is glimpsed in the Tatooine scrap pile behind Qui-Gon Jinn in THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999).
• The asteroid base Polis Massa in REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005) is based on Clavius Base.
•The Trip is Rey's visions in THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015) and THE LAST JEDI (2017).
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▭THE FOUNTAIN (2006)
Darren Aronofsky.
Three acts across time. The Source. Ultimate renewal.
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▭“POD” (2007), by As Lonely As Dave Bowman
Electronic music continued to honor and sample both 2001 and 2010, from artists like Michael Norman, BLT, Hexagram, Aerial, Fidgital, Yvi Slan, HOLY, and Jim Hart.
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▭WALL-E (2008)
Auto, the computer.
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▭MOON (2009)
Kubrick spent $10 Million making 2001, an exorbinant amount for a major studio at the time, and the SFX supes had to invent all the modern effects methods from scratch.
Duncan Jones spent $5 Million on his indie film, a modest amount now, and he eschewed expensive CG effects to return to the felt realism of practical sets and models.
Jones hearkens the renaissance around the corner. The 1970s was young adults expanding Kubrick's vision in their work. The 2010s is when their children, who grew up on these films, begin to reembrace that style in their mature works.
Octagonal corridors. Solicitous computer. The moon. Self-discovery.
▭'Virtuality' (2009)
Ronald D. Moore's impressive TV pilot wasn't picked up for a series, a loss in every way.
Catch up on what everyone missed.
Let there be more light...
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▭TRON: Legacy (2010)
The sequel. The white room.
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▭'THE STORY OF FILM: An Odyssey' (2011)
Film critic Mark Cousins, in his book and 15-part documentary series, offers a revisionist assessment of the history of world cinema, upending conventions and contextualizing inclusiveness. From the title to the series graphic using the still frame of HAL's lens, he confirms 2001 as the hallmark of film as an art form.
Required viewing.
▭THE TREE OF LIFE (2011)
Another abstraction of 2001. Terrence Malick's contemplative memory poem deals with Nature vs. Nurture, aggression versus forgiveness, selfish versus selfless. It does so in three entwined acts, past present beyond. A beautiful film meant to be felt and mulled.
▭BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW (2011)
Panos Cosmatos' debut perfectly captures the clinical futurism aesthetic of ‘70s art films and '80s tech thrillers, to a fault.
Plastic futurism, remote performances, balanced symmetry, glacial mystery.
▭APOLLO 18 (2011)
The moon landing as horror film.
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▭PROMETHEUS (2012)
Ridley Scott returns to make a prequel to his ALIEN (1979).
ALIEN had the general structural DNA of 2001. But in PROMETHEUS, with a massive budget and high public expectations, Scott really went for it: he revived all of the massively grandiose ideas they'd streamlined out of the original's script, and framed his epic within the grandeur of 2001.
The early Dawn. Primordial landscapes. Monolithic ships. Ancient astronaut. Greek myth. Wide scale. Symmetry framing. Cryosleep. David. Excavation. Stone giant. Aging. Cyclical. Hybrid. Evolution.
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▭THE EUROPA REPORT (2013)
“All these worlds are yours -except Europa.
Attempt no landing there.”
-"2010: Odyssey Two", by Arthur C. Clarke
Ever since a cryptic pronouncement in Clarke's sequel, SF has done quiet homage to this with stories of attempted colonization of Jupiter's moon going askew.
Examples include:
• This film's entire premise is an implied expansion off of 2010: Odyssey Two.
• Written works include Europa Strike (2000) by Ian Douglas, the short story Riding the White Bull (2004) by Caitlín R. Kiernan, the comic "Ocean" (2004) written by Warren Ellis, The Quiet War (2008) by Paul J. McAuley, Beneath (2010) by Jeremy Robinson, the comic Les Fantômes de Neptune (2015) by Valp, and the Frozen Sky books by Jeff Carlson.
• In the PROMETHEUS (2012) backstory timeline, Weyland discovered a rudimentary life form on Europa, a precept which forbade his industry from terraforming it.
• An attempt at Europa colonization in the TV series 'Nightflyers' (2018) didn't go as planned.
▭GRAVITY (2013)
Alfonso Cuarón makes a landmark in cinema history.
Specific films were each quantuum leaps in film craft and experience, pushing the entire medium farther: first 2001 (SFX), and then STAR WARS (advanced SFX and sound), and then JURASSIC PARK (CG), and then AVATAR (3D CG). A combination of 2001's veiled allegory amid NASA realism coupled with STAR WARS' rollercoaster intensity, GRAVITY is the next hyperjump in film.
Set entirely around astronauts and vehicles in Earth orbit, it's 'you-are-there' perfection is as unprecedented as it is breathtaking: weightless ballet, complex and continuous sequences, POV freefall, photorealistic crispness. Seen in 3D iMax, it's as close to experiencing outer space as most of us will ever get.
It was a mistake at the time to say 2001 was simplistic because it lacked dialogue, since the rich visuals were intentionally communicating a deeper experience than words. Likewise, GRAVITY seems deceptively simple, with its quietly spiritual parable of rebirth and evolution conveyed through odyssean struggles in lush sequences and coded images.
One giant leap.
▭OBLIVION (2013)
Joseph Kosinski's undervalued adventure deserves better due.
A spacecraft called The Odyssey, stasis chambers, monolithic computers, and alien intervention.
▭UPSTREAM COLOR (2013)
One-person-crew Shane Carruth followed his twisty time-travel debut PRIMER (2004) with this heady art film, a Roeg-esque skulltrip demanding every second of attention.
Hallucinatory, subjective, three stages in a life cycle.
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▭'Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey' (2014)
Carl Sagan’s heir, Neil deGrasse Tyson, does a sequel PBS maxi-series to wide acclaim. And he does his mentor one better in making the title's homage that much more explicit.
To the back of beyond and back.
>Art Of The Title
▭INTERSTELLAR (2014)
Christopher Nolan’s humanist reposte to 2001.
Nolan grew up on the film, and this rumination reconsiders its tenets from new angles.
Time. Centrifuge. Event horizon. TARS. The Trip. Time.
> Observation Deck:
"The Monoliths Have Faces: Interstellar Answers 2001: A Space Odyssey"
▭SPACE STATION ’76 (2014)
A clearly affectionate spoof/homage of 'Space: 1999'.
▭'Mad Men': "The Monolith" (S07E04, 2014)
When an IBM computer is brought into the 1969 ad agency workspace, the employee anxiety and 2001 allusions go ape.
>SLATE overview
▭'Extant' series (2014-’15)
Astronaut Halle Berry encounters impossible visions and immaculate conception in the heavens.
◉2 0 1 5
▭THE MARTIAN (2015)
Ridley Scott interprets Andy Weir's bestselling book.
Centrifuge vessal. NASA realism. Survival.
◉2 0 1 6
▭ARRIVAL (2016)
Denis Villeneuve's slow vibration builds to a profound peak.
Impossible megaliths, first contact, communication beyond language.
▭DOCTOR STRANGE (2016)
Steve Ditko, a strict Randian teetotaler, virtually invented psychedelic realities for comic books with his work on the original 1960s supernatural superhero. But could the lysergic mindwarp of interdimensional travel translated to the screen here have even happened without 2001?
All this and Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive", too.
▭“It’s Full Of Stars” album (2016), by Jim Hart
Electronic concept album based on 2001 and 2010.
◉2 0 1 7
▭'Runaways' (S01, 2017-)
The white regeneration bedroom.
▭'Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.' (2013-)
The alien stone portals, cheekily called Monoliths.>
▭'Inhumans' (2017)
The short-lived Marvel show, based on the late-'60s Lee and Kirby characters, involved alien-enhanced superbeings on the moon, traveling far distances quickly through stone portals.
▭'Legion' (2017-)
Noah Hawley's brashly high-art series based on Marvel Comics' mercurial psionic.
1968-’73 mod futurism, Floyd-ian soundtrack, Kubrick symmetry, journey to a higher self.
>"Legion: How Stanley Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’ Influenced Its Audacious Design"
▭'Twin Peaks' (2017)
David Lynch and Mark Frost return with the most fiercely iconoclastic show ever made.
If the brainburn of the original 1991 series finale had been "the 2001 of televison", it proved only to be a warm-up for the shockingly audacious Episode 8 of the new maxi-series.
A black-and-white travelogue unraveling stages of time, transformation, Penderecki chorales, symbolist rooms, and rebirth.
◉2 0 1 8
▭ANNIHILATION (2018)
Like STALKER rewritten by James Tiptree, Jr.
The story structure of Tarkovsky's film with the scrutiny of Kubrick's careful eye. Along the way, spectres of other films on this list are evoked.
▭FIRST MAN (2018)
The unknown struggles of The First Man On The Moon.
Neil Armstrong was a distant and perfunctory man, hiding a secret anguish. Much as 2001 contrasted the frosty astronauts with rushes of extreme intensity, this bio film offsets the detached family man and aloof pilot against the jackhammer adrenaline convulsions of his flights to bracing effect.
Arthur C. Clarke has a cameo in TV coverage of the Moonflight.
[see also: HIDDEN FIGURES (2017)]
▭'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel': "Someday..." (S02/E08, 2018)
In 1959, Midge's scientist father searches through his grandkids' records for an easy song to program his Bell Labs computer to sing.
In real life, in 1961, Bell Labs demonstrated speech synthesis by having their computer sing "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built For Two)". Arthur C. Clarke had attended a demo, and canonized this by having HAL 9000 sing the song in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
•"I'm half-crazy,
All for the love of you."
▭'Nightflyers' (2018)
Like 2001 rewritten by Stephen King.
George R.R. Martin's 1980 novella gets expanded into an ongoing series, featuring familiar hallmarks like a centrifugal spacelab, curved corridors, greenhouse domes (SILENT RUNNING), capsule-slit lighting, psychopathic circuitry, Europa colonists, and dream visions from a higher intelligence.
When you cross the other side, will that necessarily be good?
▭The Making of Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey', by Piers Bizony (2015)
▭Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece, by Michael Benson (2018)
There are a handful of fine books detailing the making of the film since Jerome Agel's landmark The Making of Kubrick's 2001 (1970). Here are the best of the best.
Bizony's book, published by the art house Taschen, is 562 pages of astounding photos and fold-outs covering every aspect of production. Benson's book, published on the literal 50th Anniversary date, is an exhaustively researched 512-page breakdown of the three years to make the film, speaking to everyone involved.
▭2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY iMax release (2018)
The truly great films can only be seen on a giant cinema screen: CITIZEN KANE, THE THIRD MAN, VERTIGO, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, THE GODFATHER I and II, THE EXORCIST, STAR WARS, APOCALYPSE NOW, BLADE RUNNER. They are larger than you and need to be experienced that way, need to be felt and revered and feared. They're too important, too spectacular, too sacred to be reduced. Like Everest, you come to them in respect.
In 2018, Christopher Nolan supervised the rerelease of the 70mm print of 2001 to iMax theatres for the 50th Anniversary. The Experience is the learning: now the new students, the curious, and the late could catch up to the eternal, properly.
Quality is timeless.
█“My God…
it’s full of stars.”█
© Tym Stevens
The Canon 1: 50 Books That Created Modern Culture
The Canon 2: 50 More Books That Created Modern Culture
How SPAGHETTI WESTERNS Revolutionized Rock Music!, with 3 Music Players
THE PRISONER: Its Influence On Music, TV, and Comics, with Music Player
"Ground Control to Major Tom" - THE LONELY ASTRONAUT Movies, with Music Player
How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!
TWIN PEAKS: Its Influence on 25 Years of Film, TV, and Music!, with 5 Music Players
The Big Bang of STARSTRUCK
↧
BEST MUSIC: 2018, with Music Players!
ALL THE
REAL MUSIC!
"Best Music" lists that taste like paste!
These tunes will offset your mindset
and bolster your keister!
Shortcut to Music Players:
N E W
A L B U M S :
2 0 1 8
by Tym Stevens
This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.
-Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, "Tearing At The Seams"
Stax-style Soul.
-Khruangbin, "Con Todo El Mundo"
Psychedelic Funk World Music Dub from Houston.
-Anderson East, "Encore"
Muscle Shoals-style Soul.
-La Luz, "Floating Features"
Dreamy Surf.
-Charles Bradley and Menahan Street Band, "Black Velvet"
James Brown gutbucket Soul.
-The Courettes, "We Are The Courettes!"
Fiery Garage Rock from Brazil/Denmark.
-Django Django, "Marble Skies"
Like Depeche Mode jamming with Brian Wilson.
-Guadalupe Plata, "Guadalupe Plata 2018"
Rootsy Blues from Spain.
-Father John Misty, "God's Favorite Customer"
Like the "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album spliced with "Imagine".>
-The War and Treaty, "Healing Tide"
Gospel Soul.
-Jacco Gardner, "Somnium"
Hallucinatory Baroque Pop instrumentals from the Netherlands.
-White Denim, "Performance"
DubBluesFunkPsycheArtPop you can boogie to, from Austin.
-Kandle, "Holy Smoke"
Beautiful Pop Noir.
-Orgone, "Undercover Mixtape"
Kickass Funk cover versions from L.A. ensemble.
-Imarhan, "Temet"
Desert Rock from Algeria.
-Barrence Whitfield & The Savages, "Soul Flowers Of Titan"
Garage Rock and Soul.
-Anna Calvi, "Hunter"
Cinematic Art Rock.
-Eli Paperboy Reed, "Roll With You"
Full-throated Soul.
-Caroline Rose, "LONER"
Alt Pop with Electro edge.
-Ty Segall, "Freedom's Goblin"
Heyyyy, you've got your Black Sabbath in my Psychedelia.
-Brownout, "Fear Of A Brown Planet"
Raised-fist covers of Public Enemy songs by Latin Funk band.
-Mitski, "Be The Cowboy"
Complex innovative Pop.
-Cedric Burnside, "Benton County Relic"
Bruising Blues.
-Angelique Kidjo, "Remain In Light"
Stunning rethink of Talking Heads'"Remain In Light" album by the African queen.
-Lera Lynn, "Plays Well With Others"
Alt-Americana duets with guests like Rodney Crowell and Nicole Atkins.
-Tune-Yards, "I can feel you creep into my private life"
Afrobeat IndiePop.
-Palatine, "Grand Paon de Nuit"
Like a moody PostPunk western soundtrack, from France.
-The Midnight Hour, "The Midnight Hour"
Adrian Younge's Isaac Hayes/Ennio Morricone street funk, with a full ensemble.
-Sam Phillips, "World On Sticks"
The smartest and catchiest of Indie songwriters returns.
-Mike Farris, "Silver And Stone"
Soul is Timeless.
-Guerilla Toss, "Twisted Crystal"
Ever erratic while melodic Art Rock.
-BOYTOY, "Night Leaf"
Merseybeat with Surf punch.
-Sly & Robbie, "Nordub"
Jamaican Dub spliffed with Norwegian Jazz.
-Mr. Airplane Man, "Jacaranda Blue"
Punky Blues and atmospheric Garage.
-GUM, "The Underdog"
Psyche-tronica by Tame Impala's drummer.
-Fantastic Negrito, "Please Don't Be Dead"
Future Blues with a conscience.
-Blackwater Holylight, "Blackwater Holylight"
Drone Psyche laced with melody and noize.
-DJ Khalab, "Black Noise 2084"
Post-Afrobeat.
-Groovy Uncle with Suzi Chunk, "Meanwhile Back In Medieval Britain...">
Beatlesque Pop, plus the Soul of guest-star Suzi Chunk.
-Here Lies Man, "You Will Know Nothing"
AfroBeat Rock from L.A.
-Gabriella Cohen, "Pink Is The Colour Of Unconditional Love"
Smart Indie Pop by former Garage artist.
-Ernie Hawks And The Soul Investigators, "Scorpio Man"
Funky Jazz instrumentals from Finland frontman.
-HOLY, "All These Worlds Are Yours">
Psychedelic Rock epic from Sweden.
-The Last Poets, "Understand What Black Is"
The Original Rappers, the True School still schoolin'.
-Kadhja Bonet, "Childqueen"
Psychedelic Soul.
-The Jayhawks, "Back Roads And Abandoned Motels"
The deans of Indie Americana.
-Fanny Walked The Earth, "Fanny Walked The Earth"
The return of Fanny, the first all-female band signed by a major record label to make albums (1970).
-Sarah Klang, "Love In The Milky Way"
Country Soul with some grand builds.
-Lenny Kravitz, "Raise Vibration"
More solid Funk, Rock, and ballads from our stalwart.
-Paul McCartney, "Egypt Station"
The bounding playfulness of "Ram" with the sonic adventurousness of "New".
-Aaron Lee Tasjan, "Karma For Cheap">
Latter Beatles-style magic.
-The Pen Friend Club, "Garden Of The Pen Friend Club"
Brian Wilson disciples from Japan.
C O O L
S O N G S :
2 0 1 8
All the
REAL MUSICbeyond the box!
Here's the
D R E A M
J U K E B O X !
than a shoe factory!
by Tym Stevens
Hear the unlimited Playlist here.)
All the songs elasticize their genres.
Get your groove on in this sonic order.:
Beatlesque!Glam!Epic Folk!Country!
Soul!Funk!World!Covers!
Riot Grrrl!RESIST!Alt-Rap!
Alt Rock!Alt Jazz!Soundtracks!
Mitski; Jacco Gardner;
Angelique Kidjo; Here Lies Man
14 hours of mind-lurching, booty-whirling music, featuring:
Curtis Harding, Habibi, Julia Holter, Thee Oh Sees, Guadalupe Plata, The Jayhawks, Beach House, Death Valley Girls, Diane Coffee, serpentwithfeet, U.S. Girls, Adrian Younge, David Byrne, Orquesta Akokán, Parquet Courts, Ramin Djawadi, Nicole Atkins, Ibibio Sound Machine, Otoboke Beaver, Bush Tetras, Sleigh Bells, Kate Tempest, L7, Franz Ferdinand, Goat Girl, Chrysta Bell, Kamasi Washington, Makaya McCraven, The Monkees,
and throngs more songs!
B E S T
R E I S S U E S :
2 0 1 8
Quality is timeless.
Mother Nature's sons.
by Tym Stevens
This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.
-Sleepy Labeef, "Columbia Singles" (1960s)
Country, Honky Tonk, and Rockabilly from Smackover, Arkansas' finest.
-John Coltrane, "Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album" (1963)
Jazz Sea Scrolls.
-The Debutantes, "The Debutantes" (mid-'60s)
All-Female rock band pioneers finally get a compilation.
-Bob Seger And The Last Heard, "Heavy Music: The Complete Cameo Recordings 1966-1967"
Garage and Soul.
-Gene Clark, "Gene Clark Sings For You" (1967)
Unreleased album by Folk-Rock troubadour.
-Love, "Forever Changes" (1967)
50th Anniversary of the L.A. "Sgt. Pepper".
-Dennis Coffey, "One Night At Moreys: 1968"
The Psychedelic Soul guitarist of Motown in the spotlight.
Booker T And The MG's; Beach Boys; Bobbie Gentry
-The Beatles, "The Beatles" (1968)
A huge Box Set for The White Album's 50th Anniversary, loaded with unreleased demos, alternate takes, and surprise songs.
-Stax various artists, "Stax '68: A Memphis Story"
A Box Set of all Stax's huge output when the Memphis label went solo from Atlantic Records.
-Jimi Hendrix, "Electric Ladyland" (1968)
Box Set of remasters, demos, takes, a live gig, and documentary for the 50th Anniversary of Electric Ladyland.
-The Kinks, "The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society" (1968)
The Kinks' fabulous parallel to "Sgt. Pepper" and The White Album.
-The Beach Boys, "Wake Up The World: The Friends Sessions" (1968)
Unreleased demos and takes from the "Friends" album.
-The Beach Boys, "I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions" (1968)
Unreleased demos and takes from the "20/20" album.
-Bobbie Gentry, "The Girl From Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters" (1968-'72)
The queen of Swamp Rock and Cuuntry Pop in all her prime time glory.
-Jackie DeShannon, "Stone Cold Soul: The Complete Capitol Recordings" (1970-'71)
Unreleased soulful sessions.
-John Lennon, "Imagine (The Ultimate Collection)" (1971)
Deluxe set of remasters, demos, and takes.
-U.S. Music With Funkadelic, "U.S. Music With Funkadelic" (1972)
After this blistering Acid Funk album, Garry Shider jumped ship to join Funkadelic.
-Maxayn, "Reloaded" (1972-'74)
All three albums by Funk Rock band fronted by belter Maxayn Lewis, finally remastered.
-Wings, "Red Rose Speedway" (1973)
Remastered and expanded versions of both "Wild Life" and this underrated warm-up for "Band On The Run".
-Badfinger, "Badfinger" (1973)>
Remastered and expanded version of this rushed album, which still has some great songs.
-Badfinger, "Wish You Were Here" (1974)
Badfinger have two "Abbey Road"s; the stellar "Straight Up" (1972) and this excellent peak, now remastered and expanded.
-Zuider Zee, "Zeenith" (1975)
Cult hit Beatlesque album.
David Bowie
-Oneness Of Juju, "African Rhythms" (1975)
Afrobeat Funk Jazz from Richmond, Virginia.
-Bob Dylan, "More Blood, More Tracks" (1975)
Demos and outtakes from the "Blood On The Tracks" sessions.
-Fuzzy Haskins, "A Whole Nother Radio Active Thang" (1976-'78)
A reissue of the P-Funk charter member's solo albums, "A Whole Nother Thang" and the great "Radio Active".
-David Bowie, "Welcome To The Blackout (Live London '78)"
Bowie on the cusp, hinging from Thin White Duke to Art Rocker, and inventing every New Romantic act for the next decade.
-Wire, "154" (1979)
Remasters of Wire's essential first albums; the Punk "Pink Flag" (1977), the experimental "Chairs Missing" (1978), and the brilliant culmination "154".
-The Cars, "Shake It Up" (1981)
Perfecting their Pop chops to conquer radio.
-Prince, "Piano And A Microphone" (1983)
Intimate and heartfelt solo piano recordings.
-The Flaming Lips, "Scratching The Door: The First Recordings" (1983-'84)
Psyche Rock renaissance with Punk edge.
-Pixies, "Live From The Fallout Shelter" (1986)
The woodshedding of a band about to completely transform Indie Rock with Punk fury and cut-up lyrics.
-Talking Heads, "True Stories, A Film By David Byrne: The Complete Soundtrack" (1986)
At last, the full score of the film, with the actors' song performances and missing film cues.
-Joe Strummer, "Joe Strummer 001" ('75, 80's, '90s)
An overview of Joe's bands before and after The Clash.
-Bikini Kill, "The Singles" (1990s)
Revolution Grrrl Style Now And Forever!
-Liz Phair, "Girly-Sound To Guyville: The 25th Anniversary Box Set" (1993)
Remaster of the original "Girly-Sound" demos and acclaimed "Guyville" studio album.
-Garbage, "Version 2.0" (1998)
Excellent second album remastered.
-The Kaisers, "Ruff'n'Rare" (1996+)
B-Sides and unreleased from the contemporary Merseybeat band.
-Robert Johnson And Punchdrunks, "Taste The Whup At Oki Dog" (2005)
Blistering twang rock from Sweden.
-Robert Johnson And Punchdrunks, "Traynor In Heaven For Link Wray" (2006)
More punk bruize fury.
© Tym Stevens
"A splendid time is guaranteed for all!"
See also:
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2017
BEST COMICS: 2017
BEST MUSIC: 2017
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2016
BEST COMICS: 2016
BEST MUSIC: 2016
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2015
BEST COMICS: 2015
BEST MUSIC: 2015
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2014
BEST COMICS: 2014
BEST MUSIC: 2014
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2013
BEST COMICS: 2013
BEST MUSIC: 2013
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2012
BEST COMICS: 2012
BEST MUSIC: 2012
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2011
BEST COMICS: 2011
BEST MUSIC: 2011
BEST MOVIES: 2000-2010
BEST COMICS: 2000-2010
BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010
↧
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2018
Shortcut links:
BEST MOVIES: 2018
BEST DOCUMENTARIES: 2018
BEST TV: 2018
- Sub-Essays:
- The Other Side Of The World
- Depose Corrupt Presidents trilogy
- Star Trek: Discovery
- Lost In Space
- The Defenders shows
- Legion
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Note: This will often spotlight directors for special merit.
But Auteur Theory is a shoebox; films are a collaborative effort with everyone involved.
B E S T
M O V I E S :
2 0 1 8
-✭✭✭✭✭
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND⇧ (1970+)
The best movie of the year was made in the early '70s and never released.
Orson Welles was the god Hollywood couldn't kill. Ostracized in his latter decades, the Golden Boy became the original Indie filmmaker, creating an unsupported ouvre that -in retrospect- is as interesting and challenging as his acolytes Fellini, Kubrick, Cassavetes, or Altman in the same period.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND was filmed intuitively and in pieces between 1970 and 1976. Financial setbacks prevented it from being edited and released until this year (see next entry). If it'd premiered in the '70s, it would surely have been hailed as the decade's 8½ (1963), a radical work visually and verbally quoted ever since.
Welles essentially sums up two decades of the film movement innovations that had been spurred by his early work. He spoofs/honors/savages his legacy as well as the experimental techniques of Italian Neorealism, the French New Wave, and the counterculture's New Hollywood. It is a strobe of metatextual brilliance: stunning visuals, multiple film stocks, films-within-films, intense eroticism, nonlinear complexity, arresting editing, and all with an abrasive wit that is downright Punk Rock.
It is a perfect bookend to CITIZEN KANE (1941): from a debut movie about the making of a myth, to a finale movie deconstructing movie mythmaking. And it's the worthy capstone to Welles' career that he hoped for, deserved, and now has finally achieved.
-THEY'LL LOVE ME WHEN I'M DEAD
The making of THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND.
Like Josh Karp's book, this documentary details the insane backstory behind the Master's last great vision.
Welles' film had all the right ideas and all the wrong factors. It was undone by personal excess, betrayed friendships, swindled money, government coups, and indifferent Suits. But crowdfunding and Netflix restored and released the film at last, along with this wry exposé which interviews everyone involved.
-THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN
Set in 1981, this loosely true heist dramady will convince you it was made then, like a lost New Hollywood refugee.
And Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Tom Waits, and Danny Glover remind you how great acting only improves with wisdom.
The turn into the 20th Century was the birth of the modern world, and the French writer Colette was one of its prime harbingers.
Keira Knightley (like her rhyme, Natalie Portman) has liberated herself through indie character dramas, and brings vivid life to this biopic.
-SKATE KITCHEN⇧
Crystal Moselle's handheld film about NYC skater grrrls is so real it's practically a documentary.
-MADELINE'S MADELINE⇧
Josephine Decker's drama about improv theatre and mental illness gains all its potency from the riveting friction between Molly Parker and newcomer Helena Howard.
Alfonso Cuarón's calm meditation on class and identity during the brewing political upheavals of 1970 Mexico City.
Real performances captured in loose-panning cinematography.
-DISOBEDIENCE⇧
The best love story of the year.
Sebastián Lelio's tale of forbidden love amid orthodox Judaism slowburns into glory with Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams.
-I AM NOT A WITCH (Africa) ⇧
Director Rungano Nyoni debuts with her sober eye and a quietly sweet heart.
A young African girl accused of witchcraft navigates superstition, bureaucracy, and class.
The public calm and troubled soul of Neil Armstrong.
The private life is subtle, the flights unnervingly intense.
History is repeating because of mass ignorance. Catch up to history's lessons with the perfect movie trilogy.
-THE POST⇧ (2018)
The Pentagon Papers blew the whistle on the U.S. Government's illegal and immoral Vietnam War practices in 1971, and President Nixon tried to stop the Washington Post from exposing it to the country.
-ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN (1976) ⇧
After the 1972 Watergate burglary, Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein followed the trail of multiple crimes to the President's office.
-MARK FELT: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (2017) ⇧
Woodward and Bernstein were helped by a mysterious informant called 'Deep Throat'. It turns out, the criminal President was deposed because of the leader of the FBI.
Any similarity to current reality is entirely our neglect.
Interesting:
-BURNING (South Korea)
Mixed feelings.
Good craft and mood, dubious story hinge.
Public Enemy's heirs in Conscious Rap were the political firebrands, The Coup.
Frontman Boots Riley wrote and directed this ambitious satire: constantly hilarious, surprising, scathing, and ultimately startling.
-THE DEATH OF STALIN
This adaption of the French graphic novel about the lethal scramble for power in Communist Russia crackles like an '80s Monty Python solo film with a razor ensemble.
-SUPPORT THE GIRLS
What makes a breastaurant comedy worth it?
Satire, heart, and Regina Hall's breakout performance.
-THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS
A Coen Brothers anthology of Old West tales breezing on all their strengths.
The enchanting first film gets the expansive, astonishing sequel (see also: BABE).
Director Paul King's triumph is buoyed by an exuberant cast, including the versatile Brian Gleeson.
The '80s-Spoiled-Suburban-Fantasy never worked for me. That said, some smart RomComs about High School love are updating Hughes's formula with needed upgrades.
-TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE
Director Susan Johnson and writer Sofia Alvarez bring more diversity and wit, fronted by the charming Lana Condor.
-LOVE SIMON
Greg Berlanti (the CW superhero shows) surprises with this necessary adaptation of Becky Albertalli's book, bringing wider sexuality and personal character issues into the mix.
✭✭✭✭✭⇧
Ron Howard saves the day by delivering the exact Han Solo origin story we needed: a Space Western (with nods from Ford to Leone to Penn) and a heist story gliding on fun banter, inverse turnovers, edgy grit, and moments of poignancy.
Lawrence Kasdan. Val. L3-37. Enfys Nest.
All fake Flitwits and MalBots on the net aside, the true fans appreciate this fine film.
>Why EMPIRE and LAST JEDI are actually the Best of the STAR WARS films
Ava DuVernay (SELMA) brings lucid life and range to the insular and sometimes abstract classic book by Madeleine L'Engle.
>THE CANON 2: 50 More Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
The best Science Fiction Romance Punk Opera Mindwarp Comedy of the year.
Director John Cameron Mitchell (HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH) returns with this expansion of a Neil Gaiman short story. Bristling 1977 Punk energy, celestial Motorik, latex polyamory, D.I.Y. tribes, metaphor speak, and scabrous cartooning, all laced by the always delightful Elle Fanning.
-PLEASE STAND BY
Quiet and underrated dramady following an autistic writer (Dakota Fanning) in her efforts to win a Star Trek screenplay contest.
-HAPPY AS LAZZARO (Italy)
A class allegory that shifts into enchanted metaphor as gently as a sun beam.
-READY PLAYER ONE
The insane cornucopia of pop cultural Easter Eggs wins the day for me.
Plus Olivia Cooke ('Bates Motel') gets the star turn she deserves.
-MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT
Solid basics, but the epic finale makes it worth the trip.
Killing knowledge kills humanity.
Ray Bradbury's timeless book portrayed how censorship and ignorance is cultural suicide.
Ramin Bahrani's new update couldn't be more timely.
>THE CANON 2: 50 More Books That Created Modern Pop Culture
Interesting:
-THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX
CLOVERFIELD and 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE get an unexpected summation in this SciFi thriller with a great cast, including perennial greats Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, and Zhang Ziyi.
-MUTE
Duncan Jones' long-awaited follow-up to MOON (2009) turns out to be a BLADE RUNNER homage.
An erratic pinball with effective moments and dodgy turns.
Less is always more, implication is always more potent, suspense always outweighs shocks.
All the right moves, and Emily Blunt.
-BIRD BOX⇧
As effective as A QUIET PLACE, and perhaps more so, through sustained implication and wider ensemble character.
Alex Garland follows EX MACHINA with this lofty headtrip that deserves far more attention than it got.
After a fine run of Indie successes, Natalie Portman reminds the mainstream she can do anything.
-HALLOWEEN (2018)
There are only three that matter: HALLOWEEN (1978), HALLOWEEN 20 (1998), and HALLOWEEN (2018).
The second and third are alternate sequels that honor and enhance the original well.
Jamie Lee Curtis.
Interesting:
-MANDY
Wrong but mesmerizing, like Hal Ashby slowly getting possessed by a rabid Sam Raimi.
Panos Cosmatos (BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW) applies A-level art to B-movie tropes.
Your mileage may vary, but it sure as hell was shot well.
I M A G E S
(Full reviews for the following films
will be forthcoming from the review site,
Four Color Films).
-AVENGERS: Infinity War⇧
-BLACK PANTHER
-ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
-THE DEATH OF STALIN
See Also:
>Four Color Films,
THE Comic Movies Review Site!
At last, the cinematic debut of Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy, the new heirs to the Spider mantle.
After their kiboshed attempt at helming SOLO, Miller and Lord (THE LEGO MOVIE) return to their strengths here.
Smart story, perfect cast, genuine laughs, deeply touching moments, Pop metatext, all vibrating in a spectacularly innovative visual style never seen before.
All this and Kirby Krackle, too!
>Waiting For Spider-Man
-THE INCREDIBLES 2
Pixar only does a sequel when a strong story idea merits it.
Elasti Girl stretches out completely in this crafty expansion.
-MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER (Japan)
A Studio Ghibli producer founded a new company, Studio Ponoc, with former Ghibli animators.
This first-rate Fantasy anime debut does the Miyazaki legacy proud.
-TEEN TITANS GO! To the Movies
All of the goofball fun of the TV series magnified, with a million winks to DC history and more.
TV Animation:
-STAR WARS: RESISTANCE 1 ⇧
An anime take, with a fresh location and fun characters.
Great cameos by current film trilogy actors, a comedic tone, a gratifyingly diversified cast, and excellent graphics.
-DISENCHANTMENT 1.0 ⇧
Matt Groening's spoof of Fantasy.
Edgier and bawdier than 'The Simpsons' and 'Futurama', voiced with perfect loopiness by the great Abbi Jacobson ('Broad City').
-HILDA 1 ⇧
A completely winning adaption from Luke Pearson's acclaimed contempo Fantasy kids books, winningly voiced by Bella Ramsey (Lady Mormont from 'Game Of Thrones').
-ADVENTURE TIME 8
Absurdist Fantasy's finest bows out.
B E S T
D O C U M E N T A R I E S :
2 0 1 8
An overview of female directors and expose of the discrimination used to restrain them.
>halfthepicture.com
-FILMWORKER
Leon Vitali did everything beyond human endurance to make the greatness of Stanley Kubrick's films happen.
And he still does. Learn the crazed history of this compulsive archivist who deserves his true due.
-SHIRKERS
Singapore was almost revolutionized in the early '90s by Indie Punk auteurs... until their film was stolen.
Sandi Tan's riveting unraveling of the fate of the rebel film she made with Jasmine Ng and Sophie Siddique.
-BOBBY KENNEDY FOR PRESIDENT
1968 was the fork in the road for the world's future.
Much of what went wrong in the USA political landscape followed the (specific) murder of this potentially great leader on the right side of progress.
This maxi-series reminds us what should have been.
-FLINT TOWN
Corporations have the right to kill you, and their politician lapdogs will enable it.
How the water of Flint, Michigan, became poisoned by the greedy.
-FAHRENHEIT 11/9
FakePrez.
Greedy
Bigot
Traitor.
-WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Fred Rogers was a sweet, compassionate person who brought a lot of good into young peoples' lives.
-HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
A poetic contemplation on rural reality.
-THE TOYS THAT MADE US: Star Trek (S02/E01)
Like their fine Star Wars episode, this one affectionately details the marketing of Star Trek toys.
-Robert Kirkman's SECRET HISTORY OF COMICS
Very mixed bag.
The first three are Golden Age intro overviews, good if sensationalistic. The latter three are recent trends marred by binary politics and backslapping.
B E S T
T V :
2 0 1 8
Feed your mind and your activism will follow.
-The Rachel Maddow Show⇧
-THE NAKED TRUTH
-THE BREAK With Michelle Wolf
-LAST WEEK with John Oliver
-PBS NewsHour
A crime Noir set in the Weimar Republic just as the Nazis are rising.
Fine cast, cinematic production values, smart music.
-THE HANDMAID'S TALE 2
An original extension of Margaret Atwell's crucial allegorical novel.
-HOMECOMING 1
Military-Industrial recontext.
Sam Esmail ('Mr. Robot') translates Horowitz and Bloomberg's conspiracy thriller podcasts into live action.
Julia Roberts, Bobby Cannavale, and Sissy Spacek get stiff competition from newcomer Stephan James.
-BETTER CALL SAUL 4
What may be the sharpest, subtlest adult drama on TV weaves all the elements together this season to presage the events of 'Breaking Bad'.
Jumping from 1971 to 1977, Simon and Pelecanos ('The Wire') abetted by female directors trace the rise of Porn in NYC amid the backstory of political corruption guided by slow corporate takeover.
-POSE 1 ⇧
Set in the resulting 1987 corporate NYC, Ryan Murphy ('The Shield') gives wonderful spotlight to the fuller range of human sensuality, following a first-rate ensemble navigating through dance school, voguing matches, identity struggles, yuppie scum, and the neglected onset of AIDS.
Pro-LGBT, pro-compassion, anti-Trump, anti-hate. Nuff said.
One of the best character dramas on television.
Framed in the build-up to the launch of the first personed mission to Mars, it's truly about personal character, visionary science, the tolls of tribulation, and ultimately a hardwon optimism.
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY 1b ⇧
The best 'Star Trek' series we could have hoped for gets even bolder and better in its latter half.
This is precisely what we needed, a show that recalls where we started from to go where we have yet to go. 'Star Trek: Discovery' vogues the canon and styles of every version that preceded it, and then pogo dances crazed with it. All restraints are over, all possibilites open.
Warp conventions, phase into stunned, transport your spirit. All hail.
I was unkind to 'Lost In Space' in the past, and this excellent new version caused me to recant.
My old feeling was that the '60s show was all the cliches of bad '50s movies, geared for kids, and that its concurrent rivel 'Star Trek' brought the maturity of actual '50s SF literature into the living room for adults. Perhaps true, but kids deserve fun, too.
The two became entwined with time. Will Robinson charted the course for young cast members like Wesley Crusher and Jake Sisko (and actor Bill Mumy guested on 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'). The brief cult hit series 'Earth 2' (1994) was a hybrid of both shows. So was 'Star Trek: Voyager' (1995-2001), with a starship lost in the far cosmos. The reboot film LOST IN SPACE (1998) adapted the cinematic production values common to TREK films. And the opening credits montage of this new series includes the real space shuttle Enterprise.
On the other side of all this comes a new series bettered by all of that. Within two episodes it builds a family we care about in a rough survival series we believe. The locations are grand, the production values first calibre, the science sharp, the twists whiplash. But it's the gravity of the performances that hooks, particularly Molly Parker as the formidable Commander.
There is more, much more.
Television's smartest philisophical series continues to invert while magnifying itself with new depths and scope. One of the best made and fearlessly ambitious productions going.
-3% 2 (Brazil)
The first season of this timely political future dystopia and class struggle series was great.
The second is even better, doubling the span while deepening the characters.
-COLONY 3
The little show that does.
The best alien invasion/dystopian future series that too many sleep on. Fresh location, social barbs, family bond.
Like ETERNAL SUNSHINE refracted inside out by Philip K. Dick.
Brainy, absurd, mercurial, rending, surreal.
Emma Stone is a prism.
-ALTERED CARBON 1
After waiting three decades, we got three BLADE RUNNER sequels within six months: the official BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017), and then two clones, MUTE and "Altered Carbon".
Based on the first book of Richard Morgan's trilogy, this adaptation is a generally solid SciFi Noir that revs up fully every time Dichen Lachman enters the room.
Based on George R.R. Martin's novella, this extension plays like 2001 rewritten by Stephen King.
Interesting trip with a bumpy middle.
-THE X-FILES 11/maxi-series
The end?
-FORTITUDE 3
The end.
TV's most willfully perverse stealth horror series was like an art film gone horribly deranged that you couldn't pry your eyes off of.
-BLACK MIRROR: Bandersnatch
An interactive special with multiple endings.
OUTLANDER is one of the finest shows being made.
And my favorite romance, ever.
Jodie Whittaker supercharges the Doctor with her eminence.
History isn't just a package tour. New showrunner Chris Chibnall created all 3 seasons of the acclaimed "Broadchurch"; here he escalates the lightning wit and astonishing locations, while infusing a welcome sociopolitical depth into the adventures.
The core strength that made these seasons of the Hell's Kitchen heroes so effective lay in healing the fractured bonds of family.
-JESSICA JONES 2
The unfolding mystery is chancey, but as brave as it is ultimately successful.
-LUKE CAGE 2
Some may differ, but the second season is stronger, more focused, more intricate.
-IRON FIST 2
The only thing actually wrong with the first season was length, and the second bore out its core quality to fruition.
-DAREDEVIL 3
The best.
The "Daredevil" comics by Frank Miller pretty much kicked off the '80s Comic Renaissance, when maturity and artisanship revitalised the industry.
Through these show adaptions, that same revolution is now revising the screen.
This interpolation of the classic 'Born Again' arc is both a renewal and a payoff for all that has been and what can be.
When Netflix first announced these series, it seemed like they would be a single season of each leading up to a finale team-up with 'The Defenders'. Instead we got multiple seasons of each that only got better in ascension.
Although Netflix has now canceled them, short of certain events that needed to happen (Heroes For Hire, Luke and Jess', White Tiger, Elektra anew), I'm just grateful that we got more than we expected, and always better than we could have hoped.
So thank you, kindly, to all involved.
There are degrees of merit.
There's High School, there's College, and then there's Oxford.
There's the CW hero shows, there's the Netflix hero shows, ...and then there's 'Legion'.
The most purely fine art show on television, by light years, has no comparative peers in any sphere.
Showrunner Noah Hawley ('Fargo') burned the envelope on the first season, and now melts reality to his whim heedless here, downright daring any tsks or sloths to whine. You're either on the bus or you're on your ass. It's like YELLOW SUBMARINE recut by Burroughs, "Tommy" staged by Laurie Anderson, a Noh play documented by Buñuel. This is a higher better level, a conceptual contagion spread by airwaves.
Tune in to the turnaround or drop out.
-AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. 5b
The first arc, set in the future, was stronger.
But Marvel's most underprized show always proves its worth regardless with maturity, craft, and sly wit.
-THE GIFTED 2a
Who could foresee the day when Claremont, Byrne, and Austin's "X-Men" comics would be on the screen every week, and yet there it is.
Steve Ditko's "Hawk And Dove" comics were Rand-ian absolutist caricatures which dishonored the '60s youth rebellion. Bill Mantlo and Ed Hannigan's "Cloak And Dagger" always risked being similar absolutes of 'race' misconceptions for the '80s inner city.
They were usually more canny than that, and this TV series does even better.
In a current era still being cynically manipulated into kneejerk separatism based on cliched absolutisms, any mature sociopolitical show with sophistication is a breath of fresh air. Generally aware enough that 'white' and 'black' are just enforced delusions>, the show navigates its two young leads past those dumb deadends as kindred spirits helping each other forward in union.
The pleasure of the DC-TV shows is seeing the Silver/Bronze Age Of Comics come to life.
As a desperately needed antidote to the dour Snyder-verse films, any formula loops, teenie focus, or dumb missteps involved are forgiven in the fun of it all.:
-SUPERGIRL 3b/ 4a
Brainic 5. Dreamer.
-THE FLASH 4b/ 5A
Elongated Man. XS.
-LEGENDS OF TOMORROW 3b/ 4a
John Constantine.
-ARROW 6b/ 7a
The vigilante team.
-BLACK LIGHTNING 1b/ 2a
Thunder. Lightning.
-TITANS 1
Extremely mixed feelings.
The mature Robin, streamlined team, and actual comics continuity are right solutions.
But the ultraviolence, cursing, and kill-ethic are a disease that poisons the show.
It's everything wrong about the ('90s-damaged) New 52 comics era now ruining the screen.
Retrograde Newsflash: Aggro ≠ Adult.
See Also:
>Four Color Films,
THE Comic Movies Review Site!
A female Holmes and Watson in modern Tokyo.
Crack cast, great fun, steady build.
-SHARP OBJECTS 1
Gillian Flynn's mystery novel is actually a bruising Midwestern Gothic.
Amy Adams, taking chances.
-THE ALIENIST maxi-series
A solid if stolid adaption of Caleb Carr's book, with some unnecessary expansions.
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL 2 ⇧
One of the best shows on television, bar none.
Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino ("Gilmore Girls") makes going for glory seem easy, in a sterling production as elaborately ornate as Zhang Yimou films, as chaotic and sharp as Lucille Ball.
Set in 1959, this supercharged season hoofs our fierce stand-up comedian from Paris to Manhattan to the Catskills. It all flows like a musical, in long one-shot scenes with complicated dialogue in big locations with an army of extras in period costumes and cars woven together by a spin cam, sometimes with dancing or fights. (One sequence is more complex than other shows' episodes.) It's a mesmerizing juggle as aware of fashion, etiquette, color, and pace as it is sexim, anti-semitism, classism, military industrialism, and political dissent.
The ace cast cracks wise like clockwork stage plays. Zachary Levi (the original Captain Marvel in SHAZAM) is a fine new foil. Luke Kirby gets ever deeper into the pathos of Lenny Bruce. But, better than anyone out there, Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein are the dynamic duo of screen comedy.
This show is a blessing as much as it is a major achievement. And knockdown hilarious.
TV's most surreal and subversive comedy only gets ever better.
-KIDDING 1
Jim Carrey's dramady spins a modern Mr. Rogers into something both harrowing and poignant.
-ATLANTA 2
Donald Glover returns.
THE BIG LEBOWSKI and 'John From Cincinatti' were fun, but I like this more.
Spinning its title off Thomas Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49", this evolving narrative of the Holy Fool surfer and his laconic sister, the alchemic Lodge, its eclectic members and missing artifacts, and the mysterious Captain binds all together with heart.
Is it stoner comedy, quest allegory, magic realism? Plus.
And it has easily the smartest soundtrack on TV, shimmering on waves of Pop Psyche from all decades.
-ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT 4 Remix
The oddly structured return season (2013) gets re-edited in chronological order, feeling more like the original show, with more cast interplay and some lessening of the excessive narration. (Mitchell, give Ron a chance to breathe.)
-ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT 5a
Learning the lessons of Season 4: tighter story, more ensemble scenes, lessened narration for the cast to do their magic together.
Hey, who has time (or money) to see everything?
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
VICE
BISBEE '17
THE FAVORITE
A PRIVATE WAR
WIDOWS
VOX LUX
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
JEANNETTE: The Childhood of Joan of Arc
MRS. HYDE
GAVAGAI
DESTROYER
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET
______
THE TERROR 1
© Tym Stevens
See also:
Four Color Films, THE Comic Movies Review Site!
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