Sunday, December 29, 2019

Favorite Movies of the 2010's






































11. The Revenant
12. The Founder
13. Melancholia
14. Widows
15. Call Me By Your Name
16. The Social Network
17. Uncut Gems
18. Sorry to Bother You
19. Manchester By The Sea
20. 12 Years a Slave
21. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
22. Warrior
23. Drive
24. Django Unchained
25. The Tree of Life
26. Black Panther
27. Undefeated
28. American Factory
29. Hell or High Water
30. The Favourite
31. The Last Jedi
32. Diego Maradona
33. Moonlight
34. Crazy Rich Asians
35. A Star Is Born
36. Coco
37. Mad Max Fury Road
38. Arrival
39. Everybody Wants Some!!
40. Moneyball
41. Focus
42. Carol
43. If Beale Street Could Talk
44. I, Tonya
45. Attack the Block
46. Tron Legacy
47. Blade Runner 2049
48. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
49. Mission Impossible Fallout
50. Burning
51. Locke
52. Her

Favorite Movies of 2019






























































Honorable Mentions:
Knives Out
Ford v Ferrari
Booksmart
Hustlers
Toy Story 4
Avengers Endgame
Long Shot
Late Night

Past Years:
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010

Favorite TV Shows of 2019


Friday, December 27, 2019

The Most Versatile of Christmas Gifts




























By @TwoClawsMedia: "None of the kids wanted toys for Christmas this year, they just wanted cash. Understandable, but cash as a gift, while practical, always feels impersonal, so I made special packaging. Went over well"

The Making of the Safdie Brothers's Uncut Gems



























New Yorker – "The Safdie Brothers’ Full-Immersion Filmmaking"


























The Ringer – "Kevin Garnett Gets the Rock"

Related,
New Yorker – "The Mesmerizing Chaos of “Uncut Gems”"

Previously,
Uncut Gems Trailer
Good Time Trailer
Good Time a Cult Classic

Sunday, December 22, 2019

America's Game




























New York Times – "Beautiful. Violent. American. The N.F.L. at 100."
By James Surowiecki

"...with the exception of Disney’s assorted properties, no cultural product unites Americans the way the N.F.L. does.

...

That enduring popularity speaks to the way the game taps into deep and abiding strains of dominant American culture. The N.F.L. appeals, paradoxically, both to the American veneration of toughness and to the American love of organization and management. Walter Camp, the father of the game, wanted to make players “exercise equally their minds and bodies,” demanding both physical sacrifice and careful tactical planning. So he constructed a sport that is at once incredibly violent and tightly organized, and in that sense thoroughly American."

Friday, December 20, 2019

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Tenet (Trailer)



July 17, 2020
Written & Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh

Previously,
Christopher Nolan's Tenet

The Woman in the Window



May 15, 2020
Directed by Joe Wright
Based on The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
Starring Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Fred Hechinger, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julianne Moore

The American Ax Fetish























New York Times – "Our Lives in the Time of Extremely Fancy Axes"

"The 2000s felt like a decade of looking forward. Wi-Fi went mainstream, phones got smarter, social media connected us, digital tools let us rely less on physical ones.

But the 2010s brought a shift. There was still tons of new technology, but also glamping, #vanlife, tiny houses, “Cabin Porn,” the mainstreaming of the farm-to-table movement, a market for artisanal cast-iron pans and boutique butter churns, a fascination with going back to the land (lived out, for many, via Instagram) — all signs of longing for a simpler life.

Also: pervasive political anxiety, a wave of post-apocalyptic literature, the reign of “The Walking Dead.”

It has been a decade of pushing back against the increasingly isolating life we’ve created, and of feeling the need to make preparations for the aftermath sure to come. The ax as a household item, even for people in cities with no cause to fell trees, fits right into the zeitgeist of the 2010s.

...

As of two years ago, he was working mind-numbing 70-hour weeks at Smoothie King for $7.25 an hour. When he discovered ax throwing, everything changed.

“We call it ax therapy,” Mr. Applegate, 29, said. “Get away from the 9-to-5, hit the pause button, throw some steel into some wood and feel a little bit better.” Some participate because it makes them feel powerful, confident, joyful. Others because it brings them calm.

...

He thinks the growing interest in axes foreshadows a larger renaissance for craft tools: that at this point, consumers seek objects that are beautiful, authentic and useful.

He may have prophesied the next decade. Refurbished vintage ball peen hammers with ombré painted handles are already cropping up on Instagram."

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Banksy for Christmas


























The Guardian – "Have a Banksy Christmas: his Birmingham reindeer are an artistic miracle"

The Vikings Logo


























The Athletic – "The man behind the iconic Vikings logo: Remembering the life of Karl Hubenthal"

"In 1960, the Vikings’ initial ownership group was prepping for their inaugural season, choosing the NFL after initially agreeing to join the upstart AFL. Ownership named Bert Rose, the former Los Angeles Rams public relations director, as its general manager and he chose Norm Van Brocklin, a former quarterback who had played for the Rams, as the franchise’s first coach.

But responsibilities were vast for the pair with a debut season on the horizon, and they were left overseeing the design of the team’s uniforms and logo. So they called Hubenthal, whom they’d known from their time in Los Angeles. They didn’t have much direction for Hubenthal other than the team name, which was chosen to celebrate the Scandinavian heritage in the state. And Rose had graduated from the University of Washington, so he liked the colors of his alma mater, purple and gold.

Today, logo creation is a multi-million-dollar industry. The Vegas Golden Knights, the most recent expansion team in one of the U.S.’s top four pro leagues, charted private jets for meetings with Adidas and the NHL’s marketing department as they developed their logo and jersey.

But back then the Vikings trusted Hubenthal, who sat quietly in his office and designed the uniforms and still-in-use horned purple helmet. His daughters often walked by and occasionally offered a helping hand, but he preferred the solidarity of his studio.

Given the decades that have passed, it’s rather remarkable how little has changed from what Hubenthal originally designed. The helmet is nearly identical. The Norseman logo was updated in 2013, but the core of what Hubenthal envisioned remains the same. "