Oof. What a frivolous response to my post! I am ruing the lack of commentary, which has obviously reduced substantially since the arrival of Kinja and the change in AVC’s music coverage. It is entirely possible that you were not a regular visitor to this site before that time, in which case I can better understand…

Exactly! Thank you. I am bummed that some of the responses here appear to suggest that I am arguing that my musical tastes are more important than AVC’s. Maybe I could have been more precise in my complaint. 

I’m afraid you’ve missed the point I was trying to make. Let me clarify for you. Of course music taste/criticism is a purely subjective affair; I did not suggest otherwise. What is lacking here is informed discussion of major releases. I struggle with a website that advertises itself as providing commentary on pop…

I’d like to know how the items for these features are chosen. Gigaton has been available to stream for over a week. Meanwhile, Dua Lipa just released the album of 2020, Childish Gambino surprise released a noteworthy (albeit boring & confused) album this week, NIN released new shit, and Nico Jaar graced us with yet…

Ahh, I see. Again, it’s probably been over a year since I last saw the movie. But, this seems like a legitimate criticism. Thank you for expounding a bit. 

Hmm. I had the opposite take. I felt like the subtext was certainly there, but that the film was more overtly about self-destruction rather than depression, and that this was convincingly and clearly represented throughout the film. Although I’m sure an argument exists saying that those two things are synonymous…

I share your bewilderment re: love for The Mandalorian. I consider myself a passionate Star Wars fan, and I’ve kept apprised of all SW developments/entries over the years. Watching The Mandalorian is akin to playing a boring video-game with middling graphics and a main character derivative of the Master Chief in HALO.

Great! I find both movies to be rich with substance and plenty of information to discuss after the fact. I love how most folks agree that the two movies are masterpieces (pardon the hyberpole) but that everyone seems to have different reasons for saying so, as well as different opinions of what the most powerful…

I think not so much Part I, but Part II I found to be near Shakespearean in its tragedy. Juxtaposing Michael’s rise with that of his father’s was truly a genius move by Coppola. To answer your question, I am a total sucker for family-centric drama, in particular the relationship between fathers and sons. Witnessing…

We watched Godfather, Parts I and II. It was my first re-watch in over a decade, and the partner had never seen them. To my mind, the two best (and saddest) movies ever made.

It’s difficult to choose which of the individual scenes in Knives Out is the real standout. It’s a movie full of standout scenes, piled on top of one another. I agree that any time De Armas is on screen, doing what she can to keep up the ruse, the film really soars. I think De Armas hasn’t gotten as much credit as she…

The music coverage on this site has truly dipped in quality. How any music website can make a top 20 list without including either Big Thief album released this year is an outrageous oversight. Not to mention AVC never reviewed UFOF or Two Hands, if memory serves.

I appreciate your thoughts. I consider myself a big SW fan, and I acknowledge that TLJ had several narrative issues but honestly what SW film hasn’t? And, I do not believe the overall subversive nature of the film or some of the deviations/liberties that Johnson took are flaws. That is ridiculous. I loved TLJ for its…

I know, I didn’t mean to suggest he had been fired. I wish the opportunity would have been given to him to do the third film. I am unaware if that actually occurred. 

You’re speaking for only part of the SW fanbase, I suspect.

A few preliminary matters before I lose my shit.

A solid list. And, the selections for #1 and #2 are spot on. I was also happy to see Ad Astra included, as it was probably my favorite movie of the year. Seeing a lot of complaints about it in the comments. I might be biased because I am a huge sucker for meditative and heady sci-fi, with great visuals. 

Olivia Wilde has beautiful, expressive eyes. 

For the second time, this brilliant show has released a season near the end of the year after most publications have released their year-end lists for best television. And, for the second time, this brilliant show has been largely ignored in those lists. This is unforgivable! 

I think TLJ is absolutely the most fresh and exciting this tired franchise has been in nearly 40 years. But, it comes with a caveat. Of course there are parts of TLJ that were poorly conceived (the entire Canto sequence, the fake Kylo-Luke duel, to name a few). However, the highs are very high. I will stan for the…