Jon Stewart is new to Twitter, and yes, it’s 2021. One might guess that Hell has frozen over, but that might not be the best hyperbolic statement go make, given the U.S. is currenly covered in snow and ice and resembles a Roland Emmerich movie. Stewart recently joined the platform to express fury over the GameStop/Robinhood stock fiasco, and he’s subsequently tweeted a handful of times, mostly jokes.
Now, the former The Daily Show host appears to be doing slightly more than having fun with his latest offering. “Has anyone seen my me packet?” Stewart tweeted.
Well, this probably has plenty to do with Stewart’s recently announced Apple TV+ show, for which he’ll do the current-affairs thing again for multiple seasons beginning sometime in 2021. The gifted satirist will likely not be able to resist amusing his viewers, even though the show (according to the Apple TV+ synopsis) “won’t have a nightly or even weekly cadence.”
As for the whole “packet” thing, he’s apparently asking Twitter users to offer up original jokes, which is standard practice for the late-night TV realm (writers who want to work for the show submit packets of sketches and/or provide impressions). People quickly picked up on what Jon was (likely) asking for, and they had a field day while alternately attempting and not attempting to impress him into throwing out some gigs. And yes, of course there was a John Mulaney joke in here. Also, “FULL METAL PACKET”!
People got a little carried away. Good for them! I hope someone here gets the gig.
If you tweet an unfunny joke about the Jon Stewart packet they should throw your submission in the trash
Jokes on all y’all. I have 39 minutes to write topical jokes about Jon Stewart’s packet. Which, now that it is a trending topic, qualifies for Jon Stewart’s packet. pic.twitter.com/hhVF01zbSI
Entering a new decade is a great time to look back at the old one, either to laugh at trends that quickly disintegrated or pick out artists and albums that helped redefine genres. For pop music, the shift over the last ten years has been enormous, and those shifts have been brought about by one-off records just as much as they have by the long career arcs of certain artists. For instance, Adele’s 21 was named the No. 1 album of the year in 2011 by Rolling Stone, shifting the notoriously rock-centric publication toward pop in a way that nobody could’ve predicted, and dragging a lot of other music criticism along with it. And when she went on to win multiple Grammys for Album Of The Year — both for 21 and beyond — she helped establish a pattern of critical acclaim for pop music that Taylor Swift had laid the groundwork for the year before. Young women could make serious music now, too — even if they weren’t rockers.
Other random records that barely ever enter the conversation anymore proved more prescient than they seemed. Katy B’s debut record On A Mission set her up as an artist to watch, and though she hasn’t become a mainstream icon, the sounds on that album are certainly concurrent with today’s pop aesthetic, ten years later. Miranda Lambert’s massive country-pop album Four The Record opened doors for the likes of Kacey Musgraves (who co-wrote that record’s biggest hit) and Maren Morris. And, Lights turned Ellie Goulding into a genre star who could make it on the strength of her voice alone, mostly existing without the help of tabloid storylines. That model has been harder and harder for younger stars to follow, but early releases from The Weeknd and Frank Ocean proved that pop audiences were intrigued by a mystery, and that the genre would open its borders to elements of R&B and hip-hop production, as long as the artists stepped out of the shadows eventually.
As poptimism — or the idea that pop music should be taken as seriously by critics as other more esoteric, cerebral forms of music — began to take hold over the course off the decade, some of these records prove the point more clearly with every passing year. Others fell through the cracks as they should, but still had their place in the sun, at least for the year. Check out our picks for the twenty most influential records of 2011, whether they defined that year or kept pushing forward into the future.
Lady Gaga – Born This Way
Addressing what amounts to the best and most important pop album of the year first, Lady Gaga’s second proper record was the one that transformed her from rising star into global sensation who could hold the world’s attention in the palm of her hand. This was the Gaga era that solidified her glam-rock shtick with enormous balladry gone electric like “Marry The Night” and the unstoppable hooks found on songs like “Edge Of Glory” and “Judas.” Rarely has a straight pop star gotten a gay rights anthem so right in the way that “Born This Way,” did, and after so many years of queer fans devoting themselves to women in music, it was something of a miracle for a star to openly give that love right back. Gaga laid out the blueprint for how pop stars should support marginalized communities, and has continued doing so all the way into the next decade by speaking up about Black Lives Matter and all of the continued advocacy she does with her Born This Way Foundation. A pop star as a political force seemed far-fetched ten years ago, but in 2021, it’s the reality for anyone that matters.
Britney Spears – Femme Fatale
Though she had already been through some of the worst years of her life and placed under a conservatorship, Britney Spears was still making hits in 2011. Femme Fatale, the follow-up to 2008’s incredibly influential Circus, actually kicked off an era of even more successful singles for Spears. “Hold It Against Me” debuted at No. 1 and put her in rare company, as only the second female artist after Mariah Carey to debut more than two singles at the top of the chart. Even if it wasn’t as big a radio hit, “Till The World Ends” went all the way up to No. 3, and “I Wanna Go” also reached No. 7. While Femme Fatale didn’t necessarily set the table for a late-career surge, it proved that Britney was still in control enough to release two great albums back-to-back, and also earned her the Vegas residency that has been a core element of her recent arc. As The New York Times and others focus on the #FreeBritney movement, interest in the singer has reached a peak once again, and a potential change in her legal situation might be coming soon. Britney influenced the way we treat our pop stars, as the ramifications of her tabloid craze days become more clear — and more damning.
Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
Ten years ago it wasn’t a given that Lykke Li would be the one laying down the blueprint for languid, beat-inflected songs that turned their sadness into the hook. But take a look at the pop landscape in 2021 and consider how much Lykke’s early ear for combining the melody of pop and the percussion of trap beats has come to dominate modern songwriting. She’s still employing the same formula with as much success on her latest record, 2018’s so sad so sexy, but it’s the next crop of teenage stars who took it and ran with it that should really be sending their thanks. The fact that Wounded Rhymes sounds current ten years later points to just how far ahead of her time Li has always been.
Beyonce – 4
Back before Beyonce was the kind of unimpeachable icon who can make the entire world stop with a social media post — let alone a surprise album drop — 4 was still one of the best pop albums in recent memory. If the classic devotion of “1+1,” irreplaceable good-time jams of “Party” and “Love On Top,” and eternal declarations like “Dance For You” and “End Of Time” weren’t enough, then throw in the feminist anthem “Run The World (Girls)” and remarkably complicated emotional rollercoasters like “Best Thing I Never Had” and “Rather Die Young.” Oh, then there’s the top-tier layered Beyonce song, “Countdown,” which would probably be a weak mess if another vocalist attempted it. No, we didn’t yet know that Beyonce was going to run the whole entire world and then some, but there’s enough clues on 4 that this was a pop star in a league all her own. 4 is a great enough album that, even after of a few of the flashier records, some fans still love to claim this one as their favorite project in her expansive discography. Click play above, and by the time you get to that third key change in “Love On Top,” who can argue with them?
Adele – 21
Though her debut album, 19, instantly transformed her into a massive presence in the pop world, it was the follow-up that cemented Adele as the next great Voice in the modern music industry. Recognizable after a single syllable, and beloved by young and old alike, her tales of heartbreak and renewal were somehow timeless and decidedly born of the 2000s in the same breath. Though some critics felt her next album, 2015’s 25, wasn’t as strong as her first two records, the Grammys didn’t agree, once again awarding her the coveted Album Of The Year trophy. The British singer’s ability to transcend age, gender, and genre is certainly part of her global appeal, and none of it would possible without that Voice. Proving that even with all the productions tricks and AutoTune plug-ins available now, there’s still something about raw vocal talent that will sell records. She seems to have switched things up quite a bit over the last five years, and is preparing to release a new record very soon, so this year we’ll see where she takes her legacy next. No matter where she goes next, “Rolling In The Deep” will always be gospel.
Selena Gomez & The Scene – When The Sun Goes Down
If you were already an adult by 2011, odds are one of Selena’s earliest records — one of three with her band, Selena Gomez & The Scene — didn’t really make its way onto your radar. But as unobtrusive as it might have been, this record quietly set Selena up to make her transition from Disney child star to adult musician. The leadoff track “Love You Like A Love Song” predicates the unusual, disco-y beats she’d be drawn to later on, and highlights her penchant for musical metaphor. The album’s next best offering is the title track, channeling early Kesha glitchy, hedonistic freedom, but without all the adult references. Selena was already pushing at the boundaries of a Kids Bop take on pop music, and the album’s closer, a Spanish remix of one of the album’s toothless, teeny bopper hits “Who Says,” translated to “Dices,” indicates that even years ago, Gomez was thinking about how far-reaching her fanbase was. As she embarks on her first-ever Spanish-language EP next month, the strides she’s taken couldn’t be more obvious, even if the groundwork was there all along.
Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto
Ah, remember when pop music had bands in it? While Coldplay continue to walk the line between mainstream rock and mainstream pop – as do fellow chameleon acts like 21 Pilots, Imagine Dragons, and Walk The Moon — back in 2011 this album marked a shift toward pop for Chris Martin and co. Between the electropop inclinations define “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall” and a full-blown Rihanna feature, this still-guitar-heavy album was a huge step toward radio-friendly material that has now come to define the British rock group who once seemed intent on swinging for the classic rock fences. Between the AutoTune and ecstatic noodling on “Hurts Like Heaven” and the tearjerker-y ballad, “Us Against The World,” this record practically screams I want to work with Beyonce. Though “Hymn For The Weekend” was another album, a whole “conscious uncoupling” and another four years away, Mylo Xyloto alerted the world to the fact that Chris Martin wasn’t going to turn up his nose at pop. And by the time they were collaborating with The Chainsmokers in 2017, the fit was perfect.
Demi Lovato – Unbroken
Plenty of child stars need a couple albums to really get their sea legs as adult pop stars, and though Unbroken was Demi Lovato’s third record, it was the first time she really began to connect on a singles level. Her second album, Here We Go Again debuted at No. 1 but failed to get a single into the top ten. Unbroken, on the other hand, put “Skyscraper” solidly at No. 10. The rest of the record featured contributions for Missy Elliott and Timbaland, leaning into an R&B sound instead of the power balladry of Again or the Jonas Brothers, who co-wrote and produced her debut. A female pop star turning away from pop-rock and belting and toward the likes of Jason DeRulo seems like a given these days, but back in 2011 it was still pretty unusual. Demi and Ariana Grande — who would release a rap-influenced debut two years later — were teen stars who quickly learned that R&B and hip-hop could help them sound grown up fast. Though the last decade Demi dealt with mental health and addiction issues along the way, she also leaned into rap far less — and Ariana soon eclipsed her as a result.
Kelly Clarkson – Stronger
Kelly Clarkson has now settled comfortably into the world of talk show host, but ten years ago she was on top of the world as one of the only American Idol contestants to actually crossover as a tried and true pop star. Stronger actually won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album. Still, Stronger was the beginning of the end for Clarkson in some ways, who went on to release a Christmas album, Wrapped In Red and a final record on RCA, the fairly weak Piece By Piece, before releasing her a soul/R&B-inspired record Meaning Of Life on Atlantic Records in 2017. Though she’s teased plans for a new album this year, it’s her recent Emmy that proves a point, Clarkson has become much more of a force in the world of television than music this side of 2020. But what pivot could be stronger?
Florence & The Machine – Ceremonials
I remember seeing Florence Welch play her own harp on the tiny stage of The Troubadour back in 2009, so as the years passed and it became clear she would soon begin headlining stadiums, it was hard to reconcile her “indie” origins with the mounting fame. The bridge between those early, desperately lonely Lungs tracks and their eventual breakout in 2015, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, was 2011’s Ceremonials. While this album lacked the gigantic star power of a towering single like “Cosmic Love,” it more than made up for it with the much more palatable, radio-friendly hit “Shake It Out.” A few years later, Rihanna would also employ a snippet of the leadoff track, “Only If For The Night,” in promotional materials for her own stone cold classic record, Anti—, in some ways reviving interest in Ceremonials. But Florence is the rare “indie” pop star who never lost her songwriting credit even as the stages got bigger and bigger, and, ironically, her latest album High As Hope is closer to her debut than anything else she’s done. She might be playing the Hollywood Bowl now, and someone else takes most of the harp parts, but Florence is just as influential now, as a massive star, as she was when she was a rising one.
One Direction – Up All Night
Ah, we were so young, back before the band broke up and everything was beautiful. One Direction fans knew early on that the eventual split was coming, that driven by desires for solo careers, the pressures of fame, and simply growing up this teen boy band sensation would fall apart someday. But back in 2011? They were going stronger than ever, fresh off a synthesis concocted by Simon Cowell on the British singing show The X Factor and releasing their debut album, Up All Night in the UK and Ireland. Even four albums and a breakup later, “What Makes You Beautiful” is still up there as one of the all-time 1D hits, and fun fact related to an early entry on this list, the song “Tell Me A Lie” was originally intended for Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger. After the album got a full global release in early 2012 — one that even had to be moved up due to fan demand — the group quickly followed it up with their second album, Take Me Home. And the rest, they say, is history. Though Harry Styles has become the de facto 1D member still carrying the torch, his last album Fine Line came out in late 2019 and was still resonating in a big way in 2020. With all this time on his hands in lockdown, will Harry release a third album this year? Or will all the demand for a return to live music once the pandemic is finally settled convince the band to kick off a reunion tour in 2022? Either way, One Direction made sure everyone released the power of a teen girl fanbase, and never again will a young, female expert on pop music written off as a “groupie.” At least not on Harry’s watch.
Rihanna – Talk That Talk
In 2021 the desire for a new Rihanna album is so strong that it’s hard to believe she used to release one new project a year, like clockwork, for almost a decade. Talk That Talk was the sixth album in what would be a seven year streak — save 2008 when no new album came — that defined RiRi as one of the most influential pop stars of the 2000s. Over fifteen years after her debut record hit America in 2005, Robyn Fenty has transitioned into a mogul of makeup and skincare, lingerie, and even luxury couture design, but arguably, none of that would’ve happened without “We Found Love.” Sure, there are other massive Rihanna hits, and yes, she probably would’ve made her way to mogul someday, either way, but this all-encompassing, dancefloor-packing, completely unexpected depression EDM jam might as well have defined the entire experience of the 2010s. It put Calvin Harris on the map, and definitely helped bring EDM more directly into mainstream pop in America — I think it was the first song I ever heard that had a “drop” in it. Basic, I know. Anyway, other bangers off Talk included “Where Have You Been,” an ill-advised attempt at reconciling with Chris Brown on “Birthday Cake,” and a return to Jay-Z collaborations on “Talk That Talk.” Throw in “Cockiness (Love It)” and it quickly becomes clear this is one of Rihanna’s best albums ever. What’s most astonishing about listening to her material from ten years ago, though, is how little it would have to tell us about where she went next — Anti— is still a left-field curveball that nobody could’ve predicted. And despite the Internet’s constant thirstiness, I’m pretty positive whatever she gives us next will be, too. For now, put some lip gloss in your cart and be happy. This might be a hopeless place, but we still have Rihanna here with us.
M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Some melodies are so strong that even without lyrics, it’s so easy to sing them out. That’s the case with M83’s “Midnight City,” an instrumental song with such an undeniable hook that most music fans can probably identify it by humming it to each other. M83 — a French electronic band “named after the galaxy of the same name” — anchored by composer Anthony Gonzalez, along with Nicolas Fromageau and Morgan Kibby. Their 2011 record Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming defied all odds when it became a seminal album despite the fact that it was mostly instrumental and not what most successful pop albums of the era looked like. After three decades spent living in France, Gonzalez moved to California and began writing the album as an outlet for the emotions he was feeling while visiting places like Joshua Tree for the first time. Aside from the spectacular, dreamy, nearly cosmic feel of the record, marketing campaign from Urban Outfitters and huge co-signs from music critics, topping year-end lists and picking up a Grammy nom for Best Alternative Album. Sadly, this is one case where lightning couldn’t strike twice, and band hasn’t released anything on par since. Still, catching lightning in a bottle, even once, is a thing of beauty. This record will sound just as alarming, beautiful, and nostalgic in any era.
Miranda Lambert – Four The Record
If you love Kacey Musgraves, then you’ve got Miranda Lambert to thank. Lambert helped put Musgraves on the map in a big way by cutting a song she co-wrote, “Mama’s Broken Heart,” and turning it into a rambunctious hit that blew up the country charts, hit No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and quickly went platinum — which may or may not have inspired the title for Lambert’s next (and best) album. But the success of this single didn’t just help Kacey, though you might get lucky and hear her play it herself someday on tour, if she’s in the mood — it also helped make Four The Record the highest-charting album of Miranda’s career, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard charts, and proved that women in country could be modern and go mainstream, skirting the line between genre diehards and pop fans. If you’re grateful for Kacey, Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce — hell even the success of rougher and folksier types like Ashley McBryde and Brandi Carlile — thank Miranda for paving the way, and give the album a spin. You just might hear something you like, including a Gillian Welch cover, a Blake Shelton duet (RIP that relationship), and a song written by then-undiscovered Chris Stapleton, “Nobody’s Fool.”
Frank Ocean – Nostalgia Ultra
It would be easy to simply call this mixtape the blueprint for the next ten years of pop music and stop there. Because if other musicians weren’t blatantly copying Frank, then they were hoping what they made sounded like him. Though he’d infamously had a hard time getting noticed on his label, and would later execute some pretty clever tricks in order to get out of a binding contract, when Nostalgia Ultra hit all most people could do was notice how he synthesized every other sound or song or chorus and made it his own. Even when he’s rapping or singing over some of the most well-known melodies in the musical canon, Frank stood out above the source material. Here was a once-in-a-lifetime artist letting us hear his sketches before he’d paint his masterpiece. It was a moment of complete hope and unbridled anticipation for an industry that had managed to produce plenty of “hit” artists, but so rarely nurtured a true genius in the recent past. And to give credit to Frank, he succeeded despite this industry, not because of it. Nostalgia Ultra was an emblem of its time, a digital tape full of uncleared samples and the kind of freedom that comes from not giving a f*ck about arbitrary rules. Ocean has given us two perfect records since (sorry, I don’t count Endless), and if the next decade even gives us two more, we should be happy.
Jennifer Lopez – Love?
It would take almost the full decade for mainstream pop music to catch up with the Latin stars who were blazing their own trail in American music anyway, so Jennifer Lopez is in a much different place right now than she was back in 2011. Though at the height of her fame back then, she was still pushing against a whiter, less diverse industry, and Love? got her dropped from her label, Epic Records, when the lead single “Louboutins” failed to achieve commercial success. Undeterred, the triple threat signed a new deal with Island Records and released the record after all, anchored by songs written with the likes of Tricky Stewart and The-Dream and a massive Pitbull collaboration called “On The Floor.” That song became a No. 3 hit and despite mixed reviews, the album itself had a No. 5 debut on the Billboard chart. Though Lopez released one more album after this, A.K.A in 2014, it’s only been over the last five years that Latin music has become such a powerful force in the pop mainstream. Between the massive success of stars like Bad Bunny and J. Balvin, and the groundswell of support that surged after her latest movie Hustlers was a smash hit, the timing might be perfect for J. Lo to dip her toes back in. After all, she was doing it way before Selena Gomez, why not carpe diem?
Katy B – On A Mission
For lots of solo British pop stars, crossing over into America can be a tricky thing. Unless it happens in a big way like it did for Adele or One Direction, occasionally translating across the pond is a difficult game. For Katy B, her debut album did just that, bringing dancier sounds like dubstep and house with her, and making On A Mission one of the most, in a very literal sense, futuristic-sounding records of the year. Still, there was no real narrative to tie Katy to, and as celebrity relationships and love life happenings became a bigger and bigger part of a pop star’s appeal, Katy B never quite ascended, even if this album did. She followed the record up with a few more releases, Little Red in 2014 featuring fellow critical darlings like Jessie Ware and Sampha, and Honey in 2016 (Not to be confused with the 2018 Robyn album of the same name), but neither achieved the same acclaim in America that her debut received. Given how popular electronic music has become in the intervening five years, it just might be time for her to think about a new record.
The Weeknd – House Of Balloons
After taking the biggest stage in the industry a couple weekends (heh) past at the Super Bowl halftime show, Abel Tesfaye has more than officially broken into the top tier of modern pop stars. He’s in elite company with that under his belt, joining the likes of Beyonce, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga, and his subject matter drastically strays from what those three divas cover, too. Back when he was a faceless music blog lothario, The Weeknd put out a series of steamy mixtapes kicked off with House Of Balloons. Most listeners downloaded it for free, or received the zip file from a friend in the know, making him the kind of artist who spread like gossip among friends. Listening to the earliest project Tesfaye created, all the dark, sardonic brilliance is right there, even if he’s polished it until it shines over the last ten years. Where does he go next? Who knows, but the After Hours era will easily continue in 2022 when touring is feasible again, and if he plays “Wicked Games” or “High For This” on that tour, tracks off his earliest album, the crowd will still know every word.
Jessie J – Who You Are
See the Katy B blurb above for a primer on how British pop stars sometimes struggle to connect in America. Jessie J definitely deals with that drawback too, and even if her debut did well enough commercially, it wasn’t a hit with critics. With a debut that hit No. 2 on the UK charts and six singles in the top ten, Jessie actually broke records by being the only solo female artist with a single album with that many songs charting so high. Her third album, 2014’s Sweet Talker was preceded by the massive group single, “Bang Bang,” featuring Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, but that already-explosive pair easily outshone her, and the record didn’t have much crossover in the US, though it once again fared better in the UK. Still, in the context of 2011, a brand new pop star from the UK who was pissing off critics and breaking chart records was still an exciting thing. And even if she’s yet to release a truly fantastic album, there’s still plenty of time for a late-career resurgence.
Ellie Goulding – Lights
Strangely, Ellie Goulding is one of the few stars in recent memory to make it big without a host of celebrity drama or controversies following her around. Oh, well there was that Ed Sheeran/Niall Horan rumor, but aside from that she’s squeaky clean! Maybe it’s feathery, pitch-perfect vocals, maybe it’s the icy electropop chill, either way, Lights became an instant-classic, and led Goulding to collaborate with some of the biggest names in electronic music, from Skrillex, to Zedd, to Calvin Harris. These days she’s still doing just that even if the producers have changed, releasing a new track with Diplo and Mark Ronson just a few weeks ago. Goulding became a perfect guest feature for EDM-heavy tracks, balancing the sometimes jarring music with her calming, sweet vocals. Last year’s Brightest Blue might’ve flown under the radar a bit, but she still knows how to pick the right collaborator, enlisting fallen rapper Juice WRLD to feature on the track “Hate Me” before his untimely death.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Last week, we published what I believed at the time to be the definitive account of the greatest movie trailer lines in history. Trailer lines, of course, are subjective, and how indelibly they imprint on your brain can depend on many things, including whether you lived in the region where that movie was being most heavily advertised and how much television you were watching at that stage of your life.
All of this is an unnecessarily long-winded way of saying that there were lots of amazing trailer lines we left out of the original list. Why not do a part two? Trailer lines are the movie equivalent of that obnoxious tune you can’t get out of your head: the only way to feel better is to spread it to someone else.
Trailer Line: “I’m trying to solve a murder here!” (line at 1:18)
Movie: Striking Distance (1993)
A consistent theme of interviews I’ve done with eighties and nineties filmmakers is what a pain in the ass Bruce Willis apparently was. According to Striking Distance director Rowdy Herrington, Robert De Niro was attached first, then Mel Gibson, and then Michael Douglas, before Bruce Willis got involved. Pain in the ass though he may be, it’s hard to imagine De Niro, Gibson, or Douglas being able to strike that exact note of fed-up cop petulance that Willis hits in “I’m trying to solve a murder here!” (Is this the 90s cop version of “I’m walkin’ here!”?) The way his voice gets a bit brittle when he’s really pushing it — it’s almost like his voicebox has a “gain” setting. He’s truly a man in command of his instrument.
I had also memory-holed the part where Bruce Willis’s character’s name in Striking Distance was “Tom Hardy.” Can we get Tom Hardy to play Tom Hardy in a remake of Striking Distance? I would watch the hell out of that movie.
In his follow-up to Predator (1987), Die Hard (1988), and The Hunt For Red October (1990) John McTiernan chose… this absolute head-scratcher about a doctor in the Amazon played by Sean Connery (sidenote: has any director ever had as good a three-movie run as Predator, Die Hard, Red October?). Connery’s protege was played by Lorraine Bracco from Goodfellas and The Sopranos. If the movie was a relative disappointment at the box office and a complete flop with critics, the attempt to boil down its convoluted plot into a single trailer line did give us this magnificently clunky yet unforgettable trailer line. “I’ve found a cure for the plague of the 20th century and now I’ve lost it!”
Sean Connery damn near makes that sound like something a person might say, God bless him. But… you had the cure for cancer, and you… lost it? In the long version of the trailer, he even attempts to justify it. “Haven’t you ever lost anything? Your car keys?? Well, it’s rather like that!”
Is it, though? In retrospect, you could probably tell the movie wasn’t going to work based on the fact that the more they attempt to explain the central plot conceit, the less believable it gets.
Trailer Line: “Welcome to Earth!”
Movie: Independence Day (1996)
I can’t believe I left Will Smith, one of the all-time great trailer line deliverers, off the original list. Independence Day is also one of the greatest trailers of all time. I vividly remember seeing it and thinking “this is going to be the greatest movie ever made.” I ended up disappointed by the actual movie, even though I was barely old enough to have developed taste at that point, which probably explains how I eventually grew up to become a film critic.
Anyway, if you remember one thing from Independence Day, it should be this one incredible moment. I love the idea that this alien traveled millions of miles through space, blew up the White House with a laser beam, and the first that happened after it opened the hatch was getting punched in the face. It’s like if Michael Jordan showed up to a pick-up basketball game and the moment he stepped on the court someone ran by and yelled “prison rules!” and kicked him in the nuts.
Trailer Line: “This! Is! Sparta!”
Movie: 300 (2006)
Speaking of movies that never quite lived up to the trailer, let’s travel back in time to revisit 300, when speed ramping was new, and Zack Snyder bravely asked “what if we just did animation in every frame?”
I can admit it, this trailer blew my mind when it came out. That being said, I think the movie would’ve been much better if it hadn’t elided how gay the real Spartans were, to the point that it was tradition for the bride to dress up as a man on the wedding night. Though I suppose it was still pretty homoerotic. In my mind, 300 is indispensable if only because it gave us this gif:
Warner Bros
If I’m not mistaken, I think I first saw this on YTMND.com — which is of course named for the trailer line “You’re the man now, dog.” A Russian nesting doll of trailer lines!
Trailer Line: “I’m an old broken down piece of meat.”
Movie: The Wrestler (2008)
The Wrestler was so damned good, and the trailer is still one of the all-time greats. It’s rare to see a movie as good as The Wrestler that could also be completely summed up in its own trailer line. “I’m an old broken down piece of meat” — that’s the entire movie right there. But it was unspoilable. I probably could’ve watched four hours of Mickey Rourke being an old broken down piece of meat. God I love Mickey Rourke. He’s a man who loves tiny dogs, looks like Steven Tyler on steroids, and hangs out exclusively with anthropomorphic glam rock ferrets. Is Mickey Rourke is the best celebrity this country has ever produced? I say yes.
Trailer Line: “Welcome… to The Rock.”
Movie: The Rock (1996)
The Rock was arguably the high-water mark of both Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer and “welcome to The Rock” its most iconic line. It’s a testament to how good a trailer line it is that people could remember that and not Nic Cage weaselishly snorting “Heh, chemical superfreak, actually,” a few seconds earlier. In any other trailer, that would’ve been the trailer line.
Is there anything Sean Connery says that doesn’t sound like an amazing trailer line? I believe there’s a direct correlation between how big a box office star someone is and their ability to deliver the iconic trailer line.
Trailer Line: “YES they deserve to die and I hope they burn in hell!”
Movie: A Time To Kill (1996)
A Few Good Men (1992) was a movie that consisted entirely of waiting for Jack Nicholson to growl “You can’t handle the truth.” So when A Time To Kill (a Joel Schumacher adaptation of a John Grisham novel) did essentially the same thing with Samuel L. Jackson and “YES they deserve to die…” four years later, it’s a testament to Jackson that the ripoff manages to eclipse the original.
Truly, no one can deliver a trailer line like Samuel L. Jackson. The only reason “tired of these motherf*ckin snakes etc” didn’t make this list is because it was obvious that the filmmakers had simply discovered that having Samuel Jackson shout just about anything automatically makes it sound like a movie. It should be noted that Dave Chappelle identified this phenomenon early on:
How’s it taste, motherf*cker?!
Trailer Line: “Tell the truth!”
Movie: Concussion (2015)
In having Will Smith shout “Tell the truth!” in a Nigerian accent, Concussion inadvertently combined A Few Good Men and “In Afrika, it’s bling-bang.” It works beautifully. He even says it twice in a row, like he was practicing different line reads. I don’t think I ever actually saw this movie. And after all, why would I? Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free and whatnot.
Trailer Line: “It’s snakes out there this big?”
Movie: Anaconda (1997)
Jon Voight, Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Eric Stoltz, and Ice Cube? Talk about a cast! I actually can’t believe that Anaconda is 24 years old. Gun to my head, before looking it up I would’ve told you that this movie came out in 2006. That’s a testament to the timelessness of “It’s snakes out there this big??”
There should be an entire docu-series of Ice Cube reacting to nature. Netflix, please throw some money at this.
Half the reason I even wrote this list was because I was so embarrassed for leaving “I’ll never te-ell” off of the first version. This trailer-line was so good that I didn’t even remember the movie it came from, which is even more impressive considering Sean Bean says the title right in the trailer. Don’t Say A Word came out two weeks after 9/11, and some speculate that the earworm quality of its trailer line was enhanced by a dearth of other movie options around that time.
Certainly, there were few releases in those two weeks (Hardball and The Glass House, anyone?), but Don’t Say A Word came out the same weekend as Zoolander and a week before Training Day, and I’ll be damned if I can remember any lines from those trailers (though the movies are great). The same weekend the following year had about the same number of new movies, so who knows.
“I’ll never tell” was the perfect movie line because the sense memory of hearing is indelible even when pretty much everything else about the movie was not. RIP, Brittany Murphy.
Last Updated: February 16th
Netflix hosts an embarrassment of riches in almost every genre imaginable, and anime is no exception. If you’ve never watched any before, or if you’re just worried you might have missed some of the best of what the service has to offer, we’ve got you covered. Romance, action, sci-fi, history, or even all of the above — there’s something for everyone on this list of best anime on Netflix right now.
Death Note, the anime series, not the Netflix horror film that borrows inspiration from it, is one of the most inventive shows on this list. It’s also one of the darkest. Ryuk, a god of death, can kill anyone by simply writing their name in a notebook (hence the title of the series). He gets bored one day and tosses his supernatural journal down to Earth. There, it falls into the hands of high school student and prodigy Light Yagami, who’s a bit disenfranchised by humanity and starts using the book to take out criminals. Of course, that makes him a target of the bad guys but also the cops. You never really know who to root for on this show, which makes it all the more interesting.
Another really cool take on the anime world, this music-infused series leans heavy on the drama to give us a truly moving love story. Kousei Arima is a piano prodigy who loses his hearing and desire to play after the death of his mother. It’s only when he meets a talented violin player named Kaori that he finds a passion for life and for his art, again.
A group of intellectually gifted orphans discovers a dark secret about their origins in this inventive anime series. There are some dark-fantasy vibes at play here as the 38 siblings living in a seemingly idyllic abode break their Mother’s one rule, opening up a world of secrets and betrayal in the process. We’re suckers for a good mystery, and this has the added benefit of a truly suspect parental figure to heighten the tension.
This time-travel drama offers an inventive twist on your normal anime fare, turning the story of a young man trying to prevent his mother’s death into a winding mystery filled with fantasy tropes and colorful characters. Satoru Fujinuma experiences something called “Revivals,” tiny jumps back in time that let him help others and prevent tragedies. But when he’s sent 18 years into the past to solve a string of kidnappings somehow related to his mother’s future death, things get complicated.
Even those unfamiliar with anime are likely to have heard of Castlevania (as the franchise is one of the jewels in Konami’s crown). The anime series is produced by Netflix, and boasts a voice cast including Graham McTavish as Count Dracula, who vows revenge against Wallachia after the death of his wife, and Richard Armitage as Trevor Belmont, the last of a clan of monster hunters, who leads the fight against him. (Matt Frewer also features in the cast, which should be a treat for any fellow Max Headroom enthusiasts.) There’s blood a-plenty, and a nice balance between monster and man as per most gothic horror stories — as well as a somewhat romantic aspect, as Dracula is portrayed as a sympathetic villain. The series is also just gorgeously animated, and with a first season of only four episodes, well worth your time.
Parasyte is basically the plot of Venom but in anime form and without that stomach-churning lobster scene. No really, this series is a hell of a lot more fun than expected. A teenage kid named Shinichi Izumi is partially infected by a Parasyte: monsters that butcher and consume humans. He’s got to figure out how to feed the beast without killing people and eventually coexist with his evil counterpart.
This new anime series from Netflix represents the platform’s initiative to churn out more of the genre. That’s a good thing if Blood of Zeus is anything to go by. An anime series about Greek mythology is pretty rare, and this one, which follows a commoner who discovers he’s a descendent of Zeus with a destiny to prevent a world-ending war, is an exciting, addictive watch.
BoJack Horseman fans might like this anime series, which also follows a handful of anthropomorphic animals and dives into mental health issues. Of course, this show is set in a school, not Hollywood, and it follows an anxiety-ridden wolf, who finds himself investigating the murder of a classmate. It’s got a mystery/thriller element to it, but that’s not the only selling point.
Fullmetal fans and newbies alike are somewhat spoiled for choice when it comes to Netflix’s offerings: Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are both available on the streaming service, alongside the recent live-action film. But we’re here for anime, so we’ll just discuss the first two. For the purposes of this list, we’re counting both series as one entity, as Fullmetal Alchemist is a seminal property, but not to fear, I’m not about to leave you in the dark. Both Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are adaptations of the original manga, which tells the story of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, as they search for the Philosopher’s Stone. In an attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy, they’ve been transformed. Edward has lost his leg, and sacrifices his arm as well in order to save Alphonse’s soul, binding it to a suit of armor. The Stone is their ticket to restoration. The more recent Brotherhood hews much more closely to the manga, whereas Fullmetal Alchemist essentially turns into an original series about halfway through. In the end, they complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but if you have to pick just one, I’d go for Brotherhood as the “canon” experience.
Inuyasha is the rare franchise that manages to strike a balance between cute and horrifying. To liken it to a current pop culture phenomenon, it’s similar to Outlander, in that its basic plot sounds like something out of a romance novel: a young woman, Kagome, is sent back in time, and must then contend with forces beyond her reckoning, all while getting to know a rambunctious man (well, in this case, half dog-demon), Inuyasha, to whom she seems to be mysteriously bound. There’s plenty of time-travel fluff to go around, but in Inuyasha’s case, it’s augmented by nightmare fuel in the form of a host of demons searching for the magic jewel in Kagome’s possession. The centipede monster in the first episode sets the bar for how unsettling these monsters look, as well as the show’s overall structure as a sort of monster-of-the-week affair. To that end, the show can get a little repetitive, but the cast is uniformly great (including Inuyasha’s antihero brother Sesshomaru, who I think I can confidently say is “the hot one”), and the balance between fun and horror is a rare find.
If an anthropomorphic horse navigating Hollywood just seems too far-fetched, even by cartoon comedy standards, maybe this show about an anthropomorphic red panda working in the accounting department of a Japanese trading firm feels a bit more down to earth. Retsuko is 25 years old, single, and completely fed up with her place of work. Her boss is a pig (literally), her coworkers are manipulative and selfish, and her love-life is nonexistent. Her only escape: The karaoke bar she goes to every night to vent her frustrations with life by dubbing death metal tracks. If cute Japanese anime, hard rock, and shows about self-discovery are your thing, check this one out.
This fan-favorite anime series has two things going for it: a killer heavy-metal theme song and more action than a Marvel flick. That feels appropriate since the show follows an invincible superhero, who can take out his enemies with just one punch. What’s truly brilliant about this series, though, is how it ranks and classifies lower-tiered vigilantes and how it subverts stereotypes by making Saitama, the hero, apathetic about his own abilities. It’s darkly comedic as some of the best anime typically are.
For anyone unfamiliar with the term, “host club” refers to an establishment where female patrons can pay to drink and chat with the male hosts. Ouran High School Host Club, adapted from the manga of the same name, centers on — you guessed it — a host club operating out of Ouran High School, and serves as equal parts a parody of the stereotypes rampant in shōjo manga (manga specifically aimed at young women) and a sort of bizarro Twelfth Night, as much of the series revolves around the fact that its female protagonist is initially mistaken for a boy. She becomes one of the club’s hosts when she turns out to be a hit with the school’s female student body, though, as is always the case with shenanigans like these, trouble quickly ensues. It’s a fun series, especially as it becomes obvious that the show is poking fun at the very tropes it seems to embody.
Bleach has it all. It’s stylish as hell, it’s incredibly well-acted, it’s genre-fluid, and on top of that, it’s well-written. Though it starts out fairly simply, it builds and builds, transforming into an epic that more than earns its place in the pantheon of great anime. The story begins when Ichigo Kurasaki, a high schooler capable of seeing ghosts, takes on the duties of a Soul Reaper in order to protect his family. As he battles evil spirits and ferries departed souls to the afterlife, he begins to discover that some of his classmates have supernatural abilities as well, and to make matters even more complicated, just when it seems like he’s getting the hang of things, he’s brought into the spirit world to answer to the Soul Society. It’s a transition that the show handles beautifully, and does again and again as it progresses. The world of Bleach (and the mythology involved) just keeps getting bigger, without ever falling short, or falling flat. The series is also impossible to peg as one genre or another, as there are elements of almost everything baked in. It’s an epic, and unmissable as such. Creator Tite Kubo’s style is just the cherry on top of the cake.
For a lot of anime fans, this Manga-based series was a kind of gateway into the animated world. This show is the second part of a larger story about Naruto Uzumaki, a loud-mouth orphan who hopes to become a famed ninja, so while you’ll probably need to watch his origin story first, it’s this installment that’s the most action-packed. Naruto’s an adolescent now, still chasing glory with his group of badass friends. There are tons of filler episodes in this one, but if you can stick it out, you’ll be treated to a thoroughly good time.
As many pointed out, it seemed strange that the league would allow for that when teams have been told their best players have to play in games unless there’s a medical reason or else be fined, and players who have requested a trade publicly have been fined as well. The Warriors met the Cavs on Monday and Drummond was there in street clothes courtside to watch Golden State run away with a 129-98 win. After the game, Draymond Green took his time in the postgame interview to blast the NBA for the “bullsh*t” double standard that exists when teams want to trade a player compared to when a player wants to be traded.
Green notes that James Harden was lambasted for how he “dogged it” while looking for a trade out of Houston and that Anthony Davis got fined $100,000 for his trade request two years ago, but the Pistons and Cavaliers will be allowed to sit Griffin and Drummond with no penalty. His issue isn’t just with the lack of equal punishment or treatment, but with how those players are asked to continue being professionals in such a situation and show up to games to watch, noting the toll that can take emotionally and mentally on a player.
It’s a more than fair point from Green, and it’s clearly something he’s thought about coming into Monday’s game, where seeing Drummond seated in street clothes obviously brought these thoughts to the surface. Each situation is different and, particularly with the Pistons-Griffin situation, it seemed to be a mutual decision at the least, but it’s a fair question to be raised as to why it seems the rules are different when a team wants to do this and, at the very least, why the public perception is so warped to see this as understandable from a team while a player seeking a way out is so routinely called unprofessional and unacceptable.
Elijah Craig is a well-loved whiskey brand from the iconic Heaven Hill distillery and warehouses. The line of four bourbons and one rye are all finely crafted expressions — with a few premium whiskey offerings. Like most brands these days, they issue unique releases whenever they see fit, but today we’re going to stay focused on the core bottles.
Speaking personally, the now-discontinued Elijah Craig 12 was one of the first bourbons I remember truly appreciating back in the day. So much so, that I collect the bottles from old liquor stores when I see them gathering dust on the shelf. I’ve also been lucky enough to taste the phenomenal Elijah Craig 23 Single Barrel — thanks to very old friends from my bartending days.
I like these whiskeys, I’ve enjoyed them often, and even when shiny new expressions pull my interest away for a spell, I always end up returning to them at some point.
For this ranking, you’re getting my professional opinion based on taste alone. Price isn’t too much of an issue with Elijah Craig. Their Barrel Strength releases are starting to get serious awards attention (making them a little harder to find and running up the cost) and their 18-year-old Single Barrel is more of a special occasion buy, but overall Elijah Craig is generally availible and affordable. Best of all, there’s a great value-per-dollar here, with a level of craft that actually outpaces the hype.
This is Elijah Craig’s entry-point bottle. The mash is corn-focused, with more malted barley than rye (12 percent and ten percent respectively). Originally, this was branded as a 12-year-old whiskey. The brand decided to move away from that labeling and started blending younger whiskeys in with the 12-year-old stuff.
Tasting Notes:
Classic bourbon notes greet you with a clear focus on vanilla, caramel, oak, orchard fruit, and a touch of fresh mint. The palate holds onto those flavors while adding in mild Christmas spices with a touch of oak and tobacco. The end is short, simple, and will leave you with a warm Kentucky hug.
Bottom Line:
This really is a solid whiskey at this price point but something has to be last. It’s also a solid Bourbon 101 expression for anyone looking to get into the style and wanting a bottle that squarely hits the standard notes.
This new expression from the brand uses classic Elijah Craig Small Batch and gives it a finishing maturation. Basically, the aged juice is transferred to toasted oak barrels for a spell so that the whiskey can really capture more of that oakiness.
Tasting Notes:
Naturally, you get a woodiness on the nose that teeters between soft cedar and sweet, almost fruity hardwoods, with a hint of caramel sweetness as a counterpoint. That caramel has a somewhat orange-chocolate edge with hints of clove, cinnamon, and white pepper lurking in the background. The spices dry out (think cinnamon sticks or spice barks), the sweetness subsides, and you’re left with a touch of that soft cedar and some well-warmed senses.
Bottom Line:
This isn’t overly woody like some “toasted oak” expressions out there. Still, it can be an acquired taste for some. Our advice is to try it with a little water at first to let it mellow and bloom and then experiment with this one in highballs and cocktails.
This is a subtle rye whiskey. The mash bill only has 51 percent rye grains next to 35 percent corn and 14 percent barley. The juice is then aged for several years and then blended, proofed, and bottled with no age statement.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a real sense of a dark chocolate bar that’s cut with dried chili and a touch of cinnamon that draws you in. The palate mellows that spice into a Christmas spice mix while a honey sweetness and texture lead towards sweet oak and the slightest wisp of pipe tobacco smoke. The finish takes its time as those spices keep your senses warm and buzzing on the slow fade.
Bottom Line:
Against other ryes in this price range, it’d stand up to the best of them. Still, this is a very mellow rye that feels more like a high-rye bourbon until you let it bloom with some water (making it a good crossover for bourbon fans).
All of that being said, it still makes a hell of a Sazerac.
This is a highwater mark in barrel proof bourbon. These are released three times a year (generally) and have been winning award after award. The whiskey in the bottle is generally at least 12 years old and bottled with no cutting down to proof or filtration whatsoever.
This expression is all about finding the best barrels in the Heaven Hill warehouses and letting that whiskey shine on its own.
Tasting Notes:
This will vary slightly depending on the batch, but expect dialed in notes of apple orchards and orange oils on the nose next to a clear oakiness. The palate will dabble in rich vanilla, caramels, peppery and powdery spices, and more of that fruit and oak with a toffee velvet sweetness. The fade will be slow and touch on all the featured notes, leaving you wanting more.
Bottom Line:
This is where drinking bourbon gets fun. Last year’s releases (labeled A120, B520, and C920) were all well-received with bottlenecks hanging heavy with awards. These bottles are really where you go when you want to start developing your palate and deepening your knowledge while enjoying some seriously easy-drinking whiskey.
This is what you get when you take standard Elijah Craig and let it rest in just the right spot for 18 years. The 18-year-old barrel is hand-selected after a long search through the warehouses. Once selected, the juice is cooled slightly with that soft Kentucky limestone water and then bottled.
Tasting Notes:
You get a sense of oak with a touch of a rock-hewn cellar next to notes of dark chocolate oranges, mild brown spices, a touch of vanilla cream, and a hint of honey. That vanilla takes on a nutty edge as the spices build and the wood softens towards cedar with a hint of fruity tobacco chew. The vanilla creaminess really drives the finish towards a silken mouthfeel with plenty of spicy/fruity tobacco leaving you with a mild buzz across your senses.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those “smooth” whiskeys that doesn’t even need water — it’s that easy to drink. Still, this bottle has a lot going on that you need to take your time with. Explore the layers by adding water, learning from the nose, and giving the sip time to wash across your senses.
Why can’t “good” music also be funny? It’s a question I’d like to ask of every award show that’s aired over the past 20 years.
History’s proven that, even when ceremonies like The Golden Globes or The Oscars acknowledge good music, they refuse to recognize the talent it takes to write a song that’s both catchy and funny. Heartfelt ballads, jazz-peppered dance numbers, and acoustic country crooners — those are the shoe-ins, the songs that have enough gravitas to justify their inclusion on Hollywood’s biggest night. And when voting bodies do deign to hand out a trophy to a number from a comedy or musical, it usually comes in the form of a Disney property — an animated breakout with mass appeal and an endearing, inspiring message.
Normally, that’s something we wouldn’t balk at. Normally, we’d just keep our mouth shut. Except this year, the snubbing of musical comedy came at the expense of “Ja Ja Ding Dong,” and that injustice just cannot stand.
The summer of 2020 was tough. Our society was plagued by a pandemic and a presidential election. Music festivals were canceled. Movie theaters shuttered. The WAP Tik Tok challenge was poised to take hold. It was a time of chaos and uncertainty. But Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga— a Will Ferrell-backed comedy that hoped to introduce a beloved European singing competition to American audiences — was a bright spot, a two-hour musical jaunt filled with mischievous elves and ridiculous costumes, international pop bangers, and Canadian national treasure Rachel McAdams. It was a movie about chasing your dreams and recognizing the value of home; a melody-infused dramatic saga about star-crossed lovers littered with kitschy techno bops.
Its songs were silly and meaningful, crammed with lyrics that doubled as comedic puns, the kind of jingles you laughed at while you nodded your head to. There were operatic numbers filled with sexual innuendos about African lions; club raves chronicling the hero’s journey of a volcanic protector man; an upbeat romance ballad and an accordion backed Icelandic pub folk-song with spaced-theme references to a man’s climax. These songs merged character arcs with the film’s brazen comedy, they weaved strangely funny stories, traded in bizarre rhymes and rhythms, and still, they managed to pass as believable entries into the world’s biggest music competition.
Yet, when the Golden Globes announced the nominees in their “Best Song” category, there was a glaring lack of Ferrell-inspired musicianship. This got us thinking: What other comedic musical triumphs have been ignored by the out-of-touch, humorless gatekeepers known as awards voters?
Todd Phillips’ first Hangover flick was a crass, crude frat-boy romp around Las Vegas, which made the impromptu hotel room lullaby from Ed Helms’ character even more remarkable. “Stu’s Tiger Song” was added as an interlude between the film’s more outrageous action scenes, a way for the boys to pass the time as they waited for some Big Cat tranquilizers to take effect. It’s a soft, childlike melody underscored by the group’s desperation to find their missing friend and Helms’ imaginative wonderings about the sleep habits of grown tigers. It was a moment of quiet beauty in the middle of a raucous, boozy, crime-laden adventure and it deserved more.
So did the work of Babyface, Adam Schlesinger, and everyone else involved in crafting the superb soundtrack to a 2001 teen comedy, Josie and the Pussycats. Sure, the movie flopped with audiences who couldn’t understand how it was parodying the subliminal advertising in pop music at the time, but that’s no excuse for the industry insiders who snubbed it during awards season. Maybe the boy-band stylings of Du Jour’s “Backdoor Lover” were too erotic, but what of the girl group’s “Pretend to Be Nice,” a punk-themed feminist anthem that could’ve topped Billboard charts back in the day?
There are less obvious comedically-inspired songs that deserve recognition too. Jason Segel gave us a lesson in artistic expression through puppetry when he penned “Dracula’s Lament,” the sorrowful ballad that serves as the centerpiece to his Dracula Musical in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. (That film also crafted Aldous Snow’s British pop number “Inside of You” which gave the supporting character a solo spin-off.)
Ferrell pops up again, in the late 2000s with his “Boats N Hoes” rap, a raunchy nautical banger he wrote with John C. Reilly that marked a turning point in the pair’s sibling rivalry on screen. Schlesinger makes another appearance too, crafting some fine melodies for the Hugh Grant-starring rom-com Music & Lyrics. “Pop Goes My Heart” is an authentic 1980s expression of first love, but Hayley Bennett’s “Buddha’s Delight” is the Britney Spears-inspired exotic piece-de-resistance that feels especially relevant right now.
There’s “Walk Hard,” Reilly’s gritty, metaphorical answer to Johnny Cash, and “Please Mr. Kennedy,” an earworm from Inside Llewyn Davis accented by the baritone utterings of Adam Driver. But perhaps the worst slight when it comes to musical comedy (or comical music) happened when awards voters disrespected the genius of Andy Samberg’s Pop Star: Never Stop Stopping. The film, a mockumentary-style parody of a pop star’s downfall, houses a handful of hits — songs that are catchy enough to justify the hype surrounding Samberg’s musical icon, and stupid enough to laugh aloud with. They’re raps about the importance of staying humble, even when you’re a musical prodigy. They’re synth-beat-backed takedowns of the Mona Lisa, they’re catchphrase compilations featuring Emma Stone, love ballads that invoke Bin Laden, and an equal rights anthem backed by powerhouse vocals from Pink.
These tracks aren’t your typical awards show fare — which might be indicative of a larger problem when it comes to recognizing comedy that might not necessarily be labeled as smart. But that doesn’t make them any less worthy of recognition because what they’re doing is infinitely more complicated than just crafting a melody and lyrics to accompany a movie’s theme. They’re telling a story, helping a joke to land, creating musical parody that can live on in different forms using of-the-moment sounds and sharp humor.
They, too, are what constitutes “good music,” and it’s time that awards voters get down with that.
Sad movies take a lot of forms, but this list of good Netflix films hits the big buttons, including some of the most powerful movies to watch about star-crossed love, concentration camps, death, and Adam driving yelling a bunch.
Regardless of what gets your tear ducts primed and pumping, there is something in this list must-watch streaming sobfests that will get at your heart’s sorrow spot. “Enjoy” the 15 saddest movies on Netflix right now responsibly.
Noah Baumbach’s star-studded divorce drama is pure Oscar bait, but in the best way. The film takes a look at messy breakups with Scarlett Johansson playing an actress and mother named Nicole, who is intent on separating from her stage director husband Charlie (Adam Driver). Laura Dern and Ray Liotta play their hard-hitting lawyers, who don’t help in diffusing the tension and resentment building between the pair when Nicole moves herself and their son across the country. It’s an intimate look at the emotional wreckage of a divorce and the struggle to put a family back together again, and it’s carried by some brilliant performances by Driver and Johansson.
Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight will always be remembered for winning the Academy Award for Best Picture after a mix-up that initially named La La Land as the winner. But that’s just an asterisk attached to a momentous coming-of-age story set over three eras in a young man’s life as he grows up in Miami, grappling with the sexuality he feels will make him even more of an outcast while searching for guidance that his drug-addicted mother (Naomie Harris) can’t provide. The film is both lyrical and moving and won justifiable acclaim for its talented cast, including a Best Supporting Actor award for Mahershala Ali as a sympathetic drug dealer.
Michael B. Jordan carries this powerful drama from Ryan Coogler. The film marks Coogler’s debut and covers the true story of Oscar Grant III, a Bay-Area resident who was killed in 2009 by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale district station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in Oakland. Rather than focusing solely on the tragedy, Coogler weaves a compelling story of a young man who wrestled with his past and had hope for his future just before his life was taken from him.
Horses, like dogs, make for worthy emotional fodder and this Steven Spielberg World War I epic proves it. There’s plenty of front-line action here, but it’s filtered through the lens of a young boy named Albert (Jeremy Irvine) and his connection to his beloved horse. When the animal is sold to the cavalry, Albert enlists and leaves his small English village to track down his best friend. Tom Hiddleston and David Thewlis also star as Spielberg uses sweeping shots of tattered battlefields to give us a birds-eye-view of the devastation war can cause.
Oscar-winning writer/director Alfonso Cuaron delivers what may be his most personal film to date. The stunningly-shot black-and-white film is an ode to Cuaron’s childhood and a love letter to the women who raised him. Following the journey of a domestic worker in Mexico City named Cleo, the movie interweaves tales of personal tragedy and triumph amidst a backdrop of political upheaval and unrest.
Patricia Highsmith made her name with dark, misanthropic thrillers like The Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train. But her early work also included The Price of Salt, a novel about the relationship between a shopgirl and an older married woman. Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett bring this doomed romance to life, playing a pair of lovers kept apart by societal conventions. Their heartbreaking romance ends as well as can be expected, but the journey definitely involves some tears.
Priyanka Chopra stars in this absolute tearjerker from Indian director Shonali Bose, playing a woman named Aditi whose epic love story is told in the past and present tense by her daughter. Spanning decades, we see Aditi’s relationship with her husband play out from the eyes of her spunky teenage daughter who was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. It’s devastating yet hopeful — the perfect combo to get those tear ducts working.
Be warned: this film is basically two hours’ worth of emotional terrorism. You should still watch it, mostly because Vanessa Kirby delivers a star-making performance as Martha, a young woman who experiences a terrible loss and goes on a year-long journey to cope with it. Shia LaBeouf plays her husband, who kind of crumbles under his own grief, and Ellen Burstyn plays Martha’s overbearing mom. The sad bits never really let up, but then again, that’s what you’re here for, right?
Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio star in this heartbreaking family drama about a young man struggling to care for his disabled brother and morbidly obese mother. Depp plays the titular Gilbert Grape, a kid with plenty of dreams and even more responsibilities keeping him from pursuing them. DiCaprio plays his mentally challenged younger brother Arnie who relies on Gilbert and their mother — a woman whose weight threatens her health — for everything. It’s a tearjerker for sure, but it’s also brilliantly acted and painfully relatable.
Paul Rudd is at his most charming and charismatic here. He plays a newly trained caregiver to a distant teenager with muscular dystrophy named Trevor. After some icebreaking, the two set out on a trip to see some of the most boring roadside attractions middle America has to offer. It’s a bit more optimistic and feel-good than others on this list but don’t let Paul Rudd’s cuddly vibes fool you — there will be tears.
Is there any movie more soul-crushingly tragic than this Nicholas Sparks gem from the early 2000s? Answer: no. Mandy Moore plays a cancer-stricken teen named Jamie Sullivan who attracts the attention of school jock Landon Carter after he gets into a bit of trouble and is forced to do community service to make up for it. It’s a tropey opposites-attract love story, but Moore’s rather exceptional in it and the soundtrack doesn’t suck either.
Willen Dafoe lends his name to this little indie that generated plenty of buzz during awards season just a few years ago. It follows the story of six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) who lives with her mother in a run-down motel near Walt Disney World. Moonee, along with a couple of kids also living at the motel, gets into all sorts of mischief while her mom works first as an exotic dancer, then resorts to prostitution when things get rough. Poor and neglected, Moonee still finds joy in her unforgiving environment and though things end on a bittersweet note, this feels like one of the more hopeful movies on this list.
This coming-of-age indie is based on a beloved book, but if fans were worried that the story of a depressed teenager who finds friends and a sense of belonging in a group of lovable misfits wouldn’t translate on screen, they shouldn’t have been too concerned. Stephen Chbosky wrote the novel, but he also penned the screenplay and directed this flick, which sees Logan Lerman play Charlie, the social outcast, and Emma Watson play Sam, the alt-pixie-dream girl he falls for. Everyone’s good in this, but it’s Ezra Miller’s Patrick who really stands out.
Clocking in at 24 minutes, the Oscar-nominated Extremis really would only work as a short, as its subject matter is almost unbearably heavy. Following terminal patients, their families, and their doctors, the tearjerker zeros in on the decision that many people are forced to make: whether to end a life or keep struggling to hold on. Netflix’s first foray into short documentary, it’s raw insight that can be rough for anyone who has been in similar shoes or spent any time facing dire choices in a hospital.
Before he gave us the truly horrifying theatrical interpretation of Cats, director Tom Hooper helmed another stage-to-screen adaptation, this one centering on revolutionary-era France. Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, and Eddie Redmayne lead the cast of this star-powered vehicle which took home three Oscars and tells the tragic story of Fantine (Hathaway), a prostitute who gives up her daughter and Jean Valjean (Jackman) a man hounded by a dogged policeman. Their lives connect in interesting ways over the years but be prepared, Hathaway’s performance will break your soul.
Recent Updates Through February 2021
Added: What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Fruitvale Station, Pieces Of A Woman
Removed: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Notebook, Dallas Buyers Club
Moneybagg Yo released a lot of music in 2020. The Memphis rapper debuted two full-length albums, one of which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. He also dropped “Said Sum,” a track that achieved viral fame on TikTok and saw remixes by the City Girls and Westside Boogie. And because of his fruitful year, the rapper apparently raked in a solid amount of cash. This had led the rapper to have a pretty skewed view of the virus’ affect as Moneybagg Yo said he hopes the pandemic doesn’t end.
The rapper shared his thoughts in a tweet, which fans instantly slammed as insensitive. Stating that he’s made millions of dollars this past year, Moneybagg Yo wrote, “Not gone lie I made a couple Ms in da pandemic, ion want it to end.”
Not gone lie I made a couple Ms in da pandemic, ion want it to end
Doubling down on the sentiment, Moneybagg continued to say: “I feel like the pandemic help a lot of people.” While the rapper did not elaborate, it seems as though he was referring to the staggering trajectory of the stock market in recent months.
A few hours after sending the initial tweets, Moneybagg Yo walked back on his comments, realizing now tone deaf they were. “I apologize to everybody I offended my comment was very insensitive it was not my intent to hurt anyone.”
I apologize to everybody I offended my comment was very insensitive it was not my intent to hurt anyone
Joss Whedon was hit with a fresh batch of accusations last week after Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel, claimed he had engaged in various forms of workplace harassment. Her allegations weren’t that shocking: Last summer, Ray Fisher — who played Cyborg in Justice League, which Whedon took over after original director Zack Snyder had to leave the project — lobbed furious allegations his way. And as more and more Buffy/Angel alumni speak up in support of Carpenter, Fisher made sure to get some jabs in, too.
There’s only one reason that I haven’t been sued by Joss Whedon, Toby Emmerich, Geoff Johns, Jon Berg, or Walter Hamada:
Fisher didn’t mention Carpenter et al., and didn’t single out Whedon but also included the film’s producers. “There’s only one reason that I haven’t been sued by Joss Whedon, Toby Emmerich, Geoff Johns, Jon Berg, or Walter Hamada: They know I’m telling the truth,” Fisher wrote.
The actor accused Whedon of “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” behavior towards not only him but his fellow cast and crew. Meanwhile, Carpenter has claimed the TV- and filmmaker of, among other things, firing her after she got pregnant. Her Buffy colleague Michelle Trachtenberg also made some startling allegations, writing on social media, “The last. Comment I will make on this. Was. There was a rule. Saying. He’s not allowed in a room alone with Michelle again.” In other words, we’re still only at the beginning of what may be a messy and disturbing investigation.
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(@Editor_of_Eric) February 16, 2021
(@ItsTheBrandi) February 16, 2021
