A Charlie Kaufman movie starring Wild Rose and Chernobyl breakout Jessie Buckley, Harry Potter alum David Thewlis, Toni “I Am Your Mother” Collette, and Landry from Friday Night Lights? [Extremely Al Pacino in Jack and Jill voice] Don’t mind if I do.
Based on Ian Reid’s book of the same name, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is about a girlfriend meeting her boyfriend’s parents for the first time, while she’s privately, well, thinking of ending things. It’s like a Kaufman’s spin on Meet the Parents, except instead of that darn cat, there’s a wet dog that won’t stop shaking itself dry. There’s a lot of weird stuff that happens in the trailer above, and the movie is going to lead to a lot of uncomfortable conversations between couples, but that dog is the most unsettling thing I’ve seen in a movie all year. Even more than all of Trolls World Tour.
Watch the surreal trailer above. Here’s the official plot summary:
Despite second thoughts about their relationship, a young woman (Jessie Buckley) takes a road trip with her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to his family farm. Trapped at the farm during a snowstorm with Jake’s mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis), the young woman begins to question the nature of everything she knew or understood about her boyfriend, herself, and the world.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things premieres on Netflix on September 5.
In early March, concert giant Live Nation made the decision to postpone all of their upcoming tours, a call that came as the coronavirus pandemic was starting to pick up steam on a global level. While that was probably the right thing to do for the sake of people’s safety and containing the virus’ spread, the move hurt the company financially. The impact was major: Last financial quarter, the company’s revenues dropped by a staggering 98 percent.
Financial results for the quarter than ended on June 30, 2020 show that the company posted a net revenue of $74.1 million, which is 98 percent lower than the $3.16 billion they posted in the same financial quarter in 2019. Overall, the company experienced an adjusted operating loss of $431.9 million, compared to the $319.3 million gain they had in Q2 of 2019.
The difference in the amount of events they held in this past quarter of 2020 versus the same quarter in 2019 is also drastic. Globally, the company hosted 10,252 events in Q2 of 2019, while that number descended all the way down to 131 this year, a drop of about 99 percent. The numbers are similar in just North America, dipping from 7,213 down to just 24.
Live Nation said in a statement, “Over the past three months, our top priority has been strengthening our financial position to ensure that we have the liquidity and flexibility to get through an extended period with no live events. Our expectation is that live events will return at scale in the summer of 2021, with ticket sales ramping up in the quarters leading up to these shows.”
It’s not often you hear about an actor retiring from the profession after starring in a movie that made $133 million at the box office ($135 million? Sure, happens all the time, but rarely $133 million), but that’s exactly what Cameron Diaz did. Following roles in 2014’s The Other Woman, Sex Tape, and Annie, Diaz stopped appearing in movies. This was by choice. “I started [experiencing fame] when I was 22, so 25 years ago — that’s a long time,” she said last year. “The way I look at it is that I’ve given more than half of my life to the public.” The There’s Something About Mary and The Mask star opened up about her decision in an interview with Gwyneth Paltrow, and revealed that she has no regrets.
When asked what it’s like to “walk away from a movie career of that magnitude,” Diaz replied, “Like peace. A peace in my soul because I was finally taking care of myself.” She continued, “It’s a strange thing to say, I know a lot of people won’t understand it, I know you understand it, but it was so intense to work at that level and be that public and put yourself out there. There’s a lot of energy coming at you at all times when you’re really visible as an actor and doing press and putting yourself out there”:
“I stopped and really looked at my life. When you’re making a movie… they own you. You’re there for 12 hours a day for months on end you have no time for anything else. I realized I handed off parts of my life to all these other people. I had to basically take it back and take responsibility for my own life.”
Diaz is living her best life in retirement — she’s married to one of the dudes from Good Charlotte and she started her own “clean” wine brand. She has no current plans to act again… until DreamWorks gives her a dump truck full of money for Shrek 5.
Back in early June, when the NBA announced that it would resume its season in a bubble location at Disney World in Orlando, there was plenty of skepticism. Cases of COVID-19 had continued to spike across the country, particularly in the state of Florida, where they were reporting record numbers of new cases on an almost daily basis.
Many questioned whether the NBA could adequately ensure the safety of its players, not to mention the scores of other league personnel and essential workers that would be required for such a mammoth undertaking. Even a considerable segment of the players expressed their apprehensions over the course of various Zoom calls within the union.
But, of course, when it came right down to i, just about everyone fell in line, save for a small handful of players who decided, understandably, that it wasn’t worth the risk to their health and their family. To the league’s credit, the safety protocols inside the bubble in Orlando are thorough and complex, to say the least. The players are tested daily (and must quarantine and miss any team activities should they miss a test). Upon arrival, they each received a personal health app device that requires them to fill out a questionnaire each morning and monitors their temperature and oxygen levels.
Players are also required to observe social distancing rules and wear masks in all common areas, and just about everyone, save for Dwight Howard and a few other apparent accidental incidents, has adhered to these rules and have done a good job of policing themselves — with some continuous reminders of protocols and punishments from the league. The league, in part, took many of its cues from the other pro sports bubbles that restarted prior to the NBA, like the NWSL, NHL, MLS, WNBA, and TBT, which have likewise seen success once settled in the bubble — the MLS’ two major outbreaks occurred as teams arrived and the bubble was yet to be sealed, with nothing but negative tests since.
For the NBA, their record, so far, has been pretty much pristine. The league announced on Wednesday that, for the third consecutive week, there were no positive tests among the 343 players in Orlando. The only two positive tests the entire time they’ve been in the bubble occurred upon arrival in Orlando last month, but those two players never made it past quarantine and did not expose anyone else there to the virus.
There were also two very high-profile cases early on of players breaking quarantine protocols to receive food delivery, but the only semi-controversy since then had to do with just how long Lou Williams spent at an Atlanta area nightclub after attending the funeral of close relative. But both he and Zion Williamson, who likewise left the bubble for a family emergency, have since returned and passed quarantine without incident to rejoin their teams.
In the event of any future positive tests inside the bubble, there are strict guidelines in place that will require said player to go into isolation until they are fully recovered and cleared by medical personnel. Overall, the league deserves credit for its success thus far, and the players deserve credit for abiding by the guidelines set forth by the Players’ Association.
Still, the proof is in the pudding for how the bubble works. There were a number of positive tests when the league began testing players in home markets, leading to facilities shutting down, but those were kept away from the bubble until they cleared a number of negative tests. The other soccer and hoops bubbles have proven the same, that testing and isolation is the solution to keeping the virus out, despite likewise seeing positive tests before arrival.
All of it begs the question of the NFL and MLB, which has seen two teams have to halt play due to outbreaks on the Marlins and Cardinals, who attempt to play without a bubble. Given the spread of the virus in the United States, allowing players to come and go from facilities with interaction with the real world is, sadly, downright dangerous and it seems like just a matter of time before positive tests arrive.
We are in the early stages of the restart, and for everyone in Orlando, consistency in regard to following these safety protocols is the only thing that will ensure that everyone remains as safe and healthy as possible over the next few months. But so far it’s off to a good start, and combined with the NHL, WNBA, MLS, NWSL, and others, the bubble concept appears to have been the correct one.
In recent days, there have been reports that Kanye West’s presidential campaign has ties to the Republican Party (despite his independent affiliation), as people said to be working on his campaign are members of the GOP. Other reports surfaced more recently saying that Donald Trump associates have worked to help get West on states’ Presidential ballots in an attempt to boost Trump’s re-election campaign. Now, the POTUS has addressed rumors that he himself has worked to help get Kanye’s name on ballots.
At a White House press conference last night, Trump said:
“I like him. He’s always been very nice to me. I like Kanye very much, but no, I have nothing to do with him getting on the ballot. We’ll have to see what happens. We’ll see if he gets on the ballot. But I’m not involved.”
Meanwhile, Kanye has actually been critical of Trump and his presidency in recent times. In his now-infamous Forbes interview, he suggested he was no longer supporting the President, saying, “I am taking the red hat off, with this interview. […] It looks like one big mess to me.” He did also offer praise for Trump, though, saying, “Trump is the closest president we’ve had in years to allowing God to still be part of the conversation.”
It probably wasn’t the intended effect, but there was something soothing and comforting about Amy Seimetz’s She Dies Tomorrow. It’s also probably a good guess that I wouldn’t have felt that way, say, six months ago – or in the alternate reality where there isn’t a pandemic, the same alternate reality that haunts me in my dreams every night. In those realities, I’m fairly sure I’d find Seimetz’s eerie, haunting film about the inevitability of death spooky and disturbing. Instead, now, I felt a serene sense of peace and calm.
Hearing the premise of the film doesn’t really prepare a viewer for what they’re about to see. Amy (Kate Lyn Sheil), despondent at her home, becomes aware that she will die tomorrow. There’s no real reason ever given, but she just knows this is the truth. Amy’s friend Jane (Jane Adams) stops by to console her friend, but by the time Jane leaves, now she is also convinced death is awaiting her the following day. Jane goes to a birthday party and the tone in the room slowly changes from, “Hey, Jane, you’re bringing us all down with all this death talk,” to everyone in the room also now realizing they will all die tomorrow.
Everything is a pandemic movie now. Even during movies I’ve just rewatched since all this started, I see allegories in everything from The Lost Boys to Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Every week there’s a “new movie of the pandemic,” because every movie is now about the pandemic. And how could it not be? All our lives are different, so of course we are going to watch everything through a different lens. And now here comes a movie where people come in contact with other people and the result is they all know the next day is their last.
The reason I mentioned earlier that the premise doesn’t really prepare a viewer for the experience is because, on its surface, it sounds like a “cool horror movie” like It Follows or You’re Next (You’re Next director Adam Wingard even makes an appearance in this movie.) But this isn’t a traditional horror movie. The people who learn their grim fate don’t react with horror; there’s almost a peaceful tranquility to the whole endeavor.
The movie itself is quite the mood itself, never showing anyone with any real sense of urgency. And the movie itself takes a cue from its characters, moving along at a nuanced pace, though it never feels slow, and still maintains a tight running time of under 90 minutes. Again, it’s a comforting ride for something so grim. (Also, I am not at all saying you will react to this movie the way I did. It has everything to do with the particular headspace I’m in at this moment.)
The notion of acceptance is what made me feel a bizarre calm. I’ve watched this play out with our current situation time and time again. There are people mentally fighting against what’s happening, still trying to hold on to a semblance of what their world was like back in February. I, too, did this for a while, but the realities of what became the devastating epicenter that was New York City made me realize, fairly quickly, life as I knew it was over for the considerable future. When I accepted this, I felt better. There’s always that weird moment when my brain is trying to convince me a terrible situation isn’t that bad. That it can still be easily fixed. That’s when things are at their most stressful. But once I accept, yes, this is bad, now let’s make the best of it? That’s when the stress alleviates.
The condemned in She Dies Tomorrow never panic. They accept their fate and, yes, try to make the best of it. Each person has a different interpretation of what this means, but certainly no one is racing into the local Burger King without a mask demanding to be served. Every last action is a testament to kindness, compassion, or just his or her own self-care and amusement. This is what I find comforting: where the first reaction to bad news isn’t selfishness. Instead, all the mental gymnastics of how to change their fates is replaced instead with what to do with the time they have left.
There is a lot of late-night lore about Conan O’Brien’s brief ascension to The Tonight Show, his struggles while Jay Leno hosted a primetime talk show airing ahead of Conan’s The Tonight Show, and Conan’s eventual ouster so that NBC could replace O’Brien with the man he replaced. There was a lot of nastiness in that debacle, and a lot of hurt feelings. A “few people were not good human beings,” Conan O’Brien once said about what he called a “clusterf*ck.”
I have heard a lot about the debacle, but one story that somehow seemed to slip by me was the fact that Jeff Zucker — the President and CEO of NBC at the time, who ultimately made the call to fire Conan — also once had Conan arrested. In fact, Nick Offerman mentioned it in a recent episode of In Bed with Nick and Megan while speaking to Rashida Jones who — like Jeff Zucker and Conan O’Brien — attended Harvard (although obviously not at the same time). Offermam mentioned that Conan — who was the head of The National Lampoon — frequently pranked the school newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, which Jeff Zucker ran at the time.
I did some more research into this story, and discovered that there is quite an interesting backstory of pranks to go along with the arrest. The arrest was something of the last straw after O’Brien and The National Lampoon pulled a series of pranks on Zucker, including a fake phone-sex ad with Zucker’s dorm-room phone number; stealing the Crimson’s “prized collection of caricatures of its past presidents” and mailing them to Duluth, Minnesota; and stealing the newspaper’s presidential throne.
But the prank that got O’Brien arrested was when he stole an entire run of the Harvard Crimson daily newspaper. Here’s how The New Yorker captured the incident in 2001:
Early one morning fifteen years ago, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the entire press run of the Harvard Crimson disappeared from the front hall of the newspaper’s offices. Jeff Zucker was the president of the paper at the time, and he vividly remembers his reaction: “I was pissed. I knew it was Conan who had stolen it, of course. So I called the police.”
The Harvard Crimson itself described the incident thusly, in 2004:
“O’Brien cut his teeth in comedy as president of The Harvard Lampoon, a semi-secret Sorrento Square social organization that used to occasionally publish a so-called humor magazine. In fact, O’Brien first met Zucker, his current boss, one day when O’Brien and the Lampoon editors stole all the copies of that morning’s Crimson. Zucker, then Crimson President, called the police and met O’Brien face to face while he was being arrested.”
According to O’Brien, Zucker didn’t forgive him for that until 2005. Conan was fired in 2010, so maybe Zucker didn’t forgive him, after all. In fact, just last year, O’Brien zinged Zucker during an upfront presentation for WarnerMedia, which owns TBS (where Conan works) and CNN (where Zucker is the president). In joking that a movie would be made about AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner, Conan said that “new chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports Jeff Zucker will be played by Mini-Me. Now that’s just good casting! We go way back, he and I.”
They certainly do. Thirty-five years, in fact, and these two just can’t seem to escape from one another’s orbit.
Oh, you thought Netflix was the only place you could stream quality anime?
Get ready to have your mind blown then because Hulu is stepping into the game in a big way. From nostalgic offerings and cult classics to inventive new series and mega-popular franchises, the streaming platform is giving fans what they want. More kickass action, criminally cool characters, and imaginative storytelling all done in the signature animation style.
Here are the best anime series streaming on Hulu right now.
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.
Even if you’re not an anime fan you’ve probably heard of this ’90s series. It’s a cult classic, a legend in the scene, and it holds up decades later as one of the more exciting, adventurous anime shows. The short synopsis: it’s a world-hopping space western starring a group of misfit bounty hunters, but that doesn’t really capture what a cultural phenomenon it’s become. Just watch a couple of episodes, listen to the dope theme songs, and then you’ll get why so many people cosplay this series.
Speaking of superheroes, this is another anime series that reinvents the genre, giving fans a school setting and an imaginative take of supernatural abilities and the people who wield them. In a world where latent superpowers labeled “Quirks” show up in chosen people, Izuku Midoriya is glaringly average, until someone shares their Quirk with him. He must figure out how to use his new abilities while attending a school for the gifted. Okay, so maybe it kind of sounds like X-Men, but it’s not. Trust us.
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.
Bleach is another well-known anime with a fantasy element built-in. Kurosaki Ichigo is a high school student who, after an interaction with a hollow, gains the ability to see ghosts. So, naturally, he becomes a Soul Reaper. Truth: the first 60 episodes are this series best. It’s plagued by filler arcs later on, but it’s still an addictive watch, especially if you’re new to the scene.
This series is a juggernaut in the anime world, spawning movies and multiple seasons and garnering a legion of devoted fans. To understand the hype, you’ll have to watch, but expect inventive action and a gripping storyline. Set in an alternate universe where humanity has caged itself off from giant monsters known as Titans, the show follows a group of fighters trying to protect their people when one of those walls is breached, and the Titans attack.
Rich visuals and interesting plot twists elevate this Shonen anime to an inventive take on a typical plot for the genre. Tanjiro is a young boy whose family is attacked by demons. Only he and his sister survive. While Tanjiro sets out to become a demon slayer, his sister begins slowly turning into one, forcing Tanjiro to hide her condition as he searches for a cure.
This ’90s anime series is another must-watch for anyone looking to get into the genre, or rediscover what makes it so great. The show follows a group of schoolgirls who learn they’re the reincarnation of alien princesses who must use their newfound abilities to defend earth. The word “girl-power” was created because of this series.
Another space epic, this one is truly out of this world in terms of storytelling. It focuses on a cosmic adventurer whose crew goes looking for new alien species. That on-the-move theme means each episode takes us to a new planet, explores a new genre, and offers up some rare experimental plot devices you normally don’t see in anime. It’s basically a new show every episode, which means you’ll never get bored.
As another classic anime offering, this one stands out because of its oddball characters and nostalgic flair. It follows a weird monkey-boy named Goku who goes on a quest with the help of some equally strange comrades, to find the mystic dragon balls — large crystals that, when collected, gives their owner whatever they desire. Anime’s come a long way since this fun romp, but you’ll never tire of revisiting its roots with this show.
Back in 2018, I wrote about how Netflix’s first season of The Rainwashed away what was tired and weary about post-apocalyptic fiction. The streaming service’s strong genre sense had brought a fresh new take for binge-watching adults (including the younger crowd), especially anyone looking for something different than zombie fare (although the streaming service’s Black Summerplays to those fans) and completely bleak movies like The Road. The show also offered something quite unlike the multiple Stephen King options about the end of the world that Hollywood really enjoys revisiting. The Rain‘s second season further propelled the show’s action to a turning point, so I was curious to see how the series would wrap up this year. However, a lot has changed in the world since this show’s debut, and there’s no way to avoid thinking about that reality.
This presents more than a fleeting dilemma for this Danish production’s audience, who realizes that even the occasionally wonky English-dubbed dialogue (a change that arrived after Netflix saw increased viewing numbers with Dark) hasn’t taken away from the experience. Can The Rain be as engrossing during our current global situation as it felt a few years ago, when it played out like an unrealistic scenario?
Let’s just say that, although the show is a gorgeously-rendered production that’s both polished and gritty and can be viewed as an environmental parable, I definitely felt some apprehension about revisiting a series that’s framed around a deadly virus. That’s the case even though the virus literally fell from the rain, which remains a far-fetched prospect, but you know, still. Virus. What was entertaining in 2018 and 2019 had the potential to feel far too timely in 2020, so that twinge in my gut was a natural reaction, but fortunately with this third season, the disease isn’t the main focus. It’s definitely not a non-issue, but the show focuses more upon how this ragtag group of survivors moves past their individual struggles, which acted as the first few seasons’ true plague.
Netflix
The core trio of the series remains the same (this ^^ is a Season 2 still, since Netflix hasn’t issued a Season 3 image with them all in one frame) this year, and the action picks up years later when that Scandanavian rain is long gone. Rasmus (Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, still fantastic) is feeling full of vigor and pep despite being the main virus host, yet Simone (Alba August) still wants to cure him of the disease. Cue a massive struggle of wills, and the show’s audience won’t be able to look away from how far these two have come since being trapped in that bunker for years. They’ve seen some massive sh*t and lost so many people near and dear to them. Their bad dad is still doing potentially dumb things for the shadowy organization known as Apollon. And Martin (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) is still transforming from hardened survivalist to being able to increasingly open himself up to others.
It’s strange, too, how this finale season could have felt ill-timed, yet the timing probably couldn’t be more right. How this season plays out, as a contrast to our current reality, is sheer coincidence, of course, but it all somehow works as escapism from our situation. A lot of that’s down to deft writing, but the show’s also reached a point where it’s no longer putting the virus’ physical effects on display (at least, not in the graphic way it did before now). Instead, there’s more of a beta-virus brewing — one that can bestow certain people with superpowers. Since we’ve already seen these characters propel themselves through nutso situations, it doesn’t seem like a huge stretch that the show edges more deeply into the special-effects realm.
In fact, this season brings a number of fantastical happenings, which I shall not spoil, but weirdly enough, the result is that the show feels almost spin-off-y while still periodically reminding viewers where it began. Funny how that works, even though it shouldn’t feel funny at all. Yet the final episode cascades over the viewer like an immense wave of relief, satisfaction, and hope. Like I said, it’s surreal to watch this show come out of a tunnel that reality recently entered, but what I’m really trying to say is this: if you enjoyed his show already, don’t shy away from leaping into the final season out of fear of not seeing a comforting resolution — because it’s there.
If you’ve never watched The Rain and are feeling moderately interested at this point, you might be a little triggered by the first season, but here’s a positive note: the series is a fairly speedy bingewatch. Only fourteen episodes transpired before this final season, in which everything gets nicely wrapped up. Yet more importantly we get one final tour with these wonderful characters. That’s one major way this show has fostered a devoted audience: these people are all (mostly) worth caring about. They’ve been forced to grow up too fast when they could have been goofing off with iPhones and attending college and parties, f*cking up and getting to know themselves. Instead, they must reckon with how their world was turned upside down.
It’s a familiar theme to us right now, but the most stressful of this show’s hurdles were conquered before the final season. Now, Simone, Rasmus, and Patrick are seeking relief from their extended trauma, which feels therapeutic not only for them but, potentially, for those of us at home as well.
Netflix’s ‘The Rain’ streams its finale season on August 6.
As much as music is about the songs, it’s also about narrative, and the people who make it. An album is only as good as how badly people want to listen to it, and it takes interesting stories to create that connection with an audience. Since the origins of modern music, there has been a myriad of interesting plots (and subplots) about heroes, villains, underappreciated visionaries, signature events, and other elements that have come together to make the music industry the exciting and ever-moving beast it is today. As this has been happening, filmmakers have been documenting it, resulting in some of of the best music documentaries that you should watch (even if you’ve already seen them). Check out our list, presented in alphabetical order, below.
Amy (2015)
Amy Winehouse was both a triumphant and tragic figure: Even though she only had two albums to her name, Winehouse’s career yielded international hits like “Rehab” and established her as one of the most engaging singers on the planet. Despite her success, she was also a vessel of potential, having passed away at just 27 after years of dealing with substance abuse. Amy, the definitive documentary about her life and journey, gets are more than that, though: It paints a comprehensive and compelling portrait of an artist who was as full of life as she was of struggle.
Toronto metal band Anvil is probably a group you haven’t heard of, unless you’re familiar with this documentary about them. It might seem to be a Spinal Tap-like mockumentary — after playing a show to an embarrassingly small crowd, the band’s Robb Reiner looks to the camera and says, “I can sum it up for you in three words: We have shit management” — but it’s all real. The group had fleeting success in the ’80s, even managing to influence and/or perform with the likes of Megadeth, Metallica, Bon Jovi, and others, but it didn’t last. Despite the huge drought the band fell into during the ’90s, they refused to stop, so while there are plenty of comedic moments, it’s also at times heartwarming to see how determined this group of struggling musicians is.
A Band Called Death (2013)
The punk spirit is defined by its rebellion against the established and expected, so what’s more punk than being the first punk band, subverting the norm in a way that hadn’t even been established yet? ’70s Detroit group Death was believed to be one of the first groups in the genre, which meant they were underappreciated in their time but revered after it, as visionaries often are. A Band Called Death effective paints a portrait of this band of black brothers, going against the prevalent Motown grain of the time and place they were in in order to forge their own path, one that didn’t yet exist. Now that’s punk.
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest (2011)
Around the time this documentary came out, A Tribe Called Quest was actually disputing with director Michael Rappaport, with Q-Tip going as far as to tweet that he was “not in support” of the movie. That could mean either the film wasn’t done all that well, or it was a warts-and-all production that wasn’t meant solely to honor the subject, but to paint as accurate and complete a portrait of them as possible. A Tribe Called Quest was and remains important and successful, but they didn’t always get along with each other and had their struggles, and it’s this absolute vision of the group that Rappaport faithfully portrays as he goes with them on their 2008 reunion tour.
Beware Of Mr. Baker (2012)
You should never meet your idols, they say, and it seems that’s never been truer than in the case of Ginger Baker, because he’s a bad dude: Even in just the Beware Of Mr. Baker trailer, you see him attacking director Jay Bulger with a cane and cutting the bridge of his nose. As a drummer and co-founder of Cream, Baker became known as one of the world’s best and a real innovator, and part of his enduring legacy is his hostile and often combative personality. It doesn’t seem like Baker is somebody who would participate in a documentary about himself — as the aforementioned confrontation suggests — but he did, which results in a gripping film about one of the most talented and aggressive figures in rock history.
The Black Godfather (2019)
The Black Godfather presents the life and work of Clarence Avant, a music impresario who played every role from band manager to record label executive to behind-the-scenes fixer. Avant mentored music industry executives, produced special events for politicians, and has been one of the most towering, yet unheralded figures in the music business for decades. The Black Godfather aims to give him his much-deserved roses.
Uproxx’s Philip Cosores previously wrote of the band and the film, “[Chris] Martin has long been the figurehead of the group, but the movie is clear to paint the portrait of the four-piece, or even five-piece, puzzle. As clumsily as Martin describes Coldplay as pub fare, there is a true fascination in seeing the band meet, four moons orbiting the same planet and ultimately uniting behind Martin’s incredible songwriting. It’s then that the viewer realizes all the goes into making Coldplay the juggernaut that it is, that the friendship at the center of the band is the thing holding it together and making it as special as it has become.”
Part of what makes music interesting — aside from the songwriting, the instrumental proficiency, and everything else that you actually hear when a song is playing — is the people. Daniel Johnston, who is considered by many to be an “outsider” musician, is one of the most interesting figures in recorded history, even if his music can be hard to stomach for many… or because of that fact. Contending with schizophrenia and manic depression, Johnston managed to earn a cult following for himself in Austin, Texas with his lo-fi, childlike tapes and concerts, although he didn’t thrive as well in the context of a record label. Johnston is a character that screenwriters wish they could concoct, which makes an exploration into the man’s inner psyche a compelling affair.
Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019)
The Fyre Festival was doomed well before it began, and watching the story unfold in real time was perhaps the most fascinating running plot of 2017. The proceedings were made to be documented as quickly as possible, which resulted in the story being told less than two years after the events described went down. The Netflix documentary covers everything from the festival’s origins to its downfall, and even turned a guy named Andy King into a meme star.
The Rolling Stones’ 1969 US tour was short, featuring just 24 shows between November 7 and December 6, but it’s often regarded as a historically significant extravaganza. That said, it ended on one of the worst possible notes: Altamont Free Concert. The film chronicles this brief window of time, which was as fascinating as it was tragic: The concert featured Santana; The Flying Burrito Brothers; Jefferson Airplane; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and the Rolling Stones, as well as the Hell’s Angels working security, four deaths, and extensive property damage.
Homecoming: A Film By Beyonce (2019)
Uproxx’s Brett Michael Dykes writes of Homecoming, “Beyonce’s history-making Coachella performance was enough to temporarily rename the music festival Beychella last year, and now fans who couldn’t afford to see Queen Bee perform live get a backstage pass to the show with this doc. Are there killer performances, musical mash-ups, and dance routines? Sure. But what really makes this music doc stand-out besides the talent of its star is the intimate look fans are given into Beyonce’s personal life, from her surprise pregnancy to her struggle to get in shape before the event and all the in-between madness and heartbreak.”
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco (2002)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot stands as one of Wilco’s most adventurous albums, and yet, it was perhaps the one they had the hardest time releasing. Their label, Reprise Records, refused to put it out, so Wilco bought the album’s rights, left the label, and uploaded the album online and released it themselves, later releasing it on Nonesuch Records. Even for non-music fans, it’s a fascinating story with a lot of moving parts that contribute to the larger narrative: Record label drama, Jeff Tweedy’s increasingly severe migraines, and the departure of then-Wilco member Jay Bennett due to creative differences.
It Might Get Loud (2008)
There are plenty of documentaries and other resources out there that have talked about guitar gods and how to play the instrument well, but It Might Get Loud really gets at how the guitar’s diversity makes it special. It does this by highlighting the methods and styles of U2’s The Edge, Jack White, and Jimmy Page, three men who have used the instrument in very different ways. Despite their varying backgrounds and ideologies about the six-string, or perhaps because of it, it’s enlightening to hear these three greats talk about the different elements of their craft, making this film one of the most effective love letters to the most important instrument of the past hundred years.
Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck (2015)
Cobain’s story is perhaps the most famously tragic in music of the ’90s: Nirvana became more monumentally successful than Cobain could handle, which was just one of many struggles that the generational talent faced. He also dealt with chronic health problems, heroin addiction, and depression, all of which were presumably contributing factors to his suicide. Cobain was as troubled as he was fascinating, and this documentary, which chronicles his 27 years on earth, is as engaging and entertaining a look at Cobain has ever been compiled. The film itself is special, but the documentary is even sweeter due to the soundtrack, which features previously unreleased Cobain recordings.
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)
Even at 77 years old today, Bob Dylan continues to be a monumental figure that fans of all ages are fascinated by, because his music was both so groundbreaking and so timeless. Perhaps his most enrapturing era, though, was the early 1960s, at the start of his career and also the “end,” when Dylan announced his retirement following a motorcycle accident. No Direction Home draws from hours of interviews with Dylan himself and people close to him, all of which are edited into an expansive three-and-a-half-hour movie (directed by Martin Scorsese) about one of pop culture’s most engaging creatives.
Native Americans don’t seem to be mentioned often when it comes to figures who were historically significant in the advancement of rock music, but they’ve contributed more than most realize. Link Wray, whose “Rumble” (the film’s namesake song) has influenced guitarists for generations, is a Shawnee Native American. Jimi Hendrix, whose merits don’t need explaining, has Native American ancestry as well. The film highlights these and other important people to show that Native Americans have impacted modern North American music in a surprisingly broad and profound way. They’ve long been overlooked, but Rumble does its part to make sure they get their due.
More than many other genres, hip-hop has been defined by the technology that was available at the time, and at its dawning, turntables were en vogue. That’s part of the focus of Scratch, the esteemed 2001 documentary that looks at hip-hop DJs, the mechanics of their craft, and what it all means. Turntablism and traditional hip-hop culture are part of a world that might not be familiar to contemporary hip-hop fans, but where the film excels is in making these nuanced ideas feel accessible and alluring. It all comes from the mouths of experts as well: Afrika Bambaataa, Grand Master Flash, Madlib, Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, and other luminaries were interviewed for the documentary.
Searching For Sugar Man (2012)
Sixto Rodriguez, better known mononymously by his last name, is an American musician from Detroit, who ultimately proved to have a short, non-noteworthy career in the ’70s. That’s only what you might think if you live outside of South Africa, though, because there, he was humongous. While his South African fans presumed he was dead, Rodriguez lived an ordinary life as a factory worker until a pair of fans attempted to find him. That journey is the subject of this documentary that’s as much about a missing icon as it is about fandom, and it makes for a fascinating film that proves some truths, even those that seem unknowable, are just waiting to be found.
There are many different approaches to rap, whether you’re talking about vocal styles, subject matter, or instrumental choices, all of this going to show that rap is truly an art. That’s something that Ice-T wanted to capture in his 2012 documentary Something From Nothing, and while he would certainly be enough of an authority to at least give a lecture on the form, just hearing from him would likely result in a non-definitive look at the genre. That’s why the film features interviews with multiple rappers talking about how they approach their craft, from people like Kanye West, Afrika Bambaataa, Snoop Dogg, Q-Tip, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and other icons who have left their mark in their own ways. While getting a complete picture of what a genre is about with one documentary is virtually impossible, Something From Nothing is one of the most successful attempts yet.
Metallica has been kicking ass for nearly 40 years now, and while even remaining a band for that long is a feat, that doesn’t mean it was smooth sailing. Some Kind Of Monster covers the band during the St. Anger era, a time of much turmoil for the group: Bassist Jason Newsted left the group in 2001, James Hetfield went to rehab for his alcohol abuse, and the band sought out group therapy to deal with interpersonal issues. The movie is a fascinating look at one of the most successful and longest-running metal groups ever, and what it takes to achieve that status and remain standing well after most bands would have folded.
Sound City (2013)
Dave Grohl can pretty much do no wrong, as he shows in this film, his directorial debut. Nirvana recorded their album Nevermind at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, and the place apparently stuck with him enough to compel the rock star to craft this tribute to the place. The movie details the history of the studio and brings together famous musicians who recorded there while it was active, between 1969 and 2011. The film also resulted in a soundtrack featuring songs recorded by the musicians in the movie, resulting in collaborations involving the likes of Grohl, Paul McCartney, Trent Reznor, Josh Homme, Stevie Nicks, and others.
Uproxx’s Caitlin White says the movie “shows a woman who has come to understand the context of her own position in the music industry and the world, doing everything in her power to use her privilege appropriately, and with grace.” She continues, “And for those who are keeping track of the karmic scales, it’s no real surprise that Taylor’s commitment to reinvention — not for the sake of career success, but for her own mental and physical health — comes alongside a massive fall from grace for her one-time rival. Revenge is a dish best served cold, but these days Taylor’s world is so warm and sweet, she forgot that it existed.”
At most shows, there are a lot of people on stage, not all of whom are part of the main act. Among those are background singers, and when Morgan Neville and Gil Friesen wanted to learn more about these figures, 20 Feet From Stardom was born. The movie is a fascinating exploration into the lives of people we see so often and think so little about, whose contributions to music are as anonymous as they are essential. It’s a music story, but it’s also one about race, bias in the music industry, and about under-appreciated art. Being a background vocalist is a struggle between just being involved and wanting to be a name, and it’s this journey and other nuances that the film captures so well.
Nina Simone was one of the most popular and inspirational figures of the 1960s, so much so that her popularity easily transcends the decade. At the same time, she was complicated, known as much for her outbursts (she once fired a gun at a record company executive) as she was for her activism (Simone was a strong voice during the civil rights movement). What Happened, Miss Simone? has no interest in presenting a blemish-free version of the artist: She was happy and sad and angry and nuanced, and all of that is part of what makes her so compelling a documentary subject and person.
If there is a definitive music movie, this is it, right? It captures, of course, the Woodstock Music & Art Fair (as it’s formally known) of 1969, one of the most iconic musical events of all time. It features artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin… basically all the defining acts of the era. The film itself is basically as important as the event it chronicles: The movie is one of few to have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. It’s a time capsule of an era that was actually made during the time period it represents, giving it another layer of authenticity and transformative properties, which is part of the reason why it has aged so well and remains an important work.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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