Dec
28
Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez star in Only Murders In The Building.
During these fraught times we’re currently enduring, sometimes you just need a little pure escapism. One of my favorite ways to switch off the world is to switch on my streaming services and hide away in a fictional construct of other people’s imagination, dining on pizza, pretzels, pistachios and avoiding politics.
I’ve found a ton of great programming over the pandemic and this fall, there are a couple shows that really stand out, one for how good it is and the other, well …
What if you were the only one who remembered The Beatles? Himesh Patel finds himself in that exact position in Yesterday.
2019 and I didn’t really see eye-to-eye, at least in terms of movies.
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Jul
01
Himesh Patel stars in Yesterday, a movie that asks the question, “what if only one man remembered The Beatles?”
You just … you just gotta buy the premise.
Once you do, once you’ve bought into the idea that a guy is suddenly thrust into a world where The Beatles don’t exist and haven’t existed, well, now you’re along for the magical mystery tour. (Sorry, I will do my best — I promise — not to throw in more references like that!)
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What a year for movies — a very strange, crazy year.
Two of the Academy Award nominations for Best Picture — Bohemian Rhapsody and Vice — scored in the 60s on Rotten Tomatoes, the number one website for collecting movie reviews. A third film — Green Book — got a tepid 81% score.
And here’s the thing, I think one or two of them should win!
Zoe Kazan and Kumail Nanjiani star in The Big Sick.
ACT I
Maybe it’s the escapism, putting my mind into a different scenario each time the lights dim and the credits begin. Perhaps it’s the shared experience of seeing movies with others. After all, scientists say we all tend to blink at the same time when we sit together watching movies. But for whatever reason, I’ve been drawn to movies all my life at an almost obsessive level.
After more than a year of insane political discourse — pre and post election — it’s good to divert our attention to something a bit less agonizing. But uh-oh, my favorite movies of 2016 also carry political and social baggage. Maybe that’s just a marquee of the times we live in now. We are lucky to live in a society where art can be a protest and a protester can create art. Enough with the previews; here are the five films that captured my attention this year.
Sooooo … halfway through the movie year, there are two films I’d like to share and encourage you to see.
“What,” you ask, “August comes eight months into the year, Rodney, how can you say we’re halfway?”
Sting and Peter Gabriel rock the Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan.
35 years ago, my not-yet roommate was belting a song on our college quad about a guy who died in a South African prison. “Who sings about stuff like that?” I wondered.
Peter Gabriel sings about stuff like that.
On that same quad, someone’s radio was playing a boppin’ song from a British band and to this day I remember my introduction to Sting as he sang with his band The Police.
Sting also sings politically charged songs. Peter Gabriel also sings boppin’ songs. They’re on tour together and I got to witness their synthesis last night at The Palace.
“Buckingham Palace?” my cousin Keith joked via text. No, although they’re both British, this was at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan.
The early reviews are in!
So far, Hope’s Diamond is a hit.
HOPE COMES TO DETROIT
Detroit is a town in need of Hope, and in Rodney Curtis’ world, Hope comes in the form of Baseball. If you love Detroit, Baseball and Hope, you will enjoy this delightful little book.
Play Ball!