by

Song of the Day #4,225: ‘Celebrate’ – Lorne Balfe

Best Movies of the 2010s
#4 – The Florida Project (2017)

For a couple of months at the beginning of 2018, I watched The Florida Project nearly every day. After missing its 2017 theatrical run, I caught up with Sean Baker’s tragicomedy on a long flight and was instantly blown away. When I returned home, I bought the Blu-ray and had the movie on repeat every free moment I got.

More than anything, I just wanted to spend time with its characters — Halley and Moonee, a mother and daughter living in a cheap motel outside of Disney World. Baker and his actors (newcomers Bria Vinaite and Brooklynn Prince) so effectively brought this world to life that I couldn’t bear to leave it.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #4,224: ‘When I Was Older’ – Billie Eilish

Best Movies of the 2010s
#5 – Roma (2018)

Before diving into my top five movies of the last decade, I have to say that ordering these titles was truly a bitch. I have had each of the five in the top spot at one time or another, and every time it felt exactly right. These are five very different films, all perfect in their own unique ways.

Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma is the most ambitious achievement of the bunch — the capital-F Film. It earned Cuaron Oscars for Direction, Cinematography and Foreign Language Film, and had a fighting chance of becoming the first non-English movie to win Best Picture.

But don’t hold any of that against it!

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #4,223: ‘Camouflage’ – Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez just released a new album, Rare, that I played once in the background the day it came out. It’s receiving some of the best reviews of her career, and I owe it another listen.

In the meantime, here’s a track from Gomez’s 2015 album Revival, which I like very much.

Following this album, Gomez suffered from physical and mental health issues tied to lupus. She checked herself into rehab to treat her depression and anxiety attacks.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #4,222: ‘Supersymmetry’ – Arcade Fire

I didn’t have much to say about today’s random selection, the final track from Arcade Fire’s 2013 album Reflektor. But then I realized it was originally written for the Spike Jonze movie Her and shows up during that film’s end credits, so that gave me a bit of a hook.

Her is one of a handful of films from the last decade that I wish I had revisited before compiling my ‘Best Movies of the 2010s’ list. It’s not that I think it would have a fighting chance of making the list, but it’s a movie I feel I owe a reconsideration.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #4,221: ‘Ali Baba’ – Louie Ramirez

Best Movies of the 2010s
#6 – Chef (2014)

In 2011, Jon Favreau directed Cowboys & Aliens, a big, dumb, expensive studio movie that failed to connect with critics and audiences alike. That movie is not on this list.

Cowboys & Aliens is, however, indirectly responsible for my #6 film, 2014’s Chef. That’s because Favreau, tired of the creative constraints accompanying big-budget moviemaking, decided to go back to basics, writing and directing a cheap, personal movie instead. And that movie is a goddamn marvel.

Continue reading →