Month: December 2015

“The Assassin” and “A Very Murray Christmas:” Woman with a Weapon and Man with a Microphone

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Welcome back to Mr. Rostan at the Movies: Andrew Rostan was a film student before he realized that making comics was his horrible destiny, and he’s never shaken his love of cinema. Every week, he’ll opine on current pictures or important movies from the past.

Murray Clooney Cyrus

My Christmas treat for those who have stuck by me (and Alex and Travis) during this remarkable year for film is a look at two very different productions, a work of cinematic art to seek out in small cinemas or on demand, and a delightful holiday special to take an hour out of your stressful life to experience, both helmed by master directors.

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Breaking Down the 2016 Hall of Fame Ballot, Part 2: The Newcomers

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Image of Ken Griffey Jr.

My analysis of the Hall of Fame voting continues here, with the Newcomers. (You can read Part One of my breakdown here.) These are players who have been selected to join the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. The rules are as follows:

  1. You must have played in Major League Baseball for at least 10 years.
  2. You must have been retired for five years.
  3. You cannot be on baseball’s ineligible rolls (See: Rose, Peter)

Those relatively loose rules mean that multiple players of varying quality can join the ballot. For every newcomer such as Randy Johnson, there’s a Jacque Jones. For every Pedro, a Tom Gordon. For every Smoltz, a Delgado. It’s an eclectic mix, and one that’s always a crapshoot as to who will actually receive votes. Who sticks around is a separate matter, but we’ll get into that.

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Satiated City Chick: Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder

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Note: Since the events of my first post reviewing Anteprima, I’ve had to change the name of my column; single city chick no more!

There are 6 days until Christmas and a little less than two weeks until New Year’s Eve. Inversely, there are -6 days since Hanukkah has finished. The holidays mean something different to every individual, every couple, and every family. To my dad, my brother, my stepmother and I the holidays hold one special tradition in particular: Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder, or CPOG. Situated in a 19th century brownstone, this is the spot to take your partner, parents, friends, or colleagues for an incomparable holiday dinner that embodies something all Chicagoans value: the best pizza in the city.

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Breaking Down the 2016 Hall of Fame Ballot, Part 1: The Holdovers

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piazza

It’s time once again for that holiday tradition that absolutely nobody is calling for – my analysis of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2016 ballot. I’ve been told by a grand total of zero (0) peeps that this is their go-to for the Hall of Fame election process, and I aim to please our readership. This year, we’ve got 32 players to examine (once again, a decline of 2 players from last year), and I aim to cast guidance as to whether or not the player is getting in, along with some idea of whether or not they’re going to be making any gains in the voting this year.

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Spotlight/The Big Short

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Spotlight movie review Oscars

In most years, the Oscar slate is a mishmash of topics, themes, settings, and styles. That will be true this year, too, but there’s an interesting number of rhyming pairs among the 2015 contenders. Each film in these pairs competes against its twin for ticket sales, awards votes, and lasting affection. There are The Revenant & The Hateful Eight, both brutal and masculine Westerns. Then there’s the emotionally-wrenching female-led indies, Room & Brooklyn. Perhaps most surprisingly, Mad Max: Fury Road & The Martian, two blockbusters with equal praise from audiences and critics are making a run at the brass ring. There’s another pair that may have the best shot of all at the biggest prize come February: Spotlight & The Big Short. I’m not here to weigh in on their awards chances today, but their rivalry in the Oscar race feels relevant. These two films, which are both very good, have some striking similarities in theme and effect and strong contrasts in tone and style.

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Mr. Rostan at the Movies: “The Danish Girl”

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Andrew Rostan was a film student before he realized that making comics was his horrible destiny, and he’s never shaken his love of cinema. Every week, he’ll opine on current pictures or important movies from the past.

The_Danish_Girl_trailer

My critical role here at the Addison Recorder runs headlong into my long, complex history with The Danish Girl, a film that has followed me around for nearly a decade and left me with me an impression as great as that made by Red Desert. I recommend this movie, but I am grateful today to have this venue to explain why.

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The J&STAC Holiday Gift Guide

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-J. Michael Bestul is a writer for the Addison Recorder. Stephanie Ruehl is an artist who works in a comic book shop. They’re married and have a lot of discussions about comic books and graphic novels. Combine all that into a biweekly feature and you get “J. & Steph Talk About Comics.”

If there’s someone on your holiday shopping list who like comics, or books, or art here’s a list of our favorite comic book recommendations, most of which Steph has already shoved in peoples faces and shouted READ THIS! [Read more…]

ALL The Genres: The 2015 Album of the Year Nominees

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taylor-kdot-badblood-thumb

Here’s one of the biggest surprises of 2015 for me: one of the organizations best reflecting the American people is the NARAS. The five nominees for the Album of the Year Grammy each come from a different genre: pop, rock, rap, country, and the blend of soul and electronica that Abel Tesfaye creates. Moreover, for the first time in the three years I have written this round-up, every nominee topped the Billboard album charts. What you’re about to read is truly populist representation. You might agree it’s among the best of the world’s music. You also might find some of it pandering, annoying, or unlistenable. Me, I would have added Florence + The Machine, Father John Misty, and the first bootleg of the Grateful Dead’s Soldier Field shows—but who wants to carry the mantle of American taste on their shoulders?
That said, comments welcome!

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STAR WORDS: Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away

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The latest release from Del Rey’s line of Star Wars novels is a quartet of short stories by Landry Q. Walker collected under the more-than-slightly cumbersome heading of Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away. I will call them Tales for ease of reading. The quartet is available only in e-book format, look for it online from your e-book seller of choice.

Each story in the collection features characters from the imminently released film. What’s fun and interesting in this selection of stories is the wide variety of genres on display. Walker’s four tales rely on and reference wildly different sets of tropes, from horror to Western. [Read more…]

The Awards Season Cometh – 2015 Edition

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leo-dicaprio-revenant-budget

Alex: Ready or not, it is Oscar season. Earlier this week, the National Board of Review (Best Film: Mad Max: Fury Road) and New York Film Critics’ Circle (Best Film: Carol)both gave out their annual awards.  So, Andrew, that means it is high time for you and I to dive into this season and have a chat about what the race looks like right now and what we’re rooting for.

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