The 2017 _thony Awards

I don't post to this blog much anymore but I'm not giving up on the _thony Awards yet.  I like "best of" lists and I'm going to make one and I might as well put it here.  If anyone happens to be reading this and they want to know what's been taking my attention away from this dumb blog, well.... it's another dumb blog.  With the housekeeping taken care of let's just get right into it:

Best Movies

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The first Guardians movie was a nice action adventure like most Marvel movies, but in space.  It also benefited from director James Gunn's slightly offbeat sense of humor and a wonderful 70's soundtrack.  The sequel has all that and so much more.  The plot follows Chris Pratt's Peter "Star-Lord" Quill as he meets the father he never knew, who turns out to be a celestial godlike being and kind of a dick named Ego.  The b-plot focuses on Quill's teammates Rocket (a tough talking raccoon) and Groot (a shrunk tree that says "I am Groot") as they ally themselves with Quill's adopted father/captor Yondu to escape from Yondu's mutinous pirate crew and get to Quill to save him from Ego.  I guess when you put it like that it sounds really weird, and it is, but weird in all the right ways.  It's a wonderfully sentimental story about family and friendship but the real star is the jaw droppingly vivid cosmic scenery.

Get Out

It's rare for a piece of art to immediately feel like an important, landmark work but that's exactly what Get Out did.  Almost before release there was a feeling that it would be something special.  A study of race relations in modern America it updates the classic Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, about white progressives meeting their daughter's black boyfriend for the first time, and takes the events to horrific extremes.  Overtime, it becomes clear that despite all their talk the seemingly perfect liberals don't really care about the well-being of black people.  Skillfully crafted by writer, first-time director, and long beloved comedian Jordan Peele, with layers of subtext that reward close attention in dividends, Get Out is no less than a masterpiece.

Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is one of the greatest film sequels ever made.  It is darker, stranger, and richer than its predecessor.  In a way, The Last Jedi wasn't following up Episode VII: The Force Awakens but Empire.  Director Rian Johnson's challenge was to make a movie that would defy expectations set by a movie famous for defying expectations.  He accomplished it by pushing back against the legacy that was threatening him.  The Last Jedi critiques the worst parts of the Star Wars franchise, namely a through-line of elitism, and embraces all the things that make it wonderful, clearing room for greatness to come.  The final result is a beautiful movie about war, populism (the good kind), legacy, and spirituality.  It's a true space opera for the modern age.

Honrable Mention: The Dukes of Hazzard reboot you would get if you mashed up Baby Driver and Logan Lucky.

Baby Driver is a movie set in Atlanta, Georgia about cold hearted criminals and one good soul in the mix.  It's got some great urban car chases and a killer soundtrack of alt-rock and hip hop.  Logan Lucky is a movie about decent working class folks from Virginia who rob the mega-corporation that laid off Jimmy Logan.  If you were to make a movie or TV show set in rural Georgia with a close-knit working class family like the Logans taking on the one percent and cool driving sequences on dirt roads with a country/Americana soundtrack it would be a lot like the best possible version of The Dukes of Hazzard.  If you could do it with the same amount of style as directors like Steven Soderbergh and Edgar Wright it could be really, really, rad.  You could maybe even do it without the neo-Confederatism of the original series.

Movies That Most Surpassed Very Low Expectations

Power Rangers

If you knew how much I loved Power Rangers when I was a child you might think I would have high hopes for a new movie based on the show.  However, looking back with a more attuned critical eye it is clear to me that the original Power Rangers series is absolute trash and perhaps the very worst thing that I loved the most at that young age.  As an adult, the best thing I can say about it is that the quality is so low that it's almost charming in a rainbow-trashy kind of way.  So, when I went to the theater to watch the new movie against my better judgment I was thoroughly impressed.  It's a little rough around the edges, to be sure.  The young actors are mostly wooden and the pacing is bumpy but the ambition is through the roof.  The idea to combine Wachowski-esque philosophy with elements of The Breakfast Club and mix that into the mythology of Power Rangers, a mythology that was given less intellectual consideration than this run on sentence, is fascinating to watch unfold.

Justice League

Man of Steel is my least favorite movie ever.  I hate it with a passion greater than any reasonable human should have towards a wasted three hours.  I reveled in its sequel's low box office returns and Rotten Tomatoes score.  By the time director Zack Snyder made his third attempt at a movie with Superman in it I unfortunately had things much more important to be angry about (have I mentioned my new blog, which is overtly political?).  With my rage diverted I was able to take in a matinee of Justice League without any baggage.  What I found is a truly bad movie.  The plot is sloppy, the villain is unformed and lifeless in more ways than one, and it's just unpleasant to look at.  Nevertheless, I can't say it isn't fun to watch.  There's a handful of fun jokes, charming performances, and cool action sequences.  Best of all, the last act features a version of Superman far, far removed from the grouchy manslaughterer of Man of Steel.  It's real bad but it put a smile on my face, and that's something.

Happy Death Day

I'm traditionally not a fan of the whole Groundhog Day thing.  Watching the same scenes several times over is not enjoyable for me.  The premise has been run into the ground since Harold Ramis and Bill Murray did it in 1993 which is especially rough considering the premise itself is the very definition of repetitive.  I'm also not inclined to watch movies written by comic book writers with a "Controversy" section in their Wikipedia page.  Still, the trailers for Happy Death Day charmed me enough to get me in the theater.  Admittedly, the script, which follows a vapid sorority girl who relives her birthday every time she dies at the hands of a slasher villain at the end of it, is solid and funny, although the gender dynamics are only slightly better than what you would expect from a comic book writer with a "Controversy" section in his Wikipedia page.  Ultimately, what works most about the movie is the same thing that worked about the trailer: the star.  Jessica Rothe is so watchable its scary.  She plays every second of her redemption arc perfectly and delivers every joke better than it deserves.  She's certainly someone to keep an eye on.

Best TV Shows

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, whenever the Whedon family is involved in a TV show you need to give it at least a season to really get good but it's worth the wait.  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. showrunners Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon, sister-in-law and brother of Joss Whedon, have stepped up their game significantly with each season, finally reaching spectacular heights in season four.  Unusual for a TV show, season four is broken into three acts, rather than two, creating a fascinating pace.  The first act, which aired in 2016, focuses on the demonic gearhead Ghost Rider and other dark magic while introducing an artificially intelligent robot.  Things really heat up in the second act, beginning in January of 2017, when that robot has gone full evil, until the third act, which is so insanely cool I don't want to risk spoiling it even six months later.  On top of just being rad as hell it's also a meditation on morality, philosophy, and the essence of humanity.  But it's also really, really rad.

The Leftovers

I once described The Leftovers as "one of those Jesusy Kirk Cameron movies except for people who are 'spiritual but not religious.'"  There are plenty of movies about America's most popular religion for its followers who want to be told that their faith is right and good.  There are less options for people whose relationship with the divine is more complicated.  In its third and final season The Leftovers dove deeper into the messiness of faith and love.  Like the ocean, the deeper you go the weirder things get but at every level there's really only one thing that matters; one thing that unites every religion and philosophy and secular belief system: how we connect with one another.

The Deuce

The Deuce is HBO at its HBOest.  It's full of sex, drugs, and crime but it's also high quality television.  The series is set in the seediest parts of New York City in the 1970's, following the lives of prostitutes, pimps, and bartenders.  Thanks to creators David Simon and George Pelacanos of The Wire the writing creates the feeling of watching a beautiful, clever novel come to life.  The cast is headed by James Franco, who performs admirably in a dual role as solid-ish guy Vincent Martino and his fuck-up twin brother Frankie.  Meanwhile, Maggie Gyllenhaal is magnificent as Candy, a prostitute with a future in adult film.  Pair all that with a great look and it's clear that in just one season The Deuce has proven its capacity to rival The Wire.

Best Comic Book Series

Rocket

I can assure you that my love for the Rocket Raccoon limited series has little to do with my love for Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 and a lot to do with writer Al Ewing's hilarious genre-bending script.  Rocket follows the titular non-raccoon in a neo-noir space heist/adventure.  When Rocket gets mixed up with a bad crowd and a femme fatale he steals some stuff and breaks out of prison.  It's like Ocean's Eight with strange and exotic space creatures.  Highlights include an issue guest starring Deadpool and two pages dedicated to just making fun of Daredevil.  Although, like the Guardians movie, the space adventure angle wouldn't work as well without a lot of heart and Rocket has a big one that gets broken to bits.

Mister Miracle

This year the late "King of Comics" Jack Kirby would have been 100 years old and although he is best known for his work at Marvel their rival DC has loudly reminded readers of his contributions to the Metropolis and Gotham set.  Kirby's ambitious "Fourth World" epic of gods and devils is back with a vengeance and the centerpiece is the 12 issue Mister Miracle mini-series.  With seven remaining issues planned for the new year from Tom King and Mitch Gerads, writer and artist behind the acclaimed Sheriff of Babylon, the series promises to be on a lot of "best of" lists this time next year as well, but I couldn't wait.  It follows Scott "Mister Miracle" Free's battle with depression and questions of his own sanity in the midst of a grave threat from the dreaded Darkseid.  It's some dark, heavy shit for sure but the gooey center is Scott's relationship with his wife, the towering warrior Big Barda.  The art is gorgeously grimy and the story is intensely mind bending.  Throw in some biblical themes and you've got an epic tale worthy of the King himself.

Generation X

X-Men characters frequently serve as a metaphor for oppressed minorities, a metaphor that has resulted in many fantastic stories.  However, the misfits and outcasts known as mutants are also prime for another metaphor; youth.  At any given time there is usually at least one ongoing X-Men comic that follows the teenage students of the Xavier School for Gifted Mutants (or the Jean Grey school).  This year saw the rise and untimely demise of Generation X, a quirky teen soap opera that follows the B-squad of Xavier students written with relatable punchiness by Christina Strain (The Magicians) and oddly dynamic art by Amilcar Pinna.   The student's drama is immensely absorbing but the real star is fan favorite character Jubilee, a graduate of a previous incarnation of Generation X.

Best Albums

Colors by Beck

In 2015, the year after Beck won a (hotly contested [by Kanye West]) "Best Album of the Year" Grammy for his gently moving folk album Morning Phase, the alt-rock titan released the fantastically upbeat, danceable single "Dreams."  Two long years later he released the gorgeously rainbow trash album that goes with the single.  It's the peppiest, most vivid pop album of the year.  Highlights include the anthem of joyous relief "I'm So Free," the trap influenced "Wow," and the driving pop-rock of "Up All Night," with its bonkers cool video.

Felony Blues by Jaime Wyatt

Country artists from Sturgill Simpson to Blake Shelton love to shout out the Outlaws of the 70's but no one walks the walk like Jaime Wyatt.  After a stint in prison on a drug charge Wyatt has released the best country album of the year.  However, going to prison does not necessarily make a good musician.  Wyatt is also a terrific singer and songwriter.  Every song is rich with confinement, freedom, love, and loneliness, from the poppy romance of "Your Loving Save Me" to the cosmic song of longing "From Outer Space."  The only problem is that thirty minutes isn't nearly long enough.  Hopefully a life as fully lived as Wyatt's will have plenty to offer in the future.

Rainbow by Kesha

At the end of this year we've heard a lot of talk about the rash of molestation and assault charges against powerful men as a major news stories, which it is, but it's also something that personally affects far too many women.  Kesha is one of those women, and after a legal battle with the man she has accused of "emotional distress, gender-based hate crimes and employment discrimination," she released a new album by the new Kesha (her first in five years and her first without the dollar sign in place of an "s").   What makes Rainbow the album of the year isn't that it captures the zeitgeist but that it's one person's story of surviving a torturous experience.  It's the artistic achievement of a free woman, more joyous and optimistic than it is vengeful.  Most exciting for me, Rainbow signals a stylistic shift for Kesha.  It's a little less dance pop and a little more country and alt-rock, as you would expect from a music nerd who grew up in Nashville and befriended the Eagles of Death Metal.  Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of partying to be done on songs like "Boogie Feet" (featuring EoDM) and "Woman" (featuring the Dap-Kings and a few hearty chuckles) but the real standout is the stripped down, earth scorching ballad "Praying."  It's a new Kesha for the new world; a soundtrack for everyone who feels like they're looking down the wrong end of a barrel but is glad they're looking up.

The Philosophy of 'Power Rangers'

There are certain expectations fans have for anything bearing the Power Rangers name; essentially, they want to see a diverse group of teenage superheroes fighting evil with karate, robot dinosaurs, and friendship.  In the new film reboot of the franchise the last part is a more literal factor in the equation.  The Rangers are incapable of accessing their full powers until they come together as friends.  That’s really all you need to know about the movie.  If you find such a sentimental concept unappealing than this movie is not for you, but if you can get behind it then you can look past all the ways that it’s an objectively bad movie and just enjoy the schmaltz.  Or there’s a third possibility: maybe the concept will worm its way into your brain, becoming a full blown obsession until you realize Power Rangers cannot be judged by typical cinematic standards but instead should be read as a religious text and really should have been directed by the Wachowskis.

Behind the dumb action scenes and the unconvincing adolescent drama there’s an interesting spiritual philosophy to Power Rangers.  The Rangers, athletic Jason, nerdy Billy, pampered Kimberly, rebellious Zach, and self-isolating Trini, are dependent on human fellowship for the powers, a kind of oneness similar to the concept central to Buddhism.  When the movie begins the main characters are only vaguely familiar with each other even though, in some cases, they’ve gone to school together since kindergarten.  Then they all coincidentally come together and happen upon the magic coins that give them superpowers and a spaceship buried underground in a goldmine.  The spaceship belongs to Zordon, the former Red Ranger and a mentor to the new generation.  It is there that Zordon teaches them of the legacy they have just joined and they train to use their powers for good.

They bond over their shared experience but struggle to “morph,” the term for accessing the armor that should appear at their command.  The key to acquiring the armor is total selflessness; to think of each other and not themselves.  The entire second act is spent by the Rangers trying, failing, and waiting to morph.  After Billy manages to briefly morph in a heated moment Zordon sends the Rangers away in disappointment.  They decide to stay and build a campfire at the mine.  In this intimate setting they pour their respective hearts out, or at least two of them do.  Zach tells of his sick mother and Trini comes out as bisexual or a lesbian, it isn’t clear because she’s still in the process of questioning her sexuality for herself.  Billy, being naturally earnest doesn’t say much that hasn’t already been revealed.  Kimberly, who cyberbullied a fellow cheerleader, holds back out of guilt.  Jason claims that as the star quarterback in a small town he has no secrets to share.  Nevertheless, it’s an important bonding moment for the team, but still not enough. 

The turning point comes when the Rangers confront the villain and former Ranger, Rita Repulsa, despite their lack of preparedness.  Rita wipes them out easily and (here’s the big spoiler) kills Billy.  The other four take him back to headquarters but it’s too late.   They unite over their fallen friend and express a shared wish that they could take his place.  This moment of solidarity and altruism opens the “Morphing Grid” and allows Billy to come back to life so that the five of them can finally morph and take on Rita with the full Power Rangers’ arsenal.

There’s also an overarching theme of holistic oneness with all things, not just friends and loved ones.  The plot is driven by a mysterious and powerful object buried beneath the earth called the Zeo Crystal, which is the source of all life on the planet.  If it’s removed or destroyed everything dies, so of course that’s Rita’s motivation.  The opening scene shows the final moments of a deadly battle between Rita and her once-teammates in a prehistoric wasteland.  In the Cenozoic era Rita was defeated by Zordon, who on his last legs called for an asteroid to crash into the Earth.  Rita was thrown into the ocean and all evidence of the Rangers’ existence was buried under ground.  Eventually, the small town of Angel Grove was built over the battleground.  This prologue establishes the power used by the Rangers and the evil they fight as primordial forces of nature.  Rita, Zordon, and the technology they brought with them are from a distant alien world but they landed on Earth several millennia ago, making them artifacts of both science-fiction and fantasy, equal parts H.G. Wells and George R.R. Martin.

An odd quirk of the film is the way it is so busy world-building and exploring teen angst that it treats robot dinosaurs as an afterthought.  About halfway through the film Zordon’s small robot friend shows the Rangers their “Zords” for a few seconds then walks away, and after a quick joyride by Zach, they are quickly forgotten in the tide of adolescent emotion.  Then, in the final act, the Rangers call on their Zords to help them defeat Rita’s giant monster Goldar, making the Zords the centerpiece of the entire last twenty minutes of action.

The Zords are important because of more than just being giant robot dinosaurs which are cool as all-get-out.  They are also the ultimate realization of the Rangers’ connection to nature.  For every Ranger there is a color coordinated Zord.  Billy, the Blue Ranger, drives a blue Triceratops Zord, for instance.  The Zords have cockpits so the Rangers can get inside them and drive them like cars or airplanes except they’re giant robot dinosaurs.  At one point, the movie shows an “arm” that reaches out from the back of the seat in Kimberly’s pink Pterodactyl Zord and plugs into the spine of her armor.  Clearly the Rangers have some kind of innate kinship with their Zords, whether biological, spiritual or both, which is why they need almost no training to pilot these giant robot dinosaurs designed by prehistoric aliens.

Finally, the theme of unity reaches its apex in the last moments of the final battle with Rita.  Goldar rustles all of the Zords together and pushes them into the recently dug fiery pit that holds the Zeo Crystal.  Somehow, the power of the crystal melds the Zords together in all the right ways, creating the MegaZord. The Rangers are one with their Zords and each other, resulting in a single, humanoid, giant robot.  It calls to mind the “body of Christ,” a way of referring to the followers of Jesus.

Again, Power Rangers is an objectively bad movie on a lot of levels; the plot is sloppy, the pacing is frustrating in all the wrong ways, and the performances are largely forgettable with the exceptions of Elizabeth Banks’ villain and RJ Cyler’s blue Ranger.   To be fair, the beloved children’s show it’s based on might actually be worse on even more levels, but somehow the movie’s creators managed to mine it for some interesting ideas and to add some of their own.  Interestingly, writer John Gatins also wrote the story for Kong: Skull Island which shares the themes of humanity’s relationship with nature and giant monsters.  Maybe it’s a bit of an overstatement to call Power Rangers a religious text but the people behind it clearly put a lot of thought and care into it and it shows.  You couldn’t ask for more from a movie based on truly terrible but thoroughly beloved unapologetic cash grab of a TV show.