Will Collins
Critical Voices: The Wytches, Annabelle Dream Reader
“I am here but lost in the light,” The Wytches frontman, Kristian Bell, croons in their new release Annabel Dream Reader. The album is, indeed, lost in its stormy sea... Read more
By Will Collins August 28, 2014
It’s hard to deny a mandate to Chilean political film No
After taking Cannes 2012 by storm and snagging an Oscar nomination, director Pablo Larraín’s No is finally stateside. Following the media campaign launched against the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet during his 1988 plebiscite election, Larraín’s film also presents a fascinating critique of mainstream media and a harrowing tale of survival and victory under the repressive regime.
By Will Collins March 14, 2013
Oscar short and sweet
We all know Hollywood loves a happy ending, but the Oscar-nominated short films this year have managed to instill a sense of hope into their tales of struggle without artificially inducing conventional closure of the cheesy variety. In more ways than one, these brief snapshots offer a more valuable insight into the human condition than many of their feature-length counterparts.
By Will Collins February 21, 2013
Critical Voices: Meek Mill, Dreams & Nightmares
Mediocre production value meets overly ambitious lyrics in Meek Mill’s first major-label release, Dreams & Nightmares. Fittingly titled, this “meh” album forages into the oft-explored “I’m rich, now let’s reflect on how I used to be a drug pusher” theme.
By Will Collins October 31, 2012
Don’t be smashed while watching Ponsoldt’s Smashed
Heartbreak and alcoholism are placed in front of a crystal-clear lens in James Ponsoldt’s Smashed. All too real, Smashed follows Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s increasingly sober Kate as she comes to terms with her alcoholism at a pace that mirrors the arduous 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous program in which she enlists. Weaving together elements of a rom-com with those of a serious drama, the film operates on the wave of recent years’ sadcore comedies like 50/50 and Funny People. This fresh, composed film will have viewers reconvening with their own lives as they amble out of the cinema, saying, “Damn, I’m glad that’s not me.”
By Will Collins October 18, 2012
Critical Voices: Oposom, Electric Hawaii
If you are a sucker for cutesy, Apple-product-commercial music, then Electric Hawaii, the new album from indie-pop outfit Opossom, will fit right into your oversized Beats headphones. Slightly fuzzy vocals, hoppy bass-lines, catchy choruses, dreamy guitars, and a paint-can full of synth give Opossom a classically hip New York City sound—ironic, given that they hail from New Zealand. Though Opossom is the brainchild of Kody Nielson, formally of Mint Chicks, Electric Hawaii boasts a signature, perfected feel that sounds more like the amalgamation of several artistic minds.
By Will Collins August 24, 2012
Five-Year Engagement will have Segel fans saying, “I do.”
In his latest film, Jason Segel is back to give audiences a peek at what lies beneath his clothing—though, thankfully, not quite to the degree of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. In The Five-Year Engagement, the recent release from director Nicholas Stoller and the prolific producer Judd Apatow, Segel’s signature humor and the film’s raunchy writing transform a movie whose title could very easily be mistaken for your run-of-the-mill rom-com into a genuinely funny, ballsy comedy that is exactly what we would expect from that trio.
By Will Collins April 26, 2012
Critical Voices: Jack White Blunderbluss
With Blunderbluss, his first solo release, Jack White decided to bring it all back home. Moody yet serene, the album conjures images of The Who, which will probably appeal to die-hard fans of The Black Keys, and though the sound is sometimes smoky, it will not leave you coughing. Instead, guitar rock mogul White has released an album that can be appreciated by devout followers of his namesake band, as well as a newer, unfamiliar crowd.
By Will Collins April 26, 2012
Critically acclaimed Street Sharks resonates through time
This week, everyone needs to take a break from Mad Men and remember back to the real Golden Age of television—the 1990s. Full House, Boy Meets World, and Street Sharks were at our slimy seven-year-old fingertips, and we didn’t even know how good we had it. You may not recognize those first two shows, as they are often cited as irrelevant, but you are certain to recognize the third. Ah yes, Street Sharks, the one and only show about the crime-fighting mutant shark-men.
By Will Collins March 30, 2012
Leave your house to go see Jeff, Who Lives at Home
Writer/director/actor brothers Mark and Jay Duplass have, in recent years, been known for a brand of off-beat humor associated with a film movement called “mumblecore.” This genre is usually defined by a socially downtrodden middle-aged man going through some event and handling it in the way that a socially downtrodden middle-aged man would, often with self-deprecating humor, as in the FX show The League. Jason Segel and Ed Helms, who play brothers in Jeff, Who Lives at Home, the brothers Duplass’ most recent effort, are perfectly cast for the film’s niche humor and surprisingly well-suited for the movie’s sentimental notes.
By Will Collins March 15, 2012