Posts by Sean Fennessey

October 11, 2013
We Went There: Feeling the Heat of a ‘Boogie Nights’ Live Read

“For the third anniversary of Film Independent at LACMA’s Live Read, we have a story about a boy and his pet.” Critic and LACMA curator Elvis Mitchell typically introduces the semi-regular Live Read with a wry bon mot describing the film he and filmmaker Jason Reitman have selected, and this is how Mitchell prepared a […]
October 10, 2013
19-Day NBA Warning: Do You Believe in the Magic?

Twelve months ago, I got a divorce from the New York Knicks. It had been 30 years. Too much James Dolan, not enough Charles Oakley. Single for the first time, I had a dalliance with an easy target, the rebuilding Denver Nuggets. Low stakes, high fun, JaVale for laughs, Gallinari for joy. It was easy, […]
September 7, 2013
J-E-T-S! Pain! Pain! Pain!

Eighteen months in NFL hell.
August 28, 2013
Best Song of the Millennium, Round 4: We Must Pay for Our Sins

I can see now that we’ve made a grave mistake. This bracket, this choice we made in the dead of summer to celebrate the fun and foolishness of popular songs, was all wrong. There were other opportunities, dismissed without a second thought. Great brackets. Brackets you’d never forget. The Coolest Cats Ever. The Best Sitcom […]
August 21, 2013
Game of Thrones Offseason Report: What Have Your Favorite Westerosians Been Up to This Summer?

It has been 73 days since the world enjoyed a new episode of Game of Thrones. Hopefully, it won’t be long until you’ve recovered from the shock of the Red Wedding. If you’re still reeling, wondering how [SPOILER ALERT, but come on now, this is for people who watch the show] you’ll go on without […]
August 13, 2013
Callin' Out Names: Kendrick Lamar's 'Control' Verse and the Evolution of the Rap Name-drop

A moment like this requires context. Fourteen years ago, Kurupt talked some shit. Over a lazy Zapp-lite funk track produced by Fredwreck, the Dogg Pound member got reckless.
August 6, 2013
Deconstructing Harry

Remembering Harry Nilsson: American Beatle, filthy drunk, and the great lost music genius of the 1970s.
July 19, 2013
The Two Goslings: A Movie Star Divided

“Wanna fight?” That is one of the just 15 or so lines of dialogue Ryan Gosling utters in the new film Only God Forgives. It’s delivered limply, like he hardly means it, to an enemy. Across the 89-minute running time, Gosling shuffles and sulks through his performance as Julian, a dazed Muay Thai gym owner […]
July 11, 2013
Watch the Vampires: How Jay-Z and Kanye West Feast on Young Talent

Ebony Oshunrinde’s life is different now. Two months ago, she was a 16-year-old Ontario, Canada, native about to complete 11th grade. Today she has a production credit on a Jay-Z album. Oshunrinde’s is the most humanizing story born of Jay-Z’s new phone-album, Magna Carta … Holy Grail. It’s also a microcosm of contemporary rap superstardom’s […]
July 2, 2013
The Firm 20 Years Later: What Ever Happened to Hollywood’s Obsession With Legal Thrillers?

Twenty years ago this week, a movie called The Firm was released. It starred the biggest movie star on the planet, Tom Cruise; was directed by a celebrated industry veteran, Sydney Pollack; and went on to gross more than $158 million in America, the fourth-highest total of 1993. Less than six months later, a movie […]

Load More Results