Movie Review: Mission: Impossible-Fallout

If you really think about it, the Mission: Impossible franchise is the most expensive and dangerous vanity project of all-time. Over the course of its 22-year existence, Tom Cruise has used this globetrotting spy franchise based on a popular late 60's/early 70's television series as his own personal stunt playground. From jumping onto the wing of a moving airplane to scaling Dubai's Burj Khalifa Tower with minimal wiring, Xenu's most prominent son has been responsible for performing some of the most absurd stunts ever put on film. Cruise's desire to cheat death has only gotten more intense as he creeps towards 60 and Fallout keeps that trend going while simultaneously delivering one of the most impressive overall entries in the Mission:Impossible franchise thus far.

Thanks to Cruise and his team's dedication to staging diverse setpieces in various exotic locations around the globe, the Mission: Impossible series has unofficially become the sampler platter of action movies. This sense of variety goes a long way in helping keep Fallout fresh over the course of its gaudy 146-minute runtime. You like chase scenes? Well, here's a winding motorcycle chase through the streets of Paris. How about hand-to-hand combat? Boom, here's a few wild fist fights featuring Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson and series newcomer Henry Cavill serving up beatdowns in confined spaces. Do hazardous stunts that any sane individual wouldn't even consider attempting tickle your fancy? If so, there's a high altitude/low parachute-release skydiving scene (otherwise known as a HALO jump) that remarkably doesn't end with multiple casualties. Not everything works (a shootout set in a London safehouse is a great example of why I will rail against shooting action scenes in the dark for the rest of time), but it still easily achieves its goal of delivering a diverse collection of thrilling sequences that should delight just about every action fan on the planet.      

Tasked with making sure this high-flying circus of destruction, espionage and potential class-action lawsuits doesn't get out of hand is writer/director Christopher McQuarrie. McQuarrie,who is the first person in the history of the franchise to direct multiple entries, tackle these gonzo setpieces with the same level of giddiness and technical proficiency as his leading actor. Every fight, vehicle chase and aerial jump is staged with a level of clarity that perfectly complements and showcases the bold scope of the stunts and excellence of the fight choreography. While his efforts are easy to overlook underneath all the glossy on-screen spectacle, McQuarrie's practical approach to shooting/editing and complete lack of fearlessness as a filmmaker has allowed Cruise to seamlessly pull off his goal of upping the intensity and difficulty of the stuntwork in the past two installments.  

As beautiful as they are to watch unfold, well-staged action scenes and virtuoso stuntwork are what you expect to see when you a buy ticket to a Mission: Impossible movie. Believe it or not, the strength of the script is what helps Fallout become a standout entry in this long-running franchise. While I'm not going to pretend this is some flawlessly-written masterpiece (the occasional attempts at sentimentality and humanizing Ethan Hunt are borderline embarrassing), it makes up for the buzzkill sins of Rogue Nation's convoluted, bizarrely prominent shadow government narrative with a pretty straightforward story that doesn't bog down the pace or shift the focus away from the stunts for unnecessarily long stretches of time. McQuarrie understands what the audience wants out of this franchise and delivers a lean narrative that provides a purpose for these absurd setpieces and nothing more. This type of storytelling efficiency is exactly what I want out of the genre and indicates to me that McQuarrie finally has all the tools to become a great genre filmmaker.

While I'm not willing to dub it one of the action genre's crowning achievements quite yet, Fallout is a terrific film that made me thankful that this franchise was revived at the beginning of this decade. Mission: Impossible is one of only a few massive, non-superhero action franchises still running, so it's great to see that the brand is even more full of kinetic energy and inspired ideas now than when it started back in 1996. As long as Cruise can still walk, I'll have no problem spending my time and money watching him put his well-being in danger for the amusement of an audience he's not in front of.

Grade: B+

The Best and Worst of Mila Kunis

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “The Spy Who Dumped Me” star Mila Kunis.

Films starring Mila Kunis that I've seen:
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Max Payne
Extract
The Book of Eli
Date Night
Black Swan
Friends with Benefits
Ted
Oz the Great and Powerful
Jupiter Ascending
Bad Moms
A Bad Moms Christmas 

Best Performance: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
Kunis' immense likability is her strongest suit as an actor and that charm was particularly abundant in her role as hotel receptionist Rachel Jensen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The warmth Kunis brought to this character made the playful dynamic between Rachel and Peter Bretter (the equally likable Jason Segel) feel natural as well as the eventual progression into a romantic relationship worth rooting for.

Worst Performance: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
The wooden acting plague swept through the Jupiter Ascending set and Kunis was not spared. In fact, she might've come down with the worst case of the entire cast. There's a strong chance that a wax doll who could only speak through poorly-dubbed clips from sci-fi movie soundboards could've put forth a more emotive performance.

Best Film: Black Swan (2010)
Black Swan represents the almost always polarizing filmmaker Darren Aronofsky at his deranged best. His nightmarish direction along with Natalie Portman's astonishing performance in the lead role of obsessive ballet dancer Nina Sayers helped make this one of the most disturbing, mind-bending and unforgettable psychological thrillers I've ever had the pleasure of watching.

Worst Film: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
I strongly believe that it's harder to make a top-to-bottom failure than a perfect movie. Universal failures are almost unattainable when you consider that this an artform driven by creative individuals that are (presumably) better than anyone else in the world at their respective craft and investors that  have the financial clout to ensure that every title they produce looks and feels like a professional production. Jupiter Ascending is the most recent project that I've felt failed to meet this basic threshold for competence in the theatrically-released feature film industry and subsequently hit that rarely-achieved rock bottom for the artform. Every frame of this bloated, insufferably corny space opera is a potent case study of how not to act, write dialogue, tell a coherent story, stage an action scene, establish a pace or pretty much any other aspect of the process an instructor would address in a hypothetical "Filmmaking 101" course.   


Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “The Meg” star Rainn Wilson. 

The Best and Worst of Henry Cavill

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “Mission-Impossible: Fallout” star Henry Cavill.

Films starring Henry Cavill that I've seen:
The Count of Monte Cristo
Stardust
Whatever Works
Immortals
Man of Steel
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Justice League

Best Performance: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
After watching him stare blankly into the camera for the duration of Immortals and Man of Steel, I was starting to become convinced that Cavill was one of the most generally talentless actors in the industry. Then The Man from U.N.C.L.E. came along and completely changed my perspective. The role of suave CIA agent Napoleon Solo brought out a hidden charisma and gift for delivering snappy one-liners that officially nixed my theory that Cavill was an emotionless cyborg sent from a distant planet to take the roles James Marsden passed on.

Worst Performance: Man of Steel (2013)
Man of Steel brought my opinion of Superman as a character to an all-time low and Cavill was largely responsible for the development of this take. His staggering lack of personality and likability made this weak-ass superhero even more dull than he is on paper.

Best Film: Justice League (2017)
I know that its blasphemous to praise anything that comes out of the DCU, but I really enjoyed Justice League. It reminded me a lot of the early Marvel movies where worldbuilding was secondary to the creative team having fun with the goofy source material they were handed. In other words, what it lacked in ambition and character development it made up for with concise plotting, terrific action sequences and a well-matched cast that seemed to enjoy each other's company. Justice League was one of the better blockbusters I saw in 2017 and hopefully its somewhat disappointing box office haul won't hurt the odds of a sequel seeing the light of the day.

Worst Film: Man of Steel (2013)
While I haven't signed any of the petitions that have demanded Warner Brothers to release his original cut of Justice League, I'm an unapologetic Zack Snyder fanboy. 300 and his remake of Dawn of the Dead are borderline masterpieces that were among my favorite movies released in the 2000's. Hell, I even loved the widely-despised Sucker Punch and found a good chunk of Watchmen to be delightful. However, I'm not enough of a mindless stooge to pretend that my pal Zack put forth a quality effort with Man of Steel. With its horrific acting, glacial pacing and repetitive, chaotic action scenes that look like they were shot from a blimp a mile away, Man of Steel was a monumental dud that is right alongside Ang Lee's Hulk, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Catwoman in the top-tier of my personal superhero movie Hall of Shame.

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “The Spy Who Dumped Me” star Mila Kunis. 

As We Proceed Episode #21

On July's As We Proceed, Feliciano and I share our thoughts on the best and worst of 2018 in hip-hop so far, Drake's double LP Scorpion and XXXTENTACION's eerie posthumous music video for "Sad!. This episode that I've been meaning to share with you fine people for the past week and a half can be heard below:

Soundcloud:




iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/as-we-proceed/id1122163104?mt=2

2018 NFL Preview: AFC East

Buffalo Bills

2017 Record: 9-7 (2nd in AFC East)

Head Coach: Sean McDermott (2nd year)

Notable Additions: DT Star Lotulelei, QB AJ McCarron, CB Vontae Davis

Notable Departures: C Eric Wood (retired), G Richie Incognito (retired), T Cordy Glenn
-The Bills stunned the football world last season by clinching their 1st playoff berth since the Clinton administration. How did they celebrate this monumental achievement? By promptly dumping the starting quarterback that helped them get there of course! If you simply look at the numbers, you can make an argument that moving on from Tyrod Taylor was the right choice. He never threw for more than 3,035 YDS during his 3 seasons in Buffalo and his record as a starter is only 22-20. However, he is a smart, athletic QB that wouldn't cost you games with boneheaded mistakes (he's never thrown more than 6 INT's in a season) and was significantly more successful than anyone the Bills have had under center since at least Drew Bledsoe. GM Brandon Beane apparently decided that Taylor's generally on-target and risk-averse decisionmaking would hinder them moving forward, so he traded him to the Browns and went onto select Josh Allen with the 7th overall pick in this year's draft to be his be successor. To say that Allen is the antithesis of Taylor is an understatement. Allen is an unpolished, big-armed gunslinger whose calling card at the University of Wyoming was constant overthrows, ugly INT's and performing poorly against top-tier competition. Throw in a group of lackluster receivers anchored by human roller-coaster ride Kelvin Benjamin and a drastically overhauled offensive line (more on that in the next paragraph), and you have a QB with arguably the highest odds of being a colossal bust since Johnny Manziel. A drastic, inexplicable move like dumping Taylor for a rookie that's a developmental project at best or an average veteran with less starting experience (AJ McCarron) indicates to me that the internal instability that has plagued the Bills for decades hasn't gone anywhere.

-Perhaps the most underdiscussed narrative in Buffalo this offseason has been the drastic losses they've suffered on their offensive line. Left tackle Cordy Glenn, left guard Richie Incognito and center Eric Wood, who were responsible for helping this o-line group blossom into one of the best in the league over the past few seasons, won't be lining up in front of (insert starting QB) this season. Making matters is worse who they're rolling out as replacements. Center Russell Bodine was below average at best during his tenure with the Bengals, right guard Vladimir Ducasse is a journeyman for a reason and while he looked very good at right tackle as a rookie, Dion Dawkins might not be polished enough at this point in his career to handle the daunting task of playing left tackle in the NFL. Add holdovers John Miller and Jordan Mills, who are among the biggest pass-blocking liabilities in the league, to the mix and you have a potential grand-scale disaster on your hands.Well at least they have a mobile quarterback to combat the turmoil that often comes with drastic offensive line shake-ups, oh wait.....

-Of course, the biggest elephant in the room for this organization as training camp gets underway is the status of LeSean McCoy. Earlier this month, the 30-year old star running back was accused of hiring a man to break into his ex-girlfriend's home in Georgia and assault her. With an inevitable suspension on the horizon for McCoy, the Bills are going to be forced to deploy a committee led by free agent pickup Chris Ivory. For a team that leans on the rushing attack more than pretty much any other team in the league, this is a legitimate nightmare scenario. Replacing a reliable dual-threat back who has posted over 1,500 yards from scrimmage in back-to-back seasons with a guy whose diminishing speed and inability to consistently find rushing lanes resulted him in losing his starting job with the Jaguars is a scary prospect for a team that has a new starting quarterback and no other proven weapons to speak of.

-Star Lotulelei was undoubtedly the biggest gamble of this year's free agency. While the Bills definitely needed an interior run-stuffer after finishing 29th in the league against the run in 2017, Lotulelei's age (he'll be 29 in December) and notable struggles for much of the past two seasons made his 5 year/$50 mil ($24.6 mil guaranteed) deal a bit of a head-scratcher. Fortunately, Sean McDermott is the person best equipped to help Lotulelei rediscover his mojo. Lotulelei was a consistent disruptor in the middle of the defensive line while McDermott was the Panthers defensive coordinator and a return to the system that made him a star (no pun intended) could help him regain the elite defensive tackle status he held not too long ago. The results of this reclamation project could very well end up determining if the Bills D maintains its middle-of-the-pack status or vaults into the top-tier.

-If there's anything to get excited about in Buffalo heading into 2018, it's their secondary. 2017 was an unreal season for their defensive backs as Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer and Tre'Davious White all greatly exceeded expectations. Their play ended up being consistently strong enough for all of them to earn a spot on Pro Football Focus' Top 101 list, which grades out the league's 101 most productive players at the end of the season. Barring a surprise regression, this group appears to be in-line to be just as productive this season. The 20 INT milestone that White mentioned in an interview with The Athletic earlier this month might be a little ambitious, but this group of aggressive ballhawks absolutely have the instincts and talent to force a lot of QB's to make potentially game-altering mistakes.              

Bottom Line:
The general sense of uncertainty lurking around just about every position on offense along with a much more difficult schedule makes a return to the AFC East basement they've become very acquainted with since Jim Kelly retired a virtual certainty.

Miami Dolphins

2017 Record: 6-10 (3rd in AFC East)

Head Coach: Adam Gase (3rd year)

Notable Additions: G Josh Sitton, DE Robert Quinn, WR Albert Wilson

Notable Departures: DT Ndamukong Suh, WR Jarvis Landry, C Mike Pouncey
-Outside of Hue Jackson, I'd place Adam Gase atop the list of coaches most likely to be fired before the end of the season. Thanks to his well-publicized feuds with Jarvis Landry and Jay Ajayi, Gase has quietly reestablished the crippling level of internal toxicity that haunted this team during the Joe Philbin-era. Combine this unhealthy culture with the volume of talent (Landry, Ndamukong Suh, Mike Pouncey) that exited the building in the offseason and it's hard to envision a scenario where the type of epic dumpster fire that leads to pink slips getting handed out doesn't break out on 347 Don Shula Drive.

-Ryan Tannehill is set to return to the fold after missing all of 2017 with a torn ACL. As welcome as this may appear for Dolphins fans after enduring a pretty underwhelming campaign from Jay Cutler, Tannehill isn't exactly in a great position to enjoy a smooth return to action. While I'll give their brass credit for bringing in some veteran offensive lineman (guard Josh Sitton, center Daniel Kilgore) to protect their oft-injured franchise QB, their current group of receivers is pretty concerning. DeVante Parker has failed to live up to his high draft-pick status thus far, Albert Wilson is a splash-play specialist who has only registered 1,544 yards over the course of 4 seasons in the league, Danny Amendola is a bizarre enigma who can only perform in the playoffs and despite his respectable numbers since joining the Dolphins in 2016, Kenny Stills is still just a vertical threat with limited versatility that doesn't mesh well with Tannehill's limitations in the deep passing game. As unflashy as he was, Landry was one of the more reliable safety valves in the league throughout his tenure with the 'Phins and the lack of a clear replacement for that role could impede Tannehill's ability to gracefully return to the starting QB role.

-The situation at running back doesn't look much sunnier. After being blessed with a 1,000+ yard rusher (Lamar Miller and Ajayi) in his each of his last 2 seasons under center, Tannehill will now turn to Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore to lead the rushing attack. While Drake played pretty well (851 YDS from scrimmage and 4 TD's in the final 9 games of the year) after his playing time increased following the stunning midseason trade of Ajayi to the Eagles and Gore is an ageless wonder that has remained productive at an age (35) where most running backs are playing golf, entrusting either of them with the feature back gig isn't exactly a safe bet. The former is a complete wild card that didn't show much of anything until Ajayi was out of the picture while the latter just isn't explosive enough to be an uncontested lead back anymore. Solid play from either or both of these men would help take a lot of pressure off of Tannehill and is pretty much the only hope this team has of surpassing their low expectations.

-Miami's pass-rush next to Cameron Wake has been pretty putrid (their 30 sacks was tied for 26th in the league in 2017) since they decided to not re-sign rising star Oliver Vernon in 2016. This year, they might actually take a step closer to returning to their next form. 2017 1st-round pick Charles Harris showed some flashes during his relatively limited snaps last season and despite his struggles against the run, new acquisition Robert Quinn is a more-than-able pass-rusher who is coming off his most productive season (8.5 sacks) since 2014. For the sake of their young defensive back group (Xavien Howard, Cordrea Tankersly, Minkah Fitzpatrick) and defensive coordinator Matt Burke's employment status, this improvement in pass-rushing personnel better yield some tangible results.

Bottom Line:
A rebuild appears imminent in Miami, which means 2018 could end up being a tank job for the ages before Steven Ross cleans house yet again. 

New England Patriots

2017 Record: 13-3 (1st in AFC East)

Head Coach: Bill Belichick (19th season)

Notable Additions: CB Jason McCourty, DE Adrian Clayborn, WR Jordan Matthews 

Notable Departures: T Nate Solder, CB Malcolm Butler, WR Brandin Cooks
-If you want a brilliant example of how ass backwards the world is right now, take a look at how the Patriots offseason played out. The Super Bowl loss to the Eagles launched this usually buttoned-up franchise and loyal-to-a-fault fanbase into a sudden state of chaos. Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski's "cryptic" social media posts criticizing Belichick's military-esque regime, the brutal death of the "In Bill We Trust" movement following the inexplicable benching of Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl and Duron Harmon getting arrested for trying to smuggle at least 58 grams of weed into Costa Rica via a fake iced tea can were just a few of the headlines from a turbulent offseason that killed the hollow façade that is "The Patriot Way".  All of this petty, melodramatic garbage will likely subside once the regular season kicks into overdrive and they start crushing their opponents into oblivion on a nearly-weekly basis, but if for some reason they don't return to the standard of dominance they've maintained for the past two decades, the entire state of Massachusetts might turn into a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

-The biggest on-field problem for the Patriots this season will be finding a replacement for longtime left tackle Nate Solder, who left for the Giants in free agency. Despite his sometimes brutal lapses as a pass-blocker, Solder has been one of the more reliable and durable blind-side protectors in the league since he was drafted in 2011. The competition for the vitally-important job of keeping 41-year old Brady from getting roughed up by some of the league's best edge rushers appears to be narrowed down to rookie Isaiah Wynn and 4th-year player Trent Brown,who was acquired from the 49ers for a draft pick in late April. Wynn is a polished albeit undersized prospect with the athleticism that Belichick covets at that position while Brown is a massive mauler (6'8, 355 lbs) with 2 seasons of starting experience as a right tackle under his belt. Whoever ends up winning the gig has the benefit of being coached up by virtuoso o-line coach Dante Scarnecchia, which should make the transition a LOT smoother than it typically would be for a newly-minted NFL left tackle.

-Julian Edelman's suspension and the trade of Brandin Cooks has opened up a huge void in the Patriots receiving corps. Going into Week 1 with a receiving group led by subpar veterans including Chris Hogan, Jordan Matthews and Kenny Britt is a very scary proposition for a team whose darkest hours as an offense during the Brady/Belichick era occurred when they lacked a true number one receiving option. Having an unguardable freak in Rob Gronkowski lining up at tight end and a deep rotation of pass-catching running backs (Rex Burkhead, James White, rookie Sony Michel) will help soften the blow, but the spread-the-wealth approach they typically like to employ could take a notable hit if Hogan, Matthews, Britt or another dark horse wideout fails to step up.

-While I personally found the "Malcolm Butler benching cost the Patriots the Super Bowl" narrative to be a bit overblown, this secondary could be in deep shit if they can't find a respectable talent to place alongside top dog Stephon Gilmore at corner. Jason McCourty was brought into fill that role in free agency, but he's a nearly 31-year old corner whose recent output outside of his excellent 2017 campaign with the Browns has been less-than-stellar. If McCourty doesn't pan out, it's either back to playing a returning member from the group (Eric Rowe, Jonathan Jones) that spent Super Bowl Sunday getting repeatedly blown out of their cleats by members of the Eagles receiving corps or seeing how 2nd-round pick Duke Dawson, who was largely considered to be overdrafted, reacts when he's thrown to the wolves right away. Fun!

- As uneventful as their offseason was from a front 7 personnel move standpoint, they at least brought in a couple of pieces (Adrian Clayborn, Danny Shelton) that bolstered their depth along the defensive line. Meanwhile, they pretty much left their abysmal linebacking corps as is. As last season proved, this defense gets routinely torched at will in the middle of the field when Don'ta Hightower isn't playing. Not bringing in replacements for massive coverage/broken tackle liabilities like Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts is a jaw-dropping oversight, especially when you consider how frequently Hightower gets banged up.  Maybe late-round picks Ja'Whaun Bentley and Christian Sam will help fix this striking deficiency, but unless these rookies can make some improbable magic happen, the Patriots should be horrified about the quality of their linebackers going into this season.

Bottom Line:
No amount of behind-the-scenes garbage and doom-and-gloom scenarios about their personnel is going to prevent this team from winning the AFC East and at least contending for another Super Bowl victory this season.

New York Jets

2017 Record: 5-11 (4th in AFC East)

Head Coach: Todd Bowles (4th season)

Notable Additions: CB Trumaine Johnson, RB Isaiah Crowell, ILB Avery Williamson

Notable Departures: DE Muhmmad Wilkerson, ILB Demario Davis, RB Matt Forte (retired)
-The 2017 Jets might've only won 5 games, but they did enough over those 16 games to convince me that Todd Bowles is the right coach to tackle this rebuild. The sheer hustle they displayed on a weekly basis paired with the level of production he got out of arguably the most talent-deprived roster in the league was very impressive. Could it just be coincidental boost in play and attitude because the team shed most of its toxic veterans? Sure, but I think it's more likely that guys are finally starting to buy into Bowles' system. Barring another round of substantial upheaval or failure to develop their promising young defensive talent (Jamal Adams, Leonard Williams, Marcus Maye), the Jets have no reason to not give Bowles a chance to turn this seemingly cursed franchise around.

-You could make a case that Sam Darnold is entering the most favorable situation of any of this year's rookie quarterbacks. He gets to be mentored by the universally-beloved Josh McCown, has a respectable group of receivers (Robby Anderson, Jermaine Kearse, Terrelle Pryor, Quincy Enunwa) and gets to work with an offensive coordinator in Jeremy Bates that has enjoyed some success in the past with young signalcallers (he was responsible for Jay Cutler's 4,500-yard season with the Broncos in 2008). Darnold was long perceived to be the most pro-ready QB prospect in this year's draft and this seemingly good environment with the Jets could help unlock his potential sooner than later.

-As much as I've applauded them for the surprising level of restraint they've displayed in signing big-name free agents over the past couple of seasons, the contracts they handed Trumaine Johnson (5 years/$72 mil/$34 mil guaranteed) and Isaiah Crowell (3 years/$12 mil) definitely aren't good values. Johnson is a merely respectable corner that is still coasting off of an excellent 2015 season where he got 7 INT's while the consistently mediocre Crowell is unlikely to perform much better than Bilal Powell did last season. While neither of these deals are going to kill their payroll and admittedly provide depth in areas where they struggled last season, they help create some alarming evidence that their dangerous practice of absurd overspending could return at some point in the near future.

-Like their peers in Buffalo, the Jets have a suspect o-line that could end up impeding the development of their young QB. Outside of competent left tackle Kelvin Beachum, this is a well below-average group (Brian Winters, Jonathan Carpenter, Brandon Shell, new addition Travis Swanson) that boasts a collectively shaky reputation as pass-protectors. These struggles are particularly alarming since horrific offensive line play was largely responsible for Darnold's disappointing season at USC in 2017. Great lineman are becomingly increasingly rare in the modern NFL (thanks college spread offenses!), but the Jets might be better off sparing Darnold from the massive toll of getting frequently pummeled for a second straight season until they (attempt) to sure up their o-line.         

Bottom Line:
While they still aren't an overly talented team on other side of the ball, I believe the Jets rebuild will take another step forward in 2018.

Projected Standings:

1.New England Patriots (11-5)

2.New York Jets (6-10)

3.Buffalo Bills (5-11)

4.Miami Dolphins (4-12)

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Ladies and Gentleman,

I'm happy to announce that the 2018 edition of my NFL Preview series will be kicking off tomorrow with a breakdown of the AFC East. Working on this series is one of the highlights of my year and I really look forward to sharing it with you over the next month or so. 

Chris Maitland   

Concert Review: Summer Slaughter-- Worcester, MA-- July 21st, 2018

Lineup: Between the Buried and Me/Born of Osiris/Veil of Maya/Erra/The Agony Scene/Allegaeon/Terror Universal/Soreption/Entheos/?????
Venue: The Palladium, Worcester, MA

?????: I have no clue who the band that opened the main stage was, but I can say without even a moment of hesitation that they were responsible for one of the worst mixed sets I've ever seen. The sound was so consistently muddy that I couldn't even tell you anything about them other than they had screaming vocals and some symphonic elements. Whoever you are, please find a different sound person because whoever was responsible for this auditory hate crime doesn't belong anywhere near an audioboard at a live music event.

Entheos: After being exposed to a 20-minute orgy of indistinguishable noise, just about anything would go down as a notable improvement. Going from a sloppy, likely unsigned band to a polished juggernaut in Entheos is like swamping out a '84 Pinto for a brand new Maybach. Even with the absence of bassist Evan Brewer from this tour, the progressive death metal supergroup's far-too-brief 25-minute set was a beautiful display of technical wizardry, haunting atmospherics and colossal stage presence. Plus their sound mix was crisp and well-balanced, which in hindsight proved to be a blessing on a day where multiple bands ran into audio issues of varying severity.

Soreption: Left the venue after Entheos finished, but I later found out that their set was canceled due to van problems.

Terror Universal: Was still away from the venue when they played.

Allegaeon: The shifting of set times stemming from Soreption's cancellation and a brief scare involving me misplacing my ID after re-entering The Palladium forced me to the miss the first two or three songs of Allegaeon's set. Thankfully, their immense brand of progressive/technical death metal quickly calmed me down. Riley McShane is a pretty lively frontman and as someone who loves flashy guitarwork more than pretty much anything else in music, watching Greg Burgess rip through his over-the-top solos was a joyous experience. While I didn't see enough of their set to declare them one of the day's standouts, I was definitely very impressed with the roughly two and a half songs that I did see.

The Agony Scene: Mid-2000's metalcore played a pretty pivotal role in growing my love for abrasive music as a teenager. Amidst the logjam of bands vying for genre stardom at that point in time, The Agony Scene only ended up registering as a faint blip on the radar for me. Outside of hearing "Scapegoat" on multiple YouTube breakdown compilation videos and listening to their breakout record The Darkest Red a few times shortly after it was released, my exposure to their music during their heyday was very limited. Fast forward to 2018: they've returned to music full-time following a roughly decade-long hiatus with a level of vigor and passion that you seldom see from a band that was disbanded for such a substantial period of time. To put it simply, their performance here left me feeling like I unfairly overlooked them back in my late middle/early high school years. Every one of their songs was driven by punchy riffs, well-deployed breakdowns and potent screams that are a bit more extreme than what you typically find in the metalcore genre. The Agony Scene was definitely the most pleasant surprise of the day and I owe it to my inner -core fanboy to check out their back catalog (and just-released fourth LP Tormenter) in the very near future.

Erra: Erra is a band that I've never really understood the hype towards. Their melodies, hooks and overall instrumentation just don't have the same level of catchiness or memorability as the other grizzled vets (Periphery, TesseracT, Monuments) in the djent scene. While I'm not going to walk back most of these past criticisms, their live show was definitely better than expected. The guitars hit much harder and Jesse Cash's high-pitched cleans, which drove me insane on record, were a lot more palatable in a live setting. Not anything overly impressive, but definitely a solid set that kept the positive wave of momentum from the previous batch of performances in tact.

Veil of Maya: As the wonderful world of movies has taught me, if you're having fun, you're likely willing to overlook whatever flaws exist within something. Despite featuring vocals and guitars that were all over the map in terms of volume, I ended up thoroughly enjoying Veil of Maya's set. Lukas Magyar's high-pitched screams/clean singing sounded great and the big, soaring hooks of the material from their two newest records (2015's Matriarch and 2017's False Idol) were a blast to sing along with. I guess I'm becoming a more forgiving soul as I get older...

Born of Osiris: My interest in Born of Osiris has taken a considerable hit in recent years thanks to the diminishing (albeit still far from awful) quality of their post-Discovery albums. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge their continued prowess as a live band. Regardless of how I feel about the material being played, they never fail to put on tight, entertaining and energetic performances. As long as they continue to deliver in this area, I'll have a deep respect for them as a band.

Between the Buried and Me: Outside of The Dillinger Escape Plan (RIP), Between the Buried and Me is my favorite band to see live. There's just something about watching their twisty, bizarre and wildly technical musical opuses come to life in front of your eyes that's really captivating and special. This performance was a particularly good time because it featured some of the more grandiose material in their catalog including sprawling prog epic "Disease, Injury Madness", stunningly beautiful fan favorite "Selkies: The Endless Obsession" and spastic, jazz-inspired number "Voice of Trespass" from their new record Automata II-which should become a regular fixture for years to come. A time will likely come when these guys won't be able to play these songs anymore and be forced to retire from touring like Rush did a few years back, but until that tragic day comes, I'll enjoy the hell of routinely having my mind blown by their staggering musicianship and creativity.

Scores:
????: D+
Entheos: A
Allegaeon: B+
The Agony Scene: B+
Erra: B
Veil of Maya: B+
Born of Osiris: B+
Between the Buried and Me: A+

Setlists:
Entheos:
Black Static (I)
White Noise (II)
Melancholia
The World Without Us
Inverted Earth (I)
Sunshift (II)

Allegaeon (last 3 songs):
Biomech-Vals No. 666
Of Mind and Matrix
1.618

The Agony Scene:
Hand of the Divine
The Submissive
Suffer
Scars of Your Disease
Tormentor
Scapegoat

Erra:
Breach
The Hypnotist
Hybrid Earth
Skyline
Disarray
Irreversible

Veil of Maya:
Pillars
We Bow in Its Aura
Whistleblower
Doublespeak
Punisher
Overthrow
Nyu
Leeloo
Lisbeth
Pool Spray
Mikasa

Born of Osiris:
Machine
Divergency
Bow Down
The Other Half of Me
Throw Me in the Jungle
Brace Legs
Empires Erased
Silence the Echo
The Sleeping and The Dead
Abstract Art

Between the Buried and Me:
Informal Gluttony
Extremeophile Elite
Famine Wolf
Blot
Disease, Injury, Madness
Voice of Trespass
Condemned to the Gallows

Encore:
Selkies: The Endless Obsession

Movie Review: Sorry to Bother You

As any athlete or sports fan will tell you, starting off a season on a lengthy winning streak is the type of rarity that you have to relish every moment of. Piling up a long strong of wins right out of the gate makes you feel invincible, fortunate and confident to the point where you almost begin to forget what losing feels like. However, no matter how good things seem to be going during a hot streak, you know in the back of your mind that perfection isn't sustainable over the course of a long season. It took roughly 6 months and 40 films to happen, but my unlikely, dud-free 2018 moviewatching run has finally come to a halt. Sorry to Bother You, the debut film from rapper/activist Boots Riley, is an inept, colossally messy satire that fails to deliver any effective social commentary or substantial laughs.   

I'll give Riley credit for one thing: I've truly never seen anything like Sorry to Bother You. The story of Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield-whose reliably magnetic presence prevents this from falling even further down the quality ladder), a young man that gets exposed to the dark, bizarre underbelly of corporate America after he quickly rises up the hierarchy at a telemarketing company gets more and more insane as it goes along. By the time it reaches its surrealist conclusion, it's kind of unbelievable to think that the bonkers events that transpired over the course of this film were set in motion by an act as mundane as a laid-back dude from Oakland taking a deadend job to make ends meet. That being said, no amount of unexpected, quirky plot developments in the world could possibly make up for the staggering lack of focus that Riley displays here.

If Jackson Pollock transitioned his mindlessly throw shit on the canvas approach to the world of writing about the issues that plague modern society in the United States, he would be Riley. This script seems like it was concocted by an individual that had one too many tabs of acid at Burning Man and now believes they've uncovered all of the skeletons in America's closest. Riley references hot-button issues (Capitalism! Corporate Greed! Cultural Appropriation! Violence in Pop Culture!) at such a rapid clip that whatever messages he's trying to convey becomes completely incomprehensible in no time at all. After about 35-40 minutes of watching this aimless combination of half-baked social commentary and weird-for-the-sake-of-being-weird bullshit play out, I knew that I was going to passionately despise Sorry to Bother You.  

Riley's inability to coherently convey a message is only outdone by his inability to craft comedy. He was so preoccupied with jamming 62,000,000 references to socioeconomic problems into 105 minutes of screentime that the jokes end up feeling like an afterthought. Just about every gag is too straightfaced to fit the absurdist tone the film is trying to achieve and the few that are actually inane ("The White Voice", the popular game show in which Cassius eventually appears on, the soda can-throwing protestor) are ran into the ground with such ferocity that it nullifies whatever minimal effectiveness they had initially.

Sorry to Bother You's comedic missteps become even more unforgivable once you consider who was in front of the camera. Stanfield, Danny Glover, Terry Crews and basically everyone else in this cast is a naturally funny performer, but even they can't make 99% of these lazy, horrifically-timed jokes pop. Failing to register consistent laughs with that level of talent at your disposal flat-out shouldn't happen in this or any other universe that's inhabited by intelligent lifeforms. Yuck-averse Boots is going to have to attend a workshop or some shit before he tries his hand at comedy writing again because this shit was just embarrassing and painful to watch.

If nothing else, I'm glad that 2018's clean slate was broken up by a stinker of this magnitude. As unpleasant as they are to sit through, I find that films that evoke a strong sense of contempt within you are a useful tool for managing expectations and shaping how you look at the artform moving forward. Hopefully Sorry to Bother You serves as only a brief detour to Shitsville and not the start of a second-half downturn at the good ol' cinema.  

Grade: D

The Best and Worst of Amanda Seyfried

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again” star Amanda Seyfried.

Films starring Amanda Seyfried that I've seen:
Mean Girls
Alpha Dog
Red Riding Hood
In Time
Gone
Lovelace
A Million Ways to Die in the West
Ted 2
Gringo

Best Performance: Mean Girls (2004)
Since Rachel McAdams' performance as Plastics leader Regina George is pretty much legendary at this point in time, Seyfried's similarly brilliant work as Karen Smith,the clique's ditsiest and most redeemable member, gets frequently overlooked. Thanks to Seyfried's note-perfect delivery, just about everything that comes out of Karen's mouth is a quotable, gut-busting home run.  

Worst Performance: Gone (2012)
While I think Seyfried is overrated as a dramatic performer, she's usually MUCH better than she was in Gone. Her painful turn in this ludicrous thriller about a woman (Seyfried) struggling with mental illness that fears the man who kidnapped her years earlier has returned to abduct her sister (Emily Wickersham) is without question some of the most egregious, cringeworthy overacting I've seen in recent years.

Best Film: Alpha Dog (2006)
Anchored by a captivating, fact-based story and some outstanding performances from Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster and the late Anton Yelchin, Alpha Dog ended up being one of my favorite crime dramas of the 2000's. If grim stories featuring largely unlikable characters don't turn you off, I can't recommend this movie enough.

Worst Film: Red Riding Hood (2011)
The success of Twilight spawned a mini-wave of films in the early-2010's that offered up gritty takes on classic fairy tales and animated movies. None of these films were overly well-received by critics or audiences and with the possible exception of Snow White and the Huntsman-which went to spawn a sequel in 2016, have pretty much all disappeared from memory as the end of the decade approaches. Of the entries in this trend-hopping subgenre that I've sat through, Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood arguably made for the most unpleasant watch. Frequently alternating between over-the-top ridiculous and completely stoic, this poorly-acted gothic romance fails spectacularly as both a love story and campy piece of horror schlock.

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Mission-Impossible:Fallout” star Henry Cavill.

Movie Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp

Did the bleak ending of Infinity War leave you feeling hopeless? Well, the good people at Marvel knew that the finger snap felt around the universe would piss all over people's emotions, so they went out and cooked up a joyous palette cleanser in the form of Ant-Man and the Wasp. The just-as-entertaining sequel to the 2015 superhero/heist movie hybrid is more concerned with letting its charismatic cast tell silly jokes and staging action scenes that play around with the shrinking/enlarging technology that gives the titular heroes (Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly) their superhuman abilities than establishing world-altering stakes. The proceedings are so consistently light that it even treat its villains (Hannah John-Kamen, Walton Goggins) more like playful adversaries that butt heads with the heroes than true antagonists with sinister agendas. This firm dedication to inconsequential goofiness may prevent it from going down as an overly memorable viewing experience, but I thought it was kind of nice to watch a superhero movie that tabled epic aspirations in favor of streamlined, relatively conflict-free simplicity.

Of course, this two-hour party is brought to a screeching halt by a mid-credits scene that brings these characters into the Infinity War narrative and subsequently creates a scenario that should serve as a jumping-off point for the second half of the story. Hopefully March's Captain Marvel will serve as a similarly engaging diversion before Thanos returns to reinforce the harsh reality of the current MCU.

Grade: B

Quick Movie Reviews: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, The First Purge

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom: Even as someone who is typically delighted by shiny, stupid blockbuster spectacle, I can't pretend like the Jurassic World films aren't starting to test my patience. Fallen Kingdom doubles down on the braindead lunacy of the original while cutting the entertainment value in half. Moving the action away from a relatively contained island setting to the sprawling mainland is a cool idea that results in some thrilling sequences, but for some inexplicable reason, these well-executed bits of dino action are often pushed aside for a ludicrous, human-centric story involving black market auctions, secret cloning experiments and another round of bizarre detours into family melodrama territory. At this point, I'm just curious to see how much further up the absurdity ladder Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow can go before this series comes to an end. If Chris Pratt ends up jumping off a motorcycle and roundhouse kicking a rogue raptor in the face at some point, I will instantly become the biggest Jurassic World fan on the planet.
Grade: C+

Sicario: Day of the Soldado: Concocting a sequel to a widely-acclaimed film is a frightening task, especially when some key players (Emily Blunt, Denis Villenuve) aren't returning to the fold. Fortunately, the creative team behind Day of the Soldado handled the challenge admirably and ended up delivering a film that helped solidify the excellence of the Sicario brand. Director Stefano Sollima establishes a tense, uneasy tone throughout, just about every performance is top-notch and writer Taylor Sheridan does an excellent job of crafting an efficient story that showcases the morally dubious actions of both the United States government and Mexican drug cartels. It's far from a pleasant watch, but I still really enjoyed it.
Grade: B+

The First Purge: In the postmortem of Donald Trump being elected President, many people on social media predicted that the guaranteed turbulence of his presidency would result in the creation of a lot of great art from people that were disgusted by his election. Since that fateful day in November 2016, The Purge series is the only piece of politically-charged art that I've come across that I believe has flourished as a result of Captain Crowdsize's presence in the Oval Office. At a period of time where people from both sides of the aisle take to the hub of subtlety otherwise known Twitter to talk politics, this blunt critique of classism gets its message across in an appropriately nuance-free fashion. The First Purge continues this trend of capturing the ugly pulse of our royally fucked-up nation with another round of messy yet ultimately effective social commentary brilliantly juxtaposed with schlocky action and horror atmosphere.  

This prequel retains the formula laid down by the two prior sequels by following a group of disenfranchised people that come under siege during a 12 hour period of government-ordered where all crime is legal, but thanks to some nice touches in James DeMonaco's script, the storytelling becomes more effective. By disclosing how the New Founding Fathers ensured the Purge would turn into a nationwide phenomenon and adding some heft to the observations about how the government exploits poor people in this country and why these individuals are often forced to turn to crime as a result of that infrastructural neglect, make the events of the film that much more unsettling and haunting.

The First Purge's increased emotional resonance is further aided by the strength of its protagonists. Dimitri (Y'Lan Noel) and Nya (Lex Scott Davis) are the smartest, strongest and most engaging characters this franchise has featured thus far. Both actors do a great job of allowing their character's motivations to evolve on the fly once they discover what's really occurring on Purge night while also possessing the effortless likability that makes you really care about these people's safety once the insanity ratchets up in the third act.

As over-the-top as the content of the Purge series tends to be, I have to applaud DeMonaco, Jason Blum, Gerard McMurray and everyone else that has helped bring these movies to the big screen. Shining a light on a largely ignored issue that's arguably the source of America's biggest institutional problem through a series of action horror flicks that have continued to get more assured and potent as they've gone along is a hell of an accomplishment that seemed inconceivable to me when it started five years ago. I have no idea how I would feel about these movies if they were released in a different political climate, but right now, these visceral, heavy-handed reminders of this country's sinister institutional flaws that also serve as a rallying cry for citizens to go out and fight like hell to evoke positive change are pure zeitgeist poetry.  
Grade: A- 

The Best and Worst of Andy Samberg

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation" star Andy Samberg.

Films starring Andy Samberg that I've seen:
Hot Rod
I Love You, Man
Friends with Benefits
What's My Number?
That's My Boy
The Watch
Celeste and Jesse Forever
Hotel Transylvania 
Grown Ups 2
The To Do List
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Neighbors
Hotel Transylvania 2
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Storks
Take the 10
Brigsby Bear

Best Performance: Hot Rod (2007)
While his early Lonely Island videos/Saturday Night Live sketches made me laugh, Hot Rod was the project that turned me into a hardcore fan of Samberg. Amateur stuntman Rob Kimble was a perfect display of the over-the-top absurdity and effortless likability that has made Samberg a reliably strong comedic presence for over a decade.  

Worst Performance: The To Do List (2013)
As I just stated, Samberg makes me laugh just about every time he appears on screen. This fact made his underwhelming bit part in Maggie Carey's middling sex comedy The To Do List a seriously unpleasant surprise. As a hippie burnout acquaintance of the author of the titular list of goals (the always delightful Aubrey Plaza), Samberg went through some uncharacteristic struggles with the cartoonish persona that has served him well through his career.

Best Film: Hot Rod (2007)
Outside of Anchorman, I've never watched a comedy more than Hot Rod. It's collection of vibrant characters and gleefully dumb yet completely distinct sense of humor never fails to make me laugh my ass off.   

Worst Film: What's Your Number? (2011)
This putrid romantic comedy that mostly stars people I think highly of is an undisputed contender for the film that's been featured most frequently in the three year existence of this series. It seems like every few months, I'm forced to relive the misery of What's Your Number? by writing another string of words railing against it. Hopefully I'll eventually reach a point where I've covered every relevant actor in this ensemble and this god damn abomination will finally drift away from my brain forever. Stay tuned in a month or so when this deep-burning disdain is rehashed for the 86th time.    
 
Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again” star Amanda Seyfried.

2018 NFL Position Rankings: Full Series Recap

For those who are unfamiliar or missed individual entries of this series, here's the criteria:
1.Rookie are excluded
2.Each player is judged on where they currently stand in my opinion, not the player I believe they once were, are going to be, etc.
3.Each player is listed as a member of the team they will play for this upcoming season

Editor's Note: Due to severe injuries that have forced them to miss a significant amount of games over the past two seasons and could severely impact their level of play moving forward, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and Texans defensive end J.J. Watt were excluded from this year's rankings.

Quarterback:
25.Joe Flacco (Ravens)
24.Blake Bortles (Jaguars)
23.Deshaun Watson (Texans)
22.Tyrod Taylor (Browns)
21.Jimmy Garoppolo (49ers)
20.Nick Foles (Eagles)
19.Dak Prescott (Cowboys)
18.Andy Dalton (Bengals)
17.Jameis Winston (Buccaneers)
16.Derek Carr (Raiders)
15.Eli Manning (Giants)
14.Marcus Mariota (Titans)
13.Jared Goff (Rams)
12.Alex Smith (Redskins)
11.Phillip Rivers (Chargers)
10.Kirk Cousins (Vikings)
9.Matthew Stafford (Lions)
8.Cam Newton (Panthers)
7.Carson Wentz (Eagles)
6.Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers)
5.Matt Ryan (Falcons)
4.Drew Brees (Saints)
3.Russell Wilson (Seahawks)
2.Aaron Rodgers (Packers)
1.Tom Brady (Patriots)

Running Back:
50.Jalen Richard (Raiders)
49.Joe Mixon (Bengals)
48.Charles Simms (Buccaneers)
47.T.J. Yeldon (Jaguars)
46.Tarik Cohen (Bears)
45.Alfred Morris (Cowboys)
44.Jonathan Stewart (Giants)
43.Orleans Darkwa (Free Agent)
42.Theo Riddick (Lions)
41.Javorious Allen (Ravens)
40.Corey Clement (Eagles)
39.Samjae Perine (Redskins)
38.Jeremy Hill (Patriots)
37.Doug Martin (Raiders)
36.Dalvin Cook (Vikings)
35.Kenyan Drake (Dolphins)
34.Christian McCaffery (Panthers)
33.Giovani Bernard (Bengals)
32.James White (Patriots)
31.Jerick McKinnon (49ers)
30.Bilal Powell (Jets)
29.DeMarco Murray (Free Agent)
28.LeGarrette Blount (Lions)
27.Spencer Ware (Chiefs)
26.Isaiah Crowell (Jets)
25.Duke Johnson Jr. (Browns)
24.Chris Thompson (Redskins)
23.Latavius Murray (Vikings)
22.Carlos Hyde (Browns)
21.Alex Collins (Ravens)
20.Marshawn Lynch (Raiders)
19.Frank Gore (Dolphins)
18.Tevin Coleman (Falcons)
17.Derrick Henry (Titans)
16.C.J. Anderson (Panthers)
15.Dion Lewis (Titans)
14.Melvin Gordon (Chargers)
13.Leonard Fournette (Jaguars)
12.Jay Ajayi (Eagles)
11.Lamar Miller (Texans)
10.Mark Ingram (Saints)
9.Jordan Howard (Bears)
8.Kareem Hunt (Chiefs)
7.Alvin Kamara (Saints)
6.LeSean McCoy (Bills)
5.Devonta Freeman (Falcons)
4.Ezekiel Elliott (Cowboys)
3.David Johnson (Cardinals)
2.Todd Gurley (Rams)
1.Le'Veon Bell (Steelers)

Wide Receiver:
50.Randall Cobb (Packers)
49.Nelson Agholor (Eagles)
48.Sterling Shepard (Giants)
47.Paul Richardson (Redskins)
46.Tyrell Williams (Chargers)
45.Jermaine Kearse (Jets)
44.Momahed Sanu (Falcons)
43.Jamison Crowder (Redskins)
42.Mike Wallace (Eagles)
41.Kenny Stills (Dolphins)
40.Jordy Nelson (Raiders)
39.Josh Gordon (Browns)
38.Pierre Garcon (49ers)
37.Devin Funchess (Panthers)
36.Robby Anderson (Jets)
35.Sammy Watkins (Chiefs)
34.Cooper Kupp (Rams)
33.Marquise Goodwin (49ers)
32.Allen Robinson (Bears)
31.Julian Edelman (Patriots)
30.Michael Crabtree (Ravens)
29.Kelvin Benjamin (Bills)
28.Robert Woods (Rams)
27.Rishard Matthews (Titans)
26.JuJu Smith-Schuster (Steelers)
25.Emmanuel Sanders (Broncos)
24.Dez Bryant (Free Agent)
23.Amari Cooper (Raiders)
22.DeSean Jackson (Buccaneers)
21.Davante Adams (Packers)
20.Stefon Diggs (Vikings)
19.Marvin Jones Jr. (Lions)
18.Adam Thielen (Vikings)
17.Golden Tate (Lions)
16.Jarvis Landry (Browns)
15.Alshon Jeffrey (Eagles)
14.Brandin Cooks (Rams)
13.Demaryius Thomas (Broncos)
12.Tyreek Hill (Chiefs)
11.Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals)
10.T.Y. Hilton (Colts)
9.Mike Evans (Buccaneers)
8.Keenan Allen (Chargers)
7.Doug Baldwin (Seahawks)
6.Michael Thomas (Saints)
5.A.J. Green (Bengals)
4.Julio Jones (Falcons)
3.Odell Beckham Jr. (Giants)
2.DeAndre Hopkins (Texans)
1.Antonio Brown (Steelers)

Tight End:
20.George Kittle (49ers)
19.Benjamin Watson (Saints)
18.Austin Hooper (Falcons)
17.Vernon Davis (Redskins)
16.Eric Ebron (Colts)
15.Tyler Eifert (Bengals)
14.Charles Clay (Bills)
13.Jared Cook (Raiders)
12.Cameron Brate (Buccaneers)
11.Hunter Henry (Chargers)
10.Jack Doyle (Colts)
9.Evan Engram (Giants)
8.Kyle Rudolph (Vikings)
7.Jordan Reed (Redskins)
6.Jimmy Graham (Packers)
5.Delanie Walker (Titans)
4.Greg Olsen (Panthers)
3.Zach Ertz (Eagles)
2.Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
1.Rob Gronkowski (Patriots)

Tackle:
30.Dion Dawkins (Bills)
29.Marcus Cannon (Patriots)
28.Terron Armstead (Saints)
27.Bryan Bulaga (Packers)
26.Mitchell Schwartz (Chiefs)
25.Charles Leno Jr. (Bears)
24.Russell Okung (Chargers)
23.Ryan Schrader (Falcons)
22.Jake Matthews (Falcons)
21.Ronnie Stanley (Ravens)
20.Demar Dotson (Buccaneers)
19.Ryan Ramcyzk (Saints)
18.Cordy Glenn (Bengals)
17.Duane Brown (Seahawks)
16.Nate Solder (Giants)
15.Alejandro Villaneuva (Steelers)
14.Daryl Williams (Panthers)
13.Donald Penn (Raiders)
12.Jack Conklin (Titans)
11.Ricky Wagner (Lions)
10.Marcus Gilbert (Steelers)
9.Taylor Lewan (Titans)
8.Jason Peters (Eagles)
7.Lane Johnson (Eagles)
6.Anthony Castonzo (Colts)
5.Joe Staley (49ers)
4.Tyron Smith (Cowboys)
3.David Bakhtari (Packers)
2.Andrew Whitworth (Rams)
1.Trent Williams (Redskins)

Guard:
30.John Jerry (Giants)
29.Trai Turner (Panthers)
28.Ramon Foster (Steelers)
27.Clint Boling (Bengals)
26.Justin Pugh (Cardinals)
25.Cody Whitehair (Bears)
24.Quinton Spain (Titans)
23.Stefen Wisnewski (Eagles)
22.Ali Marpet (Buccaneers)
21.Josh Kline (Titans)
20.Joe Thuney (Patriots)
19.Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (Chiefs)
18.Andy Levitre (Falcons)
17.Kyle Long (Bears)
16.Gabe Jackson (Raiders)
15.Larry Warford (Saints)
14.Josh Sitton (Dolphins)
13.Ronald Leary (Broncos)
12.Brandon Schreff (Redskins)
11.Shaq Mason (Patriots)
10.T.J. Lang (Lions)
9.Rodger Saffold (Rams)
8.Kelechi Osemele (Raiders)
7.Kevin Zeitler (Browns)
6.Joel Bitonio (Browns)
5.Andrew Norwell (Jaguars)
4.Brandon Brooks (Eagles)
3.Zach Martin (Cowboys)
2.David DeCastro (Steelers)
1.Marshal Yanda (Ravens)

Center:
20.Chase Roullier (Redskins)
19.Mike Pouncey (Chargers)
18.Brett Jones (Giants)
17.Corey Linsley (Packers)
16.Justin Britt (Seahawks)
15.Maurkice Pouncey (Steelers)
14.Max Unger (Saints)
13.Ryan Kalil (Panthers)
12.Weston Richburg (49ers)
11.JC Tretter (Browns)
10.John Sullivan (Rams)
9.Ryan Jensen (Buccaneers)
8.Ben Jones (Titans)
7.David Andrews (Patriots)
6.Matt Paradis (Broncos)
5.Jason Kelce (Eagles)
4.Brandon Linder (Jaguars)
3.Rodney Hudson (Raiders)
2.Travis Fredrick (Cowboys)
1.Alex Mack (Falcons)

Defensive Tackle:
30.Al Woods (Colts)
29.Dalvin Tomlinson (Giants)
28.Kyle Williams (Bills)
27.Malcom Brown (Patriots)
26.Justin Ellis (Raiders)
25.Domata Peko (Broncos)
24.Danny Shelton (Patriots)
23.Corey Peters (Cardinals)
22.D.J. Reader (Texans)
21.Star Lotulelei (Bills)
20.Michael Pierce (Ravens)
19.Marcell Dareus (Jaguars)
18.David Irving (Cowboys)
17.Sheldon Richardson (Vikings)
16.Timmy Jernigan (Eagles)
15.Kenny Clark (Packers)
14.Chris Jones (Chiefs)
13.Malik Jackson (Jaguars)
12.Grady Jarrett (Falcons)
11.DeForest Buckner (49ers)
10.Brandon Williams (Ravens)
9.Linval Joseph (Vikings)
8.Jurrell Casey (Titans)
7.Gerald McCoy (Buccaneers)
6.Damon Harrison (Giants)
5.Kawann Short (Panthers)
4.Ndamukong Suh (Rams)
3.Geno Atkins (Bengals)
2.Fletcher Cox (Eagles)
1.Aaron Donald (Rams)

Defensive End:
35.DaQuan Jones (Titans)
34.John Simon (Colts)
33.Brooks Reed (Falcons)
32.Adrian Clayborn (Patriots)
31.Myles Garrett (Browns)
30.Derek Wolfe (Broncos)
29.Mario Addison (Panthers)
28.Alex Okafor (Saints)
27.Frank Clark (Seahawks)
26.William Hayes (Dolphins)
25.Danielle Hunter (Vikings)
24.Ezekiel Ansah (Lions)
23.Michael Brockers (Rams)
22.Vinny Curry (Buccaneers)
21.Jabaal Sheard (Colts)
20.Jerry Hughes (Bills)
19.Michael Bennett (Eagles)
18.Jason Pierre-Paul (Buccaneers)
17.Yannick Ngakoue (Jaguars)
16.Leonard Williams (Jets)
15.Carlos Dunlap (Bengals)
14.Akiem Hicks (Bears)
13.Trey Flowers (Patriots)
12.Cameron Wake (Dolphins)
11.Cameron Heyward (Steelers)
10.DeMarcus Lawrence (Cowboys)
9.Everson Griffen (Vikings)
8.Melvin Ingram (Chargers)
7.Mike Daniels (Packers)
6.Joey Bosa (Chargers)
5.Brandon Graham (Eagles)
4.Chandler Jones (Cardinals)
3.Calias Campbell (Jaguars)
2.Cameron Jordan (Saints)
1.Khalil Mack (Raiders)

Inside Linebacker:
25.Korey Toomer (49ers)
24.Joe Schobert (Browns)
23.Zach Cunningham (Texans)
22.Brandon Marshall (Broncos)
21.Zach Brown (Redskins)
20.Nick Kwiatkoski (Bears)
19.Reuben Foster (49ers)
18.Benardrick McKinney (Texans)
17.Derrick Johnson (Raiders)
16.Todd Davis (Broncos)
15.Wesley Woodyard (Titans)
14.Eric Kendricks (Vikings)
13.Blake Martinez (Packers)
12.Anthony Hitchens (Chiefs)
11.Jake Ryan (Packers)
10.Mychal Kendricks (Browns)
9.Demario Davis (Saints)
8.Avery Williamson (Jets)
7.Danny Trevathan (Bears)
6.Don'ta Hightower (Patriots)
5.C.J. Mosley (Ravens)
4.Sean Lee (Cowboys)
3.Deion Jones (Falcons)
2.Luke Kuechly (Panthers)
1.Bobby Wagner (Seahawks)

Outside Linebacker:
35.Aaron Lynch (Bears)
34.Carl Lawson (Bengals)
33.Craig Robertson (Saints)
32.Jamie Collins (Browns)
31.Leonard Floyd (Bears)
30.T.J. Watt (Steelers)
29.Christian Kirksey (Browns)
28.Pernell McPhee (Redskins)
27.Lorenzo Alexander (Bills)
26.Shaq Thompson (Panthers)
25.Vic Beasley Jr. (Falcons)
24.De'Vondre Campbell (Falcons)
23.Tahir Whitehead (Raiders)
22.Anthony Barr (Vikings)
21.Shaquill Barrett (Broncos)
20.Nick Perry (Packers)
19.Preston Smith (Redskins)
18.Derrick Morgan (Titans)
17.Nigel Bradham (Eagles)
16.Bruce Irvin (Raiders)
15.Thomas Davis (Panthers)
14.Clay Matthews (Packers)
13.Whitney Mercilus (Texans)
12.Myles Jack (Jaguars)
11.Vontaze Burfict (Bengals)
10.Terrell Suggs (Ravens)
9.Brian Orakpo (Titans)
8.Olivier Vernon (Giants)
7.Ryan Kerrigan (Redskins)
6.K.J. Wright (Seahawks)
5.Jadeveon Clowney (Texans)
4.Telvin Smith (Jaguars)
3.Lavonte David (Buccaneers)
2.Justin Houston (Chiefs)
1.Von Miller (Broncos)

Cornerback:
50.Briean Boddy-Calhoun (Browns)
49.Aaron Colvin (Texans)
48.Adoree' Jackson (Titans)
47.Desmond King (Chargers)
46.Darqueze Dennard (Bengals)
45.Bryce Callahan (Bears)
44.Justin Coleman (Seahawks)
43.Mike Hilton (Steelers)
42.Ken Crawley (Saints)
41.Logan Ryan (Titans)
40.Jonathan Joseph (Texans)
39.Joe Haden (Steelers)
38.Artie Burns (Steelers)
37.William Jackson III (Bengals)
36.Nickell Robey-Coleman (Rams)
35.Bobby McCain (Dolphins)
34.Rashaan Melvin (Raiders)
33.Byron Maxwell (Seahawks)
32.E.J. Gaines (Browns)
31.Brandon Carr (Ravens)
30.Trumaine Johnson (Jets)
29.Trevor Williams (Chargers)
28.Prince Amukamara (Bears)
27.Jason McCourty (Patriots)
26.Jimmy Smith (Ravens)
25.Tramon Williams (Packers)
24.Kendall Fuller (Chiefs)
23.Bradley Roby (Broncos)
22.Kyle Fuller (Bears)
21.Robert Alford (Falcons)
20.Brent Grimes (Buccaneers)
19.Ronald Darby (Eagles)
18.Patrick Robinson (Saints)
17.Tre'Davious White (Bills)
16.Marshon Lattimore (Saints)
15.Malcolm Butler (Titans)
14.Josh Norman (Redskins)
13.Janoris Jenkins (Giants)
12.Stephon Gilmore (Patriots)
11.Desmond Trufant (Falcons)
10.Marcus Peters (Rams)
9.Xavier Rhodes (Vikings)
8.Richard Sherman (49ers)
7.Darius Slay (Lions)
6.A.J. Bouye (Jaguars)
5.Aqib Talib (Rams)
4.Patrick Peterson (Cardinals)
3.Jalen Ramsey (Jaguars)
2.Chris Harris Jr. (Broncos)
1.Casey Hayward (Chargers)

Safety:
50.Eddie Jackson (Bears)
49.Bradley McDougald (Seahawks)
48.Jaquiski Tartt (49ers)
47.Marcus Gillchrist (Raiders)
46.T.J. McDonald (Dolphins)
45.T.J. Ward (Free Agent)
44.Shawn Williams (Bengals)
43.Patrick Chung (Patriots)
42.Justin Simmons (Broncos)
41.Jeff Heath (Cowboys)
40.Eric Reid (Free Agent)
39.Tre Boston (Free Agent)
38.Duron Harmon (Patriots)
37.Jamal Adams (Jets)
36.Reggie Nelson (Raiders)
35.Ricardo Allen (Falcons)
34.Darian Stewart (Broncos)
33.Byron Jones (Cowboys)
32.Morgan Burnett (Steelers)
31.Budda Baker (Cardinals)
30.Karl Joseph (Raiders)
29.Jahleel Addae (Chargers)
28.D.J. Swearinger (Redskins)
27.John Johnson III (Rams)
26.Tashaun Gibson (Jaguars)
25.Marcus Williams (Saints)
24.Rodney McLeod (Eagles)
23.George Iloka (Bengals)
22.HaHa Clinton-Dix (Packers)
21.Jordan Poyer (Bills)
20.Antoine Bethea (Cardinals)
19.Mike Adams (Panthers)
18.Tyrann Mathieau (Texans)
17.Andrew Sendejo (Vikings)
16.Micah Hyde (Bills)
15.Keanu Neal (Falcons)
14.Kevin Byard (Titans)
13.Barry Church (Jaguars)
12.Malcolm Jenkins (Eagles)
11.Tony Jefferson (Ravens)
10.LaMarcus Joyner (Rams)
9.Adrian Amos (Bears)
8.Devin McCourty (Patriots)
7.Glover Quin (Lions)
6.Landon Collins (Giants)
5.Eric Berry (Chiefs)
4.Reshad Jones (Dolphins)
3.Eric Weddle (Ravens)
2.Earl Thomas (Seahawks)
1.Harrison Smith (Vikings)

Kicker:
20.Kai Forbath (Vikings)
19.Cairo Santos (Jets)
18.Brandon McManus (Broncos)
17.Dustin Hopkins (Redskins)
16.Harrison Butker (Chiefs)
15.Josh Lambo (Jaguars)
14.Will Lutz (Saints)
13.Mason Crosby (Packers)
12.Steven Hauschka (Bills)
11.Adam Vinatieri (Colts)
10.Jake Elliott (Eagles)
9.Matt Prater (Lions)
8.Graham Gano (Panthers)
7.Stephen Gostkowski (Patriots)
6.Robbie Gould (49ers)
5.Chris Boswell (Steelers)
4.Dan Bailey (Cowboys)
3.Greg Zuerlein (Rams)
2.Matt Bryant (Falcons)
1.Justin Tucker (Ravens)

Punter:
20.Lachlan Edwards (Jets)
19.Britton Colquitt (Browns)
18.Jon Ryan (Seahawks)
17.Riley Dixon (Giants)
16.Sam Koch (Ravens)
15.Chris Jones (Cowboys)
14.Pat O'Donnell (Bears)
13.Dustin Colquitt (Chiefs)
12.Tress Way (Redskins)
11.Bryan Anger (Buccaneers)
10.Sam Martin (Lions)
9.Drew Kaser (Chargers)
8.Matt Bosher (Falcons)
7.Kevin Huber (Bengals)
6.Brett Kern (Titans)
5.Andy Lee (Cardinals)
4.Marquette King (Broncos)
3.Shane Lechler (Texans)
2.Thomas Morstead (Saints)
1.Johnny Hekker (Rams)

Top 10 Appearances by Team (most to least):
Los Angeles Rams-11 (Aaron Donald, Todd Gurley, Johnny Hekker, LaMarcus Joyner, Marcus Peters, Rodger Saffold, Ndamukong Suh, John Sullivan, Aqib Talib, Andrew Whitworth, Greg Zuerlein)
Philadelphia Eagles-9 (Brandon Brooks, Fletcher Cox, Jake Elliott, Zach Ertz, Brandon Graham, Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Jason Peters, Carson Wentz)
Atlanta Falcons-7 (Matt Bosher, Matt Bryant, Devonta Freeman, Deion Jones, Julio Jones, Alex Mack Matt Ryan)
Dallas Cowboys-7 (Dan Bailey, Ezekiel Elliott, Travis Fredrick, DeMarcus Lawrence, Sean Lee, Zach Martin, Tyron Smith)
New Orleans Saints-7 (Drew Brees, Demario Davis, Mark Ingram, Cameron Jordan, Alvin Kamara, Thomas Morstead, Michael Thomas)
Baltimore Ravens-6 (C.J. Mosley, Terrell Suggs, Justin Tucker, Eric Weddle, Brandon Williams, Marshal Yanda)
Detroit Lions-6 (T.J. Lang, Sam Martin, Matt Prater, Glover Quin, Darius Slay, Matthew Stafford)
Jacksonville Jaguars-6 (A.J. Bouye, Calias Campbell, Brandon Linder, Andrew Norwell, Jalen Ramsey, Telvin Smith)
Minnesota Vikings-6 (Kirk Cousins, Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph, Xavier Rhodes, Kyle Rudolph, Harrison Smith)
New England Patriots-6 (David Andrews, Tom Brady, Stephen Gostkowski, Rob Gronkowski, Dont'a Hightower, Devin McCourty)
Pittsburgh Steelers-6 (Le'Veon Bell, Chris Boswell, Antonio Brown, David DeCastro, Marcus Gilbert, Ben Roethlisberger)
Tennessee Titans-6 (Jurrell Casey, Ben Jones, Brett Kern, Taylor Lewan, Brian Orakpo, Delanie Walker)
Carolina Panthers-5 (Graham Gano, Luke Kuechly, Cam Newton, Greg Olsen, Kawann Short)
Los Angeles Chargers-5 (Keenan Allen, Joey Bosa, Casey Hayward, Melvin Ingram, Drew Kaser)
New York Giants-5 (Odell Beckham Jr., Landon Collins, Evan Engram, Damon Harrison, Olivier Vernon)
Seattle Seahawks-5 (Doug Baldwin, Earl Thomas, Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson, K.J. Wright)
Arizona Cardinals-4 (David Johnson, Chandler Jones, Andy Lee, Patrick Peterson)
Denver Broncos-4 (Chris Harris Jr., Marquette King, Von Miller, Matt Paradis)

Green Bay Packers-4 (David Bakhtiari, Mike Daniels, Jimmy Graham, Aaron Rodgers)
Kansas City Chiefs-4 (Eric Berry, Justin Houston, Kareem Hunt, Travis Kelce)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers-4 (Lavonte David, Mike Evans, Ryan Jensen, Gerald McCoy)
Chicago Bears-3 (Adrian Amos, Jordan Howard, Danny Trevathan)
Cincinnati Bengals-3 (Geno Atkins, A.J. Green, Kevin Huber)
Cleveland Browns-3 (Joel Bitonio, Mychal Kendricks, Kevin Zeitler)
Houston Texans-3 (Jadeveon Clowney, DeAndre Hopkins, Shane Lechler)
Indianapolis Colts-3 (Anthony Castonzo, Jack Doyle, T.Y. Hilton)
Oakland Raiders-3 (Rodney Hudson, Khalil Mack, Kelechi Osemele)
San Francisco 49ers-3 (Robbie Gould, Richard Sherman, Joe Staley)
Washington Redskins-3 (Ryan Kerrigan, Jordan Reed, Trent Williams)
Buffalo Bills-1 (LeSean McCoy)
Miami Dolphins-1 (Reshad Jones)
New York Jets-1 (Avery Williamson)

2018 NFL Position Rankings: Top 20 Punters

20.Lachlan Edwards (Jets)

19.Britton Colquitt (Browns)

18.Jon Ryan (Seahawks)

17.Riley Dixon (Giants)

16.Sam Koch (Ravens)

15.Chris Jones (Cowboys)

14.Pat O'Donnell (Bears)

13.Dustin Colquitt (Chiefs)

12.Tress Way (Redskins)

11.Bryan Anger (Buccaneers)

10.Sam Martin (Lions)

9.Drew Kaser (Chargers)

8.Matt Bosher (Falcons)

7.Kevin Huber (Bengals)

6.Brett Kern (Titans)

5.Andy Lee (Cardinals)

4.Marquette King (Broncos)

3.Shane Lechler (Texans)

2.Thomas Morstead (Saints)

1.Johnny Hekker (Rams)

The Best and Worst of Walton Goggins

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “Ant-Man and the Wasp” star Walton Goggins.

Films starring Walton Goggins that I've seen:
Shanghai Noon
The Bourne Identity
House of 1000 Corpses
Predators
Cowboys & Aliens 
Straw Dogs
Django Unchained
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Machete Kills 
American Ultra   
The Hateful Eight
Maze Runner: The Death Cure
Tomb Raider

Best Performance: The Hateful Eight (2015)
Despite his numerous highly-acclaimed roles as a lead actor on television (Justified, The Shield, Vince Principals), Goggins has been relegated to relatively minimal supporting roles in the bulk of his film work. The Hateful Eight marked one of the rare instances where he was given a good amount of screen time and holy hell, did he make the most out of it. His turn as Chris Mannix, the mysterious sheriff of a small town in post Civil War-Wyoming, was arguably the most unforgettable part of Quentin Tarantino's claustrophobic subzero western.

Worst Performance: Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
With his strong work in Justified, Predators and Django Unchained, Goggins has solidified himself as one hell of an antagonist. That flawless track record of on-screen villainy finally got tarnished with Maze Runner: The Death Cure. He isn't menacing or engaging enough to make violent resistance leader Lawrence an interesting bad guy.

Best Film: Django Unchained (2012)
To stop short of going completely overboard with hyperbole, I'll just say that I love the shit out of this movie. A slew of spectacular performances, over-the-top shootouts and a script that seamlessly blends dark comedy with an unflinching look at the unspeakable horrors of slavery made Django Unchained my favorite Quentin Tarantino movie since Kill Bill Vol.1.

Worst Film: Straw Dogs (2011)
Straw Dogs is a movie that I hadn't thought about in quite some time, but as soon I saw the title in Goggins' filmography, I quickly remembered how much I didn't like it. Respectable acting from the bulk of its primary cast (James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgaard, Dominic Purcell) can't save this from being an overlong, sloppily-made horror flick that's bizarrely melodramatic and completely lacking in suspense. 

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” star Andy Samberg. 

2018 NFL Position Rankings: Top 20 Kickers

20.Kai Forbath (Vikings)
19.Cairo Santos (Jets)
18.Brandon McManus (Broncos)
17.Dustin Hopkins (Redskins)
16.Harrison Butker (Chiefs)
15.Josh Lambo (Jaguars)
14.Will Lutz (Saints)
13.Mason Crosby (Packers)
12.Steven Hauschka (Bills)
11.Adam Vinatieri (Colts)
10.Jake Elliott (Eagles)
9.Matt Prater (Lions)
8.Graham Gano (Panthers)
7.Stephen Gostkowski (Patriots)
6.Robbie Gould (49ers)
5.Chris Boswell (Steelers)
4.Dan Bailey (Cowboys)
3.Greg Zuerlein (Rams)
2.Matt Bryant (Falcons)
1.Justin Tucker (Ravens)

2018 in Music: Mid-Year Review

The early stages of the 2018 musical year has mostly served as an exercise in respectability. While there has been some sporadic flourishes of excellence along the way courtesy of the indie death metal scene (Rivers of Nihil, Slugdge, Inferi) and a polarizing Atlanta rapper whose known more for his ad-libs than his mic skills (Playboi Carti), merely solid records have pretty much dominated the landscape for the majority of the year. New artists (Kali Uchis, Cardi B, Greyhaven) and established veterans (Death Grips, A$AP Rocky, Pusha T) alike have been pumping out good-but-not-great material at an almost unbelievable clip.

That being said, years like this aren't without their advantages. The plethora of B-range records has kept the level of truly terrible records to a minimum while also leaving the door for some optimism that the year can still go down as a great one. Whatever ends up happening in the latter stages of 2018, let's hope that there isn't too many more unnecessary hip-hop double albums on the horizon because I'm getting sick of carving out time to listen to a marathon-esque record that isn't even close to the artist's best work.

Below you'll find a list of every LP and EP I've heard in 2018 ranked from worst to best (with accompanying grades) along with my picks for the 25 best songs in no particular order. Hope you enjoy and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the year in music so far in the comment section below.      

EP's:
4.2 Chainz-The Play Don't Care Who Makes It (B-) (Favorite Track: "Ok Bitch")
3.Drake-Scary Hours (B) (Favorite Track: "God's Plan")
2.The Weeknd-My Dear Melancholy, (B) (Favorite Track: "Call Out My Name")
1.Young Thug-Hear No Evil (B+) (Favorite Track: "Anybody")

LP's:
45.Kanye West-ye (D+) (Favorite Track: "Yikes")
44.Lil Yachty-Lil Boat 2 (D+) (Favorite Track: "Self-Made")
43.Tropical Fuck Storm-A Laughing Death in Meat Space (C-) (Favorite Track: "Chameleon Paint")
42.Machine Head-Catharsis (C-) (Favorite Track: "Volatile")
41.Jack White-Boarding House Reach (C) (Favorite Track: "Over and Over and Over")
40.Kodak Black-Heartbreak Kodak (C) (Favorite Track: ""Codeine Dreaming")
39.Parkway Drive-Reverence (C) (Favorite Track: "Wishing Wells")
38.Kids See Ghosts-Kids See Ghosts (C) (Favorite Track: "Cudi Montage")
37.Fall Out Boy-MANIA (C+) (Favorite Track: "Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea")
36.Logic-Bobby Tarantino II (C+) (Favorite Track: "Warm It Up")
35.Famous Dex-Dex Meets Dexter (C+) (Favorite Track:"Deadpool")
34.XXXTENTACION-?(B-) (Favorite Track: "Sad!")
33.Nekrogoblikon-Welcome to Bonkers (B-) (Favorite Track: "The Skin Thief")
32.Good Tiger-We Will All Be Gone (B-) (Favorite Track: "Blueshift")
31.Various Artists-Black Panther: The Album-Music from and Inspired by (Favorite Track: "Big Shot")
30.The Carters-EVERYTHING IS LOVE (B-) (Favorite Track: "Lovehappy")
29.Turnstile-Time & Space (B-) (Favorite Track: "Come Back for More/H.O.Y.")
28.Camila Cabello-Camila (B-) (Favorite Track: "She Loves Control")
27.State Champs-Living Proof (B-) (Favorite Track: "Frozen'")
26.Ski Mask the Slump God-BEWARE THE BOOK OF ELI (B-) (Favorite Track: "Run")
25.JPEGMAFIA-Veteran (B-) (Favorite Track: ""I Can't Wait Until Morrisey Dies")
24.Migos-Culture II (B-) (Favorite Track: "Stir Fry")
23.The Wonder Years-Sister Cities (B) (Favorite Track: "Pyramids of Salt")
22.Kyle-Light of Mine (B) (Favorite Track: "Games")
21.Drake-Scorpion (B) (Favorite Track: "Nice for What")
20.Extinction A.D.-Decimation Treaty (B) (Favorite Track: "Secret Worlds")
19.Pusha T-Daytona (B) (Favorite Track: "If You Know You Know")
18.TesseracT-Sonder (B) (Favorite Track: "Juno")
17.A$AP Rocky-Testing (B) (Favorite Track: "Tony Tone")
16.Augury-Illusive Golden Age (B) (Favorite Track: "Maritime")
15.Kimbra-Primal Heart (B) (Favorite Track: "Like They Do on the TV")
14.Post Malone-beerbongs &bentleys (B) (Favorite Track: "92 Explorer") 
13.Cardi B-Invasion of Privacy (B) (Favorite Track: "Money Bag")
12.Greyhaven-Empty Black (B) (Favorite Track: "Broadcast Network")
11.Death Grips-Year of the Snitch (B) (Favorite Track: "Dilemma")
10.Flatbush Zombies-Vacation in Hell (B)(Favorite Track: ""Big Shrimp")
9.Kali Uchis-Isolation (B) (Favorite Track: "Tyrant")
8.Alterbeast-Feast (B+) (Favorite Track: "The Maggot's Ascension")
7.Inferi-Revenant (B+) (Favorite Track: "The Menacing Gaze")
6.Rolo Tomassi-Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It (B+) (Favorite Track: "Alma Mater")
5.Playboi Carti-Die Lit (B+) (Favorite Track: "R.I.P.")
4.Dance Gavin Dance-Artificial Selection (B+) (Favorite Track: "Count Bassy")
3.Slugdge-Esoteric Malacology (A-) (Favorite Track: "Crop Killer") 
2.Between the Buried and Me-Automata I (A-) (Favorite Track: "Blot")
1.Rivers of Nihil-Where Owls Know My Name (A) (Favorite Track: "A Home")

Top 25 Songs (in no particular order):
Anderson .Paak-Bubblin
Ariana Grande-No Tears Left to Cry
Between the Buried and Me-Blot
Between the Buried and Me-Condemned to the Gallows
Coheed and Cambria-The Dark Sentencer
Dance Gavin Dance-Count Bassy
Dance Gavin Dance-Suspended in This Disaster
Death Grips-Dilemma
Denzel Curry-Percs
Drake-Nice for What
Flatbush Zombies-Big Shrimp
Inferi-The Menacing Gaze
Kali Uchis-Tyrant (feat. Jorja Smith)
Playboi Carti-R.I.P.
Post Malone-92 Explorer
Pusha T-If You Know You Know
Rivers of Nihil-A Home
Rivers of Nihil-Hollow
Rivers of Nihil-Subtle Change (Including the Forest of Transition and Dissatisfaction Dance)
Rolo Tomassi-Alma Mater
Slugdge-Crop Killer
Slugdge-Transylvanian Fungus
The Weeknd-Call Out My Name
Young Thug-Anybody (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Young Thug-Now (feat. 21 Savage)

2018 in Film: Mid-Year Review

In this bleak, unforgiving place we call Earth, holding onto and appreciating the things that bring you joy is an essential part of staying sane. For me, watching movies this year has generally provided that euphoric, irreplaceable feeling. 2018's early cinematic offerings have been consistently competent and in a lot of cases, highly enjoyable. What makes this rare lengthy run of quality films especially impressive is the wide variety of genres that have been covered over the course of it. Everything from Marvel superheroes (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2) to original comedies (Game Night, Tag, Blockers) to adult-oriented thrillers (Annihilation, A Quiet Place, Red Sparrow) have contributed to this improbable hot start in the world of movies. While there's definitely some duds from the past six months I've yet to see along with more inevitably coming down the pipeline from July through December, I'm getting a good feeling that this year will end up going down as a huge W for the film industry. Below you'll find a list of everything I've seen so far in 2018 ranked from worst to best (with ratings) as well as some mid-year awards and a list of titles I haven't seen yet, but plan to check out in the coming months. Hope you enjoy and feel free to share your own takes on the year in film so far in the comment section below.

36.The Hurricane Heist (C)
35.Maze Runner: The Death Cure (C+)
34.The Cloverfield Paradox (C+)
33.Dude (C+)
32.Pacific Rim Uprising (C+)
31.Proud Mary (B-)
30.Death Wish (B-)
29.Ibiza (B-)
28.Ready Player One (B-)
27.The Week Of (B-)
26.Gringo (B-)
25.Tomb Raider (B)
24.A Futile and Stupid Gesture (B)
23.The Commuter (B)
22.Set It Up (B)
21.Ocean's 8 (B)
20.Kodachrome (B)
19.6 Balloons (B)
18.Love, Simon (B)
17.Mom and Dad (B)
16.Hotel Artemis (B)
15.Game Over, Man! (B)
14.Thoroughbreds (B)
13.Red Sparrow (B)
12.Super Troopers 2 (B+)
11.Sicario: Day of the Soldado (B+)
10.A Quiet Place (B+)
9.Annihilation (B+)
8.Den of Thieves (B+)
7.Deadpool 2 (B+)
6.Blockers (A-)
5.Tag (A-)
4.Upgrade (A-)
3.Avengers: Infinity War (A)
2.Game Night (A)
1.Black Panther (A)

Still need to see:
Action Point
Adrift
Alex Strangelove
American Animals
Beirut
Borg vs. McEnroe
Breaking In
Cargo
Chappaquiddick
China Salesman
Disobedience
Escape Plan 2: Hades
First Match
First Reformed
Flower
Gemini
Gotti
Hearts Beat Loud
Hereditary
I Feel Pretty
In Darkness 
Isle of Dogs
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Leave No Trace
Life of the Party
Rampage
Revenge
Roxanne Roxanne
Small Town Crime
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Superfly
Terminal
The 15:17 to Paris
The Outsider
Traffik
Tully
Uncle Drew
Unsane
Woman Walks Ahead
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
You Were Never Really Here

Mid-Year Awards:
Best Performance: Emily Blunt, A Quiet Place
Best Direction: Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Infinity War
Best Script: Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, Black Panther
Best Visuals: Annihilation
Best Ensemble: Game Night
Worst Ensemble: The Hurricane Heist
Top Breakout Performance: Letita Wright, Black Panther
Biggest Surprise: Den of Thieves 
Biggest Letdown: Death Wish  
Best Piece of Overacting: Nicolas Cage, Mom and Dad
Worst Piece of Overacting: Ben Mendelsohn, Ready Player One
Most Underrated Film: Tag 
Most Overrated Film: Ready Player One
Film I'm most excited to see for the rest of the year: The Predator