Top 10 of 2017

This past year was a lackluster year for movies. It started out with a bang, the summer was a bust, and a lot of independent flicks didn't get to my part of town. Do not fret! I still have my own personal favorites which you will soon see below. First here are the runners-up:

In alphabetical order: Blade Runner 2049, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Thor: Ragnarok

Now some Honorable Mentions!

Colossal - I love wacky independent flicks. This film is the definition of "wacky". Anne Hathaway is perfect as the 30s party girl who discovers she has an odd connection with a Kaiju destroying Seoul. Like I said it's wacky. And I loved every second of it!

Wonder Woman - Please don't hate for me not including this in my Top 10. I love everything about it. Director Patty Jenkins defied all nay-sayers and made an almost perfect superhero film. I just can't let go of that last block, which falls right back into superhero CGI awfulness. Everything else is, excuse the pun, wonderful.

Finally: 

JOE MOORE'S TOP 10 FILMS of 2017

10) War for the Planet of the Apes 

The latest Apes trilogy blew everybody away by how great it is. This entry is a terrific prisoner of war film with absolutely mind-blowing special effects. As usual Andy Serkis's motion-capture performance is sensational. I wish the Academy would finally give him the respect he deserves.

9) The Disaster Artist

I love trashy cinema so when I heard James Franco was filming a behind-the-scenes film about the making of The Room, I was hooked! You don't have to see one of the worst films of all time to be in on the joke, but it does help. It'd be great to see Franco and the screenwriters get Oscar nods for their work here. Hilarious!

8) Logan

James Mangold and Hugh Jackman get it RIGHT! Jackman, Stewart, and neewcomer Keen are all fantastic here. It's a superhero movie that keeps the powers to a minimum and the characters and their interactions at the forefront. Powerful stuff!

7) Get Out

What can I say about this astounding piece of work that hasn't already been said? Writer/director Jordan Peele has created a terrific genre mashup. Yes its roots are in horror, but the film has so much more to say. Hopefully the Academy will recognize one of the best films of the year.

6) Dunkirk 

War films are not my favorite, but there's no denying Christopher Nolan has created an exceptional piece of work here. Telling three different stories and giving each time to breathe in less than two hours is nothing short of amazing.

5) The Big Sick

Writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon take the true story of how they met and turn it into one of the most heart-warming films of the year. All the work here is exceptional, but Holly Hunter gives one of her best performances ever as Emily's spitball mother.

4) Baby Driver

Edgar Wright's latest (and greatest? I'm biased) had to make my Top 10. Every heart-pounding moment is terrific. The performances are great, the action is non-stop, and that soundtrack is everything! The editing here is also top-notch. I would scream if it got an Oscar nod. 

3) Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Martin McDonagh (writer/director of In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths) has created a darkly comic look at the tale of a heartbroken mother who turns a midcountry town upside-down and found its broken-down soul. The writing is nothing short of extraordinary, as are the three central performances by McDormand, Harrelson, and especially Rockwell. Bravo!

2) Lady Bird

Of course the best coming-of-age story in years has found its way on my Top 10 list. Of course it's written and directed by Greta Gerwig, one of Hollywood's brightest and most off-kilter stars. Of course it has top-notch performances from its cast but especially Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf, who take the central mother-daughter relationship and give the film its beating heart. 

1) The Shape of Water

I love Guillermo del Toro. I even enjoyed his recent lesser works (Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak) more than the average movie-goer. But THIS is del Toro at his finest. Another eccentric fable a la Pan's Labyrinth, del Toro sucks you into this beautiful film and never lets go. It's thrilling, heart-warming, and absoutely perfect. It may not be for everybody, but if you have the least bit of a soul, please go see this amazing film. 


Well there you have it! As I said before, there were a few films that I still have yet to see. I'm sure if I had checked out Call Me By Your Name and I, Tonya they would've made this list too. But alas what can you do?

I hope everybody out there had a amazing holiday season. Here's to 2018 and making it bigger and better than ever! Let's do this.

GROOVY

I have some very exciting news for all of you. Some of you already know so just bear with me but...

I'VE BEEN CAST IN EVIL DEAD!

Yup. Newnan Theatre Company is performing Evil Dead The Musical this October. I knew I was going to choreograph for it. I went into auditions not expecting much, but I'm cast as Scott! Woo!

For those of you who are not familiar, the musical is based off of Sam Raimi's original horror trilogy. It combines the plots of both The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II with lines and references sprinkled in from Army of Darkness. Ya know, for shiggles. It's a typical story. Five stupid bitches college students drive to a secluded cabin in the woods, and they get picked off one by one by a demonic force. Scott is one of the aforementioned college students. He's a party animal/horndog. He's over-the-top in an absurd way, the exact opposite of my usually introverted self. So that'll be fun to play!

The musical is littered with gags, gore, and great musical numbers such as "Cabin in the Woods" and "All the Men In My Life Keep Getting Killed By Candarian Demons". We're even gonna have a splatter zone reserved for the first couple of rows, but don't worry. There will be a disclaimer like you're riding Splash Mountain. You may get wet.

As I said before I'm super excited for this opportunity. I've loved the movies since I was a teenager. (Somehow my parents were okay with me watching gore-drenched flicks back then. Thanks, Mom and Dad!) (Also Bruce Campbell is pretty much THE MAN. Or THE CHIN.) I found out about the musical in 2010 when a local Orlando theatre performed it. Thanks to a certain nighttime parade we do not mention, I was unable to audition OR attend. But that is not the case anymore! We've assembled a great cast, music rehearsals have started, and basically it's gonna be AWESOME!

So if you love musicals, come see it! If you love cheeseball horror movies, come see it! If you wanna watch me play an over-the-top asshole, come see it! If you wanna see some amazing choreography, come see it! If you have to call in three days in a row for that one point (WORTH IT!), come see it! I could go on and on. The performances are here in Newnan on October 19-22 annd 26-29. Don't worry. I'll be pestering all of you to... 

JOIN US. 

P.S. Hey, Tony! If you're reading this, we better get a Michigan State shirt for someone to wear. Only Michigan State kids are stupid enough to visit a secluded cabin in the woods. Am I right, Minish? Okay. Now I'm done. 

ALRIIIGHT!!!

Hi. I'm Joseph Moore, and I like Bob's Burgers. 

Wait scratch that. 

I LOOOVE Bob's Burgers. 

I can't believe that the show recently finished its 7th (SEVENTH?!?) season. To celebrate I thought it would be appropriate to make a Top 10 list. I mean, y'all know how much I love Top 10 lists. Almost as much as I love... well you know. BOB'S BURGERS!!! So without further adieu here are my 10 favorite episodes. And yes this list took forever to compile. Enjoy! 

Honorable Mention: "Sheesh Cab, Bob" (S1), "Bad Tina" (S2), "Boyz 4 Now" (S4), "The Gayle Tales" (S5), "The Runway Club" (S5), "Hawk & Chick" (S5), "The Hauntening" (S6), "Glued, Where's My Bob" (S6), "There's No Business Like Mr. Business" (S7), "The Laser-Inth" (S7)

10) "Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl"

"Everybody knows Working Girl is the sister film to Die Hard." I couldn't have put it better myself. This season 5 opener takes the love/hate relationship between Gene and his ex Courtney to a whole new, 80s abusing level. I love every second of it! Not only do we get to see fragments of Gene's Die Hard: The Musical, we also see fragments of Courtney's Working Girl Musical. It's when the two ultimately agree to meld the two together that every 80s fiber in my body explodes. A classic for sure.

9) "Mother Daughter Laser Razor"

There are plenty of episodes that feature the mother/daughter struggle between Linda and Louise. It's never featured more prominently or better than in this season 3 episode. Linda just wants Louise to like her so of course her attempts get more and more aggressive. She finally decides to take Louise to an all-day seminar. That's when the episode gets reallllly good. Like Freaky Friday references and "Harry Truman" good. 

The B-plot about Bob taking Tina to her first leg waxing is also hysterical, as both Bob and Gene end up getting their legs waxed too. There's an awesome Terminator 2 reference with Tina and her little furry friends. Also Bob and Gene itch like crazy the rest of the episode. 

And like Harry Truman I am dead. Dead dead dead dead dead.

8) "Bob Actually"

What a wonderful Valentine's Day treat! If you love Love Actually there's plenty to love about this season 7 beauty. Little vignettes for so many characters all in a terrific 22-minute package. Bob learns to dance for Linda (hip hop, hysterical), Tina wants a romantic moment with Jimmy Jr but she has the chili poops, Gene falls for the Italian lunchlady substitute, and Louise has to deal with Regular-Sized Rudy potentially like-liking her. It's all just so cute but not overly so. This is Bob's Burgers after all.

7) "The Kids Run Away"

Louise hates the dentist. Take that idea and run with it. 

While Dr. Yap (hysterically voiced by Ken Jeong) informs Louise she has a cavity and needs a filling, Louise promptly runs away. She ultimately finds herself staying with their Aunt Gayle (yay Megan Mullally!!! yay cats!). When Bob and Linda find out Louise's whereabouts, they send Tina and Gene to run away with her. The deal is if Louise can make it through the weekend without Aunt Gayle driving her crazy, she doesn't have to get her filling. But of course she has to get it anyway.

The shenanigans the kids get into at Aunt Gayle's is just hilarious. I will never think of gale force winds the same way again. And the ending is very touching. Aunt Gayle ends up out-parenting Bob and Linda when she helps Louise face her greatest fear: getting a filling.

SQUAT!!!

6) "Hamburger Dinner Theater"

Season one of Bob's Burgers is kinda hit or miss. I loved it when I first watched it, but everything from the animation to the storytelling has vastly improved over the show's run. There are episodes that truly shine though. Like this one! 

This is the episode where we first find out about Linda's passion to randomly break into song, Tina's stage fright (uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh), and just how twisted Louise can really be. There's also Bob's obvious love for his family even though he can't stand what's happening around him, and of course Gene gets to play some tunes. Well, tones. 

After attending her latest dinner theater, Linda wants to put on a show at the restaurant. Bob is completely against the idea but allows the show to happen anyway. For one weekend only. That's when insanity strikes. Every failed effort to put on the show is amazing. Anything that could go wrong does go wrong, but in typical theater style, the show must go on! And thank groodness it does.

5) "Burgerboss"

Oh man. What is there to not love about this episode? 

Bob is excited when he adds a childhood favorite arcade game, Burgerboss, to the restaurant. Then Jimmy Pesto of course shows up. Not only does he best Bob at his favorite game, he also puts "Bob Sux" on the leader board. Bob goes crazy trying to one-up his competition, but of course to no avail. Never fear though. Jimmy Pesto, as usual, gets some form of comeuppance.

All I have to say is: YES! This season two episode introduces Aziz Ansari's Darryl, who is perfectly nerdy in every way. It also introduces Linda's bizarre love for porcelain babies (LIL BABIES!!!) and capitalizes on her catchphrase (ALRIIIGHT!!!). There's also arcade game references galore. So there's that. What a winner!

4) "The Kids Run the Restaurant"

Bob slices his hand so Linda rushes him to the hospital. The kids are told not to keep the restaurant open but per Louise's insistence, they do anyway. Only it's not so great. Then Louise hatches the scheme to open up a casino in the cellar. Which is just genius.

Bob and Linda's trip to the hospital is absolutely hysterical, but it's the casino scenes that really make the episode. I mean come on. We get a Marshmellow cameo! Who doesn't love that?! It all culminates in a perfect game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Then Linda gets a song over the closing credits. This episode is by far the best out of all the kid-centric episodes. 

3) "Topsy"

"They'll say 'Aww Topsy' at my autopsy!"

Those are just some of the wonderful lyrics to what is the greatest of all the Bob's Burgers songs: "Eletric Love". And that is only one of the many reasons this season 3 episode is one of my top 3 favorites.

Louise's substitute science teacher is an Edison nut. The substitute destroys Louise's chances of phoning in her science project, and she is forced to come up with something Edison related. That's when she, with the help of the bitter librarian Mr. Ambrose (voiced by BILLY EICHNER! woo!), discovers the story of Thomas Edison and Topsy the elephant.

To bring the substitute down, Louise enlists the help of Tina and Gene to put on a show at the science fair. Both Mr. Fischoeder (KEVIN KLINE!) and Aunt Gayle (MEGAN MULLALLY!) also get roped into assisting, Singin' in the Rain-style. The last five minutes are just pure magic, and if "Eletric Love" doesn't get stuck in your head, I'm not even sure we can be friends.

2) "Fort Night"

Bob's Burgers has terrific holiday episodes. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, you name it. Like The Office good, you guys. No episode is better than the season 4 Halloween episode though.

Molly Shannon guest voices as Millie, one of Louise's classmates. Millie is obsessed with Louise and the chance to trick-or-treat with her. Louise is not having any of that crap. Unfortunately that comes back to bite her and the gang in the butt (BUTTS) when Millie discovers Louise doesn't really like her, and the kids end of trapped in their fort in the back alley. 

Meanwhile Bob and Linda have no idea where their kids are. They've been slaving away over a dragon costume for their kids all day, and when the kids don't show, well... just watch the episode and find out. The whole 22 minutes is just wonderful. It's my go-to every Halloween. And whenever I want really... except for...

1) "The Equestranauts" 

Y'all. This episode... I have no words.

This season four episode is the greatest Bob's Burgers episode ever, and if you disagree... you are wrong.

Dan Mintz (the voice of Tina) wrote this episode, and it really shines. I just... I can't. But I will try.

Tina's love for her favorite show "The Equestranauts" reaches new heights when she gets to attend Equestra-Con with her Chariot doll. (Bob gets a great line here. "Hey who's pulling the chariot? It's Chariot. Oh my God, why am I analyzing this show?") Tina gets more than she bargained when, in a hilarious reference to the "Bronies" culture, she discovers that the Con is for grown men who love to dress up like their favorite characters. THEN she gets swindled out of her doll by the evil Regina George of Equesticles, Bronconius (hilariously voiced by Paul F. Tompkins). Bob gets roped into going undercover as an Equesticle to retrieve Tina's beloved doll.

I think that's reason enough this is the best episode ever. It's always hilarious when Bob gets roped into things to help out his beloved family, but it's even better when he actually finds himself enjoying what he's doing. Tina realizes over the course of the episode just how ridiculous the whole Equestranauts universe is. The last few seconds between Bob and Tina are pure comic gold.

EQUESTRANAUUUTS!!!

Well there you have it. My absolute favorite Bob's Burgers episodes. Wow. What a terrific show. I'm gonna go watch it right now. Peace.

Nothin' But A Good Time

Welcome one and all to a new column on my blog! This column is dedicated either to movies that I love while others detest or underappreciated movies that deserve another shot.

  Moore Underappreciated Flicks

I know I promised the 2009 coming-of-age flick Bandslam as my first of many articles. But! I recently rewatched the cheesy 2012 musical adaptation Rock of Ages, and I figured what movie would be more appropriate for this lavah of all things 80s?! So without further adieu let's investigate this celebration of 80s hard rock.

Let's start with what the detractors say. Is this movie too long? Yes. Are the leads bland? Yes. Is it anywhere near as good as director Adam Shankman's previous movie musical Hairspray? Absolutely not. However! There's enough pure joy and energy here to pull off a pop culture trash romp.

Yes, Shankman falters a bit here compared to Hairspray. However he and the writers (one of whom is the awesome Justin Thoreux) clearly have an unabashed love for the 80s. In lesser hands this would've been absolutely atrocious. If you ask some people, it is. But I'm here to rally against that suggestion.

What really sells the flick is the supporting roles. Some players are wasted. Bryan Cranston has nothing to do as Zeta-Jones mayor husband. Malin Akerman (so funny in TV's "Children's Hospital" and the later released The Final Girls) is similarly wasted as a Rolling Stone reporter, though she does get a few cute moments with the true star of the show. But before we get to him, there's a few others worth mentioning.

Zeta-Jones is hilariously campy as Cranston's protestor wife. Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand nearly walk away with the flick as The Bourbon Room's co-owners. More screen time for them would've been nice. Leads Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta are cute enough, and it helps that they can pull off their 80s ballads with aplomb. Everybody here seems to be having a blast, and isn't that what the 80s are all about?

The true star here is, of course, Tom Cruise. He is "Stacee Jaxx", a rock star pining for the golden days and coasting through the 80s thanks to alcohol, drugs, and his adoring fans. The star is larger than life here, roaring through Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and having a ball with Akerman during "I Want To Know What Love Is". It would be nice to see Cruise in more roles like this. He's clearly having the time of his life, and it definitely takes the film to the next level.

What your opinion of the film basically boils down to is this: do you love 80s rock? If so you will definitely get a kick out of it. If not you should probably steer clear. The flick is a too-long bubblegum rock opera with too much saccharine and zero substance whatsoever. But that's not such a bad thing. So the next time you're lounging around on a rainy Saturday afternoon, give this flick a shot. You'll have "Nothin' But A Good Time".

Welp there you have it! My first of many random reviews. On a completely unrelated note, Happy 20th Anniversary to what is perhaps the most bizarro sci-fi flick ever made... The Fifth Element.

MULTIPASS

Movies, Music, and Moore!

Welp, the Oscars came and went and I didn't even blog about them. For shame, Joseph.

Speaking of movies! I've decided I'm going to start a sporadic movie column. Each one will be dedicated to a film I love but not a lot of people have seen and/or know about. I've already chosen the film that's gonna start the ball rolling: the little-seen 2009 coming-of-age flick Bandslam. It's been 7 years since I watched it so I wanna rewatch it to see if my opinion is the same. I remember digging it back then so we'll see if I still do.

In other news, after a couple of months of strenuous rehearsal time, Godspell opens tomorrow night! I'm not performing this time around. I choreographed the show. I'm extremely proud of this cast. Every single one of them has really worked hard, and it really shows! One of the things our director Andrew made sure of is there was a strong chemistry among all the cast members. I'm very excited for the show to open so we can see the public's reactions.

Finally, what would an update be without some kind of 80s reference? SOOO the other day I was being an American citizen scrolling through Twitter when I saw that not one but TWO of my favorite 80s bands are going on tour TOGETHER this summer!!! 

That's right folks. Tears for Fears AND Hall & Oates are teaming up to tour the country together, and I AM LEGITIMATELY FREAKING OUT!!! Tickets go on sale March 10th, and you better believe I will be up before Jesus so I can get mine. I mean, I'm not NOT attending this concert. I've already missed so many concerts this past year due to scheduling conflicts, but I AM GOING TO THIS ONE. End of story.