Life is tragic, to be sure. But less so when you have endless choices for entertainment…

On this episode of Adjust Your Tracking, Joe and I get back on mic after a nice holiday break and start the new year off by… catching up on 2017 movies. It’s a diverse slate, at least, but yeah, we’re still catching up on a lot this time of year.

As we unpack the many layers of tragedy, humanism, absurdist comedy and sci-fi tropes in Don Hertzfeldt‘s latest short film, “The World Of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts,” we also appreciate that someone like Hertzfeldt can even exist in this industry, able to have a career and make great art (dude’s a genius, just saying).

Continue reading Defending ‘Bright’ & Opening Up ‘The Post’ [Adjust Your Tracking Podcast] at The Playlist.

This was, by all accounts, an absolutely miserable year for animated films. The major animated features were mostly drab, uninspired affairs that promoted products more than anything else (let us introduce you to “The Emoji Movie“) And while there were a number of smaller animated features that attracted attention, none of them were crossover sensations and, once they left specialty screens, became increasingly difficult to track down.

2018 looks like it’ll be an uptick, both in terms of quality and variety of what is being released (with new features from major players like Aardman, Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Sony, Animal Logic and Illumination) alongside intriguing independent productions like Toho’s first “Godzilla” anime (premiering on Netflix soon) and “Isle of Dogs.” These are movies that have a commercial and artistic edge, helmed by some of the most talented filmmakers in the industry (like Brad Bird, Genndy Tartakovsky, Rich Moore and Wes Anderson).

Continue reading Best Animated Movies & TV Shows Of 2017 at The Playlist.

While it’s been a rough 2017 overall, It’s been a phenomenal year in film. With that being said, below is a list ranking what I believe are the top 20 films of 2017. It was painstakingly difficult cutting my list of 100 to 50, but even harder from 50 to 20. Some notable films that barely missed the cut include: “Wakefield,” “The Lovers,” “Wonder Woman,” “Baby Driver,” “Super Dark Times,” “It,” “Split,” “Personal Shopper,” “Columbus,” “Menashe” “and yes, I left out the fan favorite, “Dunkirk.” I also want to mention that there are films that I have excluded because I have yet to see them, such as: “Phantom Thread,” “The Darkest Hour,” “BPM,” and  “Molly’s Game” just to name a few.

Continue reading Kyle Kohner’s Top 20 Films Of 2017 at The Playlist.

There is an unparalleled, existential magnitude to Don Hertzfeldt‘s storytelling ability, a striking force that is once again experienced through a brief yet piercing time frame of 22 minutes in “World of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts.”  Hertzfeldt’s latest outing is yet another marvellous endeavor, brimming with unadulterated visual poetry and philosophical ponderings.

Bolder visually and more thematically abstract than the first episode, this time around, Herzfeldt experiments with the pains of dwelling in the past and the necessity of moving forward and creating new memories.

Continue reading ‘World Of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts’ Is As Crushingly Existential As The First [Review] at The Playlist.