Jaylyn is here

Thoughts on movies, TV, music, food, and other stuff

[foxygrandpa14]

Rodman: For Better or Worse

Before the stay-at-home order dropped down, I signed up for an ESPN+ subscription. 

GREAT decision. I don’t really care about the live sports and all that, since we have cable in this joint, but I really wanted it for the 30 for 30 library being available to stream. 

Plus! It’s only $4.99 a month! For now! I’ll take it! I’ll take anything in this time of indoorsyness!

If you haven’t seen any of the 30 for 30s, I recommend doing so. Even if you don’t like sports – which the documentaries are very much about – they always manage to go beyond the basic, already-known storylines of each of the events and figures that are profiled and into how sports manage to intersect with race, society, pop culture, current events, and life after sports among other things. 

“Rodman: For Better or Worse” is a very engaging breakdown of who Dennis Rodman is and why Dennis Rodman is the way he is, and how those things shaped the way the culture has viewed him for the past 30 or so years. 

My earliest experience with Rodman was watching him play with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the rest of the Chicago Bulls during their second three-peat championship run from 1995 - 1998. 

The fam and I were very much invested in watching and rooting for the Bulls back in the day, with the exception for my grandmother who would always cheer for Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz???? 

Who likes Karl Malone? Karl Malone’s family hates him because he is Karl Malone and NOBODY likes him. Anyway. 

The documentary does a great job of weaving together Rodman’s own personal testimony with those of his former teammates (like his Detroit Pistons pal Isiah Thomas and Jordan), his family, his “adoptive” family, and others.

It dives into all of the controversy and interest surrounding his eccentric and flamboyant lifestyle, the origin of his colorful hair (It was inspired by Wesley Snipes in “Demolition Man,” which is an INCREDIBLE tidbit of information), his depression and suicide contemplations, leading up to how that all lead to his life today all of these years after the NBA. 

It’s a good appetizer for the Chicago Bulls 30 for 30 that’s supposed to drop in the next year. My thing is, if they know we’re going to be holed up inside until further notice, why not lift our spirits by dropping that thang a little early, ESPN? 

Help a homie out. 

[foxygrandpa14]

I’m back

Coronavirus done messed up the whole game. 

People are sick, and are continuing to get sick. People have died. Sports, movies, TV show tapings, and the like have been cancelled. 

Whole-ass states, including my home state of Illinois, have for the most part been shut down to help slow the spread of this thing ... 

... Etcetera, etcetera, so on and so forth. You catch the drift. 

Anyway. I work in local news, so the virus has pretty much burrowed another spot in my brain in addition than the one that was already there from just going out and trying to prevent myself from catching it out in these streets. 

Since I’ll have much more free time on my hands due to my work schedule shifting to prevent cross-contamination at the station (4 a.m. to 1 p.m., which ain’t that bad. I can get home to watch the homie, Steve Wilkos) and due to the fact that I can’t really go anywhere outside that isn’t Kroger or Target, I’m turning this blog into a media diary, where I’ll post about whatever media I am currently consuming during this time of global pandemic. 

It will do three things that will be essential to me during these next few weeks: provide an outlet for me to continue sharpening up my writing, allow me a safe space to spit hot takes, and it will give me something to do other than playing 2K20 on PlayStation for five straight hours a day.

If you’re reading this, hey! I hope you’re staying safe and washing your hands. If you’re not reading this, I also hope you are staying safe and washing your hands. 

So ... yeah. 

Stay safe and wash your hands. 

[foxygrandpa14]

‘Searching’ is good, but it makes me not want to use the computer anymore

Here’s what we know: the internet, while a vast and important instrument of endless possibility, can also be very scary. 

“Searching” is not the first movie to address that truth. It wasn’t even the first movie to do so this year, as “Eighth Grade” came out just a few months earlier. However, the techno-thriller/mystery manages to go beyond the familiar territory thanks to a strong performance by John Cho, a savvy understanding of how our technology works and influences society, and a relatively high concept that manages to stay fresh for the entirety of its hour and 42 minute runtime. 

Two years after the death of his wife Pam, David Kim (Cho) still finds himself struggling to process his grief. So much so, that he can’t even bring himself to mention Pam around their now-teenage daughter, Margot (Michelle La). Despite the fact that both he and Margot are constantly communicating through text messaging and FaceTime video chats, David notices that a rift has started to form between them – and it doesn’t show any signs of closing in the near future. 

When Margot doesn’t return home from a late night study session one night, David doesn’t panic right away. He thinks he knows his daughter well enough to stay one step ahead of her whereabouts. David quickly finds out that’s not the case. With the help of a sympathetic detective (Debra Messing), David works to unravel the mystery of Margot’s disappearance as it transforms into a full-blown police investigation and media frenzy to find her.

If you’ve seen trailers or read anything about “Searching,” you’re probably well aware of the fact that the plot unfolds through the perspective of screens – like David’s desktop computer, Margot’s cellphone and laptop, television screens, surveillance displays, and many more. 

Unusual visual presentations like this can easily get old quick (i.e. “Hardcore Henry,” which is on Netflix in case you feel like getting motion sickness just by sitting on the couch and watching it), but cinematographer Juan Sebastian Baron manages to recycle the trick multiple times from beginning to end without making it seem overdone.

It also doesn’t hurt that the movie allows Cho, Messing, and the rest of its talented cast of actors work their magic by mostly using their facial expressions.

David looks more and more haggard as the search for Margot continues, which is expected of someone who spends every waking hour digging through social media feeds and video chatting law enforcement. Cho’s tired eyes, furrowed brow, and jaw that switches between being clenched with anger and agape with surprise give his performance a wide range of expression without the audience needing to take in his full body language. 

When an actor is given such little space to operate, the movie can either be made or broken based on how they choose to tackle the challenge. Not only is everyone who appears on-screen game for the work, but they do the job so well, it’s easy to forget that we’re watching people act out a screenplay. We’re richer because of their efforts.

Speaking of the screenplay, it’s easy also to see why “Searching’s” portrayal of smartphone culture stands out when compared to others. After all, first-time writer and director Aneesh Chaganty used to work at Google before leaving to pursue a career in filmmaking.

What would “Searching” have been like if anyone else had taken hold of the directorial reins instead of Chaganty? His words and story still would have been in place, but the touch absolutely would not have been the same. In what way, you ask? I don’t know. I don’t really care to find out, to be honest. 

“Searching” has a gimmick that is designed to draw us in, and it works, but Chaganty and the production crew don’t ever treat it as such. It comes of more as a slice-of-life in a way, as we now live in a society connected by endless streams of code and internet access. 

By looking through our screens, we’re given opportunities to do things that were once considered unimaginable and other chances to come face-to-face with some of our biggest fears – whether knowingly or not. (Yes, that is a corny thing to write, but it is true, and I would like to see you do better.)

It’s only right that we have a movie that represents both sides of what technology can do. “Searching” is that movie, and it wastes no time finding the human element of it all either. 

[foxygrandpa14]

Avocado toast is from the Lord

It makes perfect sense that the first time I made avocado toast was on a Sunday, the Sabbath, because it is clearly is a delicacy that comes straight from behind the pearly gates of Heaven.

I didn’t believe that going in, though. The toast that I made for brunch wasn’t necessarily anything special, at least on the outside.

I just toasted two slices of white bread (all we had), a large organic avocado that a mashed up with black pepper, a touch of sea salt and red pepper flakes, and topped it with an egg and a dab of that Frank’s Red Hot. The egg was over-easy, of course, because I am not a philistine.

It only took one bite for me to realize that the toast had divine capabilities. 

So creamy, so crunchy, and the egg and seasoning provided that X factor that bumps it from just being toast with mushy avocado smeared on top.

Where did this delightful dish come from? I did some research (read: I Googled “avocado toast” and clicked on the Wikipedia page) on who first started putting delicious, creamy avocados on top of toasted bread. Apparently, it can be traced back to the late 1800s in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Nah, man. I don’t believe it. Avocado toast was straight up a gift from God.

I wouldn’t be surprised if some rando in 1800s San Francisco named Jebediah or something were commanded by the Lord to join the beautiful fruit and bread together as one, because I don’t think that’s a feat we can accomplish on our own.

This is probably hyperbole. It’s definitely more than likely that this is blasphemy. 

But yea verily, thine eyes have been opened to the truly awesome might of the toast.

[foxygrandpa14]

When your producer can't dress #ChiefKeef

Vine by LENARR

[made-with-spoken-ly-blog]

[work-hard-and-smart]

or until you enjoy introducing yourself

[foxygrandpa14]

The Superhero Franchise: Where Traditional Movie Stardom Goes to Die

Once, we liked Hollywood actors who owned their myth. Now a franchise owns it.

Wesley is steady out here dropping knowledge