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The 89th Oscars recap through tweets …

2017/02/272020/03/26 Jared Mobarak

pic.twitter.com/oGJkXytnQ2 — PwC LLP (@PwC_LLP) February 27, 2017 So that actually happened. Warren Beatty opened the Best Picture envelope, furrowed his brow, and looked for another card. He’s thinking, “This is wrong.” He stalls—his body language coming off as a joke in the moment, the audience and his co-presenter Faye Dunaway laughing at what appears to be an old man who forgot his glasses. And since no one came running onto the stage to say something actually was wrong, he silently turned to Faye with the card. And the…

REVIEW: Trolls [2016]

2016/11/262016/11/27 Jared Mobarak

“I think I had sarcasm once” Depending on what you read, the genesis of Trolls is quite fascinating as original director Anand Tucker was to helm an adaptation of Terry Pratchett‘s Bromeliad trilogy about tiny humanoids in 2010. Did that project ultimately evolve into the glitter vomit Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell provide us today? Maybe. I personally hope that project was simply canceled so Tucker could subsequently shift over to Trolls in 2012 as a brand new journey. I don’t want to discover the opposite—that his work on Pratchett’s…

REVIEW: Inside Llewyn Davis [2013]

2014/01/162014/01/17 Jared Mobarak

“Llewyn is the cat” Can I chalk my ambivalence to the Coen Brothers‘ newest film Inside Llewyn Davis up to knowing nothing about the Greenwich Village folk music scene of 1961? It is after all loosely inspired by the life of Dave Van Ronk, containing aspects of his autobiography The Mayor of MacDougal Street for authenticity. But how much should knowing the setting of a story impact the enjoyment of what’s unfolding in its space? Shouldn’t the success of what the Coens have accomplished live or die by my interest…

DESIGN: 2013 In Music

2013/12/312020/03/21 Jared Mobarak

Tracklisting:Disc 11. “A Whistling Tune from a Lonely Man” • Clint Mansell • 00:40 • Stoker OST, Milan Records2. “Young and Beautiful” • Lana Del Rey • 03:56 • The Great Gatsby OST, Water Tower Music / Interscope Records3. “Roar” • Katy Perry • 03:43 • PRISM, Capitol Records4. “Don’t Forget Who You Are” • Miles Kane • 03:22 • Don’t Forget Who You Are, Columbia Europe5. “Get Lucky” • Daft Punk • 06:06 • Random Access Memories, Columbia6. “Royals” • Lorde • 03:10 • Pure Heroine, Motown / Universal7.…

Top 100 Songs of 2013

2013/12/202013/12/20 Jared Mobarak

#100: Let Us Move On by Dido #99: City of Angels by Thirty Seconds to Mars #98: Exit Wounds by Placebo #97: Flashbacks, Memories, And Dreams by The Virgins #96: Ready to Go by Guards #95: If I Could Change Your Mind by HAIM #94: After the Fire by Andrew McMahon #93: Close Enough by I Can Make a Mess #92: Surrender the Night by My Chemical Romance #91: Come Here by Talib Kweli (ft. Miguel) #90: Mermaids by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds #89: Bad Girls by M.I.A.…

Posterized Propaganda October 2013: The Faces of ‘Gravity,’ ’12 Years a Slave,’ ‘The Counselor’ & More

2013/10/022014/04/17 Jared Mobarak

“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column focuses on the film industry’s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill seats. Oftentimes they fail miserably. Not too many movies open up in October—and only one studio horror flick at that, despite Halloween. What’s the best way to sell tickets then? Star power. Celebrity faces are…

TIFF13 REVIEW: The F Word [2014]

2013/09/082013/11/04 Jared Mobarak

“Love is stupid monkeys dancing in a slapstick hurricane” I’m officially a sucker for romantic comedies where guy meets girl by engaging in sarcastically cynical conversation consisting more of glib quips than substantive information. It’s more than likely because that’s exactly what my girlfriend and I do even to this day and most definitely because I’m a hopeless romantic just like the male leads generally are. There is something absolutely relatable to the awkwardly genuine smiles of two introverts connecting with an acquired humor made funnier by the fact everyone…

REVIEW: Trouble with the Curve [2012]

2012/09/182014/04/10 Jared Mobarak

“Can De Niro rap?” The Atlanta Braves’ Turner Field outdoor gate security guard in Trouble with the Curve perfectly encapsulates the film. Sitting silently with his newspaper, you see him slowly lower it as Amy Adams‘ Mickey exits to answer Justin Timberlake‘s Johnny “The Flame” Flanigan’s flirtatious baseball trivia question. Like the guard, whenever the sport is onscreen—whether game action or verbal sparring—my interest piqued and I was able to invest in the plot of an aging scout going blind as he checks out the newest cocky high school prospect…

REVIEW: In Time [2011]

2012/03/072014/05/15 Jared Mobarak

“Your mind can be spent even if your body’s not” A watered-down Gattaca from the same creative mind, Andrew Niccol‘s In Time takes his human story of survival onto a global level. Rather than watch one man succeed in following an unattainable dream by taking the charity of another no longer wanting the gifts he was born with, we experience an entire dystopia’s upheaval. This world isn’t about a genetic propensity for excellence; it’s about time ticking down for the poor and being muted for the rich. Living in the…

REVIEW: Happy Feet Two [2011]

2011/11/122014/05/22 Jared Mobarak

“Sometimes you have to back up to go forward” It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I loathed Happy Feet. As a concept the film seemed quite solid—cute penguins dancing, a modern soundtrack to tap along with, the comedy stylings of Robin Williams—but the final result was an ambush of politics and sexuality I’m not quite sure belongs in a film targeted towards children. Its ugly duckling mantra of finding yourself and treading your own path no matter what does inspire, but George Miller and company couldn’t let…

Posterized Propaganda October 2011: Faces Take the Spotlight

2011/09/292014/04/11 Jared Mobarak

“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column focuses on the film industry’s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill seats. Oftentimes they fail miserably. Thank goodness for the fall season. Not only are the films better, but the artwork generally has its own yummy indie flavor too. Close-up faces covered by sans-serif text reign…