#other good moments were ezra crime and ezra sports

[spoolesofthread]

Most iconic moment of this fiasconauts? My choice is Ian saying "the three of us will make a fiasconauts" and kyles face after

GOD that was so funny, i was losing it. and then ian trying to be like “it’s so you could still play it after, you’d edit it!” was hilarious, oh my god

honestly every moment that ian wrecked kyle this episode was iconic, my favorite was when she had RECEIPTS for when he mispronounced chasm

but def my fave iconic moment all episode was when kyle goes “we’re doing a flashback…. to the offices of buzzfeed” and everyone just loses it

[jkottke]

My Recent Media Diet, the Summer/Fall Switchover Edition

Oh, I've let it go too long again. It's been almost four months since I've done one of these media roundups and there's lots to share. If you're just joining us -- welcome but WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN THO?! -- I do a post like this every few months with short reviews of all the movies, books, music, TV show, podcasts, and other things I've enjoyed (or not) recently. The letter grades are very subjective and inconsistent -- sorry! Ok, here's what I have for you today.

The Land That Never Has Been Yet. This podcast series by Scene on Radio on American democracy is essential listening. The episode on how a small group of libertarians have had an outsized influence on American life is especially interesting and maddening. (A)

The Legend of Korra. Watched this with the kids and we all enjoyed it. (B+)

The Expanse. A little uneven sometimes, but mostly compelling. I've got crushes on about 4 different people on this show. (B)

Galaxy Quest. The teens were skeptical about this one, but Alan Rickman's presence won them over. I love this movie. (A)

The Truffle Hunters. The first movie I've seen in the theater since March 2020. The pace of the film is, uh, contemplative -- I never would have lasted more than 10 minutes if I'd started watching this at home -- but full of wonderful little moments. (B+)

The Ezra Klein Show, interview with Agnes Callard. I don't catch every episode of Klein's podcast, but this interview with Agnes Callard was particularly wide-ranging and good -- I want to know her opinion on anything and everything. (A-)

NBC Sports' Premier League recaps. I don't get to watch as much football as I'd like, but I look forward to catching up with all the action at the end of the day. A lot of the networks' recaps are pretty shabby -- incomplete, rushed, no goal replays -- but the ones from NBC Sports are really good. You see each of the goals (and significant near-misses) from multiple angles and get a real sense of the flow of the match. (A-)

Nomadland. I didn't seem to like this quite as much as everyone else did. Frances McDormand is excellent as usual. (B+)

Mare of Easttown. Kate Winslet. I mean, what else do you have to say? I raced through this. (A)

Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation. Great exhibition at the MFA of one of the golden ages of NYC. (A-)

The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis. It's a little early to write the definitive book on what went so wrong in America with the pandemic, but Lewis did about as well as can be expected. The CDC doesn't fare well in his telling. (A-)

Alice Neel: People Come First. Great show at the Met of an outstanding portraitist. (A-)

Nixon at War. The third part of the excellent podcast series on the LBJ & Nixon presidencies. Nixon's Watergate downfall began with the Vietnam War...when Nixon committed treason to prolong the war to win elected office. (A)

Rashomon. Hard to believe this was made in 1950. A film out of time. (A-)

Velcro ties. Unobtrusive and super handy for organizing cords -- wish I'd gotten these sooner. (B+)

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché. Documentary about film director French film director Alice Guy-Blaché, who pioneered so much of what became the modern film industry, first in France and then in the United States. (B+)

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. Compelling dystopian science fiction from Nobel-winner Ishiguro. An interesting companion book to The Remains of the Day. (A-)

Handshake Speakeasy. Super creative and delicious. Maybe the best new bar I've been to in years. (A)

The Fugitive. Great film...still holds up almost 30 years later. (A)

Speed. This doesn't hold up quite as well as The Fugitive but is still entertaining. (B+)

Edge of Tomorrow. Underrated action/sci-fi movie. (A)

No Sudden Move. Solid crime caper movie from Soderbergh. Don Cheadle and Benicio del Toro are both excellent. (B+)

Black Widow. Struck the right tone for the character. Florence Pugh was great. (B+)

Summer of Soul. Wonderful documentary about 1969's Harlem Cultural Festival. Director Questlove rightly puts the music front and center but cleverly includes lots of footage of people watching too (a la the Spielberg Face). Beyonce's Homecoming used this to great effect as well. (A)

Loki. Loved the design and architecture of the TVA. Great use of color elsewhere as well. (B+)

Nanette. Very clever and powerful. (A)

Fleabag (season two). Perhaps the best ever season of television? (A+)

Consider the Oyster by MFK Fisher. The highest compliment I can pay this book is that it almost made me hungry for oysters even though I do not care for them. (B+)

The Green Knight. Even after reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and seeing this movie, I'm not entirely sure I know what this story is trying to convey, thematically or metaphorically, or if it's even that entertaining. (B)

The Dark Knight Rises. Probably sacrilege, but this is my favorite of the Nolan Batmen. (A)

Bridge of Spies. Mark Rylance was superb in this and Spielberg's (and Janusz Kamiński's) mastery is always fun to watch. (B+)

Luca. A fun & straightforward Pixar movie without a big moral of the story. (B+)

Solar Power. Not my favorite Lorde album. (B-)

Reminiscence. I have already forgotten the plot to this. (B-)

The ocean. Got to visit the ocean three times this summer. One of my favorite things in the world. (A+)

The White Lotus. Didn't really care for the first two episodes and then was bored and tried to watch the third -- only made it halfway through. I "finished" it by reading Vulture recaps. Why do people like this show? (C-)

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes. Between Emily Wilson, Madeline Miller, and now Natalie Haynes, I've gained a unique understanding of the Iliad and Odyssey. (B+)

TWA Hotel. A marvelous space. (A-)

Turbo. Like Cars + Ratatouille but by Dreamworks and with Snoop Dogg. (C)

Laserwriter II by Tamara Shopsin. A love letter to NYC, printers, Apple computers, and the late, great Tekserve. Another banger from Shopsin. (A)

Donda. Beeping out all the swear words while managing to keep the misogyny in seems apt for an artifact of contemporary American Christianity. Too long and very uneven, I hate that I really love parts of this album. (D+/A-)

Certified Lover Boy. Same ol' same ol' from the easy listening rapper. Nothing on here that I wanted to listen to a second time. (C-)

The Great British Baking Show. I've only seen bits of one season so far (#6), but I can see why so many people love this show. It's the perfect combination of soothing but competitive and about a topic that everyone loves -- baked goods. (B+)

Past installments of my media diet are available here.

[daleisgreat]

OJ: Made in America 30 for 30

The 89th Oscars were last weekend, and aside from its flub of a Best Picture announcement, I was also surprised at one of its winners that I will be covering here today. I always give ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series some love each year in my annual TV recap blogs. 2016 saw ESPN go with their most ambitious 30 for 30 project yet: a five part series covering the entire life of OJ Simpson. The bulk of the feature is dedicated to the controversial murders of Ron Goldman and OJ’s ex-wife Nicole Simpson. This documentary also covers the many racial injustices on the streets and in the courtrooms of Los Angeles from the prior decades and how they ultimately proved to be a major factor in the outcome of the Simpson/Goldman murder case in what many dubbed as “The Trial of the Century.” This documentary had the catchy, but effective name of OJ Simpson: Made in America (trailer). Each part of this five part series is just over an hour and a half. So add it up and it is nearly eight hours all together! I watched the first two parts around Christmas, and blitzed through the final three a few days ago. Part one is all about OJ growing up and his football career in USC and for the Buffalo Bills. Once OJ exploded into success for the Bills, Made in America made sure to point out how OJ was one of the first athletes to transcend race with his use of the line, “I’m not black, I’m not white, I’m OJ.” Part one went on to cover all his successful endorsement deal he had with Hertz and other companies and how he pursued films in the NFL offseason. Part one definitely made it come across how much of a superstar OJ was in the 70s. Part one also gave some time to the civil rights movement and race riots of the 60s and 70s that was a prelude of things to come later in the series.

Part two is about life after football for Simpson. A fair amount of time is covered here showing his post-football endeavors such as carrying the Olympic Torch, Monday Night Football announcing and his middling acting career until finally getting a hit with the Naked Gun films. The feature shows around this time how he lost his two year old by drowning and friends interviewed stating how he was never the same afterwards and it was catalyst for his first divorce. Made in America then focuses on his marriage with Nicole Simpson and chronicles how it quickly devolved with many domestic disturbance 911calls played from Nicole and interviews officers on the scene from the incidents. A lot of part two has scenes covering more and more examples of racial injustices from this time, with the Rodney King beating of 1992 being the most prevalent example and how a lot of racial tension was building from the past few decades until this point. Part three kicks off with police officers describing the crime scene with the bodies of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. Adequate time is shown how evidence quickly leads to OJ being the prime suspect and the infamous Bronco chase that transpired about a week after the deaths. For those not up to speed on one of the world’s most notorious car chases, ESPN did another masterful 30 for 30 on that event and other noteworthy events in sports happening simultaneously. That 30 for 30 is called June 17th 1994 and is available on Netflix streaming which I highly recommend giving a viewing.

Part three then proceeds to cover the early stages of the near year-long trial by introducing the key players for the prosecution and defense legal teams, many (but not all) who are on hand here 22 years later to be interviewed for Made in America. Having their insight and reflections added a lot to the documentary. I understand why Cochran and Shapiro did not appear here, but to still get the thoughts here from Marcia Clark, Mark Furman and others all these years later added a lot to the film. Made in America stressed how difficult it was to find an impartial jury due to the nature of events leading up to the trial, OJ’s superstar nature and because of the aforementioned decades of racial tension in LA. Part four is devoted to the trial and all the pivotal moments throughout it. I was in middle school when the trial was in process, and was shocked from how much I remembered of the key moments highlighted here such as the crime scene glove not fitting OJ’s hand, Furman’s controversial testimony and how the TV and tabloid media turned the trial into a circus among itself. A lot of time is dedicated here on how OJ’s defense team picked away at the prosecution’s case, with Furman being the obvious weak link due to his history. I will give Furman credit for defending himself as best as he possibly could in the new interviews he did for the film, and the documentary made sure to get across how he was the weak point of the prosecution’s case that played a big factor in the outcome.

The final part of the documentary opens with the interviewees recalling how surprised they were at how short the jury deliberations lasted. The not guilty verdict clip is shown in its entirety, along with many reaction shot clips from across America that indicated how much of a racial divide there still was (is) in the country. I still vividly recall getting dressed in the locker room of 8th grade gym class when our teacher came in with the news of the verdict. This moment is also why so much time was given in the earlier installments to the many past LA racial injustices because some of the jurors interviewed in this documentary stated their justification for the verdict was payback for those decades of past wrongdoings. After winning the case, the feature shows life after the trial for OJ as he tried to keep living his life while enduring the countless wrath of America taunting him wherever he went. Only a short time is given to the civil case that OJ lost, but the film made sure to point out how its outcome forced OJ to move out of LA and into South Beach, Florida. The series made it clear at this point that OJ embellished his infamy by this point with a more flamboyant lifestyle to stay in the news with his controversial music videos and the “If I Did It” autobiography. Finally, until this documentary I was never perfectly clear on how the memorabilia theft charges OJ was involved in and how it lead to him being currently incarcerated. Even the interviewees here state it is a very convoluted case, but the film breaks it down and got across OJ’s involvement. People involved in that incident were interviewed to lay how it all went down and why all the charges got piled on OJ and it resulted in a judge sentencing him to the current 33 year prison sentence he is serving. People interviewed state that the sentencing ranged from fitting to ridiculous to “white justice” payback.

There is a little over an hour worth of archived ESPN extras. The primary extra is a 43 minute interview with Chris Meyers and OJ a few years after the trial with Meyers grilling OJ about the criminal and civil trials, the bronco chase and life after the trial. There are several Sports Center montages of the anchors breaking down the latest from the trial, and two segments from The Sports Reporters where their panel dissects the initial murder discovery and then react to the verdict of the trial. Of these extras the only one worth checking out is the Meyers interview as it was very fascinating watching OJ’s responses at the time and standing his ground while Meyers held nothing back. It should not come as a shocker when I say this documentary is a must-see. Made in America is easily the stud in the entire 30 for 30 catalog, which is saying a lot because it is in very good company with many other standout pieces. Props to filmmaker Ezra Edelman for Made in America’s ‘Best Documentary’ Oscar win last weekend. I highly recommend setting the eight hours aside to watch Made in America. It is available for streaming on Hulu right now and the discs are available on Netflix. If neither of those options works for you, most retailers are selling the entire five-part series as a DVD/BluRay combo pack for around $20. Past TV/Web Series Blogs 2013-14 TV Season Recap 2014-15 TV Season Recap 2015-16 TV Season Recap Adventures of Briscoe County Jr: The Complete Series Angry Videogame Nerd Vol 8 Angry Videogame Nerd Vol 7 Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Season 1 RedvsBlue - Seasons 1-13 Roseanne – Seasons 1-9 Seinfeld Final Season Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle Superheroes: Pioneers of Television