How does Animal Collective do it? How does one come up with the sounds that they come up with and concoct them into such bizarre but beautiful melodies? Drugs? Probably (definitely). When I look at the tracklist of Feels it's hard to believe how many songs from this album I consider my all time favorites. If you only listen to one song in your life (and I mean truly listen - remove all other audible distractions and turn the volume of your sound listening apparatus way up), let it be Banshee Beat.
Red Dead Redemption 2 didn't resound emotionally as much the first game but it improved in every other aspect, including the beautiful graphics, gameplay, and richness of the characters.
When I think of the perfect novel I think of 1984.
Its subject matter is historically relevant. One might even argue it's even increasing in relevancy in today's political climate.
1984 is also surprisingly captivating and entertaining. Even if you read nothing but Dan Brown you will still admire its thrills and page-turning ability.
Finally, 1984 is just an example of great, great writing. Its precise and impactful prose is a landmark of 20th century novel and permanently influenced the topography of literature.
A culmination of dozens of strong personalities and deep histories is difficult to contain coherently in a movie, even in a 3+ hour one, but Endgame manages to be a satisfying conclusion to the Avengers saga that feels flawless.
Of course Endgame has the advantage of 923859 preceding films to shape its characters, but connecting them all is still a challenging endeavor. One critical way they succeeded in this is the pitch-perfect casting throughout the series. Can you see Tony Stark as anyone else other than RDJ? And who isn't happy that Mark Ruffalo replaced Edward Norton and made The Hulk so much more charming and likable?
What surprised me the most was the first portion of the film, which is largely a rumination on loss. It depicts the somber struggles that superheros and common people alike are facing since the snap. Some attend therapy sessions, some drink the pain away, and some move to lakeside cottages to forget it all and focus on their families. This segment of the film felt more like an Oscar-contending drama than a blockbuster superhero film.
Endgame manages to be a good comedy film too. Peppered with one-liners that make you exhale through your nose and gags that make you self-conscious because you're laughing a little too loudly, it's obvious the filmmakers took notes from the fiercely entertaining Thor: Ragnarok.
The action sequences, the major crowd-drawing power of superhero films, are all delightfully unique. The setup, style, and scale of each fight is different from the last. You will see impeccably choreographed one vs. one hand-to-hand combat and also planet-scale war, all finely orchestrated as you'd expect if you paid attention to any of the discourse on this marvelous film.
