‘Farewell Mr. Haffmann’ addresses the Holocaust’s moral compromises

It takes the Nazi Occupation to air the resentments between Jewish jeweler Joseph Haffmann (Daniel Auteuil) and assistant François Mercier (Gilles Lellouche). Handing the store to Mercier after conditions deteriorate to such a degree that he has to pack the family off to Switzerland, Haffmann asks if he can live in the store basement until

The best films of 2023: #8-11

I’ve seen more demurrals regarding Killers of the Flower Moon than I read in October, many of which questioning what Scrunchy Face is doing as Ernest Burkhart and why Martin Scorsese devoted long stretches of the running time to his story. Fair criticism. I had no problem with the casting and thought the narrative choices

Ranking #41 singles, U.S. edition: 2003-2007

Boasts. Declarations. Most pop, especially rap, specializes in them, but here’s an unusually boastful and declarative crew. Pearl Jam’s best single since “Given to Fly” kicks up enough dust to qualify as one of the better anti-Bush songs, though it might’ve been more effective in 2004 when they made a Rolling Stone cover story along

The best films of 2023: #12-15

Two of 2023’s highest grossing films made this list, although only one pissed off its fans enough thanks to the omission of Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie from the Oscar nominations lineup. Looking at the rest of my contenders, I think this’ll be the most mainstream portion of the list.

Ranking #60 singles, U.S. edition: 1997-2006

Living in Miami in the 1990s meant in part being aware of Ricky Martin. I saw the video for his World Cup anthem in summer 1998, about nine months before “The Cup of Life” wowed easily wowed industry vets (and Madonna!) at the Grammys. It’s as loud as a SCUD missile, but energy and excellent

The best films of 2023: #16-20

Forced to post a generalization, I’ll assert that 2023 was a damn good year for film. I saw a lot of them, reviewed most of the ones I watched — a new record. But then I also watched and reviewed a lot of films in 2020 and 2015 without arguing for the merits of the

Ranking #69 singles, U.S. edition: 1997-2007

Rested, shorn of a crucial member, the Eagles returned in 2003 for a world tour almost as terrifying as the American invasion of Iraq.

Ron DeSantis: Little man, what now?

I called it. When Floridians reelected Ron DeSantis by a double-digit margin in November 2022 I wrote: “Like Richard Nixon in January 1973, two months after one of the century’s most convincing landslide victories and sixteen months before resignation, Ron DeSantis has peaked. On every phone and TV, behind every sofa, he will see Donald

Ranking #93 singles, U.S. edition: 1971-1972

I had to stop at two years: the selections swarmed like bees. The Muppets-worthy pop funk of “Can You Get To That?” is the most charming thing George Clinton put his name to, exceeding “Atomic Dog.” Joni Mitchell celebrates her relationship with, well, Graham Nash with a dulcimer-anchored miracle of a pop song about which

Ranking #100 singles, U.S. edition: 1975-2007

My first-place finisher excepted, no classics hid among the few songs which peaked at the loneliest and lowest Hot 100 chart position. The implied ignominy may explain why I flipped past several years and found not a one. The ’70s were better; 2005, however, produced three. As Trump proves his invincibility with millions of a

Ranking #75 singles, U.S. edition: 1974-1977

“I’ve been ‘bound to Mississippi down to New Orleans,” Waylon Jennings announces on Ray Pennington’s “I’m a Ramblin’ Man,” a #1 country hit, one of his first crossover hits, and a shit-kicker of a song. Released at the peak of the outlaw movement, “I’m a Ramblin’ Man” might’ve been recorded by Merle Haggard in the

My rent payed with it: The best of Jazmine Sullivan

Weened on auteurism, I still lose my shit when an artist in the streaming era cobbles together a track with the fewest collaborators. Jazmine Sullivan’s done it since 2008 while also establishing herself as a formidable singer. Since “Bust Your Windows” and “Lions, Tigers & Bears” she has come up with novel metaphors to make