Magic is a great album. It doesn’t get much credit though because there aren’t enough 9/11 songs on it, apparently. My main issue with Bruce, other than his politics, is that he doesn’t let songs breathe anymore. They’re short and concise. While that benefits Bruce, it doesn’t benefit The E Street Band. They have very little to do on Magic. If Bruce had put out the kind of music he puts out today in the 70s, Lofgren, Van Sandt, and Clemons would have never been stand outs. With that said, Bruce has almost always had at least 1 good song on his later albums...but almost all of Magic is great. Nice choice.
I really liked Horace and Pete. It’s a shame about Louis. He doesn’t deserve to have his career ruined over bullshit like that. Same with Roseanne, honestly. When they tried to do the same to Norm for defending them, my blood was boiling.
Buscemi, Vince Vaughn and John C. Reilly are in the same boat as far as I’m considered. They started off as serious actors and have fallen into the easy money comedy trap. Steve is so f***ing good. The fact that more people probably know him for being a homeless guy in a Sandler movie is depressing...but in the end, he’s got bills to pay and critical reception doesn’t pay the bills. Vince Vaughn seems to be climbing out of the trap thankfully, it was nice to see him be serious again in True Detective. He was also good in Hacksaw Ridge. He sure cemented that he was back to being serious with Brawl On Cell Block 99. Such a great movie, a 70s throwback. John C. Reilly is too far gone at this point. I’ll never see him as anything other than Dewey Cox or Dr. Steve Brule.
I honestly don’t think I’ve particularly cared for a Woody Allen movie since the 90s. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very much a fan of him and his work. I just think I prefer him much more as an actor than a director, and that isn’t to say I don’t think he is a great director. He absolutely is. I just don’t care for the actors he uses. I’m not a terrible fan of modern actors. Any actor under 40 has nothing to really offer me. Usually I don’t like my artists to show their age in their work, but I think it could potentially be a benefit for his directing like it was for Eastwood.
My understanding is that
Magic was recorded separately by all parties. Sad; it sounds like such a cohesive record and I'd love to believe those dudes are all in the room together like in that BOMB ASS studio footage from '78 of the song
The Promise. However, I do take your point about the claustrophobic nature of latter day Bruce.
I love Louis CK. His show was getting better and better but I think it would have ended regardless because I think he had said (pre-Scarlet Letter era) that he had done all he could do with it, and I respect that. I really,
really loved
Horace and Pete.
I have at best a peripheral familiarity with Vaughn although I've always been attracted to the jocularity of his persona; he's one of the last few affably-macho dudes who is unapologetically male, if that makes sense, but without veering into douchedom. I did not care for Season 2 of
True Detective (Season 1 is up there for me with
Twin Peaks and
Breaking Bad) but his character was one of the only watchable elements. I haven't seen the films you mentioned but I will look for them.
I would not write off Reilly yet. I still think he's great and he could pull a
Lost In Translation-era Bill Murray out of his ass before he's done. I think he just takes what he is given...and it's mostly shit. I'd hate to see what he turns down...
Allen has been repeating himself for 20 years. And that's OK with me; the motherf***er is 80 and has made some of the greatest films in cinematic history. I don't mind when artists repeat themselves as long as they do it well. The problem is he hasn't, generally, blown me away in doing so...
Match Point is a great example; it was hailed as a huge return to form and I liked it but I just kept seeing a really dull version of
Crimes and Misdemeanors. As we both kind of noted, the problem is with the actors. Most modern actors have the charisma and stage presence of an elementary school crossing guard.
I, too, love when Allen is onscreen. Even old-ass Woody is so magnetic. Nobody like him in the WORLD.
Going back to Bruce, I literally didn't watch
The Sopranos until this year. I loved it. I wanted to know your thoughts on it and if you watched
Lilyhammer and, if so, what you thought. I thought the first two seasons of
Lilyhammer were great. And then speaking of spinoffs, what are you making of
Better Call Saul at this point?